After working in labs in academic and corporate environments for a few years and coming to terms with the limits of my memory, I advise people to keep a lab notebook mindset. First off, I recommend lab notebooks. Log what you are working on at a high level day to day. It gets you in the habit of writing about what you are doing. When you save large data files it begins to feel natural to add a little text file saying what the data is, how you made the data, and other comments. Sometimes it is not practical to have all this information saved automatically by the test software itself because you may have a comment like, "Due to time constraints I didn't let the system warm up the standard 60minutes before gathering data, but starting the testing immediately. This will likely add 2-5% error according to the equipment manual."
Keeping notes on paper, computer, "in the cloud" all works, as long as you actually make it a habit. It's not old-fashioned. It's not inefficient. Don't let people rush you into skimping on taking notes.
I think the idea of a "paperless" office is a bit extreme. Lots of people have reduced the amount of paper they use in the office, and I think this trend will continue. Going truly "paperless" strikes me as either a buzzword not to be taken seriously, or a perfectionist's notion of how a modern office should be. I've notice my boss talks of having "gone paperless" and indeed I see very little paperwork in in office, but I do notice him aways keeping a small notebook in his shirt pocket. He's a wise man.
I commute between Seattle and Redmond on the #545 bus used mostly by Microsoft employees and contractors. Often I notice that most of the passengers are using their cell phones during the bus ride. My guess is that looking around the bus gives me a pretty good sense of what phones are popular on the MS campus. Yes, many many iPhones. More iPhones than Windows Mobile phones. I notice some people have both a Windows Mobile phone and an iPhone. I am starting the see lots of Android phones however. It will be interesting to see what happens when Windows Mobile 7 comes out.
Of course there is lots of non-MS software which is used extensively at Microsoft. Labview, Matlab, and JMP are all used a great deal because there are no real MS equivalents. I've never noticed any non-Office productivity suites being used by my coworkers, but that is probably because Office works well enough, and the latest version is always available for employees.
You could have the best of both worlds. Block ads, but send money to websites you like. You don't have to worry about ads, and the sites will have a revenue stream from you.
I can't yell at you, but I want to. So you've never tripped over something left on the floor in your home? You've never had a misstep because you were distracted? Basically you called this girl a stupid bitch because she was distracted by her phone and fell into an open manhole, and therefore she shouldn't reproduce. Someone left a manhole cover off. That person is the one who deserves all the hate.
Actually nanotech is being used in cosmetics. It's real, and not just buzzwords. There is actually some concern about the lack of regulation of nanoparticles used in such products. Incorporating nanotechnology into cosmetics has been happening for many years now. http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/nanotech011105.cfm
In manufacturing prototyping is often done usng SLA systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography which often look rather precise at first glance, but when you actually need parts to fit together with any sort of precision, you realize that you're working with a rough prototyping tool. I suspect the Fab@home device is even rougher. If you plan to use a system like this, keep in mind that it's more like a rough 3D sketch transformed into reality using limited set of materials than a fine machine drawing fabricated with skill and accuracy. In short, don't even think about making Lego pieces. Expect to do lots of cleaning up, sanding, trimming. That being said, there will probably be a day when you will (if you need one) have a refined fabrication system on your desktop. It wasn't that long ago when desktop publishing was considered something of a joke to people in the printing industry, and digital photography used to be pathetic. So please, refine this machine and give us an amazing, inexpensive, precise, and fun to use fabrication machine.
I'm getting a worried about this assumption that Amazon customer service is always good. I have generally, but not always received excellent customer service from Amazon. I have at times had the impression of things not fully under control at Amazon. One rather comical situation arose when I ordered a book, and then a few days later was informed there would be a delay. OK...no problem. A couple of weeks later, another email, another delay on the same order. Amazon.com still had the book being sold as "shipping within 24hrs" so it all seemed weird. I decided to just cancel the order and buy the book from a local bookstore. But then the system told me it couldn't cancel the order because the book was being prepared for shipping. "Great!" I thought, soon I'm getting my book! Then I got another email saying my order as been delayed. I emailed customer service and they informed me all is well because they are preparing my book for shipping and I will receive it soon. A few days later I get another email saying my order has been delayed. I email customer service and explain the problem. I get a response saying that everything is OK, they're preparing my book to ship and I will receive it soon. I respond and say that I've been down this road before, and it's getting tiresome and I didn't believe that I was about to get my book. Sadly I couldn't reply to the same customer service, so it took a few emails to break this loop of customer service just checking my order status and responding that I have nothing to worry about because my book was about to be shipped.
