So one of my resolutions this year was to attempt to learn four new programming languages by the 4th of July. I started this yesterday with visiting http://moonscript.org/ and http://www.lua.org/ . Yes those are two different websites for two different programming languages and yet at the same time, they pretty much work as one programming language. You can't run one without the other. If you are wondering how this is possible. you should consider the face that most websites now are run with 3-5 programming languages (HTML/HTML5, CSS/CSS3, SQL, Visual Basic, and JavaScript, most common are italicized).
I should take back a previous statement. I said in the previous paragraph that you can't run one without the other. But in all reality you don't need MoonScript to run Lua or vice versa. I've learned that you can Lua without any problems, but your code gets sloppy and long. With MoonScript, your code becomes condensed and simplified, much like what CSS/CSS3 does to HTML. Less code and better looking code.
I haven't written any good code yet outside Hello, World! and some simple I/O but when I get that done I will post it here!
Moving on to my next subject - Snow Days and Math!
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love math! And not just algebra and calculus. No, I'm a huge follower of Set Theory and Symbolic Logic. I took Math 176 (Computing Math) at the University of Idaho, and to be honest, I didn't appreciate it at the time. I've referred to that textbook (written by the professor of course) more times than any other textbook I kept from my college years.
But it was in this course that I learned Set Theory and Symbolic Logic. ST was great for me because it was the crash course into AND/OR logic and basically the foundation for what I program with. Anyone familiar with SQL can relate to this! For an outline of ST, look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory . The basic concepts of Union (OR) and Intersection (AND) have to this day influenced just about every decision I've made. And to anyone who wants to be a programmer some day, you will have a hard time relating with your coworkers if you can't understand ST since it is the intro to Symbolic Logic. For those of you who don't know what SL is, go here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_logic . Why do you need to SL? Two words - Alan Turing. The godfather of computing theories and the Turing machine.
So where am I taking this you might be wondering now? Well the greater Portland and Vancouver area had a weather advisory that it would be snowing yesterday and today. Now for anyone who doesn't know what snow in this area is like, consider this - schools get cancelled when 3/4 of a inch falls. People here just don't know how to drive in snow. Rain - no problem. Snow - big problem. So with the anticipation of snow falling, I decided to go back and review SL and ST in hopes that it would help me with my programming that I might get to do from home. So I read several chapters from my textbook, took some notes, did a few questions and made my todo list for today in hopes that I would be working from home. Wake up this morning, and it looks like someone put powdered sugar on the roads so in the office I go. Shucks! But in the first 45 minutes I worked this morning, I completed 2 projects working with SQL and will finish a third in the next hour, pending test results. Of course, I'v had two additional projects dumped on me since I got in, but go figure. Projects fall on me like snow falls on a ski resort....maybe I should move up to Mt. Hood and get a few snow days in....
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Thursday, December 8, 2011
What Your Smart Phone OS Says About You....
Lets be honest, if you have had a "dumb" phone that just allowed you to call and text and maybe search MySpace, and then you went out and got a "smart" phone to download music and apps and change your status on Facebook, you will most likely never go back to that other phone. Smart phones have conquered our society and they will not be going away anytime soon. If you were to look at the 600 people on my friends list, I'd be willing to bet that at least 400 of them have smart phones and even be willing to put money down that those that didn't were looking into getting one.
For kicks and giggles, can you name to top selling smart phones from May of 2008 to May 2010? You might be surprised to know that Nokia N70 was the top seller in 2008, with Apple's iPhone rounding out 2009 and 2010 (1). I know I know, big surprise that Apple is first here. But what is scary is the growth of smart phones between 2008 and 2009. The iPhone had roughly 3.5% of network requests (ie you clicking on a link or going to a website) in 2008 and a staggering 47.9% in 2009 and 39.9% in 2010! They didn't just take the market by storm, they wiped out the competition! Droid apparently made a push in late 2010 but the 2011 data hasn't been published yet.
