Loaded Dice

My internet has been acting a lot like loaded dice recently. Sure it'll navigate the web if I want it to, but of course time is always the mysterious dimension. A few days ago I tried downloading eclipse, just so I could start some java on my home computer. Luckily, the eclipse website had a linux version I could download, and so I did. The file was quite hefty, just over 200 mB, but not at all too much. All of a sudden, the progress bar showed "interrupted," and the download stopped. I tried to start it again, but nothing happened.    I really don't know if I can blame the internet, or the OS.

Tests are becoming more of a learning experience now O.O

- zk : out

I am no computer

I'm sure we've all been wondering if the computer's CPU capacity will ever surpass the brainpower of humans (not necessarily the ability to feel, which seems like another subject entirely). Well, last time I checked, I couldn't multiply 874 by 9345 in less than a second. I'm just messing around there, but computers are definitely more skilled in certain areas, such as that monstrous arithmetic up above. Cognitive abilities and learning on the spot is an area seen, but not conquered by computers, and its pretty easy to tell that us humans have the upper-hand on that contest. I'm all for smart computers (like the ones made up of clustered processors dubbed "super computers"), but in the end I just hope Terminator doesn't happen, especially if Schwarzineger is dead by then. 

- zk : out

bandwidth

I've been hearing the term a lot lately: bandwith. It just vibrated in my head with little real significance until recently. When talking about computers, I always knew bandwith refers to the rate of data transfer. In that sense, bandwidth is important for most everybody in modern society, seeing as its hard to be patient when a youtube video stops mid-stream. Beyond computers, bandwidth is also the heart and soul of radio communication, because it designates each radio "band," in order to keep people from overlapping their frequencies. The radio bandwidth also corresponds to an amount of data that a signal can carry (the bandwidth of a human voice is 3kHz 'wide', for example). This kind of knowledge is a perk of taking amateur radio, I guess, which I find fascinating.

- zk : out

Pong is Long - 1/27/13

My partner and I have been working on pong for awhile now. We've coded every class we need so far. The only thing holding us back is, well, we don't know what it is. It's EXTREMELY difficult to keep up with all the classes at once. If only we had a giant screen that could every class window at the same time. If only. Anywas, we are currently troubleshooting some issues with our ball. For some reason, it only floats up and down on the screen, not side to side like it should. I guess you could say we beat pong, since no player can win or lose, but I'd still love to actually finish the game. We can't really move on with anything else until we fix the ball issue, so I'm hoping for some divine intervention pretty soon here.

- zk : out