I'd hardly characterize the asian/indian students in my graduate and undergraduate institutions as geniuses. They were bright kids to be sure, but the only thing that set them apart from me was the color of their skin. If anything, I'd say they were fundamentally lacking in academic ethics. It got so bad my graduate school had to institute a course to teach incoming foreign students that copying passages verbatim without attribution is plagiarism and not acceptable. This is something every American student has been taught since elementary school, but is completely lost on foreign students.
Computer science != programming. Programming does not require a degree. I've been doing it since I was 7, and by Highschool I was fairly competent. Through my computer science degree I didn't learn to much more about programming, but I gained the mathematical and theoretical background to actually understand what I was doing, and more importantly, extend what has already been done.
True, that's the most logical and safest approach to take. But the claim was Microsoft doesn't even have a roadmap for WP7 support, and that's just not true. Whether it's executed or not is a different matter.
... and I don't know why you think I think it should be. I haven't said anything remotely to that effect, and certainly nothing in the lines you quoted support that interpretation.
You said this:
3: A thoughtful, well-written and strongly pro-Microsoft comment gets quickly posted and rapidly modded up to +5
4: The rest of slashdot gets to read the article, and it quickly becomes apparent that the early post isn't at all representative of the majority opinion on Slashdot.
You seem to imply that a thoughtful, well-written pro Microsoft comment should not get modded up on Slashdot because the user base disagrees with it.
But when a corporation organises a block of posters to vote up a specific message regardless - that's astroturfing, and it does little to improve the debate.
So is your problem with the posters or the moderators?
There are exactly 8 requirements phones must meet to run WP7:
Capacitive, 4-point multi-touch screen with WVGA (480x800) resolution
1 GHz ARM v7 "Cortex/Scorpion" or better processor
DirectX9 rendering-capable GPU
256 MB of RAM with at least 8 GB of Flash memory
Accelerometer with compass, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and Assisted GPS
5-megapixel camera with an LED flash
FM radio tuner
7 dedicated hardware buttons - back, Start, search, 2-stage camera, power/sleep and Volume Up and Down.
Manufactuers are free to add dedicated keyboards, larger screens, faster processors, more memory, better screen tech, different colors, more buttons, better cameras, different materials, etc. The real limitation imposed on manufacturers is that they can't create a cheap phone which can't handle the OS, which they seem to love to do with Android phones.
And as far as UI customization, the manufacturers might not appreciate that, but I sure do. I'd prefer to keep the default UI. And manufacturers are free to add their own hub if they so choose.
But the Zune had almost no marketing at all. The only ads I ever saw were some late night ads on Adult Swim, which was for Zune Pass and didn't even show the device.
By contrast, I've seen WP7 ads on facebook and around the internet, I've seen TV ads, and hear at least one WP7 ad on the radio every time I'm in the car.
No plan? There's an update coming out soon to add copy/paste and performance enhancements, and there's an update coming in the fall bringing multitasking, a new browser . Android 1.1 was released 5 months after Android 1.0. Windows Phone 7 has been out for just about 5 months, so if this update comes soon they seem to be on par with Android release cycles.
I don't think the OP was necessarily complaining about that. It was just a statement of fact. Two days seems reasonable anyway to investigate the matter. The real complaint seems to be that Google found that a company sold a pirated app and is still allowed to do business on the Android marketplace, selling what appear to be other pirated apps. Selling just one pirated app should be grounds for termination.
I never used the previous versions, but I personally love 3.0+. It's fast, visually striking, and fun to use. It honestly makes iTunes look like excel by comparison... just a spreadsheet for your music. And it does some things well that iTunes doesn't including folder monitoring, wireless sync, and a much more enjoyable social component. There are some small gripes but overall it's a great music player, and I would use it even if I didn't own a Zune.
I have seen many outstanding programmers who struggled with calculus and never really got it.
