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Comment Re:Port it away from Java... (Score 1) 56

Are those feelings or do you have data to back that sentiment up? Yes the Java jre has a few ethical problems (I'm looking at you, planned yahoo toolbar), however, the language itself isn't bad. It has one of the most mature development communities out there. With the addition of Streams and Lambdas, I think it's finally hit a nice balance between complexity and features.

Education

Learn-to-Code Program For 10,000 Low-Income Girls 473

theodp writes: In a press release Tuesday, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) announced it was teaming with Lifetime Partner Apple and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on its Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to engage 10,000 girls in learning computing concepts. "Currently, just 25 states and the District of Columbia allow computer science to count as a math or science graduation requirement," explained the press release. "Because boys get more informal opportunities for computing experience outside of school, this lack of formal computing education especially affects girls and many youth of color." HUD, the press release added, has joined the Commitment to Action to help extend the program's reach in partnership with public housing authorities nationwide and provide computing access to the 485,000 girls residing in public housing. "In this Information Age, opportunity is just a click on a keyboard away. HUD is proud to partner with NCWIT to provide talented girls with the skills and experiences they need to reach new heights and to achieve their dreams in the 21st century global economy," said HUD Secretary Julian Castro, who coincidentally is eyed as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, whose daughter Chelsea is the Clinton Foundation's point-person on computer science. Last year, Chelsea Clinton gave a keynote speech at the NCWIT Summit and appeared with now-U.S. CTO Megan Smith to help launch Google's $50 million girls-only Made With Code initiative.

Comment Re:Complex (Score 2) 99

No, I'm the kind of guy who wants everyone to be great by thinking creatively on how to simplify complexity. Steve Jobs said it best, "That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."

I want more people gaming without dumbing down gaming into what we see on mobile devices. This doesn't take away from l33t hard core brogamerz. Less creative people, on the other hand, seem to want a world of Pro Halo and Candy Crush Saga. They cannot wrap their mind around how to make something deep and simple. Simple doesn't mean cheap or easy; but elegant.

A great example would be Sonic the Hedgehog 3 vs. whatever junk passes for a Sonic game today. In Sonic 3, you have one button and directional pad to do a vast variety of tasks. I could duck, move, look up, jump, fly, glide, electric jump, flame dash, spin dash, bubble jump, change into Super Sonic, insta shield, etc... One button and a directional pad. It all made sense and require no tutorials. Not true today. Every single button on a controller has to be used because game developers are not creative enough to do otherwise.

If you're into Rube Goldberg machines, then more power to you. But if you want to win the market and please users, be more creative and figure out how to tame complexity.

Comment Re:Complex (Score 1) 99

Except it further dissuades me from buying their games. Why would I want to play a game online that I'm going to lose all the time? I don't have 60 hours a week to hone my brogaming skillz. Having these complex controllers puts "pro" players at an even greater advantage while not addressing the issues of complexity. This makes me not want to play.

Splatoon changes the equation by making a game accessible and pairs you with random people of different skill levels while taking away anti-features like "get shouted at with obscenities by 10 year olds" mode. It makes me want to play.

As engineers, let's look at Nintendo for inspiration in designing everything from end user products to software APIs. Let's stay away from the idea of being complex just to be l33t.

Comment Complex (Score 1) 99

I understand this controller isn't meant for casual players, but I think this is an example of choosing complexity over usability. If I'm trying to get more gamers to play Xbox One, I would invest in technologies that will allow normal players to enjoy a game as much as pro players rather than invest in technologies that widens the gap between pro players and normal players. There are far more normal gamers than "pro" gamers.

Take Splatoon for instance. It took a genre that is reserved for hardcore brogamers and made it accessible and fun for everyone - including brogamers. They didn't do it by making the game complex nor did they do it by making a dumbed down game. Nintendo achieved its goals by encapsulating the complexities of a shooter in a way that is intuitive for everyone. As engineers, that's what we should all be striving for.

Google

Creationists Manipulating Search Results 445

reallocate writes: It looks like some Creationists are manipulating search results to ensure websites pushing religion are appearing in response to queries about science. Ask Google "What happened to the dinosaurs?" and you'll see links to Creationist sites right at the top. (And, right now, several hits to sites taking note of it.) Google has a feedback link waiting for you to use it.

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