GOOGLE’S NEW WEBSITE TO LEARN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND PROGRAMMING

For years, Google has been doing a lot of work to make people aware of computer science and programming. In this article, we’ll be talking about Google’s latest effort to promote computer science and programming. Google launched a new Education website called Google CS Education which is a collection of different programming tools and other basic resources for the beginners.

Google CS Education

This new website is mainly focused on three stages:

1. Learn Computer Science
2. Participate in Academic Opportunities
3. Access Career Opportunities

The main goal of Google CS Education website is to teach computer science in the simplest way. So that even a kid can learn such stuff.

This page contains resources for both student and the educator. It also includes the coding tools and technology.

Apart from learning computer science and programming, you can also use this portal to explore scholarships by visiting the ‘Participate in Academic Opportunities’ tab.

You can also explore multiple Contests and internships that are organised by google by clicking on the ‘Access Career Opportunities’ tab.

This one-stop place for learning includes some well-known learning programs like Google’s Made with Code, igniteCS and CS First.

National Museum Of Computing

Fujitsu innovation hub opens at The National Museum of Computing

The world’s first purpose-built computer centre, Block H on Bletchley Park, now hosts a Fujitsu Innovation Hub with the latest in classroom technologies as a result of a collaboration between Fujitsu UK, its partners: Intel, Brocade, Kyocera Document Solutions, and The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC).

The hub will be used to educate students, and general visitors to Bletchley Park the opportunity to develop their digital skills further and learn about potential career prospects. The Fujitsu Innovation Hub will have an immediate role in TNMOC’s acclaimed Learning Programme and enable students to directly compare and contrast computing technologies.

Ash Merchant, director of education at Fujitsu, said: ‘The National Museum of Computing is a unique and highly inspirational place, playing a major role in supporting the technology skills development of young people. We’re delighted that the museum is now part of our Education Ambassador Programme, and know that the passion they have for supporting young people will see that the Innovation Hub will support in making a real impact on teaching and learning outcomes – this is the vision that Fujitsu and our programme partners are committed to bringing to life by collaborating with institutions like the National Museum of Computing.’

The Hub contains an array of Fujitsu technology including tablets, hybrid devices, laptops and desktop PCs. These systems run on the latest Intel Atom and Intel Core processors to give users access to the latest technology for personal computing.

The Fujitsu Innovation Hub is right next to the famous TNMOC Classroom that houses BBC Microcomputer workstations representing the landmark schools’ computer literacy initiative of the 1980s.

The museum also features the Rebuild of Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer, and a wide selection of other working computers showing the huge advances in computing over the past 70 years.

Margaret Sale, TNMOC trustee, said: ‘To be selected from so many applicants to become a Fujitsu Innovation Hub is an honour and testament to the highly skilled and creative work of our Museum staff and volunteers. We are thrilled to take our place alongside educational establishments to partner with Fujitsu and Intel on the Education Ambassador programme to help develop digital skills of today’s students and educators. Our Learning Team, which greets 5,000 students in groups each year, has great ideas to utilise the space to best advantage.’

The National Museum of Computing, located at Bletchley Park, is an independent charity housing the world's largest collection of functional historic computers, including the rebuilt Colossus, the world’s first electronic computer, and the WITCH, the world's oldest working digital computer. The Museum enables visitors to follow the development of computing from the ultra-secret pioneering efforts of the 1940s through the large systems and mainframes of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and the rise of personal computing in the 1980s and beyond.

The Museum runs a learning programme for schools and colleges and promotes introductions to computer coding among young people to inspire the next generation of computer scientists and engineers. Fujitsu well help this endeavour with its Education Ambassador Programme, which is designed to develop and encourage a passion for technology. This kind of work can help to motivate a new generation of students, helping to promote STEM careers.

Sponsors of the Museum have included Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre, Bloomberg, CreateOnline, Ceravision, Fujitsu, InsightSoftware.com, Ocado Technology, FUZE, 4Links, Google UK, IBM, NPL, HP Labs, and BCS

Windows 10 Upgrade

Microsoft pitches Windows 10 upgrade to holdouts with full-screen intrusion

Microsoft has deployed another Windows 10 upgrade weapon from an arsenal once thought empty.

Last week, Microsoft began serving some Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users with a full-screen notice that reminded them of the July 29 end to the free Windows 10 upgrade offer and urged them to accept the deal.

The full-screen notification appeared when users unlocked the OS at the log-in screen. "Sorry to interrupt, but this is important," the notice stated. "Windows 10 free upgrade offer ends July 29." The update containing the new screen changes began reaching customers last Thursday.

Customers may choose to upgrade immediately, ask that the reminder reappear later, or permanently dismiss the message and Microsoft's plea. If the user requests "Remind me later," the same screen-sized notification will reappear three days later.

