"However I have recently had to cope with people being given exactly the same type of assignment, and being allowed to download pre-built classes for them! What, I ask you, is the point of that?"
I agree in principle but I'm equally surprised by programmers that DON'T make use of existing resources. I think a mix of the fundamentals and "how to get it done" is the right blend. Just teaching people how to write a compiler from scratch doesn't enable them to be productive (and good) programmers.
Every technology has a "pit of dispair" when the euphoria of a period when it has been hyped wears off. This article is very symptomatic of that. Look at the crazy uses... RFID has been used in planes since WWII in the form of transponders. In fact this was it's first use. It works very well. There are many other great uses of it.
Just because Walmart hyped it up in the US doesn't mean it's dead elsewhere.
This seems like a cool idea but it has a serious flaw. If ever this is launched the glossy marketing materials will tantalize you with promises of future XYZ book modules. Unfortunately the person who buys it will find that after the initial launch the manufacturer is forced to change the "book" format in version 2 (or goes out of business) and you will be left with yet another paperweight to dispose of on eBay.
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"However I have recently had to cope with people being given exactly the same type of assignment, and being allowed to download pre-built classes for them! What, I ask you, is the point of that?" I agree in principle but I'm equally surprised by programmers that DON'T make use of existing resources. I think a mix of the fundamentals and "how to get it done" is the right blend. Just teaching people how to write a compiler from scratch doesn't enable them to be productive (and good) programmers.
Every technology has a "pit of dispair" when the euphoria of a period when it has been hyped wears off. This article is very symptomatic of that. Look at the crazy uses ... RFID has been used in planes since WWII in the form of transponders. In fact this was it's first use. It works very well. There are many other great uses of it.
Just because Walmart hyped it up in the US doesn't mean it's dead elsewhere.
This seems like a cool idea but it has a serious flaw. If ever this is launched the glossy marketing materials will tantalize you with promises of future XYZ book modules. Unfortunately the person who buys it will find that after the initial launch the manufacturer is forced to change the "book" format in version 2 (or goes out of business) and you will be left with yet another paperweight to dispose of on eBay.