I've thought about such a tool for detecting SQL injection. Essentially, you have a whitelist of SELECT statement "diagrams" stored somewhere. Before running a query, you generate a diagram of the current statement and check it against the diagram.
Of course a better investment would be to write your code the right way first...
As a recent graduate of a high school in New York that implemented several of your suggestions, I'll weigh in with what worked, what didn't, and what will or won't:
If you really want to help the US education system, do the following:
* ban sodas and candy and fastfood
My school implemented a health-food program, which meant: no vending machines before the end of classes; only sugarless breakfast foods; pizza, which had been a daily option, was now on the menu only once per month, while other snacks like mozzarella sticks and french fries were banned outright; whole-wheat bread was the only option on sandwiches (even whole-wheat crust on our pizzas); no ice cream, puddings, or other desserts; vile spaghetti plates were served to correspond with track team competitions; and beef was banned from our deli sandwiches.
The result? A lot of kids (myself included) who skipped lunch because the food was nasty. I went from not eating breakfast in the mornings to being completely nonfunctional within a few hours if I did not eat a bowl of sugarless Kix right after stepping out of the car. Many kids would buy multiple meals just to satisfy their hunger, or hold out until classes finished to go to McDonald's and get something filling.
Suffice to say, at age 18 I didn't appreciate having a nanny telling me what I could and couldn't eat to get me through the day. As someone with a lower-than-normal BMI, I feel that this was more detrimental to my health than my prior diet of calzones and ice cream.
* expand the free lunch program to every kid and include breakfast - hungry kids can't learn - and there are too many of them
I do agree with this, but only because I started eating breakfast in my last year. Eating breakfast made me much more alert in the morning, but because my cereal had no sugar, the alertness ran out quickly.
In regards to universal free lunch, my school is located in an area where many families cannot afford to pay for their kids' lunches. I don't know if there is much of a gap where parents' salaries are too high to qualify for the free lunch program, but not high enough to pay for lunch. Extending the free lunch program to everyone would only raise the taxes of the families that couldn't afford it in the first place. And besides, breakfast was only $1, and came with cereal or a daily hot dish, milk, fruit, and juice.
* go to year-round schooling with longer non-summer seasonal breaks
Even as a student I favored this. I was very envious of our German exchange student, who spoke English and French fluently and could read Latin. I can fumble my way through ordering at a Spanish restaurant, but that's the extent of my (mandatory) foreign language education.
* make physical education mandatory at every grade level - they need breaks and exercise
This is already a policy in New York State. The problem is that the gym instructors (I object to the name "physical education" because it borders on doublespeak) try to justify the class by forcing students to perform useless tests and write essays on why Pelé was the greatest soccer player of all time. I did horribly at the endurance test in 6th grade, yet for some reason I had to take it twice a year, with the number of required laps increasing far more quickly than my endurance did. By the end of it, I got the same score whether I ran forty or zero laps, so I opted to sit the test out rather than be winded. (So there you have it, my gym teacher taught me economics.)
* allow merit-based pay/bonuses for teachers who do a good job (using a variety of metrics)
I don't believe this was in place at my school, but in Freakonomics, the authors discuss how California's program to do as you describe ended with teachers forging their students' test answers. Oops.
* lower class sizes - a teacher can't manage 38 kids AND teach them
I think that the age of the students and the nature of the class is
I don't see how this could possibly work -- as long as you have the capability to clone a "legitimate" chip, you could stick it on every single cartridge you churn out. There's no way that the chip can contain say a digital fingerprint of the cartridge, so there is no proof of authority.
If you're referring to the pound sign / number sign / hash #, this is available on Mac keyboards just the same as on any others. You could plug a USB PC keyboard just the same.
Being forced to "buy" a private island and then pay travel fees to go there emphasizes the OP's point: You've been forced into this situation, and if you don't like it, *you* have to change.
