Free online, though you can pick up print if you want. Totally worth reading.
I used to have a $20 a week comic book habit back in college, but gave it up when Marvel did the Onslaught storyline. Just got tired of spending too much $$$. But Atomic Robo is the only comic I go out of the way to buy (and have most of the trade paperbacks now).
(can't believe I took the bait and replied to this post)
Agreed. I don't think this is a change. 20 years ago when I was a computer science undergrad, I worked in the department office helping to process the grad program applications. We got stacks and stacks of applications from India and China, and very few from the US. You could tell there was a service of some sort helping these foreign students blast out applications to the US grad programs, hoping to stick at one of them.
It seemed pretty obvious that it was much easier for these international students to get an undergrad degree in their home country where it is cheaper, then use that degree to apply internationally to increase their prestige and get out into the world. Many were just looking for a full ride or assistance, and if a good enough offer wasn't made they would not come. I don't fault them a bit.
Personally, I got my BS in CS, then got a job. I wanted to start paying off my student loans, and when a good offer came from a Fortune 500 company I jumped on it rather than staying with a different offer that would have kept me in academia.
CRLs are poorly used and often ignored, largely because there is no simple built in standard for keeping the CRLs updated and having all connections check them. Its bad enough that our team has gone to only issuing certs with very short life spans and just renewing them often. See https://www.openstack.org/summ...
When you think about it, the government email servers are giant targets for hacking. Its not often reported, but the government systems get hit and experience a lot of downtime. A private, properly secured email server would get far fewer attacks and could be more stable.
Just sayin'
I applied for other universities, but when it came down to it I found that going to Oregon State University was the best bang for my then-limited buck. And I've been very happy with my CS degree.
I've been using 4 23inch monitors in an inverted T layout for years now. I slowly scrounged up a matching set as other engineers upgraded their monitors. Its nice to have one monitor just for email and crud out of the way of 'real work'. I even have another 19in monitor off to the side just for the console of my Linux dev box, but I usually use X forwarding to access it from the main workstation.
Yeah, I could probably be talked in to trading all these for a 39in high resolution setup. But I'm pretty happy with this setup, and I can angle the sides in for a better viewing angle. And this was a pretty cost effective setup.
A few weeks ago my wife had her iTunes account hacked and about $60 worth of credits charged 'in game' through this game we had never heard of nor downloaded. iTunes support was slow to respond. Fortunately, we did not (and will not) have a credit card associated with our account. Oh, and the jerk downloaded one of our Soup episodes.
I blame Apple and the developers that design a game to have such high priced in-game downloads.
From my hours of research (read play) with a Wiimote, I'd question how accurate the data you'd get from a Wiimote would really be. Real scientific instruments can gather incredibly detailed data, and tons of it. I guess you get what you pay for.
I'd really recommend using a variety (based on the amount of time you have to teach of course) of languages. I find the language I use at work changes with each project. I go through Java, C++, C#, Javascript and HTML, VBScript and InstallShield, etc.
I'd recommend presenting a problem, like picking words out of a string, then show a solution using a language, like Python to parse. Follow that up with a more open problem that builds on the solution. Then move on to a new problem and a new language. I think this approach would help with problem solving and thinking more than just a language. If you have time, present a final problem and let them choose a language.
I think another key to your success will be getting good environments set up for the students, so they don't have to waste days not doing the work. And make sure to show them debugging techniques.
Try to work in as much visual feedback as you can (go to C# and do Windows forms, find an easy graphics library for Python, pick one of the educational languages that does visual programming).
For problems, try some of the common stuff like parsing strings, some math functions like Fibonacci or plotting a curve, some user interface like having a form submission and parsing, and be sure to include some animation or basic game programming. You might look in a "cookbook" book for a chosen language for ideas of common problems. And try to give them something that they can take home at the end of the class to run and play with and expand on.
While I recommend Andre Norton because I really enjoyed her books when I was a kid, I think it really depends on your young readers. My great grandfather was a mill worker and his evening entertainment was to read paperbacks. We inherited boxes and boxes of books from him with all kinds of westerns, fantasy and sci fi. I really enjoyed Andre Norton, and as others have mentioned I'd also suggest Clarke and the Fuzzy series.
