Countdown to PDC2008: Rick Rashid, a Researcher’s Researcher

Posted By: Charles | Oct 18th, 2008 @ 2:18 PM | 45,959 Views | 17 Comments
17 years in the same job?  Yep, Senior Vice President of Microsoft Research, Rick Rashid has been doing the same thing since the first day he joined the firm, and he’s still loving it.  Listen to Rick talk about all of the cool innovation coming out of MSR, and he foreshadows his PDC keynote warning audience members to be thoughtful about where they sit during his speech. Hmmm.  Whatever in the world could that possibly mean?  Who cares!  Mike’s got apple pie in this, his final PDC Hard Hat Challenge.  Bonne chance!
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#Oct 18th, 2008 @ 6:37 PM
mswanson
mswanson
For those who'd prefer to download the Hard Hat Challenge image, here you go.
#Oct 20th, 2008 @ 8:39 AM
DaleRoss
DaleRoss
recursion
I'm seeing some symmetry, but it could be all for "nought".  Just need that revelation now that will take me across the line.
#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 1:17 PM
Captain JiNX
Captain JiNX
J i N X
Hmm.. I just can't let this out of my mind: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-shift_keying#.CF.80.2F4.E2.80.93QPSK
Just let me know... Am I on the wrong track?
This challenge was not easy! The winner should receive two shirts. Wink

/JiNX - See you at PDC...

#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 3:16 PM
DaleRoss
DaleRoss
recursion
If you're on the right track then I should probably give up. I've generated images, stared at the output for a few hours in total,  NOTTED the output since he said all the clues we've given or NOT given you and I'm still yet to see anything.  Why did I not do a degree in Math Sad.

One more night....It shall be revealed!  The positions of those zeros must mean something, it must!!!

Quite a bit of the numbers are divisible by 3 as well. What does that mean to me? NOTHING Smiley

 
If all goes well I'll be seeing you all too. I'm so excited.
#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 8:03 PM
mswanson
mswanson

Captain JiNX...sounds like you know exactly what you're doing. Smiley DaleRoss...JiNX won our sixth Hard Hat Challenge, and unfortunately, he can't win a second time, so you still have time. I'll hold off on the hints unless others would like a couple.

#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 10:30 PM
Decorum
Decorum
Hint, pleeeeease! I'm thinking about this so much it is starting to adversely affect my relationship! But not too many or too easy hints at once - just one small clue at a time!
#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 11:30 PM
mswanson
mswanson
Okay...here are two hints that should help:
  • The food we were served
  • And what we did
#Oct 22nd, 2008 @ 11:55 PM
DaleRoss
DaleRoss
recursion
Ok I already applied what you did after performing a bitwise operation based on where I saw that | .  what you did was applied to each 8bit sequence.
Based on Jinx's analysis I'm assuming what you ate "Pie" referred to the type of PSK Modulation that was Wiki'd.  I here trying to see if the type of "Pie" (apple) could be of any significance.  After trying to use a variation of the method wiki'd I came up with a new sequence of numbers that are ALL divisible by three.  Could just be a mathematical co-incidence that resulted from the operations performed but could it mean something? Anyhow I've divided by 3 and still nothing of significance.

CEREAL/SERIAL?? APPLE??? PIE/PI?? ROTATE ONE????  |

Good thing I'm single Smiley.
#Oct 23rd, 2008 @ 12:17 AM
DaleRoss
DaleRoss
recursion

You choose a bit from here, you choose a bit from there,you choose a bit from here and you write code for hours. You do this hokey- pokey after you've turned the bits around. That's what it's all about!!!

Off to bed! All the best to all those who are still on the quest.

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