The Insider News

Ars Technica[^]:

My journey into the Dark-ish Side began during a chat with our security editor, Dan Goodin, who remarked in an offhand fashion that cracking passwords was approaching entry-level "script kiddie stuff." This got me thinking, because—though I understand password cracking conceptually—I can't hack my way out of the proverbial paper bag. I'm the very definition of a "script kiddie," someone who needs the simplified and automated tools created by others to mount attacks that he couldn't manage if left to his own devices.... It sounded like an interesting challenge.

Neowin[^]:

We already know that Internet Explorer 11, the next iteration of the world's most popular browser, will include tab syncing as part of the Windows Blue update, which has leaked onto the Internet. Neowin has also discovered that IE11 will include new code which tells the host website that IE is, in fact, Firefox. Some websites serve certain versions of Internet Explorer (we're looking at you, 6) with custom CSS code in order to make sure the website displays in a readable way. These practices are known as "CSS hacks" and target IE6, 7, 8 with a different type of CSS code than other browsers, such as Chrome and Firefox.

latimes.com[^]:

The most courageous politician in California — probably the nation — is a Berkeley city councilman, Gordon Wozniak. His gutsy act: proposing that the government tax email. Yes, sacrosanct, time-gobbling, out-of-control email.... Here's how I'd set it up: Emailing within a company would be tax-free. I'd allow everyone a certain number of untaxed, private emails a month — 100, maybe 200. After that, each message would cost one cent, up to a certain size. If they ran off the screen, they'd cost extra — just as a bulky letter costs more than a 46-cent stamp. After 500 emails, the fare would be hiked to 2 cents to discourage the junk-mailers. Copy 500 people on one message, that's 500 emails.

The Verge[^]:

Windows Blue made an early appearance on the internet over the weekend and we've had a chance to experience some of its new features. The upgrade to Windows 8 looks like it's going to bring a host of improvements, fixes, and some new built-in apps too, but the biggest changes are on the UI side. Microsoft now supports smaller Live Tiles and the company is changing the way you arrange them on the Start Screen. Moving ever closer to Windows Phone, you can pick between large, medium, and small Live Tiles for applications.

Derek Sivers[^]:

When everyone else is trying to automate everything, using a little human intervention can be a competitive advantage. The problem is when business owners see it as a cost, instead of an opportunity. Trying to minimize costs, instead of maximize income, quality, loyalty, happiness, connection, and all those other wonderful things that come from real human attention.

JasonSingh[^]:

As developers, we often find ourselves under a lot of pressure to crank out code and copy then paste it somewhere else in a solution and make a slight modification here and there and get the product out the door. It's a frequent occurrence and hence the number of lines of code is not a great measure of quality code. There's nothing wrong if it gets the code out the door, however, when we have time we can go back and fix this. What happens, if we don't and some code has been copied and pasted in different renditions and a bug comes up in one of the scenarios?

8th Light[^]:

Decoupling your application from the details provides you with the ability to defer implementation decisions until you have a clearer picture of what you really need. In addition, decoupling has the added benefit of making it easier to test your system. In this post I want to take a closer look the Repository Pattern as a way that we can decouple ourselves from one of those details: the database.

John Papa[^]:

Flustered by so much JavaScript? Concerned with all the seemingly new patterns to learn? Confused about how to organize it? You are not alone. Let me put it another way: if you work on a ASP.NET MVC project take a look at all of the dll’s in your references folder. How many is too many there? I bet they don’t bother most folks. Rarely do I hear complaints about that. Is it because Microsoft put them there? Or is it because they are out of sight out of mind? Or possibly we are just used to them being there. Now let’s take a look at the 3rd party JavaScript libraries...

LWN.net[^]:

Linux is used for everything at SpaceX. The Falcon, Dragon, and Grasshopper vehicles use it for flight control, the ground stations run Linux, as do the developers' desktops.... The Dragon flight system... is a fault-tolerant system in order to satisfy NASA requirements for when it gets close to the ISS. There are rules about how many faults a craft needs to be able to tolerate and still be allowed to approach the station. It uses triply redundant computers to achieve the required level of fault tolerance. The Byzantine generals' algorithm is used to handle situations where the computers do not agree. That situation could come about because of a radiation event changing memory or register values, for example.

Wired.com[^]:

The Windows Blue update is expected to roll out this summer or fall, and is the first in Microsoft’s new Windows update plan. Instead of rolling out a new operating system every two to five years, Microsoft is speeding up and moving toward yearly Windows upgrades. But Windows Blue isn’t limited to only touch improvements. Several reports indicate that the next version of Windows will see an updated Search Charm, support for smaller (7- and 8-inch) devices, and built-in Internet Explorer 11.

Ars Technica[^]:

As promotions go, this is an odd one. Paying developers to develop for your platform is a risky business.... In an argument put forward by former Microsoft employee Charlie Kindel (who led the company's developer outreach efforts for Windows Phone 7), it does more than reflect a wilting app market. This move attracts developers who aren't particularly invested in the success of the platform (and hence in the quality and support of their applications), but are trying to make a fast buck from cranking out simple applications.

Informal Protocol[^]:

In the last few years, an interesting alternative to paper currency has risen in the form of Bitcoin. I started paying attention to Bitcoin two years ago, and have owned some ever since. I’ve purchased physical and digital goods with it, as well as traded it for cash. It’s particularly intriguing to me because it maintains the core properties of economic models while creating a system of inflation guided by encryption algorithms rather than humans. And it’s grown in huge popularity over that time, with a net worldwide worth of over $750 million USD at the time of this writing. Many people have asked me about Bitcoin, so here’s a basic introduction to what Bitcoin is and how it works.

Redmondmag.com[^]:

Microsoft today released two of its new Windows Embedded 8 operating system products today, with a third product expected next month.... Microsoft's embedded operating systems, while based on Windows 8, are designed for use with specialized devices, kiosks and electronic signs. Each OS has its nuances. The embedded versions have a lot of the functionality of their desktop OS cousins, but "not all of the functionality,"... Moreover, some of the embedded OSes are modular and let the OEM swap out features, while others are more fixed. There's also a middle ground.