Comment Help with ethical queries... (Score 3, Insightful) 160
... and you're going to ask... Christians?
Submission + - Why AI Babysitter Is the Hottest New Profession
theodp writes: "AI may allow anyone to generate code, but only a computer scientist can maintain a system," explained Google.org Global Head Maggie Johnson in a LinkedIn post, Computer Science Education in the AI Era. Johnson was formerly Director of Education at Google and a founding Board member of the Google.org-funded nonprofit Code.org, which last year launched a campaign to make CS and AI a high school graduation requirement.
Johnson continued: "As AI-generated code becomes more accurate and ubiquitous, the role of the computer scientist shifts from author to technical auditor or expert. While large language models can generate functional code in milliseconds, they lack the contextual judgment and specialized knowledge to ensure that the output is safe, efficient, and integrates correctly within a larger system without a person’s oversight. [...] The human-in-the-loop must possess the technical depth to recognize when a piece of code is sub-optimal or dangerous in a production environment. [...] "We need computer scientists to perform forensics, tracing the logic of an AI-generated module to identify logical fallacies or security loopholes. Modern CS education should prepare students to verify and secure these black-box outputs."
The NY Times reports that companies are already struggling to find engineers to review the explosion of AI-written code. Any thoughts on what AI Babysitting might/should pay?
Johnson continued: "As AI-generated code becomes more accurate and ubiquitous, the role of the computer scientist shifts from author to technical auditor or expert. While large language models can generate functional code in milliseconds, they lack the contextual judgment and specialized knowledge to ensure that the output is safe, efficient, and integrates correctly within a larger system without a person’s oversight. [...] The human-in-the-loop must possess the technical depth to recognize when a piece of code is sub-optimal or dangerous in a production environment. [...] "We need computer scientists to perform forensics, tracing the logic of an AI-generated module to identify logical fallacies or security loopholes. Modern CS education should prepare students to verify and secure these black-box outputs."
The NY Times reports that companies are already struggling to find engineers to review the explosion of AI-written code. Any thoughts on what AI Babysitting might/should pay?
Comment Re: 5x86 DX/133 (Score 1) 132
That would defeat the entire purpose of keeping that machine alive.
Comment Re:Typical Stupidity (Score 2) 132
You are welcome to continue development on support for the 486 if you need continued support for it. The kernel is open source and you can easily clone yourself a local repo and continue 486 support maintenance while merging in new features as time goes on.
Comment 5x86 DX/133 (Score 1) 132
My very first linux box, which I still have and is still running today, is still on RedHat 3.0.3 that I got on a CD in a book from the Media Play in Poughkeepsie NY in 1996. Granted it is completely useless except as a samba server sharing the 1.6GB hard disk that is still in it (and still works). But, I keep it for posterity, and because I like having a monitor with xearth on it.
I could probably put a newer distribution on it but with only 24MB of RAM, the newer stuff would choke out on it.
Submission + - Stanford Daily Ponders Fate of Bill Gates Namesake Building on April Fools' Day
theodp writes: Gates Computer Science Building renamed Peter Thiel Center for Panoptic Computing reads the headline of an April Fools' Day story that ran in the Humor section of The Stanford Daily (with the further disclaimer that "This article is purely satirical and fictitious"). The story begins: "Following revelations that the billionaire founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, had a longstanding relationship with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, Stanford has announced it will strip Gates’ name from the William H. Gates Computer Science Building and instead honor alumnus Peter Thiel B.A. ‘89, JD ‘92. Gates, who is not a Stanford alumnus, gave an initial gift of $6 million toward the building’s construction in 1992."
While fictional, the story does make one wonder what may become of the academic and institutional buildings worldwide named after Bill Gates in the blowback over his past ties to Epstein, which have already played a factor in the breakdown of his marriage to Melinda French Gates and friendship with Warren Buffet. In addition to The Gates Computer Science Building at Stanford, this includes the Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex at the University of Texas at Austin, Bill and Melinda Gates Hall at Cornell, The Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, and The William H. Gates Building at MIT's Stata Center. Buildings named after Gates' parents include Mary Gates Hall and William H. Gates Hall at the University of Washington, and The William Gates Building at the University of Cambridge (UK).
