Wiki needed

Jun. 1st, 2010 10:42 pm
asterroc: (Astro - H-alpha)
I'm looking for a wiki that allows entering and editing complex math formulae (like Mediawiki, I don't care if it's WYSWYG or LaTeX-like), but hosted on their servers (like PBWorks) for an online Physics course that I'm developing for the Spring. My goal is to have the students collaboratively write their own outlines and study sheets.
I had a Googling question which I found the answer to right after making the post, but keeping this up for posterity.

Original question )

Solution ) the article that I wanted.
Dear Internet,

In October I am going to be applying for an equipment grant to buy a tablet PC for classroom use. Said tablet must run on Windows (XP Pro preferred), and required software is listed below (that is, those softwares that will require purchase).


  • MS Office 2007 (Word, Excel, Powerpoint)

  • MS Outlook

  • MS Frontpage (yeah, I know, take it up with my IT)

  • Camtasia

  • Adobe/Macromedia Flash

  • Typical tablet softwarez



I will need sufficient RAM-power to run Camtasia in record mode during Powerpoint presentations, and I really want a surplus, not just barely enough. So my question for M. Internet, is manifold.


  1. What are the minimum specs for a tablet PC that can do what I want?

  2. What are the maximum specs out there now, as of October (when I'll be submitting the grant), and as of December (when I'd be getting the money)?

  3. What is the cost of such systems?

  4. What's the best brand or specific model of tablets? I'm looking for reliability, good customer support, and sturdy (as I'll be lugging it to school and back daily).

  5. What else am I forgetting to ask?



Thanks for any advice you might give this poor confused prof.

Sincerely,

Zandperl

Puzzles!

Nov. 17th, 2006 08:44 am
To warm up for the MIT Mystery Hunt, try your hand at identifying these objects, and also seeing how far you can get at this puzzle. For the latter, no cheating - you can find all the answers via Google, but you shouldn't. It's ok to use it as a tool to get to the answers though.

Soundbyte

Nov. 15th, 2006 05:05 pm
A gov't sponsored study says that only 1% of the internet is porn. Huh, go figure!

In other news, Toys for Tots rejected Jesus dolls.

Michael La Roe, director of business development for [the manufacturer/donating company], said the charity's decision left him "surprised and disappointed."

"The idea was for them to be three-dimensional teaching tools for kids," La Roe said. "I believe as a churchgoing person, anyone can benefit from hearing the words of the Bible."

According to the company's Web site, the button-activated, bearded Jesus, dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals, recites Scripture such as "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." It has a $20 retail value.

[Bill] Grein [VP of the Marine Toys for Tots program] questioned whether children would welcome a gift designed for religious instruction.

"Kids want a gift for the holiday season that is fun," he said.
Not the best written petition, but it's a start. Go sign.

Press

Oct. 20th, 2006 09:58 pm
Huh, Coulton's been getting a lot of press, I just realized. To start off his year, he's been slashdotted, wanged, and Boston Globe-ed. Wow, what's next? I do hope he plays at PAX next year, that'll make him.
asterroc: (*Hyuk!*)
A VTOL plane is being auctioned on EBay. The FAQs include such gems as:

Q: Hi, would it be possible on this caft to mount and use small firearms?

A: Again, the M400X is a prototype, which we developed to demonstrate basic powered-lift capabilities. With its new engines it is anticipated to have a higher payload capacity, but to spend that payload on weapons seems completely illogical. Putting weapons on a final production version of the Skycar, should we be able to produce one, MIGHT be an option, but even then it would seem to be a less than optimum use of the aircraft projected capabilities.

Q: i would also like to build a VTOL aircraft such as this . can you please provide me with instructions so that i may build one at home for my own personal use ? i will compensate you with a generous donation of $5.00 US .

A: We do not plan to offer the M400 in kit form. Consulting services are available at the rates posted on our web site. Over the past 40 years Dr. Moller, Moller International and our shareholders have invested about $65 million into this project, in todays dollars that would be about $200 million.

Q: what after market parts are available, can i get screaming eagle exhausts and a dyno stage 3 kit for it and will i be able to attach nitros oxcide to it to make it go faster.......also is there any chrome parts to make it look more 'blingy'...........

A: We are not aware of any firm offering aftermarket parts for our vehicle.

Q: I don't mind paying good money for a prototype but the DMV just informed me that they would'nt grant a registration for this vehicle in my state due to the fact that their is no possible emission standards test for this thing. Do you have any suggestions?

A: I would not expect any DMV to license a prototype aircraft for use on public roadways at this point, but we are in discussions with the legislature and various other goverment agencies and departments here in California regarding the future requirements for licensing and use of Personal Air Vehicles including the Skycar. We hope that California will lead the way in this area, as they have done in so many other areas. In preliminary tests of our Rotapower engine here at our facilities, the emissions characteristics appear very good...with early results that meet CARB SULEV standards on ethanol fuel. It remains to be seen if we can achieve these levels with the implementation of the new Rotapower engines in the Skycar.

Q: I am interested in buying this car but am worried about the insurance costs. Could you reccomend a good broker who would insure it?

A: While it may be possible, we do not feel that is economically feasible to maintain insurance on the Skycar prototype that would cover flight operations. As a static display, insurance may be easily obtained through any number of firms.

