Why just today a bunch of friends wrote - there was Tim, Sinjin and Elrond letting me know about my problem with the gym & weight loss, and don't forget Mike who told me how to increase my love muscle!
I getmail from all the gals too, such as Sonjia and Marci, who both saw my stats on a dataing site (funny I never signed up for any dating sites...) but they REALLY want to meet me!
That guy who wrote the article must just be a loser.;-D
Microsoft seems to have lots of ideas for cornering the market, problem is they don't work on thier market as much as trying to corner all the rest (unless to make it in favor of thiers.)
Until Vista comes out and proves to be something that solves their issues of worms, security, and spam zombies I think thier resources are best suited on what they already have (fix Windows, Outlook, IE, etc.). And if Vista doesn't, well they will need to still thier problems.
Since Microsoft is primarily a manufacturer and marketer of thier OS we already know any aquisition of a search service is an extension of thier software (and video game) marketing department. Do they care about kids wanting to get the facts right for thier book report? only as far as it helps sell Windows/Office, etc. and keeps them there, or helps generate revenue through Windows/Office, etc.
Software $$ but none for training, administration or hardware... Doesn't sound like a winner for kids in school to me. I'ts like a car compnay donating cars for drivers education but the school can't afford drivers ed teachers or liability insurance.
Having a ton of propietary software to manage (not to mention the 'free' licenses) isn't necessarily a good thing.
The key phrase is "interoperable with software which uses the GPL", sounds like maybe a compatibility layer for using Linux stuff to me (will have to name it LINE or something I guess). So they can say, you can run your Kontact or whatever (insert Linux only software title here) on Windows, there's no need to deal with sound or video driver hell...
Or maybe MS certified VPC for Linux, that would make "Windows Software interoperable" with GPL stuff.
They really isn't any mention about "documents", "media" or "data", and I don't think that is their intent.
Getting the gist of a language is one thing, but to be able to use it for what it is intended is another. I am sure you will be writing Hello World in a few hours at most but I am sure it will take you at least a few months to get into the groove with what makes C# (or any other langiuage) unique for whatever you are doing.
If you came into my office and said "Well, I don't know language X but I should be able to knock out production code with it in a day and a half would give me the willies."
Just think of PHP, easy to learn, easy to exloit noob code.
Obviously some safety precautions were in place as the guy had to "climb over a safety fence" to get to the robot. But there should have been some other fail-safe measure to sense non-robot objects in the work area and cancel operation (floor sensor, light sensor, etc.) Thus avoid the potential problem of accidentally switching the robot on while doing maintenance within the danger zone.
The three laws of robotics will only apply when... well.. when WE actually apply them, not the robots.
So they are effecivly loosing all thier in-house talent and relying on people from another country to be their innovative core - and keep thier value. Heh.
A few yewars down the line they will realise they have no more intrinsic value (as the outsourcing companies and staff are also doing the same thing for just about every other bank) and might as well merge with more failing banks to try to survive.
All I can see with outsourcing is we are paying/training/encouraging people in foriegn countries to work better than us. Yep, not really helping the American education standards or our econpmy in the long run.
I think they should call them para-technologists or some other pseudo term. Except for a rare few most of them just won't really be techie.
It seems to me a way to get the MBSa and such integrated into the information age. They won't replace programmers or sys-admins but they may be ther new bosses of them (with just rnough knowledge to be dangerous).
I guess they want to play Monopoly with Microsoft.
I can see this is probably a knee jerk marketing action to boost sales, but it's like saying "We commit support the platform everyone else is supporting already and are not prepared for any weird change in the industry."
So in general there is no real news here: "Our offerings have just become more limited than what they had been in the past. the public should be impressed by that fact, and should give us their business."
Create a captcha that relies on a currently unsolved problem of computing (such as interpreting scratchy audio into words) and see what technology is hacked together to get past it.
As far as it all being so basic, you will find everything in computers is actually basic, it's just a bunch of basic methods piled upon one another that makes it seem so complex. Stuff being basic certainly isn't a bad thing, in fact you'll appreciate the basic nature of it all after a while.
