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Univerisity of Chicago by Chibi · 2001-12-28 05:17 · Score: 2 · on Fast Track to a CS Degree?

I went to the University of Chicago for this program. Back when I attended (graduated about two years ago), it was a master's program targeting "professionals." It accepted people with and without undergrad CS degrees. If you didn't have an undergrad CS degree, then you had to take a summer immersion course (which included Discrete Math, C++, and Haskell). I imagine that the program has changed since I've been there, though.

The program was actually a lot better than I thought it would be, and it gave a good foundation in theory and practical experience. Thanks to the traditions at U of C, there was sufficient pounding of theory and such, but since it was a professional program, there were lots of practial things taught. Keep in mind, two years ago, I had a class where I was exposed to UML, RUP, EJB, CORBA, and Servlets, which has helped my career immensely.

Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some people in there that didn't belong, and I just shudder at the thought that they are in the work force, now, armed with the same degree I have. It's a program that offers good opportunities for those who are willing to take it. I didn't have as good of a tech background back then as I do, now, and I believe that those with a better background will get more out of the program and faculty (duh).

Here's a link to the curriculum.

and pasting for lazy folks ;-)

CSPP50500 Internet Programming
CSPP51023 OO Architect., Design, & Methodology
CSPP51036 Java Programming
CSPP51080 Structure, Interpretation of Computer Programs
CSPP51100 Introduction to Programming
CSPP51200 Mathematics for Computer Science
CSPP51300 Advanced C++ Workshop
CSPP51700 Network Management/System Administration
CSPP51800 Unix System Programming
CSPP52200 Machine Organization and Computer Architecture
CSPP52300 Object Oriented Architecture, Design, and Methodology
CSPP52400 Distributed Object Development Practicum
CSPP52600 Networking
CSPP52700 Advanced Object Oriented Design and Development
CSPP52800 Databases
CSPP52900 Database Systems Design and Implementation
CSPP53001 Databases
CSPP53025 Electronic Data & Document Exchange
CSPP53100 Information Technology Security
CSPP53200 Public Key Infrastructure
CSPP53300 Software Development with ANSI C
CSPP53500 User Interfaces with Java
CSPP53600 Programming in C++
CSPP53700 Advanced Java Programming
CSPP54100 Bioinformatics
CSPP54500 Electronic Data and Document Exchange
CSPP55200 Web Programming
CSPP56410 Theory of Bioinformatics
CSPP56510 Information Technology (IT) Security
CSPP56555 Survey of Industrial Linguistics
CSPP57000 Algorithms
CSPP58300 Introduction to Industrial Linguistics

The program was originally designed to be finished in one year. I'd agree with some of the other sentiment that one year isn't enough time to go through a good CS program. I think you need time to focus and learn some of the core concepts that might be new to you, and there's something to be said for just having time to digest things. I've learned that my understanding of things will improve just with time.

One final note, though, is that the program is hella expensive. Think normal private university tuition. So, you have to decide if it's worth it or not.

Univerisity of Chicago by Chibi · 2001-12-28 05:17 · Score: 2 · on Fast Track to a CS Degree?

I went to the University of Chicago for this program. Back when I attended (graduated about two years ago), it was a master's program targeting "professionals." It accepted people with and without undergrad CS degrees. If you didn't have an undergrad CS degree, then you had to take a summer immersion course (which included Discrete Math, C++, and Haskell). I imagine that the program has changed since I've been there, though.

The program was actually a lot better than I thought it would be, and it gave a good foundation in theory and practical experience. Thanks to the traditions at U of C, there was sufficient pounding of theory and such, but since it was a professional program, there were lots of practial things taught. Keep in mind, two years ago, I had a class where I was exposed to UML, RUP, EJB, CORBA, and Servlets, which has helped my career immensely.

Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some people in there that didn't belong, and I just shudder at the thought that they are in the work force, now, armed with the same degree I have. It's a program that offers good opportunities for those who are willing to take it. I didn't have as good of a tech background back then as I do, now, and I believe that those with a better background will get more out of the program and faculty (duh).

Here's a link to the curriculum.

and pasting for lazy folks ;-)

CSPP50500 Internet Programming
CSPP51023 OO Architect., Design, & Methodology
CSPP51036 Java Programming
CSPP51080 Structure, Interpretation of Computer Programs
CSPP51100 Introduction to Programming
CSPP51200 Mathematics for Computer Science
CSPP51300 Advanced C++ Workshop
CSPP51700 Network Management/System Administration
CSPP51800 Unix System Programming
CSPP52200 Machine Organization and Computer Architecture
CSPP52300 Object Oriented Architecture, Design, and Methodology
CSPP52400 Distributed Object Development Practicum
CSPP52600 Networking
CSPP52700 Advanced Object Oriented Design and Development
CSPP52800 Databases
CSPP52900 Database Systems Design and Implementation
CSPP53001 Databases
CSPP53025 Electronic Data & Document Exchange
CSPP53100 Information Technology Security
CSPP53200 Public Key Infrastructure
CSPP53300 Software Development with ANSI C
CSPP53500 User Interfaces with Java
CSPP53600 Programming in C++
CSPP53700 Advanced Java Programming
CSPP54100 Bioinformatics
CSPP54500 Electronic Data and Document Exchange
CSPP55200 Web Programming
CSPP56410 Theory of Bioinformatics
CSPP56510 Information Technology (IT) Security
CSPP56555 Survey of Industrial Linguistics
CSPP57000 Algorithms
CSPP58300 Introduction to Industrial Linguistics

