The Insider News

iMore.com[^]:

London-based security researcher Ibrahim Balic has come forward, claiming he may be the one behind Apple's recent security threat. Following Apple's statement to developers earlier regarding a security threat to the developer portal, Balic posted a comment on TechCrunch's report of the story trying to set the record straight that no harm was ever intended. In the post, Balic explains that he uncovered 13 bugs while researching Apple's security, and reported them all through Apple's bug reporting site.

The Saint[^]:

My principal memory from that period was a meeting in which I, as the resident 3D expert on the DirectX team, was asked to choose a handedness for the Direct3D API. I chose a left handed coordinate system, in part out of personal preference. I remember it now only because it was an arbitrary choice that caused no end of grief for years afterwards as all other graphics authoring tools adopted the right handed coordinate system standard to OpenGL.

Pete Brown's 10rem.net[^]:

Like many of you, I spend the majority of my day on a desktop PC. My PC happens to have two 30" displays, neither of which is touch, and a Logitech Touch Pad that has some basic gesture recognition.... In the course of regular usage, I've found a bunch of desktop features which make huge difference in the usability of Windows 8.1, but which aren't talked about a lot. So here are the little things that matter. This isn't a rah-rah post, just things that *I* personally found useful as a long-time user of Windows (since Windows 3.0, in case anyone is counting).

Elegant Code[^]:

A while ago, I was thinking about which programming language I wanted to learn next. At first I was doubting between Scala, Ruby or perhaps Clojure. But I couldn’t really make up my mind. So I decided to pick up Seven Languages in Seven Weeks. This way I was able to take a small bite from a couple different cakes in order to decide which flavor I liked the most.

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.

Quote:

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.