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  1. Re:Perl is indeed strongly typed on A Brief History of Programming Languages? · · Score: 1

    In my opinion (and this corresponds to my understanding of the definitions in most books) implicit conversions have nothing to do with strong typing !!! Implicit conversions really mean just means the compiler is less anal-retentive, and is equivalent to explicit casting.

    The real problem with weak typing is when you can make the compiler/language believe that a piece of memory has a different type than what was originally assigned.

    You can do this easily in assembly, and with C's unions or pointer conversion (althoug the results are officially 'undefined' :)

  2. Re:Maintenance on John Barlow Pushes Open Source in Brazil · · Score: 1

    Actually it is $799/year, google for msdnaa academic alliance.

    It is only for departments teaching CS like classes though, not the whole university.

  3. Re:Subselects and SQL as a programming language. on PostgreSQL 8.0 Released · · Score: 1

    BTW, the 'right' way in PostgreSQL is using a sequence, like in Oracle. You're not supposed to use rowid's :)

  4. Re:Kids Like Technology on Introducing Children to Computers? · · Score: 1

    FYI, There are many many vector and raster graphics programs that work on Linux and are much easier than the GIMP (not that the GIMP is *that* hard).

    I like TuxPaint http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint/, and gave it to my 4-yr old nephew who loved it.

  5. Re:Privacy is assured. on Feds Propose National Database of College Students · · Score: 1

    Actually, nowadays you usually get an SSN for your kid when they're born, since it gives you tax deductions.

  6. Re:Two free books on PHP on Learning PHP 5 · · Score: 1

    I just went and checked, the apress book is avialable in pdf (but they make you download each chapter separately), and the other one is html in a million pages :)

    BTW, the hudzilla book seemed OK, but seems it hasn't been published as a book.

  7. Re:Under $100 isn't even hard! on How Cheap Can A PC Be? · · Score: 1

    But, of course, it's not a PC, just a barebones (no CPU, no RAM ...)

  8. BTW Catholics ARE christians, you know ? on Copyright Law Mashup Moving Through Congress · · Score: 1

    Just that small correction. Catholics are Christian. You may have meant Christians (including catholics)

  9. Re:Troll alert on Replacing FileMaker with Free Software? · · Score: 1

    BTW, PostgreSQL can do subqueries without problem (you didn't say it doesn't, but wanted to put the info here:)

  10. Troll alert on Replacing FileMaker with Free Software? · · Score: 1

    What a load of BS ! I hope you're trolling :)

    Firts, postgresql does NOT need to be run as root. It will even display an error message if you try to do so !. The default is to run it as postgres.

    Although I only use postgresql to host small databases and run simple queries, it works perfectly OK (and I'm a prof, and give my students access to my really crappy server (PII 400, 256 RAM), in which they run their toy databases too).

    Now if you've told me it lacks things like distributed databases, ROLAP queries and such, that would be a decent criticism.

  11. Re:Everything will be half on Northface University - Computer Science in Half the Time? · · Score: 1

    > My school was relatively inexpensive and I lived at home. Tuition was $22k/yr (on average), so $88k for a BS.

    God that's inexpensive ? I teach at a pretty decent state university, and our tuition is about 26 HUNDRED a year !

  12. KVM swithc better than dual boot on Moving To Linux · · Score: 1

    I tend to recommend to people who want to get into Linux to buy a KVM switch (about $40 for 2 machines, including all cables), and a cheap computer (~$250, or you can use an old one).

    This way the switch is instantaneous, rather than waiting 5 minutes for you to log out/restart/boot ...

  13. Re:Bullshit on Africa Enters Global Market For IT Outsourcing · · Score: 1

    Let me tell you, after seeing a friend who had to be circumcised when he was 18 (it was recommended by doctors, he ahd frequent infections etc), and seeing how he suffered, I didn't hesitate in having my child circumcised :)

  14. Re:thx for their efforts and sacrifices on Atomic Veterans Speak Out · · Score: 1

    Actually, the spanish DIDN'T murder most of the native population in Mexico and South America (although they killed a lot on the conquest, and many more died of smallpox and other infectious diseases for which they didn't have any defenses).

    Actually, most of the people in Mexico (and I believe most of Central and South America too) are of very mixed ancestry. In many regions of Mexico you can still find most people being bi-lingual, speaking the 'native' language and spanish.