The program was originally designed to be finished in one year. I'd agree with some of the other sentiment that one year isn't enough time to go through a good CS program. I think you need time to focus and learn some of the core concepts that might be new to you, and there's something to be said for just having time to digest things. I've learned that my understanding of things will improve just with time.

One final note, though, is that the program is hella expensive. Think normal private university tuition. So, you have to decide if it's worth it or not.

Re:Human DNA by Angry+Toad · 2001-12-27 13:50 · Score: 2, Informative · on The Little Algae That Could

It has been done lots of times. Based upon chromosomal organization here and based upon DNA sequences here, for example or here for a good set of lecture notes on the topic.

NOT the BBC adaptation by the+grace+of+R'hllor · 2001-12-26 11:34 · Score: 1 · on BBC Rerunning Radio Lord of the Rings

This is completely different from the BBC adaptation.
I can find the BBC files on Morpheus, sure enough, using the following as a guide for the names and file order, though:

Unofficial BBC LotR page

BBC's LOTR - the definative production by spinlocked · 2001-12-19 11:10 · Score: 1 · on Review:Fellowship of the Ring

My girlfriend owns a holiday cottage on the (UK's) North Yorkshire coast in a splendidly rural fishing village: http://www.freefoto.com/regional/europe/united_kin gdom/england/yorkshire/runswick_bay/index.asp I've been up to Runswick bay with her several times now, at various times of the year (Valentines - freezing snow + wonderful log fires, Summer - inclement + pints of ale while the weather improves - you get the idea). We've always driven there (a 5-6 hour journey by motorway) and by tradition, during the journey and return, her family have always listened to the BBC's production of the Lord of The Rings (recorded presumably during early 80s?) on 90 minute cassettes. We now have the BBC's 13CD box set, which I've encoded into MP3s so that I can play them in the car. I haven't seem the film yet, but I know it's going to have a hard time living up to this BBC production for me, I have many pleasant memories of listening to this splendid story. The cast The cast was fantastic and the music unforgettable.

PDF Version of Document by aliebrah · 2001-11-24 04:49 · Score: 3, Informative · on The History of Doom On All Systems

I've put up a PDF version of the document for those who don't like Word or HTML formats for whatever reason. It's much smaller than the Word doc and weighs in at only 480KB.

Re:Blow up? I think this is about anthrax or so... by nels_tomlinson · 2001-11-06 02:14 · Score: 2 · on Comdex Bans Bags From Show Floor

I like the fact that they're at least trying to do something though..

There you hit the nail on the head. They look good, never mind whether this will have any effect, let alone a salubrious one.

This is necessary first to calm the unthinkingly nervous, and second to cover their asses in the incredibly unlikely event that a terrorist does try to do harm.

This won't do much to calm the thinking nervous; a little thought will suggest that terrorists have upped their planning horizon far beyond the spur-of-the-moment 60's -- style ``carry in some guns and wing a few people and take some hostages and fly to Libya'' stuff that this would help with.

This policy wouldn't have hindered Timothy McVeigh, nor the unibomber, nor the September 11 hijackers, nor the next group of terrorists. What will discourage terrorists is swift, destructive retaliation against their cause, so that every terrorist act clearly sets back their cause.

I think that most of the domestic response to the recent events have been nothing but c.y.a. window dressing, with the same sort of logic and effectivness as gun control: none. See here and here and here and here among other references, for some ideas about that.

Treating honest folks like criminals only aids the criminals in the long run; it gives us the illusion that we are on the same side as them, because we and the criminals have a common enemy in the government. Take a look here for some discussion of how governments can go very wrong indeed.

Unlambda by Ben+Wolfson · 2001-10-12 16:59 · Score: 2, Informative · on Esoteric Programming Languages

The page says that Unlambda's interpreter is written in Scheme, which isn't strictly true. The CUAN contains interpreters written in Java and Scheme, and more than one in C. I think there's a buggy Perl interpreter, as well.

I've written an Unlambda interpreter/stepper in Python, available here. It's correct, as far as I know, but extremely slow for lengthy programs.

