Huh? I'm confused. It seems you don't know much about the book/you/ wrote. Or did you not write it? And if so, why are all the press releases saying so? If not, then is it just a compilation? If you didn't pick the posts or put the book together, who did?
Chill out. Many comments were sent DIRECTLY to Katz...Slashdot never seeing them. I remember Katz specifically saying that if you don't want your name or content reproduced please SAY SO. So people were plenty forwarned that anything they sent DIRECTLY to Katz might actually be used.
Now, about taking comments from the public forum, I'm not sure.
I wonder how copyright/credit for the texts where handled. Obviously some people would want to remain anonymous...how then do they preserver their copyright? Sort of a stupid question, but just wondering. Maybe somebody wants to write an autobiography sometime...?
We've had so many articles on patents already. The issue has been beaten to death. Yes, the concept is/good/. The implementation is/bad/. We have a broken system. Patent duration needs to be tied to the speed of the market/industry the patent is for. E.g., HOW long as Unisys had GIF? How much innovation by them has that engendered? It seems to me software patents should have a short duration, maybe 1-3 years. Patents on business models or how many times to click to buy something I just can't understand.
"The point of good compilers is world domination. The point of not-so-good compilers is to serve quality coffee at an affordable price. Any questions? - phi1"
UGH The/BINARY/ was distributed - hence, bruce did not illicitly obtain and crack the binary. He just ran "strings" on the published binary. He might as well have eyeballed it with a hex editor. That's hardly "breaking into" anything.
I don't get the Malkovichizer. Perhaps it was slashdotted or something, but all the pages I saw had almost all the text replaced by the word "Malkovish". <>
"Even if you find it a painful experience, there's always graduate programs where you can have lots of fun:)"
Yes, so I've heard. Actually the later courses I had just started to taste (well, one at least), was pretty cool. It was a "hands-on" engineering approach to networking, the final project being the creating of a working (but virtual) telephony system.
Actually the field is moving so fast, my daily work (enterprise Java) could/almost/ be consider research-like. Indeed a coworker of mine was doing his masters thesis on a system he was actually writing for productin use...alas, he went off to startup-land (and actually offered me a position, but current circumstances limit that as a possibility)...which leaves me in my current situation, bitching on Slashdot...:\
"A college degree is, as a very wise PhD once told me, just another union card. It affords you access to employment opportunities. The education you get while you get your "card" is up to you. You can choose to do the least amount of work possible, squander opportunities to learn from others who might be smarter than you, and not make any lifetime friends. Or you can take the precious time when your only "job" is to learn as much as possible from every possible source."
I wholeheartedly agree. College is only a/license/ to learn. Learning is actually up to you. The things college actually provides are 1) professors 2) facilities 3) fertile environment. In very large and/or Ivy League colleges professors can be very inaccessible as they either have no time for you, due to their primary work as researchers, or just don't give a damn about you, which is also very common. So 1 is out for me. For majors like biology/pre-med, and "pure" engineering, facilities are very important. After all, you can't pick up a nuclear reactor or chemical laboratory at your five and dime. But for CS, a home computer will do just fine for equipment. Besides a Unix account, and perhaps an ethernet internet connection, there really isn't much as far as facilities that a college can provide. So 2 is out. 3 was the most important to me. I thought I'd finally be escaping high school, to a place where I could learn and explore with people interested in the same without being labeled. But I rudely awoke to the reality that the "fertile environment" of the Ivy League is basically cut-throat competition amongst a bunch of GAP models driving BMWs, and majoring in econ so that they can become stock brokers or defend tobacco companies. That really left me with no reason to stay. If all college is is cramming books into my head in preperation for tests, I might as well do that all by myself.
That's not my point. My point is that whenever you encounter a really difficult problem (the ones stated above, for example), a degree in the field can at least give you an idea of where to start looking. You might have seen something like that problem in passing during a class.
Yes, certainly college imbues the qualities of persistence and determination. Having had to solve challenging problems in the past will help one in solving challenging problems in the future. However I reached a certain point where I was sick and tired of solving problems and jumping through hoops for their sake alone. There is a point at which the itch to actually DO something is too great. So I scratched that itch. Yes, perhaps I dropped out too soon. I originally majored in physics. I guess if I just endured another three years I might be doing something really interesting.
MIT has a program called the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, or UROP for short. It allows undergraduates (even freshmen!) to participate in research.
