This is a legitimate question. While in grad (yes engineering grad school in '04-'06, the classroom was full of laptops being used primarily for IM'ing and surreptitiously poking fun at the instructor and other student during presentations to the class and for checking sports scores. Oh yeah, and the occasional web search for something relevant to the class. Note taking, scoff! scoff! The notes are usually already available in the form of hand-outs, and/or powerpoint presentations which are readily downloadable. I would have much preferred a more thoughtful dialog from these distracted students. The act of listening and actively summarizing the information on paper is an extremely effective, time-proven method of assimilating the material.
Another stroke of brilliance (sarcasm) and another brick in the wall. I wonder what kinds of discussion occurred and with whom at Intel's marketing department on how they would sell this to the "sleeping lemmings". Where might such a requirement might have arisen? Incorporation of a mobile 3G transceiver onto the die doesn't come for free. Speculation: Can you spell US government subsidy to INTEL for each Sandy Bridge Processor sold? This is or may become a path for surveillance of non-internet connected computers with a handy marketable AntiTheft angle.
Security asset? This is an I/T security nightmare! This should yield some interesting posts in the future as we read how this access point will be exploited. If this story is true, one should think twice about purchasing INTEL CPUs. Consider other processors and virtualized Intel machines.
I remember when a "crazy-like-a-fox" man named Richard Stallman wrote, in his Free Software Manifesto Article which appeared in Dr. Dobbs Journal in the 80's about making and distributing world-class software completely free of charge in an effort to foster the free and open interchange of s/w technology and ideas.
The outrage and cry from the software industry was just as threatening and abusive at that time as comments from music industry executives on Prince's announcement. And what has come of all of the dire predictions from those s/w industry executives?
The predictions were dire indeed only for those companies that were out of gas having nothing more to offer and who had stagnated. Their dying gasps (and money) were and still are being expended funding lawyers to find ways to buy time, stave off progress, and, in general, hinder the open sharing of s/w technology. Does this ring any bells? Can you spell Santa Cruz Operation (SCO)? There are others as well.
The dying gasps of an industry that is bankrupt of ideas and likely not serving their customers or clients is best identified as such when they turn to the use and abuse of law to slow down or stop change in their industry. Write it on a rock. Distribution is changing. Old limited distribution and payment models do not suffice or serve the needs of customers or their clients but only serve the needs of a bunch of stiffs who have abandoned their first love - Music.
Yours truly,
Future Expressionist
Another example of an outmoded business model using the last means at its disposal (lawyers) to try with white knuckles clinched to hold onto customers while at the same time stabbing them in the back. The pattern is very predictable.
When an an established industry is disrupted by technology and no longer has any intellectual property to enable their business, they call in the lawyers and try, by manipulation of law, to force society to continue to support their outmoded business model.
The traditional distribution of recorded music will continue for some years, but they will not control the channels like they used to and as a result, revenues will decrease and some of these old farts who have been riding on the shoulders of the musicians that paid their way will have to find other work.
Alternative Electric power is only cost effective where conventional power is unavailable.
It will cost you to have electric power delivered 20 miles down that long dirt road to the cabin in the woods. In that instance alternative energy for the cabin becomes a necessity. Coincidentally you are likely to have less zoning and regulation issues related to your neighborhood.
Not only is there an issue with the ROI for windpower, it is not even feasibile unless you live in certain parts of the country where sufficient air movement can consistently provide power. Wind charts are available to help determine whether wind power is a candidate for you. Under other circumstances, dollars should be applied to improving usage of the $0.02/KWHr energy that you have. The most effective alternative energy application is direct solar heating of water or air (no conversion losses). Resistance heating is a real electric power burner. Consider installing a hybrid solar water heating system instead.Regards - FutureExpressionist, MSEE, PE
Having just completed an MS degree after being away from Univ for ~30 yrs, I can attest to the distraction of laptop computer in the classroom. While I can count on one hand the number of times
someone looked up something during class for the benefit of the class, most of the laptops I observed in use during class were being used for playing games, instant messaging, viewing sports scores, and surfing. IT WAS A TOTAL DISTRACTION. India's decision to reject the offer shows a degree of understanding about the educational process that the egghead creators of this program don't seem to get. Much more benefit can be delivered by ensuring these same students have clean water to drink, and freedom from curable disease (Malaria). Then maybe they will be well enough to hear a teacher and participate in class.
Treason doth never prosper, for if it prosper, none dare call it treason. Publius Ovidius Naso, March 20, 43 BCE to 17 CE
Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations.
The Patriot Act resonates strongly with Ovid's statement. Typical boogeyman psychology is designed to foment fear and justification for the agenda of a few who are willing to compromise the rule of law (even those established by themselves) for expediency's sake.