Incidentally, here's "cat" in Unlambda:

```sii ``s``s``s``s``s``s`ks``s`kk`kc``s``s`ks``s`kk``s`k s``s`kk ``s`kk``s`kk`ki``s``s`ks`ks``s`kk``s`kk`kk``s`k@`k i``s``s`k|`kii`kei

Loads of fun!

let me be your friend by datatrash · 2001-10-12 03:35 · Score: 1 · on Gonzo Marketing: Winning Through Worst Practices

Perhaps I don't fully understand "Gonzo Marketing" (advertisers are so cutting edge and wacky) but from what I understand of micromarketing it is what the scum of the earth will use to get you to own worthless crap(as Deltron says "Flame on, baby, flame on").

Seriously though, I am assuming this is a wider version of target marketing which basically says that you advertise certain products to certain markets based on things such as where you live (ie certain zipcodes are broken down into more or less "Trucks and Guns," "Ferraris and Hottubs" etc) so that those money isn't wasted on those who aren't considered part of the intended audience. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this in theory. The problem comes, I think, on more subtle planes. MacLaughlin writes But globalization has been cutting the mass market into smaller and smaller pieces for many years now. This is true and this is where target marketing comes in. It takes those small slices and feeds them only the type of items that they as a group are expected to want. Sure, this is pure theory, but what certain folks like Joseph Turow argue in his book Breaking Up America explicate, in a manner much more lucid than this, is that target marketing just further divides Americans into small non-interchangeable sections that have images as ideals that are only created for them (to bastardize his arguement).

So, Gonzo marketing. Ford is giving its employees computers to go out into the web community, watch them and figure out what they like, what they want, how they talk, how they communicate. But what is the goal? The goal is to create images that reflect what small segments of the population want. Life becomes less of a search and more of a pick and choose. Employees become employees around the clock, walking viral marketers. Citizenship takes a backseat to selling and we all become full time spies for our companies. Great.

Anyhow, personally I don't like it.

The Common Core by Anonymous Coward · 2001-09-30 07:02 · Score: 0 · on Is A "Well-Rounded" Education a Good One?

My alma mater, The University of Chicago (http://www.uchicago.edu) requires all students to go through the Common Core. An invaluable experience IMHO.

Why retire it, it'll remain useful for years by Rick+the+Red · 2001-08-18 05:22 · Score: 2 · on The Hubble's Fate In Debate at NASA

Virtually every "largest ever built" "state of the art" telescope has been superceded, and virtually all of them are still in use, despite light polution from encroaching civilization. The Yerkes Observatory, for example, is over 100 years old and still in use. Astronomers at Palomar, home of the 200 inch Hale telescope, complain about light polution, but they're still in business. Why should Hubble be any different? At least it won't suffer from the light polution problem (well, not until the U.S. Air Force deploys their space-based lasers)

Which is why we have Tech Support in dorms by Anonymous Coward · 2001-08-15 18:50 · Score: 1 · on Dorm Storm?

Over at the University of Chicago, we have support staff inside every dorm. We're trained to get people connected to the network, setup email, install various applications, troubleshoot system woes, etc. Your normal tech support stuff really. The thing is, we're all students. This is a yearly paid position so there is that added incentive to do the job. The other students can bug us 24x7 if they have trouble. This eliminates the need for most types of tech support on campus and greatly increases the speed with which issues are dealt. More details available at rescomp.rh.uchicago.edu. T minus one month until I personally have > 300 users to deal with...excellent.

Devon Ryan
Posting AC because I'm too lazy to login
home.uchicago.edu/~dpryan

Which is why we have Tech Support in dorms by Anonymous Coward · 2001-08-15 18:50 · Score: 1 · on Dorm Storm?

Over at the University of Chicago, we have support staff inside every dorm. We're trained to get people connected to the network, setup email, install various applications, troubleshoot system woes, etc. Your normal tech support stuff really. The thing is, we're all students. This is a yearly paid position so there is that added incentive to do the job. The other students can bug us 24x7 if they have trouble. This eliminates the need for most types of tech support on campus and greatly increases the speed with which issues are dealt. More details available at rescomp.rh.uchicago.edu. T minus one month until I personally have > 300 users to deal with...excellent.

Devon Ryan
Posting AC because I'm too lazy to login
home.uchicago.edu/~dpryan

Re:plot of sequel by HoldmyCauls · 2001-08-10 05:45 · Score: 1 · on Matrix Sequel Delayed to 2003

How did you SEE the movie and not get this?

Neo represents a hacker Messiah. He was conceived (not in the way we enjoy) to break humanity from the bondage that is the Matrix -- a metaphor for our drab daily lives where everyone has a "normal" job and dresses in dull-colored business suits. The Matrix also represents the idea that the machines we create will eventually overpower us, something I think science fiction has allowed us to contemplate long enough where it will be handled responsibly.

