* Posts by Kennie

2 publicly visible posts • joined 9 Sep 2009

UK govt reboots A Level exam results after computer-driven fiasco: Now teacher-predicted grades will be used after all

Kennie

Word of the Week: "algorithm"

Am I the only one who thought that the word "algorithm" became very, very popular very, very quickly over the last few days? At lunchtime yesterday, it was being used on the main news pages of the Guardian, BBC and Telegraph websites. I know "algorithm" is a common enough word in software circles, but it's not that commonly used by the Muggles. I wondered if someone in Goverment (Dom, probably) was telling the press to use it as a way of diverting attention away from the fact that this mess was caused entirely by human beings. Y'know, make it sound like the computer broke everything and ran away.

(I did wonder about observer bias, but I'm sure it wasn't used when we (Scotland) were having the same problems earlier in the month. Our government just said "Yeah, we screwed up. Sorry.")

Apple squeezes video camera into iPod nano

Kennie

Who wanted a camera on a Touch anyway?

Am I the only one who thought the Touch didn't actually need a camera? It's not a replacement for your phone, and most phones have cameras these days, so why double up? Good on 'em - they reisisted the chance to sell us something we didn't need.