> Have you ever been to a poor school? HUGE
> class size, not enough money, bad teachers,
> parents who cant afford to care for their kids
> cause the government cut off their welfare....
> how are some computers gonna help??
A significant number of bright students will get hooked by the computers. They will stay after school exploring/experimenting/hacking/learning. Compared to their peers who hung out at the mall or the basketball courts, these students are far less likely to end up flipping burgers, and far more likely to be employed in an IT job.
Ofcourse this is dependant on the teachers actually letting the kids use the computers. I know when I was in elementary school the teachers were so scared that someone might break their Apple ][s that they were kept off-limits to everyone. Completely defeated the purpose of them.
> I was reading the poll and it seems as though
> some people have networks in their houses with
> a dozen computers! How can there be any
> conceivable need for this many computers in
> one household?
My wife's iMac.
My wife's laptop.
Our daughter's computer.
Our son's computer.
My Linux box.
My Windows box.
My PalmPilot
The webserver with webcam.
An old 386 used for misc experiments.
A lovingly restored 6805 from my youth.
An unused VIC-20.
The firewall to connect the network to the Internet.
The best teacher I've ever had was a highschool computer science teacher who discovered after the first class that his students knew far more about the subject than he did. So instead of blindly plowing through the course (the way all the other teachers had), he told us to build/code something cool by the end of the year. Then he stepped out of the way.
I've never seen students work so hard in my life. By the end of the year we'd designed built robots, a sound card, a TV capture card, a digital flute, at least one operating system, and more software than I can count.
Never underestimate the power of letting a knowledgable class forge for themselves. The results can be spectacular.
also, this would not technically be cheating on Mrs. Torvalds, since it would really
be me inside the Finnish Love Machine**.
** I don't think anyone has ever put the words "Love," "Machine" and "Finnish" in that particular order before, certainly
not in this context.
> They don't learn like humans do, but a (three
> layer) neural net can express *any* function.
So can a lookup table.
And just like a lookup table, an 'n'-layer neural network can't do itteration, counting or any other looping construct.
Don't get me wrong, neural networks can do itteration brilliantly. But not when they are shoehorned into 'n'-layer configurations for the benefit of external training programs.
One fiction that you will hear over and over again is that neural networks learn. Sadly, they do no such thing.
The "back propagation", "delta rule" or whatever else that is being used is an external program that edits the strengths of some of the connections in the net.
Neural networks are merely an obfuscated programming language that is basic enough that it can be tweaked by a watchdog program that is keeping an eye on its results. Beware of getting caught up in the hype.
> How exactly do longitudal coords get adjusted
> for contenential drive, I mean, Greenwich is
> slowly moving away from France. Even the poles
> move slowly.
Not a problem for handheld GPS units. Consider that the average unit only has an accuracy of 100 meters, and the average continent is moving at around 10cm/year, it would take several centuries before a casual observer would notice this.
My list of peves is very similar, but also includes click here links. When one glances at a webpage the links stand out. So one can usually just scan down and find the link one wants. But this doesn't work when the text that stands out is click here, click here and click here.
Re:Silly question about vacuums
on
Going Up?
·
· Score: 2
> I don't know about you, but last time I checked
> space was a vacuum. If we put a platform in
> orbit that had an elevator going from earth to
> outside our gravity well wouldn't it serve as a
> tube to just suck our atmosphere out into space?
That is exactly like saying that if I drop a drinking straw into a glass of water, the water in the glass will spontaneously shoot out the top of the straw and empty the glass. Clearly that would never happen with a straw that was 50 cm long, why would it suddenly happen if the straw were 32000km long?
> Frankly, I would think that the author of that
> website would be happy to have something that
> was dangerous and already here to be shipped
> out into eternity.
Negative. The Plutonium was not already here. Plutonium has a rather short half-life (100 years?) which means that any naturally occurring Plutonium which was created along with the Earth is long long gone.
All the Plutonium we play with is transmuted from Uranium in atomic reactors.
In the long term, both sides of any conflict will be using unmanned vehicles. It would seem to me that this would turn future wars into glorified versions of the BBC show Robot Wars. Wars wouldn't be such a bad thing any more.