That's because computer science is not programming. You won't find an outstanding computer scientist who doesn't have a solid mathematical background. The theory of computation and the basis for all we do is entirely based in math, and therefore understanding math is essential and inseparable to understanding computer science.
our students are overwhelmingly seeking careers in which they apply computer science.'
If you're looking to be a vocational institution, by all means, drop the math and train your students to be code monkeys. Yes, train, not teach, because teaching them would consist of providing them with a solid mathematical foundation on which to base their careers.
And it's patently false that applications of computer science do not require math. In my field, robotics, I do a lot of programming, but I do just as much theoretical work to understand the algorithms I'm using, and to develop new ones. Linear algebra, statistics, convex optimization.... these are all mathematical topics I use regularly, and I couldn't function without. Cutting topics like these not only take the Science out of CS, but the true value from the education itself.
It's kind of odd that MS didn't have copy/paste either after the flack that Apple received for that move.
What's funnier is the other way around. When pressed with the copy/paste issue, iPhone users had a long list of reasons why copy/paste isn't useful, or how a smart phone doesn't need it, or how it's not a big deal. Now these same people act like it is the most important feature in a smart phone. The same thing happened with multitasking. Before, it drained battery and you didn't really need to do it on a smart phone, but now it makes or breaks the platform.
On android you couldn't copy/paste in the browser until 1.5, released 7 months after 1.0: MS is releasing a system wide copy/paste in the next couple of weeks.
Also, wasn't Android lacking multi touch at launch? All this crying is from people who wouldn't even consider using the platform.
There are a variety of features built in so that you don't need copy/paste. Things like "e-mail this link" and so forth. But for the times you need to copy a specific piece of text, it's coming this month detractors will have to turn their attention to another check-box item to gripe about. Probably multitasking (coming later this year btw).
Reminds me of how Phyllis tries to deal with Angela in "The Office."
Angela Martin: [to Phyllis] "Lunch Party"? It's supposed to say "Launch Party." What's wrong with you?
Phyllis Lapin: [it cuts to a talking head segment] Angela has been worse than usual lately, and we have a party to throw, so I googled "how to deal with difficult people." And I got all of this.
[she holds up a few sheets of paper with information]
Phyllis Lapin: So we're gonna try out some new things today.
Phyllis Lapin: [it cuts back to the office] How do you feel about the fact that the banner says "Lunch"?
Angela Martin: I feel angry. Angry at you. Angry at you for doing something stupid. Angry at me for believing you could do something not stupid.
Phyllis Lapin: [Phyllis looks down at the sheets of paper] I'm so sorry to hear that. That must be awful.
Angela Martin: It is awful. You've made this day awful.
My university uses a page like this on our student portal. Here's what it says:
Before you can enter this site, you will need to fix the following:
The Opera browser you are using has a various serious security defects and is not allowed to be used with this application.
You must use a supported browser to enter (latest version recommended).
Supported Browsers are listed below.
Windows:
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Safari
Macintosh:
Firefox
Safari
Opera has serious security defects? Chrome? Whereas IE does not? Obnoxious is right.
It depends on the area. For example, a brand new building just opened on my campus. Using Bing's bird's eye view and rotating around that spot, I can see before construction, during construction, and post construction. It also depends on the depth. A new shopping center opened down the road. Zoomed out, there's still a field there. Zooming in it suddenly appears. This data is constantly evolving. Regardless, I'm guessing the majority of the area you live in hasn't changed drastically in the last 3 years. I know my area hasn't. The high resolution data is still appreciated.
That didn't stop the EU from forcing MS to provide a browser ballot. Despite the fact that IE's market share is falling, Window's market share is falling, you can fully uninstall IE8 from W7, and there are at least 4 other big players in the game who are increasing market share, EU still felt the need to step in.
It would be funny though, if Google was forced to put a ballot on Google.com, which would redirect you to your search engine of choice.