Another expression of faulty thinking is "The End Justifies the Means". A trial was held in recent history to establish the falacy of this position. The sacificial lamb in that trial was Oliver North. Expediency takes baby-steps to anarchy.
I've done both -- worked contract under job shops for a few years 2000-2003, then went freelance starting my own consultancy.
Anonymous makes valid points. Job shops typically have a salesperson with some number of accounts into which they are frequently in contact (especially in Q4 when staffing decisions are being made). They also usually have 2 to 4 recruiters working the phones full time. Recruiters talk to potential contract employees whose resumes they've found while scouring job boards like monster and dice. If you read those job boards, most of the positions listed are contract via a job shop with considerably fewer listed by corporations.
When talking to a job shop recruiter keep in mind that they spend all day everyday negotiating -- being direct will not hurt their feelings. Unlike regular employers who seek to build a long term staff and cultivate intellectual value through your employment, job-shops have no interest in you beyond placing you and collecting. Consequently, their tactics can be rather cuthroat. In my experience this is not an attempt at win-win negotiation, be forwarned. The job shops do their level best to recruit help for as little as they can negotiate. Keep in mind that they also have a maximum billable rate themselves and they to pay you and their own staff from the differential. Most recruiters and thier sales person are paid on commission which is paid to them only during the first 6-9 months of your employement afterward the jobshop takes the whole cookie.
If you can find your own work you will do much better. Start close to home, call former employers and friends. Let them know you're working and available. You have a better chance of getting in, being that you're a known quantity, with former employers than elsewhere. Set your rate below what the jobshop would charge for you and underbid them. You have a leg up with former employers since you already know their processes.
In addition, you are now responsible for keeping your client happy. Do your best work for that money - your attitude will separate you from the others.
Network, Network, Network and Network with your friends in the field. Keep them aware of your capabilities. Above all, keep yourself squeaky clean with respect to taxes. Work hard for a few quarters and live within your means. Establish yourself and then you can adjust your rate slightly as demand permits. Network network Network - talk to people!! Your best advertising is a satisfied customer. The converse will be true as well.
Best regards,
Future Expressionist
A few years ago I was retained to organize and conduct a survey of educational technology equipment in my state. We surveyed a little over 1,500 K-12 schools.
In a nutshell, the use of computers in K-12 education varies considerably. Not surprisingly, the technology equipment as well as networking connectivity and all the other facilities are in direct proportion to local taxable income. Where people are employed, the local school system is better equipped than where unemployment and underemployment prevail. So local governing bodies, "Its the jobs Stupid" - legislate, regulate, and invest to improve safe employment for your local residents and the resulting revenues will raise ALL the ships.
With regard to being assimilated into the Borg, er Micrsoft collective, it is a windows world. Despite Apple's initial educational enticements, their equipment is just too expensive to deploy except in special applications like art classes. I saw many many Apple IIs stacked to be discarded, but very few Macs being brought in.
Linux usage at the time (2000) was nonexistant. As then, it continues to be largely a computerists intellectual persuit, though Linux usability/maintainability continue to improve. It doesn't seem deployable on a large scale in it's present state in the K-12 environment where undisciplined and sometimes hostile users are present.
Regardless of the application area, it's the customer who decides how and where the money will be spent. Similar arguments are made by artists (music and visual) who chaffe at restrictions to their creative freedom when the customer tells them what they want. Many a wail and whoa were made by whiney and arrogant artists when the National Endowment for the Arts had guidelines for what they would fund with taxpayer money. Similarly, many musicians have learned the hard way that if you don't play for the customer you have to right to play for yourself, alone. Noone owes you a paycheck to satisfy your own creative freedoms. Arrogant students will do well to remember that the customer decides how the money will be spent and the depth of their basket of skills is only thing that separates them from the unemployed -- sometimes even that is insuffiecent.
Michael, I read through the other recommendations -- not sure if 19" is a requirement but wire bread racks can be had at Lowe's or Home Depot for about 65 dollars and can be put on wheels for access to the rear. You can rack and stack machines as densely as you like. Real 19" form-factored equipment will cost you a bundle, The Blade Servers idea is very compact if you're buying new equipment all around. If you are on "no budget" you can scrounge old PCs and rev them up at less cost; That's the route I'm on at the moment. Old gear can do a lot if you remove the gorilla resource hog from its back (MS Products). Obviously old is not as fast as new gear and you have to deal with obsolescene problems. Mytwocents worth, FutureExpressionist
Michael, Listen to your wife on this one. Don't tax your child with a handle. Growing up is hard enough without "tattooing" your child with a keyboard epithet.
With regard to naming kids, you might consider that in class, children frequently go by alphabetical order on boardwork. I didn't want mine to be forced to go first but neither did I want them to have to sit and agonize while awaiting their turn, so I gave them names that start with B. Just a thought - FutureExpressionist.