I think it will really depend on what your kids like. I would recommend anything but the horror books (I just don't like horror, but his fantasy and sci-fi are lots of fun) from Lawrence Watt-Evans as well.
These days, you might just take them to the young adult section of your library and ask the librarian what is popular. If you have a good library like the one here in Corvallis OR that has been blessed by a good selection of manga, you can try out a few of those also. I think Hikaru no Go is a good all-ages title, though not sci-fi. I'd be conscious too about finding something they can share with their friends - that can make reading even more fun. That is a big part of why Harry Potter caught on, IMHO.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned software security. Information security is a big field and I expect it pays well enough (I haven't asked the guys here, but the one or two security guys I've known were around my same level and I'm a software engineer). There is a ton of knowledge about computer systems and managing certificates and intrusions etc. that isn't programming as much as it is configuring the systems correctly to cover all the loopholes. If you know what you are doing (or can learn quickly and do the research), you can be invaluable to a team developing an internet application.
I agree that the cable prices are completely ridiculous. Why would I pay more for the cable than the deck? Coax is cheap, and cat5 is pretty affordable. Why not design the standard to be cost-effective unless you are planning on charging too much?
I've got a 4 year old and a 2 year old. They love New Super Mario, Super Princess Peach, Chocobo Tales, Yoshi DS, and especially Cooking Mama and Kirby Canvas Curse. The last two make good use of the stylus and they picked them up easily. The 4 year old likes me to read her the names of the recipies and is memorizing them. Canvas Curse had a few levels she got stuck on which caused some tears, but we just convinced her to move on.
The best part is that these are all good games that my wife and I like to play when we get the chance. We bought the DS for us, but the kids quickly stole it.
I was working in a small IT department in Portland for Planar. We supported a sales force and it seemed like we were always trying to fix a broken laptop or reconfigure the software to work. As much as I love laptops, there always seem to be issues with the tweaky hardware used. Not to mention battery life shrinks over time. Bah, humbug.
Lego has re-released several old sets through the years. Unless I'm halucinating, I seem to remember them re-issuing the Black Seas Baracuda pirate ship last year. You just have to keep your eyes open.
If you really want one of the old sets, try something like http://www.bricklink.com/ and just buy an old one. Or if you are feeling ambitious, build it yourself. Legos are interchangable, after all.:) Find the instruction sheet online at somewhere like http://peeron.com/ and go buy the bricks in bulk from http://shop.lego.com/.
So, I'll prefface this by saying that "cost saving" measures at my day job kept me from registering for the full conference. However, I did get in to the keynotes on Thursday. I went then specifically so I could hear Robert Lang talk abou Computational Origami. Really cool topic. I just wish I could have had him sign one of his books for me:P.
3 favorite schwag items: black rubber duckies from BlackDuck, 64 MB usb thumb drive from intel, and stuffed Dicey
I had a freind who worked for Project Vote Smart before she headed off to Washington. Great site, and it gives you information about local as well as national officials. You can even enter your zip code and it will tell you who your officials are. The site is dedicated to giving just facts. I recommend it.
There are tons of features I want in a PDA which have already been mentioned. But after owning two, I have found that eventually I quit carrying them around because they aren't rugged enough. I had to replace my first Handspring Visor because I dropped it and cracked the screen. I need a PDA that is rugged enough for me to put in my back pocket, like my wallet, and sit on it all day.:) This also means it should not be too bulky - the size of my Viewsonic V37 is about right.
If I am going to carry it every day, it needs to be able to take daily use and abuse.
My 1.5 year old daughter has become facinated with our computer, and loves to click the buttons on our light up optical mouse. We gave her an old keyboard to use (it worked for a while, but she figured out we only use the other keyboard). I had an old 3 button mouse with a bad cord and some old LEDs, so I ripped it apart, cut holes in the sides, and wired 2 AA batteries to the switches in the mouse and on to each led (red, green, orangy-yellow). I had to leave out the mouse ball to make room for the batteries, but it makes a neat toy. My wife and I played with it about as much as my daughter (she has lost interest in it now - sigh).
Slashdot Mirror
For some reason, this reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes case.
