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To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (43460)	12/31/1997 12:18:00 PM
From: Mary Cluney	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Paul, >>>I'm waiting for Paul Engel to suggest the ultimate application that will cause my computer to use the other 95%.<<< While you are waiting, there is this (some highlights) from the cover story in the business section of USA Today : >>>>Algorithms: From recipes to computers Remember algorithms from math class? You might want to get reacquainted. New high-octane algorithms, often running on desktop computers, are changing entire industries and solving problems once thought unsolvable......... But this is a new breed of algorithms. They have been constructed by mathematicians with the power of today's computers in mind. They take advantage of mountains of digital information never before available but now gleaned from bar-code readings, bills, transactions and other databases. Algorithms have become a critical force in the global marketplace because they can often find ways to run a business faster, cheaper or better........ The results are often so dramatic, they can alter the dynamics of an industry...... The equation, which can involve millions of calculations, is fed into a computer in the form of a computer program. That way, you can plug in different variables, run the calculations at high speed and get an optimal result..... The trouble is, as the number of variables increases, the time it takes to calculate all the possibilities can go up exponentially. Think of all the variables for scheduling a store: time, day, store traffic, worker availability, whether there's a sale, union rules, overtime budget. Most store managers schedule based on experience and gut feelings. A supercomputer using an old-style, bulky algorithm could take a week to come up with one day's schedule...... If that's not tough enough, imagine all the calculations for all the variables in an entire factory, or a nationwide telecommunications network. Despite the spike in speed of hardware and software, a supercomputer would need centuries to do those calculations...... "We're getting the pioneers now," Cross says. "It might be 10 years before it's fully accepted." ....... Campbell has built his company on the budding field of optimization, which uses algorithms to look at all the possible ways to run a buiness and find the single most efficient way. Hastings Books, Music and Video in Amarillo, Texas, says the software has reduced the time customers stand in line by 40% and saved 2% on labor costs...... Michigan's Stout is applying optimization to clinical trials so researchers "can get an equally valid decision but not harm as many people" by testing new drugs on fewer humans, he says........ "There are huge opportunities," Campbell says. "There are so many optimizations out there to be solved, and so few have yet been solved." ........ The future, in fact, will be full of algorithms. They are becoming part of almost everything. They are moving up the complexity chain to make entire companies more efficient. They also are moving down the chain as computers spread......... Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet software has a mini-optimization program inside..........<<<<< Regards, Mary

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (43460)	12/31/1997 12:25:00 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Paul - Re: "I'm waiting for Paul Engel to suggest the ultimate application that will cause my computer to use the other 95%." Why don't you write a program to figure out why you bought a PC that exceeds your ability to make use of 95% of it's potential. ==================================== It is you that doesn't make use of your computer resources, not software - there's plenty of that to eat up all your CPU cycles - if you knew what to do with it - which you apparently don't. Paul