Programmer Puzzles

Sharpen your Coding Skills - Elevator Puzzle   Friday 27 July

Introducing Melvin and Bugsy, characters who are the creation of Joe Celko who has joined the team to give you an opportunity to sharpen your coding skills with puzzles that will both amuse and torment you.

News

Google Apps Developer Challenge   Wednesday 01 August

There's still time to enter the Google Apps Developer Challenge 2012, which is accepting first round submissions until August 24th. It's worth a look as the field is wide open, the prizes are large and App Script is worth learning.

New Chrome 21 Can See & Hear   Wednesday 01 August

With the latest stable release of Chrome, web applications can now access the built-in camera and microphone of your internet-bowsing device, i.e. desktop PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet.

Introducing Arduino Leonardo   Tuesday 31 July

The latest version of the Arduino is not just cheaper and simpler, it offers some new possibilities. The Leonardo can simulate a USB device.

Apple Leading In the Mobile Enterprise   Tuesday 31 July

Gaps are widening between the attractiveness of iPhone, Android and Windows Phone 7, according to a recent survey of developers, and Apple is clearly seen as dominating in the mobile enterprise.

How To Disrupt Spontaneous Synchronicity   Tuesday 31 July

Spontaneous synchronization is a common phenomenon - from walkers pacing in time to the development of rhythmic applause at rally and concerts. But it isn't always good. Can you disrupt the system by placing a few "contrarians" in the crowd? It turns out to be possible.

Oracle offers route from SQL Server to MySQL   Monday 30 July

The latest version of MySQL Workbench has a new migration wizard designed to provide an easy way to migrate databases from third party products to MySQL.

BlueHat Prizes Awarded   Monday 30 July

Microsoft has awarded over $250,000 to three winners of its first ever BlueHat Prize contest, all of whom submitted solutions designed to counter ROP attacks.

SAFECode Guidance for Agile Practitioners   Monday 30 July

SAFECode, an industry consortium dedicated to assuring the security of software, has issued guidelines for incorporating security into the Agile coding process. Guidance for Agile Practitioners

Nao Climbs The Stairs   Sunday 29 July

The robot revolution will come in small steps and none bigger than Nao's climbing of a spiral staircase. Nao may be a small robot but the physics of climbing a complex staircase is more or less the same for a full size humanoid robot. Watch the video and see it happen.

IARPA Awards $15.6 Million To Find Where A Photo Was Taken   Sunday 29 July

You take lots of photos and of course you know where they were taken but the intelligence services would like a system than can scan in a photo and tell you exactly where it was taken - anywhere on earth.

Cartoon - The EULA From Hell   Sunday 29 July

The End User License Agreement is perhaps the greatest invention of the legal system, apart that is from the patent. Users are supposed to agree to the terms presented but most don't even read what they are agreeing to.

What's New In Firefox 15 And 16   Saturday 28 July

Firefox changes so quickly it is difficult to keep up with what features are in development. Firefox 15 is now in beta and 16 is on its way. Let's take a look at what is on offer.

Sight A Short Movie About Future AR And Google Glass   Saturday 28 July

If you think Google Glass is cool watch this movie and see how it could all work out in the future and not that far away. The movie is short but it packs the story telling of a full feature. After you have seen it you won't forget it, or look at augmented reality in the same way again.

Microsoft Downs Flight   Friday 27 July

Microsoft released a new version of Flight Simulator back in February this year - yet it has already decided that the product can't stay in the air.

Coming Soon - The Internet Association   Friday 27 July

A new US lobbying group is being formed to strengthen and protect an open, innovative and free Internet. So far it has a website and Michael Beckerman has been appointed as its President and CEO.

Windows Phone 8 SDK Leaked - No JavaScript, Silverlight or XNA Apps   Thursday 26 July

The full Windows Phone 8 SDK has leaked online and there are one or two surprises. In particular it appears that, while the API is very much like the full WinRT API, there is no JavaScript support. There is also no support for creating and working with Silverlight/XNA style apps that target WP8.

Oracle Gives Up on Fortress   Thursday 26 July

Oracle is stopping work on the HPC Fortran alternative language project, Fortress, due to the difficulties it presents.

NetBeans IDE 7.2 - Increased Coding Productivity   Thursday 26 July

NetBeans, the free open source IDE for Java and PHP, has reached version 7.2 which provides new static code analysis capabilities in the Java Editor and integration with JavaFX Scene Builder.

HTML5 Standardization Gains Sponsorship   Thursday 26 July

W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium, has announced ongoing financial backing from Adobe, Google and Microsoft to support the activities of the HTML Working Group.

Build 2012 Announced   Wednesday 25 July

Microsoft has just announced Build 2012, the replacement for its long-running developer conference, PDC.

eBooks

Java Working With Class   Monday 30 July

The Swing components have provided an easy approach to the idea of objects, but there comes a time when you have to find out how to create your own. In this part of Modern Java, we look at the standard ideas of object-oriented programming.

History

The SWTP Effect - How The Microcomputer Revolution Started In The UK   Wednesday 01 August

In this third and final part of our look at the early days of the microcomputer revolution as it happened in the UK, we focus on the amazing and idiosyncratic SWTP family of computers which played the role in the UK that the Altair did in the US.