DevTopics is a high-level and sometimes satirical look at software development and computer technology. DevTopics is written by Tim Toady, the founder of Browserling Inc, a cross-browser testing company. When we occasionally dive into the details, it's usually about C# and .NET programming. (More)
The decline of western civilization is now complete. The #1 app for the iPhone is iFart, the digital equivalent of a whoopie cushion. The software sold $10,000 worth on its first day. And since no good deed goes unchallenged, there are over 75 farting apps now available for the iPhone.
And just when you thought that things couldn’t get any stinkier, InfoMedia, which developed iFart Mobile, filed a legal complaint in Colorado District Court against Air-O-Matic, makers of the rival “Pull My Finger” app. Apparently Air-O-Matic sought $50,000 from InfoMedia for using the terminology “pull my finger” in a news release and YouTube promo video. Air-O-Matic also asked Apple to remove iFart from the iPhone App Store, but Apple told the companies to work it out themselves.
So InfoMedia decided to take the matter to court, claiming that the term “pull my finger” is common English slang and a “descriptive phrase” and therefore not covered by trademark.
The RAND Corporation has published a book called “A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates.” Here’s a brief description: “Not long after research began at RAND in 1946, the need arose for ‘random numbers’ that could be used to solve problems of various kinds of experimental probability procedures. These applications, called Monte Carlo methods, required a large supply of random digits and normal deviates of high quality, and the tables presented here were produced to meet those requirements. Still the largest published source of random digits and normal deviates, the work is routinely used by statisticians, physicists, polltakers, market analysts, lottery administrators, and quality control engineers.”
If the mere existence of such a book isn’t funny enough, check out the user reviews found on Amazon.com:
almost perfect, October 26, 2006 By a curious reader
Such a terrific reference work! But with so many terrific random digits, it’s a shame they didn’t sort them, to make it easier to find the one you’re looking for.
Sloppy., July 27, 2005 By B. MCGROARTY
The book is a promising reference concept, but the execution is somewhat sloppy. Whatever algorithm they used was not fully tested. The bulk of each page seems random enough. However at the lower left and lower right of alternate pages, the number is found to increment directly.
People often say that one’s design should be modular. Sadly, many people take this as meaning “use modules.” Having modules in a program does not mean that the program is modular. This is generally the point where I whip out the strong coupling and zero-dependency diagrams and beat your brain into submission, but my law school exams have been going pretty well, so I’ll try a nicer approach today.
You know what’s modular in the real world? Condoms. They can be used as a contraceptive, to prevent STDs, as a barrel plug on paintball guns, to protect a live gun barrel from moisture when wading through rivers, to smuggle liquids or powders in the human body, and so on. But what makes condoms so modular in the first place?
Regifting Robin is a cool mind trick that can guess any two-digit number you imagine.
Go to Regiftable.com to play the game, then come back here for an explanation on how it’s done. Though if you are a programmer, you should be able to easily figure it out for yourself.
Keyboards are a terrific example of how bad design can get stuck in a rut and unable to overcome inertia. Everyone says dvorak keyboards are far superior to qwerty, yet even after 25 years of dvorak, qwery is still king because its use is so ingrained.
But another aspect of keyboard design that has me really grumpy is the numeric keypad appendage on desktop keyboards. It is a holdover from the days when users were “data entry clerks.” But we are stuck with this design, and it has started to annoy me lately because I’ve been switching between a laptop during the day and a desktop at night.
Working with a desktop keyboard after using my laptop is strange and difficult. After some reflection, I realized the problem. My right-hand is used to shifting all the time between jkl; and the mouse. On the laptop, this is a subtle and effortless gesture. On the desktop, it’s like playing table tennis.
There’s an old saying that, “In tough financial times, buy Procter & Gamble stock,” because people will always need toilet paper and laundry detergent. In recent years this adage seemed to be true with tech companies, because in our new technology-dependent economy, companies will always need computer hardware and software.
But although the global recession took a while to reach Silicon Valley, it’s clear that tough times are in store for the tech industry as well. This shouldn’t be a surprise, however. Companies are shedding millions of jobs across the country. New jobless claims hit 589,000 on January 17, matching a 26-year high reached four weeks ago. As companies in other industries lose jobs, they find themselves with a glut of extra computers, so hardware spending slows to a crawl. And as money becomes tight, companies will surely delay upgrades to Windows Vista even longer, many skipping Vista altogether while they wait for Windows 7.
Software giant Microsoft announced Thursday it will cut 5,000 jobs over the next year and a half. Microsoft will eliminate 1,400 positions immediately, with the rest cut by June 2010. The company said it will save $1.5 billion in operating expenses and another $700 million in capital expenses.
Microsoft also posted lower fiscal second-quarter net income of $4.17 billion, down 11% from last year. The company reported earnings of 47 cents per share, missing analyst estimates of 49 cents.
Microsoft said the job cuts and soft income is the result of “deterioration of global economic conditions.”
almost perfect, October 26, 2006 By a curious reader
Sloppy., July 27, 2005 By B. MCGROARTY
Regifting Robin is a cool mind trick that can guess any two-digit number you imagine.
