It does correct alot of grammatical errors that result from bad spelling, but it can also fix grammatically correct sentences that don't make sense semantically.
For example, if you input "Are the fishes in the dish-washer?" It will correct fishes to dishes. Input "I drove in to work in a bar" and it changes bar to car. These are kind of stupid examples but the system can fix much more complex things as well. People make these kind of mistakes in English around once in 2.5 pages of text. In Spanish and languages where diacritics have semantic meaning it is much higher, around 5 times per page.
Of course, it also handles grammatical errors their\there its\it's and all the other easy to get stuff. But the cool thing about this sytem is that it doesn't rely on part-of-speech information or require a critique system to fix the grammar errors (granted, it will only fix simple ones).
Maybe this isn't the right forum to point this out;), but the new Office 12 contextual spell checker will correct this error (it looks at every word in the sentence and tries to figure out of the word makes sense in context, pretty cool).
MSN search just has piss-poor support for proximity in its searches. Until it can handle multi-word queries as well as google it's just a toy. Adding all these extra wiz-bang AJAX features is cute and I may even use a few from time to time. But google is still my homepage because 99% of my time spent online is search and I want the best tool available.
Much respect for the effort, but reinventing portals and copying features is not the key to innovation no matter how flashy you are.
The one problem I have had \w PVRs is getting the digital channels to work correctly. My old tivo wouldnt do this (maybe series 2 does?).
Anyways, I recently joined the beta program for the Comcast PVR. It is actually running a stripped-down version of windows media center. Now, I hate comcast, but I have to admit this device solves all the problems I had \w my Tivo. 1) the digital channels work 2) the recommendations are less silly 3) it only cost 4 dollars a month extra. I would *much* rather give my money to tivo, but comcast will have them beat once this device goes public.
As for poverty being a "sterotype..." wow, are you ever confused. Maybe making fun of an impoverished nation isn't the most kindhearted thing to do, but saying that poverty and toilets are "indelably [sic] linked... to the African race" is the only real racism here.
Interesting tactic. However, trying to paint me as a racist just isn't going to work, as I am married to an African woman.
As for me being confused about the poverty sterotype: the general populace, having been exposed to countless Save The Children advertisements, does believe that Africans are wholly impoverished, lacking toilets, food, and running water. This is the commmonly held stereotype and I defy you show otherwise. My problem with the article is that it enourages these racial sterotypes, veiled in the guise of humor.
Finally, on your point about me making too much of it...well, I'll have to agree with you. I sincerely doubt it was the author's intent to appear racist, I'll just chalk that up to ignorance. And it is certainly not my intent to get into a drawn out debate over the subject. In the grand scheme this is not a huge deal, however I was taken aback by the near unflinching acceptance of this piece of "humor" by the members of Slashdot. Perhaps I gave them too much credit.
You are joking right? It should be glaringly obvious, the entire page is a joke based upon the racial sterotype of Nigerian-as-spammers. Further, the author refers to the conference attendees eating crickets and white bread, a stereotype on-par with that of African Americans eating fried chicken. There are numerous references to the sterotypical poverty of the nation: the confernce hotel has toilets, running water, 2 cable channels. Each of these stereotypes is indelably linked Nigerian and to the African race in general. So I'd like to turn the challenge back on you, Ludwig. Why don't you take off the rose-colored spectacles and point out exactly where you DO NOT see a racial stereotype on that page?
Wow, that was funny. Nothing helps me get my jollies better than reading repetative email related humor, cleverly interpsersed with blatant racial stereotypes.
Of course, any reasonable person would spot this web site for what it is -- hateful -- and respond with well-deserved scorn. However, since I am typical Slashdot reader, I am so intellegent and above-the-fold that these lowly issues do not touch me. I am beyond the hard black and white of issues, able to see through to the underlying grey as Neo sees through to the underlying truth of the Matrix. And though I am an unparalleled genius, I'd rather not waste a nanosecond of my valuable time to think about what I am reading. No! Such consideratioins flit through my massive brain without impression, inconsequential as gnats swarming an elephant. After all, the site is Just. A. Joke. And as all enlightening minds know, the guise of humor makes any topic acceptable.
