Last year I was in the decidedly odd position of having to teach third year CS students (who had primarily used Java), what pointers were, how memory allocation worked, and how to use C.
That they didn't know C wasn't too surprising. That they didn't have more than a basic grasp of memory management was shocking. They were also completely baffled when it came to not using an IDE to develop software. Makefiles had to be explained several times.
Is the modern computer science curriculum broken? I would expect that a CS major would be well versed in computer theory along with the applications of that theory, with a course list including: digital design, computational theory, algorithms, data structures, assembler, C, computer architecture and operating systems. Basically I'd expect the student to know the theory along with how a computer works from the gate level on up. Things like object oriented programming languages, databases, etc. would then simply be electives, but every student would know the fundamentals.
I believe that poor instruction of computing fundamentals is to blame for the current state of affairs. Why would a CS student not be exposed to memory management and the command-line during their first year of coursework? Hell, the book on Color Computer Basic that I read when I was seven covered memory management (using a P.O. box analogy). Is the use of languages like Java and IDEs simply a crutch to improve the scores of mediocre students? Are professors incapable of teaching the subject matter, or has the computer science curriculum simply been dumbed down in an age where many (unfortunate) people will simply be installing and configuring third-party software packages on a server that's managed by some group off-site and then calling the support line if they run into problems?
Why use mfilemon when the Add Printer wizard can be used to do the same thing? Select "local printer attached to this computer" and then in the "Use the following port" pulldown, select File. You then can choose a printer manufacturer and model of printer. When you print using this printer, you'll get a pop-up dialog asking where you'd like to save the output. I use this all of the time in order to convert.doc files to Postscript so that I can print the document at home from a UNIX system.
Next time you take off your shoes, remember this tidbit of wisdom: 9/11 might have been prevented if we had then today's general paranoia, but the specific measures out there today would not have stopped it. Today's meaures, if effective from 9/1/2001 forward would not specifically have prevented the horrible attacks on 9/11/2001.
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but wouldn't securing the cockpit doors have prevented the hijackings that took place on 9/11/2001?
I did a little digging and determined that it was almost certainly suicide. I found two blog posts from a google search on Itojun and noticed that the Google cache version was dated one day prior to the date listed on the blog posts. I then discovered that you can actually retrieve old text from the Google cache version of a page by tweaking your search query over and over. I determined that the two bloggers had deleted paragraphs from each of their posts talking about the cause of death, Itojun's mental health problems and his recent decent into depression.
To see what I'm talking about, check these
search results and then compare the page that's being linked. You'll notice it's dated the 31st and the paragraph from the search results has been deleted. If you then perform queries using text from the search result snippet you can reveal more and more of the deleted text. For example, like this.
I'm a bit conflicted about posting the cause of death since multiple people took the trouble to attempt to delete that information from public view, but I figure that people will find this technique at recovering deleted information quite useful. I have recovered the complete text from each blog post, but am not going to post that information. If you care that much, you can figure it out for yourself.
The main reason why the temperature was kept so low was to be on the safe side
There's a Google study that suggests, for disk drives, a higher temperature does not correlate with higher failure rates. However lower temperatures do correlate with an increase in failure rates.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of drives with average temperature in increments of one degree and the corresponding annualized failure rates. The figure shows that failures do not increase when the average temperature increases. In fact, there is a clear trend showing that lower temperatures are associated with higher failure rates. Only at very high temperatures is there a slight reversal of this trend.
I seem to recall hearing that the average American has something like eight(!) credit cards. I know that some of the financial advisors recommend that people have and regularly use three cards; not using a card regularly counts against your credit score.
Paying via credit card certainly does not mean you're not living within your means. So long as you pay your invoice in full every month you get the benefit of holding onto your money for a few additional weeks, you establish a credit record that you'll need when purchasing big ticket items like cars and homes, your purchase is most likely insured to some extent and you don't pay any finance charges. In addition, some cards will prepare reports for you at the end of the year that show where you're spending your money. For example, I have a Macy's charge card; not only does Macy's maintain a list of exactly which items I've purchased (that really helps with returns as you don't have to hunt for receipts), but they send me reward cards frequently for either $20 off my next purchase, or a 15% discount.
I'm not sure where you came up with the idea that credit companies charge astronomical interest rates and have draconian pay structures. My cards are somewhere around 12% APR at the moment. The only people paying 20% or higher interest, or have large late fees, are those that are chronically late making payments.
While it's true that many people simply don't respect money and are unable to manage their finances properly, the proper use of credit is an extremely important part of modern life. I don't know too many people that can buy a home with their debit card.
