I don't know if there's anything wrong with what he's doing, legally speaking. Even less clear to me is whether it would be wrong for one student to buy them and then share them with the others (fair use).
One thing is for sure. He's a jerk. Let him do it and let the market forces play. Assuming those courses are taught by at least one other professor, word will get out and students will flock to the other(s). Unless there's something else that offsets the jerk factor.
Although I can't say he's doing anything wrong, per se, his attitude shows that he really doesn't get his profession, and that's a sad thing. Many students don't learn by going to class, they learn by absorbing and using the information taught. If you don't provide enough material for students to learn the basics on their own even if they miss class or fall asleep in class, (at least in the form of a decent recommended textbook) then you are failing your mission. If you believe for one minute that students learn more by frantically scribbling down useless notes that will be inconsistent, incomplete, illegible, and cause the student to miss out on the opportunity to digest and understand what the teacher is saying in class, then you are sorely deluded. I have learned far more in math/physics classes where I didn't have to take notes (because the teacher's provided notes or the book were sufficient). As a sophomore I noticed this effect and vowed not to become a slave to notes. I keep a notepad handy for the occasional gem or logistics, but I read the material (novel idea, I know) and go to class prepared, and then PAY ATTENTION. It's amazing how much more you learn when you're paying attention than when you're frantically scribbling whatever words are floating through the air.
"Now, the inventor of swarming has released a new technology called swarmstreaming that allows smooth progressive playback of content, skipping ahead, and random access without downloading the entire file."
I installed firefox on my inlaw's computer and made it the default browser. The next time I visited they had mild complaints about what's this firefox thing I'm so confused. I just shrugged my shoulders and said it's better. I would have put IE back as default if they asked, but they didn't, so I left it.
A couple of months later, the subject came up and my brother in law said "remember when he installed firefox? We were confused and mad but then we figured out it blocked popups and did this and that and it's awesome!"
So sometimes evading the issue while the software speaks for itself is the best course of action. Go on vacation or get "real busy at work".
> But regarding the Mormons and the Constitution and their plan to save America, I will stand behind that.
We have no plan to 'save America.' I speak as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, as a Utahn (presently), and an avid Linux user and developer. We do try to be involved in a positive way within communities, which I believe explains why the Unix Users Group is one of the largest clubs on BYU's campus.
Although the church has no apparent plans to 'save America,' official or otherwise, there have been quite a lot of statements from church leaders against the very sort of thing SCO is doing. (See Brigham Young quote in a sister message) Litigation as a pathway to fortune is, IMHO, hardly a moral activity and I'm sure our church doesn't stand alone in that opinion.
Give us some credit, or at least the benefit of the doubt.
How can you laud this kind of insult to music? I am utterly insulted by the idea that you could reduce a great art form like music to little numbers and digits.
So you're saying numbers, digits, and mathematics are devoid of all beauty and interest? As a computer scientist and accomplished musician, I am insulted by the idea that they are unrelated.
Would you say that nature is devoid of beauty and interest? That nature lacks creativity and soul? Why, the very digits and numbers you are attacking are in fact only mathematical descriptions of natural patterns found in every aspect of nature. Mathemeticians and their calculators (show me a calculator that could have done Newton's work) strive to describe and understand nature, as do all scientists. Invariably their research can only deepen our understanding and appreciation for the beauty around us.
I am an organist, and I am filled with a thrilling sensation when I play the music of J.S. Bach. Bach music is beautiful music. You obviously don't understand the intricacies and complexity of great music such as Bach's. If you did you would immediately see the relation between music and math, and the value of studying music in a scientific manner.
That said, you are right. Music is more than just equations and numbers. But the scientific study of music will ultimately only bring us more beautiful music. Even computer-generated music! You might argue that computer-generated music could never rival a true musician in performance and creativity. You might be right. (Data's recitals in Star Trek: The Next Generation come to mind) But as we listen to and recognize the differences and similarities, our appreciation for the music we get from the true musician can only be heightened!
As an example, I cite Dave Brubeck's classic album, Time Out. Go check it out from the library, or even better go buy it. Read what Dave, one of the greatest jazz musicians ever, has to say about music and math. Take Five, the most popular song from that album and one of the most popular jazz tunes ever, is basically a mathematical drum solo.
Please, do not let your ignorance of a subject close your mind. Historically the greatest obstacle to both music and science has been a closed mind.
Our first computer was an ATARI-800 which had basic on it. But (of all things) the limiting factor for programming on that thing was the dumb keyboard. You had to push hard on each key. But we did do some little programs. My dad would help us to write programs to do interesting things. (what they were I can't remember)
It all really started for me, though, when we got our first PC, an 8086. We learned GW-BASIC mostly by looking at games that were already written. (Back in those days you'll recall there were a lot of games written in BASIC) I was probably 8 or 9 when we wrote my/our first 'real' program. I think it actually started as a math and geometry discussion, which we decided we wanted to program into a program. With my dad's mathematical help we wrote a program in GW-BASIC to draw a square on the screen and then draw another rotated so many degrees and so on. Then we started hacking. We added colors, changing colors, had the squares change size up and down, added randomness, etc. etc. Hours of fun, from a very simple idea. In the same era I also had a lot of fun writing useful things like menus and so on to make it easy to launch my favorite games.
