"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:2012-08-26
Listen you little shit. You think you are such a smart young man. "Look at my predictions." I am unique in what I predict, and if anyone disagrees, then fuck them, they are just old, stupid, etc.
Well, your fucking little idea is not original. In fact, it sounds an awful lot like the plagiarism of a DARPA grant proposal done in collaboration between the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) & the Python group called CP4E (Computer Programming for Everyone.) It's basic premise is best shared as quotes:
We ask a follow-up question: "What will happen if users can program their own computer?" We're looking forward to a future where every computer user will be able to "open the hood" of their computer and make improvements to the applications inside. We believe that this will eventually change the nature of software and software development tools fundamentally.
We compare mass ability to read and write software with mass literacy, and predict equally pervasive changes to society. Hardware is now sufficiently fast and cheap to make mass computer education possible: the next big change will happen when most computer users have the knowledge and power to create and modify software.The open source movement claims that peer review of software by thousands can greatly improve the quality of software. The success of Linux shows the value of this claim. We believe that the next step, having millions (or billions) of programmers, will cause a change of a different quality--the abundant availability of personalized software.
The tools needed for this new way to look at programming will be different from the tools currently available to professional programmers. We intend to greatly improve both the training material and the development tools available. For example, non-professional programmers should not have to fear that a small mistake might destroy their work or render their computer unusable. They also need better tools to help them understand the structure of a program, whether explicit or implied in the source code.
Our plan has three components:
Develop a new computing curriculum suitable for high school and college students.
Create better, easier to use tools for program development and analysis.
Build a user community around all of the above, encouraging feedback and self-help.
These components come together in the scientific exploration of the role of programming in next generation computing environments.
We intend to start with Python, a language designed for rapid development. We believe that Python makes a great first language to learn: Unlike languages designed specifically for beginners, Python is also the choice of many programming professionals. It has an active, growing user community which has already expressed much interest in this proposal, and we expect that this will be a fertile first deployment ground for the teaching materials and tools we propose to create. During the course of the research we will evaluate Python and propose improvements or alternatives.
http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e.html
Yup, that sounds pretty much word for word what you have been sharing with us here in this discussion, doesn't it?
Now, comes the fucking reality check. The reason I chose the time frame of 5 years is because that is a standard time frame for grant models involving things just like this. So, yeah, real world shit instead of your 'ideas' about statistics.
So how well did this program do? Turns out, not so well. Funding was received for one year. Then the people moved on. The program was never renewed and as it states on the Python.org archive page for this now defunct project, "It is in limbo". The Python in Education Special Interest Group is a dead link. The CNRI have moved on with no initiatives involving anything like this. DARPA has nothing either.
So, yeah, this isn't going to happen. I don't need even five years to predict this. I can look at an initiative from over 13 years ago that failed before it even reached its five year goal mark. You want something in this current climate to become 'mainstream', a part of society? It is done in collaboration between the government, academia, and then private corporations. You do know the history of the internet, right?
Well, government right now in America is cutting funding and social services. It is all about 'austerity' and balancing the budget after we over-spent on two fucking wars. Academia is becoming less liberal and idealistic and more conservative and pragmatic. Most institutions, including the ones I teach at, are now partnering with corporations to increase their funding which dictates in part what is being researched and taught. Finally corporations want more 'users' than 'developers'. Users buy hardware and software constantly. Developers are now being locked into 'proprietary' off-shoots of open programming languages and being driven to constantly upgrade to the next development model being driven by the user's consumerism. But, hey, you know this too, because you work in IT, right?
We all live in bubbles. Mine is just a lot bigger. Between a private consulting business, work at various corporations and government agencies, and teaching, I have experienced and learned a lot more. That is one of the nice things about being 'older'. We have the experience and knowledge to actually start getting it.
For now, kid, you just don't get shit. Hopefully, you will out-grow it and that you are not representative of your generation.
Member since:2007-02-18
Never said my predictions were "unique".
You haven't actually touched any of my points at all, but continue to argue strawmen that you've projected onto my comments.
Never said it was, dumbass.
I never said anything about school programs. I keep talking about things HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL. DO YOU HAVE GLASSES OR DO I HAVE TO KEEP WRITING IN ALL CAPS?
No, NOT word for word at all. And some of the "plan" actually DOES EXIST RIGHT NOW. Fuck you're an idiot.
Then you are arguing a strawman. My prediction is about the next 50 years. Argue my prediction, or get the fuck out.
And this is why no student has ever picked up Python again... oh wait, no it didn't.
You're still stuck on "official programs". What's happening now is pretty much not done by any single organizational effort. You never heard of "grass roots"?
You keep saying "want" or "dream". I'm saying it "will" happen whether anyone wants or not. Stop trying to put words in my mouth you retard.
Because EVERYTHING in IT has happened purely in corporate settings, and corporate settings have been oh so successful, right?
Explain how more people today can drop out of university and manage a successful IT based startup and why your bubble doesn't account for that. Your narrow field of view obviously never incorporates anything that happens outside of it.
I never said I was. THAT WAS YOU. You're claiming everyone in America was like you. Everyone learned how to program because everyone had a computer. THAT WAS YOU.
Here's an easy test. How many people of your age either has a programming job or some hobby involving programming at some time in their life? I can tell you it wasn't 100% of the American population at your age. I can tell you it's probably not even close to 10%.
You are fucking delusional. Prescribe yourself some pills for your psychosis.
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
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."
"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.
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.
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.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.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.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.
Member since:
2007-02-18
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We weren't as backwards as you might think,
Yeah, you have a problem with comprehension. I imagined you "grew up with privilege", and somehow I think you were "backwards"?
Jesus Christ you're a moron.
No they weren't. Sorry, but you're extrapolating from your bubble world. Even if everyone supposedly had computers, an even smaller percentage bothered to write their own programs.
Sorry, it just wasn't as widespread. Not everyone had the same childhood as yours.
Your the one living in a bubble world. I can assure you less people learned how to program back then compared to today.
Sorry, but you're old man "things were better in my day" cynicism does not count for evidence. Just because you can't see the actual evidence, remaining wilfully ignorant, does not mean people aren't doing it.
I specifically mentioned a timeframe OVER 50 years.
You're an arrogant and unintelligent little prick, aren't you?
Please learn the difference between 5 and 50. Maybe you'll realize that your biased observation sample is anecdotal evidence, no matter how much you wish it weren't. A person who doesn't understand the basic number line isn't going to understand statistics.