Slashdot Mirror
What? You mean they didn't take the single person working on SP1 and made him make a cake?
I'm not comparing my Asian peers against the average American student; I'm comparing them against my American peers.
I'd hardly characterize the asian/indian students in my graduate and undergraduate institutions as geniuses. They were bright kids to be sure, but the only thing that set them apart from me was the color of their skin. If anything, I'd say they were fundamentally lacking in academic ethics. It got so bad my graduate school had to institute a course to teach incoming foreign students that copying passages verbatim without attribution is plagiarism and not acceptable. This is something every American student has been taught since elementary school, but is completely lost on foreign students.
Computer science/programming
Computer science != programming. Programming does not require a degree. I've been doing it since I was 7, and by Highschool I was fairly competent. Through my computer science degree I didn't learn to much more about programming, but I gained the mathematical and theoretical background to actually understand what I was doing, and more importantly, extend what has already been done.
Ah yes, let's take the exception and make it the rule!
True, that's the most logical and safest approach to take. But the claim was Microsoft doesn't even have a roadmap for WP7 support, and that's just not true. Whether it's executed or not is a different matter.
... and I don't know why you think I think it should be. I haven't said anything remotely to that effect, and certainly nothing in the lines you quoted support that interpretation.
You said this:
3: A thoughtful, well-written and strongly pro-Microsoft comment gets quickly posted and rapidly modded up to +5
4: The rest of slashdot gets to read the article, and it quickly becomes apparent that the early post isn't at all representative of the majority opinion on Slashdot.
You seem to imply that a thoughtful, well-written pro Microsoft comment should not get modded up on Slashdot because the user base disagrees with it.
But when a corporation organises a block of posters to vote up a specific message regardless - that's astroturfing, and it does little to improve the debate.
So is your problem with the posters or the moderators?
There are exactly 8 requirements phones must meet to run WP7:
Manufactuers are free to add dedicated keyboards, larger screens, faster processors, more memory, better screen tech, different colors, more buttons, better cameras, different materials, etc. The real limitation imposed on manufacturers is that they can't create a cheap phone which can't handle the OS, which they seem to love to do with Android phones.
And as far as UI customization, the manufacturers might not appreciate that, but I sure do. I'd prefer to keep the default UI. And manufacturers are free to add their own hub if they so choose.
Right, because someone who holds an opinion different from yours could only be on Microsoft's payroll.
But the Zune had almost no marketing at all. The only ads I ever saw were some late night ads on Adult Swim, which was for Zune Pass and didn't even show the device.
By contrast, I've seen WP7 ads on facebook and around the internet, I've seen TV ads, and hear at least one WP7 ad on the radio every time I'm in the car.
No plan? There's an update coming out soon to add copy/paste and performance enhancements, and there's an update coming in the fall bringing multitasking, a new browser . Android 1.1 was released 5 months after Android 1.0. Windows Phone 7 has been out for just about 5 months, so if this update comes soon they seem to be on par with Android release cycles.
I don't think the OP was necessarily complaining about that. It was just a statement of fact. Two days seems reasonable anyway to investigate the matter. The real complaint seems to be that Google found that a company sold a pirated app and is still allowed to do business on the Android marketplace, selling what appear to be other pirated apps. Selling just one pirated app should be grounds for termination.
Not to mention it came in three different colors: Brown, White, and Black. Only the original Zune 30 was offered in brown as well.
Zune software isn't dying. Windows Phone uses it to sync.
I never used the previous versions, but I personally love 3.0+. It's fast, visually striking, and fun to use. It honestly makes iTunes look like excel by comparison... just a spreadsheet for your music. And it does some things well that iTunes doesn't including folder monitoring, wireless sync, and a much more enjoyable social component. There are some small gripes but overall it's a great music player, and I would use it even if I didn't own a Zune.
I have seen many outstanding programmers who struggled with calculus and never really got it.