I understand the need for companies to protect their intellectual property, what I don't understand is how you can classify such a simple, dare I say obvious, spam prevention scheme as "intellectual." It's scary to see such a huge legal throw-down over code that any programmer worth his weight in thumb-tacks could write in 30 minutes using VBScript. And really, if your entire company is based on something so trivial that little Johnny 12 year-old could reproduce it during recess and still have time to play 4-squares and get in a round of hoops, then it's time to close shop and start flipping burgers because you aren't going to last in the business world. Take heart MailBlocks; Micky D's is always hiring, and the little Johnnys of the world will always want fries with that.
I took Minsky's class last year, and let me tell you, the article couldn't print 75% of the irate stuff he has to say about AI, MIT, and life in general. We once spent an hour class session listening to Misky rant about modern science fiction and random things he didn't like about his Powerbook. In fact, most of his classes were extended rants about something or other (you zealots will be happy to know that he too, hates the Microsoft).
He comes across as affable but bitter. I found it strange that though he cointually complains about the leadership of the AI lab, he and his protege Winston were in control of it for some ~30 years without making any groundbreaking progress. In fact, Minsky's latest work "The Emotion Engine" is simply a retread of his decades-old "Society of Mind." I suspect that now that Brooks and the new guard are moving in, the old guard is looking for someone blame its lack of results on.
What do you mean whatever happened to it? The TabletPC sales figures are outstanding according to the online reports I've seen. For example. You can also do a google search on your own since one link probably isn't convincing enough.
If you check out the link I provided you can get more info, but basically the problem occurs when you have both URLScan and IIS Lockdown installed. Lockdown enters some settings into URLScan which make it block the VS.net debugger. You can fix this by hand-editing some of the URLScan configuration files, but it is annoying because there is no warning that the config files will be changed. This is a widely known problem so try googling for it if you need more info.
I'm not sure if MS has fixed this yet or not, but one reason to run IIS w\o URLScan is that URLscan breaks VS.NET debugging. Clearly, the vast majority of people should run IIS using URLScan, but developers need access to the debugger.
Considering what they make their customers sign for a *tiny* bit of insider information, I can't imagine what they'd make an insider sign. Well if you really want to know, I have an MS offer packet sitting in front of me. All the "scary" stuff is spelled out in a 3 page employee agreement. Here's a summary of the points: 1. Employee will not interfere \w MS's business interests or engage in activity that will interfere \w job performance. 2. Employment is terminable at will, by either party. 3. Nondisclosure agreement. 4. MS owns all copyrights developed during an employee's period of employment. 5. MS owns all inventions developed during an employee's period of employment, unless it was developed on employees own time, does not relate to MS business, and is not derivative of work done at MS. 6. Employees must declare all owned intellectual property\inventions\copyrights before employment. 7. Employment at MS must not infringe upon agreements \w prior employers. 8. Employee must return all materials\documents provided by MS. 9.One-year non-compete\non-solicitation clause. 10. At termination, MS can withhold money from employees to pay debts owed to the company for advances, overpayments, and company store. 11. MS is not responsible for loss of personal property. 12. Violation of any of the previous will be prosecuted if necessary. 13. MS will not pay attorney's fees if court proceedings are brought begun and they are related tot he employee agreement. 14. This agreement is governed by all applicable laws of the state of Washington, yada yada yada.
I'm working from 4 month old memory but here are the major points of what we discussed over 20 minutes.
1. Maria could not work in the Amazon as pure albinos are extremely sensitive to sunlight. Skin cancer is the number 1 cause of death for albinos and it affects a majority of them.
2. (related to point 1) It is too convenient that Maria just happens run into the only man on the planet capable of having her child.
