Not much to blog about this weekend.
Btw I’m re-making the Splash page for Weikiat.NET. The current one seems too shitty. View the work in progress here!
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Loading ...Facebook@NUS
Wanna throw more than just a cow at your Friends on Facebook? You can!
The School of Computing will be offering a new 4-MC Facebook Programming module on next Semester (AY2007/2008, Semester 2) - CS3216 : Software Development on Evolving Platforms. This is your chance to be a part of this new global Internet phenomenon (Weikiat: This is NOT a new internet thingy. Facebook was founded THREE years back, in 2004. Only now did Singaporeans wake up to the existence of Facebook. Please, what you don’t know, doesn’t mean don’t exist.), currently valued at some US$15 billion. (Weikiat: Using money to attract students, eh?)
This new module is not your traditional software engineering course. Enrollment will be open to students of all faculties and students will work in small inter-disciplinary teams to create their killer Facebook applications. Programming experience for non-SoC students is not a pre-requisite (since work will be done in teams). (Weikiat: Teamwork = auto acquired programming skills? WTF?)
As it turns out, Trey Phillips , the winner of Facebook F8 Hackathon, is a philosophy major. This suggests that ANYONE without programming background can be a Facebook Developer. (Weikiat: I play violin, collect stamps, loves to slack. Does this mean that ANYONE who plays the violin, collect stamps or love to slack will be a programming material? What kind of logic is there!!! NUS!!) The nominal pre-requisite is thus CS1101, but students who do not have formal programming background but who have a keen interest in e-entrepreneurship or a background in design. (Weikiat: I can’t make sense of this sentence.) Students will not be assessed individually, but in groups, so individual programming proficiency will not be assessed. (Weikiat: So you don’t need to know programming to do a programming project:) Rather interesting. The only way I know of to achieve this is to rip others’ work from the internet.) Students need only to be able to contribute substantively to their team projects. (Weikiat: So who will end up doing the actual work?). The success of social networking applications depend a lot on the concept and execution rather than good programming ability. The students can develop their applications in their language of choice, but will likely use PHP or Ruby with mySQL. (Weikiat: So you say students no need programming experience, and then ask them to develope it in a language of their choice? Will they end up programming in Chinese? or English? Or Hindu? And you can even predict the language used!)
Assessment will be project-based and there will be no examination component. The course will begin with several lectures on the fundamentals of web development. Subsequently, students will work in teams to analyze and critique existing Facebook apps in a series of seminars. There will be three team-based assignments and a final team project of the students’ choice. Students are welcome to use this opportunity to develop applications that have commercial potential or can be used as entries to Startup@Singapore. (Weikiat: If apps developed a bunch of NUS students without any programming experience [people whom they claim to accept] can have commercial potential or be submitted to Startup@Singapore… oh well.. what is the world coming to? I am trying my best not to be too negative here. I may be wrong though.)
Places for the course in this initial offering will be limited and some places will be reserved for non-SoC students. To avoid timetable conflicts for students from other faculties and because we be inviting external experts to give occasional guest lectures, the lectures and seminars will be held on Monday evenings from 6.30 to 8.30 pm.
We expect that we will have more students who are keen to take this course than the available places. To ensure a diversity of talent and students have the necessary background for the course, places will not be assigned by CORS bidding. Instead, interested students are to submit a personal statement (with their matriculation number clearly stated) (Weikiat: I thought you said ANYONE can join, and in CAPS somemore? Now you admit that background is a factor.) to XXX@XXX.COM by 15 December 2007. Students will be informed by 26 December 2007 if they are offered a place in the upcoming offering of the new course (and students will automatically be pre-registered for CS3216 on CORS if their bid to take the class is successful).
The personal statement should address the following questions:
(i) Why do you want to take the course?
(ii) Describe your background and how you think it would enable you to contribute to the diversity and vibrancy of the new course and to the team projects.
(iii) Describe a cool Facebook app that you *really* want to build. Explain why you think your app is really cool.
Students are welcome to throw in a resume or portfolio of sorts if they think it would be helpful in demonstrating that they have what it takes to succeed in this new module. (Weikiat: I can do it. Once I tell them I am a philosophy major, you will sure let me in!)
Since this is the first time that we will be offering this module, an information session will be held at 4 pm on 16 November 2007 (Friday) in Seminar Room 3B (COM1/213). Interested students are welcome to come learn more about the course at the information session. A course information document with more details on the proposed course is also attached.
This is your chance to let your imagination run wild and do something cool — and add “Facebook Developer” to your resume while you’re at it!(Weikiat: Eeks! What the hell!)
