Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: General Cogitation Page 33 of 40

Soapbox: Programming Is NOT For Everyone

By

On January 13, 2012

In Programming, Soapbox

I read an article on CNN where the author seems to think that Americans should learn to write computer code just as they learn to read and write. In fact the guy has started an online “academy” to teach people how to write code … For Free!! I’m sorry but I completely disagree with what this guy wants to do. The ability to write software is far too advanced of a skill to compare it to learning to read. In fact it’s insulting to suggest that programming is that simple. I obtained a four year degree to learn to develop software; granted a four year degree isn’t necessarily required, but thats only if you have a gifted background in computers and/or programming.

I do agree with the guy on one of the points. It would be a benefit, as a software developer, if people understood what went into developing a piece of software. If that were the only reason to offer this academy then I wouldn’t have a problem. Sadly that isn’t the case. Any putz can participate in the online tutorials and suddenly they are “qualified” to write software. The concept, in my opinion, is absolutely ludicrous and frightening.

I appreciate the authors concern that America is losing its competitive advantage but the last thing we need is a bunch of hillbillies thinking they can write robust and effective code. I hate to sound like an elitist but if a company is in need of a competent programmer, and they have to choose between someone with a four year degree and someone who took an online tutorial … Who do you think will get the job?

/end soapbox

What Happened to “Frag”?

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On January 3, 2012

In Gaming, General Cogitation

I’m an old school gamer. I started on Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog. I graduated from console gaming to PC gaming when I went to college and I began with first person shooters like Half-Life and, of course, the infamous Quake. Quake was the game everyone played at LAN parties, no matter what the latest gaming fad was at the time. It was a staple.

As is common in every gaming community, Quake players developed various colloquial expressions. The most common word among the nomenclature was “frag”. There were t-shirts, bumper stickers, and various other paraphernalia that donned various phrases using the word. If you are not familiar with the word “frag” it meant that when you killed someone, or you were killed, you weren’t just mortally wounded; usually fragged meant your death was a grisly explosion or dismemberment that left parts of you scattered about. The MMO genre doesn’t have such graphic fatalities so, I think, “frag” loosely evolved into the word “pwn”.

Personally I like frag better and I wish there was a way to bring it back. The fact is MMO gamers have already established their own set of colloquial expressions so introducing a new term would be very difficult. Also, the games themselves would need to properly reflect what it meant to frag, or be fragged, when a player dies. Somehow I can see such macabre graphics being met with much opposition once the ESRB became involved. If the ESRB rating is too mature it could adversely impact the sales of the game.

Personally I think introducing these kinds of deaths to an MMO would be pretty cool. Sometimes such visual indications of victory can make you feel extremely triumphant. Maybe one day an MMO will come along that has this feature, and maybe one already exists that I just haven’t played yet. Either way, it was a fun trip down memory lane and reminiscing about Quake has made me want to go dig up my old install disks.

(P.S. The image I used for this post is the iconic image used by Penguin Computing who are known for delivering high-performance computing solutions.)

Cheers!

Happy New Year!!!

By

On January 1, 2012

In General Cogitation

Wishing everyone, everywhere a Happy New Year. I hope your 2012 is prosperous, safe and joyful.

Tis the Season

By

On December 21, 2011

In General Cogitation

I am not a politically correct person, so I am not going to wish you Happy Holidays.

I most certainly will not use the ridiculous phrase “Season’s Greetings!”

I don’t have time to figure out if you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or Winter Veil!

I’m going to use the phrase that, to me, best expresses the joy of the season.

I’m not trying to force religion, or my religion on you by using it.

So if what I am about to say offends you, all I can say is … Buck Up, Sally!!!

Biggs On: SOPA

By

On December 21, 2011

In Biggs On, General Cogitation

SOPA, for anyone that isn’t familiar with it, is a bill soon to be voted on by Congress. It stands for Stop Online Piracy Act. I’m not an advocate for or against online piracy but I thought I would weigh in on this SOPA bill.

Online piracy is a Pandora’s box, no matter what the MPAA or RIAA try to do, they can’t stop it. The more they try to establish litigation and laws to prevent piracy, the harder it will be to stop. I have to side with those that are saying the SOPA law is flawed. Today I got a chuckle from all of the people out there posting ways you can get around what SOPA would attempt to suppress. I love that people are already developing browser addons that would automate those processes. In fact one of the guys developing an addon is from MIT. What makes these lawmakers think they can outsmart someone from MIT? Its kinda ludicrous when you think about it.

In my opinion there are two things that the MPAA and RIAA can do to fight this piracy thing. First, stop trying to prevent piracy with silly bills like SOPA, that just pisses off the pirates and increases their motivation. Instead I would find ways to track them down to prosecute them. I’m sorry but copyright infringement and piracy is still a crime so I’m going to side with other guys there.

Second, and this is the big one, Lower Your Prices!!! RIAA is already trying to play this game a little bit. One dollar for a song, or ten dollars for an album, from iTunes is a pretty good deal in my opinion. However, nine bucks a person to see a movie, that is ridiculous!! It’s bad enough that the quality of the movies these days is in the tank and the 3D gimmick isn’t improving the quality. In my opinion, anyone that is downloading a movie is missing out on the video and sound quality you could get if you watched it on blu-ray. I scoff at anyone that claims the movie they download is actually “HD quality” or comparable to watching the actual blu-ray.

So I agree, SOPA is a waste of time and taxpayer money. It won’t work; no matter what lame brain plan they come up with, there are hundreds of smarter people that already know a way around it, and they are ready to share their idea with everyone on the Internet.

Oh, and one final note, SOPA will NOT kill, maim, break or disembowel the Internet; that’s just a little too mellow dramatic folks.

Cheers!

Blogging Has Been Humbling

By

On December 8, 2011

In General Cogitation

This website is the only place I really blog about anything. I was thrilled when I actually found out that someone other then my friends had read something I wrote (see Don’t Think I’m A Clone Now). I thought that perhaps if total strangers found that post interesting that maybe I would be able to write something else interesting as well.

I should qualify myself by saying that I am not a professional writer by any means. I’m just a gamer, computer geek and a programmer. I only post blogs because I like the mental exercise of writing. I feel like its a workout for my brain, much like doing sit-ups or push-ups. I became defensive from some of the comments that people left from my last post, but instead of getting upset, I turned their constructive comments into a lesson in writing.

My last post I wrote quickly and on a whim. It was something rattling around in my brain that I decided to whip out in 20 minutes and post it. What I learned was that I need to spend more time thinking about what message I am trying to convey to the reader. If I leave out key components that link what I’m trying to say to my main point then I think readers will lose the meaning of the post. It isn’t anything the reader is doing wrong nor is it a reflection on their comprehension skills; it’s my fault, as the author, for not making the message clear.

I really appreciate the fact that friends and complete strangers read the things that I post and I hope to improve my composition skills in future blogs. I encourage people to continue to leave their thoughts and comments so that I may continue to learn from their feedback.

Thanks and Cheers!

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