Interesting tutorial on Floating-point arithmetic.  It is imperative that we recall that a floating-point value, (double-precision, quadrupal precision, or otherwise) is not able to truly capture the irrational numbers (PI, square root of two, etc.) that sometimes pervade our lives and our need to compute.  No, floating-point is an approximation and a short-hand that is “good enough.”  Viz:

significant digits × base^exponent

Why, you might ask, does this matter?  Well, for students of Computer Information Systems, it is important to understand both the power and limitations of your tools.  Moreover, consider the power and problems associated with such programs as they deal with complex algorithms related to financial, or perhaps scientific, matters.  Look at Fabrice Tourre’s story:  a mathematician and Stanford Operations Research graduate; he knew quite well the power of programming as a tool for implementing the forecasting models and “exotic financial instruments” which have caused such a stir.  The programs written to implement credit default swaps and other similar tools are all subject to the inherent drawbacks of the floating-point implementation in computing.  This is so as our machines for calculating are ultimately limited in their ability to express the depth of rational numbers.

None of this is to say that the limits of the floating point are the cause of this (or any other) financial crisis, but it is important to understand what your tools are capable of (and what they are not).  So, be mindful of what every CIS student should know about floating-point numbers.

Here are some photos from the Spring 2010 Student trip to Cisco and Walgreen’s.  The experience was phenomenal and we owe a debt of gratitude to all who facilitated this opportunity.

Dr. Babb

Free and Opensource Software frameworks continue to impress, astound and change the game.  Whereas it is a challenge to keep up with programming for the “cloud” and Web x.0, the amazing and ongoing development of FOSS is somehow making it easier, more extensible and easier to “grok.”  This semester, I have been working with several students on standing up an applications in Drupal and the we’ve found the depth and breadth of Drupal quite impressive.

Quickly, check out these Drupal implementations:

http://openatrium.com/ (Open Atrium – a very cool FOSS groupware)

http://mapbox.com/ (think Google Maps and Earth are cool?  think some more…)

http://groups.drupal.org/aegir-hosting-system (manage many Drupal sites to extend your part of the cloud)

In the wake of these and other frameworks, I am left wondering what the utility of “ground-up” development is for today’s CIS student.  Don’t get me wrong, a sound foundation in the logical, data and mathematical foundations of programming is imperative, but I think we should be “tilting” at the quick and rapid utilization of these FOSS frameworks oriented to accessing and co-opting the cloud.  I think of a recent Wired interview I read with Mark Zuckerberg who said something to the effect of: “I wasn’t interested in programming machines, I was interested in programming systems.”  This systems perspective is exactly what the CIS student is tuned into.

Dr. Babb

http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/15/samsung-issues-warnings-about-3-d-tv/?hpt=T2

Samsung warns that excessive use of 3D-TVs can cause disorientation so severe, that one could fall off the couch. Also:

“Pregnant women, drunk people and “those who are sleep deprived” should not watch 3-D television because of potential health issues, electronics manufacturer Samsung says on its Web site.”

“Viewing in 3-D may cause disorientation for some viewers,” the warning says. “Accordingly, DO NOT place your TV television near open stairwells, cables, balconies, or other objects that can be tripped over, run into, knocked down, broken or fallen over.”

The department of Information and Decision Management at West Texas A&M University would like to congratulate the participants in the 2010 Immersion Excursion.This year, 14 hand selected outstanding IDM students participated in a five hour tour of Cisco’s campus in Dallas. Participants were exposed to Cisco’s new product testing facility, got to experience upcoming communications products, and we treated to a HD teleconference with Cisco’s San Jose headquarters. They also got to see the Cisco’s largest data center. The students conducted themselves with a level of professionalism and preparedness which reflects well on the WTAMU IDM department.

Following the Cisco trip, participants toured Walgreen’s regional distribution center in Dallas. Students were exposed to a variety of complex technology and machinery, including very large and very small robots, security and supply chain management systems.