Q: You really want somebody to pay this much for this item and all you can show is one lousy picture. Is there anyway you can add some more pictures? Close up ones would be nice.

A: More pictures and videos are available at our web site. Please feel free to take a look. You can find us by using Moller Skycar as the search criteria with any search engine on the Internet.

Q: Does the Sky Car come with any weapons as standard? If not are there any options to have added a pair of side winders?

A: The M400X Skycar prototype is not equipped with any weapons, and we believe that with an effective payload goal of 750 lbs that it would provide limited functionality as a weapons platform. We believe a better military application would be for search and rescue, medivac, etc. There has been some preliminary interest in these applications from the US military, but no sustained interest leading to a formal proposal or direct funding.

Q: When was the air conditioning last checked ?

A: The Skycar prototype does not have air conditioning. The flight tests are conducted with the canopy off, to facilitate emergency access to the cockpit area.


Oh man, I'm falling over laughing! Thanks [livejournal.com profile] jrtom, I needed that. ^_^

RSS

Oct. 9th, 2006 10:46 pm
Alrighty now, who's got an LJ RSS feed thingit for gabeart, or do I need to learn how to set one up?

Ayup, and there it is: [livejournal.com profile] gabeart
I have an unusually spelled name. If you go to GoodSearch, Google, Yahoo, or MSN, or whatever search engine you prefer, and type in my name, without quotes even, 95% of the hits are me. The bottom of the second page you start to get some questionable ones, things about spaceships with my name on them and wikis and lesbians, but even then I suspect they may be me anyway. (This is why I discourage those of you in cyberland who know my full name from POSTING it, or even parts of it.)

Today I searched on my name, via Google and found an astronomy forum post - my name, astronomy, gotta be me. The original forum is down (at least right now), but Google archives everything. It read...


I've got Zandperl Lastname to thank for my love of astronomy- THANK YOU ZANDPERL!!! I was so lucky to get a teacher like her.


OMG. *blush* That's awesome! I want the forum to come back up so I can troll and see if I can figure out who this is. It's not clear what year it was posted, but the person joined the forums in March 2004, so it could've been from anywhere...

ETA:
The forum's back up. They're from Rochester - making it possibly when I TA'd as an undergrad though unlikely since I wasn't the only one in charge of the astro classes, or possibly one of the astrocamps I did back at my Alma Mater, but not guaranteed. Their LJ name is [livejournal.com profile] gefilte_ghoti, and they're on various "spacefem" -named things, making me think it's a Jewish girl.

ETAA
Their only LJ friend just posted a survey with all their biographical info. As that person is 19, it is likely that [livejournal.com profile] gefilte_ghoti is as well, making her an astrocamper, or a nerdcamper.

And with that, I'm stumped. A virtual cookie to the first person to identify [livejournal.com profile] gefilte_ghoti for me!

NikeTunes

Sep. 16th, 2006 06:12 pm
asterroc: (*Hyuk!*)
iTunes 7 comes with the capability to synch your shoes.

Nike + iPod requires the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, an iPod nano with software version 1.2 or later, and Nike+ ready shoes. To see your workout data on nikeplus.com, you must have an Internet connection and a free Nike.com account. For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/nikeplus/.

Free crap

Aug. 18th, 2006 03:34 pm
I don't know whether this is an awesome idea, or a horrible one. According to The Stranger, you can go to Focus on the Family's website and order free crap from pamphlets on how to stop homosexuality, to copies of the Narnia DVD - just click on the "Resources" button above the Search box in the left bar. Although there's suggested donations, apparently you don't actually have to pay.

The dilemma I have now is, do I try and bankrupt them, or do I inadvertantly support them by doing so?

Yoinked from [livejournal.com profile] kadath
Toogle vs. Google image search. Toogle takes your phrase and does a Google image search on it, and takes its first hit and makes it into color ascii art using the test you entered. If you're confused about what you're seeing, throw the phrase into the Google image search to figure it out. I doubt it does it real-time, b/c the image isn't always the first Google image hit.

Webbys

Jun. 14th, 2006 11:12 am
For a chuckle, check out the Webbys acceptance speeches - apparently they were instructed to limit to 5 words, though a couple pushed that limit. Some were quite inventive.
<NSFW>And now for something lighter.</NSFW> I suspect [livejournal.com profile] shoujo_mallet will like them, considering her recent graduation photo. ;)
I put out a (working) TV and (needs work) printer on my porch this afternoon, and they're gone. I listed the printer on the two closest Craig's Lists just in case, but I think they went on their own. I'm kinda surprised - I don't think the "FREE" sign was big enough to see from the street, but I didn't want to put them out in the rain. Maybe the mailman took them. ;)

And then I saw this really sketchy "barter" post.
One of my friends is at a hotel on a slow internet connection, and Gmail kept timing out for him. Who knows what made me think of this, but I remembered that a while ago I'd noticed that if you highlight the top of the normal Gmail screen, there's white text saying "If you are using a screen reader, you may wish to switch to basic HTML for a better experience." That did it for him! Yay Gmail!
asterroc: (doll)
Yahoo now has a service called Yahoo Answers. People ask stupid questions, you give stupid answers. Or good ones, as there's a point system to reward good answers. As far as I can tell though, the points you earn are only internally useful, so in effect, they're not at all. But it wastes time!

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