Some colleges still teach QBASIC as a first programming language. Not in CS, but for some business or IS types. Instructors love it for simplicity. Some of the very well done textbooks are good for reasons other than they are just QBASIC books. Some of the textbooks are just good intro programming books. Unfortunately, they are a dying breed. Some of the textbooks have not been updated in over 5 years, but they stay in print. Perhaps because QBASIC (and predecessors) were around so long, these textbooks and courses had an unprecedented chance to mature.
I know some instructors are going to move from QBASIC to teaching VB.NET from the command prompt, or only teaching command-line apps. That seems OK, given the ability to debug, etc. Modern constructs, OO, access to classes, etc.
I will always fondly recall my days of QBASIC hacking. Fun stuff.
The fact is that I can browse a few news sources and come up with significantly more fascinating, interesting, and topical stories than this. It is also news that Peoplesoft rejected Oracle's bid. It is actually BIGGER news than this MS junk.
There are a good one hundred technology/business stories a day. Singling out this one is not just politically motivated, it is childish. That is my point. If you really think slashdotters are into business related technology stories, then you need to report on the big stories, not the ones that make your "competition" look bad. This is fundamental editorial ethics.
It seems obvious that you don't have a sense of humor.
When I travel, I spend as little time as possible where I am going. In the evenings, I work on my laptop and always pay the $10 for a high-speed connection. If the high-speed connection is there, the TV doesn't even go on.
Besides the high-speed connection, the only other amenity I can possible see taking advantage of is the ironing board.
Quality varies greatly, as do student expectations. Some students simply want the credits and there are certainly programs out there willing to offer the "skate" option.
However, I know plenty of professors/instructors who are passionate about online education. They spend much more time now with online stuff then they do for an in-class class. Answering emails, homework help, IM sessions, group chats, etc. And, it works and students are happier because it fits in their schedule. But in each case that I can point to as a success, the instructors are working harder.
Well, I didn't see anyone else around here throwing a party for me. Take it where you can get it.
What good is a discussion among a few hundred thousand people if you can't refer back to your historical intelligent comments in order to boost your credibility. With a name like Moe Howard, I'll take credibility where I can get it!
Don't even get me started about my predictions of SCO accidently suing themselves. When that happens, I fully expect to be modded to a 6.
Telemarketers do not follow current law. Very rarely do I get them to tell me their name or company name, let alone a manager name or address. 80% of them hang up when I ask to be placed on their DNC list.
If they don't follow the law now, why will they follow it in the future.
And in terms of the phone companies, they see the law and fines as just another expense in a risk/reward scenario. Slamming has been illegal for many year, but they still do it because the fines do not match the profit they get from it.
This sounds like a great opportunity, but put me down as a skeptic. If the courts don't swat it down, then it will be simply ignored. The governments (local/state/federal) won't/can't enforce existing law.
I get up to 10 calls a day. I'm sick of it. My phone and my e-mail has been confiscated by marketers of crap that less then.05% of the population wants or needs.
Also, beware of the following: After this law takes effect, people will be out to get you to put your phone number on all sorts of things (product registration, checks, etc.) because the fine print will say that by giving your phone number, you waive your DNC status with them and their partners. Guard your phone number and e-mail address like you (should) guard your SSN.
Wireless is the only way out of this mess. I have a wireless high-speed connection. It is a fine piece of technology. As soon as QOS issues are resolved for the long term, I'll put my phone service on it full time as well via VOIP.
This is not the phone companys' fault. By "this", I mean this whole mess of line and plant ownership. I can definitely see their point of view. At the same time, I can see the point of view of those who want to use that public(?) infrastructure to roll out their own services. I just don't see these issues with the lines and plants being solved any time in the next 15 years.
Wireless solves many problems. I know there are scalability issues, but I think these will be solved. QOS is another issue as compared to hard wire, but this will get resolved as well.
But not surprising. I just don't get what these developers are thinking. Something like, "Yes sir! May I have another?!?!?!"
This is not the type of fight you can win from within. It's long past time that they free themselves from AOL.
Step 1: Write great software Step 2: Make sure the IP for that software belongs to a meglomaniacal corporate structure Step 3: Disappointment, Rinse, Repeat
This Should Clear Things Up
on
Today's SCO News
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
NOT!!!!!
