91097 25-DEC 03:09 General Information
Pentium FDIV Instruction
From: PAGAN To: ALL
Forwarded from SKEPTIC listserv:
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Date: Sat, 24 Dec 1994 18:52:01 -0500
From: Garrison Hilliard
Subject: Pentium
Q&A: THE PENTIUM FDIV BUG
Q: How many Pentium designers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: 1.99904274017, but that’s close enough for non-technical people.
Q: What do you get when you cross a Pentium PC with a research grant?
A: A mad scientist.
Q: What’s another name for the “Intel Inside” sticker they put on
Pentiums?
A: The warning label.
Q: What do you call a series of FDIV instructions on a Pentium?
A: Successive approximations.
Q: Complete the following word analogy: Add is to Subtract as Multiply
is to:
1) Divide
2) ROUND
3) RANDOM
4) On a Pentium, all of the above
A: Number 4.
Q: What algorithm did Intel use in the Pentium’s floating point divider?
A: “Life is like a box of chocolates.” (Source: F. Gump of Intel)
Q: Why didn’t Intel call the Pentium the 586?
A: Because they added 486 and 100 on the first Pentium and got
585.999983605.
Q: According to Intel, the Pentium conforms to the IEEE standards 754 and
854 for floating point arithmetic. If you fly in aircraft designed using
a Pentium, what is the correct pronunciation of “IEEE”?
A: Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee!
TOP TEN NEW INTEL SLOGANS FOR THE PENTIUM
—————————————————————————
9.9999973251 It’s a FLAW, Dammit, not a Bug
8.9999163362 It’s Close Enough, We Say So
7.9999414610 Nearly 300 Correct Opcodes
6.9999831538 You Don’t Need to Know What’s Inside
5.9999835137 Redefining the PC — and Mathematics As Well
4.9999999021 We Fixed It, Really
3.9998245917 Division Considered Harmful
2.9991523619 Why Do You Think They Call It *Floating* Point?
1.9999103517 We’re Looking for a Few Good Flaws
0.9999999998 The Errata Inside
For those skeptical of Intel…
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91100 25-DEC 22:56 General Information
RE: Pentium FDIV Instruction (Re: Msg 91097)
From: DBREEDING To: PAGAN
> Forwarded from SKEPTIC listserv:
>
> ————————- snip ————————-
> Date: Sat, 24 Dec 1994 18:52:01 -0500
> From: Garrison Hilliard
> Subject: Pentium
>
> Q&A: THE PENTIUM FDIV BUG
Yeah, I’d seen this one.. It really is hilarious what these computer
types can come up with. There’s a lot of wit amongst the crow.
I would suppose that stuff like this might have had some effect in causing
Intel to decide they better go ahead and replace all defective units.
BTW, I saw an article in the Sunday Business supplement to one of our Pentiums sell for (and that’s in lots of 1,000 or more).
newspapers where Intel has authorized a Silicon Valley jewelry maker to
make jewelry out of defective Pentium (and 486) chips. They make earrings,
necklaces and bracelets. If I remember correcty the jewelry sells for around
$20 – $30. According to the article this is a little less than the $385 each
the good
— David Breeding –
CompuServe : 72330,2051
Delphi : DBREEDING
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