At this point in time I already had a special little folder just for my many emails from amazon concerning this one order for one book. I decided to have customer service phone me. I ask customer service to cancel my order because their system constantly thinks my book is about to be shipped and won't let me cancel my order, but they explain they cannot cancel the order. They explain that I should probably order the book again and if I eventually end up with both orders going through, just return one the books. They offered to send me the book with free overnight shipping on a separate order. Nice! though I'm on Amazon Prime and I get free 2-day shipping anyway, but nice nevertheless.
I got my book the next day, and months later I got the book again via my orginal order. I think what was most annoying was having to re-explain things over and over. Often after explaining there was a technical problem with the order, they would then say "You can always check the status of your order by clicking the Your Account link" which I had just explained to them ALWAYS says that my order is about to ship. There was one point that a customer service rep wrote: > I sympathize with your frustration in this matter. However,please > understand that the information provided in our last message correctly > represents our policy at this time. > As my colleague previously mentioned, the shipment of your order is > still being delayed by a system error. This same error prevents us > from being able to cancel the order.
I asked what "policy" was in reference to, but didn't get a response, and I didn't really care at that point I suppose.
Mind you, I like using Amazon, I just don't believe their customer service is as perfect as is sometimes touted.
OK, I'll reply to this. I work in security in a high-rise, but I've done this sort of work in more openly public areas as well.
First let me mention that a "rent-a-cop" has probably gone through training which tell him or her over and over "you are not a cop!" With the company I work for I am not suppose to even touch a person unless in self-defense. We are not even allowed large maglites because some people consider them weapons.
I think sometimes people think they are "confounding" a security guards, they are actually just annoying them. Please don't go assuming a security guard is stupid because he or she doesn't quickly understand some subtle argument about "sousveillance".
Often security people end up with these conversations.
Security: Please stop using your cameras. Store management is not comfortable with your camera usage.
Visitor: "philosophical argument" (maybe very well thought out, maybe not.)
Security: I'm just asking you to stop using your cameras while in the store.
Visitor: Well I don't trust the way you guys are photographing me.
Security: I'm sorry that bothers you. You're free to leave.
Visitor: So you can photograph whatever you want, but I can't.
Security: Actually there are limits to what we can photograph, but I can't give you the legal details. You do realize you are on private property, don't you? Photograph what you wish while you're out on the sidewalk, or in the park across the street. Are you refusing to refrain from taking photographs of our security equipment?
Visitor: This is totally unfair...etc
When things get to this point it, a good security guard is smart enough to just refrain from gettting deep into discussion, and will ask the person to leave till he gets bored, walks out, and brags to his friends about how clever he is, and how stupid "rent-a-cops" are.
If a couple of guys stood outside Planned Parenthood and made slut jokes, would that be OK?. OK, if you don't consider that a good analogy, how would you feel if someone was gathering a crowded near your business making fun of your job? I suspect many of us would deal with it just fine, but many would not, especially if it had been a lousy day at work.
I work in security in a moderate sized high-rise filled with lawyers, stockbrokers, marketing firms, white collar stuff in general.
While it might be possible to have truly tight security, it isn't really practical the way things are set up.
First of all, there was often contractor going in and out of the building installing wiring, moving sheetrock, hauling all sort of stuff in the freight elevator. A perfect example are window washers. They can get virtually anywhere. Janitors go everywhere when everyone is out.
People often don't look like the ID photos. People change their look, or naturally have a generic look about them. ID photos are often small and of poor quality. In a real security line with an guard checking ID's people expect to get through quickly, and the managment expects to get by with as few guards as possible. How would you feel if you're in line while a guard is carefully looking at ID's and faces. How would you feel if you were the guard with a line of people sighing and looking at thier watches.
Security guards get fired because they try to do their jobs. Bosses get annoyed when they question some who is "clearly OK" because they are well dressed, or pretty, or a member of the manager's family.
