I just wonder if by encompassing everything as you advocate we create a degree so muddled that no one really wants it. I mean, if I cover software development, discreet mathematics, algorithmics, software quality, networking and electronics over the course of my degree I now have a degree in which I can do the basics of everything but am specialist in none. Aside from that, most of the things people want to bring INTO CS degrees are already covered in other programs: Software development (in software engineering degrees), software quality in it's program, etc.
I'm up in canada, and while I'm upset with apple for having had to take in my Rev.A. Macbook three times over the course of six weeks, I've found apple care to be incredibly accommodating and relatively efficient. However, having said that, being in Canada, I don't take my laptop to a real Apple Store. I take my Mac to a local shop (Westworld: www.westworld.ca), and they deal with Apple Care for me as far as getting the parts etc. The turn around time has always been excellent for me, under a week in three out of the four times, the fourth being a miscommunication between the store and Apple.
AppleCare has it's upsides and it's down sides. As I said, this laptop has been in four times. However, it should be noted that two were for the same issue (they gave it back to me while we waited on a part), and the other issue didn't crop up until a little while after I got it back, which required another visit. The upsides of apple care is that they really want your computer to be in working condition: As such, I'm currently looking at a computer that has 1500$ worth of repair (so say the receipts I got), that I paid only 1400$ for. It's got a brand new hard drive, logic board, bottm case, and inner top-case. All in all, a rather impressive amount of work. On the other hand, as soon as they realized the entire logic board needed to be replaced, I'm of the opinion that it may have been better and faster to have simply given me a new box. AppleCare also doesn't cover accidental damage, and Apple does not offer (as far as I know) a piss-on-it-and-get a-new-one warranty like I've been told numerous times Dell does. I'm not sure I would have paid for a warranty like that, but the ability to get one like that is a comfort to some.
All in all, I think ultimately you have to realize AppleCare is a consumer warranty plan, and should be treated as such. I recall numerous times while working in a computer shop local to here (chain), having laptops go to our depot for service for upwards of two to three weeks. As I said above, AppleCare has been wicked fast for me.
I was pretty surprised to find find Windows Live advertising popups (you know, the on-hover ones) on a page very explicitly chastising MS for it's business practices. That being said, i've seen worse.
God, they just keep shooting themselves in the foot don't they? There was one of the reasons I ever even CONSIDERED a PS3, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Of course, I don't live in Europe. I just wonder, will these defanged PS3s slowly make their way to north american shores?
See, yes, this what I'm finding. I'm taking an integral calculus course, which is standard, but more interesting than my differential course. And then I'm also taking a discreet mathematics course for my CS degree, which I find really interesting. Proofs are interesting in that they have an element of creativity and imagination in them.
Here's my question as a current and former student: How good do you have to be at it? How much of it is about correctness, and how much is about understanding of concepts.
I mean, I took differential calculus in highschool, and I will without ego say that i had a pretty damn deep understanding of it. I couldn't however, for the life of me manage to do well in it. My math skills are hampered by simple errors (easy to catch and fix on a computer ( negatives... the bane of my existance)), but not by understanding.
Man. I'm totally bummed out. I'm with you that the phone is cool, but it's also not really applicable to me. I want deets about Leopard! It's scary that there was no computer related announcements from apple at all.
Black market is not something I ever thought of, though, it's an interesting question.
You're completely right about instincts taking over, though, I think the revolution would perhaps happen despite any attempts to institutionalize and lock down the machines: However, also, I think that it's inarguable that the revolution would be _bigger_ if the machines were allowed to go home.
The problem with the cellphone ideas was that what actual content on a cellphone actually needed to be location based, with the exception perhaps of advertisements? And who really wants to voluntarily expose themselves to more ads. With regards to your comment on ads on the ipod/iphone, I don't think apple would go for that. Who is Apple a close enough friend with the let them advertise on their bread and butter?
I like the idea of this, personally, for one reason alone: Location based scripts. As of now, OS X already has location functionality built in for networking, and a couple of other things. This is fine and dandy for me, except I need to change more things when I move from location to location than the locations allow. Also, I run into trouble if I forget to change my settings. So, better: Why not let my laptop do it using it's nifty little GPS reciever, and choose my settings, how I like them, based on where I am.
Of course, since I have an older Mac Laptop, I don't see any way for me to easily get in on the GPS trend, so not only will Leopard be a selling point in and of itself, it will also be advertising the crap of of the also announced Laptops with their GPS units embedded.
Interesting case on Africa there. I remember reading an article, perhaps posted here at slashdot, about it.
I think you're bang on when you say that the OLPC has similar possibilities to change the way people do things in these developing nations, however, I also think it's going to very strongly matter HOW they are used.
If these computers are used how I suspect they will be, mostly in an institutionalized setting, sitting on desks in schools, I don't think they'll have the desired effect. If the children are allowed, or even encouraged, to take them home, to use them as they were their machines, we will soon see a generation of children who have learned how to exploit this disruptive technology to their own benefit.
Slashdot Mirror
Yikes. You're making me feel horribly guilty, sitting here browsing slashdot while my assignment sits beside me, unfinished.
So, I take it you're telling me to go to class :P.
I just wonder if by encompassing everything as you advocate we create a degree so muddled that no one really wants it. I mean, if I cover software development, discreet mathematics, algorithmics, software quality, networking and electronics over the course of my degree I now have a degree in which I can do the basics of everything but am specialist in none. Aside from that, most of the things people want to bring INTO CS degrees are already covered in other programs: Software development (in software engineering degrees), software quality in it's program, etc.
