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right, and at a 1000 cds, compresseion time certainly is a factor. even with lossless.

There is an easy module for doing this in perl, along with a working demo.

frequency analyzer

caesar cipher cracker

some other tools also available here

Hand it a playlist, and it'll convert the files in that playlist to MP3 format.
http://perlmonks.thepen.com/401680.html

Batch recursive FLAC to Ogg conversion script
http://www.buberel.org/linux/batch-flac-to-ogg-con verter.php

It allows programming to be FUN.

A succinct case for Perl as a first language is made by Simon Cozens, one of the co-authors of the book:

It's ideal because it's a real-world language, unlike one designed specifically for teaching, such as BASIC (Visual or otherwise). It's a high-level language that deals naturally with natural concepts like strings and lines of text, unlike something like C; and it allows easy data and text manipulation without a tortuous syntax, unlike something like Python or Tcl.

There's an informed discussion of the question at PerlMonks.

A more interesting question is what is the best second language. Now that programming has your attention, should you move to something that teaches the fundamentals like Assembler or C or do you move to something with a broader scope like C++ and Java? Or do you choose something mind-expanding like Lisp or Smalltalk?

perl macros
Other things they are thinking about

but I do not think that they are going to make another lisp or scheme. They are writing perl and the perl6 language feels very different from scheme or lisp programs.

On the approach of perl6 to language design, I find the approach taken in apocalypses and exegesis to be quite good in explaining what they are thinking about and what they want to implement, and are on par with the essays and responses that you have archieved on your site. They too are taking the slow road to implementation, with emphasis on each and every aspect of the language, from VM to syntax.

While groups like ll1 and langsmiths have quite interesting languages, most of them do not provide a consistent and integrated approach to all problems, (most explores some interesting ideas to the limit, but does not look at other aspects or is founded on a consistant approach.)
I do not see many interesting new ideas in the common-lisp world, or in the scheme world. (the RnRS process seems to be dead for some time.) and the language you mentioned (Goo) does not seem to offer the kind of ideas that you look for in a next generation language.

From what I know, Arc, and perl6 seems to be the only? initiatives that promices to go forward on implementing a better general purpose language and Arc is the only one from the lisp family, and that is the reason for many of us are anxious to know more about Arc.

My gut feeling is that you may not have to worry about the ecosystem that has grown around current successful languages, but rather, about the people that you want to reach with your language, and if languages like perl are able to claim all the features that we claim to be what makes lisp different, then you might as well expect a lesser mindshare in the target group.

(I believe that it is not just these features alone that makes lisp what it is but the whole language, the way it is designed, the freedom it gives, and the way you can think in it, etc. but you still need to advance and you still need to attract the people who will be able to appreciate it, and adding all the features that you have outlined in you essays (including macros) to perl or python for that matter, wont make them lisp. (it may make them better languages, but not lisp.))

-I think you are going to find perl6 targeted towards the same segment of people that Arc is targeted to-

I would really like to see some articles on what you have implemented in Arc, and why they were done so, or what you are thinking would be nice to do, I request this because it gives us a better and deeper understanding of many facets of the language on following through the discussions or articles that details why some thing was done a particular way. It makes the language a lot more transparent and a lot less imposing if I can find some discussions or articles on the approach taken.
you do not have to think of it as a dead line but more as an ongoing discussion or a philosophical argument if that will help it.

I'm still partial to the humor that the programmers added to the system. Like variables that are expressed in microfortnights, or an error message that reads, "Shut 'er down Clancy, she's pumpin' mud."

I also posted a review on Perl Monks when the book came out. It still isn't in his list of reviews, though. :/

what if the chip croaks?

Then you can toss your harddrive out the window to chase away the pigeons. That, or it makes a very geek-sheik paperweight.

If your ISP (or perhaps your bank) considers your identity as tied up in a particular chip

It shouldn't be a "problem" to just grab a new machine and start from scratch, assuming a suitably broad definitions of "not a problem" lol.

What about transferring backups to a new machine

There is a limited function for this, but I'm not sure if it is a mandatory part of the spec or optional. You have to go through the chip manufacturer. First they deactivate all of your data on the old machine. (The number one rule is that the data may NEVER be active on more than one machine). The chip exports a special code. You give that code to the manufacturer along with a code from the new chip. The manufacturer then uses his secret key to allow you to import the RootStorageKey into the new chip. The new can can now activate the data.

crashed-HD data recovery

That's a bad situation in any case. It does make your data more "fragile", similar to the risk if you were using encryption for your own benefit. You could theoretically backup your harddrive data, but it wouldn't be easy. It would only work if you restore that data back under that undamaged motherboard.

What if the TC chip experiences flipped bits (due to a power spike or whatever, and at any stage of the chain)

Hmmmm. If the permanent endorsement key or the RootStorageKey had a bit flipped by a cosmic ray then your data would be gone. Same as a dead chip. Pretty unlikely, but I'm sure with a few million machines it will probably happen to a few people per year. If a power-glitch messes up a calculation in progress it will most likely be no worse than an ordinary glitchof that sort, possibly losing some data from that particular session. A glitch could conceivably cause pretty massive data loss if it had really rotten timing. Pretty unlikely, but you could possibly keep a backup of the drive as I mentioned earlier, only restorable back under that undamaged motherboard.

Nasty math like multi-dimensional hash tables?

How to hash a frog:
Step one: Smash with a nice lumpy bowling trophy.
Step two: Toss in a blender for 3 seconds.
Repeat both steps 80 times.
Read the random arrangment of red and green speckles. That is your final hash value.

Suffice it to say that current experts consider it impossible to break a 160-bit SHA-1 hash with current math knowledge. A quantum computer might be able to do it.

As for CRC's, any programmer could be lazy and simply brute-force a 16 or 32 bit CRC without even using a braincell. Or he could do a math analysis, CRC is simply a single pass of a simple operation. Or he could do a Google search to locate a short peice of code to directly generate any CRC value at will. Don't bother trying to follow and read the link, it's just there as proof that there is a simple known method.

-

Note: Using bogus addresses may allow the spammer to filter out the autoreplies, as they just eliminate all replies which come from addresses they did not send to.

Perhaps spammers will deploy Baysian filters in an attempt to detect autoreplies?

I guess there is the danger of ELIZA making an excessive promise on your behalf. How to guard against this?

BINGO!!

A backronym, and not a really good explanation of Perl's reason for being. See here and here for a better background on Perl.

Weeks? You stupid fucking twat, there's a mention of rot26 encoding in perlmonks a year and a half ago; I'm sure the concept dates from about five minutes after the invention of rot13.

Twat.