I know that in all likely hood no one will read this as I am posting too late, but WHAT!!!
The problem with computes is not one of education. Why should an average computer user spend time learning the intricacies of a computer. The problem with computers is that they are too complex. We should be concentrating on making computers as easy to use for the end user, not telling them that they should learn how to use them.
>Google or a manual.
When your computer does not work? That is the kind of comment I have heard from ISPs when you phone up becuase your internet connection is broken.
As for your list of things users should do:
Get a software firewall (ZoneAlarm) that tells you when an internal software package is calling home. As an end user I should not have to do this. A good firewall should come free as standard on computers. By the time I have downloaded ZoneAlarm my computer may already have been hacked. This is not a suggestion for users, but should be one for PC vendors.
Get AdAware, SpyBot, and SpywareBlaster. Keep them up to date and scan frequently. Most end users do not even know what spyware is, let alone know about these tools. Also whenever I have used these products they have not presented results in an end user friendly way. As before this support should come as standard an end user should never need to worry. Any spyware should be seen and shot down automatically.
Install all the latest updates for your OS and keep them up to date. Should be automatic, thank you Microsoft for seeing the light with XP SP2.
Don't install something that you don't understand. Check with Google first. It's not hard to spend the 5 minutes with a Google search on the name of the program you want to install to find out if it phones home (and if you don't at least you have ZoneAlarm to give you a heads up). Erm, not much to say here, it is a good general point, but if we got people to only install signed software then perhaps this would be an easier way to eliviate the problem.
Get some sort of virus protection (i.e. NAV or AVG) Which works fine until the subscription expires and you forget to extend it.
Realize that regular maintenance is required for ANY piece of hardware (cars, HVAC, etc). Do you not change your oil every ~3000 miles? Do you not check your air filters in your home every month or two? Do you not add water softener salt every month? I am guessing for most of these no one. Certainly I leave my oil change to a service. I am not even sure I know how to drain the oil sump. Can't comment on the others as I do not have anything at home that requires them.
I think the point I am trying to make is that we should be concentrating on helping users with these problems not by saying they need to learn more, or that they cannot learn more or whatever, but we should help them by working to make computers easier to use and harder to mess up. We should recognise that people are afraid of their computers, do not have the time and do not want to spend the time learning how to get round these problems. Great innovation comes when we put our mind to solving problems of usability.
While I agree that there is a major difference between programming and computer science I diagree with your statement that a good university will not teach you to write code.
In my opinion a bad university is one that:
Does not teach you how to code
Only teaches you how to code
The problem with not teaching people how to code is that people will end up writing code that only they can read, and in my experience would not be able to read after a 2 week break.
I did a Computer Science degree and found that it taught a good mix. We were taught how to program and the principles of programming as well as all the other stuff. I say all the other stuff because I have not used any of it since leaving university.
I think that there is more need for good Software Engineers than for good Computer Scientists as everyone I know who did a Computer Science degree is no working as a Software Engineer.
On the point raised. In my experience (admitidly in the UK) the only person who cared about my degree were the HR department of the company that hired me. The decision to hire me was not made by the HR department, and they made more of a fuss about it than anyone. Although I cannot prove this I suspect that had I then failed to get the degree no one would have cared.
Currently the way it stands in the UK the British electorate has a legal right to contact their local MPs, there would be uproar if Tony Blair even suggested that this could be done. Which is a good thing, people don't trust politians as it is, without making them even more accountable.
As for how well it works in the US, I would disagree it just means that bodies with the most money have a disproportional say in how the country works.
In any case some of the problems with the filtering seems to have been with internal emails as well as external ones.
So why are you cautioned when you don't produce when asked your drivers licence, you only get cautioned if you have comitted an offence. In any case the police advising you not to leave your licence in the car does not mean that they say you shouldn't carry it as you can take it with you when you leave the car.
Personally I don't have a problem with ID cards, whether they have biometric information on them or not. What I really would object to is being required to carry one and produce one on the request of a Police Officer.
Someone earlier said that you don't have to carry your drivers licence in the UK when you drive, well technically you do. It is an offence to not produce a licence if stopped by the police, the worst you can get though is a caution and a notice to show your licence, MOT and insurance at a police station in seven days.
Also in many european countries people are required to carry id cards at all times, these have photos on them and could have other data too.
I'm not lawyer yada yada yada. And not being an American I will not pretend to know anything about the laws in the US relating to subpheonas, but if there is no address how can you guarantee that the subpheona is legal. I assume that the regulations change from state to state and it must get worse if the person being servied lives outside the US. There are treaties and such that must be abided by, even if you can serve someone who does not live in the US. I have an email several email addresses that end in.com, and I am sure I could get one that ends in.us if I wanted, but that does not mean I live in the US. With most legal stuff the wording has to be very precise and if you serve someone and the language is wrong then surely it is invalid.
If I am wrong then please point it out.
Of course here in the UK opening someone elses email is likely to constitute a breach of the Misuse of Computers Act 1980 (or some similar year.) Unless that person has specific permission to read the mail, but the with snail mail you can give another permission to open your mail. How many CEOs of companies open their mail? I bet they all have PAs to do it.
It seems to me that there is some confusion as to what Eclipse actually is. Eclipse is a framework for writing integrated tools. The programming environment is a set of tools written using the eclipse framework, not the programing environment in itself.
