I've signed up for lots of MOOCs just to check out what is being covered, or what has changed since I took a class in college. I've also finished a couple of MOOCS that I thought were useful. I've also registered for MOOCs just so I can download the course materials to go over someday when I have spare time. I wouldn't count the times I didn't participate and finish the course as failures, I was just using the class in a different way.
I like to see comments describing the data structures. If I know what variables mean it's usually not too hard to figure out what a piece of code does. It's much harder to do it the other way around.
In fact, it doesn't matter how you tweak the iteration paramaters. There doesn't seem to be any convergence involved. That is, the numbers _dont_ change when F9 is pressed.
OK, I re-installed star-office and re-did my test case.
A simpe test case that shows my problems with StarOffice's spreadsheet
is a column of calculations in which every cell is the average of the
two neighboring cells. Iteration must be turned on, and the values
should rapidly settle into values evenly distributed between the two
end points. Using Excel (ver. 5, under WABI), I have to hit re-calc
once or twice to get beyond the trailing 9s after the decimal point,
but for practical purposes, it hits good values after the first
calculation. Star office, on the other hand, never gets any closer
than the numbers shown.
Before Star Office talks about taking on Microsoft Office, they should get the spreadsheet to give correct results. As it is now, I'd rather use Visicalc with an Apple ][ emulator.
Just call up an organization who's work you support and ask them if there's any way you can help out. Most smaller places would really appreciate having a computer savvy person around to help out.
What bugs me about my local paper is how old all the news in it is. If I hear about something over the internet or on the radio on Monday, it will be Wednesday before it makes it into the paper. On the other hand, the internet doesn't have the local advertisements and coupons.
As the internet becomes more pervasive, the local newspaper is going to become a medium for the distribution of supermarket coupons and features like comics and crossword puzzles. For news, on line services have many advantages.
The Beach Boys came out with Pet Sounds a year before Sgt. Peppers was released. If you want to point at a ground breaking album, Pet Sounds deserves it more than Sgt. Peppers.
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I've signed up for lots of MOOCs just to check out what is being covered, or what has changed since I took a class in college. I've also finished a couple of MOOCS that I thought were useful. I've also registered for MOOCs just so I can download the course materials to go over someday when I have spare time. I wouldn't count the times I didn't participate and finish the course as failures, I was just using the class in a different way.
I like to see comments describing the data structures. If I know what variables mean it's usually not too hard to figure out what a piece of code does. It's much harder to do it the other way around.
Bzzzt!
Go ahead, give it a try.
In fact, it doesn't matter how you tweak the iteration paramaters. There doesn't seem to be any convergence involved. That is, the numbers _dont_ change when F9 is pressed.
OK, I re-installed star-office and re-did my test case.
A simpe test case that shows my problems with StarOffice's spreadsheet
is a column of calculations in which every cell is the average of the
two neighboring cells. Iteration must be turned on, and the values
should rapidly settle into values evenly distributed between the two
end points. Using Excel (ver. 5, under WABI), I have to hit re-calc
once or twice to get beyond the trailing 9s after the decimal point,
but for practical purposes, it hits good values after the first
calculation. Star office, on the other hand, never gets any closer
than the numbers shown.
Star Office Excel
Results: Formulas Results
3 0.0 0 0
4 0.17 (B3+B5)/2 0.25
5 0.33 (B4+B6)/2 0.5
6 0.67 (B5+B7)/2 0.75
7 1.0 1.0 1.0
Before Star Office talks about taking on Microsoft Office, they should get the spreadsheet to give correct results. As it is now, I'd rather use Visicalc with an Apple ][ emulator.
I encourage everyone to watch Kind Hearts and Coronets. A great, if funny, film.
Just call up an organization who's work you support and ask them if there's any way you can help out. Most smaller places would really appreciate having a computer savvy person around to help out.
What bugs me about my local paper is how old all the news in it is. If I hear about something over the internet or on the radio on Monday, it will be Wednesday before it makes it into the paper. On the other hand, the internet doesn't have the local advertisements and coupons.
As the internet becomes more pervasive, the local newspaper is going to become a medium for the distribution of supermarket coupons and features like comics and crossword puzzles. For news, on line services have many advantages.
The Beach Boys came out with Pet Sounds a year before Sgt. Peppers was released. If you want to point at a ground breaking album, Pet Sounds deserves it more than Sgt. Peppers.