The
Commentary
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007
Clackamas Print
3
Drive is A: Failure
lusty Ragsdale
Clackamas Print
Working in Streeter Hall’s
anputer Science and math labs
lie college’s main campus,
6 writer has noticed a strange
lenomenon. Thriving in this
likely indoor habitat is a species
sight to be recently extinct,
pposedly stamped out of
jstence by more highly evolved
latures.
The surprising survivor is not
ianimal worthy of preservation,
those reaching for trusty picket
ms, bullhorns and Birkenstocks
D relax. The unworthy beast
[riving in our midst is the 3-and-
talf-inch disk, more commonly
own as “the Floppy.”
Students enrolled in “remedial”
mputer science classes, such
the CS-9x and CS-
t courses, are taught
use a Floppy disk as
■ir primary method for
(table memory storage.
Weighing in at a measly
,1 megabyte maximum
yload, the 3-and-a-half-
•h drive, or “A: drive,”
snot been a feature of
»computers for over
»years. Even from a
oservative perspective,
the
evolutionary
ueline of personal
mputers, two years is a
drive boasting 128 megabytesyof
reusable memory for five bucks
- that’s over 90 times more space
than a floppy. If one is willing to
spend a little more, say as much
as $20, and shop arotfhd a little,
one can easily find a one-gigabyte
(that’s 1028 megabytes - over
730 times the space of a Floppy)
USB drive.
As I understand, there are two
reasons why the CS department
chooses to use Floppy disks
instead of upgrading to something
current: cost and ease-of-use.
The question of cost is more
complicated than just instructing
students to “use Floppies and
not USB drives” or vice-versa,
but more an issue of the pricey
process of overhauling course
materials and lesson plans for a
large number of classes.
However, personally, I believe
that the ease of use matter is a
moot point because USB drives
are easier to use than Floppies.
All processes involved with
saving and retrieving information
are the same for Floppies and
USB drives.
In addition to near-negligible
space available from a Floppy, the
devices are notoriously unreliable.
Virtually every person with whom
I’ve discussed the topic has horror
stories about lost or damaged files
on the disks.
According to my friend
and co-worker Laura Bistline,
malfunctioning Floppy disks are
a common enough problem for
CS classes that instructors have
approached the Technology Tutors
and Lab Monitors, concerned
about the preponderance of
missing or damaged homework
files.
¡time.
The memory storage
rice that has effectively
ilaced the Floppy is the
IB drive (a.k.a. Flash
ive, Thumb Drive,
up Drive; etc.): ■ •
Right now, one can go
t and purchase a USB
Photo illustration by Rachel Gillette
Bistline also a technology tutor
and lab manager’s office assistant
said, ‘T don’t understand why CS
teachers come talk to a CS tutor
and complain about the disks not
working when it’s a Floppy. In
my experience, two out of three
times [the Floppy is] not going
to work.”
There are many reasons for
upgrading our classes and ditching
the disks. Ironically, two of these
reasons are cost and ease-of-use.
The cost of USB drives
has been plummeting rapidly,
dropping in price by about 50
percent per year. In a comparison
of cost per megabyte, USB drives
already blow Floppy disks out of
the water, and the price continues
to fall. USB drives have already
been approved for purchase on
campus, with CCC Book Grants.
« USB drives are every bit as
easy (if not easier) to
use; it just plugs into
a little port on the PC.
Every computer in the
Computer Lab has two
USB ports right on the
front, as well as another
faster USB2 port on the
back.
The most important
reason for eliminating
Floppy disks from
Clackamas
is. the
students. The purpose of
the remedial CS classes
and workshops is to
introduce the personal
computer to new users.
I don’t think that
teaching students to
use obsolete hardware
is a proper way for the
college to prepare its
students for the rapidly
changing world of
personal computers.
Clackamas Print
Letters to the Editor:
CCC student opines on U. S. soldiers in Iraq
Over the break, I spent time
with my friend who had just
returned from Iraq. I found a
iuehero.
Although wars may be politi
cized, and may be questioned as
wrong or unjustified, a hero like
[my friend] puts himself on the
line, serving to extend and pro
tect the freedoms we have.
While tihe definition of what
war [sic] may be right, the soldier
who volunteers and swears to
protect our nation is honorable.
That subsistence of accept
ing and protecting our freedom,
regardless of the war and cost
even absent of war, is a heroic
act This is an ordinary soldier
who signed up to put his life on
the line to protect and defend all
that we have.
His service is valiant. This
year, I am reminded and am
truly thankful to those men and
women like him.
