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Read Me (NeuroSim)
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1996-02-20
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_______________________________________________________________
NeuroSim — A freeware Mac application
Version 1.0 (February 1996)
By Timo Eloranta
Copyright © 1996 Brown Eyes Software
All rights reserved.
Internet e-mail: sttiel@uta.fi
WWW home page: http://www.uta.fi/~sttiel/
_______________________________________________________________
Contents
• Description
• System Requirements
• How to "Play"...
• Known Weaknesses
• Version History
• Credits & Acknowledgments
• Distribution
• Fine Print
• Need a Mac Developer?
• Contacting the Author
Description
NeuroSim is a simple neural net simulator. A neural net is formed
by a matrix of connected neurons. Every neuron has a state which is
described with an integer. Every neuron also has a border value, which
equals the number of connections starting from the neuron. When the
state of the neuron exceeds the neuron's border value, the neuron lights
up and sends an impulse to all the neurons it's connected to. The impulse
increases the state of every connected neuron by one. After lighting up
the neuron's state returns to zero.
NeuroSim allows the user to create new neural nets with specified
characteristics and to "play" with the nets by manually lighting up
certain neurons (known as receptors). There's also a demo mode...
System Requirements
• a Mac equipped with a 68020 or greater CPU
• MacOS 7.0 or later
• about 500 K of free RAM
• a color monitor
• ObjectSupportLib (only PowerMacs need this)
• Note: NeuroSim is a "fat binary" and runs entirely in native PowerPC
code if you have a PowerMacintosh (or compatible) !
How to "Play"...
Before creating a new net you can use the Parameters dialog to
set some attributes. You can specify the desired quantity of connections
starting from every neuron. You can also set the average horizontal and
vertical length for the connections, as well as the allowed deviation from
these average values. (If you set the deviation values to 0, all of the
connections will have a uniform length and direction.) Note that both the
average vertical and horizontal length can have negative values (to the
left and down...), but deviation values are always non-negative. Finally,
you can set the net size with the slider (min.: 2x2; max.: 14x14).
To create a new net use the "New" command (brilliant, eh?).
The number in each neuron is it's current state. The colors also have
a specific meaning (this is why you really should have a color screen
to use this toy). Red means that the neuron is in its border state and
will light up from the next incoming impulse (Note that neurons with
no outgoing connections are red right from the beginning.) Green means
that that the neuron is in "0-state" (and below its border state...).
Neurons which are between 0-state and their border state are drawn
in blue color. When a neuron lights up, it's drawn with yellow.
There are two things you can do to the neurons. Firstly, the neurons
on the left side (in the 1st column) are so called receptors. You can
force any receptor to light up by simply clicking it with the mouse.
Secondly, you can check the "outgoing" connections of any neuron.
With normal neurons (not receptors) this is done by clicking with the
mouse. With receptors you also need to hold down the option-key
in order to not to light the receptor up. In both cases the connections
are shown as long as the mouse button is held down.
Finally, if you're too lazy to click them receptors yourself, you can
switch NeuroSim to demo mode with the "Start Demo" command.
Finding out the way to return back to "manual drive" is left as an
exercise to the reader...
Known Weaknesses
I wrote NeuroSim in 9 days in January '96 for a programming class at
the University of Tampere. The essential weakness of the application
must be its lack of a real purpose... As a simulator it is "toyish" at best
and if it were supposed to be a game it should have a goal of some sort.
NeuroSim will probably be most useful to other programmers, since I
intend to make all of the source code freely available.
Version History
1.0 19 Feb 1996
• Initial public release.
Credits & Acknowledgments
• First of all, my thanks to Leena Heino and Mika Niemelä, who
helped me to design NeuroSim.
• Secondly, I'd like to thank Leo Breebaart for testing and his
encouraging comments.
• Special thanks to Scott Squires (squires@crl.com) whose Slider
package NeuroSim uses for the slider in the Parameters dialog.
Slider is available from the PowerPlant Contributed Class
Archive at ftp://atlantis.metrowerks.com/pub/powerplant/.
• NeuroSim was created using CodeWarrior 8 (by Metrowerks) and
ResEdit 2.1.3 (by Apple). I highly recommend the PowerPlant
framework which is part of the CodeWarrior package.
• Folder icon was made with Folder Icon Maker 1.5 by Greg Robbins.
Distribution
NeuroSim is freeware, which means that you can use the program for free
but that I still retain the copyright. More specifically, this program cannot
be sold for a profit or distributed thru a commercial channel
without my written consent. Distribution via online services, BBS's,
Internet, person-to-person and other non-commercial means is acceptable
provided that all original and unaltered files are included in the package.
Fine Print
[ Here comes the more or less obligatory boring stuff... ]
NeuroSim is supplied "as is". The author makes no warranties, either express
or implied, and will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential
or indirect damages, including but not limited to loss of data or psychological
damage. The person using this software bears all risk as to its quality and
performance. By using this software, you are subject and agree to the terms
in this disclaimer. In short, use NeuroSim at your own risk.
Need a Mac Developer?
[ I've read a great many ReadMe files in my life, but never have I seen
anything like what you're about to witness in this section. I guess this
shows above average ingenuity — or exceptionally poor taste... Before
I go any further, I'd like to say that modesty is a fine characteristic in
a person, but it's nothing but a handicap when you're trying to get hired!
So, you're now entering the "modesty-free" zone... ]
I'm writing this in February 1996. I'm looking forward to graduating from
the University of Tampere in March or April 1996. After that I'd be ready
to get a full time job. Even as the unemployment situation is pretty bad here
in Finland, I'm not really worried about getting hired. To be honest with you,
I've already been offered a developer position in a local software company.
But this company does not develop for the Macintosh and I'd really, really,
REALLY want to become a professional Mac developer!
So, now that I have this opportunity, I'm offering myself to any software
company in the world that could use my skills and motivation (in my beloved
homeland there aren't too many companies developing for the Mac, so I'd
certainly consider moving anywhere in the world).
I'm afraid I'm NOT an experienced Mac programmer — not yet anyway. NeuroSim
is my third "real" Mac program and only the second one to be released publicly.
But I've got other assets to make up for my lack of experience. My main asset
must be my ability to learn things — in other words, I'm quite a bit brighter
than your average Joe (or Jill) Mac... I graduated from high school as the best
of my school (in 1989) with a perfect 10.0 grade average (the scale in Finland
is from 4 to 10). During my university studies I've tried to relax a bit more, but
I've still kept well above average with my grades. I'm majoring in computer
science (surprise, surprise...) but I've also studied mathematics and statistics.
I speak Finnish, English, German, Swedish (only if I get paid for doing so...) and
also understand some Spanish. C++ must be my strongest programming
language, but I'm also familiar with Modula-2, E, Pascal, Smalltalk, Oberon-2,
Eiffel and Prolog (more or less in a descending order of experience).
Okay, my modest nature won't let me go any further. You can read more about
me and my interests from my WWW home page (the URL is at the top of this
document). If you're interested in hiring me, please get in touch.
Contacting the Author
For questions, praise, bug reports (oh no!), comments and job offers, I can be
reached via Internet e-mail at
sttiel@uta.fi (should be valid at least through August 1996)
or by "snail mail" (postcards would be greatly appreciated!) at
Timo Eloranta
Väinämöisenkatu 11 D 347
FIN-33540 Tampere
Finland (Europe)
_______________________________________________________________