Aside from the Thiel angle, The Stanford Daily's April Fools' Day story may not be as far-fetched as it may seem — many universities' naming policies include provisions allowing donors' names to be removed from buildings, programs, or other facilities under extraordinary circumstances. For example, the University of Washington's Regent Policy No. 50 states, "The University reserves the right to revoke and terminate any naming on reasonable grounds not limited to the revelation of corporate or individual acts detracting from the University’s mission, integrity, or reputation." Then again, UW notes that Bill's parents and siblings served as UW Regents for decades, so one expects Bill will be granted some leeway here for what he has characterized as 'foolish' choices on his part.
While fictional, the story does make one wonder what may become of the academic and institutional buildings worldwide named after Bill Gates in the blowback over his past ties to Epstein, which have already played a factor in the breakdown of his marriage to Melinda French Gates and friendship with Warren Buffet. In addition to The Gates Computer Science Building at Stanford, this includes the Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex at the University of Texas at Austin, Bill and Melinda Gates Hall at Cornell, The Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, and The William H. Gates Building at MIT's Stata Center. Buildings named after Gates' parents include Mary Gates Hall and William H. Gates Hall at the University of Washington, and The William Gates Building at the University of Cambridge (UK).
Aside from the Thiel angle, The Stanford Daily's April Fools' Day story may not be as far-fetched as it may seem — many universities' naming policies include provisions allowing donors' names to be removed from buildings, programs, or other facilities under extraordinary circumstances. For example, the University of Washington's Regent Policy No. 50 states, "The University reserves the right to revoke and terminate any naming on reasonable grounds not limited to the revelation of corporate or individual acts detracting from the University’s mission, integrity, or reputation." Then again, UW notes that Bill's parents and siblings served as UW Regents for decades, so one expects Bill will be granted some leeway here for what he has characterized as 'foolish' choices on his part.
Submission + - Washington Post Announces Transition to 'Modern' All-GenAI Content Format 1
theodp writes: Inspired in part by Amazon's success in using LLMs to eliminate the cost of Java programmers, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on Wednesday announced that the Post is pivoting to a 'modern' all-GenAI content format. "Our HR AI agents are notifying our remaining journalists that their services are no longer needed and thanking them for creating past content that powers the AI models that are replacing them," added Matt Murray, the Post’s executive editor.
It's the latest cost-cutting move at WaPo, which laid off more than 300 journalists in February as it closed its sports and books sections and fired all staff photographers, blaming the layoffs in part on "the rise of generative A.I." The move, Bezos explained, will also enable the Post to use GenAI-produced images to accompany its GenAI-produced news stories, eliminating the need to pay freelance photographers.
At the end of 2024, Mr. Bezos described the Post's struggles to cut costs and boost readership in an interview at a conference hosted by The New York Times: “We saved The Washington Post once, and we’re going to save it a second time,” he said at the time. "And now, thanks to the magic of Amazon Bedrock," Bezos said Wednesday in a zoom call from his $500 million yacht Koru (his home away from homes), "we're going to save it again."
It's the latest cost-cutting move at WaPo, which laid off more than 300 journalists in February as it closed its sports and books sections and fired all staff photographers, blaming the layoffs in part on "the rise of generative A.I." The move, Bezos explained, will also enable the Post to use GenAI-produced images to accompany its GenAI-produced news stories, eliminating the need to pay freelance photographers.
At the end of 2024, Mr. Bezos described the Post's struggles to cut costs and boost readership in an interview at a conference hosted by The New York Times: “We saved The Washington Post once, and we’re going to save it a second time,” he said at the time. "And now, thanks to the magic of Amazon Bedrock," Bezos said Wednesday in a zoom call from his $500 million yacht Koru (his home away from homes), "we're going to save it again."