Well, that is great for MIT. MIT also happens to be an engineering oriented university in the first place. Go somewhere much larger and more general (do advisors remember who you are at MIT?) and faculty access and meaningful research opportunities (i.e. something more than a lab technician job, titrating all day) are harder to come by.
The only problem I have with your statements is the tone, not the content. I'm just trying to say that although you are obviously very intelligent, having a degree would probably benefit you in more ways that just having a piece of paper, and maybe you were a bit quick to drop out.
Yes, the tone might not have been the most appropriate...but it comes from exasperation. I used to be on the "right track". But it sure looked like if I held on I would be coming out as yet another preconfigured cog.
Ok, while everbody is lambasting me, let me just clarify. Perhaps I didn't state that in the best way. My point is that a lot of people will be barred simply because they do not already have a BS. I would love to take a crash course like this...sifting out three years of cruft. Let me decide what I want to do with the remaining time. Let/me/ decide how I want to "grow personally". College cannot make you a well-rounded person. Only you can.
"There is more to getting a college degree than just knowing how to code or do calculus or whatever you choose to do. I promise that if you ever decide to get a degree, you will learn more than you ever have from a C++ book or from reading through some websites. It is my experience that intelligent individuals who don't interact with others are pretty much only good for that one thing that they know how to do. They resist learning new things (because they think they already know everything), and they can't work well with others. Almost every college student takes courses that don't apply to his/her major. Don't be so insulted by this fact that you feel college is for those not bright enough to figure it out on their own.
Well, I guess this is the fundamental point I disagree on. I too had pipe dreams of magical self-exploration and actualization. But, at least at Big University, it turns out to be pretty much high school all over again, except that you now pay through the nose for being told what to do. You are free to explore all sorts of alternative education avenues, as long as you do it on your own time, or "any color as long as it's black" (so what does college buy me, then?). As for being learning-resistent I have interests in many different topics, with varying ranges of depth, but certainly not things I'd have time to pursue if I were doing rote work. I'm pretty much entirely disillusioned with college in general. The fantasy that it is some enlightening journey of self-exploration is utter bs.
"When you start try and be friends with everyone. Try to appear bright and keen, try to be nice all the time. Come in on time, and go home a little (but not too much) late - people will know you are working hard, but not showing them up. Don't worry about their response(s) in IT your time will come. Wait for the crisis, you won't have long! Pitch in when the crisis comes, demonstrate your value. Afterwards you will find that the team will accept you, and will accord you more respect. When the next person joins go out of your way to be kind to them. This will not go unnoticed by your team mates, and will reflect well on you."
I have done all of the above, and am happy to say I am merrily on my way to a fulfilling career as yet another cubicle dwelling valued employee and productive human resource.
1) Solve all of the "research"-level problems in Knuth's "Art of Computer Programming".
2) Prove whether or not solutions can be obtained for NP-Complete problems.
3) Create a programming language that has the functional elegance of LISP, the systems programming ability of C, the type-checking system of ML, and objects like Java. Market it correctly so that it goes into wide use. Wallow in cash.
I never said I wanted to be a theoretical computer/scientist/. How many people with BSs in CS do you know that are actually doing research? I never claimed I was an RMS. I never even said I wanted to impress you. My point was that this university requires a BS as a prerequisite...which is a Catch 22 for anybody who has the skills but not the diploma.
I went to college early, skipping my senior year, in a special program. The following year I applied and gained entrance to Cornell U. After being bored and insulted with/required/ remedial writing classes, despite my 800 in the Language section of the SAT and my attendence of AP English as a sophomore (apparently they thought that since I skipped my last year of HS I must be an illiteral moron), and obtaining permission from the dean of the Comp Sci department to take 400 and 500+ level courses my freshman year there, which didn't really cover anything new anyway, I dropped out, frustrated and disgusted. I now work for that very same university in the IT dept (my girlfriend still goes to school here...so I'm not heading to the valley just yet). I would like to get a diploma, not because I think it really has any special merit, but because that's what people look for. I know I can probably quit my job and within days get another one anywhere I want, but without the diploma it still feels like the rank and file code grinders think they're better than me. I read in the Jargon file somewhere that a self-made hacker was more respected than those who had to pay to be taught. I guess that's just not true any more.