Anyway, enough history and my take on technology and ethics.

NEO may have gotten away from the agents, and empowered himself by freeing his mind (from the constraints of society -- the Matrix), but now he and the others have to help all the other people in the world realize who and what they are and how they, too, can be freed from bondage. Neo sees the fake world in its code form, and he knows that that's all it is -- code which he can manipulate to his will (kinda cool how Open Source comes to mind in that context). Now he must show the people of the world what he knows, and how to empower themselves.

I don't know why I'm telling you this... it's obvious you saw only the fighting in the movie as having meaning, and paid little attention to the dialogue. Otherwise, you would have caught things like these quotes. If you can't Identify with what Morpheus says, you're probably not living your life to the fullest.

Not "Return" by SEWilco · 2001-07-08 20:42 · Score: 1 · on A Close Encounter Of The Stellar Kind

There is nothing in the linked abstract (AJ subscribers can see the full story) to suggest that this star is in any kind of Sol-related orbit.

What is "shockingly similar" between a hypothesized orbiting star and one which happens to pass nearby?

Appointed Judges and a Make-Believe World by jonbrewer · 2001-06-28 07:32 · Score: 2 · on Microsoft Verdict Vacated

It's a funny thing, appointed judges. Can you really be impartial about a ruling if you were placed through a political process? What about debts? What about the prevailing political atmosphere?

Richard Posner is a judge on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. (that's Chicago) He's quoted in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin as saying "People who think that federal judges base their legal opinions solely on their interpretation of the law and the Constitution are living in a make-believe world."

There was an interesting article posted on k5 about a man in a lawsuit against Coca Cola Corporation. If you're in the least bit surprised at the Microsoft ruling, you'd best read it.

Interstellar Medium Density? by SEWilco · 2001-05-15 07:10 · Score: 3 · on Mystery Force Affecting Probes

As the article says, four probes in different directions are showing this behavior so this is probably not due to an unknown planet.

The interstellar medium (interstellar gas & dust) is much less dense than normal around our solar system due to the Scorpius-Centaurus Association superbubble and the Geminga supernova bubble. Perhaps we're seeing a slight increase in the ISM density -- of course these researchers should know all about this, so it's still a puzzle...

Re:My Guess by Ben+Wolfson · 2001-05-11 08:11 · Score: 1 · on Mark Lutz on Python

So even if Python may be a nicer language in almost every respect (and who's to say if it is?), that doesn't mean anything, because scripts were meant to be dirty.

Look at this script and tell me if it's written nicely (and yes, it does actually work)

Exploding PowerBooks by sulli · 2001-05-03 02:04 · Score: 2 · on Dell Notebooks Catch On Fire!

I had one of these (PB 5300, well known as the Exploding PowerBook due to Li-Ion batteries that caught fire) - mine didn't explode, but it did squeal like mad when it was charging the battery. I am now much happier with my G3!

Re:Programmed Cell Death is not a new discovery by carlcmc · 2001-03-28 20:37 · Score: 1 · on "Cell Executioner" Gene

link 2

link 3

stupid me, these 2 links now work

Programmed Cell Death is not a new discovery by carlcmc · 2001-03-28 20:34 · Score: 1 · on "Cell Executioner" Gene

Examples of previous discussion on programmed cell death:link 1

link 2

link 3

link 4

Infact i remember doing a Cell biology paper way back in 1995 and summarizing several articles on Programmed cell death (apoptosis). And it is NOT usefull for cancer. Cancer cells in general are cells that are divind more rapidly (except for a few slow growing tumors such as small cell carcinoma of the lung etc) and DO NOT respond to the bodies commands/attempts to regulate them. In most cases they do not respond to signals to begin apoptosis.

Hand in hand... Math on the chemical level. by theoryalltheway · 2001-03-24 06:21 · Score: 1 · on 3D Microfluid Computers Used To Solve NP Problems

This article just goes on to show how many of the computer science problems and mathematical problems can be solved with the help of physical scientists (note: not only physics, but chemistry also as in this case!). This goes along with research efforts at the University of Chicago to builder wires that are a strand of conductive molecules long. They can potentially solve a lot of mathematical problems by designing circuits that accomplish what they want. (For example, you can put a "junction" , where a signal gets split between to strands of molecules. Then one can flip the switch by sending photons to the junction!)

God first, wife second, math third, and physics fourth. Wait

Some data points by Lumpish+Scholar · 2001-03-15 03:05 · Score: 3 · on The Fastest Web Language On The 'Net?

See:

"An empirical comparison of C, C++, Java, Perl, Python, Rexx, and Tcl"

Kernighan and Pike's The Practice of Programming (reviewed here), especially chapter 7 on performance

This comparison (just popped up from a Google search).

Obvious advice: Measure your current system, find out where it's really spending it's time.

