Letters to the Editor
wires
Published Letters: 45 Editor's Choice: 3
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QBASIC still runs on XP machines.
[Read the article: Why Johnny can't code]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dig out a old Windows 95 or 98 install CD and look in the \other\oldmsdos directory. Just double click on qbasic.exe and it runs. A useful installation with the excellent help system involves copying help.com, help.hlp, qbasic.exe and qbasic.hlp to a directory on your hard drive. It will run in a window or full screen. Hundreds of thousands of already written programs and examples will be at your command. With minimal modification many Visual Basic code samples will work.
It is essential for a mechanic to understand a lawn mower engine before they move on to electronic engine management systems. Likewise an programmer should start with something simple. Those that skip the beginning of a learning process usually end up making beginner mistakes later when the "cost" is greater.
It is a shame that operating system companies don't include BASIC in the default installation. It would cost nothing and would open a window for countless potential programmers.
The BASIC language is far from dead. Anyone who says otherwise probably thinks BASIC programs still have line numbers.
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strRedux(2)
[Read the article: Why Johnny can't code]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is obvious that writers like rshannon don't "get it" or know much about BASIC.
"Something obscure like BASIC, something needing line numbers and using non-intuitive words like PRINT to display things on a screen"
There are modern object oriented versions of BASIC like REALbasic that share the easy to understand syntax that made BASIC a universal language.
The content of most letters on this article indicate we are descending to a modern Tower of Babel because there is no agreement or acceptance of a common language to teach our kids. The response from the education community to remove code snippets from textbooks illustrates Mr. Brin's and R McElreath points exactly.
BASIC is neither obscure or obsolete. The majority of customized business applications running today were written in Visual Basic. Unfortunately the push from Microsoft to move this market segment to C# does nothing to build a common language. Microsoft's model of "embrace and extend" is actually divide and conquer.
Programming is programming. It is FAR better to be exposed to the concepts by age 10 then for adults to think you are a "computer expert" because you have a page on MySpace.
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Nice thought tikekh
[Read the article: U.S. generals call for Democratic takeover]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Unfortunately we let the bull loose in the china shop and now the owner wants us out.
There is no "fixing" Iraq. No amount of troops or money can right the wrong.
Time to go.
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"double receipts" won't improve elections.
[Read the article: Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem with paper is vote buying.
If you give a receipt that the voter can carry out the door it will be used as proof for liquor, drugs or money.
After many years in the computer business I advocate paper ballots. Count them by hand or OCR them but give every voter a piece of paper on which to cast their vote. Simple, cheap and verifiable.
The tricky part is to be sure each voter turns in the ballot they were given by a poll worker so no pre-marked ballots find their way into the system.
The old liquor, drugs or money method was to send in a voter with a pre-marked ballot and give them their goods in exchange for the blank ballot they were given inside. Not a good way to run an fair election...
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The gates of Hell open wider...
[Read the article: Saddam: The death of a dictator]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It is impossible to have a fair trial in a war zone.
The charade of convicting, sentencing and executing even the most brutal dictator under such circumstances is below the United States we all remember.
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No Airspeed = No Takeoff
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Aerodynamic lift is how standard airplanes take off.
"To generate lift, an object must move through the air, or air must move past the object. [Some modern aircraft like the Harrier use engine thrust to "lift" the vehicle. But this, again, is not aerodynamic lift.]"
http://wright.nasa.gov/airplane/move.html
In the case of the reverse treadmill the airplane remains stationary in relation to the air so it stays on the ground. Wheel speed is not relevant.
OTOH a forward moving treadmill could do much in making takeoffs more interesting and restoring the gee-wiz factor to aviation. Sort of like the catapult on a aircraft carrier but much more massive.
If such a project could somehow be related to homeland security I am sure the contracts would already be in Halliburton's hands...