With today's freely available (OSS) Free Pascal compiler it would be easy to get started using Pascal. This compiler not only understands the Borland flavour of Pascal, but it also has flags to compile other modes of Pascal, even Mac.
But I digress. Instead of teaching the language, teach the concepts, yes. I agree with that. I'm still teaching myself some basic things as a hobbyist, and this language/compiler have helped me come to understand some comp sci concepts, such as: linked lists, pointer management, etc {yes, pascal has pointers, sigh. yes they can be just as powerful}).
I offer this as an option instead of C. Use C if you want. Use pascal if you want to use something that was designed to HELP teach students, intitially. It's way more powerful than a toy however, Pascal has grown up, it never stopped growing, and now we have a free implementation that works on several platforms.
Thanks for trying to help me with my problem. I went to the 'Extension' menu sub-level under 'Tools' and did just that. I un-installed flashblock and then re-installed it from the mozdev page.
Same behaviour. Clicking on certain flash extensions doesn't work.
Thanks for trying tho. I fear my original point still stands.
It's good to see this version of the Mozilla codebase continuing. I dunno. I really don't have THAT much to say against FireFox; I use it every single day, every time, all the time. I just wasn't happy with 1.5.
Point 1: There's this weird bug where my flash blocker plugin is now doing JUST THAT. Nothing in flash works. It is just a blank screen. A community website that I browsed frequently in the past, and is ONLY accesible thru their Flash client, is now non-accesible. Since the blocker just presents a blank page, regardless of how much re-loading or clicking I do on the > arrow.
Point 2: My Bookmarks Menu. Yes I still use this. I do not use 'declicious' or any other community/social bookmark wiki system. My bookmarks are none of anyone's business, IMHO. After leaving FF up for a couple of hours, the highlighting feature when I scroll through the deep levels of my bookmarks just stops working and 'flickers'; I can't SEE what I'm actually highlighting when I want to get to the page I've marked. So I have to quit the thing and re-start it to achieve normal behaviour again.
These are un-acceptable showstopper bugs to me. Sorry, just my own opinion. You are free to dis-agree. I hope they fix it for other users' sake.
As far as the "suite" flavour goes: I had used Communicator (loyally) for so long, it does not bother me one bit as to how that software build is organized. In the past, I left it up for WEEKS at a time and never had a problem. My two cents.
Aha I glossed over that, however un-intentionally. I know what you mean though, anything that kicks off enough RF could be annoying, but the loop can help in other situations, I imagine, just not stationary in the office (often I use induction loop in my car. Try THAT with a laptop and WiFi... welcome to constant wardialing much?)
I just proffered as an option. Not saying mine is the bonafide end-all solution.
You didn't mention whether you were aware of an existing technology, but there's something known as an "induction loop".
Being hearing-impaired myself, I obtained an induction loop that jacks into the cell phone. The signal is clear as day. Of course, you have to deal with batteries, but an advantage is, hands-free mode. There's a microphone portion where the cord forks into a 'Y'.:D
I imagine the local Bell cell-phone store would carry it (that's where I got mine).
For this reason (crummy framebuffer support with graphical apps when I would want it) I've used X but utilized a wonderful wm known as evilwm; it just gets out of my way. I have a write-up on signalnine.com:
evil wm write-up.
This is just one way to use X "economically", but it's one that I liked.
I still think the POTENTIAL for having a 'free' platform to EASILY port your code to is a good thing. We have no idea what might become of Windows (as we know it) once Longenhurden manifests.
This project, I think, offers a small amount of comfort to businesses (think enterprise and small biz, too) who have invested exorbitant amounts of programmer-time and dollars on in-house, 'vertical applications'.
They may not need the lastest whiz-bang Microsoft 'features' (that MS says we can't do without). Even if they can't implement all of say, DirectX for gamers; or.Nyet, (I say this because of the potential of land-mine-infested patents...c'mon you KNOW MS isn't benign, ADMIT IT!), running a 'cheap' Delphi application that does your check processing/imaging on NT 4 or Win2k is a VALID REASON for this effort ('what we have right NOW works just FINE, thank you').
There might yet be good cause to dread at what's coming up on the horizon.
Just my 2 cents.
Was that rambling? I tried to write something lucid and coherent. Sorry if I failed. I'm very tired as I write this.
