Today's Question:  What does your personal desk look like?        GIVE A SHOUT

SEARCH KEYWORD -- Computing



  Surprising applications of math

The comments in the previous post touched on surprising applications of math, so I thought I’d expand this theme into it’s own post. Below I’ll give a couple general examples of surprising applications and then I’ll give a couple more personal applications I found surprising.Number theory has traditionally been the purest of pure mathematics. People study number theory for the joy of doing so, not to make money. At least that was largely true until the ...

   Math,Number theory,Algorithms,Differential euqation     2011-11-18 09:24:19

  Java vs F#

Dr Cliff Click of Azul Systems, specialists in manycore JVM systems, recently published a blog post about the performance of Java compared primarily to C and C++ but also discussing C# and .NET. Three of Cliff's comments are of particular interest:Under the heading "Places where C/C++ beats Java for obvious reasons":"Value Types, such as a 'Complex' type require a full object in Java." - Dr Cliff ClickWhat Cliff forgot to mention is that .NET also provides value types and a far more compell...

   Java,F#,Performance,JVM     2012-03-07 05:07:31

  AI solves complex biology problem from scratch

An interdisciplinary, interuniversity group of scientists from Vanderbilt, Cornell, and CFD Research Corporation have created an artificial intelligence capable of solving complex scientific problems from scratch. The AI, called ABE (Automated Biology Explorer), “discovered” how glycolysis produces energy in a living cell by looking at a set of data and then squeezing it into a mathematical formula, just like a human biology researcher.ABE is powered by the freeware Eureqa softw...

   AI,Artificial intelligence,Biology,ABE     2011-10-17 11:08:58

  Guide to Clearing Storage Space on a Macbook

Macbooks are pretty notorious when it comes to what storage space you have available. Those few gigabytes that you have will disappear in no time if you are not careful. The whole issue becomes even more problematic for people who are not that familiar with Macbooks or have switched from another computer. And if you do not pay attention, it will not take too long before you have next to no storage space on the hard drive. Leaving only a few gigabytes of free space will significantly reduce the ...

   MACBOOK,APPLE,DATA STORAGE     2020-08-08 00:21:42

  5 Things You Can Do to Protect Your Data

The average cost of a data breach is $148 per record. Records include everything from personal addresses to birthdates to even more sensitive data, like Social Security Numbers and business files. Each year, these hacks cumulatively cost billions of dollars to companies and individual users. Nonetheless, like many other criminals, hackers tend to prey on easy targets. By following these essential steps, you’ll be able to ensure your data is always kept safe. 1) Use a File Encryption Servic...

   DATA SECURITY     2019-08-20 08:35:54

  Code Refurbishment

Within our industry we use a huge range of terminology.  Unfortunately we don’t all agree on what individual terms actually mean.  I so often hear people misuse the term “Refactoring” which has come to make the business in many organisations recoil in fear.  The reason for this fear I’ve observed is because of what people often mean when misusing this term.I feel we are holding back our industry by not being disciplined in our use of terminology.  If...

   Code Refurbishment,Code design,terminolo     2011-09-05 08:17:14

  Could coding be the next mass profession?

Like farming was in the 17th century, factory work during the industrial revolution, construction during the Great Depression, and manufacturing after World War II. Better, because writing code is a creative act which can be done with or without a traditional (antiquated?) office-based job, and can create enormous personal and economic value. Most young people start in jobs that don’t have much of a future. Most don’t get higher education – only a third get a...

   Coder,Learning,Training,Profession     2012-01-05 08:02:50

  Why Windows?

Since the latest episodes of both Bent and Throw it Against the Wall have seen me mention Windows Phone 7, I think it’s about time I talk about why I like it. I know there’s a lot of scepticism surrounding it. And why not? Most people I know who were considering jumping the Microsoft ship did so in the dark days of Vista, so that’s their last experience with Windows. Anyone who saw their parents working on a Treo back in the nascent days of the Blackberry know the slop...

   Windows,Features,Advantage     2012-02-10 06:22:13

  The faster-than-fast Fourier transform

The Fourier transform is one of the most fundamental concepts in the information sciences. It’s a method for representing an irregular signal — such as the voltage fluctuations in the wire that connects an MP3 player to a loudspeaker — as a combination of pure frequencies. It’s universal in signal processing, but it can also be used to compress image and audio files, solve differential equations and price stock options, among other things.The reason the Fourier...

   FFT,Fast fourier transform,MIT,Compression     2012-01-19 09:59:09

  Steve Jobs's prediction about wireless,iPad and App Store in 1983

1983 was still a year uncultivated. That year, Apple released the first personal computer Apple Lisa with graphical user interface in the world, TCP/IP was released less than two years, the Internet was basically still a wasteland. General people had few knowledge about computer. Steve Jobs still needed to start with "What is the computer" in his speech. Today, we have become accustomed to social networking, smart phones and mobile Internet, it was really unbelievable at that time. That ye...

   Steve Jobs, record,Apple,prediction     2012-10-03 04:37:17