>> A lot of discussion here on college educations, my 0.02.
>> 1) I don't expect New College Grads (NCG's) to know a lot, I expect them to
>> know how to find something out that they don't know and how to power
>> through bull s**t type work. I also expect them to know the basic theory
> Please note that the 2 people I was moaning about earlier (one wanted a
> 362.83 Ohm resistor for his LED, the other couldn't grasp '5V across
> 4.7kOhms is a little more than a milliamp') were EEs.
Thats bad - he should at least have taken a class about
resistor networks to build his needed one in a 3D configuration :)
>> 2) I don't expect CS majors to be taught assembly, per se. In case you
> Oh, IMHO all CS students should have some idea as to what the 'computer'
> they are writing programs for actually is. And that means having some
> idea of digital electronics and assembly language. I find using tools
> that you don't fully understand is a darn good way to produce poor code
> (or whatever).
So, you're just talking about the usual way , and why languages
like C++ are so popular ...
>> A fun exercise (in a nerdly sort of way) is to presume you've been dumped
>> onto some raw continent with nothing but your brains and underpants, now
>> build a PDP-8. (You can assume that you will have food and shelter.)
> Hmm... I'd rather build a relay logic machine. Drawing the copper wire
> for the coils would be painful but possible. Similarly making soft iron
> cores and armatures. A lot easier than trying to make transistors, anyway.
In fact, I think I would try to go for a more mechanical
device - so I don't have the problem to create a power
source and _stable_ voltage wich again includes semiconductors
or other kinds of very delicate equipment like mercury rectifiers.
>> One of the things that struck me about a 'dead' PC I was attempting to fix
>> was that the BIOS flash had been zorched and a) Not only was their no way
>> to recover the bios but b) the chipset used was both non-standard and made
>> by a now non-existent company who left behind no records. Talk about
> Thankfully the BIOS on this PC is in OTP EPROMs, and I have the official
> source listings anyway. Ditto schematics of everything but the hard disk.
> This machine can be repaired.
But independent of the chipset, one should be able to build a
minimal start up BIOS to launch a real mode DOS and then
a reprogramming is just some steps away.
>> and get it working again, when the engine computer on your car breaks, your
>> out of luck.
> Why do you think that when I get a car I am _not_ having any electronics
> anywhere enar the engine :-). Mechanical stuff I can understand and
> repair. Electronics I can understand, but there's no way I could make a
> custom chip at home.
Thats why I still drive a 1988 Skoda Rapid - no electronics.
Just imagine the finger print sensor of your new Mercedes
S-class care goes wild ... (But on the other hand, a CX25 TRI,
maybe as a 6 wheeler, is still a dream car ...)
Gruss
H.
--
Ich denke, also bin ich, also gut
HRK
Received on Thu Oct 22 1998 - 08:26:01 BST