Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 27th Dec 2012 10:19 UTC, submitted by anonymous
"Computers are ubiquitous in modern life. They offer us portals to information and entertainment, and they handle the complex tasks needed to keep many facets of modern society running smoothly. Chances are, there is not a single person in Ars' readership whose day-to-day existence doesn't rely on computers in one manner or another. Despite this, very few people know how computers actually do the things that they do. How does one go from what is really nothing more than a collection - a very large collection, mind you - of switches to the things we see powering the modern world?"
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Member since:2008-11-25
RE[2]: Programming for all
by kwan_e on Thu 27th Dec 2012 12:36
in reply to "RE: Programming for all"
Member since:2007-02-18
This seems naive. The average person is far less intelligent than most intellectuals actually realise.
It is not purely due to poor teaching that first year university programming courses have immense failure rates.
It does seem to be beyond most people.
It is not purely due to poor teaching that first year university programming courses have immense failure rates.
It does seem to be beyond most people.
Thereby completely missing the point of my comment.
Thinking algorithmically and structurally should come before learning programming languages. A lot of first year courses assume people already know how to think properly and that programming is a matter of writing code.
What I suggest is that it shouldn't be taught at university first but in high schools and possibly earlier.
Using university failure rates as proof is lazy, and is probably indicative of a mind not suited for good programming either. Programming requires foresight, hindsight and lateral thinking.
RE[2]: Programming for all
by renox on Thu 27th Dec 2012 13:44
in reply to "RE: Programming for all"
Member since:2005-07-06
This seems naive. The average person is far less intelligent than most intellectuals actually realise.
It is not purely due to poor teaching that first year university programming courses have immense failure rates.
It does seem to be beyond most people.
It is not purely due to poor teaching that first year university programming courses have immense failure rates.
It does seem to be beyond most people.
In France in the first year of university classes are *big* whereas they were 30-50 people in high school, students aren't supervised like they were before, they live alone for the first time, etc in these conditions the high failure rate has nothing to do with intelligence, more with lack of self-discipline|maturity.
Member since:2008-10-28
I think it will be a fact of life in the next 50 years that programming will just be something people do at a basic level as part of everyday life.
With smartphones, tablets and app stores that let you click and install software to your heart's (and wallet's) content, I seriously doubt it.
If anything, it's far more likely that programming will increasingly become the domain of professionals and serious hobbyists. Think about it: in the late 70s and early 80s you switched on your computer and were greeted by the BASIC prompt that encouraged you to explore and try things out. Before that, everything was even harder because you had to buy a kit and actually assemble it yourself -- and decode the LEDs that served as the display and go the the User Group meeting and trade software (you had to write) with fellow enthusiasts.
Of course programming is a lot easier now, with plenty of languages to choose from, IDEs, online tutorials and whatnot. However, smartphones, tablets and walled gardens are creating a generation of pampered users. Not to be insulting, but when everything you need is usually one or two clicks/taps away, I can't see a lot people getting interested in programming just out of sheer curiosity.
RT.
Edited 2012-12-29 15:31 UTC
Features
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/14/13 18:22 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
You can say what you will about Windows Phone and Windows 8's Metro interface (I refuse to drop that name) - it's inefficient, unpopular, cumbersome, beautiful, ugly, organised, clean, limiting - but there's one thing we can all agree on: it's unique and distinctive. CNet has published a profile of Microsoft's Albert Shum, the man behind Metro, and he highlights what I think is at the very core of Microsoft's problems in mobile right now.More Features »
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Member since:
2007-02-18
Unlike a lot of programmers who prefer programming to remain a secret magical art, I think it will be a fact of life in the next 50 years that programming will just be something people do at a basic level as part of everyday life. My guess is that something like the world of Neal Stephenson's "Diamond Age", in which your average first world citizen would have technology that could build physical stuff. We have 3D printers becoming a lot more affordable, for example.
I don't think teaching a programming language should be the centre of "writing for computers". People would do better to learn programming through understanding algorithms, and structural design. Most programming languages today, just like "flat design", are mostly superfluous and any special "features" are just fads that gain prominence due to being different from the past, but not introducing new ways to think about design.