I would first try to interest a Seattle Times reporter in the David vs Goliath slant. They will know when the sauce is being poured on too thick.I agree this is a bit confontational in tone but I also agree with Dennis' sentiments (if I understand them) which is to try to create a "god angle" for the story in the first place. Another angle we could focus on, instead of the David vs Goliath one, is the remarkable fact that so many people have banded together behind William in such a short time for a math project. I think this is unheard of for a CAS project not funded by a company and certainly has taken some people by surprise I think. A human interest story might be of interest to the a local paper and Dennis' idea of drafting an idea up is great but I personally would vote to see first if a reporter would like to pursue it. Does anyone know any reporters in the Seattle area?
On 5/16/07, William Stein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 5/16/07, Robert Bradshaw <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I agree with Justin Walker that this seems a bit to confrontational > > for my tastes. Maybe that's what the business world likes? > > > > I think we should wait at least until the calculus package has been > > given some serious hammering by non-experts. > > My brother's response: > > "I think the conforntational tone makes it more likely to get picked up > by non-academic media. It gives it some drama that makes the article > interesting to people who don't care at all about math, but would > spend a few minutes reading about a local professor taking on the big > guys through a grass roots effort. With the focus on UW, I think > Seattle papers could be interested. The article wouldn't do you any > good in the math world, but might make you some contacts outside of > it. A little fame outside your circle could do some good, or it could > just be fluff or be negative if it alienates your base." > > --- > > His point is that the target audience is people who have very little > to do with math, but who find the "story" of SAGE compelling. > Making people like this aware of SAGE could indeed be very > helpful in the long run. > > > > > - Robert > > > > > > On May 16, 2007, at 10:39 AM, William Stein wrote: > > > > > > > > Hi Sage-devel, > > > > > > My brother, who is businessman and is neither a mathematician nor a > > > serious programmer, just > > > sent me a draft of a "press release" for SAGE that he wrote. I wonder > > > what you think of it? We could polish it up and send it to some media > > > outlets at the appropriate moment (another question > > > is when that moment be): > > > > > > ------------------------------------------ > > > > > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > > > > > > Contact: > > > William Stein > > > Associate Professor of Mathematics > > > University of Washington > > > Tel: 206-290-6427 > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > UW Math Professor Professor is David (vs Goliath) > > > > > > Seattle, May 16, 2007 University of Washington math professor > > > William Stein and his team are the "David" taking on the "Goliaths" of > > > the math software world including powerhouses such as Magma, Maple, > > > Mathematica, and MATLAB. For decades, these larger organizations have > > > had a stranglehold on math software. The result has been software > > > with limited functionality at a very high price. Professor Stein has > > > brought together a global, grassroots team of mathematicians and > > > programmers to create a free, open-source, alternative to the Goliaths > > > of math software. > > > > > > The project is called SAGE, which stands for Software for Algebra and > > > Geometry Experimentation. The program is open-source and completely > > > free. It can be downloaded or run via a web interface at > > > sagemath.org. > > > > > > The importance of the software being open-source cannot be understated > > > and is a key differentiating factor between SAGE and other math > > > software, much like the difference between the Linux operating system > > > and Microsoft Windows. Open-source software allows users to go in to > > > the code, add their own improvements, and then submit them back to the > > > SAGE team. These kinds of improvements simply can't happen with the > > > competing math software on the market. Also, in mathematics, an > > > understanding of the code that performs the calculation is essential > > > to using it in any mathematical proof. Hidden code that math > > > non-open-source software prevents this understanding greatly limits > > > its ability to be used in mathematical proofs. > > > > > > Users of the software have initially been those from the mathematics > > > community, but could in the future also be from government, business, > > > and the general public. > > > > > > Sage Days 4, the fourth developers workshop for the project, will be > > > held at the University of Washington from June 12 to 17. The workshop > > > is funded in part by a National Science Foundation grant. For more > > > information, visit sagemath.org or email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > -- > > > William Stein > > > Associate Professor of Mathematics > > > University of Washington > > > http://www.williamstein.org > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > William Stein > Associate Professor of Mathematics > University of Washington > http://www.williamstein.org > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To post to this group, send email to sage-devel@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sage-devel URLs: http://sage.scipy.org/sage/ and http://modular.math.washington.edu/sage/ -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
