ma_mazmaz

In Scala, there are both mutable and immutable data structures. Immutable data structures are preferred, however there are some cases in which a dash of mutability can simplify the code, especially in cases where Java inter-op is a must.

In Scala, most variables should be val (i.e. constant) from a design perspective. That is, it is better, in Scala, to write code that does not have changing variable. Thus, using val instead of var is simply a check on the code, much in the same way that static typing provides a benefit over dynamic typing.

However, this is susceptible to a man-in-the-middle attack, still. A malicious man-in-the-middle could simply send an old timestamp which was already validated. The best alternative would be to require the time server to return a signed timestamp plus challenge to prove that it was sent by the actual server. Unfortunately, this would incur computational cost on the part of the time server, which may make such a scheme impractical.

When looking to improve your programming ability, it's important to ask for what end you are improving your skills. If your goal is to become a professional computer scientist, then you'll need to choose an area of focus. The field of computing simply has too many facets for anyone to master them all. If your goal is to learn, simply for its own sake, then all that matters is that you are enjoying the learning. It won't matter what technologies you use, or if what you're making actually works, so long as you enjoy it. In either case, you should choose something to learn that interests you. There are many highly sought after computer scientists, who specialize in computer vision algorithms, for example, who get recruited by companies all the time, despite knowing little to no software engineering and data structures. TL;DR: Learn anything, it will get you places.

This is blatantly wrong: "red means bad and green means good. This association is cross-cultural, probably universal, and probably as old as the hills: red as blood, green as grass. "

http://youtu.be/z2exxj4COhU?t=16m6s

Since the siding is no longer metal, does that mean that it no longer acts a a Faraday cage, and will be susceptible to damage by lightning?

According to the white paper, "all users receive all messages." How, then is the system scalable to a large network?

If you have FIOS, enabling WPA2 breaks their router, and tech support won't help, claiming that WEP is "just as secure as a wired connection"

It looks like the keyboard and mouse shown are made by Apple.

This is certainly not an issue with iPads, specifically. Students probably spend more time using computers for entertainment and social networking than they do for school, but that doesn't stop teachers from taking their students to computer labs to type essays. Just because something can be used for fun, doesn't mean that it has a place in schooling. Moreover, students very commonly get around the very weak security procedures in place, which, more often than not, prevent students from doing legitimate school work, rather than preventing abuse.