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This is a legitimate question. While in grad (yes engineering grad school in '04-'06, the classroom was full of laptops being used primarily for IM'ing and surreptitiously poking fun at the instructor and other student during presentations to the class and for checking sports scores. Oh yeah, and the occasional web search for something relevant to the class. Note taking, scoff! scoff! The notes are usually already available in the form of hand-outs, and/or powerpoint presentations which are readily downloadable. I would have much preferred a more thoughtful dialog from these distracted students. The act of listening and actively summarizing the information on paper is an extremely effective, time-proven method of assimilating the material.
Another stroke of brilliance (sarcasm) and another brick in the wall. I wonder what kinds of discussion occurred and with whom at Intel's marketing department on how they would sell this to the "sleeping lemmings". Where might such a requirement might have arisen? Incorporation of a mobile 3G transceiver onto the die doesn't come for free. Speculation: Can you spell US government subsidy to INTEL for each Sandy Bridge Processor sold? This is or may become a path for surveillance of non-internet connected computers with a handy marketable AntiTheft angle. Security asset? This is an I/T security nightmare! This should yield some interesting posts in the future as we read how this access point will be exploited. If this story is true, one should think twice about purchasing INTEL CPUs. Consider other processors and virtualized Intel machines.
I remember when a "crazy-like-a-fox" man named Richard Stallman wrote, in his Free Software Manifesto Article which appeared in Dr. Dobbs Journal in the 80's about making and distributing world-class software completely free of charge in an effort to foster the free and open interchange of s/w technology and ideas. The outrage and cry from the software industry was just as threatening and abusive at that time as comments from music industry executives on Prince's announcement. And what has come of all of the dire predictions from those s/w industry executives? The predictions were dire indeed only for those companies that were out of gas having nothing more to offer and who had stagnated. Their dying gasps (and money) were and still are being expended funding lawyers to find ways to buy time, stave off progress, and, in general, hinder the open sharing of s/w technology. Does this ring any bells? Can you spell Santa Cruz Operation (SCO)? There are others as well. The dying gasps of an industry that is bankrupt of ideas and likely not serving their customers or clients is best identified as such when they turn to the use and abuse of law to slow down or stop change in their industry. Write it on a rock. Distribution is changing. Old limited distribution and payment models do not suffice or serve the needs of customers or their clients but only serve the needs of a bunch of stiffs who have abandoned their first love - Music. Yours truly, Future Expressionist
Another example of an outmoded business model using the last means at its disposal (lawyers) to try with white knuckles clinched to hold onto customers while at the same time stabbing them in the back. The pattern is very predictable.
When an an established industry is disrupted by technology and no longer has any intellectual property to enable their business, they call in the lawyers and try, by manipulation of law, to force society to continue to support their outmoded business model.
The traditional distribution of recorded music will continue for some years, but they will not control the channels like they used to and as a result, revenues will decrease and some of these old farts who have been riding on the shoulders of the musicians that paid their way will have to find other work.
FutureExpressionistAlternative Electric power is only cost effective where conventional power is unavailable. It will cost you to have electric power delivered 20 miles down that long dirt road to the cabin in the woods. In that instance alternative energy for the cabin becomes a necessity. Coincidentally you are likely to have less zoning and regulation issues related to your neighborhood.
Not only is there an issue with the ROI for windpower, it is not even feasibile unless you live in certain parts of the country where sufficient air movement can consistently provide power. Wind charts are available to help determine whether wind power is a candidate for you.
Under other circumstances, dollars should be applied to improving usage of the $0.02/KWHr energy that you have. The most effective alternative energy application is direct solar heating of water or air (no conversion losses). Resistance heating is a real electric power burner. Consider installing a hybrid solar water heating system instead.Regards - FutureExpressionist, MSEE, PE
Having just completed an MS degree after being away from Univ for ~30 yrs, I can attest to the distraction of laptop computer in the classroom. While I can count on one hand the number of times someone looked up something during class for the benefit of the class, most of the laptops I observed in use during class were being used for playing games, instant messaging, viewing sports scores, and surfing. IT WAS A TOTAL DISTRACTION. India's decision to reject the offer shows a degree of understanding about the educational process that the egghead creators of this program don't seem to get. Much more benefit can be delivered by ensuring these same students have clean water to drink, and freedom from curable disease (Malaria). Then maybe they will be well enough to hear a teacher and participate in class.
Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women, and mythological transformations.
The Patriot Act resonates strongly with Ovid's statement. Typical boogeyman psychology is designed to foment fear and justification for the agenda of a few who are willing to compromise the rule of law (even those established by themselves) for expediency's sake.