I believe MPEG 4 is a suite of multimedia codecs, comprising of video, audio, surround sound, etc. From what I've read, the audio specs are much better than the MPEG layer 3 quality because MP3 has a whole bunch of legacy crud in it that the MPEG 4 audio standard dispenses with in favor of much better quality/performance/size, etc.
JenniCam is porn? I went there once, for the first time, after visiting the BOFHCam, a JenniCam spoof. But I wasn't really impressed. It was sort of boring. All I saw was a stupid desk. I like BOFHCam better.
Those damn info-mongering librarians never let me get more than seven books out for more than six months. The bastards. I would check out How To Start a Militia if I weren't over my book limit.
So when _IS_ a "modern" MPEG 4 audio codec ever going to come out? From what I read, MP3 is basically limited by a whole bunch of legacy cruft...that the technology for much better exists, but there is simply no implementation yet. So somebody write one already!
I agree. And I hope when and if people see me criticizing groups like this they do not take it as a direct assault on the religion or their own beliefs (which is another thread...). I think the major tragedy of groups like these is that they enable people to be conscienceless. It is the zealots, not necessarily the foundation they stand on, that I take issue with. There are perfectly decent Christians just as there are perfectly decent Muslims, Communists, Socialists, Buddhists, . None of those things are inherently "good" or "bad"...they are just different ways of thinking (and in different fields). But with any philosophies there will be people who want to take and twist and exploit it to their own benefit.
Slashdot Mirror
Huh? I'm confused. It seems you don't know much about the book /you/ wrote. Or did you not write it? And if so, why are all the press releases saying so? If not, then is it just a compilation? If you didn't pick the posts or put the book together, who did?
Chill out. Many comments were sent DIRECTLY to Katz...Slashdot never seeing them. I remember Katz specifically saying that if you don't want your name or content reproduced please SAY SO. So people were plenty forwarned that anything they sent DIRECTLY to Katz might actually be used.
Now, about taking comments from the public forum, I'm not sure.
I wonder how copyright/credit for the texts where handled. Obviously some people would want to remain anonymous...how then do they preserver their copyright? Sort of a stupid question, but just wondering. Maybe somebody wants to write an autobiography sometime...?
so you can get a few copies and mail them to school staff...
We've had so many articles on patents already. The issue has been beaten to death. Yes, the concept is /good/. The implementation is /bad/. We have a broken system. Patent duration needs to be tied to the speed of the market/industry the patent is for. E.g., HOW long as Unisys had GIF? How much innovation by them has that engendered? It seems to me software patents should have a short duration, maybe 1-3 years. Patents on business models or how many times to click to buy something I just can't understand.
"The point of good compilers is world domination. The point of not-so-good compilers is to serve quality coffee at an affordable price. Any questions? - phi1"
/have/ to know where that quote is from!
Ok, I
UGH The /BINARY/ was distributed - hence, bruce did not illicitly obtain and crack the binary. He just ran "strings" on the published binary. He might as well have eyeballed it with a hex editor. That's hardly "breaking into" anything.
I don't get the Malkovichizer. Perhaps it was slashdotted or something, but all the pages I saw had almost all the text replaced by the word "Malkovish". <>
no
"Even if you find it a painful experience, there's always graduate programs where you can have lots of fun :)"
/almost/ be consider research-like. Indeed a coworker of mine was doing his masters thesis on a system he was actually writing for productin use...alas, he went off to startup-land (and actually offered me a position, but current circumstances limit that as a possibility)...which leaves me in my current situation, bitching on Slashdot... :\
Yes, so I've heard. Actually the later courses I had just started to taste (well, one at least), was pretty cool. It was a "hands-on" engineering approach to networking, the final project being the creating of a working (but virtual) telephony system.
Actually the field is moving so fast, my daily work (enterprise Java) could
I wholeheartedly agree. College is only a
Yes, certainly college imbues the qualities of persistence and determination. Having had to solve challenging problems in the past will help one in solving challenging problems in the future. However I reached a certain point where I was sick and tired of solving problems and jumping through hoops for their sake alone. There is a point at which the itch to actually DO something is too great. So I scratched that itch. Yes, perhaps I dropped out too soon. I originally majored in physics. I guess if I just endured another three years I might be doing something really interesting.
Well, that is great for MIT. MIT also happens to be an engineering oriented university in the first place. Go somewhere much larger and more general (do advisors remember who you are at MIT?) and faculty access and meaningful research opportunities (i.e. something more than a lab technician job, titrating all day) are harder to come by.