3. Maria lets the tribe be taken away too easily. As a result, her sudden urge to chase them down is jarring. From one sentence to the next she seems to change her mind.
4. Maria gets into the secret compund too easily. How did she know to bring wire cutters and there just happens to be an embankment that allows easy access to the building. Also there are no guards watching over the most valuable genetic stock ever encountered.
5. Why do Maria and The Cure almost immediatly have sex? It is especially strange since he regards her as some kind of demi-goddess.
6. Logistics of driving a jeep through the dense jungle for several hours without running out of fuel.
7. The tribe, which has been isolated in the jungle for thousands of years, speaks near-perfect Portuguese.
Overall the story suffered from too many instance of "it-just-so-happened-that" sydrome, in which the plot always supplies an easy path for the character to follow.
The book was part of the "Year's Best Sci-fi" anthology. In general I re-read everything in the "year's best" since those stories are considered the creme of the crop and I want to understand what the authors are doing right. A first read is good for understanding emotional impact while a second or third is needed to pick up the technical qualities of the work. (I think so anyway.)
How how how did this story win? I have a copy of it on my shelf and have read it three times. I think it's an average story but every time I read it, the plot flaws become more glaring. In fact, I once took a science-fiction writing course instructed by Joe Haldeman and we spent about 20 minutes just discussing inadequacies in this story's plot development. So what I want to know, sincerely, is if any of you Slashdotter's have read this short, then what were your impressions and what makes it an award winner? The reason I ask is that after spending time analyzing the techinical flaws of the story, it came as a shock to see it praised so highly. If this piece isn't highly successful on a technical level, what parts compensate and what makes it so enjoyable?
LaM: And with StarOffice it's fairly easy to change the underlying operating system.
Decrem: That's the beauty of it.
Not true! The beauty of StarOffice is in the load time -- it gives me a moment to reflect...clean under my keybord...wash the car...take the kids to soccer practice...eat dinner...call my mom...watch Farscape...sleep. Then I wake up refreshed with no chores or distractions and StarOffice is ready to go!
Going to have to disagree with you there. I think it depends on the location of the RadioShack and who you speak with when you go. Once, I went there to get an optical->analog converter so that I could hook up some components on my sound system. They didn't have one in stock or in the parts catalog so the manager offered to get someone to *build it for me.* Came back a week later, got the equipment for $30. The best online price for similar equipment I could find was ~$100 for the CO2 converter.
Not be overly negative, but I think you are going about this training session the wrong way. Today's modern world is too fast-paced to fully explain Linux to the MSCE guys. You've got maybe an hour or two max -- not enough time to make an impact when it probably took them several months to get the hang of the Run menu. But there are solutions. I suggest you use a technique employed not only by Microsoft, but by militaristic dictatorships the world over: brainwashing!
That's right! In only a few simple steps you'll have them bowing to the penguin god.
Step 1: Repeating "Linux is superior. MS sux0rs ten thousand times," while showing a video tape of an ubergeek performing complex grep operations on the human genomics database. Tape their eyeball open, Clockwork Orange style. Surefire way to get them into the CLI mindset.
Step 3: If that doesn't work, take advantage of your overhead projector by displaying a HypnoDisk! Hell, it worked for the Penguin so why not? They'll think it's a screen saver but the swirling black and white lines will quickly turn their brains into a pliable mush with the consistency of lukewarm oatmeal -- easy for you to mold and shape as you wish. The best part is that this method is indistinguishable from a normal MSCE session!
Step 2: When all else fails, make an example out of someone. Ask the simple question: "Which database platform is superior, Microsoft SQL Server or Postgre?" First person to answer "MS" gets dragged from the room kicking and screaming by men dressed in long black trench coats. Then a single gunshot sounds, followed by deafening silence. Works like a charm!:-)
It'll be hard work, soldier. The enemy's already had time to entrench, but you can win the day by fighting fire with fire.