In Jesus Camp, there's an interview with a fundamentalist Christian mother who explains why she chooses her brand of religion to explain the world instead of scientific reasoning, "it's the only answer to everything that makes sense".
It's the only answer to everything that makes sense.
One gets a strong impression that this woman simply isn't very well educated and that because she doesn't understand what scientists are talking about, she defaults to a simplistic answer that she can comprehend.
So it got us thinking...Why can't we have some sort of "pre-authorization" that shows that we are law-abiding citizens who pose no threat? I've had financial reports pulled, background checks done, and drug screening tests done, and everything has always come up "clean". So why couldn't that "positive" information be brought together into some sort of format that would quickly and simply provide positive evidence that we should be granted admittance to wherever we wanted to go?
How exactly are you going prove that people aren't going to commit some action in the future? It can't be done. I'm sure you've heard numerous news reports where someone with no prior history of violence goes batshit crazy and the neighbors always comment on how he was such a quiet guy and you'd never think he'd do such a thing. All you'll accomplish with your proposal is provide an easy way to game the system. People with clean backgrounds will be used to get through security so that they can do whatever it is they're going to do.
The bottom line is that with proper security measures, there's no reason to have a no-fly list. You secure the cockpit, keep security personnel onboard the aircraft, control who has access to the vehicle while it's on the tarmac and screen the luggage.
Also, don't forget that flying is still one of the safest forms of travel. Unfortunately, people have decided to become hysterical and the threat of terrorism has been blown entirely out of proportion. You're much, much more likely to be hit by lightening than to die in a terrorist attack. Sadly, those of us who refuse to be afraid are being held hostage by all of the Chicken Littles.
Interestingly though, in the 80's, it was socially acceptable to have a drink during lunch. Now it is taboo to drink during work hours at all.
I think this depends on whom you're working with. I have a beer or glass of wine with my lunch and dinner most days and I don't hesitate to have my usual meal even if I'm out with people from the office. It's my lunch break and I don't show up to work intoxicated, so I figure it's none of their damn business if I have an iced tea or a glass of merlot just as it's none of their business if I have a hamburger versus some chicken, or maybe skip lunch entirely to go home and fool around with my girlfriend.
I think the underlying problem is that some people don't appreciate the taste of alcoholic drinks and assume that everyone drinks for the sole reason of becoming intoxicated.
I agree with you that people driving fast cars usually know how to drive them while that soccer mom in the SUV will gladly cut you off while yakking on her cell phone and sipping her Starbucks and not even notice she's done it.
What happened that we are so afraid to test our boundaries?
While I'll admit to driving 100+ in my Firebird Formula on the Chicago expressways when they're empty, doing so in the middle of the day with commuter traffic is just plain stupid. Many of the drivers on the road are in the wrong lane, don't signal before changing lanes and don't check their mirrors or blindspots. They'll eagerly pull out in front of someone doing twice their speed and get creamed. I can only hope that the driver mentioned in the article cools it around traffic.
If you want to test your boundaries, then join the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) or one of the other organizations. Get your physical, buy some safety gear, attend driver's school and qualify for your novice license. Get a car that can pass technical inspection and then have at it with the other drivers. If you don't have the money to burn on a car, then go out for track days in your daily driver. Some of the tracks that I frequent will let drive during lunchtime on race weekends. So long as you can handle yourself and aren't endangering other drivers, the corner workers and control typically let you go as fast as you can.
E-paper as the name implies isn't a replacement for computer screens. It's a replacement for a printed paper as in newspapers and books.
While it may be true that the current e-paper projects aren't looking to replace computer screens, the technology will eventually be incorporated into them. If it's easier to read e-paper than an LCD screen due to better contrast and less glare, then why would people continue using LCDs?
So does this mean that GM is going to be drilling holes in all of their new vehicles to install the GPS receiver? That even if you don't want OnStar, and maybe even go so far as to physically disable it, you'll still have an ugly receiver mounted on your car?
I suppose I should be happy that GM stopped making Firebirds?
Another bit of trivia, apparently some of these cameras cannot see directly below where they've been mounted. As a result, street dealers were simply standing directly underneath them. This may have been fixed in the newer models.
What software? Early Minidisc players didn't come with software. I can only assume you are referring to software that was bundled with the cable used to link the later Minidisc recorders to a computer?
For what it's worth, I still have my model MZ-R90; the thing's built like a tank.
Has anyone noticed that the "larding of America" started in the early 1980's? That's right around the time that high-fructose corn syrup was introduced into soft drinks.