- 7?w Lussier, CCC Student
Democrat, Republican debate misses issue
I was one of the people who
attended the stimulating debate
fflanged by the Democrat and
Republican chibs. It was an excel-
lent examination of the differences
on various issues between file two
patties, and I am grateful to the
students who arranged it
One of toe topics touched on
was lie subject of illegal immigra-
ton. This is a very complex prob
lem, both for legal North American
citizens and for legal and illegal American students several terms
immigrants. I have thoughts and ago wrote an essay concerning
feelings on both sides of toe issue, his entering toe country illegally
but in fills letter, I would like to before takmg file steps needed
point out two matters which ordi to become a legal citizen of toe
narily do not come up in discus United States. He said that the
sions.
«Mexican government charges
First, almost all of our ances those who wish to immigrate
tors were illegal immigrants; we here file American equivalent of
took toe land from toe native tribes $300.00. This may not seem like
who lived here before we came
much to us, but it is a fortune for
Second, one of my Mexican- most Mexicans. Therefore, only
C o -E ditors - in -C hief : Sam Krause,
Clackamas Print
Katie Wilson
19600 S. Molalla Ave.
Oregon City, OR 97045
(503) 657-6958 ex. 2309
C opy E ditor : Colleen Watkins
N ews E ditor : Megan Koler
C o -C ommentary E ditors : Matt Olson,
The Clackamas Print is a weekly
student publication and is
distributed every Wednesday except
finals week.
David Stark
F eature E ditor : Laura Cameron
S ports E ditor : Mike Guidice
A&E E ditor : Tayo Stalnaker
P hoto E ditor : Adam J. Manley
A d M anager : Eli zabefb Hitz
S taff W riters : Nicholas
wealthy Mexicans can immigrate
legally.
I believe boto parties need to
take these two points into con
sideration in forming policies on
illegal immigration.
- Diane Averill, English
Instructor
To send a letter to
the editor, e-mail it to
chiefed@clackamas.edu, or
drop it off at The Print office,
Roger Rook 135.
P hotographers : Juno Dean,
Brandymarie Faulhaber
Baker, Benjamin Caldwell, Leia
Dickerson, Jennifer Jenkins, Frank D epartment A dviser : Linda Vogt
Jordan, Jennesa Palmer, Dustin
Ragsdale, Andrea Simpson, Jeff
D epartment S ecretary : Christine
Sorensen, Off Tammik, Liz Travers
Frey
P roduction A ssistants : Jesse
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Gillette, Andrea Simpson
With Tayo Stalnaker
John Edward confirms
that “mediums ” are
small people
When it comes to pinheads, self
proclaimed “medium,” and host of
toe shows Crossing Over and Cross
Country, John Edward could be toe
granddaddy of them all.
Edward and other “mediums” use
a mixture of both “hot” and “cold”
readings during tapings of their tele
vision shows and live performances.
With a “hot” reading, Edward has his
associates speak with toe audience
before file show and then tell him all
toe information they have gathered
about various audience members.
“Cold” reading is toe opposite, but
I’ll get to that later.
Now, Edward will not admit he
does “hot” readings (for obvious
reasons), but toere have been many
accounts from people who have
attended tapings and live shows say
ing otherwise. Here are two exam
ples:
1. A few years back, Dateline on
NBC proved that Edward does “hot”
readings and even caught him in toe
act on air.
2. The James Randi Association
(a “psychic-debunkers” group)
received a letter from a Crossing
Over audience member describing
how Edward’s production assistants
bugged toe green room and used
“ringers” in the audience.
During a cold reading (which is
what Edward does most of toe time),
he’s just making a series of guesses
of “What dead person is in the room.”
He starts throwing out names and
letters with the hopes that one of the
audience members will have a dead
relative of toe same name.
After Edward guesses correctly
on a name, he then tries to describe
them by using even more guesses.
Edward, as well as every other medi
um on the planet, is usually wrong
when describing toe dead person and
describing their death. He just keeps
guessing until he gets it right
Watching Crossing Over, nobody
would think that Edward has so many
“misses.” Well, thanks to the power
of editing, a show that takes two to
three hours to tape is whittled down
to 58 minutes of Edward making no
mistakes of all.
What really made Edward a pin
head was 9/11. A month after the
terrorist attacks, he created a show
that would feature him talking to
fire dead victims and their families.
Fortunately, toere was enough public
backlash to force studio execs to drop
toe show.
Edward has made millions from
other peoples’ misery, and is a truly
disgusting individual. His syndi
cated programs Crossing Over and
Cross Country are still as popular as
ever, and he’s sold millions of books
worldwide. Humans are a curious
and gullible sort, and Mr. Edward has
used that to make him one of file big
gest pinheads on toe planet
Jon Edward’s Pinhead rating is 5
out of 5.
G oals : The Clackamas Print aims
to report the news in an honest,
unbiased, professional manner.
The opinions expressed do not
necessarily reflect those of the stu
dent body college administration,
its faculty or 77« Print. E-mail
comments to chiefed@dackamas.
edu.