Employees get nervous about calling about a suspicous person. I've been called up to a floor to investigate a person nobody recogized using the company shower rooms. I knocked on the stall, and eventually figured out that she was a valid employee who usually works on another floor. Lots of people were embarassed, even though they did the right thing calling security. The next time they see someone they don't recognize, they will, unfortunately, think twice about calling security.
If you want to rip people off, you can. Eventually you'll get caught, but if you do it just every now and then, you'll be fine with a little luck. You could have a very secure enviroment, but it would be expensive, and a miserable place to work.
Books seems so perfect to us because we have had our whole lives to get used to their problems.
Books are bulky, heavy, often have print that is too small for our aging population. Paperbacks don't stay open, so I can't eat my lunch with both hands and read at the same time. A large collection of books can be difficult to organize, and can rapidly fill lots of space.
There are problems with e-books, some of which I don't know what the answer will be. But consider what many people must have thought about the automobile..."too expensive, stinky, dangerous, and who is going to believe there is going to be a whole petroleum distribution network? You'll be out of gas, and need to drill for petrol where you are! Mankind has been using horses for centuries. They can live off the land. I don't need a mechanic with me. They can reproduce! Why the hell should put-put around on a stinking machine?"
It took decades for the family car to catch on. Give the e-book some time to catch up with the paper book.
I have to say that it looks like digital photography is becoming more practical than film for most purposes. For that matter, acrylic paints are more practical for the artist than oils. I mean, the variety of colors you can get with acrylic is much greater than what can be had with oils. And photography itself has made painting largly impractical. Isn't nice that you don't have to sketch pictures of your vacation, you can just take a camera which will preserve the details of your trip much better.
But of course it is not silly to use oil paints or make sketches of one's vacation. And I don't think it will be stupid for people to stick with film if they want to.
People love working with materials. Working with film and photosensitive papers can be facinating. It may no longer be practical, but it sure can be delightful, and I think this delight can show through with good work.
I've know many people who made wooden boats. That's inpractical and expensive, but I'm pleased that there are folks keeping such skills alive.
In a similiar way, there are many photographers moving toward using clearly antiquated materials. Sally Mann is making wet plate negatives! I bet she has had to struggle to get to know these materials...and I bet it has been a wonderful experience for her.
All that being said, I want to encourage all of you with nice film cameras to get rid of them NOW! Flood the market with your old Nikons and Rolleiflexes. Lately I've been noticing the prices for some old cameras going down, and that makes life good for me. So keep it up. I mean, what's the point of keeping that silly decades-old camera when flashy new digital cameras are so clearly better.
Perhaps people should consider the written instructions (and training) as part of the interface.
It seems that the art of writing instructions manuals is still not given the attention that it deserves. Maybe lots of these interface problems would be solved if the manuals were more carefully designed and if the labeling on the appliances were better.
I can think of more than once when I have consulted the troubleshooting part of a manual only to find my trouble isn't mentioned, or it's worded poorly.
I use the timer on my VCR some. It works, and I figured it out. It would have made sense if the instructions had a nice walk-through example of setting the timer...which it didn't.
Writing can be a powerful interface tool.
I know people neglect to read instructions, but maybe they do this because they have come across so many crappy manuals.
Keep in mind that many community colleges offer transfer classes for the big local universities. These classes are usually nearly identical to the classes at the more expensive colleges, and are sometimes even taught by the same professors. You might find that the community college will offer the basic courses in math (like 1st year calc) for less money, in smaller classes, and with more flexible scheduling. This is from the experience here in the Seattle area. Your results may vary.
This manual has lots of little delights. My favorite is Tess o'Bipolariville milking 1 mA of current to find the intrinsic emitter resistance of a transistor.
I think over the last three decades amateur pastimes in general have suffered due to television and video games. I won't blame the internet because I think it has actually made things like amateur science stronger.