Argh. I forgot that I wrote a review of this thing that goes into more detail than the brief splatter of words I posted above. Here's the URL: evilwm review.
I explain my reasons behind trying out this minimalist wm and how I found the experience. Quite positive actually.
Not sure if you're requiring icons or don't mind being a console jockey, but give evil windowmanager a try. Guaranteed the only thing on your screen will be the windows themselves.
I have also given a 'quickie' review about this book months ago on out little site. You can also find the thread on signalnine by clicking on the 'reader reviews' link, on the book information page.
"The Open Source Free Software GIS - GRASS users conference 2002 will take place in Trento, Italy, 11-13 September 2002. This conference is the result of the joint effort of many GRASS developers and users all over the world...
Heh, yeah there is a reason. 99 times out of 100 the signed language of a region can be traced back to the deaf kids. Deaf kids invented sign. They wanted a way to communicate with their friends, and family, so they would agree on common meanings and build the signs from there. Usually the deaf kids are on their own, they have hearing parents, and so on. With the residential style school setting, it give them more time to refine it and make it something that was 'their own', usually because the schools promoted the 'Oral' tradition of teaching children (voice only).
A lot of the information I have is mixed with a little european (deaf) history and mostly american (deaf) history, but from what I understand, the main reason why there's regional differences is the same as spoken languages: they evolved. The languages reflect the needs of the people at the time. Language is a tool. Sure, the language is more refined today, but it had to start somewhere, and it is the deaf kids who started it.
Hee, that's my really simple explanation. I could sit and type out a longer, more accurate answer, but this is Slashdot, and I'm sure somebody else will put in their 2 cents or say 'no that's wrong, blah blah'.
I just woke up and haven't even had my first coffee yet, heh.
Depends what region you are (european? american? if you're canadian, it's prob ASL with regional dialects, if you're from Quebec you want some form of LSQ) Anway, I should have trotted this out earlier. Some fair example here, a little static and some of the signs are outdated, however:
http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/
The best place you can learn? 1) community college introductory course to ASL (again, american, make sure you try to pick up on the real language, not some manually coded spoken sign)... and 2) Deaf clubs. Look in the phone book or call someone in the United Way in your area, they might have someone on staff who knows these things. Go to the club after you have about 6 months under your belt:)
There is an attempt at creating an internatioanl sign language, called 'Gestuno'.
It's been used at some deaf-world conferences, but I am not certain at how quickly it's been adopted, and I have only ever seen a 20 second blip of it on a video tape in a sign language lab.
Actually, if you dream in a language that's not in your native tongue, it's a good indicator that you're 'grokking it', you're learning:)
hearing person example: my wife knows a couple of German dialects after spending one of her high school years in Germany, an exchange program. She and I have compared notes on this phenomena and it's weird/freaky/cool.
And, oh yeah, 'will it learn'. OK, it has the capability to learn? That's good. But I don't see it being practical for mainstream use. It would just be another device to draw attention to myself. I get enough 'attention' or people looking at me warily because of their noticing my hearing aid when I go to McDonalds and place an order at the counter.
Don't let me discourage you tho. I'll go on record and say it can serve an application space in certain situations. But nothing can replace the communication and human bond, the discovery process, the mind-blowing experience of understanding that the person signing to you isn't that much different from you, once you get over the (rather small) learning hump (ASL can also easily incorporate mimetic actions...it's fun, it's playful, it gets the point across). The glove can serve as tool for initiation into their world (the Deaf), I'll give you that. But would the person who only relied on communication with the Deaf with that device, would they not feel that it felt artificial? They would chance to discard it at some point, I would like to believe. I think that's a sad thought that some would only ever be willing to communicate with Deaf folk if they had to wear THE THING.
And you don't have to sign completely pure American/British/Auslan Sign Language, lots of Deaf folks use English or have an understanding of the basics of said language in said regional area. You can 'borrow' the signs and sign in the spoken language word order. It's a bridge. It's a pidgin. Both sides can reach an intermediary form that's efficient enough for both. Then it will evolve. Give it a chance, don't be afraid.
I've always been willing to meet hearing folks halfway by looking at them directly to their face, talking as clearly as I can and asking them to repeat when I don't undertand something.
