The Insider News

Robotron 2084 Guidebook[^]:

After reading the Edge article on the Making of Berzerk, you’ll learn from Mr. McNeil that the game went through 2 earlier phases before acquiring Mazes. "I figured I’d need barriers between the robots and the human. So I started looking at maze generators, and devised a super-simple scheme...."

TechHive[^]:

Scientists often talk about creating artificial intelligence, but how "intelligent" are these systems really? Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago came up with an answer after giving one of the top artificial intelligence (AI) systems an IQ test. The system, ConceptNet 4, was built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was determined to be about as smart as the average 4-year-old.

AllThingsD[^]:

Apple’s developer site was accessed by “an intruder” last Thursday, the company has disclosed, and Apple has not ruled out the possibility that developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses were compromised.... Before it reopens the developer site, Apple is “completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database,” the email said.

Ars Technica[^]:

An otherwise healthy earnings statement from Microsoft was overshadowed by a substantial $900 million charge attributed to "Surface RT inventory adjustments." The ARM-powered tablet, Microsoft's first foray into selling computers, recently had its price cut by $150 to $349 amid long-standing reports of poor sales. With this $900 million charge, those poor sales and price cuts are hitting Microsoft's bottom line.

Monday Note[^]:

The Microsoft surprise... has infused the discussions of the company’s future, what Ballmer will do with his new organization now that the Redmond Giant (finally!) seems to be aware that it’s playing catch up in a Post-PC era. As luck would have it, I got a draft of Ballmer’s memo to a small group of Microsoft execs. I can’t vouch for its authenticity — it was “regifted” through a series of contacts, friends and foes of old OS wars — but I hope you’ll find it interesting.

Forbes[^]:

Smartphones are susceptible to malware and carriers have enabled NSA snooping, but the prevailing wisdom has it there’s still one part of your mobile phone that remains safe and un-hackable: your SIM card. Yet after three years of research, German cryptographer Karsten Nohl claims to have finally found encryption and software flaws that could affect millions of SIM cards, and open up another route on mobile phones for surveillance and fraud.

The Register[^]:

The NSA has admitted that the organization's use of Microsoft SharePoint allowed an unnamed sysadmin to leak information. In what can be perceived as either a ringing endorsement of SharePoint's "collaborative power", or a depressing admission that, yes, spooks use the same infuriating software as we do, NSA chief General Keith Alexander indicated recent leaks came from a sysadmin being given SharePoint privileges.

The Verge[^]:

Back in June of last year, Microsoft started teasing a "major announcement" that would soon be revealed as its first tablet: the Surface RT. There was an air of excitement, and the expectation that Microsoft might be able to tackle the iPad head-on with a slim and lightweight device that took advantage of a keyboard accessory. Fast-forward 12 months, and Microsoft is cutting the price of its Surface RT tablet by 30 percent worldwide because it's simply not selling.

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According to IDC the company only shipped 900,000 of the tablets in the first three months of 2013. Earlier this week in an apparent bid to boost flagging sales the company announced a dramatic price cut of £100 off the basic Surface RT tablet.

Taking the £590m write-down into account, it would suggest that Microsoft has a store of six million unsold Surface tablets.

Ars Technica[^]:

Despite the growth of "NoSQL" databases over the past few years, SQL isn't going anywhere. In fact, it seems Structured Query Language is in ascendance in a realm that once seemed bent on excluding it: "Big Data."

8th Light[^]:

For those new to Test Driven Development, understanding how to take small, incremental steps when writing your tests can be a confounding practice. Even the most basic of problems can lead a developer down a frustrating path. It is possible to write all of the "right" tests, but if they are in the wrong order, the benefits of TDD can decrease significantly.

Jimmy Bogard's Blog[^]:

I’ve taken something like a 3 year hiatus from web applications to work mostly on SOA/messaging systems using NServiceBus, and am recently back on an MVC project. Lots of things have changed, but a lot is still the same.... So, in no particular order, some items that stood the test of time.

Flurry[^]:

Many consumer surveys point to an obvious conclusion: most people hate seeing ads on smartphones and tablets. But the truth is, contrary to the desire for an ad-free experience, when faced with the choice between free apps with ads, or paying even $.99 for apps without ads, consumers overwhelmingly choose the free apps and tolerate the ads.

Marcus Blankenship[^]:

In his role as a Business Systems Manager (BSMs), Scott had to make promises to various internal clients, but didn’t control the resources necessary to deliver those promises. In addition, he didn’t have his own “team”, but had to share the pool of IT resources with other BSMs. So what did he do that set him apart?... He spent most of his time fostering relationships with people on the Help Desk, Programmers who served his customers and the systems administrators that were responsible for the applications his customers relied upon.

Nettuts+[^]:

It's truly a unique and interesting experience to watch someone transcend from one community to another with little to no issues. In this case, we're talking about Elijah Manor who successfully worked to build his reputation in the open source community while still maintaining his strong presence in the Microsoft world. He has the best of both communities at his disposal, now able to leverage his cross-platform expertise into a new life-changing role with Pluralsight.

Computerworld Blogs[^]:

Windows may be the software that helped gain Microsoft gain worldwide dominance, but if the company wants to thrive in the future, the Windows brand may need to die. Microsoft would still build Windows operating systems, but would emphasize the Microsoft brand instead, and cut prices drastically for Windows licenses. So conclude several analysts, and they may well be right.

Anil Dash[^]:

In my years working in technology, I have learned a few things. These lessons have become oft-repeated refrains when speaking to people, so I thought I'd collect them so I have a link to send folks when needed. 1. Given enough time, any object which can generate musical notes will be used to play the Super Mario Brothers theme on YouTube....

Microsoft on the Issues[^]:

Today we have asked the Attorney General of the United States to personally take action to permit Microsoft and other companies to share publicly more complete information about how we handle national security requests for customer information. We believe the U.S. Constitution guarantees our freedom to share more information with the public, yet the Government is stopping us.... Until that happens, we want to share as much information as we currently can.

The Verge[^]:

With this quarter's mixed financial results, Nokia revealed that Lumia sales were up to a record high of 7.4 million. That means that the company sold more Windows Phones last quarter than BlackBerry sold phones. Just one year ago, BlackBerry was selling almost two phones for every one Lumia Nokia sold. It's a stark change of fortunes for the Canadian manufacturer, and appears to reaffirm Microsoft's statement that Windows Phone is now the third-place platform for smartphones.

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Comparing the latest Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) List Of Top 100 Global Software Leaders published in May of this year with current Glassdoor ratings based on employee feedback provides valuable insights into the best software companies to work for in 2013.

CodeProject[^]:

I’m David Rodriguez, a happy Spanish guy living and working in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) where I born. I am one of the lucky ones who has the opportunity to work with cutting edge technologies at DNN as the Lead Engineer on the Cloud Team.