If programmer productivity is irrelevant, you'll be hard pressed to beat well-written C. (And if wishes were horses, beggars would fly.-)

Web page by Stevis · 2001-03-08 00:22 · Score: 2 · on Tweezers Of Light

This is actually my research lab, although I don't work on this stuff (the user known as Amyloid does...)

You can see more info (on tweezers in general) from our site or our advisor's site

Stevis

Web page by Stevis · 2001-03-08 00:22 · Score: 2 · on Tweezers Of Light

This is actually my research lab, although I don't work on this stuff (the user known as Amyloid does...)

You can see more info (on tweezers in general) from our site or our advisor's site

Stevis

Re:Oh, it's not quite that bad by Pentagram · 2000-11-13 17:35 · Score: 2 · on 101 Giant Galaxy Clusters Discovered

Er, no. A neutron star has a diameter of about 10 kilometers.

---

Some links. by bcrowell · 2000-11-11 12:33 · Score: 3 · on Ejection From Fastest Known Revolving Neutron Star

Here is a link to the author's home page. You can download his papers there.

Here is a page with a tutorial on pulsars. You can listen to them, too!

This isn't just a "biggest explosion, gee whiz" story. As the article notes, very little is known about the interior of neutron stars, and this explosion probes deeper inside. As explained on this nifty page about neutron stars, there could even be all kinds of exotic stuff inside them, like strange-quark matter.

--

Victim Disarmament by Wreck · 2000-10-24 21:47 · Score: 2 · on 'Hacking' To Be Declared Illegal

Our freedoms are related in weird ways:

"It's like arms control," said a German-based hacker, who requested anonymity. "Saying you can't walk around with a loaded gun produces safety. You can compare an exploit to a fully-loaded weapon. Making exploits illegal could decrease the number of hacked boxes."

Just a note. The best statistical analysis analysis we have in the US about "walking around with loaded weapons", reveals that concealed carry is a large benefit to society, and saves lives.

The gun laws in places like Washington DC only disarm the law abiding (aka, "victims"). Meanwhile, the politicians who make these laws have dedicated policemen to guard their workplaces and sometimes even persons. Armed policemen, of course.

If victim disarmament laws really worked, then the police should be disarmed just like anyone else. But of course, they don't, and nobody is so foolish as to advocate disarming the police when the criminals are pulling down billions in their highly regulated economic sphere.

The analogy maps perfectly to computer security. Take away legal possession of hacking tools, and sure enough no reputable people will have them. But the crackers still will, of course, and there will be a brave new world of ignorant sys admins with no ability to defend their systems.

Re:sex cells (no, not the local whorehouse) by taumeson · 2000-10-22 23:43 · Score: 1 · on Bowhead Whales May Live 200 Years

Okay, sperm cells are not produced by other sperm cells, but they are created by cellular division. As a matter of fact, the cells that create sperm are among some of the busiest (in terms of cell division) cells in the human body! And we all know that men can be fertile for over a hundred years (look in Guiness if you don't believe me). And like a previous reply has mentioned, what about telomeres?p&g t;

Re:Other options. :-) by Derek+Pomery · 2000-10-12 04:57 · Score: 2 · on Mars Canals May Not Mean Water

A mass of neutrons kept from collapsing only by neutron degeneracy? Seems pretty unlike regular matter to me.

This
link describes it in more detail.

It also lists some other exotic type matter speculated to be in neutron stars - pion condensates, lambda hyperons, delta isobars.

Other reasons Universities may ban Napster... by Incongruity · 2000-09-21 23:53 · Score: 2 · on Universities Refuse To Ban Napster

While I am not sure where I fall on the matter of whether or not Napster should be banned on university networks, I believe that there are some other important things to look at when considering such a ban.

The following is an excerpt from the University of Chicago's IT acceptable use policy.:

In general, University faculty, students, and staff may use University information technology (which includes privately-owned computers connected to the University network) in connection with the University's core teaching, research, and service missions. Certain non-core uses that do not consume resources or interfere with other users also are acceptable. Under no circumstances may faculty, students, staff, or others use University information technology in ways that are illegal, that threaten the University's tax-exempt or other status, or that interfere with reasonable use by other members of the University community.

I believe that a few important issues are raised in that policy. Universities are academic institutions, with educational goals at the heart of their existence. Network access is believed to further that mission in obvious ways. Now, the nasty part of Napster is how much bandwidth it can consume, especially if a user's computer is serving as well as receiving files. On a single computer basis, even moderate use isn't a heavy bandwidth concern, but when you consider the aggregate total bandwidth consumed by all the computers with Napster installed, especially those which are unwittingly serving, then you have bandwidth usage levels which present a problem. Bandwidth usage at such high rates by Napster users can arguably be seen as interfering with reasonable use by others on the network. Sure, there are ways to reduce this problem, such as a limiting of bandwidth at the router, but nevertheless, other concerns remain.

