CasaSugar

Get Smart(er) With MIT OpenCourseWare

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:00:56 PDT

How cool would it be to study up with the best minds in the country at MIT without having to pay for the tuition? If you have a thirst for knowledge, let MIT OpenCourseWare be your tall glass of water.

Now with over 1,800 courses open for you to follow – spanning their entire curriculum – you can read through lecture notes and labs and watch the same demonstration vids that the smarty pants see at the prestigious college, but at a substantial discount. Like, 100 percent. Yup, that's right, it's all free. To see why I think it's so cool, just

read more. When I first checked out OpenCourseWare, there was a small selection of classes to choose from. But since MIT knows that knowledge is for everyone, they've offered up their entire curriculum to the masses. You can go at your own pace, follow along with the assignments as well as tune in to the lectures. Granted, you won't get that engineering degree that you've been jonesing for, but at least you can impress your friends at your next shindig with your endless knowledge of Biomolecular Kinetics and Cell Dynamics! Or maybe study up on Script Analysis so you can learn how to write that play you've been thinking about for years now. There's plenty of free courses to choose from, so go learn something! Source

This Just In: MIT Sues Frank Gehry

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:47:15 PST

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has has filed a negligence suit against famed architect Frank Gehry for serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a campus building holding labs, offices, classrooms, and meeting rooms. MIT paid Gehry $15 million to design the building, which was completed in 2004, and spent $300 million to build it. The school alleges the flaws in Gehry's design have caused leaks, drainage problems, and mold growing on its brick exterior.

According to Gehry: "You never quite know where they went wrong. A building goes together with seven billion pieces of connective tissue. The chances of it getting done ever without something colliding or some misstep are small." The Stata Center’s builder, Skanska USA Building Inc., is also a defendant in the case, but Paul Hewins, executive vice president and area general manager of the company, told The Globe: “This is not a construction issue. Never has been.”
Source

Honoring Some of Our Favorite Geeks For Black History Month

Michele Foley — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:01:38 PST

We may have Valentine's Day on the brain, but February also marks an important time of the year - Black History Month. In honor of Black History Month, let's take a look at some of our favorite geeks, both past and present. Everyone on this list has made vast contributions to furthering tech as we know it.

Dwayne McDuffie - The recently passed McDuffie wrote comic books for both Marvel and DC (including Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, the Fantastic Four and the Justice League of America) before founding his own company, Milestone Media, which helped pioneer the use of multicultural characters as its heroes.
Mark Dean - Nerd alert! Without Dean, there may not have been a PC - he holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents, leading the teams that developed the ISA bus and the first one-gigahertz chip.
Mae Carol Jemison - It doesn't get much geekier than space travel; Jemison was the first black woman to travel in space.
Philip Emeagwali - We can all blame Emeagwali for our Internet addiction. He developed the fastest supercomputer software in the world. His IQ is too high to be measured by conventional standards, and he's won a Gordon Bell Prize, which is like the Nobel Prize for computer science.

See the rest of the notables when you read more.

Udacity and 14 Other Free Sites For Online Learning

GeekSugar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:51:42 PST

After seeing the success of a personal experiment offering a free Stanford University-certified artificial intelligence course (23,000 people completed the class!), Sebastian Thrun left his prestigious professor position to dedicate himself to teaching on a much larger scale. His new program, Udacity will offer free university-level computer science classes to anyone interested in advancing their tech knowledge.

The two courses currently up for the taking are "CS 101: Building a Search Engine" and "CS 373: Programming a Robotic Car." But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free online classes. Here, a list of places to point your web browser for free classes online, so you can soak up all the knowledge your brain can handle.

Yale Open Courses - Named one of Time magazine's top 50 websites of 2011, Yale's classes allow anyone to browse through lectures and course materials in subjects including engineering, chemistry, astronomy, sociology, Spanish, history, and more.
MIT OpenCourseWare - With over 2,000 courses available at your fingertips, MIT OpenCourseWare should be your first (and maybe your only) stop in online learning.
Online Education Database - This website offers up a list of 200 free classes you can take online. Take some physics classes and learn about the phenomenon of superconductivity, or retake that algebra class you struggled with in high school.
OpenCulture - This website offers up a list of free classes from top universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley, and even some video lectures you can find on YouTube.
Harvard Open Learning - Watch videos of lectures on computer science and abstract algebra, among others
Princeton Web Media - Browse through and take in archived lectures from Princeton's math, science, and engineering departments, and lots, lots more.

See more websites to get your online learning on after the break.

4 Free Science Courses From iTunes

Kelly Schwarze — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:28:00 PDT

Even if you've been out of school for years, there's no need to feel left out while watching kids head back to the classroom, as you have a free resource to get your learning on. iTunes U, available through the iTunes store, offers content from over 1,000 universities, and nearly half of these schools including those known for stellar science programs like Harvard, MIT, and Cambridge among others, offer course lectures to the general public. Download these video classes if you've always wanted to spout astrophysics and computer programming knowledge like an expert. Also looking for French help or history lessons? Take some time browsing through class offerings; with hundreds available, there's something for everyone.

Astrophysics: Frontiers and Controversies, Yale - Focusing on three areas of astronomy: extra-solar planets, black holes, and dark energy, this course pays special attention to how astronomers are learning more in the field and what is still unknown in the universe.
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - For students with no previous programming experience, in 24 lectures this course teaches how to write small Python language-based small programs.
Developing Apps For iOS, Stanford - Intended for students with a background in C-language computer programming, this course teaches how to create efficient applications for Apple's iOS platform through lecture videos and PDF documents.
Women's Health, University of California campuses - Learn more about promoting personal health straight from the prestigious doctors and researchers from the University of California colleges. Lectures include tips for stress, diabetes in women, and research on aging.

