high_rolla - Slashdot User

Submission + - CAD software and the Engineering Contractor (engcom.net)

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Wednesday December 30, 2009 @05:35AM

high_rolla writes: "This article talks about the issues of contracting engineers however I would be interested to hear if contract programmers face similar problems with respect to programming languages.

This article is specifically related to my experiences with Mechanical Engineering, but could equally apply to other disciplines.
When I began to write, I had a very clear goal, I wanted to highlight the current difficulties being faced by both Contractors and Employers who work in Engineering which are caused by the large number of different CAD systems which are being used."

Submission + - The next big thing on the Internet (prediction) (wordpress.com)

Submitted by high_rolla on Wednesday November 18, 2009 @07:01AM

high_rolla writes: This is my somewhat uninformed stab at predicting where the web is headed and what the next big thing is going to be. It appears to me that the internet is following a two step progression of innovation and organisation. I am not trying to say that this is the way it is so much as pose some thoughts and get others opinions in an attempt to understand the big picture better. I'm sure there are holes and flaws in my theory and would appreciate if you could point them out.

Submission + - Effective approaches to Technology in Education (wordpress.com)

Submitted by

Ryan

on Sunday March 29, 2009 @03:05AM

Ryan writes: "The use of technology in education can be classified in three different ways. Demonstration, composition and creation. Demonstration is a poor use of technology in many circumstances. It is often implemented in the form of fast food for the mind and has the effect of making students lazy and shallow of knowledge. However it is easy to implement and assess. Creation is a better use of technology and offers many avenues for creating students with a rich and deep understanding of the material. It is often underutilised however as exercises are hard to come up with, harder to manage and not always easy to assess. For technology to make a definite advance in education we require more of the latter and less of the former."

Submission + - Dock Vs Start Menu - a Behavioral Analysis (wordpress.com)

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Tuesday March 10, 2009 @06:43AM

high_rolla writes: "Here we aim to compare not the different features of the Dock and the Start Menu but the work patterns that they encourage. Aims to look at why some tasks are better suited to Windows and why others OSX. You may not agree with the arguments presented however if it acts as the catalyst for some constructive discussion then it will still have been worthwhile."

Submission + - How do you collaborate?

Submitted by

Ryan Chadwick

on Thursday March 05, 2009 @11:16PM

Ryan Chadwick writes: "I'm interested in learning more about the different ways in which people collaborate. Can anyone suggest books I should read, specialists on the topic and so on? I'd also be interested to hear your experiences. Not so much the tools you use but the processes you use. How do you encourage everyone to get involved? How do you keep people on track? Do you organise your work area differently to foster collaboration? How do you avoid conflict amongst different personality types? Do you find certain times of day/ locations work better than others? One big session or many smaller ones? Are people given different roles or is it more free flow. and so on...."

Submission + - Which hand you control games with? 1

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Friday February 27, 2009 @04:22AM

high_rolla writes: "When playing a game on a computer you would use the arrow keys. They were on the right of the keyboard so you'd use your right hand. When playing on a console the controller would typically have the up/down/left/right controls on the left. Yet we had little trouble adjusting between the two. Any ideas on how this is the case seeing as for most other activities we develop a definite tendency to use one hand over the other. Also, why did the consoles choose to have directional control on the left hand? Surely it would make more sense for it to be on the right? Which one do you prefer and why?"

Submission + - Base set of software for high school education

Submitted by Ryan Chadwick on Thursday June 26, 2008 @02:23AM

Ryan Chadwick writes: I help out looking after a high schools computer system and am becoming frustrated by the ever increasing amount of software that we have. It seems that the staff turn to a new piece of software for nearly every curriculum need and it is becoming a mess to manage.

I am considering a model similar to that of unix (having a base set of tools that can be combined in different ways to solve different problems). I would like to get your opinions on this. Do you think a base set of applications (office, internet, moodle, gimp, inkscape, audacity) could cater for all the curriculum needs, and what software do you think should make up that base (remembering that it must fulfill the requirements of all subjects)?

I also think this would have the advantage of promoting creativity and a deeper understanding of computer usage which would be bonuses but would be interested to read your opinions on any other implications you think this approach may have.

Submission + - Hammers and Duct tape explored in e-prime (engcom.net)

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Friday November 09, 2007 @06:18AM

high_rolla writes: "Duct tape and hammers combined make for the best combination of tools you could ever wish for. And as an experiment I have written this article in e-prime to see if it really can make the message clearer. Two things I want to know though. Have I in fact managed to write this article in correct e-prime (This being my first stab at it I would not be surprised if I have made a few mistakes)? What do you think, does writing in e-prime actually make your writing any clearer? I believe if nothing else, it has made my writing more varied."

Submission + - Is AutoCad on OSX a possibility? (engcom.net)

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Monday October 29, 2007 @09:16PM

high_rolla writes: "A few of my friends have gotten themselves Mac hardware recently. I have to say they look pretty swish and I wouldn't mind considering switching over to them except for one little problem, one of the tools I use quite often, AutoCad, isn't available on OSX. I've done a bit of exploring around the web to see if I can't find anything on the matter and there appear to be a few hints of optimism. Would be keen to get your opinions and thoughts on the topic however."

Submission + - Do you know how to use a slide rule? (engcom.net) 5

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Friday September 28, 2007 @05:14AM

high_rolla writes: "How many of you know what a slide rule it? Better yet, how many of you have actually used one? The slide rule was a simple yet powerful and important tool for engineers and scientists before the days of calculators. In fact, several people I know still prefer to use them. In the interest of preserving this icon we have created a virtual slide rule for you to play with."

Submission + - You know you're an old IT professional (engcom.net)

Submitted by

high_rolla

on Saturday September 22, 2007 @01:29AM

high_rolla writes: "Engcom.net has been running an article that has turned out to be quite popular on 'when you know you're an old engineer'. It got me thinking, how do you know when you're an old IT professional. I'm only rather new in the industry and am rather curious to hear about how things used to be in the good old days. I thought I might try and get the ball rolling.

When you remember having to set IRQ's when installing new hardware

When you remember an OS coming on floppies

When you remember a computer giving output on punch cards

"

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