Microsoft just released another .NET language: Small Basic, designed to get MS back into the business of teaching programming.
I have to laugh at parts of the release document. For example, the claim that programming languages started simple and easy to learn, and that the high-level concepts of modern languages discourage people from learning to code. [...]
I typically think of myself as an average guy with some nerdlike tendancies. Sometimes, however, I am faced with evidence that I may be more than a standard deviation from average in this respect.
Tonight, for example: like many other flight school students, I spent some time studying 5 and 9. Also, I had a two [...]
Today you get a picture from a shrine which will bless and purify computers and related things.
Kind of the Shinto version of St. Expedite.
Start by learning Reverse Polish notation. Don’t just grasp the concept; use it to solve several real, complex problems. If you have any programming knowledge at all, implement a calculator which uses RPN input. This lays the foundation for understanding a stack-based, postfix system, which is what Japanese really is.
Learn Scheme. Whether or not you [...]
I’m using Chrome right now to post this; I’ve been trying it out for the last hour or so. My first impression: it is not yet ready to replace Firefox as my primary browser.
It delivers on the promises in the comic. Tabs are first-class entities; a window is more a convenient way to organize a [...]
The Google posts are just piling up here recently. Today, they issued notice that they’re releasing an open-source browser of their own design, with a UI and architecture differing in significant respects from more traditional browsers. Naturally, the release announcent came in the form of a webcomic (by Scott McCloud, no less).
I looked at the [...]
The Android project keeps moving forward. Recently, the winners of the Developer Challenge have been announced. Of these, there are a number that I think will be great to have.
Locale. Automatically changes phone settings based on triggers. What this means is that you can set your phone to automatically go to vibrate at work or [...]
I guess I’m not the only person who hates writing user interfaces.
So, the MBTA has gone to court to prevent some MIT students from presenting a talk at DefCon which reveals vulnerabilities in its RFID ticketing system. This may not have been a smart move, as now the vulnerabilities are a matter of public record.
Anyhow, Wired has a proper news report about the whole thing. The [...]