The reason Boy Scouts have saved lives, is because they learn more than just a basic "introduction." That's what I'm asking for, is more than just a survey course that can be gone over in 30 minutes.
The WSJ is a great publication. A free copy has been one of the perks of the last 2 jobs I've worked. And that perk is one of the reasons I chose those jobs over others
It has for me. When you search the NYT archive, you can read a "summary" which is the first 50 words. And in newspapers, the first 50 words usually is a summary.
Insidently, you can also purchase "multipacks" where you buy articles in bulk amounts of 4, 10, and 25 and debit articles from your multipack as you need them.
Their best bet would be to offer both. A $2.95/article and $49.99/yr for those who wanted one or the other. If your doing research and need 1 old article, then your best bet is to pay $2.95 for it. But if your researching, say, how common it was for Bush to be mentioned on the front page since he took office, your going to be reading A LOT of articles, and paying 50 bucks is a much better deal.
What are the extension names? Everybody KNOWS that doc is a Word file, and most people associate Word==word proccessing && !Word==!word proccessing
So if a document isn't.doc, many users have no clue what to do with it, even if their program does support it. I've seen MS Word users stare dumbfounded at a MS Works file that their program handles natively. Either this format needs to use.doc (which will cause the compatibility nightmare of the early 90's where most word proccessors used.doc, and none were compatible with each other) or Microsoft has to open up their.doc format so everyone can implement that
Likewise, but the grandparent referenced Hitler Youth, and I was just pointing out that our own Hitler Youth currently exists in the guise of Boys State.
The really sad part is that most of the attendees bought it as a valid argument and started a petition tosend to the state Senate in support of a flag burning amendment. And then I was chased across the campus by a mob rabid at my refusal to sign said petition.
Of course, I was also written up during that week for NOT WEARING A BELT. After that, it was recommended to me to study the rules. I did, and checked them off as I systematically broke them in spite (hey, I was 17)
Well, since the purpose here is learning, maybe some things that the scouts could already do (and probably had done) before cracking the book. There's a bit more to computers that kids can learn beyond knowing the names of the components, how to use word proccessing, spreadsheet, and "a local area network"
Maybe soem more discussion on the principles of networking, more about processors than simply what they are, maybe x86 vs PowerPC, Celeron/Sempron vs Pentium/Athlon, AMD vs Intel, talk about servers vs workstations, demonstrate a knowledge of the major differences between Windows & Linux, Proprietary vs Open Source. A good requirement would be to:
Do ONE of the following:
1)Using a catalog or the internet, compare prices on two seperate computers. Compare trade-offs between price and relative performance.
Or
2)Build a computer from components. These may be purchased or supplied to the troop.
While many won't have the financial resources for part 2, part 1 requires as little as a free BestBuy circular.
Dell, HP, IBM, etc pay a rather unsibstantial amount for their Windows OEM licenses for that fact. It streamlines the entire proccess. If Windows is installed on every machine, it's a trivial matter tolook up the number of PCs sold by that company in a quarter multiply, and you have a price. If IBM sold computers without Windows, it would complicate tracking the number of Windows sales and Microsoft would charge a higher price. One of the reasons you can get a $300 Dell is because they probably only spent ~$20 for the Windows liscence.
Here, here! My 560E with it's P-166 is have the weight of my sister's Centrino from HP. And a third of the weight of my old B&W 286 laptop. IBM has always been more in tune with the needs of the business class.
The key question is why the education systems we all pay for are facilitating this (<b>although perhaps not in this particular case<b>, many schools in the US have also been willing channels for pro-intellectual property propaganda).
If you would have bothered to RTFH you would have - maybe - noticed that this is in Hong Kong, which last I checked is not a United State of America.
If you would have bothered to REFPost you would have - maybe - noticed that he said that there were similar cases in the US. And you just might realize that the Boy Scouts are a school, either.
