02.26.07
Posted in Information Systems/Technology at 1:19 pm by Paul Ambrose
The prestigious A.M. Turing award for computing for 2006 was awarded to Frances E. Allen. Frances worked for IBM for over 40 years and was recognized for her pioneering contributions to the theory and practice of optimizing compiler techniques. Her work laid the foundation for modern optimizing compilers and automatic parallel execution.
This is the first time this award has been given to a woman. Past recipients include Edgar Codd, the father of relational database theory. Congrats Frances!
More information about Frances Allen and the Turing awards can be found here.
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02.22.07
Posted in Information Systems/Technology at 1:40 pm by Paul Ambrose
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
We may remember this famous one liner from Winston Churchill’s speech in the House of Commons in 1940 praising the Royal Air Force for its valiant effort in defending England during the Battle of Britain. A variation of this one liner came to mind when I read the article Getting Rich off Those Who Work for Free" (article may have been removed a month after publication) on the whole open source movement in Time Magazine (February 15, 2007) recently.
“Never in the field of human commerce was so much owed by so few to so many.”
The open source movement is a volunteer driven software development effort, where individuals develop small portions of the software at their own time and expense. Popular software such as Linux (operating system), Firefox (web browser), Audacity (digital audio editor), CDex (audio CD ripper), and the list goes on, resulted from the open source movement. But this movement also opens up opportunities for some individuals and even established companies to profit at the expense of this free, but unbonded labor. Justin Fox’s article in Time was certainly an interesting read. Maybe it time for some of us to start conniving like that select few……
Additional resources
Wikipedia articles on:
- Open source movement
- Open Source Software
- List of Open Source Software
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02.19.07
Posted in Information Systems/Technology at 4:31 pm by Paul Ambrose
- Computing drives innovation in the sciences (human genome project, AIDS vaccine research, environmental monitoring and protection just to mention a few), so if you want to make a positive difference in the world, study computing.
- Computing majors will provide you with a foundational knowledge of problem solving and logical thinking that will be helpful to you no matter what you choose to do in life.
- Computing technology is part of just about everything that touches our lives; from the cars we drive, to the movies we watch, to the ways banks and governments deal with us. Understanding computer science is part of the necessary skill set for an educated person in this century. Whether you want to be a scientist, develop the latest killer application, or just know what it really means when someone says “the computer made a mistake”, studying computing will provide you with valuable knowledge.
- Computing jobs are among the highest paid and have the highest job satisfaction.
- Contrary to popular belief there are more, and not fewer jobs. U.S. IT employment was 17% higher in 2004 than in 1999. Computing also has the greatest potential for new jobs through 2014.
- Contrary to what some people believe, computer scientists are real people. They have lives. They have friends. They do not sit in a cubicle pounding out code 18 hours per day.
- You do not have to be a nerd to be a computer scientist. You do not have to to live, eat, and breathe computing to be a good computer scientist. You can have a life, relationships, a family.
- Computing is not about being a lone wolf. It is about being part of a team that requires people with many different kinds of skills.
- An increasing number of universities and employers see successful completion of a computer science course as a sign of academic well-roundedness.
- Computing is one of those fields where it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next. This is why we cannot even begin to imagine all the ways that you can make a contribution to it and it can make your life’s work exciting and real.
(courtesy: Association for Computing Machinery)
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