This is not going away. I suspect this will linger for a good year or more. That is, unless SCO shareholders make a stand. Which is just not going to happen. The lawyers are running the show. SCO is no longer a technology company. They are one of these new fangled IP companies, like Rambus. The really funny thing is that it's not even their own IP.
I'm sure they think that they're on to something. But the courts have a way (albeit lengthy) of asserting common sense when the horse is already out of the barn.
I STRONGLY urge the slashdot editors to consider a weekly update, rather than hourly update, on this story from now until next year.
The competition was fueled by fear. Are you suggesting that we turn China into the next boogeyman in order to accomplish your neato-keen-geeky goal of landing another person on the moon to beat the other guy.
If we turn this into a competition, by definition you turn China into the bad guy. Just think of how the politicians and special interest groups would play it.
On the other hand, if GWB went to China and came back and made a historic announcement about cooperation with China in space, we have a whole different situation.
I prefer the second route. And I bet the Chinese would prefer it as well, although they ain't gonna say that out loud at this point in time.
I believe we are past the point where we want to compete like this for space exploration. Now, for the commercialization of space, like satellites, this should be done competitively.
I think this is great. Yes, I have the typical reservations many will have here (human rights, poverty in China, etc.). However, I support this 100%.
I really think space is not something that should be done alone by a nation, though. I think we should see how we can help or team up with China in some way. It could be the common bond that finally helps us get over this mini-me cold war that we have going on with them.
Space exploration should no longer exist as a competitive sport. Write your representatives and let them know that you support US cooperation with China in space.
Re:I remember seeing at at the CeBit in 2001
on
YOPY Arrives
·
· Score: 4, Funny
I wouldn't let a 16 year old play with my Yopy either.
Hmmmmm. 12,000 - 15,000 drives sold in Taiwan. They have a 10% failure rate.
I sincerely question the Slashdot-newsworthiness of this.
I guess I am surprised that 3 major manufacturers use the same source. Seems weird, but I guess not too uncommon in manufacturing. But seems like a critical component to outsource to China.
There was more SCO news that just came out in the last hour and it regards Linus. How did this story make it and that not? We don't have nearly enough SCO-lawsuit news these days.
I find the subjective statement that "he is not a politician" to be exceptionally slanted. Clearly, the submitter has alterior motives. It has a certain Clintonian ring to it that suggests that the submitter is the guy's campaign manager.
Any guesses as to what these motives are? How could you say that the leader of the largest democracy in the world is not a politician, first and foremost?
I think the slashdot editors should have stripped that subjective statement from the story. Just because a guy advocates OSS doesn't put him on some new plane of existance.
Anyway, hooray for gov't backed OSS. I'm sure if Bush came out and made the same speech, he'd be crucified on slashdot in some strange way.
30% offtopic, 40% troll, 30% flamebait, 5% funny, 5% love
MS gives stuff away to schools = EVIL!!! MS eases licensing plan and gives stuff away = EVIL!!! CEO diversifies his stock portfolio = EVIL and End of MS!!! MS loses a sale in Germany = End of MS!!! MS releases earnings = They are too successful. EVIL!!! Gates donates to India = EVIL!!
Jesus Christ!
I'd really like to know just what would be considered a positive for/from Microsoft around here. Really. What would it take for them to get an iota of respect beyond Gates saying that he runs Linux at home?
OK. I've been karma whoring again. But this post should take care of that. I can go to bed with a clean soul and neutral karma.
Finally, a real excuse to get these slackers to write some optimized code.
Just think of the issues this can raise with optimization. Realizing that some junior programmer just cost you 50,000 computons because he didn't initialize a variable.
Maybe this is what we need to get people to start thinking like this again. For the love of god, anything to get some cleaner code.
What's SUPPOSED to be hogging the bandwidth? Spam and file sharing are now the bad boys. Is there some scale that we are supposed to use to place a value on data? Who decides?
Gaming? News? Pr0n? Trading stocks?
I thought that the whole idea was that you take what you can in an unregulated medium. Lower your expectations accordingly, but benefit from the ubiquitous nature. In other words, no consistency of quality of service, but almost guaranteed ubiquity.
I don't know. My ISP gives me a wide open connection and nice latency. The rest is out of my control.
