Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#51

Post by paulbaumgart » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 3:44 AM UTC

PieSquared wrote: post #32

jasonlbaptiste wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but that's pretty broad. Are we talking: -Learning materials? ie- textbooks -Learning software? ie- someone just kill blackboard already

Our county got smartboards in every school, and, the thing is, about a third of the teachers can actually use them effectively. And they cost 6000 dollars to lease . And our county is short on money anyways, so all in all people aren't really too happy about them... But at least it's a step towards progress.

I think he means Blackboard, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc.

They have probably the worst UX I've seen in a web-app; their discussion board software I've had to use for a few classes- and it's abysmally pathetic. phpBB beats it by light-years. But apparently they have a monopoly thanks to some dubious patents.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#52

Post by elptacek » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 3:45 AM UTC

byoung2 wrote: post #4

Education

I second education. Not just the software for teaching, but the software that the teachers use to manage schedules and grades. And the software that the school uses to manage student information. And the software that the school library uses... something that doesn't need to be rebooted every Saturday. I won't even mention the ugly, slow software that the school nurse uses. It's all slow and insecure, the UIs are never intuitive. This is why educators have trouble adopting new software: their days are broken up into finite slices of time. They have only a few short minutes to get ready for the next class, and an even shorter number of minutes to capture the attention of the students... there's just no time to be struggling with fussy, unfriendly software. This is equally true for the smartboards -- half the time they don't play nice with whatever is being plugged into them, and you have to believe that the students lose respect for a teacher they see cursing at a machine.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#53

Post by kingkawn » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 3:45 AM UTC

vaksel wrote: post #45

byoung2 wrote: post #4

Education

they just need to stop teaching useless shit. Take math for example, why are we teaching kids how to do calculus using a piece of paper, when in the real world they'll be using an Excel spreadsheet? Math, Chemistry, Physics, Finance, pretty much any course that requires calculations wastes 90% of the course, teaching the kids how to do the calculations by hand, in most cases without even a calculator. Excel is being…

Knowing intimately the underlying principles of a field is important to creating sophisticated manipulations of existing theorems and ideas. Yes, we could teach them how to change what we know sooner, but they wouldn't understand exactly what they're doing.

Also, the mental processes engaged by writing by hand are different than those used when computing. I think there's room for both when teaching people things.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#54

Post by elptacek » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 3:49 AM UTC

vaksel wrote: post #45

byoung2 wrote: post #4

Education

they just need to stop teaching useless shit. Take math for example, why are we teaching kids how to do calculus using a piece of paper, when in the real world they'll be using an Excel spreadsheet? Math, Chemistry, Physics, Finance, pretty much any course that requires calculations wastes 90% of the course, teaching the kids how to do the calculations by hand, in most cases without even a calculator. Excel is being…

An abacus is a better idea than you think. Most people struggle with mathematics because it's not presented in a way that people who are not mathematicians will understand. Read the biography for any $FAMOUS_SCIENTIST and you shouldn't be surprised to find "read Euclid's elements at age [5-12]"

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#55

Post by djdt » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 4:07 AM UTC

zoba wrote: post #37

Electricity, the power grid... Right now I'm pretty sure power companies can't tell you if the power is on at your house or not...The system is pretty old.

The technology is there. If you live in the US then most substations have metering, various indications (transformer monitoring, breaker positions, etc.), and breaker/circuit switcher/motor operated device controls. If there is a fault on your feeder then the utility should know immediately. Chances are if you are served by a larger utility then you will also get an automated time of day meter in the next couple of years. Is the adoption of technology slow compared other industries? Sure, safety and reliability rule.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#56

Post by s3graham » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 4:29 AM UTC

vaksel wrote: post #45

byoung2 wrote: post #4

Education

they just need to stop teaching useless shit. Take math for example, why are we teaching kids how to do calculus using a piece of paper, when in the real world they'll be using an Excel spreadsheet? Math, Chemistry, Physics, Finance, pretty much any course that requires calculations wastes 90% of the course, teaching the kids how to do the calculations by hand, in most cases without even a calculator. Excel is being…

That's a horrible idea, and it sounds a lot more like training than education. 90% of Math, Chemistry and Physics are calculations? You're doing it wrong anyway.

The material content of the calculus class is nigh useless, the goal is to get to get people to be able to think and solve problems.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#57

Post by s3graham » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 4:37 AM UTC

Real estate is one that really chaps my ass.

I don't know what it's like in other countries, but in Canada there's this bizarre mafia of middlemen that take ~6-10% of the value of house when you sell. They self-promote and self-reinforce to maintain an information advantage, but they don't seem to offer a service beyond a list of houses with pictures, and hand-holding.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#58

Post by callmeed » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 4:53 AM UTC

paulbaumgart wrote: post #51

PieSquared wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our county got smartboards in every school, and, the thing is, about a third of the teachers can actually use them effectively. And they cost 6000 dollars to lease . And our county is short on money anyways, so all in all people aren't really too happy about them... But at least it's a step towards progress.

I think he means Blackboard, Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackboard_Inc . They have probably the worst UX I've seen in a web-app; their discussion board software I've had to use for a few classes- and it's abysmally pathetic. phpBB beats it by light-years. But apparently they have a monopoly thanks to some dubious patents.

No, I think he's referring to digital whiteboards that capture what is written on them.

They've been around for a while (I remember seeing them at Tech/Edu conferences in the web 1.0 days).

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#59

Post by dpcan » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 5:12 AM UTC

The Home.

It should be "standard" to have a single web interface for control over everything in my house.

1) Real-Time monitoring of water, electric and gas consumption.

2) Entertainment. I should be able to login to a website and click "TV's". Then I can see if they are on, what channel is being watched, what is scheduled to be recorded.

3) Security. Doors and Windows. Automation of opening, closing and locking. Plus video surveillance.

4) Upkeep. Sprinkler control. Heat control and lights. Start the dishwasher, start the coffee pot.

Sure, this can all be done with an excessive amount of work, lots of high tech and expensive gadgetry, and custom software setups, but that doesn't mean it HAS to be that way. I think the Home needs an overhaul.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#60

Post by nategraves » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 5:13 AM UTC

alanthonyc wrote: post #42

Business Accounting The current quarterly system of reporting finances was (I believe) developed as a result of the Great Depression, to help inform the public of company status. The recent banking meltdown shows how inadequate this system is. Something more realtime is needed.

I think that's an interesting idea. I know that quarterly filings are an SEC requirement, but it's at least in part to help shareholders keep abreast of the goings on of the company in which they are part owners. It seems like completely realtime would overwhelm casual investors, but could provide for much more accurate trade decisions than those made on speculation and the current system of quarterly conference calls.