Question

Hello. Name's Seth.

I just stumbled upon "The Mechanical MOOC" and was instantly interested in the course, but I'm brand new to the world of programming and was wondering... am I too late to sign up for the emails? (also, where do I sign up?) And since it's the day of the courses beginning, do I have a lot of catching up to do?

Answer 1

The signup is on the Mechanical MOOC page. However, there are also people that just look at the blog posts, follow the format, and ask questions here.

Answer 2

Never too late to sign up at http://mechanicalmooc.org. This is not a class in the conventional sink-or-swim sense. We've structured a learning experience and help people move through it together, but you can also go at your own pace following the course sequence ( http://mechanicalmooc.wordpress.com/sequence/) or the blog ( http://mechanicalmooc.wordpress.com).

Answer 3

I appreciate it. I read over the entirety of the blog posts twice and eventually found where to sign up, and received my email immediately after. So, the best place to start would be MIT OCW 6.00SC, getting started PDF and installing Python, correct? Again, thanks for the help, guys. I can already tell there will be no shortage of support.

Answer 4

I have Windows 7. Should I download Python 2.6.8 Gzipped or Bzipped? And what exactly are the differences?

Answer 5

Just get the latest 2.7.x. It will do fine.

Answer 6

You're sure? When I click on the "Install Python" link, it says "install version 2.6.x. NOT 2.7.x. or 3.x.

Answer 7

Well, you can try it. But in 2.6.x has had troubles with newerversions of windows at times. If it works, great. If it hives you trouble, go to 2.7.x

Answer 8

I'm just trying to be as precise as I can be in following the guidelines on the mechanical mooc wordpress, not doubting you in any way. You clearly know what you're talking about, so you think it will be acceptable to just go ahead and download the 2.7.x?

Answer 9

For the MIT stuff I have not seen any difference between 2.6.x and 2.7.x on things people have run here. Now, 3.x is a completely different ball of wax.

Answer 10

I figured the 3.x would be a whole lot more complex. Is that the reason they're not using it to teach us? Because they haven't fully witnessed its capabilities and downfalls?

Answer 11

Is Windows x86 MSI Installer and Windows x86 MSI program database what I need to download?

Answer 12

Actually, no. 3.x, other than 3.0, is a huge deal better. They ficed several long standig issues. But they also changed a few core things. Like print is no longer a command, it is a function. So there are things that happen very differently.

Just the installer should do.

Answer 13

Should I download the Windows X86-64 MSI installer since I have a 64 bit processing system?

I apologize for my endless questioning; like I said before, I like to be very precise. I'm real great at over analyzing just about everything.

Answer 14

I think people have had better luck with the 64 on 64 bit systems.

Answer 15

Thank you for the assistance. I should be able to start on the assignments tomorrow (later on today), but for now, I'm going to download and fire up Python and get a basic understanding of it, then watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail, of course.

Answer 16

And remember to be IDLE
http://www.cs.uky.edu/~paulp/CS115F11/labs/Lab0.html