I think this is a wonderful time to be an amateur scientist. If you look over those good old days articles you see lots of dangerous setups, or lots or work for little reward. Do you want to build an adder out a relays? You shouldn't...IMHO. With things like cheap microcontrollers with free development systems it has become really easy to do things which would have been very difficult a few years ago. Curious about a local pond?...Make a little battery operated device to record water temperature, set it up for a 24 hour period, take the device home and download the data. Curious what's what the bottom of that pond looks like and don't like to get all wet?...make yourself an underwater case for a cheap video camera. CCD cameras are really cheap these days. What's the point? It can be fun and educational. Besides many a discovery has been made investigating things nobody thought was worth investigating.
You computer nerds might want to investigate the world of cellular automata. Little is known about CA's, but a little programming, a little math, lots of watching, and a whole lot of thinking might make you famous...among nerds.
Whatever you do, don't waste you entire evening watching TV. No, not even the discovery channel.
I think there is another things going on here. It's not hip. People will spend money to be hip. People will buy a $2000 bike because it makes them feel young and fit. It will end up collecting dust in the cellar, but somebody made good money selling the bike. It is harder to sell a mirror grinding kit.
Would you want to live in a world full of Ferrari drivers...a bunch of people wanting to show off with the excuse that they really need all that power?
I have yet to see any fancy calculator really "save the day". I have seen fancy calculators confuse people and slow them down.
I purchased the 1.0 version. Since then there has been a firmware upgrade which was signifigant, but that's about all. You can download the firmware for free for those of you with an older RCX brick -- http://mindstorms.lego.com/sdk2/. Serial to USB for the IR tower...all that means is that now I can't use a really old computer on the new Mindstorms. It seems they dumbed down the programming system. Most of the people really into this stuff use things like NQC (not quite c) or legOS, not the LEGO programming system.
What they really need is more I/O and a better array of sensors. You can break the 3 output/ 3 input barrier, but it's awkward. And how about sonar!
BTW, there is a big community for the LEGO fanatic, including Mindstorm lover. lugnet.com is the place to go for those of you wanting a social LEGO lifestyle.
Slashdot Mirror
And don't underestimate the rudeness to be found in R programming forums.
After working in labs in academic and corporate environments for a few years and coming to terms with the limits of my memory, I advise people to keep a lab notebook mindset. First off, I recommend lab notebooks. Log what you are working on at a high level day to day. It gets you in the habit of writing about what you are doing. When you save large data files it begins to feel natural to add a little text file saying what the data is, how you made the data, and other comments. Sometimes it is not practical to have all this information saved automatically by the test software itself because you may have a comment like, "Due to time constraints I didn't let the system warm up the standard 60minutes before gathering data, but starting the testing immediately. This will likely add 2-5% error according to the equipment manual."
Keeping notes on paper, computer, "in the cloud" all works, as long as you actually make it a habit. It's not old-fashioned. It's not inefficient. Don't let people rush you into skimping on taking notes.
I think the idea of a "paperless" office is a bit extreme. Lots of people have reduced the amount of paper they use in the office, and I think this trend will continue. Going truly "paperless" strikes me as either a buzzword not to be taken seriously, or a perfectionist's notion of how a modern office should be. I've notice my boss talks of having "gone paperless" and indeed I see very little paperwork in in office, but I do notice him aways keeping a small notebook in his shirt pocket. He's a wise man.
I commute between Seattle and Redmond on the #545 bus used mostly by Microsoft employees and contractors. Often I notice that most of the passengers are using their cell phones during the bus ride. My guess is that looking around the bus gives me a pretty good sense of what phones are popular on the MS campus. Yes, many many iPhones. More iPhones than Windows Mobile phones. I notice some people have both a Windows Mobile phone and an iPhone. I am starting the see lots of Android phones however. It will be interesting to see what happens when Windows Mobile 7 comes out.
Of course there is lots of non-MS software which is used extensively at Microsoft. Labview, Matlab, and JMP are all used a great deal because there are no real MS equivalents. I've never noticed any non-Office productivity suites being used by my coworkers, but that is probably because Office works well enough, and the latest version is always available for employees.
You could have the best of both worlds. Block ads, but send money to websites you like. You don't have to worry about ads, and the sites will have a revenue stream from you.
It pains me to see a good post using the word "leverage" in such a bad way.
Using the word "leveraging" like this is a sin.
I can't yell at you, but I want to.
So you've never tripped over something left on the floor in your home? You've never had a misstep because you were distracted?