It seems to me that Eclipse and Sourceforge are two different entities. Sourceforge has always seemed to me to be a place where Open Source projects are available. Eclipse on the other had is a framework that can be used to write intergrated tools for software products. Using eclipse two different companies tools can integrate in a smart way. Take a look at the website
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I know that in all likely hood no one will read this as I am posting too late, but WHAT!!!
The problem with computes is not one of education. Why should an average computer user spend time learning the intricacies of a computer. The problem with computers is that they are too complex. We should be concentrating on making computers as easy to use for the end user, not telling them that they should learn how to use them.
>Google or a manual.
When your computer does not work? That is the kind of comment I have heard from ISPs when you phone up becuase your internet connection is broken.
As for your list of things users should do:
As an end user I should not have to do this. A good firewall should come free as standard on computers. By the time I have downloaded ZoneAlarm my computer may already have been hacked. This is not a suggestion for users, but should be one for PC vendors.
Most end users do not even know what spyware is, let alone know about these tools. Also whenever I have used these products they have not presented results in an end user friendly way. As before this support should come as standard an end user should never need to worry. Any spyware should be seen and shot down automatically.
Should be automatic, thank you Microsoft for seeing the light with XP SP2.
Erm, not much to say here, it is a good general point, but if we got people to only install signed software then perhaps this would be an easier way to eliviate the problem.
Which works fine until the subscription expires and you forget to extend it.
I am guessing for most of these no one. Certainly I leave my oil change to a service. I am not even sure I know how to drain the oil sump. Can't comment on the others as I do not have anything at home that requires them.
I think the point I am trying to make is that we should be concentrating on helping users with these problems not by saying they need to learn more, or that they cannot learn more or whatever, but we should help them by working to make computers easier to use and harder to mess up. We should recognise that people are afraid of their computers, do not have the time and do not want to spend the time learning how to get round these problems. Great innovation comes when we put our mind to solving problems of usability.
Well my 2 cents worth.
While I agree that there is a major difference between programming and computer science I diagree with your statement that a good university will not teach you to write code.
In my opinion a bad university is one that:
The problem with not teaching people how to code is that people will end up writing code that only they can read, and in my experience would not be able to read after a 2 week break.
I did a Computer Science degree and found that it taught a good mix. We were taught how to program and the principles of programming as well as all the other stuff. I say all the other stuff because I have not used any of it since leaving university.
I think that there is more need for good Software Engineers than for good Computer Scientists as everyone I know who did a Computer Science degree is no working as a Software Engineer.
On the point raised. In my experience (admitidly in the UK) the only person who cared about my degree were the HR department of the company that hired me. The decision to hire me was not made by the HR department, and they made more of a fuss about it than anyone. Although I cannot prove this I suspect that had I then failed to get the degree no one would have cared.
Currently the way it stands in the UK the British electorate has a legal right to contact their local MPs, there would be uproar if Tony Blair even suggested that this could be done. Which is a good thing, people don't trust politians as it is, without making them even more accountable. As for how well it works in the US, I would disagree it just means that bodies with the most money have a disproportional say in how the country works. In any case some of the problems with the filtering seems to have been with internal emails as well as external ones.
So why are you cautioned when you don't produce when asked your drivers licence, you only get cautioned if you have comitted an offence. In any case the police advising you not to leave your licence in the car does not mean that they say you shouldn't carry it as you can take it with you when you leave the car.
Personally I don't have a problem with ID cards, whether they have biometric information on them or not. What I really would object to is being required to carry one and produce one on the request of a Police Officer.
Someone earlier said that you don't have to carry your drivers licence in the UK when you drive, well technically you do. It is an offence to not produce a licence if stopped by the police, the worst you can get though is a caution and a notice to show your licence, MOT and insurance at a police station in seven days.
Also in many european countries people are required to carry id cards at all times, these have photos on them and could have other data too.
Just my 2 cents worth.
I'm not lawyer yada yada yada. And not being an American I will not pretend to know anything about the laws in the US relating to subpheonas, but if there is no address how can you guarantee that the subpheona is legal. I assume that the regulations change from state to state and it must get worse if the person being servied lives outside the US. There are treaties and such that must be abided by, even if you can serve someone who does not live in the US. I have an email several email addresses that end in .com, and I am sure I could get one that ends in .us if I wanted, but that does not mean I live in the US. With most legal stuff the wording has to be very precise and if you serve someone and the language is wrong then surely it is invalid.
If I am wrong then please point it out.
Of course here in the UK opening someone elses email is likely to constitute a breach of the Misuse of Computers Act 1980 (or some similar year.) Unless that person has specific permission to read the mail, but the with snail mail you can give another permission to open your mail. How many CEOs of companies open their mail? I bet they all have PAs to do it.
It seems to me that there is some confusion as to what Eclipse actually is. Eclipse is a framework for writing integrated tools. The programming environment is a set of tools written using the eclipse framework, not the programing environment in itself.
It seems to me that Eclipse and Sourceforge are two different entities. Sourceforge has always seemed to me to be a place where Open Source projects are available. Eclipse on the other had is a framework that can be used to write intergrated tools for software products. Using eclipse two different companies tools can integrate in a smart way. Take a look at the website
For more information on the Eclipse project look at www.eclipse.org