Half-way. Evem I can do it. It ain't that hard I like to quote Larry: there's more than one way to do it.:)
That much is very true. I won't argue that point. You'll lose it, if ya don't use it.
HOWEVER having said that, EVERY major city has some core of Deaf folks around, they have deaf club socials, silent dinners, signed presestations at 'film night', bowling/other sports leagues, etc.
Find the closest available city center next to you and go take part!
Don't blame ASL for being too 'difficult' tho (I'm not saying you are)...mankind gestured before spoken structured speech evolved, so...(shrug) go out there and have fun with it! Just like riding a bike.
Exactly. One of the things that a reputable sign language course (i.e. should be a Deaf teacher) does is get people to use a facial mirror. It would be passed around the class and people would have to 'mock' a facial expression as a reaction to a sign, for example:
How do you feel? (happy/sad face)
Boo! (surprise)
And so on. Later they would be taught how to sign an imperative statement vs. an interrogative statement. Specifically, the eyebrows.(go look it up online, it's out there)
Also of note, shaking your head 'no' negates a signed statement in American Sign, example:
q: do you have money?
a: (shaking head) have money
That would be perfectly valid ASL. Even if they can teach this thing all the dialects and regional sign languages out there, it's the biggest waste of time I've ever heard. No mainstream application value at all.
You'd be better off learning some basic ASL signs and signing them they way English speakers are used to, in English word order.
I sign. And I'm hearing impaired. And there is no possible way that this thing would be able to keep up with my signing speed once I'm in the 'zone', or in deep, conceptual sign.
If it is a word for word thing, then it will sound like broken English, and then when I do idiomatic sign, just like speaking idiomatic english, you have to infer the context to get the meaning.
Heh. this is ridculous. Why people just don't learn sign is beyond me.
I just have a habit of lampooning things. I'm not American, though. I just live here in the US. Turns out I don't even know many of the proper names for certain elements of the process...
Right you are. You did come to the defence of that, now that I've calmed down and taken the time to read it again.
That's _my_ problem. Calming down. See, I can't just divorce myself from issues like this all the time and give a neutral answer, because its too close to me. Is it my fault? Yeah. Could I prevent myself from doing that? Yeah.
But you gotta consider that its hard for me to do so. I don't want a pity party, for what I'm about to say. But it's easy for me to 'distrust' anyone who _isn't_ deaf who starts talking about things like this. Heaven forbid that they might actually know what they're talking about. It's a distrust thing. I guess I haven't been able to let down my guard enough to consider that you're not just someone throwing big words around and might actually be able to understand some of these issues.
So thank you for calling me on that bluntly, and I hope that this thread has made a fool out of me enough to at least prove that I find it hard to trust people.
Being deaf is only a compelling entree into that culture - but it is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition to being part of that culture.
Its nice to try and objectify everything emprirically here, however the outside impression of the 'hearing impaired', 'deaf' 'Deaf' person by mainstream society is pretty much the same. They all get lumped in by default, so the commonality of feeling is shared, and implicity understood by those in and around the Deaf community. It's not artificial. It evolved. That's more important in the long run, than this overly-analytical thread. I don't wanna say 'screw' anyone. I'm about synthesis. So I have to ignore opinions like yours, no offense. A culture is a bag of things held in common and shared ideals, things that are important to the members. I'd like to believe there's more held in common than not. [and if you try to divert into a thread insisting that it is indeed artificial, then that means its imposed, and who's fault is that?]
The original poster clearly didn't understand this, because he only knows what little he heard from someone probably ridiculing the Deaf community's unease about cochlear implants in babies.
I have no idea who you're referring to here, but it'd better not be me. I can't recall if your 'd/Deaf' or not. I am. I have the physical traits, I have the experiences. So I'm valid, whether you think so or not. I'm from Canada, and I'm living here in the USA. There are differences, but a lot of the things are the same. I've never been _rejected_ by either of the Deaf Communities, I just don't share all the views. They accept that. And I am still involved. Native signer. Non-native signer. I don't think it's really that important. There are some _militant_ 'Deaf Power Now' folks, but you know what, they're not really that popular. Those of us who have a synthesist view don't like that kind of attitude. So it doesn't matter to people like me. It's not going to solve anything.
And I am now finished with this thread. I'm tired of explaining everything over and over in simple, easy to understand terms when it makes no difference. Sorry. I really wish someone else would carry the torch once in a while, I really do.