Visual feedback is important if they're very young. I agree LOGO is probably a great start if they're young. If I had kids now I would probably start with LOGO then Javascript/HTML, then move to Java applets and then make the essential leap to C++.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know if there's anything wrong with what he's doing, legally speaking. Even less clear to me is whether it would be wrong for one student to buy them and then share them with the others (fair use).
One thing is for sure. He's a jerk. Let him do it and let the market forces play. Assuming those courses are taught by at least one other professor, word will get out and students will flock to the other(s). Unless there's something else that offsets the jerk factor.
Although I can't say he's doing anything wrong, per se, his attitude shows that he really doesn't get his profession, and that's a sad thing. Many students don't learn by going to class, they learn by absorbing and using the information taught. If you don't provide enough material for students to learn the basics on their own even if they miss class or fall asleep in class, (at least in the form of a decent recommended textbook) then you are failing your mission. If you believe for one minute that students learn more by frantically scribbling down useless notes that will be inconsistent, incomplete, illegible, and cause the student to miss out on the opportunity to digest and understand what the teacher is saying in class, then you are sorely deluded. I have learned far more in math/physics classes where I didn't have to take notes (because the teacher's provided notes or the book were sufficient). As a sophomore I noticed this effect and vowed not to become a slave to notes. I keep a notepad handy for the occasional gem or logistics, but I read the material (novel idea, I know) and go to class prepared, and then PAY ATTENTION. It's amazing how much more you learn when you're paying attention than when you're frantically scribbling whatever words are floating through the air.
PhD Student, 3.7 GPA
That's nothing! I was Dear Johned by email back in 1995.
Oddly, I was ok with that.
"Now, the inventor of swarming has released a new technology called swarmstreaming that allows smooth progressive playback of content, skipping ahead, and random access without downloading the entire file."
Wow, He's releasing software now, is He?
I installed firefox on my inlaw's computer and made it the default browser. The next time I visited they had mild complaints about what's this firefox thing I'm so confused. I just shrugged my shoulders and said it's better. I would have put IE back as default if they asked, but they didn't, so I left it.
A couple of months later, the subject came up and my brother in law said "remember when he installed firefox? We were confused and mad but then we figured out it blocked popups and did this and that and it's awesome!"
So sometimes evading the issue while the software speaks for itself is the best course of action. Go on vacation or get "real busy at work".
> But regarding the Mormons and the Constitution and their plan to save America, I will stand behind that.
We have no plan to 'save America.' I speak as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, as a Utahn (presently), and an avid Linux user and developer. We do try to be involved in a positive way within communities, which I believe explains why the Unix Users Group is one of the largest clubs on BYU's campus.
Although the church has no apparent plans to 'save America,' official or otherwise, there have been quite a lot of statements from church leaders against the very sort of thing SCO is doing. (See Brigham Young quote in a sister message) Litigation as a pathway to fortune is, IMHO, hardly a moral activity and I'm sure our church doesn't stand alone in that opinion.
Give us some credit, or at least the benefit of the doubt.
So you're saying numbers, digits, and mathematics are devoid of all beauty and interest? As a computer scientist and accomplished musician, I am insulted by the idea that they are unrelated.
Would you say that nature is devoid of beauty and interest? That nature lacks creativity and soul? Why, the very digits and numbers you are attacking are in fact only mathematical descriptions of natural patterns found in every aspect of nature. Mathemeticians and their calculators (show me a calculator that could have done Newton's work) strive to describe and understand nature, as do all scientists. Invariably their research can only deepen our understanding and appreciation for the beauty around us.
I am an organist, and I am filled with a thrilling sensation when I play the music of J.S. Bach. Bach music is beautiful music. You obviously don't understand the intricacies and complexity of great music such as Bach's. If you did you would immediately see the relation between music and math, and the value of studying music in a scientific manner.
That said, you are right. Music is more than just equations and numbers. But the scientific study of music will ultimately only bring us more beautiful music. Even computer-generated music! You might argue that computer-generated music could never rival a true musician in performance and creativity. You might be right. (Data's recitals in Star Trek: The Next Generation come to mind) But as we listen to and recognize the differences and similarities, our appreciation for the music we get from the true musician can only be heightened!
As an example, I cite Dave Brubeck's classic album, Time Out. Go check it out from the library, or even better go buy it. Read what Dave, one of the greatest jazz musicians ever, has to say about music and math. Take Five, the most popular song from that album and one of the most popular jazz tunes ever, is basically a mathematical drum solo.
Please, do not let your ignorance of a subject close your mind. Historically the greatest obstacle to both music and science has been a closed mind.
It all really started for me, though, when we got our first PC, an 8086. We learned GW-BASIC mostly by looking at games that were already written. (Back in those days you'll recall there were a lot of games written in BASIC) I was probably 8 or 9 when we wrote my/our first 'real' program. I think it actually started as a math and geometry discussion, which we decided we wanted to program into a program. With my dad's mathematical help we wrote a program in GW-BASIC to draw a square on the screen and then draw another rotated so many degrees and so on. Then we started hacking. We added colors, changing colors, had the squares change size up and down, added randomness, etc. etc. Hours of fun, from a very simple idea. In the same era I also had a lot of fun writing useful things like menus and so on to make it easy to launch my favorite games.
Visual feedback is important if they're very young. I agree LOGO is probably a great start if they're young. If I had kids now I would probably start with LOGO then Javascript/HTML, then move to Java applets and then make the essential leap to C++.