The funny things aside,
I understand perfectly well what direction NUS is driving into. Cultivating creativity and embracing the latest change and developements in Web 2.0. However, by obviously trying to convince students without any necessary background that they can take part too, what are they thinking? Just state the fact. Something like “You need php or other relevant server side programming language for this project. If you do not know, but have the passion, creativity, and a killer idea which you think will bring you to the stars, you may team up with others with similar drive but also with programming prowess.” Won’t that be better than saying that ANYONE can do the job, just because the winner of that competition majors in something else?
I believe the rationale of creating this course is good, and will benefit the students. I applaud their initiative. I sincerely hope that NUS will recover swiftly from the current low ranking.
But this notice they put up? Its a big joke.
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Loading ...Took a bunch of photos with Zombie at One-North today. Its for a photographic competition. I haven’t decide which photo to submit yet though.
http://picasaweb.google.com/tayweikiat/OneNorth
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Loading ...Earlier, I wrote a short tutorial here on how to modify existing Windows XP to look like Windows Vista.
However, a key thing in Vista which I failed to emulate was the glassy transparent effect. Actually, I have tested various solutions, but they all seemed to be too much of a resource hog, so I’ve decided not to introduce them.
Today I came across this cool application, called “True Transparency” that adds the glassy effect to all your windows and uses only a few hundred KB of your RAM. That is freaking Amazing.
Introducing, True Transparency.
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I’ve made a simple two player racing game hidden inside Microsoft Word.
To play, download and open the file, and when prompted by Microsoft Office, choose to enable macro. When the document loads, you will see a big button with the words “Click to play”. Click on the button and the game will appear.
The objective of the game is to race. The car that first reaches the other side of the window wins. To make the green car move, press the “A” and “S” button continuously. To move the pink car, press “K” and “L”. The game will commence once both players are whacking at their respective keys. As you move, a power meter will appear and charge up. Once full, the player can activate the power (instruction provided within the game), to give the player’s car a slight boost, while the opponent car will be slammed backwards.
Have fun whacking away at your keyboard!
Note: The cars in the game are drawn by my girlfriend
Disclaimer: The creator is not responsible for any spoilt keyboard that was the result of over-zealous players.
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Loading ...A very cool looking oldish indian music video apparently had spawned many many hilarious interpretations of its lyrics. Enjoy the original video first.
Then look at the following “translated” ones
“Salad” version
“I want to put you inside me” version
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Loading ...First was this video being posted on Youtube.
Then Singaporeans cried out and make noise all over the net that 3 Brits bullied our old man. Is it really bully? The trishaw was really travelling too freaking slow for the Brits. And Mr Lee did not know they were unhappy that the trishaw was too slow. He only knew that the Brits were laughing happily on his trishaw, and he laughed along with them, saying “hap-pi!”
Those being ferried on a trishaw consitute to “bullying”?
If you look into the past, trishaw is a mode of transport commonly used by the rich. The trishaw was often driven by someone of lower social status then the passenger. Singapore Tourism Board retain this “trishaw” thing as a kind of tourism attraction. They see the trishaw as a form of Singapore historical culture that they can use to tout or exhibit to tourists. When tourists ride on the trishaw, it inevitably gives them a form of “higher” social status, makes them feel more superior than the “local natives”, a feeling that human being love to have to boast their ego. Isn’t it the same thing when Singaporeans visit more underdeveloped countries like Thailand, China, etc. They go there and ride on trishaw there powered by old man from those countries. The only difference is Thailand and China didn’t complain that we go there and “bully” their old man.
Shouldn’t Singaporeans use their brains and question whether trishaws should be taken out from Singapore altogether, instead of scolding the 3 Brits (something much easier to do, and which gives Singaporeans a false sense of righteousness they so need in such a mess up society).
However, trishaws cannot be removed. It drives Singapore’s Tourism. It gives old people job (and there will be more and more poor old people in the future, especially those who have retired and have not yet reach the golden age of 85). It preserves a form of historical culture.
While I certainly do not endores the Brit’s immature behavior (to which many Brits have commented were due to their education system), Singapore’s behavior with regards to this issue is shameful as well. Everyone wanting to have a say. Everyone wanting to shame those Brits. Everyone complaining and kao-peiing without even holding the issue inside their brains for a little more than 0 seconds.
The issue of not paying? Its easily explainable. Unlike Singapore where the consumers are ultimately the losers (lousy goods return policies etc), retail stores in countries like the UK and the USA have very good return policies that allows consumers to return goods they have bought but do not find to their satisfaction, most of the time with just a small token “re-stocking” fee. These 3 Brits rided on the trishaw, find it not to their satisfaction, and hence do not pay. By their standard, it is not wrong.
Although strong emotions immerge when watching the above video, it is sometime important to be clear headed and think through things.
This issue brings to shame 3 Brits. But looking at the immature response by many Singaporeans, it brings to shame the whole of Singapore.
Please listen to what uncle Lee has to say. He is not angry over the incident anymore. Why should other Singaporeans be? Unless they are very kpo, and still insist on showing their self delusional sense of false righteousness.
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