Despite the vitriolic nature of the parent post, what he is saying is correct. The university wouldn't have to shell out a dime beyond paying undergrads to install the software. And as the article mentioned, the MS campus representative was interested in converting the cluster to MS. Campus reps have access to a seemingly infinite stream of free MS products and will typically give them to you upon request or have them mailed in from the distribution center. Anyways, the question was about performance not price...
Slashdot Mirror
It does correct alot of grammatical errors that result from bad spelling, but it can also fix grammatically correct sentences that don't make sense semantically. For example, if you input "Are the fishes in the dish-washer?" It will correct fishes to dishes. Input "I drove in to work in a bar" and it changes bar to car. These are kind of stupid examples but the system can fix much more complex things as well. People make these kind of mistakes in English around once in 2.5 pages of text. In Spanish and languages where diacritics have semantic meaning it is much higher, around 5 times per page. Of course, it also handles grammatical errors their\there its\it's and all the other easy to get stuff. But the cool thing about this sytem is that it doesn't rely on part-of-speech information or require a critique system to fix the grammar errors (granted, it will only fix simple ones).
Maybe this isn't the right forum to point this out ;), but the new Office 12 contextual spell checker will correct this error (it looks at every word in the sentence and tries to figure out of the word makes sense in context, pretty cool).
MSN search just has piss-poor support for proximity in its searches. Until it can handle multi-word queries as well as google it's just a toy. Adding all these extra wiz-bang AJAX features is cute and I may even use a few from time to time. But google is still my homepage because 99% of my time spent online is search and I want the best tool available.
Much respect for the effort, but reinventing portals and copying features is not the key to innovation no matter how flashy you are.
The one problem I have had \w PVRs is getting the digital channels to work correctly. My old tivo wouldnt do this (maybe series 2 does?).
Anyways, I recently joined the beta program for the Comcast PVR. It is actually running a stripped-down version of windows media center. Now, I hate comcast, but I have to admit this device solves all the problems I had \w my Tivo. 1) the digital channels work 2) the recommendations are less silly 3) it only cost 4 dollars a month extra. I would *much* rather give my money to tivo, but comcast will have them beat once this device goes public.
I have read this book and I think a more accurate review is found on amazon.com
Interesting tactic. However, trying to paint me as a racist just isn't going to work, as I am married to an African woman.
As for me being confused about the poverty sterotype: the general populace, having been exposed to countless Save The Children advertisements, does believe that Africans are wholly impoverished, lacking toilets, food, and running water. This is the commmonly held stereotype and I defy you show otherwise. My problem with the article is that it enourages these racial sterotypes, veiled in the guise of humor.
Finally, on your point about me making too much of it...well, I'll have to agree with you. I sincerely doubt it was the author's intent to appear racist, I'll just chalk that up to ignorance. And it is certainly not my intent to get into a drawn out debate over the subject. In the grand scheme this is not a huge deal, however I was taken aback by the near unflinching acceptance of this piece of "humor" by the members of Slashdot. Perhaps I gave them too much credit.
You are joking right? It should be glaringly obvious, the entire page is a joke based upon the racial sterotype of Nigerian-as-spammers. Further, the author refers to the conference attendees eating crickets and white bread, a stereotype on-par with that of African Americans eating fried chicken. There are numerous references to the sterotypical poverty of the nation: the confernce hotel has toilets, running water, 2 cable channels. Each of these stereotypes is indelably linked Nigerian and to the African race in general. So I'd like to turn the challenge back on you, Ludwig. Why don't you take off the rose-colored spectacles and point out exactly where you DO NOT see a racial stereotype on that page?
Of course, any reasonable person would spot this web site for what it is -- hateful -- and respond with well-deserved scorn. However, since I am typical Slashdot reader, I am so intellegent and above-the-fold that these lowly issues do not touch me. I am beyond the hard black and white of issues, able to see through to the underlying grey as Neo sees through to the underlying truth of the Matrix. And though I am an unparalleled genius, I'd rather not waste a nanosecond of my valuable time to think about what I am reading. No! Such consideratioins flit through my massive brain without impression, inconsequential as gnats swarming an elephant. After all, the site is Just. A. Joke. And as all enlightening minds know, the guise of humor makes any topic acceptable.
