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Comment Don't Blame the Equation (Score 4, Insightful) 561

by mothlos (#27050303) Attached to: The Formula That Killed Wall Street

This seems to be a popular story for the past few weeks, but it is a mistake to blame the statistical method used. The problem wasn't that they were all using the equaton, it is that they were all mis-using the equation. All statistical tools can fail to be sensitive to certain aspects which may be critical to an application.

People in finance applied these statistical tools believing that they would be able to master risk with them. Unfortunately, they made assumptions that certain things would continue to be the same in the future, plugged the information into the equation, and now science was telling them that everything would be alright. If everybody on Wall Street was making decisions based on the Magic 8 Ball would we blame the ball or the foolishness of those misapplying it?

Comment Re:Lego Mindstorm (Score 3, Interesting) 962

by mothlos (#26069293) Attached to: Best Introduction To Programming For Bright 11-14-Year-Olds?

Of the suggestions I have seen this one makes the most sense to me (with a close second being the games suggestion a bit down). Education simply works better when you are learning to DO something. The language you choose isn't as important here as what the interests of the students are. After you know the student interest you will then have a better idea of what language to write in.

Another idea would be to use Rails to design a school community website and then later design a site for a local non-profit group. Integrating programming with community outreach and provider client interaction would be great at this age.

Comment Re:Hey, Supreme Court, you forgot to apply a law! (Score 1) 374

by mothlos (#25747123) Attached to: US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use

Does that mean we shouldn't point out when the court system is failing to faithfully execute its office?

Note that I'm not saying that the court shouldn't have primacy in interpreting its laws. I'm saying that the court should force the executive to recognize legislative primacy when enacting laws. This case was about how to discriminate between the national security obligations of the military and the restrictions on environmental impact imposed by legislative action. Does the President have the right to ignore properly approved laws by claiming an impact on a national security matter, or does the President have to request a revision of the law before proceeding.

The court today ruled that the Congress need not be consulted and that the President can ignore the Endangered Species Act, and perhaps all sorts of other legislation, whenever he thinks it gets in the way of national security interests. This is why I say that the Supreme Court failed to enact the law which grants the Congress exclusive legislative power since the executive seems not to be bound to enforce it by this ruling.

Comment Re:Found it! (Score 1) 374

by mothlos (#25743247) Attached to: US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use
I see! Since Congress decided to give the military funding, the President has the authority to issue any order he wishes without regard to to any other congressional statute. We should expect that if the Congress passes a law restricting the activities of government that the President's authority allows him to disregard that. It is great that justices who claim to be supporters of legislative primacy would choose to ignore the plain letter of the law and not require that the executive petition the Congress for redress.

Comment Re:Hey, Supreme Court, you forgot to apply a law! (Score 1) 374

by mothlos (#25743193) Attached to: US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use
Oh, thanks for pointing out that the Supreme Court has the right to interpret anything any way they want without review or consequence and as such we should all blindly reserve any negative criticism we may have regarding their decisions I had nearly forgotten that those with the authority to make decisions should be revered absolutely when they do.
Networking

Submission + - Is Peer-to-Peer Giving the Wrong Impression?

Submitted by mothlos
mothlos writes: With Comcast's clash with the FCC, the term peer-to-peer is being brought up in less tech-savvy venues. In anecdotal conversations with lay folk, I have found the sentiment that "peer-to-peer" is somehow breaking the rules of how the internet works. Is the term peer-to-peer damaging to the political effort to keep the internet open and what could it be replaced with that would be more agreeable to the undereducated public?
The Internet

Submission + - Cross-browser Web application testing made easy

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Ideally, every Web application should be tested to ensure that it will work perfectly on every browser that might access it. But with the fragmentation of the browser market and the increasing importance of the very fluid world of mobile platforms, that's a practical impossibility. Still, you can come closer than you might think. This article shows you a wide array of tools for cross-platform Web testing.

Feed Techdirt: Forget Google, Watch Out For Chevron In The 700 MHz Auction (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed
Everybody's been buzzing about the likelihood of Google bidding on the 700 MHz spectrum that's up for auction in a few weeks, that's allowed a few other interesting characters to get in on the auction below the radar. The FCC has now announced that 266 separate entities have filed to take part in the auction, so it's quite a long list. So far, only 96 applications have been accepted, but the others have until January 4th to get their applications in order. Everyone knew Google was on the list, and it's no surprise to hear names like Verizon Wireless, Alltel, MetroPCS, Vodafone and ATT (who already got a head start buying some other spectrum in the 700 MHz realm earlier). There was some speculation about cable companies participating, and sure enough, Cox and Cablevision will show up at the auction. Then there are a few surprises. Qualcomm is planning to bid -- which could upset some of the US carriers who consider Qualcomm more of a partner than a competitor.

In a list of 266 companies, there are always going to be some long shots -- but it still doesn't hurt to point out some of the more interesting bidders. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen plans to bid via his Vulcan Spectrum LLC (reusing his favorite "Vulcan" name for companies). It's unclear what he would do with the spectrum. Perhaps even more surprising is the news that oil giant Chevron is planning to participate. What the company would do with the spectrum should it win (and it certainly has the money to win) is an open question, but there are a few intriguing ideas. As for Google, don't hold your breath for a win here. It has seemed pretty clear from the beginning that the company is only in the auction to bid $4.6 billion -- the lowest point necessary to force open access rules to kick in. It would be a huge surprise if the company bid much more than that, and it would be an even bigger surprise if no one outbid Google.

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20 Things You Won't Like About Vista 771

Posted by Zonk from the keep-counting dept.
feminazi writes "Computerworld's Scot Finnie details 20 things you won't like in Windows Vista, with a visual tour to prove it. He says that MS has favored security over end-user productivity, making the user feel like a rat caught in a maze with all the protect-you-from-yourself password-entry and 'Continue' boxes required by the User Account Controls feature." From the article: "In its supreme state of being, Microsoft knows precisely what's best for you. It knows that because its well-implemented new Sleep mode uses very little electricity and also takes only two or three seconds to either shut down or restart, you want to use this mode to 'turn off' your computer, whether you realize it or not. It wants to teach you about what's best. It wants to make it harder for you to make a mistake."

Nintendo Confirms Wii on GC Housing at E3 205

Posted by Zonk from the still-some-wiggle-room dept.
kukyfrope writes "Nintendo's PR Manager, Matt Atwood, has confirmed accusations that Wii demo stations at E3 were not running inside the Wii case and instead were running inside Gamecube housing using Wii-spec hardware. 'The Wii hardware we exhibited at E3 2006 was made specifically for the E3 show and is not the final mass-production version. Some of this hardware was cased in Nintendo GameCube housing.'" Update: 05/19 21:08 GMT by Z : Changed 'hardware' to 'housing' in title.

Developers React To 'Wii' 499

Posted by Zonk from the gnashing-of-teeth dept.
Gamasutra has reactions from game developers to the announcement of the Revolution's new commercial name, 'Wii'. From the article: "It doesn't change my personal opinions of the console in the slightest. It changes my opinion of the Nintendo marketing department considerably. Did they even bother to research this? Why do they do these things? What was wrong with 'Revolution'? It's bad enough that the Japanese have a drink called "Sweat," but at least they don't try to export it to the English-speaking world with that name. Am I supposed to be happy about having to go down to the game store to purchase the 'Nintendo Wee'? For God's sake, where was Miyamoto? I can't believe he would have let this get by. - Ernest Adams"

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