Basically you called this girl a stupid bitch because she was distracted by her phone and fell into an open manhole, and therefore she shouldn't reproduce.
Someone left a manhole cover off. That person is the one who deserves all the hate.
Actually nanotech is being used in cosmetics. It's real, and not just buzzwords. There is actually some concern about the lack of regulation of nanoparticles used in such products. Incorporating nanotechnology into cosmetics has been happening for many years now.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/clothes/nanotech011105.cfm
I guess many people do avoid pregnancy like a disease.
In manufacturing prototyping is often done usng SLA systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereolithography which often look rather precise at first glance, but when you actually need parts to fit together with any sort of precision, you realize that you're working with a rough prototyping tool. I suspect the Fab@home device is even rougher. If you plan to use a system like this, keep in mind that it's more like a rough 3D sketch transformed into reality using limited set of materials than a fine machine drawing fabricated with skill and accuracy. In short, don't even think about making Lego pieces. Expect to do lots of cleaning up, sanding, trimming. That being said, there will probably be a day when you will (if you need one) have a refined fabrication system on your desktop. It wasn't that long ago when desktop publishing was considered something of a joke to people in the printing industry, and digital photography used to be pathetic. So please, refine this machine and give us an amazing, inexpensive, precise, and fun to use fabrication machine.
I'm getting a worried about this assumption that Amazon customer service is always good. I have generally, but not always received excellent customer service from Amazon. I have at times had the impression of things not fully under control at Amazon. One rather comical situation arose when I ordered a book, and then a few days later was informed there would be a delay. OK...no problem. A couple of weeks later, another email, another delay on the same order. Amazon.com still had the book being sold as "shipping within 24hrs" so it all seemed weird. I decided to just cancel the order and buy the book from a local bookstore. But then the system told me it couldn't cancel the order because the book was being prepared for shipping. "Great!" I thought, soon I'm getting my book! Then I got another email saying my order as been delayed. I emailed customer service and they informed me all is well because they are preparing my book for shipping and I will receive it soon. A few days later I get another email saying my order has been delayed. I email customer service and explain the problem. I get a response saying that everything is OK, they're preparing my book to ship and I will receive it soon. I respond and say that I've been down this road before, and it's getting tiresome and I didn't believe that I was about to get my book. Sadly I couldn't reply to the same customer service, so it took a few emails to break this loop of customer service just checking my order status and responding that I have nothing to worry about because my book was about to be shipped.
At this point in time I already had a special little folder just for my many emails from amazon concerning this one order for one book. I decided to have customer service phone me. I ask customer service to cancel my order because their system constantly thinks my book is about to be shipped and won't let me cancel my order, but they explain they cannot cancel the order. They explain that I should probably order the book again and if I eventually end up with both orders going through, just return one the books. They offered to send me the book with free overnight shipping on a separate order. Nice! though I'm on Amazon Prime and I get free 2-day shipping anyway, but nice nevertheless.
I got my book the next day, and months later I got the book again via my orginal order. I think what was most annoying was having to re-explain things over and over. Often after explaining there was a technical problem with the order, they would then say "You can always check the status of your order by clicking the Your Account link" which I had just explained to them ALWAYS says that my order is about to ship. There was one point that a customer service rep wrote:
> I sympathize with your frustration in this matter. However,please
> understand that the information provided in our last message correctly
> represents our policy at this time.
> As my colleague previously mentioned, the shipment of your order is
> still being delayed by a system error. This same error prevents us
> from being able to cancel the order.
I asked what "policy" was in reference to, but didn't get a response, and I didn't really care at that point I suppose.
Mind you, I like using Amazon, I just don't believe their customer service is as perfect as is sometimes touted.
I think it was Tufte who said that we're not experiencing an information explosion, we're experiencing a non-information explosion.
OK, I'll reply to this. I work in security in a high-rise, but I've done this sort of work in more openly public areas as well.
First let me mention that a "rent-a-cop" has probably gone through training which tell him or her over and over "you are not a cop!" With the company I work for I am not suppose to even touch a person unless in self-defense. We are not even allowed large maglites because some people consider them weapons.
I think sometimes people think they are "confounding" a security guards, they are actually just annoying them. Please don't go assuming a security guard is stupid because he or she doesn't quickly understand some subtle argument about "sousveillance".