I blame McDonald's and that damn Happy Meal, its got everything you don't need. High fat, high sugar and high sodium.
Erlang's in-memory database system was originally called Amnesia. Someone at Ericsson didn't like the name so they dropped the "a" and Amnesia became Mnesia.
Just so you know, many of the cameras are encased in a bulletproof box and have acoustic sensors to detect gunshots; the camera will automatically focus on the source of the shot.
The things transmit their video wirelessly and allow for remote control via a wireless link to police cruisers in addition to their wired link to the monitoring center downtown. I'd focus on jamming the signal or disabling the wired link.
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Is the modern computer science curriculum broken? I would expect that a CS major would be well versed in computer theory along with the applications of that theory, with a course list including: digital design, computational theory, algorithms, data structures, assembler, C, computer architecture and operating systems. Basically I'd expect the student to know the theory along with how a computer works from the gate level on up. Things like object oriented programming languages, databases, etc. would then simply be electives, but every student would know the fundamentals.
I believe that poor instruction of computing fundamentals is to blame for the current state of affairs. Why would a CS student not be exposed to memory management and the command-line during their first year of coursework? Hell, the book on Color Computer Basic that I read when I was seven covered memory management (using a P.O. box analogy). Is the use of languages like Java and IDEs simply a crutch to improve the scores of mediocre students? Are professors incapable of teaching the subject matter, or has the computer science curriculum simply been dumbed down in an age where many (unfortunate) people will simply be installing and configuring third-party software packages on a server that's managed by some group off-site and then calling the support line if they run into problems?
Why use mfilemon when the Add Printer wizard can be used to do the same thing? Select "local printer attached to this computer" and then in the "Use the following port" pulldown, select File. You then can choose a printer manufacturer and model of printer. When you print using this printer, you'll get a pop-up dialog asking where you'd like to save the output. I use this all of the time in order to convert
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you, but wouldn't securing the cockpit doors have prevented the hijackings that took place on 9/11/2001?
*sigh*
It's, "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."
See here. My personal favorite adds, "he who cannot teach, writes books."
I did a little digging and determined that it was almost certainly suicide. I found two blog posts from a google search on Itojun and noticed that the Google cache version was dated one day prior to the date listed on the blog posts. I then discovered that you can actually retrieve old text from the Google cache version of a page by tweaking your search query over and over. I determined that the two bloggers had deleted paragraphs from each of their posts talking about the cause of death, Itojun's mental health problems and his recent decent into depression.
To see what I'm talking about, check these search results and then compare the page that's being linked. You'll notice it's dated the 31st and the paragraph from the search results has been deleted. If you then perform queries using text from the search result snippet you can reveal more and more of the deleted text. For example, like this.
I'm a bit conflicted about posting the cause of death since multiple people took the trouble to attempt to delete that information from public view, but I figure that people will find this technique at recovering deleted information quite useful. I have recovered the complete text from each blog post, but am not going to post that information. If you care that much, you can figure it out for yourself.
There's a Google study that suggests, for disk drives, a higher temperature does not correlate with higher failure rates. However lower temperatures do correlate with an increase in failure rates.
"Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population"
It appears that for modern disk drives, cooler is definitely not better.
Catholics.
I seem to recall hearing that the average American has something like eight(!) credit cards. I know that some of the financial advisors recommend that people have and regularly use three cards; not using a card regularly counts against your credit score.
Paying via credit card certainly does not mean you're not living within your means. So long as you pay your invoice in full every month you get the benefit of holding onto your money for a few additional weeks, you establish a credit record that you'll need when purchasing big ticket items like cars and homes, your purchase is most likely insured to some extent and you don't pay any finance charges. In addition, some cards will prepare reports for you at the end of the year that show where you're spending your money. For example, I have a Macy's charge card; not only does Macy's maintain a list of exactly which items I've purchased (that really helps with returns as you don't have to hunt for receipts), but they send me reward cards frequently for either $20 off my next purchase, or a 15% discount.
I'm not sure where you came up with the idea that credit companies charge astronomical interest rates and have draconian pay structures. My cards are somewhere around 12% APR at the moment. The only people paying 20% or higher interest, or have large late fees, are those that are chronically late making payments.
While it's true that many people simply don't respect money and are unable to manage their finances properly, the proper use of credit is an extremely important part of modern life. I don't know too many people that can buy a home with their debit card.
Wow, you must have pretty big pockets if they can hold enough change to buy an iPhone!
I've never understood the point of buying prepaid cards. Why not simply give someone cash?
