The Insider News

ComputerAndVideoGames.com[^]:

Nintendo insiders speak: How Microsoft and Sony were a handshake away from thwarting the Wii, and how its motion controller was born on an airplane... Tom Quinn, a serial inventor based in California, is described by some as "the man who invented the Wii". That's not an accurate statement, of course, but it's not an entirely false one either.

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows[^]:

Sales of Windows 8 PCs are well below Microsoft’s internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing. But here’s the catch: The software giant blames the slow start on lackluster PC maker designs and availability, further justifying its new Surface strategy. But Windows 8’s market acceptance can be blamed on many factors.

PCWorld[^]:

I don’t want to teach anyone how to cover their illicit tracks better, or how to have a more clandestine affair, but let’s take a look at where Petraeus and Broadwell went wrong so you can understand how to cover your tracks better in general, and how to secure your email and protect your privacy online.

Leap Motion

Leap represents an entirely new way to interact with your computers. It’s more accurate than a mouse, as reliable as a keyboard and more sensitive than a touchscreen. For the first time, you can control a computer in three dimensions with your natural hand and finger movements.

The Code Project[^]:

Welcome to our continuing series of Code Project interviews in which we talk to developers about their backgrounds, projects, interests and pet peeves.

mkyong.com[^]:

In Java, you can use the command Runtime.getRuntime().exec to execute shell commands, or any external system command. Here's a handy example.

CODECALL[^]:

One of the worst things that can happen to you is your code being a failure, and in extension, causing damage to a bigger picture as in: delaying (or breaking down) the project and the business, pulling down the sales, or generating any money/time/or hardware loss. It could happen in the worst of the moments, and in the least expected scenarios. What is a coder to do when his program goes wrong and every finger is pointing on him?

Scott Hanselman[^]:

Why so paranoid? Simple. Because I care about my work, photos and data and I would be sad if I lost it. Think about all the times you've heard about a friend who has lost everything. A decade of photos. Years of email. It hurts- just like exercise - because it's good for you.

TechHive[^]:

Performance is only one of many points we consider when we review tablets, but performance affects your overall impression of the tablet—how zippy and responsive it is when you use apps, navigate the operating system, and surf the Web. On top of that, if your tablet's battery fails to deliver long life, you'll find yourself tethered to an outlet more often than you'd like.

Creative Bloq[^]:

If you build websites for a living, you'll undoubtedly use the obvious web design tools - Firebug, Browsershots, plus the various font embedding services and page speed analysers. So this article isn't about them. Instead we thought we take a look at the more underrated tools that can help you improve client-side browser development and rigorously test everything that you build.

Paul Robert Lloyd[^]:

Although the design looks remarkably similar, much has changed below the surface. Where each page previously requested at least 14 assets weighing a total of 385kB, now only 9 requests are needed, and with an unprimed cache, these total just over 100kB. I thought it would be interesting to detail the changes I’ve made, and this time, I’ve got graphs!

Wired.com[^]:

Because of the low mass, if iPhones and iPads were substituted for larger, NASA-designed computer systems, NASA could save on development time and money (rocket fuel ain’t cheap, you know). Astronauts also get the benefits of an intuitive, well-designed user interface and more modern technology, versus the computers the astronauts now use, which are generally five to 10 years behind the latest consumer tech.

Windows Phone Central[^]:

It looks like some users who have Gmail on their Windows Phone 8 devices are experiencing syncing issues that eventually cause the email app to crash. The problem seems independent of hardware (so 8X and 920 users are affected) and is tied to Gmail specifically. The problem occurs with the People Hub and linked contacts constantly syncing. Likewise, when people head to their Gmail inbox, it too is stuck on a constant sync and may even crash when one attempts to scroll the message list.