What questions about the course do you have that are not answered by the web site?

Does this course require us to bring a laptop and/or flash drive every class? If it is not required, would this be helpful?

No, it is not required. All your files are available on the MathLAN, from any computer. I don't think it would be helpful, and could even be detrimental in certain circumstances.

For pair or group work, do we usually get randomly assigned partners or do we form our own group?

For in class lab work, you'll be randomly assigned partners that rotate every three days. For homework and the final project you can choose your own group, or I will assist those who desire to have a group but do not.

Also, are lab write-ups the only thing that we can submit jointly with partners?

No. Your lab write-ups, homework assignment, and project (any thing you do in a group) can be submitted jointly. You may elect to submit a lab write-up individually, if you do not finish it with your in class partner.

One more question, most of the project can only be done on school's computers, not on our own laptops, right?

While it's not forbidden to use your own computer, getting the software to run on other platforms may not be possible.

Do we have access to our current standing in the class from time to time?

While I do not post your average, I do return all items with scores and you should be able to transparently calculate your course average based on the weighting scheme given in the syllabus. If you have concerns during the course of the semester, you should feel free to speak with me

Will be using our personal laptops or school computers or both? Are Macs ok?

While there has been success installing GIMP+MediaScheme on Macs in the past, I do not know the current status of that project. See this page

If any, what kind of programming language(s) will I learn throughout this semester? Or are all languages saved for future courses?

We will be learning Scheme (according to the RSR5 definition) with custom extensions that connect to the GIMP.

I wonder whether the knowledge we learn here can be easily be applied to other language like C or C++.

Yes, while C is an imperative and C++ is an object-oriented language (paradigms our CSC-161 and CSC-207 courses cover, respectively), the fundamental ideas of structuring programs you learn in CSC-151 will carry over.

I don't really care either way, but what is your policy in regards to snacks during class? I assume that since we will be working with computers you'll want us to treat them nicely which would require little to no snacks during class to keep them clean, but I thought that I would ask anyway since your class is before lunch and I might get hungry at least once while working.

I don't have a problem if you need to eat during class. I've found most students responsible and careful with food in the labs. Do take care, and everything should be fine.

I'd like to know more about the history of Scheme, where and how it's used, and other languages that are similar to it.

Fabulous! I would start with the wikipedia page

Will you have any plugs during the semester about the kind of work you do with computer vision?

Maybe. Absolutely if I have any papers published during the semester. I will tell you about the department's seminar series, which will have other cool applications of computing (perhaps vision, too).