Slashdot Mirror
With today's freely available (OSS) Free Pascal compiler it would be easy to get started using Pascal. This compiler not only understands the Borland flavour of Pascal, but it also has flags to compile other modes of Pascal, even Mac.
But I digress. Instead of teaching the language, teach the concepts, yes. I agree with that. I'm still teaching myself some basic things as a hobbyist, and this language/compiler have helped me come to understand some comp sci concepts, such as: linked lists, pointer management, etc {yes, pascal has pointers, sigh. yes they can be just as powerful}).
I offer this as an option instead of C. Use C if you want. Use pascal if you want to use something that was designed to HELP teach students, intitially. It's way more powerful than a toy however, Pascal has grown up, it never stopped growing, and now we have a free implementation that works on several platforms.
Guess I'll get modded down with you.
Thanks for trying to help me with my problem. I went to the 'Extension' menu sub-level under 'Tools' and did just that. I un-installed flashblock and then re-installed it from the mozdev page.
Same behaviour. Clicking on certain flash extensions doesn't work.
Thanks for trying tho. I fear my original point still stands.
Thank you! For trying to help me with my problem. However this link:
http://flashblock.mozdev.org/
Returned an 'unable to install' error. Guess the site might be swamped?
It's good to see this version of the Mozilla codebase continuing. I dunno. I really don't have THAT much to say against FireFox; I use it every single day, every time, all the time. I just wasn't happy with 1.5.
Point 1: There's this weird bug where my flash blocker plugin is now doing JUST THAT. Nothing in flash works. It is just a blank screen. A community website that I browsed frequently in the past, and is ONLY accesible thru their Flash client, is now non-accesible. Since the blocker just presents a blank page, regardless of how much re-loading or clicking I do on the > arrow.
Point 2: My Bookmarks Menu. Yes I still use this. I do not use 'declicious' or any other community/social bookmark wiki system. My bookmarks are none of anyone's business, IMHO. After leaving FF up for a couple of hours, the highlighting feature when I scroll through the deep levels of my bookmarks just stops working and 'flickers'; I can't SEE what I'm actually highlighting when I want to get to the page I've marked. So I have to quit the thing and re-start it to achieve normal behaviour again.
These are un-acceptable showstopper bugs to me. Sorry, just my own opinion. You are free to dis-agree. I hope they fix it for other users' sake.
As far as the "suite" flavour goes: I had used Communicator (loyally) for so long, it does not bother me one bit as to how that software build is organized. In the past, I left it up for WEEKS at a time and never had a problem. My two cents.
Long live Mozilla in all their flavours.
Aha I glossed over that, however un-intentionally. I know what you mean though, anything that kicks off enough RF could be annoying, but the loop can help in other situations, I imagine, just not stationary in the office (often I use induction loop in my car. Try THAT with a laptop and WiFi ... welcome to constant wardialing much?)
I just proffered as an option. Not saying mine is the bonafide end-all solution.
You didn't mention whether you were aware of an existing technology, but there's something known as an "induction loop".
:D
Being hearing-impaired myself, I obtained an induction loop that jacks into the cell phone. The signal is clear as day. Of course, you have to deal with batteries, but an advantage is, hands-free mode. There's a microphone portion where the cord forks into a 'Y'.
I imagine the local Bell cell-phone store would carry it (that's where I got mine).
Good luck.
For this reason (crummy framebuffer support with graphical apps when I would want it) I've used X but utilized a wonderful wm known as evilwm; it just gets out of my way. I have a write-up on signalnine.com:
evil wm write-up.
This is just one way to use X "economically", but it's one that I liked.
Here's the URL of my answer (a comment), (the comment)... from an article preceeding slashdot's posting by several days... I'll even paste it (my reply) for you if you're adverse or too lazy bother to visiting signalnine.com...
I still think the POTENTIAL for having a 'free' platform to EASILY port your code to is a good thing. We have no idea what might become of Windows (as we know it) once Longenhurden manifests. This project, I think, offers a small amount of comfort to businesses (think enterprise and small biz, too) who have invested exorbitant amounts of programmer-time and dollars on in-house, 'vertical applications'. They may not need the lastest whiz-bang Microsoft 'features' (that MS says we can't do without). Even if they can't implement all of say, DirectX for gamers; or .Nyet, (I say this because of the potential of land-mine-infested patents...c'mon you KNOW MS isn't benign, ADMIT IT!), running a 'cheap' Delphi application that does your check processing/imaging on NT 4 or Win2k is a VALID REASON for this effort ('what we have right NOW works just FINE, thank you').
