2010-12-16, 20:29 | Link #10721 | |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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But really.... haven't we sent the NEWS thread off into oblivion at this point? Can we get back to "news of the day?" Maybe we should have an "American Politics, History, Culture, and Attitudes" thread. Two items just popped up: COBOL is 50 years old today http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...website/68101/ And a survey about the problem of using a single news source and how it leads to being dangerously misinformed http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/brunitedstatescanadara/671.php?nid=&id=&pnt=671&lb=
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Last edited by Vexx; 2010-12-16 at 20:33. Reason: better link |
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2010-12-16, 20:39 | Link #10722 | |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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Quote:
But it's too bad than Fox New viewer will never read it .
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2010-12-16, 22:20 | Link #10723 | ||
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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Meanwhile, could this be the transit of the future...? Paris introduces self-service electric car scheme A fleet of blue, eco-friendly electric cars will hit the streets of the French capital next autumn and cost no more than a tube fare to zip around town. Quote:
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2010-12-17, 00:22 | Link #10724 | |||
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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2010-12-17, 01:53 | Link #10725 | |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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Quote:
The extreme version of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". I *could* spend the rest of my life supporting PDP series computers running assembly code that are integral parts of oil industry and automation industry, they aren't just attached - they're hardwired into systems -- because the thought of replacing them scares the shit out of everyone.
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2010-12-17, 02:20 | Link #10726 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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The last time I read a book and messed around with it is in 1992, and since then, I have not heard much of it. I wonder if it is that the machine language for the hardware lacks object orientation and is easy to copy from system to system (i.e pirated for different hardware and functions across the business world, based on the same piece of code), or it is just that it faded into the background due to is lack of sophistication in defining parameters.
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2010-12-17, 02:25 | Link #10727 | |
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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2010-12-17, 02:45 | Link #10728 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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Yeah, "once you know one HLL the rest are a snap" as they say. Those graduates may get lucky (I never had to use COBOL because I was in scientific realtime computing mostly but I used JOVIAL, PL/I, Ada, FORTRAN, and a few other esoterics along with C, assm, C++, and Java) but I'll just repeat - most of the business world uses COBOL, these days they generally train people in-house.
"You there!! Yes, you! Know any computer languages? Good, you're the new COBOL apprentice - one of the Old Ones just died and 3/4 of our transactions and accounting is in COBOL on the IBM mainframe down at the Core." (yes, if you can get into scientific or industrial real-time programming or simulation jump at it --- much more fun even if it pays less. I spent most of my engineering/computing career doing "rocket science" or "intarwebbery" and don't regret that a bit). I tutored a business major in COBOL once... sadly, I probably scarred her with my muttering about the insanely verbose nature of COBOL (even compared with other HLLs). Quite a bit of the syntax compiles into thin air, its just 'self-documentation' but required by the compiler.
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Last edited by Vexx; 2010-12-17 at 02:56. Reason: no, I don't know why I was typing HDL for HLL |
2010-12-17, 03:44 | Link #10729 | |
Asuki-tan Kairin ↓
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fürth (GER)
Age: 43
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2010-12-17, 04:11 | Link #10730 |
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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America aside.
While a rickety sampan sinks on its way to Christmas Island (how fitting), Australian PM Julia "Joolya wants Citizens Assembly" Gillard is doing precious little other than "having a meeting..." Oakeshott urges PM to address shipwreck rumours Spoiler for Full text...:
Hm. Then, Indonesia, the point of embarkation, refuses to care... Asylum boat wreck 'not Indonesia's concern' Spoiler for Full text...:
And... Wreck survivors involved in Christmas Island protest Spoiler for Full text...:
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2010-12-17, 06:40 | Link #10731 |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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After the consern about Pakistan's Nuke:
Cable shows U.S. fears that bio-weapons can be stolen from labs in India http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1841754/
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2010-12-17, 13:30 | Link #10732 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
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2010-12-17, 16:17 | Link #10733 |
Aria Company
Join Date: Nov 2003
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There are no real news journalists on fox news, just those that hide they're working for a propaganda machine better than others. Note that CNN and MSNBC aren't much better, just a slightly different slant. Instead of using the 24 hour news format to give full and indepth coverage to news, giving a balanced and complete view of the story, all 3 of them just repeat party talking points ad nauseum and focus on the latest celebrity scandals rather than report what's really going on in the world. When they do cover actual news they report on it in an extremely slanted manor to make sure the viewers interpret things the way the channel wants them to. Fox new might be the worst offender there, but it is by no means the only offender.
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2010-12-17, 23:04 | Link #10735 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 67
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Bingo.... "news" disappeared not long after the corporate networks re-defined it as a "profit center" rather than "stuff we have to do as a community service to keep our transmission license". That started in the late 80s. The only thing that remotely approaches "news" in the US anymore is the non-profits and public broadcasting groups (as well as the few independent local newspapers left).
Some nights I flip on the tv to see how bad it is and can barely tell the difference between "Exxtra Inside Edition" and "Katie-Brokaw-whatever" or "CNNBCoxcable".
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2010-12-17, 23:11 | Link #10736 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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Quote:
Spoiler for NSFW : What it may actually mean:
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2010-12-17, 23:49 | Link #10737 |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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Venezuela assembly gives Chavez decree powers
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...6BG69720101218 Let's see all the damage he will make.
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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