Often security people end up with these conversations.
Security: Please stop using your cameras. Store management is not comfortable with your camera usage.
Visitor: "philosophical argument" (maybe very well thought out, maybe not.)
Security: I'm just asking you to stop using your cameras while in the store.
Visitor: Well I don't trust the way you guys are photographing me.
Security: I'm sorry that bothers you. You're free to leave.
Visitor: So you can photograph whatever you want, but I can't.
Security: Actually there are limits to what we can photograph, but I can't give you the legal details. You do realize you are on private property, don't you? Photograph what you wish while you're out on the sidewalk, or in the park across the street. Are you refusing to refrain from taking photographs of our security equipment?
Visitor: This is totally unfair...etc
When things get to this point it, a good security guard is smart enough to just refrain from gettting deep into discussion, and will ask the person to leave till he gets bored, walks out, and brags to his friends about how clever he is, and how stupid "rent-a-cops" are.
If a couple of guys stood outside Planned Parenthood and made slut jokes, would that be OK?. OK, if you don't consider that a good analogy, how would you feel if someone was gathering a crowded near your business making fun of your job? I suspect many of us would deal with it just fine, but many would not, especially if it had been a lousy day at work.
I work in security in a moderate sized high-rise filled with lawyers, stockbrokers, marketing firms, white collar stuff in general.
While it might be possible to have truly tight security, it isn't really practical the way things are set up.
First of all, there was often contractor going in and out of the building installing wiring, moving sheetrock, hauling all sort of stuff in the freight elevator. A perfect example are window washers. They can get virtually anywhere. Janitors go everywhere when everyone is out.
People often don't look like the ID photos. People change their look, or naturally have a generic look about them. ID photos are often small and of poor quality. In a real security line with an guard checking ID's people expect to get through quickly, and the managment expects to get by with as few guards as possible. How would you feel if you're in line while a guard is carefully looking at ID's and faces. How would you feel if you were the guard with a line of people sighing and looking at thier watches.
Security guards get fired because they try to do their jobs. Bosses get annoyed when they question some who is "clearly OK" because they are well dressed, or pretty, or a member of the manager's family.
Employees get nervous about calling about a suspicous person. I've been called up to a floor to investigate a person nobody recogized using the company shower rooms. I knocked on the stall, and eventually figured out that she was a valid employee who usually works on another floor. Lots of people were embarassed, even though they did the right thing calling security. The next time they see someone they don't recognize, they will, unfortunately, think twice about calling security.
If you want to rip people off, you can. Eventually you'll get caught, but if you do it just every now and then, you'll be fine with a little luck. You could have a very secure enviroment, but it would be expensive, and a miserable place to work.
Books seems so perfect to us because we have had our whole lives to get used to their problems.
Books are bulky, heavy, often have print that is too small for our aging population. Paperbacks don't stay open, so I can't eat my lunch with both hands and read at the same time. A large collection of books can be difficult to organize, and can rapidly fill lots of space.
There are problems with e-books, some of which I don't know what the answer will be. But consider what many people must have thought about the automobile..."too expensive, stinky, dangerous, and who is going to believe there is going to be a whole petroleum distribution network? You'll be out of gas, and need to drill for petrol where you are! Mankind has been using horses for centuries. They can live off the land. I don't need a mechanic with me. They can reproduce! Why the hell should put-put around on a stinking machine?"
It took decades for the family car to catch on. Give the e-book some time to catch up with the paper book.
I have to say that it looks like digital photography is becoming more practical than film for most purposes. For that matter, acrylic paints are more practical for the artist than oils. I mean, the variety of colors you can get with acrylic is much greater than what can be had with oils. And photography itself has made painting largly impractical. Isn't nice that you don't have to sketch pictures of your vacation, you can just take a camera which will preserve the details of your trip much better.
But of course it is not silly to use oil paints or make sketches of one's vacation. And I don't think it will be stupid for people to stick with film if they want to.
People love working with materials. Working with film and photosensitive papers can be facinating. It may no longer be practical, but it sure can be delightful, and I think this delight can show through with good work.
I've know many people who made wooden boats. That's inpractical and expensive, but I'm pleased that there are folks keeping such skills alive.
