The SAKAI quiz on this week's readings and class materials opens on February 7 and will close at 3:30 p.m. on February 11.  You may take the quiz twice and the highest score will count.  To find the quiz, go to SAKAI, click on Communications, then on Tests and Quizzes.  To get your grade, click on Assignment Gradebook. This time SAKAI will not tell you which items you got wrong.

Writing Assignment Due February 10:  250 words describing a future scenario.  This may be something you would like to have happen, something you think is likely to happen, or something you would like to keep from happening. For an example, see the first page of "The Big Questions."  Post your essay in the Discussion module in  SAKAI.  (I suggest you write it first in a word processor, then paste it in the box when it is finished).  Note:  All writing in this course will be graded for grammar, spelling, and effective style and language use. These skills are taught in the English Composition courses you have all taken.  They are reviewed in sections 8 and 9 of the Penguin Manual.  I recommend that you use the spelling and grammar checkers in your word processor to check all your writing before submitting it.  All writing will also be checked for plagiarism.  Be sure you understand Rutgers' plagiarism policy.  All quoted material must be placed in quotation marks or marked by appropriate indentation.

Assigned Reading: 

1. Transcript of "Triumph of the Nerds".  We watched through Part 2 of the transcript where Paul Allen says "For whatever usage we wanted for fifty thousand dollars."
   
2. Microsoft's bid for Yahoo:  A Giant Bid that Show How Tired the Giant Is
3. What is the Next Big Thing?  (the question for next week's writing project)
   
4. "Technological Singularity," in Wikipedia.
5. Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near, pages 7 to 21.   Available in SAKAI..
   
6. "The Big Questions" in SAKAI, click on our course, then on Resources, then on Week Three.  To be published in Sci Phi, The Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy.
7. Video of Ben Goertzel on What is AI?     To be shown in class on Wednesday. 
   

Class Notes, Links and Recommended Reading:

1. Finding Your Focus: The Writing Process
2. If you do not get to see the Triumph of the Nerds in class, copies can be purchased online.  The DVD's have been edited from the original TV version.  You can pass the quiz, however, just by reading the transcript.
3. Ray Kurzweil, The Law of Accelerating Returns. 
   
4. Obama a MAC and Hillary a PC? 
   
5. Recruiting Nerds. 
   
6. Google Works to Torpedo Microsoft Deal. 
   
7. Revival of "The Industry Standard"  the page does not seem to be up as of 7 a.m. Monday.