Programmers all have their pet peeves. Whether it’s scope creep, Hungarian notation, or smelly coworkers, we’ve come to accept that there are certain nuisances that come with our line of work. The following is a list of the top 10 things that annoy programmers, compiled from the results of my recent question on StackOverflow along [...]
Archive for the ‘I.T News’ Category
iPhone vulnerability leaves your data wide open, even when using a PIN
If you feel like going through the process of typing in your PIN every time you unlock your iPhone is worth it thanks to the unconquerable security it implies, you might want to read this report from Bernd Marienfeldt about the chosen one’s security model. Yes, a PIN will keep casual users from picking up [...]
Apple tops Microsoft as world’s most valuable tech firm
Apple passed a major milestone today, becoming the world’s largest technology company as measured by the total value of its shares. Near the close of trading on the Nasdaq exchange, Apple’s market capitalization stood at $223 billion, higher than No. 2 Microsoft, which had a market cap of $219.3 billion. It was the first time [...]
44 million stolen gaming credentials found in online warehouse
Symantec says it has unearthed a server hosting the credentials of 44 million stolen gaming accounts — and one of the most surprising aspects of it is that the accounts were being validated by a Trojan distributed to compromised computers. The purpose of this Trojan-based validation is apparently to figure which credentials are valid and [...]
How (and Why) to Stop Multitasking
During a conference call with the executive committee of a nonprofit board on which I sit I decided to send an email to a client. I know, I know. You’d think I’d have learned. Last week I wrote about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. Multitasking is dangerous. And so I proposed [...]
A delicate balance: New study shows how networks keep themselves in synch
Synchronization is all around us. Think of fireflies flashing together, crickets chirping in unison, neurons firing together and power plants generating electrical currents with the exact same frequency all across the power grid. These important collective behaviors happen spontaneously in both natural and engineered networks composed of a large number of interacting parts, but how? [...]
Network admin’s vacation checklist
Summer is here — well not quite officially — but it is time to consider getting out of the office for a vacation! For the network administrator, this can be a challenging task. And if you are the only person of the IT shop, it can be a little daunting for your users. Here are [...]
Eye Tracking for Mobile Control
It’s hard sending a text message with arms full of groceries or while wearing winter gloves. Voice control is one alternative to using your fingers, but researchers are also working on other hands-free ways to control mobile devices. A team at Dartmouth College has now created an eye-tracking system that lets a user operate a [...]
Seagate hybrid drive delivers SSD performance at HDD price
After failing to gain market traction with its first iteration of hybrid drives three years ago, Seagate today announced a new hard-disk and solid-state combination drive with as much as 500GB of capacity, but with a 250GB model starting at $113. While Seagate’s last attempt to market a hybrid drive focused on energy savings, its [...]