Colloquium Archive

The Software Development Cycle As It Applies To A Marketing Database

Eric Levinson, Broderbund, Novato

09/12/2002

It can be potentially difficult to please all those involved in the software development cycle. Marketing managers will design a feature spec and MRD (Marketing RequirementsDocument) and pass those on to the project manager. The project manager and engineering staff will then discuss the scope of the MRD and assign a very vague timeline to the various aspects of the project. In addition, the engineers will begin the Design Document, assumptions, test plans (both end to end and unit), as well as a project plan document describing everyone's role in the project. This talk will focus on the project as it makes itsway from a dream to a reality.

Five Decades In Molecular Graphics: From Pen-And-Ink To Star Trek Ii And Beyond

Robert Langridge, University of California, San Francisco

09/19/2002

When Watson and Crick proposed their model for DNA in 1953 their computer was a slide rule and the three dimensional visualization tools were wire models. As a graduate studentworking on DNA in Wilkins lab in 1954 my tools were still wire models, mathematical tables, a slide rule and a desk calculator. The illustrations for publications were pen-and-inkdrawings. In late 1956 I programmed the first application of a digital computer to DNA, using the IBM 650, but the visualization tools were unchanged. The application ofinteractive three dimensional computer graphics to molecular biology began in late 1964, with the use of the DARPA-funded three-dimensional display system at Project MAC, MIT, by Levinthal at MIT and myself at Harvard. In the following years computer graphics became an integral part of research on DNA and protein structure and in the design of therapeutic drugs. As a by-product, numerous TV programs and even one major motion picture made use of the graphics prepared at my NIH-funded Computer Graphics Laboratory, first at Princeton and later at UCSF.

Oo Design In Practice

Allen Holub, Berkeley

09/26/2002

Object-oriented design promises many things: faster development time, easier maintenance, programs that actually solve real users' problems. Though many companies like the idea of OO, few of them are able to implement these ideas effectively. We'll start this talk with a quick discussion of the OO process, from requirements gathering through to coding. We'll then discuss the special needs of an OO shop, and the impediments to implementing this process effectively in the workplace.

Neural Networks For Dummies And In Everyday Life

Anne Menendez, Silicon Recognition, Petaluma

10/03/2002

Neural networks are known for their ability to solve fuzzy and ill-defined problems that are too complex for conventional technologies. Understanding neural networks is also known to require experience in mathematical modeling and computer programming, not to mention the need for powerful computer systems. They have been used in R&D and governmental laboratories for years but are slowly emerging in applications such asfinancial risk assessment, robotics, machine vision, predictive maintenance and more. Anew neural network silicon chip called ZISC (Zero Instruction Set Computing) has the capability to turn this once privileged technology into an applied, easy-to-use and affordable technology. The chip implements the known RBF (Radial Basis Function) and KNN (K-Nearest Neighbor) neuronal models, but its key feature is a parallel architecture which delivers ultra high-speed performance and unlimited expandability. In consequence, applications of the ZISC can be seen in workstations (i.e. brainputer) for massive real-timedata mining where one pattern has to be matched among millions in a few milliseconds, as well as in appliances and sensors where intelligence (i.e. pattern recognition or non-recognition) can be distributed locally for direct decision making or for the selective transmission of the information of interest.

Digital Video Present And Future

Thomas "Rick" Tewell, Ligos Corporation

10/10/2002

This will be a presentation concerning the current state of the art of video technologies, Microsoft's new, bold, and a bit disturbing vision of the future of video and the Internet's role in the transmission of video images, clips and full movies. Included in the presentation will be a discussion of "home gateway" technologies as currently being fostered by some key customers.

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