18452836
submission
jbrodkin writes
"Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and cohorts drew some major applause at CES by showing off new tablets running Windows 7, and for good reason. New devices from Acer, ASUS and Samsung are sleek and have innovative form factors, for example dual screens and slide-out keyboards. But the advances can largely be attributed to the good work of Microsoft's hardware partners. The problem with Windows tablets is that they still run Windows.
While all of the devices can be used in touch-only mode, they also come with either virtual or physical keyboards for navigating those parts of Windows that aren't pleasant to use in a touch-based interface. Aberdeen Group research analyst says the iPad shows consumers have voted with their feet for tablet operating systems that replace the old desktop computing paradigm, and Microsoft still hasn't jumped on board. "Although Microsoft has shown avid and innovative adoption of the new user model for smartphones with Windows Phone 7 and Kinect, they have not shown the public that they view the tablet opportunity with that same level of innovation and attention to detail," he says.
Another problem: With Windows Phone 7 running on smartphones and regular Windows running on tablets, Microsoft will have a hard time building app stores to compete with the sheer scale of the Apple App Store and the Android Market."Link to Original Source
18452610
submission
OCatenac writes
"Vanity Fair has an article describing the uneasy relationship between Julian Assange and the Guardian, the UK newspaper that has been one of the main outlets for Wikileaks secrets.
Among the more interesting and ironic revelations is the fact that Assange threatened to sue the Guardian to keep it from publishing the information supplied to it by Wikileaks because he could not exercise sufficient control over what they published and what they did not.
From the article:
"In Rusbridger’s office, Assange’s position was rife with ironies. An unwavering advocate of full, unfettered disclosure of primary-source material, Assange was now seeking to keep highly sensitive information from reaching a broader audience. He had become the victim of his own methods: someone at WikiLeaks, where there was no shortage of disgruntled volunteers, had leaked the last big segment of the documents, and they ended up at The Guardian in such a way that the paper was released from its previous agreement with Assange—that The Guardian would publish its stories only when Assange gave his permission. Enraged that he had lost control, Assange unleashed his threat, arguing that he owned the information and had a financial interest in how and when it was released."
Perhaps it's too easy an interpretation of his actions but Assange is beginning to sound a bit arrogant; that is, it sounds as if he's fine with releasing documents as long as he's the person controlling the flow of information but when he loses that control he's threatening to use the same sort of legal tactics that we all despise from the IP cartel."Link to Original Source
18303774
submission
OCatenac writes
"An interesting story on the collateral damage of exposing diplomatic communications.
"Later that day, the U.S. embassy in Zimbabwe dutifully reported the details of the meeting to Washington in a confidential U.S. State Department diplomatic cable. And slightly less than one year later, WikiLeaks released it to the world.
"The reaction in Zimbabwe was swift. Zimbabwe's Mugabe-appointed attorney general announced he was investigating the Prime Minister on treason charges based exclusively on the contents of the leaked cable. While it's unlikely Tsvangirai could be convicted on the contents of the cable alone, the political damage has already been done. The cable provides Mugabe the opportunity to portray Tsvangirai as an agent of foreign governments working against the people of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, it could provide Mugabe with the pretense to abandon the coalition government that allowed Tsvangirai to become prime minister in 2009."
Undoubtedly there are lots of things that our governments hide from us which should not be hidden but it's a shame that no one from Wikileaks could be troubled to consider the potential repercussions of this particular exposure."Link to Original Source
17493820
submission
OCatenac writes
"Brian McNamara, one of the principle developers of Microsoft's offering for functional programming, F#, explains a bit of the internal mechanism that F# uses for type inference. The discussion also covers some of the general issues involved with type inference."Link to Original Source
13814490
submission
OCatenac writes
"A great little article (via Ars Technica) on teaching kids about microfluidics and the chemistry of chip design with Jello."Link to Original Source
9331274
submission
OCatenac writes
"A wide-ranging interview with Don Syme main designer of F# Microsoft Research's offering for Functional Programming on the .Net platform. According to Syme, F# is part of what underpins Microsoft's Bing Search Engine."Link to Original Source