It took me a while to find E360's site, as it has a PageRank of 0 (compared to Spamhaus' 7). Interestingly, the site has no content other than a record of the case, highly biased:
This ruling confirms e360insight's position that Spamhaus.org is a fanatical, vigilante organization that operates in the United States with blatant disregard for U.S. law. In addition, e360insight has proven that Spamhaus routinely exposes their customers and volunteers to extreme legal risk by continuing to engage in improper blacklisting, defamation, extortion and blackmail in the name of fighting spam. Importantly, this ruling clearly establishes the validity of e360insight's legitimate business practices as a responsible, opt-in marketer.
If you are a responsible, permission marketer doing business in the U.S., you are free to use the information on this website, our documents, legal strategy or Synergy Law Group to pursue a case of your own against Spamhaus or any other improper blacklist organization that is damaging your legitimate business.
Sorry to nitpick, and I realize that this isn't contributing much to the discussion, but for the record it's "Mac OS X" written just like that, with the capital letters and spaces as written. It's usually abbreviated to "OS X" but never MAC or OSX.
I believe part of the confusion over this is that it used to say "MacOS 8" on the startup screen, but since then Apple has clarified the way it is to be written.
I am currently a junior in high school and have been programming since c. 1996 when I found HyperCard on my parents' Mac and figured out how to take existing buttons and fiddle with the code. Later I taught myself scripting in Iptscrae and LOGO, then moved on to REALbasic, and today I use Objective-C and a bunch of other languages.
Each summer I teach a group of elementary schoolers LOGO and also enrolled in a semester-long Java course last year, so I've also gotten to see what works and what doesn't when people are introduced to programming for the first time. The biggest problem seems to be that they get so stuck up in having perfect syntax that they don't experiment or learn to structure an algorithm. They quickly form an image of the computer as a harsh and unforgiving monster, blowing up at them with cryptic errors at the slightest typo. Combine this with the knowledge that someone nearby already knows the language well (i.e., the kid sitting at computer #11, or the camp counselor), and they abandon any attempt to correct the error themselves; they care more that the program does something than it does what they want. Furthermore, the examples are so small (e.g., adding two integers) that they teach very little in regards to the syntax at all, and the concept of stringing code together to form an algorithm is lost.
The best solution in my mind would be to start people off with a bunch of extensive examples written in something that's very forgiving and has a syntax they're already mostly familiar with. Yes, HyperCard (or, now, Revolution). I really can't imagine a better environment for starting off with, because the language reads like English. You can use your existing vocabulary to figure out which part of a line is a function, which are the parameters, which are variable names. It doesn't need a semicolon to end every line, there are far fewer mathematical (read: scary) symbols throughout the code, and artwork and GUI design is done intuitively and without any code.
I am currently a junior in high school and have been programming since c. 1996 when I found HyperCard on my parents' Mac and figured out how to take existing buttons and fiddle with the code. Later I taught myself scripting in Iptscrae and LOGO, then moved on to REALbasic, and today I use Objective-C and a bunch of other languages.
Each summer I teach a group of elementary schoolers LOGO and also enrolled in a semester-long Java course last year, so I've also gotten to see what works and what doesn't when people are introduced to programming for the first time. The biggest problem seems to be that they get so stuck up in having perfect syntax that they don't experiment or learn to structure an algorithm. They quickly form an image of the computer as a harsh and unforgiving monster, blowing up at them with cryptic errors at the slightest typo. Combine this with the knowledge that someone nearby already knows the language well (i.e., the kid sitting at computer #11, or the camp counselor), and they abandon any attempt to correct the error themselves; they care more that the program does something than it does what they want. Furthermore, the examples are so small (e.g., adding two integers) that they teach very little in regards to the syntax at all, and the concept of stringing code together to form an algorithm is lost.
The best solution in my mind would be to start people off with a bunch of extensive examples written in something that's very forgiving and has a syntax they're already mostly familiar with. Yes, HyperCard (or, now, Revolution). I really can't imagine a better environment for starting off with, because the language reads like English. You can use your existing vocabulary to figure out which part of a line is a function, which are the parameters, which are variable names. It doesn't need a semicolon to end every line, there are far fewer mathematical (read: scary) symbols throughout the code, and artwork and GUI design is done intuitively and without any code.