Submission + - Google clamps down on Android developers with mandatory verification (nerds.xyz)
BrianFagioli writes: Google is rolling out mandatory developer verification for Android apps, and while it says the move is about security, it also means developers will now have to verify their identity and register apps with Google before they can be easily installed on devices. Google claims sideloaded apps contain far more malware than apps from the Play Store, but critics might argue this is another step toward tighter control over the Android ecosystem. Power users can still sideload using ADB or a new “advanced flow,” but Google is clearly adding friction to anything outside its system. Is this a reasonable security measure, or is Android slowly becoming less open than it used to be?
Submission + - Chromebook Remorse: Tech Backlash at Schools Extends Beyond Phones
theodp writes: In addition to student cell phone bans, the New York Times' Natasha Singer reports that some schools are also rethinking the wisdom of always-on-and-available school-issued laptops :
Inge Esping, the principal of McPherson Middle School, has spent years battling digital devices for children’s attention. Four years ago, her school in McPherson, Kan., banned student cellphones during the school day. But digital distractions continued. Many children watched YouTube videos or played video games on their school-issued Chromebook laptops. Some used school Gmail accounts to bully fellow students.
In December, the middle school asked all 480 students to return the Chromebooks they had freely used in class and at home. Now the school keeps the laptops, which run on Google’s Chrome operating system, in carts parked in classrooms. Children take notes mostly by hand, and laptops are used sparingly, for specific activities assigned by teachers. “We just felt we couldn’t have Chromebooks be that huge distraction,” said Ms. Esping, 43, Kansas’ 2025 middle school principal of the year. “This technology can be a tool. It is not the answer to education.”
McPherson Middle School no longer gives students their own Chromebooks to use in school and take home. The laptops are now kept in classroom carts and used only for specific activities assigned by teachers. McPherson Middle School, about an hour’s drive from Wichita, is at the forefront of a new tech backlash spreading in education: Chromebook remorse.
Elsewhere in the Times, an opinion piece by CS prof Cal Newport explains why Johnny — and his parents — can't concentrate and what to do about it.
Submission + - Melania Trump Hosts World's First Spouses at White House AI Show-and-Tell
theodp writes: In Melania and the Robot, the New York Times reports on First Lady Melania Trump's inaugural Fostering the Future Together Coalition Summit, which brought together international leaders, First Spouses from around the world, tech leaders, educators, and nonprofits to collaborate on practical solutions that expand access to educational tools while strengthening protections for children in digital environments (Day 2 WH summary). The Times begins:
"On Wednesday, Mrs. Trump appeared at the White House alongside Figure 3, a humanoid, A.I.-powered robot whose uses, according to the company that makes it, include fetching towels, carrying groceries and serving champagne. But Mrs. Trump joins tech executives and some researchers in envisioning a world beyond robot butlery. She is interested in how these robots could cut it as educators. Both clad in shades of white, the first lady and the visiting robot walked into a gathering of first spouses from around the world, a group that included Sara Netanyahu of Israel, Olena Zelenska of Ukraine, and Brigitte Macron of France. The dulcet tones from a (presumably human) military orchestra played as the first lady and her guest entered the event. Both lady and robot extolled the virtues of further integrating robots into the educational and social lives of children. In the history of modern first-lady initiatives, which have included building a national book festival (Laura Bush), reshuffling the food pyramid (Michelle Obama) and advocating for free community college (Jill Biden), Mrs. Trump’s involvement of a humanoid robot in education policy was a first."
"Figure 3 delivered brief remarks and delivered salutations in several languages. With its sleek black-and-white appearance, Figure 3 would fit right in with the first lady’s branding aesthetic, which includes a self-titled coffee table book and movie, not least because the name “MELANIA” was emblazoned on the side of its glossy plastic head. After Figure 3 teetered gingerly away, Mrs. Trump looked around the room and told them that the future looked a lot like what they had just witnessed. 'The future of A.I. is personified,' she told her audience. 'It will be formed in the shape of humans. Very soon artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility.' She invited her guests to envision a future in which a robot philosopher educated children."
