Perhaps kids are just more open about their lives these days. It doesn't have to be a case of accidentally releasing information; most people are well aware that the things they post will be accessible to many, and they choose to do it.
Things aren't "private" if they're willingly disclosed. Warning people against providing genuine home addresses, or phone numbers, via the internet is, perhaps, valid advice - however, teenagers regularly disclose mobile numbers to people they barely know in "real life" scenarios, and there's as much chance of something happening in that kind of situation as there is in an electronically-based one.
I believe that these concerns are just left over from an ageing population that doesn't really trust modern technology, or thinks that anything besides face-to-face communication is unnatural. I'm sure people once thought this about telephones, too.
I'm currently at school in England, but my experience of students' so-called technological literacy has been vastly different.
Kids who can't do their coursework find a search engine instead of asking for advice from the teachers, and they get sufficient answers to their queries. I spend more time showing members of staff how to perform simple tasks, like printing emails, than I do learning new things - and I'm not the only one who does.
I'm taking this "technological literacy" term to mean "can switch on PC, can log into Windows, can search Google and paste results into MS Word", because that's what research means in schools nowadays. God forbid we use books - most of them have been sold to fund the purchase of more computers, anyway.
The problem I have with the education system is the way in which students' intelligence is constantly underestimated. A 17-year-old taking ICT neither wants, nor needs to be told, how to use Microsoft's products. We know it all already, from daily use at home. I don't know what's going on in America, but it seems to be the opposite of what's happening here.
I just wish technological literacy referred to genuine knowledge of how technology works. But, evidently in the opinion of those who decide on the curriculums, kids just don't need to know such things.
"That could be helpful if you're trying to assist someone lost on the road"
You're able to assist them, so you must be in contact with them. Therefore, you can call them and give them directions, as opposed to tracking them in this rather sinister fashion.
If, as a parent, you find you're rarely aware of where your child is, maybe you should start to question your relationship with them. As they're evidently unable to trust you with their whereabouts, following them around isn't going to help you get along, and will only make them bitter in the future.
The "lost child" scenario could be used to justify any level of surveillance. It automatically ensures parental support and, as most people are parents, this makes up a large proportion of the population. People should think about these kinds of things rationally, and not through such a knee-jerk, must-protect-my-young, decision. How much of your life would you allow to be videotaped for the sake of "ensuring" your kids' safety?
"Robots are looked on as a solution to Japan's ageing population"
I don't really see how small, robotic seals are meant to prevent people from getting older, unless they "dispose" of the elderly somehow.
I don't understand the concept of a "shaped universe", because the word's meant to describe absolutely everything in existence, as far as I know. Maybe the definition's been altered.
If it were to have a shape, then it would have boundaries, meaning there would be scope for something outside these boundaries. Nothing has edges without something else pushing against them to define those edges.
If there were something outside of these boundaries, then the universe is not composed of everything in existence, meaning it's not the universe.
I'm sure you'd make a lot more sense if you'd ever seen a Linux distro before, instead of accepting the stereotypical "CLI-only" perspective. Some of us even use GUIs now and again, in this scary modern age.
Retro gaming's good for those who remember older games and want to play them again, but for young kids born in a generation where graphics alone define the quality of gaming experience, they're a lot less likely to be satisfactory.
"Nearly all respondents agree with improving interoperability, having products that work well together, and having tools that make it easier to manage mixed Windows® and Linux environments."
Who's going to oppose that? It's not the good/bad quality of the deal itself that the survey addresses, but the benefits that MS/Novell are trying to sell.
Even if there were a way to ensure that all sex offender's screen names were recorded, this would only apply to people on the sex offenders' register, and doesn't account for the numbers of people allowed access to these sites who haven't been, and possibly won't be, caught.
One piece of advice is not to try and learn everything at once. It's easy to see how many possibilities there are regarding programming, and end up confusing yourself with vast amounts of information. You're best off finding one area that you're interested in - such as emulators - and do a lot of research to get a feel for what it entails.
Find a development community if you don't like working alone, and see what you can contribute, or lurk for a little while until you pick up enough knowledge to feel more confident about asking.
Hammers and swimming pools aren't purchased with the intent to use them to injure people or animals. Bringing something that is intended to cause damage into your house is different to an item, such as a hammer, which has a distinct and separate practical application.
If guns really protected people, then America would be safe, given the sheer number of them knocking about. Fact is, it isn't.