I wonder if this is in any way related to the success of Garry's Mod, which lets users build all sorts of contraptions based on Half-Life 2's engine, characters and other objects. It already supports multiplayer, and some cool users have made giant fire-breathing robots, Rube Goldberg machines, helicopters, etc.
The image corresponding to Half-Life is actually from Half-Life: Blue Shift, using the high definition skin pack, originally released in 2001, not 1998, and recently re-released on Steam.
The scientist model is a telltale sign. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure Half-Life 1 had only 3 scientist models, while a 4th was created, for Dr. Rosenberg, who appeared in Half-Life: Decay and Blue Shift.
Isn't that the whole idea behind public key encryption? It doesn't matter if it's an untrusted network, as long as the key sizes are sufficient, no one will be able to read the encrypted messages.
TigerDirect apparently has a free catalog. Perhaps we could protest this wrongdoing by all ordering one (and of course, not purchasing anything from it). If we can get 1 million people to download Opera, perhaps we could get a large number of people to order a catalog? Even if it doesn't cost them much, it at least might serve as a message to them that their potential customers aren't too happy with their latest decision.
Not only is the name, marketing, and design of the device similar, the headphones are exactly the same. They can't even design their own?
These people deserve to be sued...
A Mac built around this chip could theoretically run OS X, GNU/Linux, Mac OS 9, and...
The G5 cannot natively boot Mac OS 9. However, you can run most OS 9 software through the Classic Environment in Mac OS X.
If we count the Classic Environment, though, why stop at that list? You could run virtually any OS, through various emulators. Windows 95, DOS, BeOS, etc...
Jutta Degener, creator of the Halfbakery (down due to hardware problems), had an idea almost exactly like this called Delay.com. According to the HTTP headers of the page, it was last updated on September 25th, 1995.
Slashdot Mirror
I've thought about such a tool for detecting SQL injection. Essentially, you have a whitelist of SELECT statement "diagrams" stored somewhere. Before running a query, you generate a diagram of the current statement and check it against the diagram.
Of course a better investment would be to write your code the right way first...
Seems like an idea I came up with in May 2005: http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/Rorschach_27s_20Password I accept checks, Microsoft.
As a recent graduate of a high school in New York that implemented several of your suggestions, I'll weigh in with what worked, what didn't, and what will or won't:
If you really want to help the US education system, do the following:
* ban sodas and candy and fastfood
My school implemented a health-food program, which meant: no vending machines before the end of classes; only sugarless breakfast foods; pizza, which had been a daily option, was now on the menu only once per month, while other snacks like mozzarella sticks and french fries were banned outright; whole-wheat bread was the only option on sandwiches (even whole-wheat crust on our pizzas); no ice cream, puddings, or other desserts; vile spaghetti plates were served to correspond with track team competitions; and beef was banned from our deli sandwiches.
The result? A lot of kids (myself included) who skipped lunch because the food was nasty. I went from not eating breakfast in the mornings to being completely nonfunctional within a few hours if I did not eat a bowl of sugarless Kix right after stepping out of the car. Many kids would buy multiple meals just to satisfy their hunger, or hold out until classes finished to go to McDonald's and get something filling.
Suffice to say, at age 18 I didn't appreciate having a nanny telling me what I could and couldn't eat to get me through the day. As someone with a lower-than-normal BMI, I feel that this was more detrimental to my health than my prior diet of calzones and ice cream.
* expand the free lunch program to every kid and include breakfast - hungry kids can't learn - and there are too many of them
I do agree with this, but only because I started eating breakfast in my last year. Eating breakfast made me much more alert in the morning, but because my cereal had no sugar, the alertness ran out quickly.
