Hi All,
I'd thought everyone would like to know that the internet will be shut down today. Not all at once, but in stages. Think of it as a rolling blackout. Expect websites and email to be unavailable from time to time.
The problem has to do with the binary nature of computers and the degradation of the 1's and 0's over time. If the bits degrade too far then you have corrupted data, program crashes, etc... All highly undesirable of course. Btw, this is one of the main underlying reasons why PC's and other computing devices crash or lock up.
In any case the best way to 'refresh' the bits is to shut down all of the computers all at once. If not done that way degraded bits will easily be sent from an unreset PC to those that already were reset.
This mass shutdown also gives system admins and IT staff the opportunity to perform critical maintenance tasks. One of the most pressing issues is not coping with viral or malware infections. It is a little known but serious issue called binary imbalance. As information is stored on hard drives, the placement of 1's and 0's on the drives is not well regulated due to performance reasons. Over time it's possible for the bits not to be spread evenly over the drive surface. Too many 1's or 0's start to cluster on one side or the other of the hard drive platters. This imbalance causes mechanical stresses to build in the drive. It can lead to bearing failure, head crashes, lost data and the bits being literally flung off of the platter surface.
Newer SSD drives are not subject to this problem.
Also, have a happy April 1st.
![Grin ;D](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
- George