Free online, though you can pick up print if you want. Totally worth reading. I used to have a $20 a week comic book habit back in college, but gave it up when Marvel did the Onslaught storyline. Just got tired of spending too much $$$. But Atomic Robo is the only comic I go out of the way to buy (and have most of the trade paperbacks now). (can't believe I took the bait and replied to this post)
Agreed. I don't think this is a change. 20 years ago when I was a computer science undergrad, I worked in the department office helping to process the grad program applications. We got stacks and stacks of applications from India and China, and very few from the US. You could tell there was a service of some sort helping these foreign students blast out applications to the US grad programs, hoping to stick at one of them. It seemed pretty obvious that it was much easier for these international students to get an undergrad degree in their home country where it is cheaper, then use that degree to apply internationally to increase their prestige and get out into the world. Many were just looking for a full ride or assistance, and if a good enough offer wasn't made they would not come. I don't fault them a bit. Personally, I got my BS in CS, then got a job. I wanted to start paying off my student loans, and when a good offer came from a Fortune 500 company I jumped on it rather than staying with a different offer that would have kept me in academia.
CRLs are poorly used and often ignored, largely because there is no simple built in standard for keeping the CRLs updated and having all connections check them. Its bad enough that our team has gone to only issuing certs with very short life spans and just renewing them often. See https://www.openstack.org/summ...
When you think about it, the government email servers are giant targets for hacking. Its not often reported, but the government systems get hit and experience a lot of downtime. A private, properly secured email server would get far fewer attacks and could be more stable. Just sayin'
As I read the announcement, it is one set with three figures, not three box sets.
I applied for other universities, but when it came down to it I found that going to Oregon State University was the best bang for my then-limited buck. And I've been very happy with my CS degree.
I've been using 4 23inch monitors in an inverted T layout for years now. I slowly scrounged up a matching set as other engineers upgraded their monitors. Its nice to have one monitor just for email and crud out of the way of 'real work'. I even have another 19in monitor off to the side just for the console of my Linux dev box, but I usually use X forwarding to access it from the main workstation.
Yeah, I could probably be talked in to trading all these for a 39in high resolution setup. But I'm pretty happy with this setup, and I can angle the sides in for a better viewing angle. And this was a pretty cost effective setup.
http://web.engr.oregonstate.edu/~burnett/Forms3/forms3.html I went to OSU and Dr. Burnett was one of my professors. It was great and easy to understand. There ya go, problem solved. :)
A few weeks ago my wife had her iTunes account hacked and about $60 worth of credits charged 'in game' through this game we had never heard of nor downloaded. iTunes support was slow to respond. Fortunately, we did not (and will not) have a credit card associated with our account. Oh, and the jerk downloaded one of our Soup episodes. I blame Apple and the developers that design a game to have such high priced in-game downloads.
From my hours of research (read play) with a Wiimote, I'd question how accurate the data you'd get from a Wiimote would really be. Real scientific instruments can gather incredibly detailed data, and tons of it. I guess you get what you pay for.
I'd like to see an achievement for slaying a Troll. :P
I'd really recommend using a variety (based on the amount of time you have to teach of course) of languages. I find the language I use at work changes with each project. I go through Java, C++, C#, Javascript and HTML, VBScript and InstallShield, etc.
I'd recommend presenting a problem, like picking words out of a string, then show a solution using a language, like Python to parse. Follow that up with a more open problem that builds on the solution. Then move on to a new problem and a new language. I think this approach would help with problem solving and thinking more than just a language. If you have time, present a final problem and let them choose a language.
I think another key to your success will be getting good environments set up for the students, so they don't have to waste days not doing the work. And make sure to show them debugging techniques.
Try to work in as much visual feedback as you can (go to C# and do Windows forms, find an easy graphics library for Python, pick one of the educational languages that does visual programming).
For problems, try some of the common stuff like parsing strings, some math functions like Fibonacci or plotting a curve, some user interface like having a form submission and parsing, and be sure to include some animation or basic game programming. You might look in a "cookbook" book for a chosen language for ideas of common problems. And try to give them something that they can take home at the end of the class to run and play with and expand on.
good luck.
While I recommend Andre Norton because I really enjoyed her books when I was a kid, I think it really depends on your young readers. My great grandfather was a mill worker and his evening entertainment was to read paperbacks. We inherited boxes and boxes of books from him with all kinds of westerns, fantasy and sci fi. I really enjoyed Andre Norton, and as others have mentioned I'd also suggest Clarke and the Fuzzy series.