At least it's not as insulting to the English language as "normalcy".
I don't understand how this word can have a meaning other than the one carried by "truth", being the root of the word. It sounds like something girls on IM use to make themselves sound cute.
Even if the statement were "Code is not always green text on a black background", the films where it's presented in this way only show that the character using the computer prefers those settings.
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Things aren't "private" if they're willingly disclosed. Warning people against providing genuine home addresses, or phone numbers, via the internet is, perhaps, valid advice - however, teenagers regularly disclose mobile numbers to people they barely know in "real life" scenarios, and there's as much chance of something happening in that kind of situation as there is in an electronically-based one.
I believe that these concerns are just left over from an ageing population that doesn't really trust modern technology, or thinks that anything besides face-to-face communication is unnatural. I'm sure people once thought this about telephones, too.
Kids who can't do their coursework find a search engine instead of asking for advice from the teachers, and they get sufficient answers to their queries. I spend more time showing members of staff how to perform simple tasks, like printing emails, than I do learning new things - and I'm not the only one who does.
I'm taking this "technological literacy" term to mean "can switch on PC, can log into Windows, can search Google and paste results into MS Word", because that's what research means in schools nowadays. God forbid we use books - most of them have been sold to fund the purchase of more computers, anyway.
The problem I have with the education system is the way in which students' intelligence is constantly underestimated. A 17-year-old taking ICT neither wants, nor needs to be told, how to use Microsoft's products. We know it all already, from daily use at home. I don't know what's going on in America, but it seems to be the opposite of what's happening here.
I just wish technological literacy referred to genuine knowledge of how technology works. But, evidently in the opinion of those who decide on the curriculums, kids just don't need to know such things.
You're able to assist them, so you must be in contact with them. Therefore, you can call them and give them directions, as opposed to tracking them in this rather sinister fashion.
If, as a parent, you find you're rarely aware of where your child is, maybe you should start to question your relationship with them. As they're evidently unable to trust you with their whereabouts, following them around isn't going to help you get along, and will only make them bitter in the future.
The "lost child" scenario could be used to justify any level of surveillance. It automatically ensures parental support and, as most people are parents, this makes up a large proportion of the population. People should think about these kinds of things rationally, and not through such a knee-jerk, must-protect-my-young, decision. How much of your life would you allow to be videotaped for the sake of "ensuring" your kids' safety?
"Robots are looked on as a solution to Japan's ageing population" I don't really see how small, robotic seals are meant to prevent people from getting older, unless they "dispose" of the elderly somehow.
I generally don't feel positive when I have a cold.
I don't understand the concept of a "shaped universe", because the word's meant to describe absolutely everything in existence, as far as I know. Maybe the definition's been altered. If it were to have a shape, then it would have boundaries, meaning there would be scope for something outside these boundaries. Nothing has edges without something else pushing against them to define those edges. If there were something outside of these boundaries, then the universe is not composed of everything in existence, meaning it's not the universe.
I'm sure you'd make a lot more sense if you'd ever seen a Linux distro before, instead of accepting the stereotypical "CLI-only" perspective. Some of us even use GUIs now and again, in this scary modern age.
Retro gaming's good for those who remember older games and want to play them again, but for young kids born in a generation where graphics alone define the quality of gaming experience, they're a lot less likely to be satisfactory.
Who's going to oppose that? It's not the good/bad quality of the deal itself that the survey addresses, but the benefits that MS/Novell are trying to sell.
Even if there were a way to ensure that all sex offender's screen names were recorded, this would only apply to people on the sex offenders' register, and doesn't account for the numbers of people allowed access to these sites who haven't been, and possibly won't be, caught.
Find a development community if you don't like working alone, and see what you can contribute, or lurk for a little while until you pick up enough knowledge to feel more confident about asking.
Hammers and swimming pools aren't purchased with the intent to use them to injure people or animals. Bringing something that is intended to cause damage into your house is different to an item, such as a hammer, which has a distinct and separate practical application. If guns really protected people, then America would be safe, given the sheer number of them knocking about. Fact is, it isn't.
At least it's not as insulting to the English language as "normalcy". I don't understand how this word can have a meaning other than the one carried by "truth", being the root of the word. It sounds like something girls on IM use to make themselves sound cute.
Even if the statement were "Code is not always green text on a black background", the films where it's presented in this way only show that the character using the computer prefers those settings.
And used it in such an effective way, too.