The wording of the article isn't very precise. Did this he just calculate the quadrillionth binary digit, or did he compute all the digits up to and including the quadrillionth digit? The former would be interesting, the latter would be useful.
How do you know that super novae aren't the results of alien wars?
There is a lot we don't understand about the universe. It might be that some of the strange things we see going bump in the cosmic night are the work of intelligence.
Who needs AltaVista? Two months ago Freeserve launched their unmetered service. I've been using it since day one, and I have had no problems whatsoever.
>Also, where the *heck* do businesses have >massively parallel problems in everyday life. >this is a *very* specialized thing. >I just dont see it coming.
I suppose fifty years ago you were of the opinion that there is a world market for maybe five computers?
Be very cautious about writing off powerfull technology because you can't see a need for it.
Other than that, it's also way easier to use a manual that I can keep open to relevent pages while I'm programming on the system. I guess a two-monitor set-up might work, but... it's just not the same.
You've hit the nail on the head. I used to prefer printed documentation because it allowed me to look at the docs and the offending program at the same time. Then I bought a second monitor, and my preferences are now quite the opposite.
The advantages of online documentation are:
Searchable.
Copy and paste examples straight into the application.
Follow the trail of purple links to see where you've been before (one could do this with books, but I don't like mutilating/marking them)
Link out to relevant web sites.
Download the latest changes and updates.
Always available, your co-workers haven't 'borrowed' it.
Results in cheaper software since I'm not paying for a dead tree.
Offtopic: The one thing that really annoys me about most documentation (printed or online), is that there is frequently no introductory text telling you what this product is for. It is irritating to find a piece of software called "GrokMaster 2000" and look at docs, and find the functionality of everything spelled out in minute detail, yet be totally mystified as to what the program is actually for.
Mike Shaver is the guy who got me my first computer-related job many years ago when were were both in Canada. When he says something, people listen. Very cool guy.
You know you've hit the big-time when your employment status gets reported on Slashdot...
How long before someborg discovers a new business opportunity and sets up:
The Church of Micosoftology
Imagine, a whole series of yearly upgrades, each one costing massive amounts of money. Hoards of high-priced lawyers defending the org from any who would oppose it.
Slashdot Mirror
Uhm, what was this article about? I forgot.
> class size, not enough money, bad teachers,
> parents who cant afford to care for their kids
> cause the government cut off their welfare....
> how are some computers gonna help??
A significant number of bright students will get hooked by the computers. They will stay after school exploring/experimenting/hacking/learning. Compared to their peers who hung out at the mall or the basketball courts, these students are far less likely to end up flipping burgers, and far more likely to be employed in an IT job.
Ofcourse this is dependant on the teachers actually letting the kids use the computers. I know when I was in elementary school the teachers were so scared that someone might break their Apple ][s that they were kept off-limits to everyone. Completely defeated the purpose of them.
> some people have networks in their houses with
> a dozen computers! How can there be any
> conceivable need for this many computers in
> one household?
- My wife's iMac.
- My wife's laptop.
- Our daughter's computer.
- Our son's computer.
- My Linux box.
- My Windows box.
- My PalmPilot
- The webserver with webcam.
- An old 386 used for misc experiments.
- A lovingly restored 6805 from my youth.
- An unused VIC-20.
- The firewall to connect the network to the Internet.
You have a problem with this?I saw one of these in a computer store four years ago. It had a crank that could be used to ajust it from totally flat to totally vertical.
A quick scan through dmoz's keyboard list returns lots of examples of vertical keyboards. Like this one.
I've never seen students work so hard in my life. By the end of the year we'd designed built robots, a sound card, a TV capture card, a digital flute, at least one operating system, and more software than I can count.
Never underestimate the power of letting a knowledgable class forge for themselves. The results can be spectacular.
Computer science is still immature for its barely 80 years, [...]. Who knows what the next 870 years will bring?
870 years eh? My guess is that the 2.6 kernel might be out by then...
** I don't think anyone has ever put the words "Love," "Machine" and "Finnish" in that particular order before, certainly not in this context.
