Hot rod chips

Some of the most important elements in modern automobile engines are smaller than a thumbnail and are seldom, if ever, mentioned in a car advertisement—microprocessor chips. Today, anyone wanting to fine-tune an engine must know something about computers in addition to how to use a wrench, because Detroit auto makers have been installing computer chips in their cars since 1981.

The "engine management" chips were designed to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Horsepower, however, suffered until a few computer experts analyzed the chips. They discovered that the chips were engineered with the average driver, who uses low-octane fuel, in mind. By modifying the programming of the processors that control engine timing and gear shifting, they produced a chip that appeals to drivers who prefer more power. The so-called superchips, which replace factory-installed chips, run on high-octane gasoline to increase an engine's horsepower by 10 to 30 percent. There are various types of superchips (some improve gas mileage, whereas others increase horsepower).

The downside is that replacing a factory-installed chip with a superchip negates the car's warranty and may violate the Clean Air Act, which was recently amended to require that high-performance parts meet the emissions standards for the car in which they are used. Superchip manufacturers are striving to redesign their chips to conform with the code.

Source: "Hot-Rod Hackers," Time

KEY TERMS

Analytical Engine аналітична машина – комп’ютер, спроектований Чарльзом Бебіджем в середині 19-го сторіччя

computer competence здатність використовувати комп'ютер для вирішення задач в певній галузі знань

mainframe суперкомп’ютер

computer error помилка в команді для комп’ютера

computer literacy комп'ютерна грамотність

mind tool інша назва комп’ютера

multimedia технології, що дозволяють за допомогою комп’ютера інтегрувати, обробляти та синхронно відтворювати різні типи сигналів

computer terminal термінал обчислювальної машини

network мережа

data дані

personal computer (PC) персональний комп’ютер

data processing обробка даних

desktop computer стаціонарний комп’ютер

digital computer цифровий комп’ютер

electronic funds transfer електронні платежі

(EFT)

smart machines інтелектуальні машини

end user кінцевий користувач

software програмне забезпечення

special-purpose спеціалізований комп’ютер

computer

firmware програмне забезпечення, яке записано в постійний запам’ятовуючий пристрій

general-purpose універсальний (не спеціалізований)

computer комп’ютер

hardware апаратне забезпечення

workstation автоматизоване робоче місце

LESSON 4

Exercise 4.1

Translate the following words paying attention to affixes.

Perform, performed, performance, performer, performing; hear, heard, hearing, unheard; internal, interior; occur, occurrence, occurred; reason, reasonable, reasoning, reasoned, reasonableness; include, included, inclusive, including, includes; erase, erased, erasing; power, powerless, powered, powerful, power-station, powerlessness; store, storage, storing, store-room, stored; compare, comparably, comparator, compared, comparability, comparing; print, printing, imprint, printed, printer; range, ranged, ranger, ranging; investigate, investigator, investigated, investigation, investigating; color, colorful, colored, colorless, coloring; term, termed, terming.

Exercise 4.2

Translate the following paying attention to modal verbs.

1. Research must use several approaches to…

2. Research must be using several approaches to…

3. Research must have used several approaches to…

4. Researchers had to use some new technologies…

5. Researchers were to use the technique of…

6. Researchers should not have used that method to…

7. Researchers could use the approach…

8. Researchers were able to use the method…

9. Researchers could have used the technology…

10. Researchers couldn’t have used the technology…

11. Couldn’t they have used the technology…?

12. Researchers ought to have used that method…

13. Researchers will have to use the approach to…

14. Researchers might be using the technology for…

15. Researchers needn’t have used the method…

16. Researchers may have used the technology…

17. Research may be used for…

18. Research can be useful if…

19. Researchers were allowed to use the device…

20. Researchers were able to check…

21. Researchers can be using several new…

22. Researchers might have used the new…

23. Researchers should be able to finish the work…

24. Researchers can’t afford the technology, though it might help them…

Exercise 4.3

Translate the following sentences paying attention to modal verbs.

1. With viruses that are able to defend themselves so cunningly, the chance of their interacting and causing damage to more enterprise networks is high.

2. The Sobig virus family may have caused more damage, in monetary costs, than any other computer bug in history.

3. Like Sobig.F, MS Blast caused infected computers to reboot themselves every 10 or 11 minutes, faster than many users could download the software that would eradicate it.

4. Speculation is growing that Sobig may be a means for culling e-mail addresses that could be assembled into mailing lists for spammers.

5. A metadirectory is simply a directory that can link all the application-specific directories in an organization to provide a single point of management.

6. However, directories and metadirectories aren’t simply a matter of technology – they have to be deployed in accordance with the needs of the business.

7. Two other platforms that should be noted by alert developers are Linux and RIM OS, as found in the Blackberry device.

8. Software emulation will allow programs designed for the existing 68000 series to run satisfactory on ARM devices, but it may be that developers will have to rewrite from scratch to maintain acceptable performance.

9. This may have been led by Nokia’s Communicator, or Ericsson’s R380, but is now being driven by the likes of Microsoft’s Stringer initiative.

10. Systems should also be able to fix server failures, system freezes, and operating systems crashes when they happen or, better yet, prevent them from cropping.

11. 200 million information technology (IT) workers might be needed to support a billion people using computers at millions of businesses that could be interconnected via intranets, extranets, and the Internet.

12. eWLM (enterprise Workload Management software) should be able to look at the topology of the network and predict whether it can do this.

13. If not, eWLM could alter the topology, calling for, perhaps, another server on the farm to provide temporary relief.

14. You should be able to set high-level goals in plain English and the computer learns how to adjust the knobs.

15. A system administrator at a money management firm could issue a policy that all stock trade transactions must be completed in one second, whereas other tasks may be permitted to take longer.

16. Stanford’s project for the agency was to design an IC chip to do three-dimensional graphics transformations.

17. You don’t have to think about key functions or how they need to be optimized to accomplish what you want.

18. Because blades are a relatively new technology, standards both for hardware and software have yet to be widely adopted.

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