Microsoft's Math-Challenged STEM Education Contest 96
theodp writes "As noted earlier, Microsoft is tackling the CS education crisis with a popularity contest that will award $100K in donations to five technology education nonprofits that help make kids technically literate. Hopefully, the nonprofits will teach kids that the contest's voting Leader Board is a particularly good example of what-not-to-do technically. In addition to cherry-picking the less-pathetic vote totals to make its Leader Board, Microsoft also uses some dubious rounding code that transforms the original voting data into misleading percentages. Indeed, developer tools reveal that the top five leaders in the Microsoft STEM education contest miraculously account for 130% of the vote. Let's hope the quality control is better for those Microsoft Surface voting machines!"
suckdot (Score:1, Insightful)
Picking on them for donating money to nonprofits - MS bashing has reached a new low.
Yeah they should hoard their cash like Apple and Oracle.
Re:That was a pretty silly rant (Score:5, Insightful)
Crediting an organization receiving just 46 out of 6,735 votes with 10% of the vote instead of 0.68% probably wouldn't receive a thumbs-up from data viz folks like Edward Tufte.
Re:suckdot (Score:5, Insightful)
They refuse to pay taxes which support services like schools and then brag about the few crumbs they throw out on the floor for a few non-profits. There is plenty to bash Microsoft for.
You are SO right! (Score:3, Insightful)
Is this really the message you want to send?"
What we SHOULD be showing them is the truth!
The long hours sitting behind a computer.
The unreasonable deadlines.
The drudgery of coding and the very infrequent times of creativity.
How to jocky one's resume to fit the laundry lists of skills "needed". And then tell them about the reality that those job postings are written for poaching talent from other firms. (ex. Write a job description that only the lead dev at Google could match.)
The stagnant pay. You won't make much more than what you started with out of school unless you get into mgt.
Watching the CEO get a bug up his and can all everyone and send the work overseas.
And after a few years, every job seams to be doing the same shit. "New technology" is just a rehash of the same old shit. And having to listen to newbies who actually do think the "new technology" is new - Oy!
Dealing with employers who think what they're doing is rocket science and the most innovative thing since sliced bread.
I mean really, there hasn't been any real innovations in commercial computer science in decades. The last innovation was the World Wide Web.
It's a stagnant commodity field. If you got brains, go into medicine. That's where the challenges, money and need are.
Re:I would rather see them pay taxes (Score:4, Insightful)
They gave money to NGOs in Haiti where if there had been centralized governmental agencies running the efforts the waste would have been far lower. Governments are actually more efficient than the private sector in many things, esp. those for which there is no profit. And NGOs do not have economy of scale.
Re:Classic neckbeardism (Score:5, Insightful)
MS is awarding is less than what a single, typical developer in Washington state makes in a year, a fraction of which alone goes to the school(s) that win. I think if it were $10 million across the top 10 schools evenly it would be a lot more impressive, and impactful. Or, just maybe $5 million across 5 schools, and $50k scholarship to 100 students chosen from those schools for use in higher education later on.
As it stands the award money (might) pay for a teacher at one school, and a T/A at another, but it's really a drop in the bucket, and won't impact any change in the system. MS is probably spending close to as much as the award on the website for the award, and whatever marketing they are doing here, for what is a really pitiful award.