6839412
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
A few years after the Con Kolivas fiasco, the FatELF project to implement the 'universal binaries' feature for Linux that allows a single binary file to run on multiple hardware platforms has been grounded. Ryan C. Gordon, who has ported a number of popular games and game servers to Linux, has this to say: "It looks like the Linux kernel maintainers are frowning on the FatELF patches. Some got the idea and disagreed, some didn't seem to hear what I was saying, and some showed up just to be rude. I'll definitely think twice before trying to contribute again, especially if it addresses the status quo. Open source is a lot more gratifying when you are working on your own project. Contributing to other projects? Not so much fun, it turns out." The launch of the project was recently discussed here.. The FatELF project page and FAQ are still up.
6743810
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Groklaw has an extensive look at the latest developments in the Psystar vs. Apple story. There's a nice picture illustrating the accusation by Apple that Psystar makes three unauthorized copies of OS X. The most interesting however, is the last copy. From Apple's brief: "Finally, every time Psystar turns on any of the Psystar computers running Mac OS X, which it does before shipping each computer, Psystar necessarily makes a separate modified copy of Mac OS X in Random Access Memory, or RAM. This is the third unlawful copy." Psystar's response: "Copying a computer program into RAM as a result of installing and running that program is precisely the copying that Section 117 provides does not constitute copyright infringement for an owner of a computer program. As the Ninth Circuit explained, permitting copies like this was Section 117’s purpose." Is Apple seriously arguing that installing a third party program and booting OS X results in copyright infringement due to making a derivative work and an unauthorized copy?
5450679
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
OpenOffice.org has prototyped a new UI interface that radically changes the current OO.o interface into something very similar to the new Ribbon style menus that Office 2007 introduced and which have been extensively used throughout Windows 7. The blog shows a screenshot of the prototype in Impress(the equivalent of PowerPoint), but this UI is proposed to be used across all OO.o applications. Some commenters on the Sun blog are not happy about OO.o blindly aping Office 2007 and feel that the Ribbon UI may be out of place in non-Windows operating systems.
5074409
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Yet another app has been buried in the iPhone Application Graveyard . While this is nothing new, the kicker this time is that Apple has filed a patent on karaoke functionality in the iPod application a few weeks after rejecting the iKaraoke app for duplicating functionality that doesn't exist... yet. Maybe the $99 iPhone Developer Program fee should include a crystal ball for testing apps for duplicating Apple programs' functionality before submitting them so that precious time and resources of app developeres is not unnecessarily wasted. Jobs himself had responded to accusations of political censorship of iPhone applications in the past.
2826785
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
An application that allows iPhone users to wobble a pair of breasts using the built-in accelerometer has been rejected (Warning: NSFW-ish video embedded in article) by Apple's application store. This application now joins the iPhone Application Graveyard with distinguished peers such as the Bush countdown clock(Jobs' reason was 'I think this app will be offensive to roughly half our customers. Whats the point?', an Obama puzzle joke app which were banned for 'ridiculing public figures'. Earlier coverage here about Apple rejecting iPhone apps for competing with it's built in programs. With the iPhone rapidly gaining major smartphone marketshare and the App store being the only way of legitimate mainstream distribution, does this mean that the new mobile application platform will be devoid of political, Apple-competing and X-rated applications that Apple and Jobs deem inappropriate? I have to say this app looks PG-rated at best to me, though.
1295583
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Apple has rejected one more application, called FreedomTime from the iPhone App Store for "Defaming, demeaning, or attacking political figures". The application in question shows a pair of clocks, both analog and digital, counting down to the end of the current US Presidential term. Below the digital clock, a caption reads "till the end of an error!". The developer then emailed Steve Jobs who replied back directly in true Jobs' fashion: "Even though my personal political leanings are democratic, I think this app will be offensive to roughly half our customers. What's the point?". The application is now buried in the iPhone Application Graveyard. This comes not long after Apple rejected applications for competing with its own applications and for being of limited utility. Some professional developers are opting out of iPhone development due to lack of clear rules and guidelines for programs to be accepted into the App Store.
1190875
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Another app has been rejected from the iPhone app store, this time for "duplicating the functionality of the iPhone Mail application". The author claims that his application allows the user to log into their multiple web email accounts and that Apple seems to be confusing Gmail and Mail.app. This comes on the heels of Apple rejecting an application for competing with iTunes and rejecting other silly but harmless apps as being of 'limited utility'.
1149383
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Multiple developers are complaining that Apple is refusing to include their iPhone applications in the App Store calling them of "Limited Utility". There is speculation that the real reason is that they have deemed offensive because of making jokes about flatulence, since the App Store is full of 'useless' apps like Cow Bell and Crazy Eye. Is Apple the new moral police for iPhone users?