  15. Re:WHY do you need the K? on KDE 3.3 Beta "Klassroom" Released · · Score: 1

    God, Are you serious ?

    How does Final Draft tells you it is a screenplay formatting app ? not a normal word-proc ? or anything else that you draft ?

    Winzip makes sense only if you know what zip does (and where does zip comes from ?)

    Maybe Microsoft Word makes sense (although something like Wordprocessor would have been better by your metric :)

  16. Re:If there's one thing I know on Mathematician Claims Proof of Riemann Hypothesis · · Score: 1

    > How many practical computing problems have I run into in my carreer that have been NP complete? 0 - in 10+ years.

    Of course, that's your career :) but most people actually find those problems a lot. Many optimization problems are NP-Complete. For example Scheduling, or Traveling Salesperson (which is equivalent to many practical problems), or Optimizing SQL queries :).

    Also, the fact that we know they're too hard to solve optimally, we don't even try or use a heuristic method that produces good solutions. If we didn't know, we'd try to brute-force them !

  17. Actually not used EVERYWHERE on The Logic Behind Metric Paper Sizes · · Score: 1

    In Mexico, we use letter size most of the time (and we do use the metric system).

    I don't know what other countries do, but I don't think metric paper sizes are as widely used as the metric system in general.

  18. Why not combine both ? on UserLinux Proposal (And Analysis) Now Available · · Score: 1

    One thing that would be good is to provide both methods. We have a package repository, but we also have a way to install everything into one sub-directory without doing anything systemwide, like the Mac does.

    I like programs that give me that chance, like blender, for example.

    Maybe an apt command that would automatically generate that big directory ... ?

  19. Re:Don't forget the users! on Freedesktop.org on KDE/Gnome, New Goals · · Score: 1

    I guess you're just trolling, but there are at least 3 decent desktop alternatives I know of.
    - Apple's OS X (much much much bettert han Windows)
    - KDE (on Linux or BSD or ...)
    - Gnome (again, Linux, BSD, ...)

  20. Macs are NOT much more expensive than brand name on Red Hat's CEO Suggests Windows For Home Users · · Score: 1

    I guess this kind of comparison is what makes the MACs seem much more expensive :). Yes, I know I can build a 'white box' for much less, even more so if I only put in there what I care for.

    However, I canNOT get a brand name (Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM,...) machine for much less than an Apple. There might be a small price differential (Apple 10-20% more expensive than PC), but it is NOt huge.

    Most people buy brand name. Apple is not a bad deal for most people. (Of course, I build my own, so they are terribly expensive for me, which sucks cause I like them :), however, If i ever buy a laptop it will probably be an iBook)

  21. Re:Opportunity knocks on EU Publishes Open Source Migration Guidelines · · Score: 1

    Actually, OpenOffice can serve as a replacement for access. It suports forms and reports, and links to either SQL servers (MySQL, PostgreSQL), ODBC, or an embedded one (SQL Lite?)

  22. Re:Birthday Wish on Happy 3rd Birthday To OpenOffice.org · · Score: 1

    It is OpenOffice.org, because somebody else had trademarked the name OpenOffice :)

    check:
    http://www.openoffice.org/FAQs/faq-other .html#6

  23. Try Linux edutainment, and dual boot :) on Top 10 Software Titles Every Home PC Needs? · · Score: 1

    Wine is usable, but not very easy to set-up, and *some* programs will run, but not all. You may want to dual boot so they can use the ones that don't work.

    Also, keep in mind there are many Linux edutainment packages, most of them not as polished as the commercial ones but pretty good.

    Check Tux4Kids.org, the KDE edutainment, GCompris, (google is your friend :)

    I like TuxPaint and TuxType a lot. TuxType is the classic game to teach typing (several different variations etc), and TuxPaint is a painting program like KidPix etc; one nice thing about TuxPaint is you can easily add your own stamps (with your picture, or your dog)

    The selection is not great, but the games are free, and quite a few of them actually useful.

  24. Re:I would recommend some exercise on How Do You Get Work Done? · · Score: 1

    you need to take them ON A SINGLE DOSE ! (actually, it would probably not even fit on your stomach :).

    If you take them over one day, the caffeine on the first cup wears out (is eleiminated by your system) before the 20th gets in

  25. Re:StarOffice+Education on Special Edition Using Star Office 6.0 · · Score: 1

    I'd love to (it's lean and fast), but it does not support tables, last time I checked. I use tables a lot, even for 'simple' documents.