Tag: Code

As I’ve pretty much made my entire career in fields where computers are a key element, I know a thing or two about the value an early exposure to coding and tinkering with computers. I first learned the basics of programming back in the 1980s, using languages like Pilot, LOGO and Basic on my old Atari 800.

Everyone loves a good puzzle. But if you’re strapped for time and haven’t figured out how to read the time off the Decypher watch, then I don’t think you’ll be very fond of it at all.

It’s been a while since the Facebook iPhone app was released, but people have been anxiously awaiting the iPad app, which, thanks to its larger screen, will make using Facebook a lot more fun. TechCrunch’s MG Siegler reports that the iPad app is actually hidden in the iPhone app codebase, and has been able to play with the app on an iPad ever since Facebook updated their iPhone app to 3.4.4 yesterday.

QR codes are slowly popping up pretty much everywhere, as most people carry a smartphone with a camera in it these days, and they can read these codes. Until now, I hadn’t seen any on money yet, but it looks like the Dutch have decided to put some on their newly minted coins.

There’s geek art, and then there’s geek art. Ben Fry’s creations are to programmers what blueprints are to architects. Here’s a sample of his work, which he calls “distellamaps”. It’s a map of the code for the Atari version of Pac-Man: Ben Fry explains, “Like any other game console, Atari 2600 cartridges contain executable code also commingled with data.

A hacker claims to have written custom software which directly accesses the accelerometer on Apple’s iPhone. He’s put together a brief video clip which shows off some really fun use of the motion-sensing capabilities. While I’m a bit skeptical that the video clip could be a fake, developer Erling Ellingsen does have a track record hacking motion-sensors and says he’ll be posting the source code soon.

In this post by Shaheen Gandhi, an engineer on the Xbox 360 Platform Team, a massive amount of code went into the HD DVD playback system for the Xbox 360. As a result of the complexities of decoding HD DVD audio and video content, as well as providing a user interface and DRM, over 4.7 million lines of code went into the HD DVD software.