When I noticed that I would have to reference Web colours in RGB hex code, I was glad I was already very familiar with hexadecimal code.
I greeted the discovery of external scripts for JS and CSS with joy, because I knew how versatile those external scripts could become; I only needed to code one particular style or JavaScript function or object once, in one file, and use that code throughout the site; maintenance would be a breeze, too, because I'd only have to update a given style or JS function, again, in one place.
So, to summarise, my first thought on becoming acquainted with HTML, CSS and JS was "This is going to be so useful."
I first learned about HTML by studying the tags in web page source codes in college. This was not part of the curriculum: I was picking up the skill off my own bat.
Likewise for Javascript and CSS (and basic use of forms and CGI); I first learned about them by looking at inline scripts, and later learned how to invoke external script files. I was already out of uni when I began to learn about them.
In the 1960s, Gerry Anderson's series Thunderbirds did more than just entertain a generation of kids with his trademark Supermarionation puppetry adventure - Gerry Anderson liked to think big, and he liked to think like a scientist and engineer.
Some of his adventures hinged upon ambitious engineering projects such as mile-high arcology buildings, moving skyscrapers the size of the Empire State Building, and manned sun probes. Some of his ideas were vetted by organisations such as the Ministry of Defence for possible viability.
His stories inspired a generation of British kids to become thinkers, mathematicians, engineers, chemists ... hackers.
For all that his shows were television entertainment, Gerry Anderson's contribution really stands on a par with that of the late Sir Arthur C Clarke, imo.
I certainly do not support such a measure; nor does anyone I know.
973 people were polled. In no way can that tiny population represent the views of the more than 60 million Brits alive today. The pollsters should have made a bigger study and approached more diverse groups.
It looks like the TechCrunch comments page has somehow merged with the SuperPoke Pets forum. Nobody complaining about their Video Inbox or Pool Party products getting shelved.
It was for me. But then, I had a good maths tutor. Ironically, I cannot recall his name. But the lessons he taught stayed with me, so at least he's remembered for something.
In five years' time, it would not surprise me to hear a television news presenter saying something like "And now, to summarise the news we have been breaking and following online on our news feeds ..."
TV news will essentially become the backwater of news coverage, as most of what we'd call journalism will shift primarily to an online form.
I'll expect some old dinosaurs, desperate to hang on to their fading sovereignty, who will strive to break the news on broadcast TV rather than on Twitter and then Facebook, in that order - but that will be a minority, and that attitude will probably have become all but extinct within twenty years.
The kids have it nailed already. If you want the news, you go online to get it. You don't wait till 18:00 or 23:00 when you get home. If it's happening now, you'll want to know about it there and then, on your Android, BlackBerry or iPhone. Just wait till they're old enough to have kids of their own ...
I greeted the discovery of external scripts for JS and CSS with joy, because I knew how versatile those external scripts could become; I only needed to code one particular style or JavaScript function or object once, in one file, and use that code throughout the site; maintenance would be a breeze, too, because I'd only have to update a given style or JS function, again, in one place.
So, to summarise, my first thought on becoming acquainted with HTML, CSS and JS was "This is going to be so useful."