Private school perhaps? One of the worst things about state schools is they teach facts not critical thinking.
I call BS.
My 14yo daughter is taking history at a state school and the very first thing they learn is how to separate the wheat from the chaffe in written anecdotes from the past. For instance, they're taught to question why someone might have a particular bias against another segment of the community. They're taught how such a bias could have arisen as a result of previous events. Yes, specific aspects/eras of history are examined (it is after all impossible to teach everything) but at the same time, the fundamental framework of understanding history is also being instilled. I don't recall the same emphasis being pushed when I was at high school in the '80s.
Similarly, in biology they are taught the elements of experimental techniques such as control groups and sampling theory and how to minimise errors. The concept of 'tolerance' and 'significance' in reported data is also examined.
I'm really happy with the standard of education both my daughters are getting in the UK. It's up to them to make the most of it.
My kids have known how to use a phone (landline first, cellphone later) from about the age of 6. I don't think even I, as a forty-something geek with an electronic engineering degree, could tell you many of the details of how a modern digital telephone system operates. We only need a tiny fraction of the population to understand these things. We need a greater fraction of the population to support and maintain the infrastructure of the telephone system.
A navigation system is usually mounted in a head-up location, though. Moving your eyes down to the centre console in a moving car to find navigation info is truly wide-screen surround-sound epic fail. Tactile knobs and switches are also much better for things like AC, demisters, etc from both a useability and safety point of view. This was a bad idea when I was studying ergonomics in the early '80s. It's still a bad idea today.
Teaching them how to admin a linux VM would be more useful.
That's one end node of the tree of knowledge that is computer science / IT. Far better to teach kids how to research and in what situations Wiki and Google are invaluable.
Like anything else in life, kids learn more by observing the actions of the people important to them, than by what they might say.
If dad is helping with a homework assignment and his first instinct is to go to Wikipedia, then that behaviour will be picked up on. A generation ago, adults might have looked up the family encyclopedia or gone down to the local library to get info. Now, that course of action might seem like the 'proper', old-skool way to go about things but just consider how limited those resources truly were; For historical events and people, the family encyclopedia would be pretty useful but for information about new technology or current affairs, it'd be obsolete almost as soon as it's printed. It's the same with library books.
Consider also that you can find websites dedicated to the most arcane subjects - subjects which would not make for a commercially viable printed book and so could never be found in ANY reference library, never mind a local one.
If a parent is skeptical and knows a little bit about research and authorative references, then that'll be picked up on too. A curious child will wonder what makes one reference trustworthy and useful where another might be biased and worthless. At that point, an adult can explain what to look out for and - BINGO ! - a new life skill has been nurtured.
Hell, if I'm looking for info on a subject new to me, my first ports of call are almost always Wiki and Google. Wiki will give you a useful overview and links to more in-depth definitions. It'll also give you a good source of key words for typing into Google.
Say I wanted to know about the Crimean War. At this moment in time, it's honestly nothing to me other than a name. I think it happened in the 19th Century, but that's about it. This is all serious, not a hypothetical example:
I go to Wiki and now know that it was fought between the Russian Empire and a western alliance consisting of UK, France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. It lasted from Oct 1853 to Feb 1856. It was considered to be the first 'modern' conflict. Significant names to research further: "Tsar Nicholas I", "Count Karl Nesselrode", "Sir George Hamilton Seymour", "Constantinople", "Turkey", "Crimean Peninsula", "Baltic Sea", "Holy Land", "Telegraph", "Minié Ball", "Florence Nightingale". Google can supply all sorts of leads from these phrases, either alone or combined.
OK, so don't treat it as a primary source of info (and for Bog's sake don't EVER put it in your list of references) but as a launchpad for your initial investigation, Wikipedia is without equal.
My home desktop has 512Mb RAM and a Celeron D as a processor (ie, not cutting-edge). I run:
Windows XP fully patched with automatic updates from MS. No 3rd party AV (just use Limited User Accounts and you'll be safe as houses).
So long as you don't install tons of crap, basic Windows XP is a snappy, responsive and consistent OS. Chances are your wife already knows how to change desktop background, change volume, start program x, etc. No learning curve whatsoever. Other posters have told you what you need to know about hibernation. You can get OpenOffice.org for Windows. Job's a good 'un. Every piece of hardware you might currently own or wish to buy in the future will run with Windows. This is, ahem, not always the case with Linux - be prepared to have to fiddle with stuff.
I also dual-boot with Ubuntu. I like Ubuntu for several things - copying DVD's without having to fork out for AnyDVD, the Synaptic Package Manager - the biggest free-as-in-beer software catalogue in the worrrrrrrrrrrld, the choice of filesystems.
However, I don't see any real difference in performance or boot times on either OS. For that reason, I'm reticent to advise installing Linux to be a magic bullet for boot time woes. If you're looking for an excuse to try a flavour of Linux on the other hand, be my guest. Oh, and I tried Xubuntu but it didn't have much of a performance advantage compared to Ubuntu.