Even racism.
Ha Ha Haaaaa!
I understand the need for companies to protect their intellectual property, what I don't understand is how you can classify such a simple, dare I say obvious, spam prevention scheme as "intellectual." It's scary to see such a huge legal throw-down over code that any programmer worth his weight in thumb-tacks could write in 30 minutes using VBScript. And really, if your entire company is based on something so trivial that little Johnny 12 year-old could reproduce it during recess and still have time to play 4-squares and get in a round of hoops, then it's time to close shop and start flipping burgers because you aren't going to last in the business world. Take heart MailBlocks; Micky D's is always hiring, and the little Johnnys of the world will always want fries with that.
I took Minsky's class last year, and let me tell you, the article couldn't print 75% of the irate stuff he has to say about AI, MIT, and life in general. We once spent an hour class session listening to Misky rant about modern science fiction and random things he didn't like about his Powerbook. In fact, most of his classes were extended rants about something or other (you zealots will be happy to know that he too, hates the Microsoft).
He comes across as affable but bitter. I found it strange that though he cointually complains about the leadership of the AI lab, he and his protege Winston were in control of it for some ~30 years without making any groundbreaking progress. In fact, Minsky's latest work "The Emotion Engine" is simply a retread of his decades-old "Society of Mind." I suspect that now that Brooks and the new guard are moving in, the old guard is looking for someone blame its lack of results on.
What do you mean whatever happened to it?
The TabletPC sales figures are outstanding according to the online reports I've seen. For example. You can also do a google search on your own since one link probably isn't convincing enough.
That was beautiful.
If you check out the link I provided you can get more info, but basically the problem occurs when you have both URLScan and IIS Lockdown installed. Lockdown enters some settings into URLScan which make it block the VS.net debugger. You can fix this by hand-editing some of the URLScan configuration files, but it is annoying because there is no warning that the config files will be changed. This is a widely known problem so try googling for it if you need more info.
I'm not sure if MS has fixed this yet or not, but one reason to run IIS w\o URLScan is that URLscan breaks VS.NET debugging. Clearly, the vast majority of people should run IIS using URLScan, but developers need access to the debugger.
Considering what they make their customers sign for a *tiny* bit of insider information, I can't imagine what they'd make an insider sign.
Well if you really want to know, I have an MS offer packet sitting in front of me. All the "scary" stuff is spelled out in a 3 page employee agreement. Here's a summary of the points:
1. Employee will not interfere \w MS's business interests or engage in activity that will interfere \w job performance.
2. Employment is terminable at will, by either party.
3. Nondisclosure agreement.
4. MS owns all copyrights developed during an employee's period of employment.
5. MS owns all inventions developed during an employee's period of employment, unless it was developed on employees own time, does not relate to MS business, and is not derivative of work done at MS.
6. Employees must declare all owned intellectual property\inventions\copyrights before employment.
7. Employment at MS must not infringe upon agreements \w prior employers.
8. Employee must return all materials\documents provided by MS.
9.One-year non-compete\non-solicitation clause.
10. At termination, MS can withhold money from employees to pay debts owed to the company for advances, overpayments, and company store.
11. MS is not responsible for loss of personal property.
12. Violation of any of the previous will be prosecuted if necessary.
13. MS will not pay attorney's fees if court proceedings are brought begun and they are related tot he employee agreement.
14. This agreement is governed by all applicable laws of the state of Washington, yada yada yada.
Sorry, it's pretty standard and boring.
Neat stuff.
1. Maria could not work in the Amazon as pure albinos are extremely sensitive to sunlight. Skin cancer is the number 1 cause of death for albinos and it affects a majority of them.
2. (related to point 1) It is too convenient that Maria just happens run into the only man on the planet capable of having her child.