Some will be quick to point out that much of the network traffic on a university network is not used for academic reasons. Indeed, I will be posting this comment via a campus network. But many universities, and as shown above, the University of Chicago, do accept some personal use, but they do make it clear that such uses may not overly consume IT resources or interfere with others using the IT resources.

So, I would ask, do universities have the right to pick and choose, as they seem to be doing? At quick glance, I'd say that they do... it's their network, it's their IT staff that have to deal with bandwidth bottlenecks and service outages. They foot the bill for the network (granted, with money in part taken from student's tuition payments, though aren't those payments made for the education, which the acceptable use policy is intended to aid, by keeping usage in line with the university's mission) so don't they get to make the decisions how it should best be used?

Re:Ignore Them (remirrored descramble.mp3) by xueexueg · 2000-08-30 03:22 · Score: 1 · on More Threats From The MPAA

I don't think descramble.mp3 was taken down--it just seems to be getting /.ed, (as does the trisomy mirror) so I've mirrored it myself.

Re:Swahili by woggo · 2000-08-15 08:56 · Score: 1 · on English Language And Its Effect On Programming?

The Swahili word for "onanism" literally translates as "to punch one's own genitals." And, according to suck.com's /. parody, onanism is more important than coding to slashdot users, anyway.

~wog

PS- this is supposed to be funny, not a flame

Re:Not too surprising they haven't caught on by kalifa · 2000-07-16 04:39 · Score: 1 · on What About Functional Languages?

> This test does not tell me anything about the

> relative speed of the languages.

I agree. Here is another study of languages for scientific processing. O'Caml is doing pretty well (same order as C++ compilers).

And here is a more general study (but older, O'Caml has improved quite a lot since them). O'Caml is doing quite well again, except for the memory usage on one of the tests.

One machine at a time? One OS? by Anonymous Coward · 2000-07-07 06:05 · Score: 1 · on New Remote Configuration App For Linux

Are all these tools really restricted to one machine at a time? Or Linux? The challenge isn't automating the administration of a single machine, it's do the right thing for multiple machines. Most machines will be the same, but some will be substantially different. The right tool would help unify administration of both...

And then you have the issue of nomadic machines like laptops and PDAs. When they use your network, you need to assert some administrative control over the resources they use. Has anyone attempted tools to help with these?

Don't suppose anyone even remembers cfengine? Or has looked into GUIs for PIKT? Or any of the other tools that already exist?

Re:Gender by nomadic · 2000-07-05 06:14 · Score: 1 · on Slashback: life-support, petrol, gender, tunes

So every dictionary that lists "sex" as one of gender's definitions is wrong?

Language changes. Gender has always been used colloquially as a synonym for sex (check the 1913 Webster's Dictionary); now it is used (mostly academically) to refer to the social assignation of sexual roles. Language change. Deal with it.

related press releases by Skald · 2000-06-13 13:19 · Score: 2 · on Adaptive Optics May Enable Super-Human Vision

Nice job, guys! Way to pummel their poor server to death!

Whilst we wait for the /. effect to ebb, this press release might amuse you. It's from a year ago... released by both UC Berkeley and U of Chicago Both the articles are pretty much the same... you needn't hit them both.

Aparently they're both part of the same program, along with Rochester. Some interesting details, despite being a year old. Talks about forming an artificial star with a laser, too. :-)

What would we do with Monty Hall? by phossie · 2000-05-25 05:35 · Score: 1 · on Mathematical Problems For The New Age

Well, I'll show you.

First, trot out the problem, a problem which most people who don't already understand it will think is nonsensical and obvious. Like this:
You are allowed to choose between three doors. Behind one door is a prize - behind the other two, goats. After you choose a door, Monty Hall (the gameshow host) will reveal what's behind one of the other doors (a goat), and then ask you whether you'd like to stay with your original choice or choose the other door.

The problem: should you choose the other door?

Most people will say that it doesn't matter, as it's a "50/50 chance" that you'll win or lose. Most people will be wrong, since they haven't thought about the problem in a set-oriented way. (Excuse my forthcoming explanation, I'm into this by way of philosophy and formal logic.)

The problem seems simple on a small scale. Consider what happens when you have 100 doors, and the process keeps iterating until you're down to (again) two doors. At first, the likelyhood you'll choose the correct door is 1/100. If you hold on to that choice through all the subsequent rounds, including the last round, your likelyhood of correctness is still 1/100. On the other hand, if you choose a different door in the last round, you are effectively using Monty's knowledge against him - he will have eliminated many many bad choices, and the likelyhood that you initially picked the right door is much lower than the likelyhood that he had to consciously avoid a (1 of 99) different door. If you picture this with actual doors, it's a bit more intuitive (if that means anything to you).