I also run Puppy Linux and have found it to be incredibly responsive, even on old hardware. You can run it off a live CD to see how compatible it is with your machine and you can even store the boot file on the file system of an NTFS-formatted disk (so you don't need to go through a lengthy partition/install phase if you want it permanently available as a boot option). I personally like SeaMonkey (the default browser in Puppy), though it's not to everyone's taste.
As the title implies though, I'd stick with streamlining Windows and getting used to hibernating rather than shutting down. Sometimes, the path of least resistance can in fact be the optimal solution (which is what every geek worthy of the name should choose).
Heavy number-crunching is inherently suited to parallelization. Once you have a desktop scenario with human-computer interaction, accurately predicting the next required 'work package' becomes several orders of magnitude harder.
I'd have to look it up (but I'm lazy) but I believe that sound card has a lot of midi functions onboard. So theoretically if he wanted to use his computer to run some techno it could!:)
The late '80s call - they want their music tech back.
Seriously, dude. Everything is done in software these days. It's only a retro purist anorak who'd run multiple hardware boxes off a physical MIDI connection. Is there a version of Pro24 that'll run under Windows 2008 ?
Slashdot Mirror
Private school perhaps? One of the worst things about state schools is they teach facts not critical thinking.
I call BS.
My 14yo daughter is taking history at a state school and the very first thing they learn is how to separate the wheat from the chaffe in written anecdotes from the past. For instance, they're taught to question why someone might have a particular bias against another segment of the community. They're taught how such a bias could have arisen as a result of previous events. Yes, specific aspects/eras of history are examined (it is after all impossible to teach everything) but at the same time, the fundamental framework of understanding history is also being instilled. I don't recall the same emphasis being pushed when I was at high school in the '80s.
Similarly, in biology they are taught the elements of experimental techniques such as control groups and sampling theory and how to minimise errors. The concept of 'tolerance' and 'significance' in reported data is also examined.
I'm really happy with the standard of education both my daughters are getting in the UK. It's up to them to make the most of it.
"Lance Armstrong informed the public that it may miss the Giro using this novely service, Twitter".
Why would anyone forget to pick up their dole cheque after using Twitter ?
Most teachers don't have this facility, and so are incapable of teaching it.
[Citation needed]
My kids have known how to use a phone (landline first, cellphone later) from about the age of 6. I don't think even I, as a forty-something geek with an electronic engineering degree, could tell you many of the details of how a modern digital telephone system operates. We only need a tiny fraction of the population to understand these things. We need a greater fraction of the population to support and maintain the infrastructure of the telephone system.
"..and the Wicihta lineman is still on the line".
the stupid car turns on, wasting gas
In a Tesla ?
A navigation system is usually mounted in a head-up location, though. Moving your eyes down to the centre console in a moving car to find navigation info is truly wide-screen surround-sound epic fail. Tactile knobs and switches are also much better for things like AC, demisters, etc from both a useability and safety point of view. This was a bad idea when I was studying ergonomics in the early '80s. It's still a bad idea today.
the 11 year old girl who wants to meet them in a quiet street at 9pm alone probably shouldn't be trusted.
Shit, now you tell me ! :(
"Idiocray" ? Is that a really dumb 1970s supercomputer ?
Teaching them how to admin a linux VM would be more useful.
That's one end node of the tree of knowledge that is computer science / IT. Far better to teach kids how to research and in what situations Wiki and Google are invaluable.
Like anything else in life, kids learn more by observing the actions of the people important to them, than by what they might say.
If dad is helping with a homework assignment and his first instinct is to go to Wikipedia, then that behaviour will be picked up on. A generation ago, adults might have looked up the family encyclopedia or gone down to the local library to get info. Now, that course of action might seem like the 'proper', old-skool way to go about things but just consider how limited those resources truly were; For historical events and people, the family encyclopedia would be pretty useful but for information about new technology or current affairs, it'd be obsolete almost as soon as it's printed. It's the same with library books.
Consider also that you can find websites dedicated to the most arcane subjects - subjects which would not make for a commercially viable printed book and so could never be found in ANY reference library, never mind a local one.
If a parent is skeptical and knows a little bit about research and authorative references, then that'll be picked up on too. A curious child will wonder what makes one reference trustworthy and useful where another might be biased and worthless. At that point, an adult can explain what to look out for and - BINGO ! - a new life skill has been nurtured.
Hell, if I'm looking for info on a subject new to me, my first ports of call are almost always Wiki and Google. Wiki will give you a useful overview and links to more in-depth definitions. It'll also give you a good source of key words for typing into Google.
