Aug 27

"The Longest Poem in the World" is composed by aggregating real-time public twitter updates and selecting those that rhyme.  It grows at a rate of about 4,000 verses each day.  This novel site was created by Andrei Gheorghe, a web developer from Bucharest, Romania.

Here is the most recent start of the poem when it had 370,866 verses:

If life were easy and not so fast, I wouldn’t think about the past
and all the sudden, life is changing and its changing so fast.
is watching Ren and Stimpy. It’s becoming a nightly habit.
I had a dream that I had a sidekick and a rabbit.
Pride pride pride and now more harry potter!
and its only going to get hotter…
and learning again…
and then….
Tired and going to bed.  Good night everyone.
cup of tea and a caramel slice anyone?
and you know this working on a new song
Second day of school and still going strong
College just gets worse and worse.
Gift and the curse!
super bored and tired. cant sleep tho
And away we go…
oh no, are the bad word police after me and my potty mouth again?
Just done something a bit mad and creative. Lets see what happens then!
The Internet; where courtesy and reason go to die.
Yup im at school and i passed up a fine ass guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, it isn’t Shakespeare, but it is a pretty cool idea.  This may also go down in history as the greatest collaborative work ever.

Aug 26

This is part 12 in a series of articles on obscure programming languages.

What is L# .NET?

L Sharp .NET is a Lisp-like scripting language for .NET.  It uses a modern Lisp dialect and integrates with the .NET Framework, which provides a rich set of libraries.  The L# library is open source under the copyleft free software license.

L# .NET Design

L# .NET is a dynamic computer programming language intended to be compiled and executed on the Ecma-334 and Ecma-335 Common Language Infrastructure (CLI).  It has a small, simple, extensible core that’s coded in C#.  The source code is easy to follow, and you can easily add your own functions in C# or L#.

L# .NET History

The L# language and its first implementation were designed by Rob Blackwell in 2007.  It was adapted from Paul Graham’s proposed Arc programming language and redesigned to use the .NET Framework. 

“Hello World” in L# .NET

"Hello World"

References

Aug 14

We all know that software licenses are a joke.  They’re overly long, full of complex legalese, and completely indemnify the software manufacturer of any responsibility whatsoever.  Software is perhaps the only mainstream business in the world where it’s both expected and accepted that its products are flawed.

So it’s quite refreshing to see a software license that’s short, to-the-point, and brutally honest:

Aug 14

We’ve discussed before the “21 Laws of Computer Programming.”  Now PC World has come up with “35 Unwritten Laws of Technology.”  Here are some of my favorites:

The likelihood that Windows will automatically install time-sucking critical updates is directly proportional to your need to get your PC started.  — Steve Fox, PC World

Your backup plan is only as good as your last successful restore. — Michael Fisher, ElephantDrive.com via HARO

Fix a computer for a friend or family member, and you’ll be tech support for life. — Danny Allen, PC World

Your laptop’s battery life is inversely proportional to the amount of work you need to get done on a single charge. — Blair Hanley Frank, Macworld

iTunes will crash. That’s it. No, really. — Darren Gladstone, PC World

35 Unwritten Laws of Technology

Aug 12

Actual conversation at a national computer chain store:

Customer:  Now what does this 512MB of RAM mean on this PC?

Salesman:  Umm… RAM is what slows down your PC.  See, it rams into your processing power, causing slowdowns.  That’s why it’s called RAM.

Customer:  Are you sure?

Salesman:  Who’s the expert here?

From the Page-A-Day® calendar, 365 Stupidest Things Ever Said

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Aug 10

Internet Explorer 6Web designers worldwide are staging an online revolt against the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 web browser.  The designers claim that “IE6,” which was released 8 years ago but is still used by 20% of users, is “crippling the Internet’s potential and slowing down the online experience.”

The "IE 6 No More" website seems to be the hub of online dissent against IE6.  The site includes code that developers can insert into their websites to encourage IE6 users to upgrade.  Some websites already provide hurdles or roadblocks to IE6.  For example, YouTube sends a message to IE6 users, asking them to upgrade to another browser like Internet Explorer 8, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.  However, YouTube will continue to function in basic mode for IE6 and other outdated browsers.

Continue reading »

Aug 07

Follow these steps to unhide a Facebook Friend that you have hidden:

Step 1.  In Facebook, click the News Feed link, which is usually on the top-left corner of the window:

Facebook "News Feed" link

Continue reading »

Aug 05

Etch-a-Sketch sample programGoogle has released a simple programming language called, appropriately enough, “Simple.”  The goal of Simple is to provide an easy-to-learn-and-use language for the mobile Android platform.  As a BASIC dialect, Simple is particularly well suited for non-professional programmers, but can also be used by experienced developers.  Simple enables programmers to quickly write Android applications by using components included with its runtime system.

 

Tetris sample programSimilar to its 1990’s relative BASIC developed by Microsoft, Simple programs consist of form definitions (which contain components) and source code (which contains the program logic).  The interaction between the components and the program logic happens through events triggered by the components.  The program logic consists of event handlers, which contain code reacting to the events.

 

Simple is available for Windows, Linux and Mac.  The language is open-source and includes sample applications and a tutorial.

Google warns that the Simple project is still a work in progress and likely contains bugs and missing features.  Given that the language is open source, Google encourages developers themselves to fill any gaps in functionality.

Aug 01

DevTopics is now on Twitter!

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