In regards to universal free lunch, my school is located in an area where many families cannot afford to pay for their kids' lunches. I don't know if there is much of a gap where parents' salaries are too high to qualify for the free lunch program, but not high enough to pay for lunch. Extending the free lunch program to everyone would only raise the taxes of the families that couldn't afford it in the first place. And besides, breakfast was only $1, and came with cereal or a daily hot dish, milk, fruit, and juice.
* go to year-round schooling with longer non-summer seasonal breaks
Even as a student I favored this. I was very envious of our German exchange student, who spoke English and French fluently and could read Latin. I can fumble my way through ordering at a Spanish restaurant, but that's the extent of my (mandatory) foreign language education.
* make physical education mandatory at every grade level - they need breaks and exercise
This is already a policy in New York State. The problem is that the gym instructors (I object to the name "physical education" because it borders on doublespeak) try to justify the class by forcing students to perform useless tests and write essays on why Pelé was the greatest soccer player of all time. I did horribly at the endurance test in 6th grade, yet for some reason I had to take it twice a year, with the number of required laps increasing far more quickly than my endurance did. By the end of it, I got the same score whether I ran forty or zero laps, so I opted to sit the test out rather than be winded. (So there you have it, my gym teacher taught me economics.)
* allow merit-based pay/bonuses for teachers who do a good job (using a variety of metrics)
I don't believe this was in place at my school, but in Freakonomics, the authors discuss how California's program to do as you describe ended with teachers forging their students' test answers. Oops.
* lower class sizes - a teacher can't manage 38 kids AND teach them
I think that the age of the students and the nature of the class is
I don't see how this could possibly work -- as long as you have the capability to clone a "legitimate" chip, you could stick it on every single cartridge you churn out. There's no way that the chip can contain say a digital fingerprint of the cartridge, so there is no proof of authority.
If you're referring to the pound sign / number sign / hash #, this is available on Mac keyboards just the same as on any others. You could plug a USB PC keyboard just the same.
Being forced to "buy" a private island and then pay travel fees to go there emphasizes the OP's point: You've been forced into this situation, and if you don't like it, *you* have to change.
It took me a while to find E360's site, as it has a PageRank of 0 (compared to Spamhaus' 7). Interestingly, the site has no content other than a record of the case, highly biased:
Sorry to nitpick, and I realize that this isn't contributing much to the discussion, but for the record it's "Mac OS X" written just like that, with the capital letters and spaces as written. It's usually abbreviated to "OS X" but never MAC or OSX.
I believe part of the confusion over this is that it used to say "MacOS 8" on the startup screen, but since then Apple has clarified the way it is to be written.
(Sorry, I guess I still haven't mastered HTML!)
I am currently a junior in high school and have been programming since c. 1996 when I found HyperCard on my parents' Mac and figured out how to take existing buttons and fiddle with the code. Later I taught myself scripting in Iptscrae and LOGO, then moved on to REALbasic, and today I use Objective-C and a bunch of other languages.
Each summer I teach a group of elementary schoolers LOGO and also enrolled in a semester-long Java course last year, so I've also gotten to see what works and what doesn't when people are introduced to programming for the first time. The biggest problem seems to be that they get so stuck up in having perfect syntax that they don't experiment or learn to structure an algorithm. They quickly form an image of the computer as a harsh and unforgiving monster, blowing up at them with cryptic errors at the slightest typo. Combine this with the knowledge that someone nearby already knows the language well (i.e., the kid sitting at computer #11, or the camp counselor), and they abandon any attempt to correct the error themselves; they care more that the program does something than it does what they want. Furthermore, the examples are so small (e.g., adding two integers) that they teach very little in regards to the syntax at all, and the concept of stringing code together to form an algorithm is lost.
The best solution in my mind would be to start people off with a bunch of extensive examples written in something that's very forgiving and has a syntax they're already mostly familiar with. Yes, HyperCard (or, now, Revolution). I really can't imagine a better environment for starting off with, because the language reads like English. You can use your existing vocabulary to figure out which part of a line is a function, which are the parameters, which are variable names. It doesn't need a semicolon to end every line, there are far fewer mathematical (read: scary) symbols throughout the code, and artwork and GUI design is done intuitively and without any code.
