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Comment Re:Hypocrites (Score 1) 696

I am of the opinion that only about five percent of the population has a broad enough understanding of how everything in our lives is interrelated (let's call it wisdom) to govern well. Unfortunately, we don't always elect our government from that group.

Comment Taligent (Score 1) 763

Taligent, or something along those lines. I would like to see a more object-oriented operating system. I got a small taste of such during some brief exposure to OS/400 years ago and wonder what it would be like to apply more OO concepts to other systems. Mac OS today has some very nice OO frameworks for application development, but I do think more operating systems could benefit from OO concepts as well. I enjoy the efficiency of UNIX-like systems, but always hope for something better.

Comment Re:Confusing symbols (Score 1) 1268

I have seen this several times in the public schools. I have also seen them use blanks in the problems. There is an assumption by those who develop the curriculum that students cannot understand the abstract concept of variables until they are older (typically beginning at 8th or 9th grade, when they take Algebra). I have also tutored middle-aged adults who could not grasp the concept of a negative number, yet were working at a high-tech business (think computer chip manufacturer, formerly involved in the U.S. defense sector). Life is a bit scary at times.

Comment Re:Calculators (Score 1) 1268

This could very well be part of the problem. I had not considered it before, but think your assertion is correct. The "=" symbol on the calculator simply means evaluate what I've typed so far. In that context, entering "4+3+2=" into a calculator would result in "9". Then the "+2" at the end of the problem is confusing. Students are then left to guess at the final answer.

Comment Re:Caffeine?! (Score 1) 216

I think the way Apple sees it is that, by providing the hardware, software, and services together, they offer a complete package in a way that Microsoft and Dell just can't. They consider it a premium product which is worth the higher price, just as a Porsche costs more than a Ford. So they are not interested in lowering the price points or breaking up the product into separate parts.

Google

Google to Open Source the VP8 Codec 501

Several readers noted Google's reported intention to open source the VP8 codec it acquired with On2 last February — as the FSF had urged. "HTML5 has the potential to capture the online video market from Flash by providing an open standard for web video — but only if everyone can agree on a codec. So far Adobe and Microsoft support H.264 because of the video quality, while Mozilla has been backing Ogg Theora because it's open source. Now it looks like Google might be able to end the squabble by making the VP8 codec it bought from On2 Technologies open source and giving everyone what they want: high-quality encoding that also happens to be open. Sure, Chrome and Firefox will support it. But can Google get Safari and IE on board?"

Comment Sounds Good to Me (Score 1) 581

It seems to me that when we run out of uranium, it becomes difficult to create more nuclear weapons. I'm OK with that. Besides, there are better power production technologies in the pipeline. It seems that fusion will become a viable option by around 2013 (if we move quickly and provide sufficient funding). I'm thinking specifically of Dr. Richard Nebel's research with IEC fusion. There are other promising fusion research projects as well. However, from what I've seen, the ITER project should be shut down and its funding distributed to other projects.

Networking

No Dedicated Servers For CoD: Modern Warfare 2 313

An anonymous reader writes "Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling (aka fourzerotwo), in an interview with BashandSlash.com on October 17th, announced that one of the mainstays of PC multiplayer gaming, dedicated servers, won't be in IW's upcoming sequel to Call of Duty 4. Instead, players will use the unknown 'IW Net' for matchmaking purposes. No dedicated servers means no player mods, no player maps, no organized competitive play, no clan servers, etc., and strips away what makes PC gaming different from console gaming. Many vocal gamers have canceled their pre-orders, and a petition to reverse this decision is already past 86,000 signatures."

Comment Re:Ooh, ooh (Score 1) 150

This didn't sound "just around the corner" because it's pretty basic research and we still need good ways to mass produce the nanotubes. Still, the science there is now proven and it's "just" an engineering problem. Someone fund this... please!

Comment Re:Schools dont change (Score 1) 705

Perhaps schools are reluctant to change because people say we should "add a class," which would only take time away from existing subjects. Instead of compartmentalizing each minor skill into its own class, let us instead integrate typing and other minor skills into existing classes. Let's integrate typing into language classes, thus teaching computers and word processing together to write in that language (English or otherwise). Let's also integrate mathematics into more classes. The biggest complaint I hear about math is, "I'll never use it." Let's show them where it's used by (surprise!) using it in classes other than math class. From what I hear, the kids are often texting each other in class anyway. They can obviously multitask and apparently need more to keep them busy in the classroom.

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