A quick Google search shows prior use:
http://members.tripod.co.uk/insasux2/rogues.html
> They don't learn like humans do, but a (three
> layer) neural net can express *any* function.
So can a lookup table.
And just like a lookup table, an 'n'-layer neural network can't do itteration, counting or any other looping construct.
Don't get me wrong, neural networks can do itteration brilliantly. But not when they are shoehorned into 'n'-layer configurations for the benefit of external training programs.
The "back propagation", "delta rule" or whatever else that is being used is an external program that edits the strengths of some of the connections in the net.
Neural networks are merely an obfuscated programming language that is basic enough that it can be tweaked by a watchdog program that is keeping an eye on its results. Beware of getting caught up in the hype.
> How exactly do longitudal coords get adjusted
> for contenential drive, I mean, Greenwich is
> slowly moving away from France. Even the poles
> move slowly.
Not a problem for handheld GPS units. Consider that the average unit only has an accuracy of 100 meters, and the average continent is moving at around 10cm/year, it would take several centuries before a casual observer would notice this.
Good list.
My list of peves is very similar, but also includes click here links. When one glances at a webpage the links stand out. So one can usually just scan down and find the link one wants. But this doesn't work when the text that stands out is click here, click here and click here.
click here for Slashdot,
vs
Visit Slashdot.
> I don't know about you, but last time I checked
> space was a vacuum. If we put a platform in
> orbit that had an elevator going from earth to
> outside our gravity well wouldn't it serve as a
> tube to just suck our atmosphere out into space?
That is exactly like saying that if I drop a drinking straw into a glass of water, the water in the glass will spontaneously shoot out the top of the straw and empty the glass. Clearly that would never happen with a straw that was 50 cm long, why would it suddenly happen if the straw were 32000km long?
> I wouldn't say my boss has a temper, but I'm
> still digging out the shrapnel from the wall
> from computer equiptment that upset my boss.
Erm, which would you rather encounter unexpectedly: a high-speed air-borne mouse made of plastic, or a high-speed air-borne mouse made of titanium?
All the Plutonium we play with is transmuted from Uranium in atomic reactors.
In the long term, both sides of any conflict will be using unmanned vehicles. It would seem to me that this would turn future wars into glorified versions of the BBC show Robot Wars. Wars wouldn't be such a bad thing any more.
The wording of the article isn't very precise. Did this he just calculate the quadrillionth binary digit, or did he compute all the digits up to and including the quadrillionth digit? The former would be interesting, the latter would be useful.
> enough resistance to keep the boots level and
> counter the weight of the wearer.
Yes, it's called a human-wishbone machine. One programming mistake and it will rip you in half - right up the middle.
Any servo that is capable of solidly supporting my weight while jogging or kicking, would also be able to do damage ratable at PG-13.
"Tea, Earl Grey, hot!"
How do you know that super novae aren't the results of alien wars?
There is a lot we don't understand about the universe. It might be that some of the strange things we see going bump in the cosmic night are the work of intelligence.
Now all the UK needs is ADSL connections...
Be very cautious about writing off powerfull technology because you can't see a need for it.
How could they have left out ROT13?
The advantages of online documentation are:
- Searchable.
- Copy and paste examples straight into the application.
- Follow the trail of purple links to see where you've been before (one could do this with books, but I don't like mutilating/marking them)
- Link out to relevant web sites.
- Download the latest changes and updates.
- Always available, your co-workers haven't 'borrowed' it.
- Results in cheaper software since I'm not paying for a dead tree.
Offtopic: The one thing that really annoys me about most documentation (printed or online), is that there is frequently no introductory text telling you what this product is for. It is irritating to find a piece of software called "GrokMaster 2000" and look at docs, and find the functionality of everything spelled out in minute detail, yet be totally mystified as to what the program is actually for.You know you've hit the big-time when your employment status gets reported on Slashdot...
How long before someborg discovers a new business opportunity and sets up:
- The Church of Micosoftology
Imagine, a whole series of yearly upgrades, each one costing massive amounts of money. Hoards of high-priced lawyers defending the org from any who would oppose it.Wouldn't that be terrible...