"On Wednesday, Mrs. Trump appeared at the White House alongside Figure 3, a humanoid, A.I.-powered robot whose uses, according to the company that makes it, include fetching towels, carrying groceries and serving champagne. But Mrs. Trump joins tech executives and some researchers in envisioning a world beyond robot butlery. She is interested in how these robots could cut it as educators. Both clad in shades of white, the first lady and the visiting robot walked into a gathering of first spouses from around the world, a group that included Sara Netanyahu of Israel, Olena Zelenska of Ukraine, and Brigitte Macron of France. The dulcet tones from a (presumably human) military orchestra played as the first lady and her guest entered the event. Both lady and robot extolled the virtues of further integrating robots into the educational and social lives of children. In the history of modern first-lady initiatives, which have included building a national book festival (Laura Bush), reshuffling the food pyramid (Michelle Obama) and advocating for free community college (Jill Biden), Mrs. Trump’s involvement of a humanoid robot in education policy was a first."
"Figure 3 delivered brief remarks and delivered salutations in several languages. With its sleek black-and-white appearance, Figure 3 would fit right in with the first lady’s branding aesthetic, which includes a self-titled coffee table book and movie, not least because the name “MELANIA” was emblazoned on the side of its glossy plastic head. After Figure 3 teetered gingerly away, Mrs. Trump looked around the room and told them that the future looked a lot like what they had just witnessed. 'The future of A.I. is personified,' she told her audience. 'It will be formed in the shape of humans. Very soon artificial intelligence will move from our mobile phones to humanoids that deliver utility.' She invited her guests to envision a future in which a robot philosopher educated children."
Comment This is bad and will cost everyone in the end. (Score 0) 113
I read about this and think about the stupid woman who sued McDonald's and won because she ordered a cup of HOT coffee at the drive thru and then stuck between her legs to hold it. Something happened and she squeezed her legs coffee came out and she got burned a little. She sued McDonalds because the HOT cup didn't warn her HOT coffee is HOT. You can't protect people from their own stupidity.
Everyone has issues and social issues are part of them. Just going to school you see that clear enough. You learn about yourself and things and situations to avoid. I see this as one. I'm someone who being kind of a loner will spend more time online (mainly YT) than I should, but I realize it and when I notice it will scold myself and cut back trying to actual doing more than watching YT's or reading lame posts. Today online is it's own cure there is so many whiners, bots, and AI post it a big time to cut back on online. I'm old AF and miss the old days of USENET.
Submission + - Tech-Backed CS Teachers Association Pivots to AI Literacy, Scores $11M NSF Grant
theodp writes: On Thursday, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced an $11 million award to the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) in furtherance of the Trump administration's executive order on Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth that directed federal agencies to promote AI literacy. The award will launch Artificial Intelligence Professional Development (PD) Weeks: CS Foundations for Creating with AI, a multistate initiative that will prepare thousands of K-12 educators to teach foundational computer science (CS) and AI at scale. "Artificial Intelligence is transforming every sector of our economy, and American students must be prepared not just to use AI, but to understand it and create with it," explained the NSF's Brian Stone. "We are thinking beyond AI towards what the White House calls the 'Future of Intelligence.'"
CSTA joined fellow tech-backed nonprofit Code.org last December to pivot the nation's K-12 schoolchildren from coding to AI literacy during CS Education Week. Replacing CSEdWeek's Hour of Code event was a new Hour of AI event, a move called for and backed by Microsoft — that featured AI literacy tutorials from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, all of whom are Strategic CSTA Partners and Code.org Lifetime Supporters.