If you want to develop for the Web I would say start with HTML and CSS as it's the primary language of browsers (it's not glamourus but to be really good you should know how to control it). As you get going check out Javascript, PHP/Perl/Ruby/Python/Java, an SQLish db, etc.
If you are going for more of a games or more immidiate interactivity bent, then you probably want to start with C, C++ or a higher level General Purpose language Like Python or VB.
As you work with one technology you can experiment with the others and see what fits. The important part is if you want to devlop a this into a career you need to do as much DOING (if not more) than LEARNING. Jump in! Make mistakes! Have fun! After a while you will get better and be able to make bigger mistakes... er.. I mean have more fantastic sucesses. (actually both are true; double, triple check your code.)
I compared Word documents (on a Windows machine) to ODF documents (on Linux) and discovered that Word documents post a higher risk of security vulnerabilities then the ODF format. Without multiple 3rd-party utilities to secure the word documents the computer seems to get infected more with worms, viruses and spyware, where the ODF computer seems to be very stable and secure.
Word documents obviously have some serious problems.
If the goal is to have well rounded programmers (not the part about the high contents of sugar and fat, the'll learn that themselves) I would do both IDE and vanilla editors. Use the text editors and such to show them that can code on the fly without an IDE and also cover the IDE as a better way to manage your projects.
If you have a lab with 1:1 on computers you may want to make a test of writing a simple script or without an IDE, to lety them see it can be done.
But I will second the reccomendation for Tech Soup, they have NAV enterprise edition with bulk licenses and all that server based virus administration goodness that Windsows people seem to need. Plus there are a bunch of other non-profit items you can get (MS Licensing is dirt cheap).
Big tip though - read the fine print on 'donatioon' limitations and plan your orders accordingly. Some of them limit to which types of NPs they will 'donate' to (Macromedia), some tie in annual maintenence/warranty costs for the life of the product you get (cisco), or put very specific ordering restrictions/guidelines (MS). But it is worth the effort.
Those are the two to look for. Graphics is pretty easy nowadays, I got an Acer a year ago that runs well has an Intel chipset, though the WiFi support is (was? not sure havent trried for a few\ months) lousy (it's a Linksys InproComm something...)
Besides that I AM a Mac user, I prefer Linux the OSX to use GNU apps, not everything Linuxy works on OSX.
How about a better driver support system, as an example When you start up Windows or plug in a new gizmo to Windows it responds by either saying something to the effect of "I've installed a driver" or "Insert a driver disk for this."
Linux, either passes on things it can't install, says they are there but there is no driver, or goes with the generic one-size-fits-all driver and goes no further configuring it.
A little bit more interactivity to adding/changing/configuring hardware would not hurt Linux.
I've got many emails over the years on asking verious questions on repairing old PETs (I have a couple simple fixes like check the sockets, clean contacts etc. but I'm not a hardware guy). The popular classic computers like the Atari 800, Apple II, VIC, C64, etc. have some really nice troubleshooting cheatsheets and guides, usually with text like 'if this is the symptom, check and/or replace these items..' Unfortuantely for the less popular machines (PET, Coleco Adam, etc, etc) there are no or very few guides.
If you did your repairs and also worked up some rudimentary troubleshooting guide (or better set up a Wiki) for others I think you would be doing a bigger service to the classic computer communtity than just some me-too restorations.
If you want a challenge for a restoration I would go and get a classic system restored and running, then gather a bunch of choice apps for the system and code up some easy front end (on that system or use a virtual drive, something friendlier) to demonstrate the actual programs in an "exhibit environment" (easy reset/reload, nice menu, etc.), a computer that successfully lights READY. is one thing, but one that also presents a menu of some of the popular games or programs of the time to experience is something way better.
I would attribute most of my writing improvement (not typing if you see a typo) to posting in various public discussion fourums, you get a lot of feedback and by answering noob questions you work on communicating your wisdom to novice levels.