For the mathematical basis and the actual relationships, which I'm not qualified to give, try this site, or search google. There's quite a large community trying to educate the world about this one. :)

Offshore is good. So is low-profile. by Romen · 2000-05-21 20:43 · Score: 2 · on Can Web Sites Go Offshore For Free Speech?

When Mattel contacted my university, they buckled. So I had to take my mirror of cphack down. So I hosted it at a free website company. First I tried geocities, but they threw me off for 'hacking.' So I went someplace called 50megs.com, where they have yet to give me any trouble.

Check it out at my home page.

Sam TH

Finally... a story where this is *not* offtopic... by Anonymous Coward · 2000-05-19 20:38 · Score: 5 · on Oxford Yanks Student Page Over Spoof DeCSS

and I'm asleep at the keyboard. Doh!

Oh well... here it is.
Add your own, and spread this far and wide:

This announcement brought to you by the DeCSS Polar Bear.

Hubble used to "see" Dark Matter by Cy+Guy · 2000-05-03 20:56 · Score: 2 · on Where Should The Hubble Point? You decide!

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000504/sc/missin g_matter_2.html

The astronomers think the missing matter exists as highly charged hydrogen between galaxies. Since such hydrogen is hard to see, they had to seek indirect evidence by looking at oxygen that had been spewed into space by exploding stars. The hot hydrogen heats the oxygen into an excited state that can be observed.

Astronomers found the oxygen by using the light of a distant quasar to probe the invisible space between the galaxies, like shining a flashlight beam through a fog. Quasars are distant, very energetic, stellar objects that can spew X-rays and visible light equal to the brightness of trillions of stars.

With the Hubble Telescope, the astronomers saw traces of the oxygen in the quasar's light, which had crossed through vast distances of space.

Here's a link to the Journal abstract: Intervening O VI Quasar Absorption Systems at Low Redshift: A Significant Baryon Reservoir . (Warning: PhD in Astrophysics required to just to read it)

Re:In a related story.. by ultra+laser · 2000-04-12 12:21 · Score: 1 · on Amazon Sued For Patent Infringement

FOOL! You have no idea what you're up against! First of all, Wisconsin was not destroyed, it never existed, and second, you trust the mainstream (or quasi-mainstream) media to tell you whether Wisconsin exists. You don't think they'd try to convince an entire planet of the legitamacy of a nonexistant state, and then just let it leak out to some news agency? No. Second, you are far too quick to believe everything you read. Heck, you sound like you wouldve taken my sig at face value were you not preconditioned to believe in Wisconsin so heavily. Perhaps this article will enlighten you on the falsehood that is Wisconsin. Now obviously, you've never actually tried to go to Wisconsin, another logical flaw in your argument, to be so sure a place exists without having gone there, but I have been gone to a place that was supposed to be Wisconsin, and I assure you, IT DOESNT EXIST. Now perhaps you might think me wrong, but I've actually tried to go there, whereas you've done nothing but visit a few news sites, and maybe pull out your encyclopedia or highschool history textbook, all of which are tertiary sources not to be trusted on such sensitive subjects as Wisconsin.

Oh, and I'll capitalize whatever the hEck i want.

Time for Slashdot to take a stand... by Anonymous Coward · 2000-04-05 03:12 · Score: 4 · on MPAA Files Another Injunction Against 2600

The following is a list of all the mirrors from the 2600 site.

Why I still refuse to use C++ by Zico · 2000-02-21 01:57 · Score: 1 · on Ask Bjarne Stroustrup, Inventor of C++

Why I Still Refuse to Use C++, by ZicoKnows@hotmail.com (picture)

It is impereteefe-a thet I geefe-a yuoo zee fullooeeng inffurmeshun, vheech Dr. Bjerne-a Struoostroop vunts cunceeled frum zee poobleec. Let me-a preffece-a my deescoossiun by qooeeckly reesserteeng a femeelier zeeme-a ooff my prefeeuoos letters: I ixpereeenced qooeete-a un ipeephuny vhee I furst reeleezed thet beffure-a I knoo unytheeng ebuoot Dr. Struoostroop, I ves oonce-a un oonluuker et a foo ooff hees mess demunstreshuns, veethuoot pussesseeng ifee zee sleeghtest inseeght intu zee menteleety ooff hees cruneees oor zee netoore-a ooff hees unecdutes. Lest soommer, I ettempted vhet I knoo vuoold be-a a hupeless tesk. I treeed tu cunfeence-a Dr. Struoostroop thet elmust ifery deescoossiun ooff unercheesm ignures zee creeticel impurtunce-a ooff hees rebeed oobeeter deecta. Es I ixpected, Dr. Struoostroop ves utterly uncunfeenced. Vhetefer ungooeesh ooff spureet it mey cust, I em veelling tu poot tu rest crefee und grooesume-a buns muts sooch es Dr. Struoostroop's. Yuoo mey nut understund thees noo, und I dun't foolt yuoo fur thet, boot yuoo dun't need a preschuul deepluma tu understund thet unsteble-a huuleegunism und soobferseefe-a cyneecism ere-a a metched peur. Feeulence-a is a crootch fur zee deprefeety thet deeshunest ill-bred-types ere-a cepeble-a ooff. Soorpreesingly, zee cuoorts und oooor ilected ooffffeeciels ere-a vey eheed ooff Dr. Struoostroop in imbreceeng thees seemple-a fect.

