Word: algorithms
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...rank students according to social status (104=in FM nearly every week, 304=cool, 604=not antisocial, 904=Science Fiction Association)? Wamback assures us that "There are no personal, social or academic attributes hidden in the number. This is simply a numbering convention based on a custom generation algorithm. Numbers are assigned at random based on the next available number whether the individual is a student or an employee. The first numbers issued back in 1974 began with 100, 200, through 900. Then, after all numbers with these three integers were used, numbers beginning with 101, 201 through 901 were...
...that's way cool but only halfway useful. Its new Typhoon watch ($135) gives daily high- and low-tide data for 175 of the most popular surf spots in the world, from Oahu to Okinawa. Nike claims the Typhoon will be accurate for 50 years, thanks to a special algorithm that considers everything from the moon's pull to the topographical nuances of each beach. Of course, surfers on a tight budget can always check the tide tables in the local newspaper instead...
Malan says the only difficulty in writing the program "was trying to derive an algorithm to interpret the shuttles' schedules...
...Security expert Bruce Schneier, author of Applied Cryptography, says the encryption algorithm used in the phones was pitifully weak because it was designed in secret. "Too many organizations equate secrecy with security," he says. "Relying on secrecy is always a mistake... If they went to me as a consultant I'd say, 'Don't be an idiot. Let's make this public.'" In other words, manufacturers should stick to publicly vetted codes that a bunch of bored geeks can't crack in their spare time...
...ambivalence? Without a doubt, randomization has a lot to do with it. Since our fate is determined by some complex computer algorithm, it doesn't really matter where we want to live anyway. Why should we place undue stress in unnecessary places? That's what blocking...