I think it will really depend on what your kids like. I would recommend anything but the horror books (I just don't like horror, but his fantasy and sci-fi are lots of fun) from Lawrence Watt-Evans as well.
These days, you might just take them to the young adult section of your library and ask the librarian what is popular. If you have a good library like the one here in Corvallis OR that has been blessed by a good selection of manga, you can try out a few of those also. I think Hikaru no Go is a good all-ages title, though not sci-fi. I'd be conscious too about finding something they can share with their friends - that can make reading even more fun. That is a big part of why Harry Potter caught on, IMHO.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned software security. Information security is a big field and I expect it pays well enough (I haven't asked the guys here, but the one or two security guys I've known were around my same level and I'm a software engineer). There is a ton of knowledge about computer systems and managing certificates and intrusions etc. that isn't programming as much as it is configuring the systems correctly to cover all the loopholes. If you know what you are doing (or can learn quickly and do the research), you can be invaluable to a team developing an internet application.
I agree that the cable prices are completely ridiculous. Why would I pay more for the cable than the deck? Coax is cheap, and cat5 is pretty affordable. Why not design the standard to be cost-effective unless you are planning on charging too much?
I've got a 4 year old and a 2 year old. They love New Super Mario, Super Princess Peach, Chocobo Tales, Yoshi DS, and especially Cooking Mama and Kirby Canvas Curse. The last two make good use of the stylus and they picked them up easily. The 4 year old likes me to read her the names of the recipies and is memorizing them. Canvas Curse had a few levels she got stuck on which caused some tears, but we just convinced her to move on. The best part is that these are all good games that my wife and I like to play when we get the chance. We bought the DS for us, but the kids quickly stole it.
'nuff said
"Laptops will be the death of us!"
I was working in a small IT department in Portland for Planar. We supported a sales force and it seemed like we were always trying to fix a broken laptop or reconfigure the software to work. As much as I love laptops, there always seem to be issues with the tweaky hardware used. Not to mention battery life shrinks over time. Bah, humbug.
Lego has re-released several old sets through the years. Unless I'm halucinating, I seem to remember them re-issuing the Black Seas Baracuda pirate ship last year. You just have to keep your eyes open.
:) Find the instruction sheet online at somewhere like http://peeron.com/ and go buy the bricks in bulk from http://shop.lego.com/.
If you really want one of the old sets, try something like http://www.bricklink.com/ and just buy an old one. Or if you are feeling ambitious, build it yourself. Legos are interchangable, after all.
So, I'll prefface this by saying that "cost saving" measures at my day job kept me from registering for the full conference. However, I did get in to the keynotes on Thursday. I went then specifically so I could hear Robert Lang talk abou Computational Origami. Really cool topic. I just wish I could have had him sign one of his books for me :P.
3 favorite schwag items: black rubber duckies from BlackDuck, 64 MB usb thumb drive from intel, and stuffed Dicey
I had a freind who worked for Project Vote Smart before she headed off to Washington. Great site, and it gives you information about local as well as national officials. You can even enter your zip code and it will tell you who your officials are. The site is dedicated to giving just facts. I recommend it.
There are tons of features I want in a PDA which have already been mentioned. But after owning two, I have found that eventually I quit carrying them around because they aren't rugged enough. I had to replace my first Handspring Visor because I dropped it and cracked the screen. I need a PDA that is rugged enough for me to put in my back pocket, like my wallet, and sit on it all day. :) This also means it should not be too bulky - the size of my Viewsonic V37 is about right.
If I am going to carry it every day, it needs to be able to take daily use and abuse.
My 1.5 year old daughter has become facinated with our computer, and loves to click the buttons on our light up optical mouse. We gave her an old keyboard to use (it worked for a while, but she figured out we only use the other keyboard). I had an old 3 button mouse with a bad cord and some old LEDs, so I ripped it apart, cut holes in the sides, and wired 2 AA batteries to the switches in the mouse and on to each led (red, green, orangy-yellow). I had to leave out the mouse ball to make room for the batteries, but it makes a neat toy. My wife and I played with it about as much as my daughter (she has lost interest in it now - sigh).