Oops, Freudian slip there. I know he was the governor, I've lived in NJ all my life. I used that identifier to give an idea of when this was, the summer after he lost to the re-election campaign of Christie Whitless^H^H^H^Hman
As another Eagle Scout, what do you think doing your duty to your country is? Obeying its laws maybe?
From scouting.org: OBEDIENT
A Scout follows the rules of his family, school, and troop. He obeys the laws of his community and country. If he thinks these rules and laws are unfair, he tries to have them changed in an orderly manner rather than disobey them.
Instead of breaking the law and pirating music and movies, a scout should be thrifty and support independent media, which tends to be cheaper and higher quality
With the exception of maybe 5% (2% who earn the rank of Eagle, and maybe 3% who care but aren't able to make it that far) of Boy Scouts, scouting is about being in a social club. There are over 100 merit badges, maybe 2 dozen relate to the core of scouting. The rest are things that started out as an opportunity to educate young people on technologies (like Computers and atomic energy), become horribly out of date because there isn't enough interest in updating them, and scouts (if they can find a leader certified to sign off on that badge) getting them to have a longer list of badges. When I was a scout in the 90's, my troop (which was an Eagle generating powerhouse, averaging 2/year in a troop with a membership ~30) more than half of the merit badges didn't have anyone qualified to teach them. I went to a jamboree to get my Computers merit badge, and the book had images of an Apple IIG!
Below are the requirements for the Computers Merit Badge which was "updated" a few years ago:
Give a short history of computers. Describe the major parts of a computer system. Give
four different uses of computers.
Do the following:
Tell what a program is and how it is developed.
Give three examples of programming languages and what types of programming they are used
for.
Describe a source program and an object program.
Show how the following may be stored in computer memory: text, numbers, pictures, and
sound.
Do THREE of the following:
Use a database manager to create a troop roster, providing name, rank, patrol, and
telephone number of each Scout. Sort the register by rank, by patrol, and alphabetically
by name.
Use a spreadsheet program to develop a weekend campout food budget for your patrol.
Use a word processor to write a letter to parents of your troop's Scouts, inviting them
to a court of honor. Use the mail merge feature to make a personalized copy of the letter
for each family.
Use a computer graphics program to design and draw a campsite plan for your troop.
Do TWO of the following:
Visit a business or industry that uses computers. Study what the computer accomplishes
and be prepared to discuss what you observed.
Use a computer attached to a local area network or equipped with a modem to connect to a
computer network or bulletin-board service such as Prodigy, CompuServe, or America Online.
Send a message to someone on the network or download a program or file from the network.
Use a general-purpose programming language to write a program application of your
choice, subject to approval by your counselor.
Be prepared to discuss several terms used in each of the following categories:
Input/output devices
Storage media
Memory
Processors and coprocessors
Modems
Networks
Electronic mail
Robotics
Be prepared to discuss various jobs in the computer field.
Is it permissible to accept a free copy of a computer game or program from a friend? Why
or why not?
Describe several ways in which you and your family could use a personal computer other
than for games and recreation.
The American Legion Boys State was formed for the expressed purpose of countering communist youth groups in the (IIRC) 40's. When I went, my friends called it the Corrupt Democratic Regimme. One lecture featured the looser of the NJ Gubernatorial race, Jim McGreedy. He explained to us his stance on flag burning was this: "When I was young, my father told me, 'Jim, flag burning is wrong.' That's how I know flag buring is wrong."
1) From TFA: The company said its technology is currently in 25 vehicle devices from 13 automotive companies.
2)Isn't the crash-proof car what many car manufacturers already working towards. Of course, nobody is anywhere near it, and the goal itself may be inpossible, but that is the goal.
3)It makes sense to use computers and sensors to achieve this goal. The driver is the biggest point of failure in a car. Unless your a professional stunt driver, chances are, in an emergency, you will react the wrong way.
Microsoft jokes aside, embedded computers in cars are a lot more simplistic than an Operating System. It's a lot less likely for a glitch in one sensor to bring the electronics of the entire car down then a crash in Internet Explorer cause a restart of Windows.
