coding

When Advanced Micro Devices came up with the name of "Congo" for its new dual-core chip targeting ultra-thin devices executives were thinking of the river in Africa, following the company's practice of naming mobile projects after rivers.

But some bloggers who monitor humanitarian crises and conflicts in Africa blasted the chipmaker for using the name of a country where civilians are dying and brutalized in a conflict over natural resources like tin, tungsten, and coltan that end up in electronics equipment like computers and mobile phones.

The Congo is "the place where trade in minerals vital … Read more

Imagine you wanted to create the Kindle killer, a revolutionary e-book device that matched and improved upon its functionality. What would you do? Well, you could, Mission Impossible-style, break into Amazon's Seattle headquarters and carry off the source code for the Kindle, then copy and extend its functionality to create a competitive device.

Or you could simply download the Kindle's source code from Amazon.com, where Amazon has already released the source code to the Kindle.

In fact, as TechCrunch rightly notes, the Kindle source code has been available since 2007.

Given this fact, why haven't you … Read more

The recent handful of news-centric shows forced us to depart from our normal story format, but with Palm Pre, Apple iPhone/Macbook/Pro news out of the way, we get back to our roots and tackle a ton of hilarious stories backed up in the queue. Time for some spring cleaning!

Starting this Saturday, June 13, Facebook will roll out a service called "Facebook Vanity" that lets users choose a specific username that will make it easier to direct friends to their profile address. For example, our friend Richard Topping can choose to assign his username and point people to "facebook.com/richardtopping" instead of just a string of random numbers. It's a great idea and makes pimping yourself out a lot easier, but be sure to wake up early on Friday night to be the first to register your own name. That is, unless your name is Wilson Tang--who the hell would want that awful handle?

Next in the lineup are two Twitter services that show you who are, and more importantly who ARE NOT your true friends. FriendorFollow tells you who you are following that isn't following you back in return. Sorry to open up the floodgates on this one, but beware the angry tweets directed your way that'll read something like, "WTF?! @Malusbrutus stopped following me, that SOB! I'm so not signing your yearbook!"

Or, if you're really desperate, you can sign up for Useqwitter and the site will e-mail you immediately when one of your friends stops following you on Twitter, and it'll also tell you exactly which of your tweets caused their departure. For example, a message you receive from Qwitter could look like this:

Justin Yu (malusbrutus) stopped following you on Twitter after you posted this tweet:

OMG this Dave Matthews Band concert surreausly rulez0rZ, I luvvv the way Davey can't seem to open his whole mouth when he sings! Creed is performing next, I'm in muzik HEAVEN!

CardStar is a free app that's designed to help you thin out your wallet or key chain, by replacing all of your discount, reward, and membership cards with bar codes. CardStar requires some work up front, as you have to enter your identification numbers by hand for each card. The app currently supports more than 130 companies, from popular grocery and drug stores to gyms, airlines, and libraries. You can also use the app's "advanced" mode to enter cards for companies that aren't listed.

The developers behind CardStar say that the app works better with … Read more

The attackers behind a series of rapidly spreading Web site compromises have begun using a new domain to deliver their malicious code, security experts say.

The attacks, collectively referred to as "Gumblar" by ScanSafe and "Troj/JSRedir-R" by Sophos, grew 188 percent over the course of a week, ScanSafe said late last week. The Gumblar infections accounted for 42 percent of all infections found on Web sites last week, Sophos said.

Over the weekend, the Chinese Web domain used to deliver the malicious code--gumblar.cn--stopped responding, according to Unmask Parasites, a service used to detect malicious … Read more

RapidWeaver occupies a middle ground between entry-level Web design applications like iWeb and the big-gun programs intended for Web design professionals. You still get access to higher-powered features (especially with the use of plug-ins and code snippets), but RapidWeaver is never daunting, focusing on simplicity over flexibility. You get all the tools you need to quickly create attractive, relatively complex Web sites--including easy integration of blogs, images, and video--without any coding and using a visually appealing interface that's so intuitive you'll barely have to crack a manual.

RapidWeaver offers a fast, sensible workflow, giving you many possibilities for … Read more

Last fall, we told you about Apple's iPhone Signal Strength Placebo, an iPhone code that helps diagnose problems connecting to AT&T's 3G network. Dialing *3001#123456#* and pressing "Call" starts a field test on your iPhone with results that can be used, for example, to gauge signal strength. (It also offers a slew of other information probably beyond your comprehension unless you happen to be a cellular engineer.)

While the above code above is the iPhone's most useful, there are a number of other interesting codes, many posted at methodshop.com. According to … Read more

For the uninitiated or nongamers out there, the Konami Code (UP UP DOWN DOWN LEFT RIGHT LEFT RIGHT B A) is arguably the most famous cheat code in video games.

It has been used in countless games and has references in multiple forms of pop culture. Lately, some sites have taken to using the code to trigger amusing events on the page. Recently, ESPN used the code to spawn unicorns and rainbows all over its pages.

Now, Facebook has dropped the code into its site. When entering the Konami code, followed by Enter, a lens flare is generated every time … Read more

Ace reporter Caroline McCarthy from CNET News joins the show today to bring us bacon chocolate from Foodzie. It's kind of like, Etsy but for food. Wilson doesn't partake in the bacon, but he munches down on the bourbon chocolate. Jeff's not a fan of swine cocoa, but Justin can't get enough of it.

However, Justin's not a fan of Apple's iPhone warranty policies. Apparently, he dropped his iPhone into a puddle of something. We're not exactly sure what, but we're pretty sure you can't drink it. Anyway, because of this whole ordeal, he's decided to become Justine.

Additionally, ESPN.com tries to be cool when it briefly enables the "Contra code" for its Web site. The hack lasted for about 45 minutes before it got shut down, but we give the site props for making unicorns and rainbows cool again.

It's Tuna Tuesday again, and we get a phone call from Tina. Finally, Twitter has become popular enough to ban at work. We get around it with this new Web app that fakes an Excel document with all your Twitters.

Be sure to check out Jeff Bakalar's appearance on Dan Levy's podcast "On the DL." He talks about tech and hockey. Lastly, a show about supercute kittens and puppies uses The 404 music loop. Didn't know the music could go both ways.