Computing in a Nutshell

Computing in a Nutshell

@advanced-ict.info

'One of the best places I have found online to make the abstract, hard to visualize concepts in computer science much more accessible and understandable.' https://www.advanced-ict.info/

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Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

As I'm going to Liverpool tomorrow and the cost of diesel has come down slightly I thought I'd go mad and fill up the car - only I couldn't because there's a £99 limit when you pay at the pump. I remember that happening a few years ago, too, but my previous car had a bigger tank.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

People talk about the social media bubble, but the internet is making us more insular in lots of ways. I might have bought a magazine because, say, Björk was on the cover, but I'd have read the rest of the articles too. #TeamCompSci www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.comAs a young man, magazines were my window to the world. That wonder will be lost when all the shops have gone | John HarrisThe closure of former WH Smith stores around the UK is sobering on many levels. The publications they sold were there to be perused, to broaden horizons, says Guardian columnist John Harris
Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

It's Fixtober - I've replaced the diverter valve actuator on the heating, repaired my son's puzzle box that we haggled for in Marrakech, and I've ordered a new steam valve for my espresso machine. Make do and mend!

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

It's interesting to hear people talking about the PHP issue this week. A common response seemed to be "I didn't realise people were still using PHP!", but 70% of websites apparently do, and when I asked around earlier in the year for a more "modern" alternative I didn't get a single suggestion.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Is it that people don't code their own websites any more, so they don't know how they work? The web team at work only seems to talk about Jadu and seemed surprised that people use PHP - but I just checked and see that Jadu is written in PHP. #TeamCompSci

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Although the version of PHP I was using for the website has been patched, this week's news has prompted me to skip several versions to one with more long-term support. Everything seems to be working, but let me know if you find anything awry! #TeamCompSci

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

I did find one issue - mysqli_free_result() now gives an error if you try to release the memory used by an empty recordset. Luckily I'd used the same variable name on every affected page, so could use TextCrawler to fix them all in one go. Do updates to other languages so regularly break old code?

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Aagh - does this mean that "AI" is going to be in the Computing curriculum, even though in some ways it's anti-Computer Science? #TeamCompSci

Sue Cowley@suecowley.bsky.social

Apparently Lucy Powell has confirmed that oracy will sit within the English curriculum (i.e. it's the good old 'speaking and listening' we used to be encouraged to value) so all the people worried about it being rammed into everything can probably relax now.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

It never really occurs to me that the students in my programming classes will become developers - I think that we're just learning to solve puzzles. #TeamCompSci

ElizabethwithaZ@elizabethwithaz.bsky.social

CS teachers aren't there to produce a labor force for the tech industry. We're there to meet the needs of kids, empower and equip them to build a better future.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Office 97 was peak Office, I think - all of the things I use now were there, there was less bloat and no ribbon. Excel also asked you what sort of graph you wanted. I miss Access, but one of the things I like about the Mac version of Office is that it has the 97-style menus as well as the ribbon.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Or even just searching the internet - several times recently I've struggled to get Google to give me what I wanted because it thinks it knows better.

Sue Cowley@suecowley.bsky.social

Getting anything done when dealing with big companies has become so much harder since AI. Before you can speak to a human being you have to wade through endless 'digital assistant' nonsense. Half an hour of my time wasted on this today.

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

When you click on the option to "see less like this", how does Bluesky determine what "like this" means? I'm just about to do it to a picture of a dog, but will that mean no more pictures of dogs, or will it think that I've taken against the owner?

Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

Your phone gives you more of what you look at, so I mostly see things about computing, music, and the odd academic paper or article about Rosalía, but I can see how it could turn bad. Australia is right to want people to opt out of the "algorithm". www.androidauthority.com/pause-point-...

androidauthority.comGoogle's latest anti-doomscrolling tool is shedding its Pixel exclusivityGoogle originally launched Digital Wellbeing's Pause Point as a Pixel-exclusive feature, and it's now spreading to other phones.
Computing in a Nutshell
@advanced-ict.info

I always wondered why Colombian coffee had such a distinctive flavour when it's the same variety as coffee from elsewhere, but this was on offer last week and has a similar tang.