Teach Yourself With These Free Online Education Sites

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:30:04 PDT

Truth is, there are an amazing number of ways you can get a quality educational experience online, without ever having to fork over any cash. The cost of a college education is pretty remarkable these days, and not everyone can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a degree from an Ivy League school (especially in this economy). But nearly everyone can afford the cost of an Internet connection, or even a library card.

Named one of Time Magazine's top 50 websites of 2011, Yale's open courses allow anyone to browse through lectures and course materials that range from engineering and chemistry, to astronomy, sociology, Spanish, history, and more. But that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to free online classes. Here, a list of places to point your web browser for free classes online, so you can soak up all the knowledge your brain can handle.

MIT OpenCourseWare - With over 2,000 courses available at your fingertips, MIT OpenCourseWare should be your first (and maybe your only) stop in online learning.
Online Education Database - This website offers up a list of 200 free classes you can take online. Take some physics classes and learn about the phenomenon of superconductivity, or retake that algebra class you struggled with in high school.
OpenCulture - This website offers up a list of free classes from top universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley, and even some video lectures you can find on YouTube.
Harvard Open Learning - Watch videos of lectures on computer science and abstract algebra among others
Princeton Web Media - Browse through and take in archived lectures from Princeton's math, science, and engineering departments, and lots, lots more.

See the rest of the list after the break.

90210 "To the Future!": Most Scandalous Moments

Becky Kirsch — Tue, 17 May 2011 08:02:54 PDT

No more teachers, no more books! The 90210 gang bid adieu to senior year in the third season finale, but the graduation ceremony is hardly the event of the episode. That would belong to Ivy and Raj's traditional Indian nuptials, which come complete with saris for everyone and an elephant courtesy of Naomi's party planning skills.

In the midst of the celebrations there are a few shake-ups and breakups. Adrianna's evil doings finally come to the light (though really, do we need a Javier appearance?), and Naomi and Annie face some unforeseen relationship issues as they plan their futures. It's not nearly as jaw dropping as last year's situation with Mr. Cannon, but there is an unexpected twist in the final moments. Ready to break it down? Just

90210 "Women on the Verge": Most Scandalous Moments

Molly Goodson — Mon, 02 May 2011 22:35:31 PDT

It's one week 'til the prom episode of 90210, but there was enough action in this week's "Women on the Verge" to ensure it wasn't filler. The title of the episode may imply that the ladies of West Beverly High are headed toward trouble, but the men are having just as many issues in their complicated relationships. I'm still very much loving the Naomi and Max storyline, though just like every high school show before it, 90210 pretends like we don't all know how the college admissions process works.

Silver is headed toward a breakdown from the get-go, with Adrianna waiting in the wings to prey on a vulnerable Navid. Plus, there's a very unwelcome familiar face back in the picture. Ready to break it down? Just

BeCouply: A Social Networking App Just For Dating

Annie Scudder — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:00:28 PDT

The Internet can help you find your mate, either on a dating site, through your online social network, or by allowing you to offer a $10,000 award to anyone on the web who will introduce you to your future wife. Once you're paired up though, technology seems to make love more complicated - you must consider the realities of flirtexting (yes, that means flirty texting), navigate the awkward subject of changing your Facebook status, and if you end up changing that status to "married," hope you don't succumb to the fate of 1 in 5 divorced couples who say Facebook played a role in their breakup.

After meeting on OKCupid like many twenty-something couples today, Becky Cruze and MIT-grad Pius Uzamere decided to create a product that would make relationships easier for "couples with epic social lives." So they quit their jobs and started working together full-time on BeCouply, a mobile and web app that will launch in a couple of weeks (you can sign up for an invite). The app is part date idea generator, part online scrapbook. Founder Becky Cruze explained the concept to me:

"You'll have a date idea feed similar to Twitter or the status updates on Facebook with date ideas from other couples in your network. You'll see ideas they're planning or things they've already done. Or, you can enter ideas that you have and see if any of your friends want to join. There will also be suggestions coming in from us at BeCouply, like events going on in your city, concerts, anything related to holidays, or any deals that might be going on."

As for the scrapbook component, it's actually how some of the date ideas get generated. Find out more when you keep reading.

25 Ways to Waste Your Money

Kiplinger — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 00:15:53 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

Has your budget sprung a leak?

Nearly everyone has spending holes. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.

Here are 25 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, then look for ways to plug your own leaks:

1. Carrying a balance. Debt is a shackle that holds you back. For instance, if you have a $1,000 balance on a credit card that charges an 18% rate, you blow $180 every year on interest. Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month.

2. Overspending on gas and oil for your car. There’s no need to spring for premium fuel if the manufacturer says regular is just fine. You should also check to make sure your tires are optimally inflated to get the best gas mileage. And are you still paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles? Many models nowadays can last 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, and some even have built-in sensors to tell you when it’s time to change the oil. Check your manual to find the best time for your car’s routine maintenance.

3. Keeping unhealthy habits. Smoking costs a lot more than just what you pay for a pack of cigarettes. It significantly increases the cost of life and health insurance. And you'll pay more for homeowners and auto insurance. Add in various other expenses, and the true cost of smoking adds up dramatically over a lifetime - $86,000 for a 24-year-old woman over a lifetime and $183,000 for a 24-year-old man over a lifetime, according to The Price of Smoking (The MIT Press).

Another habit to quit: indoor tanning. There is now a 10% tax on indoor tanning services. As with cigarettes, the true cost of tanning - which the World Health Organization lists among the worst-known carcinogens - is higher than just the price you pay each time you go to the salon.

Read on to find out what other budget leaks you should avoid.