The thing I don't see from this finger waving is the following: Nobody says, "If we lower spam by X%, then we can guarantee a better Internet experience for everyone else by Y%. If we get rid of file sharing by A%, then we can guarantee B% better service/speed/latency for everyone else. Also, we'll be able to lower everyone's cost by Z%." Until I see some numbers, it's just all relative. Who's to say what I do on the Net is any more redeeming than anyone else? They paid. I paid.
When the U.S. gets a "monopoly" on something, we seem to have a way of imposing our moral correctness on others. (Lots of foreign aid money, kick-ass military, GPS satellites, etc.)
This, of course, rubs everyone the wrong way and is probably why we are so, um, disliked in many parts of the world.
We have this weird political morality that makes people very uncomfortable. On one hand, we impose Hollywood/TV on the world (OK, "Impose" is the wrong word) and then we also have the high-falutin right-wing christianity twist to what we expect of others. It's more than just that, but that's the gist of it.
Look for more of this. I think it's great for Europe to stretch its legs a bit. Perhaps a streak of independence will help nurse them from the socialism that's dragging their economy down (big unemployment and large upcoming social payouts).
This really sucks for the American economy. Software exports are one of the shining stars in our trade balance.
Oh, well. We'll just gloss over the typical Slashdot bitching about jobs going to India. Now, the slashdotters gloat when American software companies lose sales. See? You really can have it both ways.
Note: Mod this as a troll AND flamebait. I've been karma whoring and am feeling pretty bad about the whole damned affair.
Will there be any noticeable gravitational effects near Earth? Moon? Asteroids? Space junk?
I guess I'm asking if there is any remotely-possible-disaster angle that the press will be able to play up on this. 2 years ago, we had the summer of the shark. I'd love to see this summer be "The Summer of Colliding Worlds". We need something. Hollywood is going all sequel on us this year.
No. His company is a MUTUAL FUND, which is VERY diverse. He's probably the most diverse of all those I listed (Buffett, Gates, Allen, Ellison, Jobs, Ballmer...)
Slashdot Mirror
Some colleges still teach QBASIC as a first programming language. Not in CS, but for some business or IS types. Instructors love it for simplicity. Some of the very well done textbooks are good for reasons other than they are just QBASIC books. Some of the textbooks are just good intro programming books. Unfortunately, they are a dying breed. Some of the textbooks have not been updated in over 5 years, but they stay in print. Perhaps because QBASIC (and predecessors) were around so long, these textbooks and courses had an unprecedented chance to mature.
.NET from the command prompt, or only teaching command-line apps. That seems OK, given the ability to debug, etc. Modern constructs, OO, access to classes, etc.
I know some instructors are going to move from QBASIC to teaching VB
I will always fondly recall my days of QBASIC hacking. Fun stuff.
The fact is that I can browse a few news sources and come up with significantly more fascinating, interesting, and topical stories than this. It is also news that Peoplesoft rejected Oracle's bid. It is actually BIGGER news than this MS junk.
There are a good one hundred technology/business stories a day. Singling out this one is not just politically motivated, it is childish. That is my point. If you really think slashdotters are into business related technology stories, then you need to report on the big stories, not the ones that make your "competition" look bad. This is fundamental editorial ethics.
Isn't the story about hydrogen fuel cells possibly being dangerous to the ozone layer a bit more newsworthy for slashdotters than this tripe?
Give me a break. Slashdot is going seriously overboard in Microsoft bashing. This is such a non-story that it is almost embarassing.
As a matter of fact, I travel quite a bit.
It seems obvious that you don't have a sense of humor.
When I travel, I spend as little time as possible where I am going. In the evenings, I work on my laptop and always pay the $10 for a high-speed connection. If the high-speed connection is there, the TV doesn't even go on.
Besides the high-speed connection, the only other amenity I can possible see taking advantage of is the ironing board.
I've always been happy with a 13" TV and 1 channel of pr0n as long as it was "billed discreetly to my hotel bill".
Why does he need all this stuff in his room? Is the city he's visiting not exciting enough? Why did he go there in the first place, then?
You'd better shop around.
Quality varies greatly, as do student expectations. Some students simply want the credits and there are certainly programs out there willing to offer the "skate" option.
However, I know plenty of professors/instructors who are passionate about online education. They spend much more time now with online stuff then they do for an in-class class. Answering emails, homework help, IM sessions, group chats, etc. And, it works and students are happier because it fits in their schedule. But in each case that I can point to as a success, the instructors are working harder.