There might yet be good cause to dread at what's coming up on the horizon.
Just my 2 cents.
Was that rambling? I tried to write something lucid and coherent. Sorry if I failed. I'm very tired as I write this.
Argh. I forgot that I wrote a review of this thing that goes into more detail than the brief splatter of words I posted above. Here's the URL: evilwm review.
I explain my reasons behind trying out this minimalist wm and how I found the experience. Quite positive actually.
Not sure if you're requiring icons or don't mind being a console jockey, but give evil windowmanager a try. Guaranteed the only thing on your screen will be the windows themselves.
I have also given a 'quickie' review about this book months ago on out little site. You can also find the thread on signalnine by clicking on the 'reader reviews' link, on the book information page.
I can't believe my eyes. This is offered in good faith...wait a minute...Mars Attacks?...Oh dear...
Alien's eyes widen in terror...
Ack...aacckk..ACK ACK ACK!
Cut to scene of all hell breaking loose, weapons being fired
...Was this intentional? :)
Heh, yeah there is a reason. 99 times out of 100 the signed language of a region can be traced back to the deaf kids. Deaf kids invented sign. They wanted a way to communicate with their friends, and family, so they would agree on common meanings and build the signs from there. Usually the deaf kids are on their own, they have hearing parents, and so on. With the residential style school setting, it give them more time to refine it and make it something that was 'their own', usually because the schools promoted the 'Oral' tradition of teaching children (voice only).
A lot of the information I have is mixed with a little european (deaf) history and mostly american (deaf) history, but from what I understand, the main reason why there's regional differences is the same as spoken languages: they evolved. The languages reflect the needs of the people at the time. Language is a tool. Sure, the language is more refined today, but it had to start somewhere, and it is the deaf kids who started it.
Hee, that's my really simple explanation. I could sit and type out a longer, more accurate answer, but this is Slashdot, and I'm sure somebody else will put in their 2 cents or say 'no that's wrong, blah blah'.
I just woke up and haven't even had my first coffee yet, heh.
Hope that helped.
Anway, I should have trotted this out earlier. Some fair example here, a little static and some of the signs are outdated, however:
http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl/
The best place you can learn? 1) community college introductory course to ASL (again, american, make sure you try to pick up on the real language, not some manually coded spoken sign) ... and 2) Deaf clubs. Look in the phone book or call someone in the United Way in your area, they might have someone on staff who knows these things. Go to the club after you have about 6 months under your belt :)
It's been used at some deaf-world conferences, but I am not certain at how quickly it's been adopted, and I have only ever seen a 20 second blip of it on a video tape in a sign language lab.
hearing person example: my wife knows a couple of German dialects after spending one of her high school years in Germany, an exchange program. She and I have compared notes on this phenomena and it's weird/freaky/cool.
And, oh yeah, 'will it learn'. OK, it has the capability to learn? That's good. But I don't see it being practical for mainstream use. It would just be another device to draw attention to myself. I get enough 'attention' or people looking at me warily because of their noticing my hearing aid when I go to McDonalds and place an order at the counter.
Don't let me discourage you tho. I'll go on record and say it can serve an application space in certain situations. But nothing can replace the communication and human bond, the discovery process, the mind-blowing experience of understanding that the person signing to you isn't that much different from you, once you get over the (rather small) learning hump (ASL can also easily incorporate mimetic actions...it's fun, it's playful, it gets the point across). The glove can serve as tool for initiation into their world (the Deaf), I'll give you that. But would the person who only relied on communication with the Deaf with that device, would they not feel that it felt artificial? They would chance to discard it at some point, I would like to believe. I think that's a sad thought that some would only ever be willing to communicate with Deaf folk if they had to wear THE THING.
And you don't have to sign completely pure American/British/Auslan Sign Language, lots of Deaf folks use English or have an understanding of the basics of said language in said regional area. You can 'borrow' the signs and sign in the spoken language word order. It's a bridge. It's a pidgin. Both sides can reach an intermediary form that's efficient enough for both. Then it will evolve. Give it a chance, don't be afraid.