A choice must be made: There is no way to sidestep it and proceed to the desktop without selecting something

A support document listed those PCs that will not see the lock-screen come-on: They ranged from those whose owners had tried Windows 10 but later reverted to the predecessor, users whose attempts to upgrade failed for technical reasons, and people who had crippled the upgrade process by modifying the Windows registry.

That third group would include not only users who manually monkeyed with the registry, but also those who installed free upgrade blockers like GWX Control Panel and Never10. Both utilities rely on the Windows registry settings to stymie Microsoft's Windows 10 upgrade plans.

Microsoft announced the new full-screen pitch in another support document, which has served as the cornerstone of an aggressive upgrade campaign the company has waged since March. That document made official a retreat from a widely criticized practice that many called deceptive.

For the last three months, Microsoft interpreted a click on the red "X" in the upper right of pending upgrade notifications as authorizing the upgrade, rather than indicating "cancel" or "ignore." Its unannounced click-and-you-approve-the-upgrade tactic was contrary to decades of user experience (UX)and Microsoft's own design rules. Last week, however, the company backtracked, saying it would define the X-click as "ignore," ending the sneaky practice.

The same document also said that customers would be able to schedule -- or reschedule -- the upgrade only through July 23. After that date, users may only initiate an immediate upgrade.

Microsoft's ending of user scheduling before the expiration of the free upgrade offer signaled that the company will not let customers "reserve" Windows 10, but then postpone the actual upgrade process, even for a few days, much less indefinitely. After July 23, the deal will be now or never.

After July 29, Windows 10 will cost customers who want to upgrade: $120 for the Home edition, $200 for Pro.

Facts About Computers

China builds world's most powerful computer

A new supercomputer from China has topped the latest list of the world's most powerful machines.

The 93 petaflop Sunway TaihuLight is installed at the National Supercomputing Centre in Wuxi.

At its peak, the computer can perform around 93,000 trillion calculations per second.

It is twice as fast and three times as efficient as the previous leader Tianhe-2, also from China, said Top500 which released the new list on Monday.

Its main applications include advanced manufacturing, weather forecasting and big data analytics, wrote Jack Dongarra in a paper about the new machine.

It has more than 10.5 million locally-made processing cores and 40,960 nodes and runs on a Linux-based operating system.

For the first time since the list began, China has overtaken the US with 167 computers in the top 500 while the US has 165.

"Considering that just 10 years ago, China claimed a mere 28 systems on the list, with none ranked in the top 30, the nation has come further and faster than any other country in the history of supercomputing," said Top500.

The US has four supercomputers in the top 10 of the Top500 list, while China has two which currently occupy the top two places.

The other positions in the top 10, published twice a year, are occupied by machines from Japan, Switzerland, Germany and Saudi Arabia.

"As a computer scientist it's difficult writing software that can take advantage of and control large numbers of computer cores," said Professor Les Carr from the University of Southampton.

"This is why supercomputers are restricted to specialised applications - you need very specialised computing needs to take advantage of them.

"They are like extremely high-spec Grand Prix racing cars - they are fantastic for racing on circuits but they're not great for travelling from London to Edinburgh."

Computers Interesting Facts

1. 92% of the world’s currency exists on computers. The remaining 8% is in physical money. 

2. A famous computer facts tell us that computer worm that could gain access to Windows XP systems. First it downloads a patch from Microsoft windows to close the vulnerability. Then it infect the system, If it is present in the system then it will try to delete the infamous Blaster worm, then delete itself. 

3. When someone picked up a memory stick infected by a foreign intelligence agency, this is known as the worst breach of U.S. military computers in history. It was found in the parking lot. When it was plugged into their computer, it made a connection with United States Central Command. What you thing about this computer facts? 

                                                                                                                                                4. Investigators missed incriminating Google searches done on Casey Anthony’s computer – including “fool-proof suffication [sic]” – because they checked her Internet Explorer history, but ignored Firefox. 

5. In 1978, Apple Corps (owned by The Beatles) sued Apple Computer for trademark infringement. The case settled for $80,000 along with the condition that Apple Computer should not enter the music business, and Apple Corps agreed not to enter the computer business.

6. The Motion Picture Academy refused to nominate Tron (1982) for a special-effects award because, according to director Steven Lisberger, “The Academy thought we cheated by using computers”

7. Mary Kenneth Keller, the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science in the United States also earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, helped develop computer programming languages and she was a Catholic nun. 

8. John Lasseter (CEO of Pixar) was fired from Disney for promoting computer animation.

9. Illegal prime numbers exist. An illegal prime is a prime number that represents information which is forbidden to possess or distribute. For example, when interpreted in a particular way, a certain prime describes a computer program that bypasses the digital rights management scheme used on DVDs.

10. The new Texas Instrument calculators have ABC keyboards because if they had QWERTY keyboards, they would be considered computers and wouldn’t be allowed for standardized test taking.