Well, I didn't see anyone else around here throwing a party for me. Take it where you can get it.
What good is a discussion among a few hundred thousand people if you can't refer back to your historical intelligent comments in order to boost your credibility. With a name like Moe Howard, I'll take credibility where I can get it!
Don't even get me started about my predictions of SCO accidently suing themselves. When that happens, I fully expect to be modded to a 6.
This comment is looking aweful "Insightful"... http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=66073&cid=6083 991
Telemarketers do not follow current law. Very rarely do I get them to tell me their name or company name, let alone a manager name or address. 80% of them hang up when I ask to be placed on their DNC list.
.05% of the population wants or needs.
If they don't follow the law now, why will they follow it in the future.
And in terms of the phone companies, they see the law and fines as just another expense in a risk/reward scenario. Slamming has been illegal for many year, but they still do it because the fines do not match the profit they get from it.
This sounds like a great opportunity, but put me down as a skeptic. If the courts don't swat it down, then it will be simply ignored. The governments (local/state/federal) won't/can't enforce existing law.
I get up to 10 calls a day. I'm sick of it. My phone and my e-mail has been confiscated by marketers of crap that less then
Also, beware of the following: After this law takes effect, people will be out to get you to put your phone number on all sorts of things (product registration, checks, etc.) because the fine print will say that by giving your phone number, you waive your DNC status with them and their partners. Guard your phone number and e-mail address like you (should) guard your SSN.
Wireless is the only way out of this mess. I have a wireless high-speed connection. It is a fine piece of technology. As soon as QOS issues are resolved for the long term, I'll put my phone service on it full time as well via VOIP.
This is not the phone companys' fault. By "this", I mean this whole mess of line and plant ownership. I can definitely see their point of view. At the same time, I can see the point of view of those who want to use that public(?) infrastructure to roll out their own services. I just don't see these issues with the lines and plants being solved any time in the next 15 years.
Wireless solves many problems. I know there are scalability issues, but I think these will be solved. QOS is another issue as compared to hard wire, but this will get resolved as well.
Awe. You're just jealous because YOUR theory can't BE defended.
The bible is the DMCA of logic, reason, and free thought.
But not surprising. I just don't get what these developers are thinking. Something like, "Yes sir! May I have another?!?!?!"
This is not the type of fight you can win from within. It's long past time that they free themselves from AOL.
Step 1: Write great software
Step 2: Make sure the IP for that software belongs to a meglomaniacal corporate structure
Step 3: Disappointment, Rinse, Repeat
NOT!!!!!
This is not going away. I suspect this will linger for a good year or more. That is, unless SCO shareholders make a stand. Which is just not going to happen. The lawyers are running the show. SCO is no longer a technology company. They are one of these new fangled IP companies, like Rambus. The really funny thing is that it's not even their own IP.
I'm sure they think that they're on to something. But the courts have a way (albeit lengthy) of asserting common sense when the horse is already out of the barn.
I STRONGLY urge the slashdot editors to consider a weekly update, rather than hourly update, on this story from now until next year.
The competition was fueled by fear. Are you suggesting that we turn China into the next boogeyman in order to accomplish your neato-keen-geeky goal of landing another person on the moon to beat the other guy.
If we turn this into a competition, by definition you turn China into the bad guy. Just think of how the politicians and special interest groups would play it.
On the other hand, if GWB went to China and came back and made a historic announcement about cooperation with China in space, we have a whole different situation.
I prefer the second route. And I bet the Chinese would prefer it as well, although they ain't gonna say that out loud at this point in time.
I believe we are past the point where we want to compete like this for space exploration. Now, for the commercialization of space, like satellites, this should be done competitively.
I think this is great. Yes, I have the typical reservations many will have here (human rights, poverty in China, etc.). However, I support this 100%.
I really think space is not something that should be done alone by a nation, though. I think we should see how we can help or team up with China in some way. It could be the common bond that finally helps us get over this mini-me cold war that we have going on with them.
Space exploration should no longer exist as a competitive sport. Write your representatives and let them know that you support US cooperation with China in space.
I wouldn't let a 16 year old play with my Yopy either.
It's trouble, I tell you. Trouble!
Hmmmmm. 12,000 - 15,000 drives sold in Taiwan. They have a 10% failure rate.
I sincerely question the Slashdot-newsworthiness of this.