Man. If they showed me just that, I'd let them publish.
I'm up in canada, and while I'm upset with apple for having had to take in my Rev.A. Macbook three times over the course of six weeks, I've found apple care to be incredibly accommodating and relatively efficient. However, having said that, being in Canada, I don't take my laptop to a real Apple Store. I take my Mac to a local shop (Westworld: www.westworld.ca), and they deal with Apple Care for me as far as getting the parts etc. The turn around time has always been excellent for me, under a week in three out of the four times, the fourth being a miscommunication between the store and Apple.
AppleCare has it's upsides and it's down sides. As I said, this laptop has been in four times. However, it should be noted that two were for the same issue (they gave it back to me while we waited on a part), and the other issue didn't crop up until a little while after I got it back, which required another visit. The upsides of apple care is that they really want your computer to be in working condition: As such, I'm currently looking at a computer that has 1500$ worth of repair (so say the receipts I got), that I paid only 1400$ for. It's got a brand new hard drive, logic board, bottm case, and inner top-case. All in all, a rather impressive amount of work. On the other hand, as soon as they realized the entire logic board needed to be replaced, I'm of the opinion that it may have been better and faster to have simply given me a new box. AppleCare also doesn't cover accidental damage, and Apple does not offer (as far as I know) a piss-on-it-and-get a-new-one warranty like I've been told numerous times Dell does. I'm not sure I would have paid for a warranty like that, but the ability to get one like that is a comfort to some.
All in all, I think ultimately you have to realize AppleCare is a consumer warranty plan, and should be treated as such. I recall numerous times while working in a computer shop local to here (chain), having laptops go to our depot for service for upwards of two to three weeks. As I said above, AppleCare has been wicked fast for me.
I was pretty surprised to find find Windows Live advertising popups (you know, the on-hover ones) on a page very explicitly chastising MS for it's business practices. That being said, i've seen worse.
I love it.
God, they just keep shooting themselves in the foot don't they? There was one of the reasons I ever even CONSIDERED a PS3, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Of course, I don't live in Europe. I just wonder, will these defanged PS3s slowly make their way to north american shores?
Man, it took me way too long to process that story. All I would think was "China is west of me".
"There's bureaucracy under that association"
"And what's under that?"
"Bureaucracy"
"and under that?"
"'Taint gonna fool me on this one... it's bureaucracy all the way down."
(Credit to Brad Warner)
See, yes, this what I'm finding. I'm taking an integral calculus course, which is standard, but more interesting than my differential course. And then I'm also taking a discreet mathematics course for my CS degree, which I find really interesting. Proofs are interesting in that they have an element of creativity and imagination in them.
Here's my question as a current and former student: How good do you have to be at it? How much of it is about correctness, and how much is about understanding of concepts.
I mean, I took differential calculus in highschool, and I will without ego say that i had a pretty damn deep understanding of it. I couldn't however, for the life of me manage to do well in it. My math skills are hampered by simple errors (easy to catch and fix on a computer ( negatives... the bane of my existance)), but not by understanding.
" the infamous Microsoft hack that screwed with Netscape back in the 90s"
You mean IE?
Hahah! I was thinking the _exact same thing_.
With squads and command capabilities, like Savage, might be interesting.
Why am I never the target demographic!
Not a joke. for real.
It's sad, and probably a bit conspiracy-theorist, but I wonder if it has something to do with them having dropped the "Computer" from their name.
Man. I'm totally bummed out. I'm with you that the phone is cool, but it's also not really applicable to me. I want deets about Leopard! It's scary that there was no computer related announcements from apple at all.
Thousands upon thousands of college students cry out as the man who allowed them to eat while pursuing their dreams passed on.
Black market is not something I ever thought of, though, it's an interesting question.
You're completely right about instincts taking over, though, I think the revolution would perhaps happen despite any attempts to institutionalize and lock down the machines: However, also, I think that it's inarguable that the revolution would be _bigger_ if the machines were allowed to go home.
Oh, and, Thanks.
whaaaat!?
How did I not know this earlier. Gotta write this one down!
The problem with the cellphone ideas was that what actual content on a cellphone actually needed to be location based, with the exception perhaps of advertisements? And who really wants to voluntarily expose themselves to more ads. With regards to your comment on ads on the ipod/iphone, I don't think apple would go for that. Who is Apple a close enough friend with the let them advertise on their bread and butter? I like the idea of this, personally, for one reason alone: Location based scripts. As of now, OS X already has location functionality built in for networking, and a couple of other things. This is fine and dandy for me, except I need to change more things when I move from location to location than the locations allow. Also, I run into trouble if I forget to change my settings. So, better: Why not let my laptop do it using it's nifty little GPS reciever, and choose my settings, how I like them, based on where I am. Of course, since I have an older Mac Laptop, I don't see any way for me to easily get in on the GPS trend, so not only will Leopard be a selling point in and of itself, it will also be advertising the crap of of the also announced Laptops with their GPS units embedded.
Interesting case on Africa there. I remember reading an article, perhaps posted here at slashdot, about it.
I think you're bang on when you say that the OLPC has similar possibilities to change the way people do things in these developing nations, however, I also think it's going to very strongly matter HOW they are used.
If these computers are used how I suspect they will be, mostly in an institutionalized setting, sitting on desks in schools, I don't think they'll have the desired effect. If the children are allowed, or even encouraged, to take them home, to use them as they were their machines, we will soon see a generation of children who have learned how to exploit this disruptive technology to their own benefit.