That isn't to say that if the OSS communitiy decided to start writing code and designing equipment for embedded sensors and collision avoidence systems that they wouldn't do a better job. But the simple fact of the matter is that they aren't. In the Mark Shuttleworth slashdot interview, he made the comment that the reason why many gov't systems use proprietary OS and software is because nobody is going to write a sewage management system in their spare time. Developers who write that kind of code, get paid to write it, and then go home and contribute to firefox or OO.o
While I understand that reasoning, from TFA: "founder Alfred Nobel once said he wanted to encourage "dreamers" who lacked funding."
At the heart of the issue, there are two (partially) conflicting goals at work. One is to promote sound science, and the other is to generate enthusiasm in order to create a new generation of scientists. There reason they conflict is because most science isn't considered very "exciting" I'd like to see a prize set up more like the Grammy's. The most groundbreaking, innovative, or outright interesting research in a certain field in the last year. Plenty of glitz, some celebrities (Will Smith, George Lucas, and Steven Speilberg have made fortunes off of science-fiction, one would think they'd be happy to promote the science aspect), TV coverage. Follow up with the Nikeoldeon/Lego model and have another award where kids select winners. Sure you don't get as in-depth when kids are involved, but getting them interested at a young age and keeping them interested is essential.
astrophysics, neuroscience and nanotechnology... the three areas prizes will be awarded. Astrophysics and neuroscience has been "trendy" for decades. Perhaps these are the areas that Klavi himself is the most interested. One can certainly see where the development and maturation of nanotechnology could help a business that makes sensors, which is how he made his fortune that he is now putting towards this prize
It's about time. The Nobel Committee isn't living up to goals Alfred Nobel had for the prize. I read an article on the Nobel Prize and how to win it. Step 1 was live a long time, because it takes so long for your research to be recognized by the committee. IIRC, the average time between doing something Nobel worthy and being nominated for it is ~20 years.
In most of the eBay auctions I bid in, I win by paying less than I would in a store (or e-store). Am I a sucker because I was willing to spend $20 for Norton AV and the other guy was only willing to spend $19? Not at all, because if he actually wants to get the software, he has to try all over again, or spend $40 at the store for it.
That's why I buy computer hardware/software almost exclusively from newegg & eWiz. They have basic shipping (Express Saver for NewEgg, & Ground for eWiz) rates right on the product pages. Special items with free basic shipping are even advertised as such in search lists for NewEgg. And adding the shipping price into the amount automatically is what makes pricewatch so great.
I think a lot of sellers are discovering that price and professionalism are two of the biggest reasons a buyer buys from them as opposed to somebody else. If your operation looks like it's a fly-by-night thing, you might get a few brave/stupid customers, but most will avoid you like the plague.
One of the sellers whose site I used to visit would call me (and it should be noted that I dispise talking on the telephone) whenever I logged on, put something in the shopping cart (for two reasons: 1) to get shipping costs and 2)because it's easier then punching numbers into Calculator to get the cost of multiple components), and then logged out without making the purchase. It aggraveted me to no end. In a few cases, his prices were better than elsewhere, but I stopped shopping at his site, because of the phone calls.
You mean like the serial port my LaserJet 4 is connected to? The parallel port is busy being used by the DeskJet 640C. And the second serial port on my PII-400 is used to connect to my homebrew robotics project. All of this is run with 384MB of PC100 SDRAM, 16MB AGP graphics (original ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon), PCI audio, and ISA 10/100 ethernet card. I don't see a need to abandon working technology in favor of a new one when the equipment doesn't utilize the "benefits" of the newer tech
When I bought my last wireless keyboard/mouse combo (granted it was 3 generations ago in the Logitech Desktop line), they were still recommending the use of PS/2 over USB if available. Is it really neccessary for your keyboard and mouse to be connected by a 400Mb/s USB 2.0 connection?
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My troop had paintball outings semi-routinely.