I guess I am surprised that 3 major manufacturers use the same source. Seems weird, but I guess not too uncommon in manufacturing. But seems like a critical component to outsource to China.
There was more SCO news that just came out in the last hour and it regards Linus. How did this story make it and that not? We don't have nearly enough SCO-lawsuit news these days.
I find the subjective statement that "he is not a politician" to be exceptionally slanted. Clearly, the submitter has alterior motives. It has a certain Clintonian ring to it that suggests that the submitter is the guy's campaign manager.
Any guesses as to what these motives are? How could you say that the leader of the largest democracy in the world is not a politician, first and foremost?
I think the slashdot editors should have stripped that subjective statement from the story. Just because a guy advocates OSS doesn't put him on some new plane of existance.
Anyway, hooray for gov't backed OSS. I'm sure if Bush came out and made the same speech, he'd be crucified on slashdot in some strange way.
30% offtopic, 40% troll, 30% flamebait, 5% funny, 5% love
MS gives stuff away to schools = EVIL!!!
MS eases licensing plan and gives stuff away = EVIL!!!
CEO diversifies his stock portfolio = EVIL and End of MS!!!
MS loses a sale in Germany = End of MS!!!
MS releases earnings = They are too successful. EVIL!!!
Gates donates to India = EVIL!!
Jesus Christ!
I'd really like to know just what would be considered a positive for/from Microsoft around here. Really. What would it take for them to get an iota of respect beyond Gates saying that he runs Linux at home?
OK. I've been karma whoring again. But this post should take care of that. I can go to bed with a clean soul and neutral karma.
Finally, a real excuse to get these slackers to write some optimized code.
Just think of the issues this can raise with optimization. Realizing that some junior programmer just cost you 50,000 computons because he didn't initialize a variable.
Maybe this is what we need to get people to start thinking like this again. For the love of god, anything to get some cleaner code.
What's SUPPOSED to be hogging the bandwidth? Spam and file sharing are now the bad boys. Is there some scale that we are supposed to use to place a value on data? Who decides?
Gaming?
News?
Pr0n?
Trading stocks?
I thought that the whole idea was that you take what you can in an unregulated medium. Lower your expectations accordingly, but benefit from the ubiquitous nature. In other words, no consistency of quality of service, but almost guaranteed ubiquity.
I don't know. My ISP gives me a wide open connection and nice latency. The rest is out of my control.
The thing I don't see from this finger waving is the following: Nobody says, "If we lower spam by X%, then we can guarantee a better Internet experience for everyone else by Y%. If we get rid of file sharing by A%, then we can guarantee B% better service/speed/latency for everyone else. Also, we'll be able to lower everyone's cost by Z%." Until I see some numbers, it's just all relative. Who's to say what I do on the Net is any more redeeming than anyone else? They paid. I paid.
When the U.S. gets a "monopoly" on something, we seem to have a way of imposing our moral correctness on others. (Lots of foreign aid money, kick-ass military, GPS satellites, etc.)
This, of course, rubs everyone the wrong way and is probably why we are so, um, disliked in many parts of the world.
We have this weird political morality that makes people very uncomfortable. On one hand, we impose Hollywood/TV on the world (OK, "Impose" is the wrong word) and then we also have the high-falutin right-wing christianity twist to what we expect of others. It's more than just that, but that's the gist of it.
Look for more of this. I think it's great for Europe to stretch its legs a bit. Perhaps a streak of independence will help nurse them from the socialism that's dragging their economy down (big unemployment and large upcoming social payouts).
This really sucks for the American economy. Software exports are one of the shining stars in our trade balance.
Oh, well. We'll just gloss over the typical Slashdot bitching about jobs going to India. Now, the slashdotters gloat when American software companies lose sales. See? You really can have it both ways.
Note: Mod this as a troll AND flamebait. I've been karma whoring and am feeling pretty bad about the whole damned affair.
Will there be any noticeable gravitational effects near Earth? Moon? Asteroids? Space junk?
I guess I'm asking if there is any remotely-possible-disaster angle that the press will be able to play up on this. 2 years ago, we had the summer of the shark. I'd love to see this summer be "The Summer of Colliding Worlds". We need something. Hollywood is going all sequel on us this year.
No. His company is a MUTUAL FUND, which is VERY diverse. He's probably the most diverse of all those I listed (Buffett, Gates, Allen, Ellison, Jobs, Ballmer...)