computer – Singapore Maths Tuition

Spyder Typing Delay

Recently, the Spyder IDE faced serious typing delay or lag. Basically, after entering something using the keyboard, it takes almost half a second for it to appear on the screen. The issue can also be described as a typing lag in Spyder.

This seems to have been triggered by the installation of Big Sur OS.

Spyder slow on Mac

After intensive googling, we stumbled upon this Github page detailing several possible solutions.

The one that worked for us was installing pyqt and pyqtwebengine. Basically, type the following commands in the terminal:

pip install PyQt5
pip install PyQtWebEngine

The above solution should be very safe since it is just installing Python packages.

Spyder lagging

The above solution helped to solve the troubling issue of Spyder lagging. Since Spyder uses Qt for its GUI, it is critical to keep the various Qt related packages updated / at the correct version. This may be the reason why installing PyQt5 and PyQtWebEngine helps to remove the lag in Spyder.

Spyder very slow

There seems to be many reasons, other than the above, that can result in Spyder being very slow. One tip that is useful, is never update to the latest version of Spyder, Mac OS, or Anaconda immediately once it is released, unless it is absolutely necessary. Most of the bugs appear in the newest releases, and can cause multiple problems including making Spyder very slow. By updating at a later date, most of the bugs would have been solved by then and it is a much safer approach.

Previously, updating to the latest Spyder 4.1.5 also caused several problems, including lag, slowness or even Spyder simply just crashing.

Updating Spyder takes forever

Spyder is a Python IDE that is bundled together with the Anaconda distribution.

There are some problems that are commonly faced when it comes to updating Spyder. One way to update Spyder is to open Anaconda Navigator and click the settings button which has an option to update Spyder. But the problem is that the process can take a very long time. The process shows that it is “loading packages of /User/…/opt/anaconda3”.

Updating Spyder is constricted by …

Another way to update Spyder is to type “conda update spyder” in the terminal. A problem that can crop up is the error message: “updating spyder is constricted by …”

Anaconda stuck updating Spyder [Solved]

For my case, it turns out that the version of Anaconda Navigator is outdated. Hence, I first updated Anaconda Navigator to the latest version.

Then, instead of clicking “Update application” which still didn’t quite work, we click on “Install specific version” and choose the latest version of Spyder (Spyder 4.1.5 in this case).

Then, the updating of Spyder in Anaconda Navigator worked perfectly!

How to update Spyder using Anaconda-Navigator: Click “Install specific version” instead of “Update application”.

Python Online Courses for Teenagers/Adults

If your child is interested in a Computer Science/Data Science career in the future, do consider learning Python beforehand. Computer Science is getting very popular in Singapore again. To see how popular it is, just check out the latest cut-off point for NUS computer science, it is close to perfect score (AAA/B) for A-levels.

According to many sources, the Singapore job market (including government sector) is very interested in skills like Machine Learning/ Deep Learning/Data Science. It seems that Machine Learning can be used to do almost anything and everything, from playing chess to data analytics. Majors such as accountancy and even law are in danger of being replaced by Machine Learning. Python is the key language for such applications.

I just completed a short course on Python: Python A-Z™: Python For Data Science With Real Exercises! The course fee is payable via Skillsfuture for Singaporeans, i.e. you don’t have to pay a single cent. (You have to purchase it first, then get a reimbursement from Skillsfuture.) At the end, you will get a Udemy certificate which you can put in your LinkedIn profile.

The course includes many things from the basic syntax to advanced visualization of data. It teaches at quite a basic level, I am sure most JC students (or even talented secondary students) with some very basic programming background can understand it.

The best programming language for data science is currently Python. Try not to learn “old” languages like C++ as it can become obsolete soon. Anyway the focus is on the programming structure, it is more or less universal across different languages.

Udemy URL: Python A-Z™: Python For Data Science With Real Exercises!

Higher paying job than Doctor / Lawyer

We encourage top students to look beyond the traditional Singaporean jobs of Doctor / Lawyer as there are new emerging jobs that can equal or even surpass the pay of Doctor/Lawyer.

At the end of the day, do also consider your passion and aptitude, which may be more important than the salary. No point being stuck in a high paying job that you absolutely hate.

Do share this post with your children/relatives/classmates who may be choosing their courses after receiving their ‘A’ level results.

Source: Todayonline

SINGAPORE — A high-paying job as a doctor or lawyer has traditionally been the career path that many Singaporeans aspire to. But there is now a new kid on the block, with double degree graduates in business and computer science joining the ranks of top earners here.

According to the latest graduate employment survey released by three local universities on Monday (Feb 26), fresh graduates from Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) business and computing science double degree programme commanded a median starting salary of S$5,000 last year, up from S$4,600 in 2016.

The median salary for the batch of 20 graduates matched that of their peers who graduated from the law and medicine faculties. They were also in demand with employers, as they recorded a 100 per cent overall employment rate.

Meanwhile, fresh computing science graduates were also among the highest paid last year. Those who graduated from this course in NTU got a median starting pay of S$3,850 last year, up from S$3,500 in 2016. Their counterparts from the National University of Singapore (NUS) received S$4,285 – S$285 more than in 2016.

However, rankings differed for 75th percentile salaries — the base salary of the top 25 per cent of the batch — as SMU-schooled lawyers emerged as top earners at S$5,840, compared to NUS doctors’ starting pays of S$5,305, and S$5,362 for NTU’s business and computer science graduates.

Growth of starting salaries in law and medicine was tepid, however, as law graduates from NUS and SMU only received about S$100 and S$150 more respectively last year, while NUS doctors banked in about the same amount as their seniors.

Alternate Admission Route to NUS Computing

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/nus-eyes-more-aptitude-based-admissions

Good news to students who are interested to study Computer Science. There is now an alternative route for students who are short of the cut-off point (currently at least two A’s).

To win a place on the increasingly popular computer science degree course at the National University of Singapore (NUS), students need at least two As for their A levels. Next year though, students eyeing a computing degree can be admitted through another route.

They can take up a five-month-long computer programming course at NUS and if they do well, gain fast-track admission into the degree course, even though they may fall short of the required grades.