In Jesus Camp, there's an interview with a fundamentalist Christian mother who explains why she chooses her brand of religion to explain the world instead of scientific reasoning, "it's the only answer to everything that makes sense". It's the only answer to everything that makes sense.
One gets a strong impression that this woman simply isn't very well educated and that because she doesn't understand what scientists are talking about, she defaults to a simplistic answer that she can comprehend.
How exactly are you going prove that people aren't going to commit some action in the future? It can't be done. I'm sure you've heard numerous news reports where someone with no prior history of violence goes batshit crazy and the neighbors always comment on how he was such a quiet guy and you'd never think he'd do such a thing. All you'll accomplish with your proposal is provide an easy way to game the system. People with clean backgrounds will be used to get through security so that they can do whatever it is they're going to do.
The bottom line is that with proper security measures, there's no reason to have a no-fly list. You secure the cockpit, keep security personnel onboard the aircraft, control who has access to the vehicle while it's on the tarmac and screen the luggage.
Also, don't forget that flying is still one of the safest forms of travel. Unfortunately, people have decided to become hysterical and the threat of terrorism has been blown entirely out of proportion. You're much, much more likely to be hit by lightening than to die in a terrorist attack. Sadly, those of us who refuse to be afraid are being held hostage by all of the Chicken Littles.
So how do you get information out of someone who just flat out refuses to speak?
Don't you mean Wrigley Field?
I think this depends on whom you're working with. I have a beer or glass of wine with my lunch and dinner most days and I don't hesitate to have my usual meal even if I'm out with people from the office. It's my lunch break and I don't show up to work intoxicated, so I figure it's none of their damn business if I have an iced tea or a glass of merlot just as it's none of their business if I have a hamburger versus some chicken, or maybe skip lunch entirely to go home and fool around with my girlfriend.
I think the underlying problem is that some people don't appreciate the taste of alcoholic drinks and assume that everyone drinks for the sole reason of becoming intoxicated.
"The Big Lebowski", the f*cking short version!
STFU Donny and watch the video.
I agree with you that people driving fast cars usually know how to drive them while that soccer mom in the SUV will gladly cut you off while yakking on her cell phone and sipping her Starbucks and not even notice she's done it.
While I'll admit to driving 100+ in my Firebird Formula on the Chicago expressways when they're empty, doing so in the middle of the day with commuter traffic is just plain stupid. Many of the drivers on the road are in the wrong lane, don't signal before changing lanes and don't check their mirrors or blindspots. They'll eagerly pull out in front of someone doing twice their speed and get creamed. I can only hope that the driver mentioned in the article cools it around traffic.
If you want to test your boundaries, then join the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) or one of the other organizations. Get your physical, buy some safety gear, attend driver's school and qualify for your novice license. Get a car that can pass technical inspection and then have at it with the other drivers. If you don't have the money to burn on a car, then go out for track days in your daily driver. Some of the tracks that I frequent will let drive during lunchtime on race weekends. So long as you can handle yourself and aren't endangering other drivers, the corner workers and control typically let you go as fast as you can.
While it may be true that the current e-paper projects aren't looking to replace computer screens, the technology will eventually be incorporated into them. If it's easier to read e-paper than an LCD screen due to better contrast and less glare, then why would people continue using LCDs?
I think SCEA beat Nintendo to the punch, although their product was designed for females.
So does this mean that GM is going to be drilling holes in all of their new vehicles to install the GPS receiver? That even if you don't want OnStar, and maybe even go so far as to physically disable it, you'll still have an ugly receiver mounted on your car?
I suppose I should be happy that GM stopped making Firebirds?
Here's a picture of one of the cameras.
Another bit of trivia, apparently some of these cameras cannot see directly below where they've been mounted. As a result, street dealers were simply standing directly underneath them. This may have been fixed in the newer models.
What software? Early Minidisc players didn't come with software. I can only assume you are referring to software that was bundled with the cable used to link the later Minidisc recorders to a computer?
For what it's worth, I still have my model MZ-R90; the thing's built like a tank.
I blame McDonald's and that damn Happy Meal, its got everything you don't need. High fat, high sugar and high sodium.
Erlang's in-memory database system was originally called Amnesia. Someone at Ericsson didn't like the name so they dropped the "a" and Amnesia became Mnesia.
Just so you know, many of the cameras are encased in a bulletproof box and have acoustic sensors to detect gunshots; the camera will automatically focus on the source of the shot.
The things transmit their video wirelessly and allow for remote control via a wireless link to police cruisers in addition to their wired link to the monitoring center downtown. I'd focus on jamming the signal or disabling the wired link.