* Posts by Garfunkle

8 publicly visible posts • joined 29 Nov 2016

This'll make you feel old: Uni compsci favourite Pascal hits the big five-oh this year

Garfunkle

Current systems written in Pascal

It isn't used very widely anymore, but it's worth mentioning that there _are_ current successful commercial systems that are written in Pascal, such as FL Studio, a widely used music production suite, with over 10 million downloads each year of it's trial version.

In Rust, we lust: Security-focused super-C++ language still most loved among Stack Overflow denizens

Garfunkle

Re: Five ways to initialise a variable?

I agree. Computing isn't necessarily complex. But the goal of C++ is to allow you to build systems that _are_ complex. It requires that it provides powerful abstraction mechanisms, such as the template system. Also, a goal of C++ is to allow you to write performant programs, where you always know that you _can_ get close to the metal if you really need to. I think it's the combination of these two things that, more or less automatically, leads to the inherent complexity of C++. It's, as you say, as complex as it needs to be, for the purpose that it's aiming to fulfill.

Official: Perl the most hated programming language, say devs

Garfunkle

It's a career positioning thing, not a like/dislike thing

The conclusions are somewhat flawed, I think...

It's not a measure of how well developers like a particular language. It's a measure of how beneficial they think it would be to add a particular language to their CV.

It's a career positioning thing, more than a like/dislike thing.

On their like list people will put the most hyped technologies of the day (because they want to be on the correct bandwagon, career wise). On their dislike list they will put what's perceived as "old and boring". Things that they think might hurt their careers, rather than advance it. That's what this measures, really.

Linux-loving lecturer 'lost' email, was actually confused by Outlook

Garfunkle

I won't say that it was "entirely his fault for having such a non-standard workflow". It was just as much your own fault, for not having the wisdom, the intelligence or the experience to realize that users will do all kinds of stuff...

It's a 50/50 case. You were at fault, he was at fault.

It's important to remember that users are never at fault for not having the same amount of IT-knowledge as you do yourself. If they did have the same amount, they'd be doing your job, and they'd be your colleagues.

Microsoft dumps mobility from its Vision

Garfunkle

"Our strategy is to build best-in-class platforms and productivity services for an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge infused with artificial intelligence (“AI”)."

It's uncanny how Dilbert-esque these statements are...

‘Artificial Intelligence’ was 2016's fake news

Garfunkle

I loved the article. It reflects the sentiments that I've had myself about this for quite some time...

Parts of the advances in the use of convolutional neural networks for pattern recognition have been impressive in their own right, I think.

But, there's leap of enormous proportions from advanced pattern recognition to actual simulated intelligence. The two are on different planets altogether, so to speak, which is what most media articles seem to miss out on when they cover this topic.

It's good to finally see at least one article which puts this thing right. :)

AI brains take a step closer to understanding speech just like humans

Garfunkle

Strongly linked to full general AI

I think this goal is strongly linked to full general AI...

It's because of the context sensitivity in our understanding of human language. One word can mean one thing in one context, and another thing in another context. Words vary in meaning, with everything from slight variation to extreme variation, depending upon the context which they're uttered in.

Because of this, in order for a computer to understand language fully, like a human being, the computer will also have to understand the world fully (or, at least as fully as a normally intelligent human being would understand it today).

It means that this goal cannot possibly be reached fully until we've also fully simulated the whole general intelligence of human beings, in all it's breadth and in all it's depth...

Microsoft's Neon project to redesign Windows for nerd goggles – reports

Garfunkle

Re: They don't learn, do they?

Spot on!

Microsoft's problem is that they let too senior executives decide too much when it comes to selecting new trends and technologies for the company to go for.

They should let younger people within the company play a larger part in staking out the company's future, I think.

Your comparison is apt, because the senior executives, like dads, will try to be hip. And they may think that "they still got it", even when it's obvious that they don't.

There has been a few senior executives who still "had it", even at old age. I think Steve Jobs was one of them. But, generally, an executive's ability to "feel the pulse" of the technology world will sort of wane as he gets older. As a company, Microsoft should realize this, and be more wary of letting too senior board members be too key in deciding which new trends or technologies to go for. They should acknowledge that it's mostly a young persons game, even if it's not always the case.