Back in the day (of BBSs) I ran several continuing stories on my board, I think it was one of the best things for my writing. It was fun to write something that wasn't work related (or computers for that matter) and also a challenge, such as trying to write a party tavern discussion or hand to hand combat, it certinaly was a fun syntatic/grammatic excersize.
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I think it's two parts that keep a lot of kids ignorant of thier ability to learn proramming. One is the most (what's Windows market share?) operating systems do not have any easily accessible programming languages. These are ones that are pre-loaded with the OS/utility set or at least an installable option from the OS disk.
Another part of the accessibility is it should have a good easy to understand syntax I don't think most noobs would get into spaghetti coding by themselves. Examples of some popular languages with approchable syntax are Python and PHP. Python has a immediate-mode command line interpreter which also make an introduction easier in my mind.
Second is some introductory tutorials in using the built in languages, from how to start and use them to enting your first commands to getting some simple programming using variables, control statements and loops. I've seen many good ones in the Linux magazines, but rarely anything of that sort for the other platforms.
The reason the 80's generation had it so easy was that the majority of computers had one form or other of BASIC in ROM or included with the DOS disks, and almost every computer magazine had type-in programs, which even if there was no tutorial users got a sense that mere mortals could write games or simple weather forcasting programs.
Do we need to go back to BASICs? I don't think so, in using Python and PHP I see it is way more easier to understand than 80's BASIC was (line numbers added to the confusion), we just need to return accessibility of tools to make it an opportunity instead of a struggle.
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I getmail from all the gals too, such as Sonjia and Marci, who both saw my stats on a dataing site (funny I never signed up for any dating sites...) but they REALLY want to meet me!
That guy who wrote the article must just be a loser. ;-D
Until Vista comes out and proves to be something that solves their issues of worms, security, and spam zombies I think thier resources are best suited on what they already have (fix Windows, Outlook, IE, etc.). And if Vista doesn't, well they will need to still thier problems.
Since Microsoft is primarily a manufacturer and marketer of thier OS we already know any aquisition of a search service is an extension of thier software (and video game) marketing department. Do they care about kids wanting to get the facts right for thier book report? only as far as it helps sell Windows/Office, etc. and keeps them there, or helps generate revenue through Windows/Office, etc.
Having a ton of propietary software to manage (not to mention the 'free' licenses) isn't necessarily a good thing.
Or maybe MS certified VPC for Linux, that would make "Windows Software interoperable" with GPL stuff.
They really isn't any mention about "documents", "media" or "data", and I don't think that is their intent.
If you came into my office and said "Well, I don't know language X but I should be able to knock out production code with it in a day and a half would give me the willies."
Just think of PHP, easy to learn, easy to exloit noob code.
Obviously some safety precautions were in place as the guy had to "climb over a safety fence" to get to the robot. But there should have been some other fail-safe measure to sense non-robot objects in the work area and cancel operation (floor sensor, light sensor, etc.) Thus avoid the potential problem of accidentally switching the robot on while doing maintenance within the danger zone.
... well .. when WE actually apply them, not the robots.
The three laws of robotics will only apply when
A few yewars down the line they will realise they have no more intrinsic value (as the outsourcing companies and staff are also doing the same thing for just about every other bank) and might as well merge with more failing banks to try to survive.
All I can see with outsourcing is we are paying/training/encouraging people in foriegn countries to work better than us. Yep, not really helping the American education standards or our econpmy in the long run.
BZFlag is fun.
It seems to me a way to get the MBSa and such integrated into the information age. They won't replace programmers or sys-admins but they may be ther new bosses of them (with just rnough knowledge to be dangerous).
I can see this is probably a knee jerk marketing action to boost sales, but it's like saying "We commit support the platform everyone else is supporting already and are not prepared for any weird change in the industry."
So in general there is no real news here: "Our offerings have just become more limited than what they had been in the past. the public should be impressed by that fact, and should give us their business."
Did you look, it's on-line. Got it last night. It's nice.