"Computer science teachers will continue to be leaders in preparing students for an AI-enabled future," said CSTA Executive Director Jake Baskin in a LinkedIn post. "Over the next two years, this initiative will allow us to equip thousands of K-12 educators nationwide with the knowledge and instructional strategies needed to teach foundational CS and AI at scale. On the heels of last year's announcement of the AI education Executive Order, Baskin (formerly Director of State Government Affairs at Code.org) joined the nation's tech leaders in signing a letter of support that appeared in a New York Times ad to kick off a new Code.org led campaign to make CS and AI a graduation requirement for all students.
CSTA joined fellow tech-backed nonprofit Code.org last December to pivot the nation's K-12 schoolchildren from coding to AI literacy during CS Education Week. Replacing CSEdWeek's Hour of Code event was a new Hour of AI event, a move called for and backed by Microsoft — that featured AI literacy tutorials from Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, all of whom are Strategic CSTA Partners and Code.org Lifetime Supporters.
"Computer science teachers will continue to be leaders in preparing students for an AI-enabled future," said CSTA Executive Director Jake Baskin in a LinkedIn post. "Over the next two years, this initiative will allow us to equip thousands of K-12 educators nationwide with the knowledge and instructional strategies needed to teach foundational CS and AI at scale. On the heels of last year's announcement of the AI education Executive Order, Baskin (formerly Director of State Government Affairs at Code.org) joined the nation's tech leaders in signing a letter of support that appeared in a New York Times ad to kick off a new Code.org led campaign to make CS and AI a graduation requirement for all students.
Submission + - CS Course-Resisting NOLA Catholic High School Raises Ire of Tech-Backed Code.org
theodp writes: In its March 11th meeting, the Code.org Advocacy Coalition — whose members include Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft — raised concerns about the filing of Louisiana House Bill 787, which aims to remove a new requirement for all high school students — public and private — to complete a computer science course to continue to be eligible for Louisiana TOPS scholarships. Public school students are subject to a new Code.org-backed CS course high school graduation requirement, but that requirement does not apply to private school students.
"So, to try to explain Louisiana's situation," Code.org told Coalition members (video, 16:08), "is that they have two sections of code that are basically applicable to this. One is their strict graduation requirements. It says every student has to have these courses before they graduate. That's what most states have. It only applies to public schools. They have a completely different section of code that is about their TOPS scholarship program, their state provided scholarship program. And what the DOE has tried to do for several years now is tried to have those two things mirrored. So, when we wrote the CSGRAD requirement in Louisiana, those two things were mirrored. We had to actually fix it, but they ended up being mirrored. What the problem, or what has the impetus for this legislation being filed is that TOPS applies to any student in the state of Louisiana wanting state graduation or state college funds. So, that includes private school students, includes Catholic school students, etc. So, though the straight graduation requirement does not apply to them, if they want state scholarship funding, they have to meet everything that the state says because the two sections of code are mirrored. This legislation would remove the computer science from the TOPS requirement, so the state scholarship money."
And while even Code.org agreed this seems like a reasonable ask, they went on to explain why this bill — which was blamed on a New Orleans Catholic High School in a slide — must be defeated due to fears that it may impact the Coalition's mission. From the transcript: "And you say, okay, well that's not a huge deal. That's how most of our states are that we have a graduation requirement for all public schools. It doesn't apply to private schools. I agree on the face. The problem goes back to that the DOE does like for those two things to be mirrored. And our fear is that if this legislation starts having legs and gets close to the finish line that DOE or LOSA and I have no indication that they would do this, but just knowing that they want the two mirrored, they may say, well, if you're going to remove it from TOPS, remove it from graduation requirement. I hope they wouldn't, but that is unfortunately a reality we might have to face. [...] We're going to continue trying to fight it. And I want to give Jamie and the DOE down in Louisiana major props because they have bent over backwards over the past two years to try to make alternative methods, giving all these schools things that they can do with students including a competency level exam that can replace it for those students in the Catholic schools. There's a lot that they've done and this is pretty much from one of the Catholic schools in the state. Most of the rest of them have at least figured out the process. But I was in a meeting down there once and the principal of this one particular school looked at me and said, "I will work to get this repealed no matter what y'all do." So, this is coming pretty much from one individual or one school. So, we're going to continue fighting it. We're going to hope that it does not have legs and we'll see how it goes. But if you have connections to Louisiana, you might want to activate those to try to head off this and defeat it."