Say I wanted to know about the Crimean War. At this moment in time, it's honestly nothing to me other than a name. I think it happened in the 19th Century, but that's about it. This is all serious, not a hypothetical example:
I go to Wiki and now know that it was fought between the Russian Empire and a western alliance consisting of UK, France, Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire. It lasted from Oct 1853 to Feb 1856. It was considered to be the first 'modern' conflict. Significant names to research further: "Tsar Nicholas I", "Count Karl Nesselrode", "Sir George Hamilton Seymour", "Constantinople", "Turkey", "Crimean Peninsula", "Baltic Sea", "Holy Land", "Telegraph", "Minié Ball", "Florence Nightingale". Google can supply all sorts of leads from these phrases, either alone or combined.
OK, so don't treat it as a primary source of info (and for Bog's sake don't EVER put it in your list of references) but as a launchpad for your initial investigation, Wikipedia is without equal.
I'd suggest you watch it on the TV when and if it ever happens.
The revolution will not be televised.
Hopefully intuition doesn't tell her to bone the mailman
Hey, I'm their mailman, you insensitive clod !
My home desktop has 512Mb RAM and a Celeron D as a processor (ie, not cutting-edge). I run:
Windows XP fully patched with automatic updates from MS. No 3rd party AV (just use Limited User Accounts and you'll be safe as houses).
So long as you don't install tons of crap, basic Windows XP is a snappy, responsive and consistent OS. Chances are your wife already knows how to change desktop background, change volume, start program x, etc. No learning curve whatsoever. Other posters have told you what you need to know about hibernation. You can get OpenOffice.org for Windows. Job's a good 'un. Every piece of hardware you might currently own or wish to buy in the future will run with Windows. This is, ahem, not always the case with Linux - be prepared to have to fiddle with stuff.
I also dual-boot with Ubuntu. I like Ubuntu for several things - copying DVD's without having to fork out for AnyDVD, the Synaptic Package Manager - the biggest free-as-in-beer software catalogue in the worrrrrrrrrrrld, the choice of filesystems.
However, I don't see any real difference in performance or boot times on either OS. For that reason, I'm reticent to advise installing Linux to be a magic bullet for boot time woes. If you're looking for an excuse to try a flavour of Linux on the other hand, be my guest. Oh, and I tried Xubuntu but it didn't have much of a performance advantage compared to Ubuntu.
I also run Puppy Linux and have found it to be incredibly responsive, even on old hardware. You can run it off a live CD to see how compatible it is with your machine and you can even store the boot file on the file system of an NTFS-formatted disk (so you don't need to go through a lengthy partition/install phase if you want it permanently available as a boot option). I personally like SeaMonkey (the default browser in Puppy), though it's not to everyone's taste.
As the title implies though, I'd stick with streamlining Windows and getting used to hibernating rather than shutting down. Sometimes, the path of least resistance can in fact be the optimal solution (which is what every geek worthy of the name should choose).
That's f***ed up. SRSLY. First multiple tabs and now an Awesome Bar in the file manager ? Sounds like a solution looking for a problem, if you ask me.
Im in yr brrrreowser nomming on yr megahurtz.
The cost of working around a bug that you can't fix.
As opposed to the cost of diagnosing/fixing it in the source then recompiling/debugging. I can guess which cost is lower.
The cost of interoperating with other people because you can't just give them a copy of the program you use.
But you can tell them the work-around that you figured out in half an hour (see above).
The cost of upgrading because you need a bug fix that is only in the new version.
The cost of upgrading a Web App ? The ones we're talking about are all free-as-in-beer.
The cost of migration to a new platform later.
I thought Javascript was supposed to be platform-independent ?
The cost of depending on a third party beyond your control with a monopoly on being able to modify software you use.
Their loss - if a web app's useful in a general sense, someone else will come along and create one to pick up your custom.
Heavy number-crunching is inherently suited to parallelization. Once you have a desktop scenario with human-computer interaction, accurately predicting the next required 'work package' becomes several orders of magnitude harder.
In much the same manner that two women cannot between them have a baby in 4.5 months.
Maybe not, but I'd pay good money to watch them attempt it.
Do some research on what they did to the women of a Nigerian village who objected to having oil tar poured on their fields.
Every time I try to Google it, it keeps coming back to your posting. Put me out of my misery - what DID they do (With citation, please) ?
Think fast, he's taking all your time
Well, that's two minutes of my time I won't be getting back.
Seeing as you don't live here, and managed to crash your car here -twice-
Double dumb-ass on you !
I'd have to look it up (but I'm lazy) but I believe that sound card has a lot of midi functions onboard. So theoretically if he wanted to use his computer to run some techno it could! :)
The late '80s call - they want their music tech back.
Seriously, dude. Everything is done in software these days. It's only a retro purist anorak who'd run multiple hardware boxes off a physical MIDI connection. Is there a version of Pro24 that'll run under Windows 2008 ?
Unique as in completely unique
As opposed to slightly unique ?
stunted by throttling
Is this an example of the 'extreme p0rn' that currently has the UK.gov in such a tizzy ?
I, for one, welcome our new underground overlords.
Best string of Simpsons references. Ever.
I thought he was talking about The Wombles.