In a similiar way, there are many photographers moving toward using clearly antiquated materials. Sally Mann is making wet plate negatives! I bet she has had to struggle to get to know these materials...and I bet it has been a wonderful experience for her.
All that being said, I want to encourage all of you with nice film cameras to get rid of them NOW! Flood the market with your old Nikons and Rolleiflexes. Lately I've been noticing the prices for some old cameras going down, and that makes life good for me. So keep it up. I mean, what's the point of keeping that silly decades-old camera when flashy new digital cameras are so clearly better.
Monica
Perhaps people should consider the written instructions (and training) as part of the interface.
It seems that the art of writing instructions manuals is still not given the attention that it deserves. Maybe lots of these interface problems would be solved if the manuals were more carefully designed and if the labeling on the appliances were better.
I can think of more than once when I have consulted the troubleshooting part of a manual only to find my trouble isn't mentioned, or it's worded poorly.
I use the timer on my VCR some. It works, and I figured it out. It would have made sense if the instructions had a nice walk-through example of setting the timer...which it didn't.
Writing can be a powerful interface tool.
I know people neglect to read instructions, but maybe they do this because they have come across so many crappy manuals.
Keep in mind that many community colleges offer transfer classes for the big local universities. These classes are usually nearly identical to the classes at the more expensive colleges, and are sometimes even taught by the same professors. You might find that the community college will offer the basic courses in math (like 1st year calc) for less money, in smaller classes, and with more flexible scheduling. This is from the experience here in the Seattle area. Your results may vary.
This is in the Art of Electronics Student Manual.
This manual has lots of little delights. My favorite is Tess o'Bipolariville milking 1 mA of current to find the intrinsic emitter resistance of a transistor.
I think over the last three decades amateur pastimes in general have suffered due to television and video games. I won't blame the internet because I think it has actually made things like amateur science stronger.
I think this is a wonderful time to be an amateur scientist. If you look over those good old days articles you see lots of dangerous setups, or lots or work for little reward. Do you want to build an adder out a relays? You shouldn't...IMHO. With things like cheap microcontrollers with free development systems it has become really easy to do things which would have been very difficult a few years ago. Curious about a local pond?...Make a little battery operated device to record water temperature, set it up for a 24 hour period, take the device home and download the data. Curious what's what the bottom of that pond looks like and don't like to get all wet?...make yourself an underwater case for a cheap video camera. CCD cameras are really cheap these days. What's the point? It can be fun and educational. Besides many a discovery has been made investigating things nobody thought was worth investigating.
You computer nerds might want to investigate the world of cellular automata. Little is known about CA's, but a little programming, a little math, lots of watching, and a whole lot of thinking might make you famous...among nerds.
Whatever you do, don't waste you entire evening watching TV. No, not even the discovery channel.
I think there is another things going on here. It's not hip. People will spend money to be hip. People will buy a $2000 bike because it makes them feel young and fit. It will end up collecting dust in the cellar, but somebody made good money selling the bike. It is harder to sell a mirror grinding kit.
Gotta go...Antiques Roadshow is on!
Peruse http://www.devrs.com/cybiko/
My guess is this is mostly for the original Cybiko, but I would suspect that much of the information will apply to the new Cybiko.
Would you want to live in a world full of Ferrari drivers...a bunch of people wanting to show off with the excuse that they really need all that power?
I have yet to see any fancy calculator really "save the day". I have seen fancy calculators confuse people and slow them down.
I purchased the 1.0 version. Since then there has been a firmware upgrade which was signifigant, but that's about all. You can download the firmware for free for those of you with an older RCX brick -- http://mindstorms.lego.com/sdk2/. Serial to USB for the IR tower...all that means is that now I can't use a really old computer on the new Mindstorms. It seems they dumbed down the programming system. Most of the people really into this stuff use things like NQC (not quite c) or legOS, not the LEGO programming system.
What they really need is more I/O and a better array of sensors. You can break the 3 output/ 3 input barrier, but it's awkward. And how about sonar!
BTW, there is a big community for the LEGO fanatic, including Mindstorm lover. lugnet.com is the place to go for those of you wanting a social LEGO lifestyle.