Frum a poobleec-puleecy perspecteefe-a, tudey, ve-a meeght hefe-a let heem up zee unte-a cunseederebly. Tumurroo, ve-a vun't. Insteed, ve-a veell creeticize-a zee oobfeeuoos incungrooeeties presented by Dr. Struoostroop und hees leckeys. In my feeoo, cumments leeke-a thet dun't seet vell veet fexeteeuoos phlegmeteec preessy-types. I unmeestekeebly hupe-a thet Dr. Struoostroop's ductreenes vere-a intended es a juke-a, elthuoogh zeey're-a nut fery foonny iff zeey vere-a. Dr. Struoostroop's henchmee ere-a nut, techneecelly, feele-a deesrespectffool joonkeees, boot rezeer sheefftless meendless used-cer selesmee. I beleeefe-a thet zeere-a is a smell -- yet nut inturely inseegnifficunt -- deefffference-a.

Dr. Struoostroop is boordened veet a deed veeeght ooff zee must impetoouoos cuncepshuns und prejoodeeces. Zeere-a is nu incunseestency here-a; he-a esserts thet it is bluckeesh tu qooesshun hees ideels. Thet essershun is nut oonly untrooe-a, boot a cunsceeuoos leee-a. Zee vurst keends ooff selff-seteesffied beeg-lebur busses zeere-a ere-a cun gu reeght eheed und cunfeect me-a fur seyeeng thet I myselff recummend thet ve-a preserfe-a zee peece-a, boot Heestury, ecteeng es zee guddess ooff a heegher troot und a heegher joosteece-a, veell oone-a dey smeelingly teer up thees ferdeect, ecqooeetting me-a ooff ell gooeelt und bleme-a. Bettereeng zee vurld is epperently zee lest item oon Dr. Struoostroop's "tu du" leest. Regerdless ooff vhet Dr. Struoostroop seems tu theenk, I teke-a sereeuoosly zee feeoo thet hees seemeengly-igeleeteriun idees leed oonly tu resoolts thet ere-a but puleeticelly-incurrect und unffeur. Let me-a leefe-a yuoo veet oone-a lest thuooght: Dr. Bjerne-a Struoostroop ooves us un epulugy fur threeteneeng tu prumute-a, fuster, und insteetoote-a cunneebelism.

Thunk yuoo fur yuoor teeme-a.

Cheers,
ZicoKnows@hotmail.com, still confusing Sweden and Denmark after all these years

Re:Post the Code! by Romen · 2000-01-20 16:03 · Score: 1 · on MPAA Sending Out DMCA Demand Letters

Just to add my web site:
bur-jud-118-039.rh.uchicago.edu

Cease and desist orders to sytobinh@uchicago.edu

Re:Reports are False! by Anonymous Coward · 2000-01-05 23:48 · Score: 0 · on China Banning Win2k

So according to the slashdot drinking game, how drunk should we all be right now?

drinking game alternate link by rebrane · 2000-01-05 08:20 · Score: 2 · on Humpday Quickies

the main webserver, being an inferior machine, is currently bogged down. try http://beta.cs.uchicago.edu/~neilk/ drinking.txt instead (the linux machine to become the webserver soon).

--neil

Re:This is why post-modernism sucks by BinxBolling · 2000-01-04 06:04 · Score: 1 · on Techies vs. Laywers & Judges

All I'm asserting is that that's the oldest definition of the word justice, and up until the 1960's- to my knowledge- the most common use of the word in America.

It so happens that there's a searchable online version of the 1913 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, located here. I think it's a good reference to test your assertion. Here's what it says about justice:

1. The quality of being just; conformity to the principles of righteousness and rectitude in all things; strict performance of moral obligations; practical conformity to human or divine law; integrity in the dealings of men with each other; rectitude; equity; uprightness.

While the above does mention 'conformity to human [...] law', this is only one of several possible meanings provided. The first, 'conformity to the principles of righteousness' has nothing at all to do with human law.

Other sources agree with you even today. For example, Cambridge Dictionaries online provides this terse definition: "the putting of the law into action". And I understand your desire that the word have such a clear definition - if we are to live in a society governed by law, we need to be able to talk about whether or not law is being properly executed. But given the 1913 Webster's, it seems pretty likely to me that the meaning of 'justice' had become muddied well before the 1960's, and can't really do the job you want it to, today.

Surgery? Depends. by SEWilco · 1999-09-27 22:13 · Score: 1 · on Carpal Tunnel Surgery?

It depends upon the particular situation whether surgery is needed. Your doctor needs to help you. There are levels of severity of the syndrome and treatments range through rest, anti-inflammatory drugs (starting with aspirin), up through surgery (invasive medicine is always the last resort). Remember that each body grows a little differently, so the details of how the wrist was assembled and your movement habits are different from other people.

CTS page with computer info
UofChi MD CTS summary
Yahoo! Health CTS page
Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). CMT is a hereditary progressive neuromuscular disorder which can be confused with CTS.
CTS summary

Drug use among famous scientists by AxelBoldt · 1999-08-23 09:30 · Score: 1 · on Carl Sagan Was a Secret Pot Smoker

Paul Erdös, one of the best mathematicians of this century, died in 1996 at the age of 83. During the second half of his life, he was almost constantly on speed. In one of the new biographies, the following story is related: A mathematician friend challenged Erdös to go without drugs for a whole month. Erdös agreed to the bet and won, but later bitterly complained that it was a crime because Mathematics had been slowed down for a month.

--

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