3. Maria lets the tribe be taken away too easily. As a result, her sudden urge to chase them down is jarring. From one sentence to the next she seems to change her mind.
4. Maria gets into the secret compund too easily. How did she know to bring wire cutters and there just happens to be an embankment that allows easy access to the building. Also there are no guards watching over the most valuable genetic stock ever encountered.
5. Why do Maria and The Cure almost immediatly have sex? It is especially strange since he regards her as some kind of demi-goddess.
6. Logistics of driving a jeep through the dense jungle for several hours without running out of fuel.
7. The tribe, which has been isolated in the jungle for thousands of years, speaks near-perfect Portuguese.
Overall the story suffered from too many instance of "it-just-so-happened-that" sydrome, in which the plot always supplies an easy path for the character to follow.
The book was part of the "Year's Best Sci-fi" anthology. In general I re-read everything in the "year's best" since those stories are considered the creme of the crop and I want to understand what the authors are doing right. A first read is good for understanding emotional impact while a second or third is needed to pick up the technical qualities of the work. (I think so anyway.)
How how how did this story win? I have a copy of it on my shelf and have read it three times. I think it's an average story but every time I read it, the plot flaws become more glaring. In fact, I once took a science-fiction writing course instructed by Joe Haldeman and we spent about 20 minutes just discussing inadequacies in this story's plot development. So what I want to know, sincerely, is if any of you Slashdotter's have read this short, then what were your impressions and what makes it an award winner? The reason I ask is that after spending time analyzing the techinical flaws of the story, it came as a shock to see it praised so highly. If this piece isn't highly successful on a technical level, what parts compensate and what makes it so enjoyable?
He's got my vote if he adds to his platform a tax credit for sci-fi induced pain.
Decrem: That's the beauty of it.
Not true! The beauty of StarOffice is in the load time -- it gives me a moment to reflect...clean under my keybord...wash the car...take the kids to soccer practice...eat dinner...call my mom...watch Farscape...sleep. Then I wake up refreshed with no chores or distractions and StarOffice is ready to go!
McAfee stopped it cold.
Going to have to disagree with you there. I think it depends on the location of the RadioShack and who you speak with when you go. Once, I went there to get an optical->analog converter so that I could hook up some components on my sound system. They didn't have one in stock or in the parts catalog so the manager offered to get someone to *build it for me.* Came back a week later, got the equipment for $30. The best online price for similar equipment I could find was ~$100 for the CO2 converter.
That's right! In only a few simple steps you'll have them bowing to the penguin god.
Step 1: Repeating "Linux is superior. MS sux0rs ten thousand times," while showing a video tape of an ubergeek performing complex grep operations on the human genomics database. Tape their eyeball open, Clockwork Orange style. Surefire way to get them into the CLI mindset.
Step 3: If that doesn't work, take advantage of your overhead projector by displaying a HypnoDisk! Hell, it worked for the Penguin so why not? They'll think it's a screen saver but the swirling black and white lines will quickly turn their brains into a pliable mush with the consistency of lukewarm oatmeal -- easy for you to mold and shape as you wish. The best part is that this method is indistinguishable from a normal MSCE session!
Step 2: When all else fails, make an example out of someone. Ask the simple question: "Which database platform is superior, Microsoft SQL Server or Postgre?" First person to answer "MS" gets dragged from the room kicking and screaming by men dressed in long black trench coats. Then a single gunshot sounds, followed by deafening silence. Works like a charm! :-)
It'll be hard work, soldier. The enemy's already had time to entrench, but you can win the day by fighting fire with fire.
[/drunken_rambling]
Despite the vitriolic nature of the parent post, what he is saying is correct. The university wouldn't have to shell out a dime beyond paying undergrads to install the software. And as the article mentioned, the MS campus representative was interested in converting the cluster to MS. Campus reps have access to a seemingly infinite stream of free MS products and will typically give them to you upon request or have them mailed in from the distribution center. Anyways, the question was about performance not price...