I am currently a junior in high school and have been programming since c. 1996 when I found HyperCard on my parents' Mac and figured out how to take existing buttons and fiddle with the code. Later I taught myself scripting in Iptscrae and LOGO, then moved on to REALbasic, and today I use Objective-C and a bunch of other languages. Each summer I teach a group of elementary schoolers LOGO and also enrolled in a semester-long Java course last year, so I've also gotten to see what works and what doesn't when people are introduced to programming for the first time. The biggest problem seems to be that they get so stuck up in having perfect syntax that they don't experiment or learn to structure an algorithm. They quickly form an image of the computer as a harsh and unforgiving monster, blowing up at them with cryptic errors at the slightest typo. Combine this with the knowledge that someone nearby already knows the language well (i.e., the kid sitting at computer #11, or the camp counselor), and they abandon any attempt to correct the error themselves; they care more that the program does something than it does what they want. Furthermore, the examples are so small (e.g., adding two integers) that they teach very little in regards to the syntax at all, and the concept of stringing code together to form an algorithm is lost. The best solution in my mind would be to start people off with a bunch of extensive examples written in something that's very forgiving and has a syntax they're already mostly familiar with. Yes, HyperCard (or, now, Revolution). I really can't imagine a better environment for starting off with, because the language reads like English. You can use your existing vocabulary to figure out which part of a line is a function, which are the parameters, which are variable names. It doesn't need a semicolon to end every line, there are far fewer mathematical (read: scary) symbols throughout the code, and artwork and GUI design is done intuitively and without any code.
I wonder if this is in any way related to the success of Garry's Mod, which lets users build all sorts of contraptions based on Half-Life 2's engine, characters and other objects. It already supports multiplayer, and some cool users have made giant fire-breathing robots, Rube Goldberg machines, helicopters, etc.
The image corresponding to Half-Life is actually from Half-Life: Blue Shift, using the high definition skin pack, originally released in 2001, not 1998, and recently re-released on Steam. The scientist model is a telltale sign. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure Half-Life 1 had only 3 scientist models, while a 4th was created, for Dr. Rosenberg, who appeared in Half-Life: Decay and Blue Shift.
Isn't that the whole idea behind public key encryption? It doesn't matter if it's an untrusted network, as long as the key sizes are sufficient, no one will be able to read the encrypted messages.
Damn, you beat me to it. Congrats :)
Google has removed its original post from the Google Blog, but the original story is still available via ATOM.
TigerDirect apparently has a free catalog. Perhaps we could protest this wrongdoing by all ordering one (and of course, not purchasing anything from it). If we can get 1 million people to download Opera, perhaps we could get a large number of people to order a catalog? Even if it doesn't cost them much, it at least might serve as a message to them that their potential customers aren't too happy with their latest decision.
n(n-1)/2 links, roughly n^2 How is that roughly n^2? If anything, it's about (n^2)/2, but even then...
Not only is the name, marketing, and design of the device similar, the headphones are exactly the same. They can't even design their own? These people deserve to be sued...
256 times larger :\
A Mac built around this chip could theoretically run OS X, GNU/Linux, Mac OS 9, and ...
The G5 cannot natively boot Mac OS 9. However, you can run most OS 9 software through the Classic Environment in Mac OS X.
If we count the Classic Environment, though, why stop at that list? You could run virtually any OS, through various emulators. Windows 95, DOS, BeOS, etc...
The Zaurus sounds likely to be what I'm looking for, and I'm glad many of have had good experiences with it. I'll be sure to read more up on it.
Thanks for sharing!
Jutta Degener, creator of the Halfbakery (down due to hardware problems), had an idea almost exactly like this called Delay.com. According to the HTTP headers of the page, it was last updated on September 25th, 1995.