The Insider News

Groklaw[^]:

You probably have heard computer professionals say that software is mathematics. You've certainly read it on Groklaw more than once. But is it true? What does that statement mean? I want to show you, first, why it's true, and I will also answer some typical criticisms. My purpose, however, is to suggest a way to develop a test for when a patent involving software is or is not patent-eligible, now that the Federal Circuit has granted an en banc review of CLS Bank International v. Alice Corporation.

All this[^]:

Even after slide rules with trig functions (and, later, calculators) became commonplace, Mohr’s circle was still a handy tool for remembering how to transform stresses, and it remained so because engineers were taught to think graphically.

PandoDaily[^]:

Microsoft is betting that users will want a single interface that does everything—an OS that feels the same across your phone, your tablet and your desktop. It’s a huge gamble, but if Microsoft gets it right, the strategy could play off: The firm would be able to leverage its PC monopoly to push developers into building apps for tablets and phones—potentially bringing Microsoft’s app store to parity with Apple’s.

Read Write Web[^]:

Nikola Tesla, the tragically brilliant Serbian-American inventor beloved of hipsters, techies and historians the world over, may soon have his own museum, thanks to Web comic The Oatmeal's online efforts. Eager Tesla fans will have to wait for the museum, but in the meantime, check out these outrageous videos - including classic "Sweet Home Alabama" played on Tesla coils.

Rands In Repose[^]:

For me, the amount of email that arrives is inversely proportionate to my amount of free time. This means the less time I have to read mail, the more mail that arrives. Greater minds than mine have attempted to tackle this unfortunate time management situation, so I’m going to keep it simple. You and I are busy people. We may or may not know each other, but we have the same goal - how can each of us effectively surf an ever-growing pile of information? To this end, I would like to come to an agreement with you.

DaedTech[^]:

You probably have seen code like this, and I hope that it makes you sad. I know it makes me sad. It makes me sad because it’s clearly the result of a fundamental failure to understand (or at least implement) polymorphism. Code written like this follows an inheritance structure, but it completely misses the point of that structure.

.net magazine[^]:

Microsoft caused a stir in the design industry with the release of Windows Phone. With its Bauhaus-inspired minimalism, strong focus on typography and use of subtle but impactful motion design, Windows Phone showed that there is definitely room for innovation in the mobile space. Windows 8, due for release on 26 October, brings the same design goals and ideals to the desktop and tablet market. Given the focus on creating beautifully functional applications – not to mention a much larger potential market than iOS – this is definitely a platform designers should get involved with.

Hack a Day[^]:

We’d bet everyone reading this article has played a game on an emulator at some time or another. And you may have a base idea of how those emulators work. But we’d wager the vast majority of you are clueless about the actual implementation of game emulators (we know we are). But that has all changed after seeing this demonstration of how Bisqwit wrote his own NES emulator. The description doesn’t cover anything more than the basics of writing code that emulates the NES CPU hardware itself. But it’s presented in such a way that makes it quite easy to understand for anyone who has a basic knowledge of programming.