The reason Boy Scouts have saved lives, is because they learn more than just a basic "introduction." That's what I'm asking for, is more than just a survey course that can be gone over in 30 minutes.
If YOU'RE going to be a fucking grammer nazi, I think you should not post anonymously
The WSJ is a great publication. A free copy has been one of the perks of the last 2 jobs I've worked. And that perk is one of the reasons I chose those jobs over others
Insidently, you can also purchase "multipacks" where you buy articles in bulk amounts of 4, 10, and 25 and debit articles from your multipack as you need them.
Their best bet would be to offer both. A $2.95/article and $49.99/yr for those who wanted one or the other. If your doing research and need 1 old article, then your best bet is to pay $2.95 for it. But if your researching, say, how common it was for Bush to be mentioned on the front page since he took office, your going to be reading A LOT of articles, and paying 50 bucks is a much better deal.
So if a document isn't .doc, many users have no clue what to do with it, even if their program does support it. I've seen MS Word users stare dumbfounded at a MS Works file that their program handles natively. Either this format needs to use .doc (which will cause the compatibility nightmare of the early 90's where most word proccessors used .doc, and none were compatible with each other) or Microsoft has to open up their .doc format so everyone can implement that
The really sad part is that most of the attendees bought it as a valid argument and started a petition tosend to the state Senate in support of a flag burning amendment. And then I was chased across the campus by a mob rabid at my refusal to sign said petition.
Of course, I was also written up during that week for NOT WEARING A BELT. After that, it was recommended to me to study the rules. I did, and checked them off as I systematically broke them in spite (hey, I was 17)
Maybe soem more discussion on the principles of networking, more about processors than simply what they are, maybe x86 vs PowerPC, Celeron/Sempron vs Pentium/Athlon, AMD vs Intel, talk about servers vs workstations, demonstrate a knowledge of the major differences between Windows & Linux, Proprietary vs Open Source. A good requirement would be to:
Do ONE of the following:
1)Using a catalog or the internet, compare prices on two seperate computers. Compare trade-offs between price and relative performance.
Or
2)Build a computer from components. These may be purchased or supplied to the troop.
While many won't have the financial resources for part 2, part 1 requires as little as a free BestBuy circular.
Dell, HP, IBM, etc pay a rather unsibstantial amount for their Windows OEM licenses for that fact. It streamlines the entire proccess. If Windows is installed on every machine, it's a trivial matter tolook up the number of PCs sold by that company in a quarter multiply, and you have a price. If IBM sold computers without Windows, it would complicate tracking the number of Windows sales and Microsoft would charge a higher price. One of the reasons you can get a $300 Dell is because they probably only spent ~$20 for the Windows liscence.
Here, here! My 560E with it's P-166 is have the weight of my sister's Centrino from HP. And a third of the weight of my old B&W 286 laptop. IBM has always been more in tune with the needs of the business class.
If you would have bothered to REFPost you would have - maybe - noticed that he said that there were similar cases in the US. And you just might realize that the Boy Scouts are a school, either.
Oops, Freudian slip there. I know he was the governor, I've lived in NJ all my life. I used that identifier to give an idea of when this was, the summer after he lost to the re-election campaign of Christie Whitless^H^H^H^Hman
Instead of breaking the law and pirating music and movies, a scout should be thrifty and support independent media, which tends to be cheaper and higher quality
Below are the requirements for the Computers Merit Badge which was "updated" a few years ago:
The American Legion Boys State was formed for the expressed purpose of countering communist youth groups in the (IIRC) 40's. When I went, my friends called it the Corrupt Democratic Regimme. One lecture featured the looser of the NJ Gubernatorial race, Jim McGreedy. He explained to us his stance on flag burning was this: "When I was young, my father told me, 'Jim, flag burning is wrong.' That's how I know flag buring is wrong."
Silly me, I thought that was the entire point of having a prize. To promote that for which the prize is awarded
2)Isn't the crash-proof car what many car manufacturers already working towards. Of course, nobody is anywhere near it, and the goal itself may be inpossible, but that is the goal.
