News

Genetic Algorithms Reverse Resistance To Antibiotics   Wednesday 13 May

If you use antibiotics against bacteria then antibiotic resistance is inevitable. However, if you use multiple antibiotics in a clever way you can engineer the bacterial population to remain unchanged. This algorithmic approach to controlling evolution is one way that we might retain the usefulness of antibiotics for generations to come and also has wider applications.

Chrome To Support Simd.js   Wednesday 13 May

With Firefox support and Microsoft working on it in Chakra, the news that Chrome is to get Simd.js support completes the set - apart from Safari that is. 

Samsung's ARTIK Arduino Compatible From Small To Powerful   Tuesday 12 May

Samsung has woken up to the Internet of Things (IoT) and decided to provide the foundation that it needs. Three new devices - ARTIK 1, 5 and 10 - span the range from tiny wearable to eight core ARM and all Arduino Certified.

DNX The New .NET Execution Environment   Tuesday 12 May

Sometimes it feels like we are back at the start of .NET and, instead of being a tried and trusted technology, everything has still to be implemented. So it is with DNX, the new all-purpose execution environment that includes platforms on which .NET didn't used to run. 

Fujifilm Has A Patent On Converting To Greyscale   Tuesday 12 May

There are so many instances where software patents are clearly stupid but this one has to be seen to be believed. As long as you see it in color there should be no patent problems. 

IEEEXtreme Student Contest   Tuesday 12 May

The date of this year's IEEEXtreme, a global 24-hour programming challenge for student members of the IEEE, has been announced. It will take place on October 24.

CHIP - $9 Computer To Beat Pi & Arduino   Monday 11 May

I have seen a lot of amazing low-cost, single-board computers recently, but the CHIP is perhaps an amazement too far. It's not that I don't believe in it, I do, it is more that this really does threaten to be a revolution and I hope it succeeds.

Android M To Appear At Google I/O?   Monday 11 May

It is less than eight months since Android Lollipop arrived. However, Android M, which is rumored to be Marshmallow, is already waiting in the wings and is likely to be among the topics discussed at Google I/O 2015.

Learn To Program Flying Robots   Sunday 10 May

An edX MOOC that introduces basic concepts for autonomous navigation of quadrotors started on May 5, 2015. While it is an advanced level course, the first week was a gentle, general introduction so there's time to catch up if you join now.  

ABC++ Programming For Toddlers?   Saturday 09 May

Book Watch is the section of IProgrammer that covers newly released programming books, many of which will subsequently reviewed by our expert reviewers who are generally part of the audience the book is aimed it. "Programming Languages ABC++" is a title that we'll be looking to cover when it is published in September. 

Microsoft Dropping ActiveX And VBScript In Edge   Friday 08 May

Edge is Microsoft's new browser and it is an attempt to break with the past that Microsoft built for itself and for us. The list of technologies that are being dropped is only now being made clear.

NativeScript 1.0.0 Released   Friday 08 May

Version 1 of NativeScript, an open source system that allows you to write native apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone using JavaScript, is now available.

Embarcadero ER/Studio XE7   Friday 08 May

Embarcadero has announced ER/Studio XE7, the latest version of its data architecture suite. The new version makes it easier to track data and metadata and also handles changes to data models more automatically.

Python Adds Async And Await   Thursday 07 May

It looks as if the C# inspired async and await approach to asynchronous programming is eating the world. Python 3.5 is the latest language to adopt it. 

ASP.NET Updates   Thursday 07 May

At last week's Build 2015 developer conference Microsoft revealed how ASP.NET has been updated for Visual Studio 2015.

The Core

Just JavaScript - Life Without Type - Duck Testing And Prototype Construction   Thursday 07 May

Attempts to impose type on JavaScript just don't seem to work unless you turn JavaScript into a completely different language. We have already embarked on a consideration of how to live without type in JavaScript and now we move on to dealing with realtime type checking.

History

Vannevar Bush - The Man Who Didn't Invent The Computer   Tuesday 12 May

The story of Vannevar Bush is one of the strangest of the pioneers of computing. After all who else can you think of who positively disclaimed any credit for the invention of the digital computer:

" Who invented the computer? I can write at once that I did not: in fact I had little to do with that whole development".