"So, to try to explain Louisiana's situation," Code.org told Coalition members (video, 16:08), "is that they have two sections of code that are basically applicable to this. One is their strict graduation requirements. It says every student has to have these courses before they graduate. That's what most states have. It only applies to public schools. They have a completely different section of code that is about their TOPS scholarship program, their state provided scholarship program. And what the DOE has tried to do for several years now is tried to have those two things mirrored. So, when we wrote the CSGRAD requirement in Louisiana, those two things were mirrored. We had to actually fix it, but they ended up being mirrored. What the problem, or what has the impetus for this legislation being filed is that TOPS applies to any student in the state of Louisiana wanting state graduation or state college funds. So, that includes private school students, includes Catholic school students, etc. So, though the straight graduation requirement does not apply to them, if they want state scholarship funding, they have to meet everything that the state says because the two sections of code are mirrored. This legislation would remove the computer science from the TOPS requirement, so the state scholarship money."
And while even Code.org agreed this seems like a reasonable ask, they went on to explain why this bill — which was blamed on a New Orleans Catholic High School in a slide — must be defeated due to fears that it may impact the Coalition's mission. From the transcript: "And you say, okay, well that's not a huge deal. That's how most of our states are that we have a graduation requirement for all public schools. It doesn't apply to private schools. I agree on the face. The problem goes back to that the DOE does like for those two things to be mirrored. And our fear is that if this legislation starts having legs and gets close to the finish line that DOE or LOSA and I have no indication that they would do this, but just knowing that they want the two mirrored, they may say, well, if you're going to remove it from TOPS, remove it from graduation requirement. I hope they wouldn't, but that is unfortunately a reality we might have to face. [...] We're going to continue trying to fight it. And I want to give Jamie and the DOE down in Louisiana major props because they have bent over backwards over the past two years to try to make alternative methods, giving all these schools things that they can do with students including a competency level exam that can replace it for those students in the Catholic schools. There's a lot that they've done and this is pretty much from one of the Catholic schools in the state. Most of the rest of them have at least figured out the process. But I was in a meeting down there once and the principal of this one particular school looked at me and said, "I will work to get this repealed no matter what y'all do." So, this is coming pretty much from one individual or one school. So, we're going to continue fighting it. We're going to hope that it does not have legs and we'll see how it goes. But if you have connections to Louisiana, you might want to activate those to try to head off this and defeat it."
Submission + - NY Times Credits Python for Making Interest Calculation Easier than Assembly 1
theodp writes: "One early computer language was Assembly, and it was devilishly hard to write," explains Clive Thompson in this week's New York Times Magazine cover story, Coding After Coders: The End of Computer Programming. "Say you wanted to write some code that would calculate how much you’d have if you got 5 percent interest on $10,000 over 10 years. Back in the 1960s, that would have required perhaps nine lines of pretty obtuse Assembly. [...] By the ’80s and ’90s, as computers became more powerful, engineers were able to create languages that took care of all that memory management for you, and also turned common asks into simple commands. In Python, a coder can perform that exact same calculation very simply: 'total_amount = 10000 * (1.05 ** 10).' That single line tells the computer to multiply 10,000 by the interest rate over 10 years and store the result in the variable labeled 'total_amount.' Programmers no longer need to think about where all the data is being stored in the computer’s memory; Python does that for them. It is, in other words, a layer of abstraction on top of all that fiddly memory business. Writing in that language is delightfully easier."