832795
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Steven Sinofsky, the senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group at Microsoft gives a tantalizing peek on the upcoming version of Windows. Quote: 'Theres a lot to building an org structure for a large team, but the most important part is planning the work of the team. This planning is integral to realizing our goal of improving the overall consistency and togetherness for Windows 7. So rather than think of one big org, or two teams, we say that the Windows 7 engineering team is made up of about 25 different feature teams.
A feature team represents those that own a specific part of Windows 7; the code, features, quality, and overall development. The feature teams represent the locus of work and coordination across the team. This also provides a much more manageable size;feature teams fit in meeting spaces, can go to movies, and so on. On average a feature team is about 40 developers, but there are a variety of team sizes. '
794921
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
The connection between Apple and Steve Jobs is unlike any other brand and CEO relationship in corporate America, maybe the world. While Bill Gates has successfully transitioned himself away from his day job at Microsoft, can Apple do without Jobs at all? Once word started circulating that Jobs may be ill, Apple stock took a considerable hit, dropping more than $10 a share. And when Mr. Jobs was absent from last week's quarterly earnings conference call, the questions started again — and the stock fell again. What does this mean for corporate users of Apple for whom switching costs are high? Can Apple continue innovating in Job's absence?
747955
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
We have heard about lots of talented developers jumping ship from Microsoft to Google, but has the trend reversed now? Dare Obasanjo (a MS employee) writes about a few high profile people either making the jump to MS from Google or picking MS over Google after being given offers at both. Sergey Solyanik is back to Microsoft and he primarily gripes about the culture and lack of career development at Google. He writes "Everything is pretty much run by the engineering — PMs and testers are conspicuously absent from the process. Google as an organization is not geared — culturally — to delivering enterprise class reliability to its user applications."
Danny Thorpe who was the key architect of Google Gears is back at Microsoft for his second stint working on developer technologies related to Windows Live.
595192
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
On the second day of the CanSecWest PWN to OWN contest being held in Vancouver, the Apple Macbook Air running fully patched Leopard was the first machine to be compromised by a yet unknown vulnerability in the Safari browser. At 12:38pm local time, the team of Charlie Miller, Jake Honoroff, and Mark Daniel from Independent Security Evaluators have successfully compromised the Apple MacBook Air, winning the laptop and $10,000 from TippingPoint's Zero Day Initiative. They were able to exploit a brand new zero day vulnerability in Apple's Safari web browser. The Ubuntu 7.10 Vaio TZ laptop and a Fujitsu U810 running Vista Ultimate SP1 are still standing uncompromised after the end of the second day and will be up for grabs on the third day on which third party client applications will be installed on them to increase the attack surface . The vulnerability details have been reported to Apple and will be disclosed to the public only after Apple has readied a patch. This comes right after Apple drew flak for bundling Safari for Windows with the iTunes and Quicktime updates. Note: The first link in this post is a tiny url link because of Slashcode mangling the original URL and making it go 404.
593622
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
The new Safari 3.1 for Windows has been hit with two 'highly critical'(as rated by Secunia) vulnerabilities that can result in execution of arbitrary code. The first is due to an improper handling of the buffer for long filenames of files being downloaded and the second can result in successful spoofing of websites and phishing. This comes close on the heels of criticism of Apple for Safari being offered as a update for approximately 500 million users of iTunes on Windows by default and reports of crashes . There are currently no patches or workarounds available except the advice to stay clear of 'untrusted' sites.
388357
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
The next version of the very popular multiplayer FPS game, Unreal Tournament 3 has been released and is now available in stores. Highlights include a new warfare mode, awesome graphics showcasing the power of Unreal Engine 3 and new vehicles. Some reviews are already up. Quote: "This is UT3's contribution to the formula: spectacle, drama, mad heroics. Hurling yourself on the enemy Orb like it's a live grenade, dodging bullets on the hoverboard as you escape with the flag, bailing from an explosive bike aimed at the enemy's star player, and yeah, hanging from a flying metal octopus."
388333
submission
recoiledsnake writes:
Microsoft has released to manufacturing its Visual Studio 2008 software development platform and the accompanying .Net Framework 3.5. A highlight of particular interest is LINQ (Language Integrated Query), which the company said closes the gap between programming objects and data. Developers can focus on what they need the data to do rather than on how to access it, the company said. Microsoft is positioning LINQ as a technology for rapid application development. "LINQ is the star," said Greg DeMichillie, lead analyst for application platforms at Directions on Microsoft. LINQ makes it easier to tie together C# or Visual Basic with SQL, he said. Also included in Visual Studio 2008 are advanced development tools and debugging features, Microsoft said. Developers can target multiple versions of the .Net Framework, including versions 2.0, 3.0, and 3.5, and build AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)-enabled Web applications.
