Introduction to Differential Equations (M240) at Mercyhurst

Instr:	Dr. Roger Griffiths
Office:	Zurn Hall 213A
Phone:	824-2123
Email:	griffiths.roger@gmail.com (don't use my Mercyhurt email)
Text:	Fundamentals of Differential Equations (7th Edition), by Nagle, Saff, Snider

Notes:

Final Exam scores AND course grades are posted.
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My current Schedule

Winter 2010-11

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ACTION ITEMS:

Tell W3C: We don't want the Hollyweb

Hollywood is at it again. Its latest ploy to take over the Web? Use its influence at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to weave Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) into HTML5 — in other words, into the very fabric of the Web.
Read more > > > (sign the petition)

Do the Math Tour

It’s simple math: we can burn 565 more gigatons of carbon dioxide and stay below 2°C of warming — anything more than that risks catastrophe for life on earth. The only problem? Fossil fuel corporations now have 2,795 gigatons in their reserves, five times the safe amount. And they’re planning to burn it all — unless we rise up to stop them. This November, Bill McKibben and 350.org are hitting the road to build the movement that will change the terrifying math of the climate crisis. Read more > > >

Hampshire College distributes free software bundle to all incoming students

All incoming Hampshire College students this semester received a USB drive with download links for free software (listed below). The drives also included information about our student group and the importance of free software because people need to know how it is different from nonfree software and why the distinction matters. Read more > > >

Stand up for your freedom to install free software!

Help us raise awareness of free software

We, the undersigned, urge all computer makers implementing UEFI's so-called "Secure Boot" to do it in a way that allows free software operating systems to be installed. To respect user freedom and truly protect user security, manufacturers must either allow computer owners to disable the boot restrictions, or provide a sure-fire way for them to install and run a free software operating system of their choice. We commit that we will neither purchase nor recommend computers that strip users of this critical freedom, and we will actively urge people in our communities to avoid such jailed systems.
Read more > > >

Free software is simply software that respects our freedom — our freedom to learn and understand the software we are using. Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place by proprietary software, and so using free software lets you join a global community of people who are making the political and ethical assertion of our rights to learn and to share what we learn with others.

What is all this "open-source"/"Free software"?

Education: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." READ ON
Schools have a social mission: to teach students to be citizens of a strong, capable, independent, cooperating and free society. Read more > > > Why Schools Should Exclusively Use Free Software
Free software is a matter of liberty, not price The Free Software Foundation (FSF) OR
The Free Software Definition GNU.org- The Free Software Definition

Software - Open Source

(Free Software generally under the terms of the Free Software Foundation's GNU General Public License)

- LibreOffice is the free power-packed Open Source personal productivity suite for Windows, Macintosh and Linux, that gives you six feature-rich applications for all your document production and data processing needs: Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute (and much better than that expensive virus you are probably currently using).
The open source web browser.
- GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
The R Project for Statistical Computing - R is a free software environment for statistical computing and graphics.
XPPAUT a tool for numerically solving differential, difference, or delay equations
Maxima - a sophisticated computer algebra system
Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended for numerical computations (similar to Matlab).
Iode - free, but you will need Octave (see link below) or Matlab to use (phase plane utility).
SAGE: Open Source Mathematics Software - Creating a viable free open source alternative to Magma, Maple, Mathematica, and Matlab

Linux/GNOME users:

The problems with GNOME 3 are not as bad everyone is saying. Sure GNOME 3 itself is ...hmmm, well as Linux daddy Linus Torvalds says "GNOME 3 is an unholy mess", but the Xfce graphical desktop environment is a decent replacement for GNOME 2, so problem largely solved.

What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is an operating system built by a worldwide team of expert developers. It contains all the applications you need: a web browser, office suite, media apps, instant messaging and much more. Ubuntu is an open-source alternative to Windows and Office. Read more > > >

Your open access to the web is at stake - Debunk the Junk! Submit comments to the FCC to Protect Free Speech. Net Neutrality protects Free Speech!

Patent Absurdity

A new documentary film "Patent Absurdity" is set to expose how the judicial activism that led to the patenting of software has broken the US patent system's promise of promoting the progress of science and useful arts. This has ramifications for students, in the harm being done to software developers and the wider economy.