3)It makes sense to use computers and sensors to achieve this goal. The driver is the biggest point of failure in a car. Unless your a professional stunt driver, chances are, in an emergency, you will react the wrong way.
Microsoft jokes aside, embedded computers in cars are a lot more simplistic than an Operating System. It's a lot less likely for a glitch in one sensor to bring the electronics of the entire car down then a crash in Internet Explorer cause a restart of Windows.
That isn't to say that if the OSS communitiy decided to start writing code and designing equipment for embedded sensors and collision avoidence systems that they wouldn't do a better job. But the simple fact of the matter is that they aren't. In the Mark Shuttleworth slashdot interview, he made the comment that the reason why many gov't systems use proprietary OS and software is because nobody is going to write a sewage management system in their spare time. Developers who write that kind of code, get paid to write it, and then go home and contribute to firefox or OO.o
At the heart of the issue, there are two (partially) conflicting goals at work. One is to promote sound science, and the other is to generate enthusiasm in order to create a new generation of scientists. There reason they conflict is because most science isn't considered very "exciting" I'd like to see a prize set up more like the Grammy's. The most groundbreaking, innovative, or outright interesting research in a certain field in the last year. Plenty of glitz, some celebrities (Will Smith, George Lucas, and Steven Speilberg have made fortunes off of science-fiction, one would think they'd be happy to promote the science aspect), TV coverage. Follow up with the Nikeoldeon/Lego model and have another award where kids select winners. Sure you don't get as in-depth when kids are involved, but getting them interested at a young age and keeping them interested is essential.
astrophysics, neuroscience and nanotechnology... the three areas prizes will be awarded. Astrophysics and neuroscience has been "trendy" for decades. Perhaps these are the areas that Klavi himself is the most interested. One can certainly see where the development and maturation of nanotechnology could help a business that makes sensors, which is how he made his fortune that he is now putting towards this prize
It's about time. The Nobel Committee isn't living up to goals Alfred Nobel had for the prize. I read an article on the Nobel Prize and how to win it. Step 1 was live a long time, because it takes so long for your research to be recognized by the committee. IIRC, the average time between doing something Nobel worthy and being nominated for it is ~20 years.
In most of the eBay auctions I bid in, I win by paying less than I would in a store (or e-store). Am I a sucker because I was willing to spend $20 for Norton AV and the other guy was only willing to spend $19? Not at all, because if he actually wants to get the software, he has to try all over again, or spend $40 at the store for it.
I think a lot of sellers are discovering that price and professionalism are two of the biggest reasons a buyer buys from them as opposed to somebody else. If your operation looks like it's a fly-by-night thing, you might get a few brave/stupid customers, but most will avoid you like the plague.
One of the sellers whose site I used to visit would call me (and it should be noted that I dispise talking on the telephone) whenever I logged on, put something in the shopping cart (for two reasons: 1) to get shipping costs and 2)because it's easier then punching numbers into Calculator to get the cost of multiple components), and then logged out without making the purchase. It aggraveted me to no end. In a few cases, his prices were better than elsewhere, but I stopped shopping at his site, because of the phone calls.
You mean like the serial port my LaserJet 4 is connected to? The parallel port is busy being used by the DeskJet 640C. And the second serial port on my PII-400 is used to connect to my homebrew robotics project. All of this is run with 384MB of PC100 SDRAM, 16MB AGP graphics (original ATi All-In-Wonder Radeon), PCI audio, and ISA 10/100 ethernet card. I don't see a need to abandon working technology in favor of a new one when the equipment doesn't utilize the "benefits" of the newer tech
When I bought my last wireless keyboard/mouse combo (granted it was 3 generations ago in the Logitech Desktop line), they were still recommending the use of PS/2 over USB if available. Is it really neccessary for your keyboard and mouse to be connected by a 400Mb/s USB 2.0 connection?