The immersion excursion is an annual trip sponsored by the IDM department at WTAMU. The trip serves three purposes. First to recognize and reward exceptional CIS students who aspire to be an active part of a world class organization. Second, to expose these students to the corporate environment and professional culture that drives these cutting edge organizations. Finally the immersion excursion serves as an opportunity for the IDM department to showcase its best and brightest students to potential recruiters, with the goal of building relationships that will benefit all parties involved.

The 2010 participants were:

Brad Kent
Yuri Chavira
Salvador Gomez
Nathan Tarrant
Edgar Cardenas
Ivan Cardenas
Becca Boyer
Skyler Schmidt
Brenton Thurber
Laura Castro
Dustin Hume
Brandon Boyd
Eyoel Mengesha
Kolten Wilder

Congratulations on a successful immersion excursion!

The IDM department would also like to thank the faculty who made the trip possible: Amjad Abdullat, Christopher Furner, Mark Keith, Jeff Babb, De’Arno De’Armond, James Webb and Shawna Simmons.

Greetings Folks. For those of you who are CIS majors and have an interest in Cyber Security, Dakota State University is running a good symposium, funded by the National Science Foundation.

It’s a competitive event, with only around 30 students accepted around the country. However, it’s relatively new and not well advertised, so I think a few WT students might get a chance. Plus, we have a connection to DSU, as the son of their Department Head works at WT.

They will pay for roundtrip transportation, meals and give you a place to stay (I’m guessing it’s a dorm). They will also give you a $4,140 stipend, so it’s not a bad gig.

The downside is: You will have to spend spend 9 weeks in South Dakota learning about cybersecurity. It’s quite an honor to be accepted, so I would encourage anyone who is eligible to apply.

Requirements:

1. You need to be a US citizen or legal resident
2. You need to be a Sophomore or Junior CIS major
3. You need a 3.0 GPA or better

You can find more information and http://dsu-dsc03.dsu.edu/reu/application.aspx

The application deadline is April 10, so I would get your application in ASAP.

Best of Luck!

The WT Tech Club has met twice so far this semester: once to elect new officers and once to work on their website (http://www.cis.wtamu.edu/techclub/), which is coming along nicely (thank you Geogria Romig!).  I’m just posting to share a few pictures of the faces of the WT Tech Club.  Check out the Tech Club website for future happenings.

Feb 18th Officer’s Election Meeting:

Salvador Speaks

and the club listens…

…and more are listening. 

Feb 27th Website Design Meeting:

Tech Clubbers Intently Planning

Remember to turn up for the future Tech Club activities!  We’re having fun!

Dr. Babb

Congratulations to the 2010 nominees for the third CIS Immersion Excursion.

This year, we are bringing 14 hand selected CIS students to Dallas to visit CISCO and Walgreen’s distribution center.  This year’s participants are:

• Brad Kent
• Yuri Chavira
• Salvador Gomez
• Nathan Tarrant
• Edgar Cardenas
• Ivan Cardenas
• Rebecca Boyer
• Skyler Schmidt
• Brenton Thurber
• Laura Castro
• Dustin Hume
• Brandon Boyd
• Eyoel Mengesha
• K.C. Wilder

Participants are nominated by a committee of professors based on their performance in the classroom and our appraisals of their career potential.  This year, we had a very big list of candidates, stemming from our large freshmen class, so those who didn’t make the final cut this year will still be considered next year.

This is the 3^rd immersion excursion. In 2009, 10 students traveled to Houston to vist a HP server manufacturing facility and the NASA space center.  In 2008, 10 students traveled to Seattle to visit Microsoft and Boeing.

Besides direct exposure to some of our recruiters, students get a feel for how things work in the real world, and receive a certificate recognizing that they were hand selected for outstanding achievement.

Congratulations, stay tuned for pictures.

We’ve been working on an iPhone Application for the IDM Department for a few months now and we are excited to release a version to the Apple iTunes App Store soon!  Dustin Hume and I have been working very hard on this App and the App (and our iPhone skills) is steadily improving.  We’ll make another announcement here when it’s uploaded and accepted to the App Store.  Once it’s out, please give it a try and give us feedback. 

Dr. Babb