Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: What is the best way to mentor online? 1

Submitted by vanyel
vanyel writes: Having grown up in a rural setting with few resources and recently chatting with a CS student overseas in a less than ideal setting made me think about mentoring options. I'd thought that perhaps mentoring.<stackexchangesite> might be a good option, but they seem to be rather against the idea and even I admit a Q&A format like they're setup for isn't the best. I think mentoring would be a valuable service though, so I ask What *should* online mentoring look like?

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: What is the best way to mentor online? 1

Submitted by vanyel
vanyel writes: Having grown up in a rural setting with few resources and recently chatting with a CS student overseas in a less than ideal setting made me think about mentoring options. I'd thought that perhaps mentoring.<stackexchangesite> might be a good option, but they seem to be rather against the idea and even I admit a Q&A format like they're setup for isn't the best. I think mentoring would be a valuable service though, so I ask What *should* online mentoring look like?

Submission + - Judge Again Denies Government Digital Search Warrant for Being Too Broad

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Judge John Faccioli, federal magistrate judge of D.C., has once again denied a government request for a search warrant for a suspect's electronic data on the grounds that the request is too broad. In this latest case, the judge has denied the government access to a suspect's iPhone, stating that 'the government fails to articulate how it will limit the possibility that data outside the scope of the warrant will be searched.' He specifically asked for a search protocol which would address not only 'how [the government] will determine which blocks [of the flash drive] should be searched for data within the scope of the warrant' but also how the government would handle data that it may find outside the scope of the warrant. In a similar case earlier this March, Judge Faccioli denied a government request for a warrant to search a suspect's email account for also being too broad.

Submission + - The Soberphone May Help Alcoholics on the Road to Recovery 1

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Mark Prigg reports on a smartphone app for recovering alcoholics that sounds an alert when they get too close to their favorite bars. A-CHESS has been deemed a success in initial trials as adults who got free sober smartphones reported fewer drinking days and more overall abstinence than those who got the usual follow-up support. The app contains a range of support facilities, including GPS that triggers when the person gets near a favorite bar. If it seems that they are contemplating entering (such as if they stay near the area), the app will play a pre-recorded confessional video of the patient recounting their experience with alcoholism or a recording of one of their children pleading with them not to drink. The app also includes a panic button that can be programmed to notify peers who are nearest to the patient when the button is pushed. "It does seem a little intrusive, but for people who are really battling with alcoholism, they need a lot of this type of monitoring and ongoing support," says Dr. Scott Krakower. "They do well in controlled settings, but when they leave the center and go back into their environment, they are at risk for relapse." A clinical trial observed 350 participants recently released from rehabilitation centers, with 52 percent using A-CHESS remaining alcohol-free for the following year. Of those participants who received only traditional support methods, only 40 percent remained alcohol-free. Users of A-CHESS also experienced half the risky drinking days of those who did not. A company is being formed to commercialize the app and A-CHESS could soon become available to the public through Android and Apple stores. Dr. Gail Basch says proven methods for helping prevent relapse include patient monitoring and support from family and peers. "A stand-alone mobile app may not be the answer, but one can see how it could fit in nicely. A real-time tool, as well as reminders throughout the day, could be very helpful for a recovering brain."

Comment Re:Duff's Device (Score 1) 373

by jafac (#46589171) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What Do You Consider Elegant Code?

Yes, this.

Code is not for communicating instructions to the computer. That's what ASM is for.

Your source code is for communicating your algorithm to other coders. (or even yourself, say, 2 years from now, when you're maintaining it).

Writing undocumented, and obscure code, is, in my book, roughly equivalent to throwing your fast-food wrappers out of the window of your car while driving down the highway.

Submission + - Calendar System for the Information Age

Submitted by chimeraha
chimeraha writes: Synchronized with the northern winter solstice and the UNIX Epoch, the terran computational calendar contains 13 identical months of 28 days each in addition to a short Month Zero containing only new year's day and a single leap year day every four years (with the exception of every 128 years). The beginning of this zero-based numbering calendar, denoted as 0.0.0.0.0.0 TC, is on the solstice, exactly 10 days before the UNIX Epoch (effectively, December 22nd, 1969 00:00:00 UTC in the Gregorian Calendar). It's "terran" inception and unit durations reflect the human biological clock and align with astronomical cycles and epochs. Its "computational" notation, start date, and algorithm are tailored towards the mathematicians & scientists tasked with calendrical programming and precise time calculation.

There's a lot more information at terrancalendar.com including a date conversion form and a handfull of code-snipits & apps for implementing the terran computational calendar.
Businesses

Owner of Nortel Patents Sues Cisco For 'Immense' Patent Infringement 83

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the patent-troll-dreams-big dept.
jfruh (300774) writes "The venerable Nortel Networks may have vanished into bankruptcy five years ago, but thanks to U.S. patent law, it can strike back at its old rival Cisco from beyond the grave. Spherix, a Virginia-based 'research company' that bought Nortel's patents in 2009, has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Cisco has been knowingly violating 11 Nortel patents. 'The vast majority of Cisco's switching and routing revenue from March 2008 until the present is and has been generated by products and services implementing technology that infringes the Asserted Patents,' the lawsuit claims."

Comment Plase, not Slashdot too (Score 5, Insightful) 282

In case anybody is curious, the next Presidential election is over two years away, none of the horse race talk means a goddamn thing right now. This is just talking heads needing to fill airtime with inane babble because covering the events in Crimea would be too depressing.

Slashdot Top Deals

If all else fails, lower your standards.

Close