Create a captcha that relies on a currently unsolved problem of computing (such as interpreting scratchy audio into words) and see what technology is hacked together to get past it.
If you want to develop for the Web I would say start with HTML and CSS as it's the primary language of browsers (it's not glamourus but to be really good you should know how to control it). As you get going check out Javascript, PHP/Perl/Ruby/Python/Java, an SQLish db, etc.
If you are going for more of a games or more immidiate interactivity bent, then you probably want to start with C, C++ or a higher level General Purpose language Like Python or VB.
As you work with one technology you can experiment with the others and see what fits. The important part is if you want to devlop a this into a career you need to do as much DOING (if not more) than LEARNING. Jump in! Make mistakes! Have fun! After a while you will get better and be able to make bigger mistakes... er.. I mean have more fantastic sucesses. (actually both are true; double, triple check your code.)
Word documents obviously have some serious problems.
And what about Total Cost of Ownership... Oh wait, that's Microsoft's TCO, not the users... ;-)
If you have a lab with 1:1 on computers you may want to make a test of writing a simple script or without an IDE, to lety them see it can be done.
Sounds good enough for US. Microsoft and Diebold would agree.
But I will second the reccomendation for Tech Soup, they have NAV enterprise edition with bulk licenses and all that server based virus administration goodness that Windsows people seem to need. Plus there are a bunch of other non-profit items you can get (MS Licensing is dirt cheap).
Big tip though - read the fine print on 'donatioon' limitations and plan your orders accordingly. Some of them limit to which types of NPs they will 'donate' to (Macromedia), some tie in annual maintenence/warranty costs for the life of the product you get (cisco), or put very specific ordering restrictions/guidelines (MS). But it is worth the effort.
Besides that I AM a Mac user, I prefer Linux the OSX to use GNU apps, not everything Linuxy works on OSX.
Linux, either passes on things it can't install, says they are there but there is no driver, or goes with the generic one-size-fits-all driver and goes no further configuring it.
A little bit more interactivity to adding/changing/configuring hardware would not hurt Linux.
If you did your repairs and also worked up some rudimentary troubleshooting guide (or better set up a Wiki) for others I think you would be doing a bigger service to the classic computer communtity than just some me-too restorations.
If you want a challenge for a restoration I would go and get a classic system restored and running, then gather a bunch of choice apps for the system and code up some easy front end (on that system or use a virtual drive, something friendlier) to demonstrate the actual programs in an "exhibit environment" (easy reset/reload, nice menu, etc.), a computer that successfully lights READY. is one thing, but one that also presents a menu of some of the popular games or programs of the time to experience is something way better.
Back in the day (of BBSs) I ran several continuing stories on my board, I think it was one of the best things for my writing. It was fun to write something that wasn't work related (or computers for that matter) and also a challenge, such as trying to write a party tavern discussion or hand to hand combat, it certinaly was a fun syntatic/grammatic excersize.
I'm thinking because kukyfrope is just some industry blogger.
Ever wanted to say "...and would you like some fries with that?" and really mean it? Here is your opportunity!
Call Timmy Wilson, (555)555-5555
Another part of the accessibility is it should have a good easy to understand syntax I don't think most noobs would get into spaghetti coding by themselves. Examples of some popular languages with approchable syntax are Python and PHP. Python has a immediate-mode command line interpreter which also make an introduction easier in my mind.
Second is some introductory tutorials in using the built in languages, from how to start and use them to enting your first commands to getting some simple programming using variables, control statements and loops. I've seen many good ones in the Linux magazines, but rarely anything of that sort for the other platforms.
The reason the 80's generation had it so easy was that the majority of computers had one form or other of BASIC in ROM or included with the DOS disks, and almost every computer magazine had type-in programs, which even if there was no tutorial users got a sense that mere mortals could write games or simple weather forcasting programs.
Do we need to go back to BASICs? I don't think so, in using Python and PHP I see it is way more easier to understand than 80's BASIC was (line numbers added to the confusion), we just need to return accessibility of tools to make it an opportunity instead of a struggle.