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Comment I think it's difficult. (Score 1) 1095

by seanyboy (#24287539) Attached to: How To Encourage a Young Teen To Learn Programming?

There are a couple of reasons that it's getting harder to teach languages.

1. Languages are moving away from knowing fundemental coding constructs (loops, if statements, etc) and towards knowing an API. You can't really do anything with a modern language without knowing what the libraries are. I suspect these things are frustrating for the learner programmer. I'd pick something with as simple an API as possible.

2. Back in the day, a junior programmer could write something in a couple of hours that was almost as good as the games, etc you purchased. This is no longer the case. I think it's difficult teaching the basics of programming when no child is going to produce anything that comes close to the games they play or the programs they use.

If I were to try and teach programming, I'd look at something like scratch or Hackety Hack

Good luck.

Feed Engadget: Japan's face-authorizing cigarette machines no match for Bruce Willis photo (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets


Remember those Japanese vending machines that use face recognition to scan for wrinkles and saggy skin before authenticating cigarette purchases? Surprise, they're so easy to circumvent that even a nicotine-addicted kid can do it. Turns out the cameras will authenticate "a 15-centimeter (6-inch) wide magazine photo of a man who looked to be in his 50s." Smaller clippings work too as demonstrated by a successful cigarette vend using a 3-inch photo of a woman in her 30s -- a 1-inch wide photo failed, however. Still, only 4,000 of Japan's 570,000 cigarette vending machines feature the cams and these are due for a software update in response to the flaw -- the rest use RFID readers to check the smoker's Taspo age-verification card. Nevertheless, we don't think it's much of a stretch to predict that this system, like that of DRM controlled music, is destined to fail.

[Via The Raw Feed]
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Feed Shell House provides cheap, radio-equipped housing for homeless (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Hey, we can't all live in the pimped out mansions or nicely appointed lodges, but an NYU graduate student is making it her personal mission to do something substantial about it. The living portable project has yielded a cardboard-based Shell House contraption that requires just $35 worth of material, a bit of time, and a hearty dose of generosity. The DIY project allows interested citizens to build collapsible houses for homeless individuals, and moreover, gives them an opportunity to experience ubiquitous computing by way of an integrated radio network. Moreover, you can couple this with a homegrown solar heater, and you've got yourself a date with nature.

[Via Core77]
Read - Instructions on building a Shell House
Read - Shell House homepage

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Music

EMI May Sell Entire Collection as DRM-less MP3s 188

Posted by Zonk from the and-away-we-go dept.
BobbyJo writes "According to the Chicago Sun-Times, EMI has been pitching the possibility of selling its entire music collection to the public in MP3 form ... without Digital Rights Management protections. According to the article, several other major music companies have considered this same route, but none as far as EMI. The reasons, of course, have nothing to do with taking a moral stand; EMI wants to compete with Apple. 'The London-based EMI is believed to have held talks with a wide range of online retailers that compete with Apple's iTunes. Those competing retailers include RealNetworks Inc., eMusic.com, MusicNet Inc. and Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks. People familiar with the matter cautioned that EMI could still abandon the proposed strategy before implementing it. A decision about whether to keep pursuing the idea could come as soon as today.'"
The Almighty Buck

Scientists Offered Cash to Dispute Climate Study 668

Posted by Zonk from the you're-wrong-and-i-think-mr.-lincoln-knows-why dept.
w1z4rd writes "According to an article in the Guardian, scientists and economists have been offered large bribes by a lobbying group funded by ExxonMobil. The offers were extended by the American Enterprise Institute group, which apparently has numerous ties to the Bush administration. Couched in terms of an offer to write 'dissenting papers' against the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, several scientists contacted for the article refused the offers on conflict of interest grounds."
Space

Journal SPAM: HiROC Photos of Mars 3

Journal by stoolpigeon
The HiRISE Operations Center (HiROC) at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory is responsible for the majority of the ground data system work for the HiRISE instrument. Observation planning, uplink, downlink, data processing, and instrument monitoring are all performed at HiROC. The HiRISE camera is one of six instruments on board the Mars Reconnaiss
Windows

Journal Journal: Concurrently Running Firewalls 2

Journal by ph4cr
I'm the Security Manager for one element of a multi faceted organization. That said, some of the dimmer lights around the table want to run both Windows firewall (XP) and another third party vendor's solution at the same time. I've come out against this as I think it's stupid and potentially problematic. I've had both yes and no responses from MS on this issue. Can the Slashdot user community provide reasons pro/con for this solution?
Google

Submission + - Googlebomb defusing may blow up in Google's face

Submitted by linguista
linguista writes: Nicholas Carr of the Guardian suggests that in deciding to take measures to stop googlebombing, the internet giant may actually be eroding trust:

The company is allowing concerns about its public image to influence the search results it dishes up. The upshot in this case may be salubrious, but what kind of precedent is being set here?

And, perhaps more important, what does it tell us about what's inside the Google black box that determines how most of us find information on the web most of the time?"


He suggests that the common perception that Google results merely reflect the opinion of the public is threatened when Google tweaks the results for its own ends, and this may ultimately erode trust in the internet giant.
Operating Systems

Submission + - BBC To Host Multi-OS Debate

Submitted by Bananatree3
Bananatree3 writes: BBC is currently seeking submissions from all you Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux devotees "in 100 words or less, why you are such a supporter of your chosen operating system and what features you love about it". They will then select one user of each platform to go head to head in a debate that will be part of the BBC's Microsoft Vista launch coverage on January 30th.

Korea Plans to Choose Linux City, University 207

Posted by Zonk from the one-to-grow-on dept.
thefirelane wrote to mention an ambitious plan in the works by the South Korean government. Work is underway to choose a city, which will become a place where open-source software will become the mainstream operating system. From the article: "The selected government and university will be required to install open-source software as a main operating infrastructure, for which the MIC will support with funds and technologies. In the long run, they will have to migrate most of their desktop and notebook computers away from the Windows program of Microsoft, the world's biggest maker of software. 'The test beds will prompt other cities and universities to follow suit through the showcasing of Linux as the major operating system without any technical glitches and security issues,' Lee said. "

Sony Rootkit may Lead to Regulation 266

Posted by CowboyNeal from the enough-is-enough dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Computerworld has a story about DHS officials meeting with Sony to read them the riot act, following the rootkit fiasco. From the story: 'A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official warned today that if software distributors continue to sell products with dangerous rootkit software, as Sony BMG Music Entertainment recently did, legislation or regulation could follow.'"

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