Comment Re:A neutron walked into a bar and asked (Score 3, Funny) 126
A beam walked into a bar, and the bartender asked it if it wanted anything. The beam replied, "Just a moment."
Comment Re:Teachers teach, graders should grade... (Score 1) 408
If you were allowed to grade the work you do at the office, what would you give yourself?
Talk about a hopelessly false analogy. If your job consisted of filling jars with water, and some jars came to you with their lids screwed on tight and you weren't allowed to do anything about it, how well do you think you'd get paid? The jar analogy is used in education not as a reference to inherent ability/intelligence in the student, but to the attitudes and resources that they have and are surrounded by. The grades that teachers give out reflect only the performance of the children receiving them, not of the effort put forth by the teachers -- and not for the self-serving reasons you suggest. A teacher can't make parents be more supportive, can't prevent a student from filling his head with an attitude that intelligence is to be mocked. A teacher can't go back in time and make the parents read to their children every night. These factors, not the abilities of the teacher, are what determines the differences in learning between two kids of similar intelligence.
Inside the Lego Factory 260
An anonymous reader writes "Gizmodo has a fascinating report and video tour inside the Lego factory, which is full of robots and controlled by a mainframe. 'This video shows something that very few people have had the opportunity to witness: the inside of the Lego factory, with no barriers or secrets. I filmed every step in the creation of the brick. From the raw granulate stored in massive silos to the molding machines to the gigantic storage cathedrals to the decoration and packaging warehouses, you will be able to see absolutely everything, including the most guarded secret of the company: the brick molds themselves.'"
Comment Re:Shortly after 9/11 (Score 1) 1114
If you did, I'm sure you'd do it while singing "Swingin' on a Star" because that's exactly how much time you'd need before the alarm goes off.hudsonhawk wrote:
Was I going to hijack the building and crash it into a plane?
Oh, and you'd sing the verses out of order.
Java Generics and Collections
andrew cooke writes "Java 6 was recently
released, but many programmers are still exploring the features
introduced in Java 5 — probably the most significant changes in
the language's twelve year history. Amongst those changes (enumerations,
auto-boxing, foreach, varargs) generics was the most far-reaching,
introducing generic programming in a simpler, safer way than C++
templates and, unlike generics in C#, maintaining backwards (and
forwards) compatibility with existing Java code." Read on for the rest of Andrew's review.
Georgia Tech Unveils Prototype Nanogenerator 208
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have created a working prototype nanogenerator capable of generating as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter of continuous direct current. The generators are green (to use), drawing power from natural motion in the surrounding environment. They are based on non-toxic chemicals and should be safe for use in biomechanical implants, but that's not their only potential use. From the article: "If you had a device like this in your shoes when you walked, you would be able to generate your own small current to power small electronics," Wang noted. "Anything that makes the nanowires move within the generator can be used for generating power. Very little force is required to move them."
Submission + - Get High-Quality Audio From Your PC
audiophile writes: Just because it's a PC doesn't mean it can't output good-sounding audio. In the same vein as specialty A/V products, you can find PC-based A/V systems with extensive audio processing and step-up performance specifications, including Signal-to-Noise ratio, which can make a significant difference when using the analog outputs. Media center manufacturer Niveus shares tips for getting high-quality audio from a PC.
Journal Journal: Call to mind your Blogging Manners 1
According to the NY Times, guidelines for blogging are being drawn up by Tim O'Reilly and Jimmy Wales (of Wikipedia fame). On the list are getting rid of anonymous blogs, citing sources for gossip blogging and removing libelous comments. During the Miss America '07 pageant
Journal Journal: Global Warming (Censorship) Is Real
George Monbiot has posted his latest Guardian article on the censorship of the scientific consensus on Global Warming to his blog at www.monbiot.com. From the article: " The report released on Friday, for example, was shorn of the warning that 'North America is expected to experience locally severe economic damage, plus substantial ecosystem, social and cultural disrupti
Feed NASA Predicts Nongreen Plants On Other Planets (sciencedaily.com)
NASA scientists believe they have found a way to predict the color of plants on planets in other solar systems. Green, yellow or even red-dominant plants may live on extra-solar planets, according to scientists whose two scientific papers appear in the March issue of the journal, Astrobiology.
Journal Journal: Georgia Tech Unveils Prototype Nanogenerator 208
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have created a working prototype nanogenerator capable of generating as much as 4 watts per cubic centimeter of continuous direct current. The generators are green (to use), drawing power from natural motion in the surrounding environment. They are based on non-toxic chemicals and should be safe for use in biomechanical implants, but that's not their only potential use. From the artic
Feed For plants on alien worlds, it isn't easy being green (pheedo.com)
Depending on the planet's atmosphere and its host star's light, the foliage sprouting up on other Earths may look yellow, orange - or even black
Details of Next Gen Zune Surface 308
KMG writes "Zune Scene has got a scoop about the next generation Microsoft Zune. There will be two new models; a flash memory based and a hard drive based. Zune with HDD will be thinner and have larger storage capacity while the flash based will feature Wi-fi, video playback. So will we see another try from Microsoft to beat Apple's iPod or it will be another vain attempt from the Redmond guys."
Google to Hold Worldwide Developer Day 60
Incon writes "Google is holding a day for developers to meet and learn from Google staff at its various worldwide offices. Places at the event are sure to go quicker than hotcakes, so get in quickly. Locations that Developer Day will be held at are: Beijing, Hamburg, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Tokyo and of course at Google HQ in Mountain View."
Submission + - Intel reveals the future of the CPU-GPU war
Arun Demeure writes: Beyond3D's ninjas have once again obtained new information on Intel's plans to compete against NVIDIA and AMD's graphics processors, in what the Chief Architect of the project presents as a "battle for control of the computing platform". He describes a new computing architecture based on the many-core paradigm with super-wide execution units, and the reasoning behind some of the design choices. Looks like computer scientists and software programmers everywhere will have to adapt to these new concepts, as there will be no silver bullet to achieve high efficiency on new and exotic architectures.
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