2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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MIPS
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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/mips/ , n. [abbreviation] 1. A measure of computing speed; formally,
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Million Instructions Per Second (that's 10 6 per second, not 2 20 !); often
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rendered by hackers as Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed or in other
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unflattering ways, such as Meaningless Information Provided by Salesmen.
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This joke expresses an attitude nearly universal among hackers about the
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value of most benchmark claims, said attitude being one of the great
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2014-07-26 03:53:53 -04:00
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cultural divides between hackers and marketroids (see also BogoMIPS ). The
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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singular is sometimes 1 MIP even though this is clearly etymologically
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wrong. See also KIPS and GIPS. 2. Computers, especially large computers,
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considered abstractly as sources of computron s. This is just a workstation;
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the heavy MIPS are hidden in the basement. 3. The corporate name of a
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particular RISC-chip company, later acquired by SGI. 4. Acronym for
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Meaningless Information per Second (a joke, prob.: from sense 1).
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