I'm a graduate student in EECS at the University of Michigan -- what is the argument here? I don't think there are any EE classes required for a CS major, even if done as part of Engineering (i.e. not LSA).
I agree that intro-level CS classes are a problem. They often end up as weed-out classes -- I noticed this at my undergraduate institution as well. I've TA'ed a few classes like this, and common problem is that there are really several groups of students:
(a) students who master everything easily -- usually they've programmed on their own in high school
(b) students who can actually accomplish the material but need more time because it is actually new to them
(c) students required to take the class for major requirements, who don't have a programming mindset and never will, and really shouldn't be in the class
The real challenge is how to teach students in both set A and B effectively -- half your class is moving way faster than the other half. Simply telling students in A to take a different section doesn't always work -- they might just want the easy grade.
There seem to be a lot of replies assuming it's odd to trademark the word "Numbers." This might be a misunderstanding of the protections a trademark provides.
This does not prevent others from using the word "apple" in common speech, nor does it prevent someone from creating "Apple Dry Cleaners." Trademarks are defined within "categories of use," and it appears this trademark is for the "computer software" category.
Also, a trademark must be actively used for the owner to defend it in court. Simply registering the trademark is not enough.
(Disclaimer: I'm not involved in patent law or particularly well-read on the subject, this knowledge comes from several sites across the Internet.)
I agree, but part of what I see as a potential problem is that an attacker can now be completely anonymous, and can attempt to crack encryption without the victim being aware.
With the cards currently used, the victim would at least have to have his or her wallet open. Hence my suggestion for a pushbutton of sorts.
Even if encryption is used, that doesn't guarantee security (think of the folks who broke Mobil SpeedPass, which is RFID with encryption http://rfidanalysis.org/). Distance doesn't even provide that much security, because someone can bump into you in a subway station, etc.
To me, it seems we could have a VERY simple solution to avoid scanning attacks -- why not just have a button on the card/tag that you have to press to let it know this is an authorized transaction?
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I agree that intro-level CS classes are a problem. They often end up as weed-out classes -- I noticed this at my undergraduate institution as well. I've TA'ed a few classes like this, and common problem is that there are really several groups of students:
The real challenge is how to teach students in both set A and B effectively -- half your class is moving way faster than the other half. Simply telling students in A to take a different section doesn't always work -- they might just want the easy grade.
For example, Apple(R) is a trademark. See Apple's list of trademarks.
This does not prevent others from using the word "apple" in common speech, nor does it prevent someone from creating "Apple Dry Cleaners." Trademarks are defined within "categories of use," and it appears this trademark is for the "computer software" category.
Also, a trademark must be actively used for the owner to defend it in court. Simply registering the trademark is not enough.
(Disclaimer: I'm not involved in patent law or particularly well-read on the subject, this knowledge comes from several sites across the Internet.)
I agree, but part of what I see as a potential problem is that an attacker can now be completely anonymous, and can attempt to crack encryption without the victim being aware. With the cards currently used, the victim would at least have to have his or her wallet open. Hence my suggestion for a pushbutton of sorts.
Even if encryption is used, that doesn't guarantee security (think of the folks who broke Mobil SpeedPass, which is RFID with encryption http://rfidanalysis.org/). Distance doesn't even provide that much security, because someone can bump into you in a subway station, etc.
To me, it seems we could have a VERY simple solution to avoid scanning attacks -- why not just have a button on the card/tag that you have to press to let it know this is an authorized transaction?
Steve