Knowing That You Know Wrong

Dr. Knutson has mentioned the following a number of times in class:

1. "Everything I know I believe to be true."

2. "I believe that something I know is incorrect."

That's not exactly verbatim, but hopefully you understand the situation he's trying to portray with these two statements.

1. If he "knows" something, then he believes it's true.

2. There are things he accepts as "knowledge" that may actually be false.

His presentation of the two statements seems paradoxical at first, but I suggest that with just a little expounding and clarification, it really isn't that confusing.

Consider the following two statements:

1. Everything I now "know" I hold to be true, based on past experience and/or knowledge transfer from a source I consider trustworthy.

2. If at any point new experiences lead me to a different conclusion or a previously trusted source loses credibility, I will modify my "knowledge" to account for these changes so that they are in agreement with the first statement.

Granted they're a bit longer and not as paradoxical sounding as the first set of statements, but I feel this may clarify what Dr. Knutson has been trying to say. Consider the two ideas in comparison. Do you think my interpretation is accurate?

Dr. Knutson: "Everything I know I hold true. I know something I hold true is false."

My Interpretation: "Everything I know I hold true, unless I'm sufficiently proven wrong. Then I'll willingly accept the new knowledge and truth."

That's all. Just had to get that out of my system. I felt as though he were trying to complicate an idea that was relatively simple. Your thoughts?

Windows 8 Metro Apps - Why We Need a Close Button

Original Article - IT Topics

Operating system developers design their programs to offer a simple interface for the end-user. While this principle of simplicity can lead to a number of improvements, it can also encroach on the sense of control granted to the users, specifically power users. While average users are satisfied with a system running free of problems, power users aren’t satisfied until they’ve tweaked the settings and enabled/disabled functionalities to their liking. Aside from simplicity, power users also expect customizability and a sense of control from their operating systems. In the case of the new “Metro Apps” for Windows 8, developers sacrificed control for simplicity. As stated in the article, the decision to suspend apps instead of closing them in Windows 8 “save[s] system resources, but once a user switches back it’s almost instantly there again.” However, by removing the ability to close apps, the developers implicitly assume that users intend to revisit every app they’ve opened in that session. This annoys a number of power users because the system allocates a lifetime of resources to an app that he/she will only open once. In order to restore the lost sense of control, Windows Developers should allow users to manually close apps when they’re finished, or leave them open if they intend to revisit them.

Windows 8 has already shown the potential to surpass its predecessors in performance (see Lifehacker – Windows 8 Speed Tests) and the new touch-friendly interface which incorporates the metro apps secures it a place in the growing tablet market. By finding a good balance between simplicity and control, Microsoft can earn back the trust of users that it lost during the Vista years.

NOTE: It is possible to manually close metro apps in Windows 8. It requires the user to terminate the process (the software equivalent of unplugging a computer). This can be done by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL, selecting "Task Manager," right-clicking the name of the app you wish to close and choosing "End Task."

This article was written for BYU CS404, for the current events assignment due Sept. 27th.

Windows 8 Developer's Preview Is Out and FREE!

Installing it now. I'll update this after I've messed around with it some more.

Updated: So Windows 8 is basically a mobile operating system on top of a normal operating system. It can run both normal programs or "Metro Apps" (which run in "mobile operating system mode"). The fun thing about the apps is... you can't close them. They just run. In the background. Forever. Unless you open your task manager and manually terminate the process.

Anyways, there are some cool things about it and at least it recognized my video card. The OS isn't even in Beta yet so I'm impressed about that.

P.S.

You can download it yourself here: Windows Metro Style Apps Developer Downloads

Or if you're in one of my classes and would like the 64-bit version without developer tools, comment below and I can give you the copy I already downloaded.

Customer support from the masses, for the masses

Original Article - Kotaku

YouTube users "BlueXephos" and "Honeydew" discover the "no-clip" bug in the game Dead Island

Ease of communication through the internet can bring out the good nature of users in online communities. The quality of user-to-user assistance rivals the service of professional technical support. Examples of this can be seen with the release of “Dead Island” (mentioned in the article), “Fallout: New Vegas” (another game plagued with bugs upon release), and even various Windows operating systems. Noncommercial factors motive the users of these online communities to fix bugs the original programmers missed and even further optimize performance. One factor is the individual commitment to software. An end-user's investment in software pushes him/her to get the most use out of it (even if it requires the opening of data files to fix it). Another factor is the desire to contribute, stand out and prove our individual worth in groups (especially in this case with online communities). If an end-user discovers a bug fix or optimization for a program, he/she won't hide this newfound knowledge. Instead, the end-user shares it with friends, coworkers, online community members, or anyone else who could benefit from it. Even though the act may be selfless, helping others always provides a boost to one's self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. The combination of these two factors fuels end-users to band together and solve problems when software companies come up short.

This article was written for BYU CS404, for the current events assignment due Sept. 20th.

Bioware Posts Character Design Decisions to Open Vote on Facebook

Original Article Link - The Escapist

Bioware, a division of Electronic Arts and creator of the popular series Mass Effect, recently setup a Facebook page which allowed users to vote on the default character design of the female version of the game's protagonist, Commander Shepard. Games from the Mass Effect Series are incredibly story-driven and allow players to customize their protagonist even more than a character from The Sims...

Mass Effect vs. The Sims Character Creation Screens. What is "Cheek Gaunt?"

According to Bioware's statistics, 83% of all player customize their character, 13% use the default male design, leaving only a small 4% that actually use the default female design. So from a business perspective, why go through the trouble of creating a public vote for something that only 4% of the player-base will use? I believe the answer is free publicity through social networking. The voting pages (Round 1, Round 2) required Facebook users to first "Like" the Mass Effect 2 group, then "Like" a picture in their photo album in order to cast a vote. As users of Facebook are already aware, these "Likes" permeate the side bar and advertising space of the user's friends, granting Bioware free advertising for their upcoming game, at the small cost of rendering and posting a few images on Facebook. Also, by using a public vote on a social networking site, players feel empowered because they feel they have a say in the decisions of the company. The downside is that those who do not win feel alienated and ignored. For the 23,841 players that didn't get the character design of their choice, the loss is small and somewhat trivial. However, basing more crucial, design-related decisions on public opinion would most certainly divide the fan-base and deter the losing side from purchasing the product. Therefore, while I applaud Bioware's attempt to listen to and connect with its supports, I discourage them or any other company from trusting the public opinion of "The Internets" for important design decisions.

This article was written for BYU CS404, for the current events assignment due Sept. 13th.

Hello World

public void startBlog(){
    System.out.println("Hello World");
    if(1+1 == 2){
        System.out.println("Welcome To My New Blog!");
    } else {
        while(1)
            System.out.println("Oh crap!");
    }
}