Yes, the tone might not have been the most appropriate...but it comes from exasperation. I used to be on the "right track". But it sure looked like if I held on I would be coming out as yet another preconfigured cog.
Ok, while everbody is lambasting me, let me just clarify. Perhaps I didn't state that in the best way. My point is that a lot of people will be barred simply because they do not already have a BS. I would love to take a crash course like this...sifting out three years of cruft. Let me decide what I want to do with the remaining time. Let /me/ decide how I want to "grow personally". College cannot make you a well-rounded person. Only you can.
Well, I guess this is the fundamental point I disagree on. I too had pipe dreams of magical self-exploration and actualization. But, at least at Big University, it turns out to be pretty much high school all over again, except that you now pay through the nose for being told what to do. You are free to explore all sorts of alternative education avenues, as long as you do it on your own time, or "any color as long as it's black" (so what does college buy me, then?). As for being learning-resistent I have interests in many different topics, with varying ranges of depth, but certainly not things I'd have time to pursue if I were doing rote work. I'm pretty much entirely disillusioned with college in general. The fantasy that it is some enlightening journey of self-exploration is utter bs.
Yes...I flunked the typing section of the SAT. Thanks for pointing that out Anonymous Coward.
I have done all of the above, and am happy to say I am merrily on my way to a fulfilling career as yet another cubicle dwelling valued employee and productive human resource.
I never said I wanted to be a theoretical computer
I went to college early, skipping my senior year, in a special program. The following year I applied and gained entrance to Cornell U. After being bored and insulted with /required/ remedial writing classes, despite my 800 in the Language section of the SAT and my attendence of AP English as a sophomore (apparently they thought that since I skipped my last year of HS I must be an illiteral moron), and obtaining permission from the dean of the Comp Sci department to take 400 and 500+ level courses my freshman year there, which didn't really cover anything new anyway, I dropped out, frustrated and disgusted. I now work for that very same university in the IT dept (my girlfriend still goes to school here...so I'm not heading to the valley just yet). I would like to get a diploma, not because I think it really has any special merit, but because that's what people look for. I know I can probably quit my job and within days get another one anywhere I want, but without the diploma it still feels like the rank and file code grinders think they're better than me. I read in the Jargon file somewhere that a self-made hacker was more respected than those who had to pay to be taught. I guess that's just not true any more.
All I see is posts like:
/dev/nul!"
"OMIGOD the list is open! This is horrible! Spammers will spam us! Close the list!"
"Yes I agree! This is aweful! I will have to filter my mail! Please do not respond!"
"Stop sending 'this is cool' messages! Close the list! I have to redirect to
"OMIGOD the list is open! This is horrible! Spammers will spam us! Close the list!"
etc, etc.
spamming themselves with antispam messages...idiots...
I believe MPEG 4 is a suite of multimedia codecs, comprising of video, audio, surround sound, etc. From what I've read, the audio specs are much better than the MPEG layer 3 quality because MP3 has a whole bunch of legacy crud in it that the MPEG 4 audio standard dispenses with in favor of much better quality/performance/size, etc.
JenniCam is porn? I went there once, for the first time, after visiting the BOFHCam, a JenniCam spoof. But I wasn't really impressed. It was sort of boring. All I saw was a stupid desk. I like BOFHCam better.
Those damn info-mongering librarians never let me get more than seven books out for more than six months. The bastards. I would check out How To Start a Militia if I weren't over my book limit.
If someone invents nanobots that can take care of showering me, like that Jetsons thing, and brushing my teeth automatically I will be thrilled.
That's all.
So when _IS_ a "modern" MPEG 4 audio codec ever going to come out? From what I read, MP3 is basically limited by a whole bunch of legacy cruft...that the technology for much better exists, but there is simply no implementation yet. So somebody write one already!
I agree. And I hope when and if people see me criticizing groups like this they do not take it as a direct assault on the religion or their own beliefs (which is another thread...). I think the major tragedy of groups like these is that they enable people to be conscienceless. It is the zealots, not necessarily the foundation they stand on, that I take issue with. There are perfectly decent Christians just as there are perfectly decent Muslims, Communists, Socialists, Buddhists, . None of those things are inherently "good" or "bad"...they are just different ways of thinking (and in different fields). But with any philosophies there will be people who want to take and twist and exploit it to their own benefit.