code

Improving Microsoft's CodePlex by contributing Microsoft's own dog food

Wow. Double wow. I haven't seen Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols this worked up since, well, ever. He could almost be writing for The Register with the way he smacks around Microsoft for its top-25 (most active, mind you) open-source projects on CodePlex. It makes for very fun reading.

It doesn't, however, accurately portray the projects--there are some that actually sound useful and interesting--but I don't want a little (just a little, mind you) accuracy get in the way of a good ol' cage match between Microsoft and SJVN.

My favorite (and probably most apt) comment:… Read more

AMD's gift to software developers

On Monday, AMD released a proposal for "Lightweight Profiling" instructions (or LWP; download here), describing a new way for software developers to gather information on software while it runs.

I've only had a few minutes to check out the document, but it looks pretty interesting. Existing performance analysis tools, like Intel's VTune and AMD's CodeAnalyst, generally create significant overhead when gathering performance information. They usually need code that runs in supervisor mode, for example, and they're just for developer use--they aren't meant to be used in production systems.

LWP lets applications gather their … Read more

CodeWallet and eWallet duke it out for your phone

The brawniest smart phones may be equipped to withstand a hearty flinging across the room, and the brainiest may be able to finesse your multimedia or autocorrect your photos, but few can do on their own what CodeWallet Pro and eWallet Professional (various versions) can to manage and secure your data in a central, locked-down location.

I'm not talking about one smart phone with separate notebook, word processing, e-mailing, and database programs that have been shrunk down from their original desktop formats to disco with your data. I'm talking about programs that have been made with mobility in mind, that regard themselves as serious guardians of very sensitive information. Whether they stand up to the task and whether you really need them are issues we'll get to. To begin, let's take a look at eWallet Professional and CodeWallet Pro (which shall henceforth simply be known as eWallet and CodeWallet).… Read more

Marten Mickos at OSCON: Open source produces better software...

Tim O'Reilly had a fireside chat (minus the fireside) with Marten Mickos during today's Executive Radar at OSCON. Marten, ever insightful and pithy, didn't disappoint.

Here are a few of the things that caught my attention most in Marten's comments:… Read more

Open source in government: leadership needed

This morning I read the excellent research paper " Open-Source Collaboration in the Public Sector: The Need for Leadership and Value," and thought this part was particularly interesting:

The most important finding in this research, confirming a major theme in the literature, is that leadership and value are critical to the success of open-source collaborations in the public sector. Collaborations with a strong leadership structure, and more importantly a single leader who is persistent, passionate and willing to spend a great deal of time maintaining and improving the organization are much more likely to succeed. Value is also a … Read more

Rub-a-dub-dub, Crave in a tub

It's not that I don't understand the concept of a mini Bathtub Racer, I just don't see the point of it if you're clothed and/or not sitting in water. Without those elements, it might as well be anything! Where's the sense of adventure? Anyhow, here are the links for this episode:

RSS feeds via Morse code An antispying diary for kids Your daily dose of obnoxiousness: Mini Cooper limo with whirlpool

Download the Crave vodcast RSS feed, subscribe in iTunes, or paste this feed URL into the application you use to subscribe to vodcasts: … Read more

Dictation device talks the talk

Whenever we hear the word "dictation," we recall those cliched movie scenes of executives calling secretaries into their offices to take shorthand. But products like the "Digital Pocket Memo 9600" from Philips remind us how far technology has evolved the practice.

When used with its new docking station, the device can transfer dictations through a local network or the Internet to a transcriptionist or voice-recognition system without a computer, according to Gizmag. Real-time encryption and password protection ensure security, and a bar-code reader can be used to scan patient or client information and attach it directly … Read more

If the Roomba went to grad school

"Roombas" and "Scoobas" are fine for what they do, but--how shall we say this--they're kind of dumb. The "Microrobot UBOT," on the other hand, is kind of like a Roomba with a college degree.

Rather than randomly vacuum or scrub as it bumps its way about the house, the UBOT senses its target floor, sweeping and mopping at the same time in a single pass while avoiding duplicate cleaning. But just like some overeducated humans we know, it can correctly perform its duties only with the help of others--in this case, bar codes … Read more

Mashable takes on MySpace codes with Mashcodes

Mashable, the blog about social networks, launched Mashcodes last week, a sister site devoted to HTML codes for MySpace, blogs, and other social networks that support custom code. The move complements Mashable's coverage of these sites, and Mashcodes is easier to navigate and has fewer annoying ads than competing MySpace code sites like MyProfilePimp and MySpace-Codes.com.

The first thing I wanted to do after joining MySpace was get custom code for my profile. To my surprise, nearly all of the sites I pulled up on a casual Google search had a ton of pop-ups, off-site links, annoying ads, … Read more