So what does your phone say about you? Truth be told, in the end it says that you have money to not need a computer to check your email. Outside of that, here are my views of what your smart phone OS says about you -
iPhone iOS- If you are a working class citizen, and use your phone for work (a majority of the time) then ignore this opinion. If you are younger then 18, working less than 20 hours a week, and have no intention of working with computers for a few years, then you need a new phone. To this day I do not understand why teenagers are under the opinion they need smart phones. Most schools don't allow students to even have their phones out. But I can't really hate on the kids too much. After all, it was their idiot parents that said yes to them. Sorry parents, but you are wasting $100's of dollars a month just so your kid can CheckIn somewhere. Conclusion - If you are over 18 and working, your iPhone says you are smart, technology efficient and willing to work/learn with technology trends in the upcoming years. Otherwise, get a new phone.
Android OS - I have the up most respect for Google getting into the smart phone game, but I was kind of hoping for something that didn't look, feel, or move like iOS. Granted Android's updates in the last 18 months have created a great separation from their competition. Never the less, I take partially the same stance as the iOS. Under 18? Not contributing to the working world? Turn your phone in. Now to the rest of us, if you have been an avid Google user, you can easily navigate the Android OS and quickly familiarize yourself with the layout of the phone. In my honest opinion, the Android says that you are a slight risk taker, not one to go with the flow and get the new hottest toy, and willing to adapt to what you have to work with.
Blackberry - My mom loves her Blackberry and to be honest I can't name a person I know that might have one, and hates it. Say what you want, Blackberry is one of the best running OS's around! Random fact, they first Blackberry appeared in 1999 as a two way pager! Clearly RIM is doing something right seeing as they still have 70 million subscribers. To me a Blackberry says you mean business! To those 26 and younger, you probably don't need this phone, but if you are a business executive and need a simple smart phone, anything with the Blackberry OS is what you need!
Note - All my opinions are mine alone, and are reflective of my personal experiences.
1 - http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/May-2010-AdMob-Mobile-Metrics-Highlights.pdf - Page 9
For kicks and giggles, can you name to top selling smart phones from May of 2008 to May 2010? You might be surprised to know that Nokia N70 was the top seller in 2008, with Apple's iPhone rounding out 2009 and 2010 (1). I know I know, big surprise that Apple is first here. But what is scary is the growth of smart phones between 2008 and 2009. The iPhone had roughly 3.5% of network requests (ie you clicking on a link or going to a website) in 2008 and a staggering 47.9% in 2009 and 39.9% in 2010! They didn't just take the market by storm, they wiped out the competition! Droid apparently made a push in late 2010 but the 2011 data hasn't been published yet.
So what does your phone say about you? Truth be told, in the end it says that you have money to not need a computer to check your email. Outside of that, here are my views of what your smart phone OS says about you -
iPhone iOS- If you are a working class citizen, and use your phone for work (a majority of the time) then ignore this opinion. If you are younger then 18, working less than 20 hours a week, and have no intention of working with computers for a few years, then you need a new phone. To this day I do not understand why teenagers are under the opinion they need smart phones. Most schools don't allow students to even have their phones out. But I can't really hate on the kids too much. After all, it was their idiot parents that said yes to them. Sorry parents, but you are wasting $100's of dollars a month just so your kid can CheckIn somewhere. Conclusion - If you are over 18 and working, your iPhone says you are smart, technology efficient and willing to work/learn with technology trends in the upcoming years. Otherwise, get a new phone.
Android OS - I have the up most respect for Google getting into the smart phone game, but I was kind of hoping for something that didn't look, feel, or move like iOS. Granted Android's updates in the last 18 months have created a great separation from their competition. Never the less, I take partially the same stance as the iOS. Under 18? Not contributing to the working world? Turn your phone in. Now to the rest of us, if you have been an avid Google user, you can easily navigate the Android OS and quickly familiarize yourself with the layout of the phone. In my honest opinion, the Android says that you are a slight risk taker, not one to go with the flow and get the new hottest toy, and willing to adapt to what you have to work with.
Blackberry - My mom loves her Blackberry and to be honest I can't name a person I know that might have one, and hates it. Say what you want, Blackberry is one of the best running OS's around! Random fact, they first Blackberry appeared in 1999 as a two way pager! Clearly RIM is doing something right seeing as they still have 70 million subscribers. To me a Blackberry says you mean business! To those 26 and younger, you probably don't need this phone, but if you are a business executive and need a simple smart phone, anything with the Blackberry OS is what you need!
Note - All my opinions are mine alone, and are reflective of my personal experiences.
1 - http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/May-2010-AdMob-Mobile-Metrics-Highlights.pdf - Page 9
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