I've always been willing to meet hearing folks halfway by looking at them directly to their face, talking as clearly as I can and asking them to repeat when I don't undertand something.
Half-way. Evem I can do it. It ain't that hard I like to quote Larry: there's more than one way to do it. :)
HOWEVER having said that, EVERY major city has some core of Deaf folks around, they have deaf club socials, silent dinners, signed presestations at 'film night', bowling/other sports leagues, etc.
Find the closest available city center next to you and go take part!
Don't blame ASL for being too 'difficult' tho (I'm not saying you are)...mankind gestured before spoken structured speech evolved, so ...(shrug) go out there and have fun with it! Just like riding a bike.
How do you feel? (happy/sad face)
Boo! (surprise)
And so on. Later they would be taught how to sign an imperative statement vs. an interrogative statement. Specifically, the eyebrows.(go look it up online, it's out there)
Also of note, shaking your head 'no' negates a signed statement in American Sign, example:
q: do you have money?
a: (shaking head) have money
That would be perfectly valid ASL. Even if they can teach this thing all the dialects and regional sign languages out there, it's the biggest waste of time I've ever heard. No mainstream application value at all.
You'd be better off learning some basic ASL signs and signing them they way English speakers are used to, in English word order.
If it is a word for word thing, then it will sound like broken English, and then when I do idiomatic sign, just like speaking idiomatic english, you have to infer the context to get the meaning.
Heh. this is ridculous. Why people just don't learn sign is beyond me.
At least I was able to get the point across tho.
"2.2 trillion....(pinkie)dollars.*snicker*"
Judge: Would the prosecution PLEASE refrain from doing that pinkie thing every single time? You're getting on my nerves...
That's _my_ problem. Calming down. See, I can't just divorce myself from issues like this all the time and give a neutral answer, because its too close to me. Is it my fault? Yeah. Could I prevent myself from doing that? Yeah.
But you gotta consider that its hard for me to do so. I don't want a pity party, for what I'm about to say. But it's easy for me to 'distrust' anyone who _isn't_ deaf who starts talking about things like this. Heaven forbid that they might actually know what they're talking about. It's a distrust thing. I guess I haven't been able to let down my guard enough to consider that you're not just someone throwing big words around and might actually be able to understand some of these issues.
So thank you for calling me on that bluntly, and I hope that this thread has made a fool out of me enough to at least prove that I find it hard to trust people.
It sucks, but its true.
OK. I can live with that. I find it difficult to follow all these threads. I don't know whose is on whose side, anymore, I really don't.
If I offended you, I'm sorry.
Its nice to try and objectify everything emprirically here, however the outside impression of the 'hearing impaired', 'deaf' 'Deaf' person by mainstream society is pretty much the same. They all get lumped in by default, so the commonality of feeling is shared, and implicity understood by those in and around the Deaf community. It's not artificial. It evolved.
That's more important in the long run, than this overly-analytical thread. I don't wanna say 'screw' anyone. I'm about synthesis. So I have to ignore opinions like yours, no offense. A culture is a bag of things held in common and shared ideals, things that are important to the members. I'd like to believe there's more held in common than not. [and if you try to divert into a thread insisting that it is indeed artificial, then that means its imposed, and who's fault is that?]
The original poster clearly didn't understand this, because he only knows what little he heard from someone probably ridiculing the Deaf community's unease about cochlear implants in babies.
I have no idea who you're referring to here, but it'd better not be me. I can't recall if your 'd/Deaf' or not. I am. I have the physical traits, I have the experiences. So I'm valid, whether you think so or not. I'm from Canada, and I'm living here in the USA. There are differences, but a lot of the things are the same. I've never been _rejected_ by either of the Deaf Communities, I just don't share all the views. They accept that. And I am still involved. Native signer. Non-native signer. I don't think it's really that important. There are some _militant_ 'Deaf Power Now' folks, but you know what, they're not really that popular. Those of us who have a synthesist view don't like that kind of attitude. So it doesn't matter to people like me. It's not going to solve anything.
And I am now finished with this thread. I'm tired of explaining everything over and over in simple, easy to understand terms when it makes no difference. Sorry. I really wish someone else would carry the torch once in a while, I really do.