Slashdot Mirror


User: Georules

Georules's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
281
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 281

  1. Re:you know you are in a CS bubble when ... on Is Computer Science Education Racist and Sexist? · · Score: 1

    This is actually really interesting. I'd like to see a study done on each of those observations. Do you have any articles/claim references from past bubbles in mind?

  2. Re:Lines of code of what? on Code.org Stats: 507MM LOC, 6.8MM Kids, 2K YouTube Views · · Score: 1
    To perhaps be a little more clear: I am arguing that code.org is claiming that code was written, when actually a useless code was written for them while they moved blocks. They do admit the number of lines of code written doesn't mean much, but I go a step further: I wonder if they wrote any at all. You might just call this another layer of abstraction to make it easier to learn and play with, but the code generated for them might as well be something like

    kfjdkf;dkfjsdkf;sdkfjsdkf;kfjdkf;dkfjsdkf;sdkfjsdkf;

    If none of it actually means anything in the end.

  3. Re:Lines of code of what? on Code.org Stats: 507MM LOC, 6.8MM Kids, 2K YouTube Views · · Score: 1

    That's fine, and I like the angle of learning to give commands, but no lines of code are actually written in the first few tutorials. You put blocks together and then can view the lines of code generated for you. These lines then have no context, and are useless on their own. I am actually simply complaining that they are claiming that all of this code is being 'written' when arguably none is being written, and further none of it is given any context.

  4. Re:Not quite related but... on Code.org Stats: 507MM LOC, 6.8MM Kids, 2K YouTube Views · · Score: 1

    Many still use 2, it seems to me. Either way, you're not going to waste much time learning any language at a beginner level. For the amount of material covered in a beginner course, moving to another language or version will just be a few changes (and something you'll need to get used to with programming anyway)

  5. Lines of code of what? on Code.org Stats: 507MM LOC, 6.8MM Kids, 2K YouTube Views · · Score: 0
    These tutorials generate "code" for you to see like this:

    moveForward(); moveForward(); turnLeft();

    There is no context for the code, or how you would actually use it outside of the GUI editor.

  6. Re:Code.org: Inspire Students with Male Role Model on Code.org: More Money For CS Instructors Who Teach More Girls · · Score: 2

    In my opinion so far, Code.org is constantly more concerned with 'creating excitement' and 'promotion' over a consistent message or actual content.

  7. Re:It incorporates some interesting concepts, but. on Valve Announces Steam Controller · · Score: 3, Insightful

    No, sc2 is not on steam because blizzard doesn't need steam as a storefront.

  8. Re:Math and Science are taught wrong! on Math and Science Popular With Students Until They Realize They're Hard · · Score: 1

    While I agree, getting students engaged enough to attempt to teach something is terribly hard. There is not a winning model for back and forth teaching/learning that works beyond just a few students in the room. Lecture/homework is the lazy solution for mass instruction.

  9. Re: florida's governor is a criminal on Florida Law May Accidentally Ban Computers and Smartphones · · Score: 1

    I stand corrected. I'll admit I actually do not know anything about what the laws are on gambling, I just assumed they were breaking them. Regardless, the only point I really hoped to make is that these "internet cafes" are not internet cafes.

    There is no demand here for internet cafes like those found in other countries -- I've seen businesses like that start and fail many times. People bring their own devices and expect to use free wifi. I even see many homeless people bring in netbooks to McDonalds, buy an oatmeal for a dollar, and sit down to use the free internet connection.

  10. Re: florida's governor is a criminal on Florida Law May Accidentally Ban Computers and Smartphones · · Score: 1

    Making gambling itself legal is a different issue entirely. It is illegal at the moment, and these shops were providing it illegally.

  11. Re:Just the -idea- of making internet cafes illega on Florida Law May Accidentally Ban Computers and Smartphones · · Score: 1

    The "internet cafes" near me (I'm in Florida) are certainly not there to be used as you would expect. You go in to buy credit to play games on the machines, which only have gambling programs. The definitions in this bill, and the word "internet cafe", are all being improperly used here. These shops were quite literally for gambling. The one closest to me was called "Lucky Day Internet Sweepstakes." I did see one where you could also browse the internet hourly, but this was clearly not the primary focus.

  12. Re: florida's governor is a criminal on Florida Law May Accidentally Ban Computers and Smartphones · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The internet cafes in Florida are not like internet cafes in countries outside of the USA. The computers there were literally there to be gambling machines. One such "internet cafe" near me was called "Lucky Day Internet Sweepstakes." I have also been to some of the internet cafes in London and found them to be convenient as a tourist.

  13. Innovative! on Man Campaigns For Addition of 'Th' Key To Keyboard · · Score: 1

    Let's go ahead and just make a key for every word! Then you don't have to spell anything at all!

  14. Re:They understand the internet. on Former Scientologist: CoS Told Brin It Wanted Only "Good" Search Results · · Score: 1

    It's being used as a metaphor. Repicking search results to gain a positive appearance, which may not represent the actual picture of the thing being searched.

  15. Re:Yeah... on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    I imagine OCR that reads text includes fonts as classification patterns. Install this font into the database. Done. The gist of this font is just a political statement. Unfortunately the author also incorrectly demonstrates it to have a purpose.

  16. Re:Yeah... on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    If it's a picture of the text, as the use case in the article describes, it would take a bit of work to OCR it. Namely, by installing the font into your OCR database. I'd say about the equivalent of rot13 difficulty.

  17. Re:better idea on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    and Dilbert possibly displays the idea better. Rather than being pretentious art masked with a use case, it's shown properly as a joke.

  18. Re:do the homework on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    The inventor is more concerned with a political statement rather than use. Unfortunately, he's convinced himself that it has some use because it tricked some OCR program he downloaded.

  19. Re:Missing the point... on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    I agree it's a fun little project. Looks neat too. The problem is that it actually has no use at all, but is demonstrated falsely to have some kind of technical advantage. Snake oil.

  20. Re:useless on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 1

    You make an interesting point. It likely makes the entire problem worse by providing weapon with no power.

  21. Re:Yeah... on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sokath, his eyes opened.

  22. Yeah... on Introducing the NSA-Proof Crypto-Font · · Score: 4, Informative
    Looks like a fun little project, but subverted about as trivially as a ROT-13. A dynamic font might be a little better.

    How can we conceal our fundamental thoughts from artificial intelligences and those who deploy them?

    By using a real form of encryption.

  23. Re:wow, stupider than MAD! on Fear of Thinking War Machines May Push U.S. To Exascale · · Score: 1

    News for nerds. Sorry, while I agree acronym overuse is annoying, you should know these things if you are going on a tech news website (even if slashdot is doing a mediocre job at that lately).

  24. Re:No! on Google Rolling Out Gmail Redesign · · Score: 2

    "To focus on a consistent user experience and consolidating our products, we regret that we are phasing out classic inbox."

  25. Insightful article? on Entrepreneur On Yahoo/Tumblr: It's the Content Readers, Stupid · · Score: 1

    The article makes the assumption that we didn't understand this already. I find it impressive that a website has figured out how to be a porn site that people are comfortable looking at wherever they are in public, at any time.