Not so fast, replied readers, who took issue with implying that Python — first released in 1991 — deserves credit for making interest calculation easy, pointing out that other languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL, and BASIC did so as much as 30+ years earlier. "Great article. Some of the history seems a little off though," said etaeng. "I was programming in the 1960s, and I can assure you that we had computer languages that created layers of abstraction even way back then," replied Post Mortem. "Notably, Fortran handled scientific and mathematical problems and Cobol addressed the business world. The code for Cobol would look something like, 'ADD INTEREST TO PRINCIPAL'. So while the author’s point is fundamentally correct, it’s a mistake to think that it took until the ‘80s and ‘90s for usable natural language approaches to arise." Commenter Howard Fairman explained, "the supposedly-breakthrough Python code for calculating compound interest actually dates from the advent of Fortran — 'formula translation' — in 1957." And gs had this to say: "An interesting but overlong article. But that interest calculation could also be done in the 1950s [IBM’s 1958 FORTRAN demo of compound interest by John Backus] in one line of COBOL or FORTRAN code. You didn‘t have to wait til the 1990s for Python."
Not so fast, replied readers, who took issue with implying that Python — first released in 1991 — deserves credit for making interest calculation easy, pointing out that other languages such as FORTRAN, COBOL, and BASIC did so as much as 30+ years earlier. "Great article. Some of the history seems a little off though," said etaeng. "I was programming in the 1960s, and I can assure you that we had computer languages that created layers of abstraction even way back then," replied Post Mortem. "Notably, Fortran handled scientific and mathematical problems and Cobol addressed the business world. The code for Cobol would look something like, 'ADD INTEREST TO PRINCIPAL'. So while the author’s point is fundamentally correct, it’s a mistake to think that it took until the ‘80s and ‘90s for usable natural language approaches to arise." Commenter Howard Fairman explained, "the supposedly-breakthrough Python code for calculating compound interest actually dates from the advent of Fortran — 'formula translation' — in 1957." And gs had this to say: "An interesting but overlong article. But that interest calculation could also be done in the 1950s [IBM’s 1958 FORTRAN demo of compound interest by John Backus] in one line of COBOL or FORTRAN code. You didn‘t have to wait til the 1990s for Python."
Submission + - DOJ Documents Suggest Jeffrey Epstein Got a Million-Dollar Microsoft Payday
theodp writes: Among the tidbits in Fortune's How Jeffrey Epstein pulled Bill Gates and Microsoft into a web of sex, money, and secrets is the tale of how the convicted sex offender became a seven-figure negotiator for the departure of Microsoft Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky, who before his 2012 resignation was widely seen as a potential successor to then CEO Steve Ballmer. According to DOJ documents, Fortune reports, Epstein not only worked behind the scenes to help put together Sinofsky's $14 million dollar exit package from Microsoft, including reviewing documents from Microsoft President Brad Smith (then Microsoft's top lawyer), he was also paid handsomely for his advice.
From the article: "On April 3, 2013, he [Epstein] asked for a sizable sum to handle Sinofsky’s exit package directly: 'I will charge you a one million dollar fee,' Epstein wrote in an email to Sinofsky, after earlier writing that he was upset with the Microsoft executive’s seeming ingratitude for his help. [...] Sinofsky ultimately signed a $14 million exit deal with Microsoft. On Sept. 16, 2013, Epstein received a forwarded email with the subject line 'Sinofsky': in the body it said: 'Wire is completed.' The next morning, Epstein’s accountant confirmed: 'Wire hit JPM yesterday. Confirming $1,000,000.'"
From the article: "On April 3, 2013, he [Epstein] asked for a sizable sum to handle Sinofsky’s exit package directly: 'I will charge you a one million dollar fee,' Epstein wrote in an email to Sinofsky, after earlier writing that he was upset with the Microsoft executive’s seeming ingratitude for his help. [...] Sinofsky ultimately signed a $14 million exit deal with Microsoft. On Sept. 16, 2013, Epstein received a forwarded email with the subject line 'Sinofsky': in the body it said: 'Wire is completed.' The next morning, Epstein’s accountant confirmed: 'Wire hit JPM yesterday. Confirming $1,000,000.'"
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