That's because computer science is not programming. You won't find an outstanding computer scientist who doesn't have a solid mathematical background. The theory of computation and the basis for all we do is entirely based in math, and therefore understanding math is essential and inseparable to understanding computer science.
our students are overwhelmingly seeking careers in which they apply computer science.'
If you're looking to be a vocational institution, by all means, drop the math and train your students to be code monkeys. Yes, train, not teach, because teaching them would consist of providing them with a solid mathematical foundation on which to base their careers.
And it's patently false that applications of computer science do not require math. In my field, robotics, I do a lot of programming, but I do just as much theoretical work to understand the algorithms I'm using, and to develop new ones. Linear algebra, statistics, convex optimization.... these are all mathematical topics I use regularly, and I couldn't function without. Cutting topics like these not only take the Science out of CS, but the true value from the education itself.
I'm on Opera 11. How you feel about your puny Chrome 10 now?
It's kind of odd that MS didn't have copy/paste either after the flack that Apple received for that move.
What's funnier is the other way around. When pressed with the copy/paste issue, iPhone users had a long list of reasons why copy/paste isn't useful, or how a smart phone doesn't need it, or how it's not a big deal. Now these same people act like it is the most important feature in a smart phone. The same thing happened with multitasking. Before, it drained battery and you didn't really need to do it on a smart phone, but now it makes or breaks the platform.
On android you couldn't copy/paste in the browser until 1.5, released 7 months after 1.0: MS is releasing a system wide copy/paste in the next couple of weeks.
Also, wasn't Android lacking multi touch at launch? All this crying is from people who wouldn't even consider using the platform.
There are a variety of features built in so that you don't need copy/paste. Things like "e-mail this link" and so forth. But for the times you need to copy a specific piece of text, it's coming this month detractors will have to turn their attention to another check-box item to gripe about. Probably multitasking (coming later this year btw).
Angela Martin: [to Phyllis] "Lunch Party"? It's supposed to say "Launch Party." What's wrong with you?
Phyllis Lapin: [it cuts to a talking head segment] Angela has been worse than usual lately, and we have a party to throw, so I googled "how to deal with difficult people." And I got all of this.
[she holds up a few sheets of paper with information]
Phyllis Lapin: So we're gonna try out some new things today.
Phyllis Lapin: [it cuts back to the office] How do you feel about the fact that the banner says "Lunch"?
Angela Martin: I feel angry. Angry at you. Angry at you for doing something stupid. Angry at me for believing you could do something not stupid.
Phyllis Lapin: [Phyllis looks down at the sheets of paper] I'm so sorry to hear that. That must be awful.
Angela Martin: It is awful. You've made this day awful.
Before you can enter this site, you will need to fix the following: The Opera browser you are using has a various serious security defects and is not allowed to be used with this application. You must use a supported browser to enter (latest version recommended). Supported Browsers are listed below.
Windows: Internet Explorer Firefox Safari
Macintosh: Firefox Safari
Opera has serious security defects? Chrome? Whereas IE does not? Obnoxious is right.
It depends on the area. For example, a brand new building just opened on my campus. Using Bing's bird's eye view and rotating around that spot, I can see before construction, during construction, and post construction. It also depends on the depth. A new shopping center opened down the road. Zoomed out, there's still a field there. Zooming in it suddenly appears. This data is constantly evolving. Regardless, I'm guessing the majority of the area you live in hasn't changed drastically in the last 3 years. I know my area hasn't. The high resolution data is still appreciated.
I guess I was wrong
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recursive_acronym
Although it doesn't make much sense to me.
That didn't stop the EU from forcing MS to provide a browser ballot. Despite the fact that IE's market share is falling, Window's market share is falling, you can fully uninstall IE8 from W7, and there are at least 4 other big players in the game who are increasing market share, EU still felt the need to step in.
It would be funny though, if Google was forced to put a ballot on Google.com, which would redirect you to your search engine of choice.