The Beginner LaTeX Files pt.2 The Importance of Editing

Along with learning you will also need to get comfortable with an editor. This can be anything from the simplest text editor, such as TextEdit, to a WYSWYG style word processor, such as Scientific Workplace. Both styles work well, there are an ocean of solutions that bridge these two extremes.

The Beginner LaTeX Files pt.1

If you missed the intro post for this series, I’m fairly new to using LaTeX and I’m in the process of my first big project that uses it extensively.  I’m posting about the learning curve into LaTeX in the hopes that it will show both myself and others how useful and accessible professional typesetting for scientific documents can be.

 

In the last few days there was one stumbling block, one ongoing problem.  The great thing about stumbling blocks is that their solution tend to knock out several problems at once.  Today the realization showed me how different environments help organize one’s document. 

 

Why Linux in the Lab?

Many of us teach using computers.  More and more educators are discovering that the once Wild West of the Internet is actually a very useful place.  This can cause a multitude of problems when a lab full of computers is only maintained by an instructor on a as needed basis.  

 

Many instructors are reluctant to allow IT departments to take over because most teaching labs use course specific software that can’t be easily maintained by outsiders.  When instructors also need internet access for old computers, you quickly get a perfect storm of mal-ware.  

Putting Linux in the Lab

I just finish my TA assignment for the summer.  Yes, I teach in the summers as well.  Rather than work in the classroom, I spent the summer managing other instructors and all our equipment. 

 

The last few weeks were devoted to setting up some computers for the next academic year.  Mind you, these are NOT new machines.  I was handed about a dozen computers from the early part of the millennium, almost all of them riddled with viruses.  Most of them were still running Windows 2000.  Yikes!

 

This adds up to a hard disk formatting and a new operating system.  I couldn’t use XP because of licensing and because the computers lacked the ram requirements.  Double Yikes.  

 

Of course Windows 2000 doesn’t come with a new enough version of IE for me to use a current anti-virus utility, so I couldn’t even get service packs without first upgrading the web browser without getting on the internet.  Triple Yikes!

 

There is an easy way around all this and it’s called Xubuntu.  I found that even with a Pentium III and 128MG of ram, Xubuntu runs well, even though I had to use the Alternate Install CD since the Live CD requires more ram.  

 

With Xubuntu, I could have a working machine safely on the internet with all the updates I need and all the packages I need in about 2 hours.  With Windows 2000, I spent all day trying to safely get all the updates and holes patched.  

 

Mathematica 6 Out Soon (we hope)

I just noticed today that the Mathematica site has changed. No, I don’t just surf the web until something looks different. You can notice the slight change from the always useful MathWorld part of their site. They have posted new information about the long awaited Mathematica 6.

There is no information about the release date, but I was able to get all the way to the payment screen of their online store before I realized they were selling the older Mathematica 5.2 with a free upgrade to Mathematica 6. To me, this points to an eminent release. Well, I hope it points to that.

Far more importantly, their site contains loads of information about what the new version can do. It looks quite impressive. They have made some considerable upgrades to their 3D plotting, and it looks great. Lighting, transparency and all the things you would expect to get out of a half decent graphics card are all there. Look for yourself here.

UPDATE:
Mathematica 6 is out, you just can’t download it yet when you buy it their online store. It does make a person ask just how out the program is.

Seed Video on Simulation and Science

Seed Magazine just posted a great video explaining the benefits of scientific computation. While this is an enormous task for an web stream video, they do a fantastic job in the time they have. If nothing else, it’s just fun to watch the flashing colors move on the screen. See it here.

Review: Skim-PDF Reader

If you own a Mac, it’s a little hard to get excited about a new PDF reader. Preview does a great job as a light weight reader and Adobe Reader works when you need forms to file your taxes. Both are free.
Scientists have a peculiar problem with PDFs, however. We use them ALL THE TIME. A good reader doesn’t just show the text and graphs. It also allows annotation, helps the user act as a librarian to keep things organized, and helps with searching. Some, such as DEVONthink, even try to make relationships between articles by using sophisticated AI functionality. Many folks have different methods to keep things organized. There has been an active discussion of different options at MacResearch.