Another expression of faulty thinking is "The End Justifies the Means". A trial was held in recent history to establish the falacy of this position. The sacificial lamb in that trial was Oliver North. Expediency takes baby-steps to anarchy.
I've done both -- worked contract under job shops for a few years 2000-2003, then went freelance starting my own consultancy. Anonymous makes valid points. Job shops typically have a salesperson with some number of accounts into which they are frequently in contact (especially in Q4 when staffing decisions are being made). They also usually have 2 to 4 recruiters working the phones full time. Recruiters talk to potential contract employees whose resumes they've found while scouring job boards like monster and dice. If you read those job boards, most of the positions listed are contract via a job shop with considerably fewer listed by corporations. When talking to a job shop recruiter keep in mind that they spend all day everyday negotiating -- being direct will not hurt their feelings. Unlike regular employers who seek to build a long term staff and cultivate intellectual value through your employment, job-shops have no interest in you beyond placing you and collecting. Consequently, their tactics can be rather cuthroat. In my experience this is not an attempt at win-win negotiation, be forwarned. The job shops do their level best to recruit help for as little as they can negotiate. Keep in mind that they also have a maximum billable rate themselves and they to pay you and their own staff from the differential. Most recruiters and thier sales person are paid on commission which is paid to them only during the first 6-9 months of your employement afterward the jobshop takes the whole cookie. If you can find your own work you will do much better. Start close to home, call former employers and friends. Let them know you're working and available. You have a better chance of getting in, being that you're a known quantity, with former employers than elsewhere. Set your rate below what the jobshop would charge for you and underbid them. You have a leg up with former employers since you already know their processes. In addition, you are now responsible for keeping your client happy. Do your best work for that money - your attitude will separate you from the others. Network, Network, Network and Network with your friends in the field. Keep them aware of your capabilities. Above all, keep yourself squeaky clean with respect to taxes. Work hard for a few quarters and live within your means. Establish yourself and then you can adjust your rate slightly as demand permits. Network network Network - talk to people!! Your best advertising is a satisfied customer. The converse will be true as well. Best regards, Future Expressionist
In a nutshell, the use of computers in K-12 education varies considerably. Not surprisingly, the technology equipment as well as networking connectivity and all the other facilities are in direct proportion to local taxable income. Where people are employed, the local school system is better equipped than where unemployment and underemployment prevail. So local governing bodies, "Its the jobs Stupid" - legislate, regulate, and invest to improve safe employment for your local residents and the resulting revenues will raise ALL the ships.
With regard to being assimilated into the Borg, er Micrsoft collective, it is a windows world. Despite Apple's initial educational enticements, their equipment is just too expensive to deploy except in special applications like art classes. I saw many many Apple IIs stacked to be discarded, but very few Macs being brought in.
Linux usage at the time (2000) was nonexistant. As then, it continues to be largely a computerists intellectual persuit, though Linux usability/maintainability continue to improve. It doesn't seem deployable on a large scale in it's present state in the K-12 environment where undisciplined and sometimes hostile users are present.
And thanks to other readers for the follow-up replies.. I'm looking at gpgpu.org with interest.
Regardless of the application area, it's the customer who decides how and where the money will be spent. Similar arguments are made by artists (music and visual) who chaffe at restrictions to their creative freedom when the customer tells them what they want. Many a wail and whoa were made by whiney and arrogant artists when the National Endowment for the Arts had guidelines for what they would fund with taxpayer money. Similarly, many musicians have learned the hard way that if you don't play for the customer you have to right to play for yourself, alone. Noone owes you a paycheck to satisfy your own creative freedoms. Arrogant students will do well to remember that the customer decides how the money will be spent and the depth of their basket of skills is only thing that separates them from the unemployed -- sometimes even that is insuffiecent.
Michael, I read through the other recommendations -- not sure if 19" is a requirement but wire bread racks can be had at Lowe's or Home Depot for about 65 dollars and can be put on wheels for access to the rear. You can rack and stack machines as densely as you like.
Real 19" form-factored equipment will cost you a bundle, The Blade Servers idea is very compact if you're buying new equipment all around.
If you are on "no budget" you can scrounge old PCs and rev them up at less cost; That's the route I'm on at the moment. Old gear can do a lot if you remove the gorilla resource hog from its back (MS Products). Obviously old is not as fast as new gear and you have to deal with obsolescene problems.
Mytwocents worth, FutureExpressionist
Michael, Listen to your wife on this one. Don't tax your child with a handle. Growing up is hard enough without "tattooing" your child with a keyboard epithet. With regard to naming kids, you might consider that in class, children frequently go by alphabetical order on boardwork. I didn't want mine to be forced to go first but neither did I want them to have to sit and agonize while awaiting their turn, so I gave them names that start with B. Just a thought - FutureExpressionist.