Intel's six-core processor in Industry News

SixOfEleven — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:49:16 -0500

[url="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10467484-64.html?tag=mncol;mlt_related"]Intel's six-core processor made its debut at the GDC in San Francisco on Wednesday[/url]. This new six-core processor offers a lot, not only to gamers. Here's a brief overview of the processor for Intel's website.

[quote]The Intel® Xeon® processor 7400 series is best-in-class for demanding enterprise workloads, with almost 50 percent better performance in some cases and up to 10 percent reduction in platform power compared to previous generation expandable servers.◊

Designed and optimized for IT, these 6-core processors provide industry-leading multi-core processing and greater computing performance without increasing footprint and powerΔ demands. In addition, these processors are designed with Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT), enabling an ecosystem of software-based virtualization from industry leading software providers.[/quote]

Check out [url="http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/products/server/processor/xeon7000"]Intel[/url] for more information.

Sure have come a long way from the 8 and 16 bit processors I used when I started out.

Martyn.Rae to Mentor! in Dream.in.code News

SixOfEleven — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:14:36 -0500

[member=Martyn.Rae] has been promoted to Mentor. Let's all give him congratulations on this accomplishment!

Why Java? in Java

darek9576 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:49:18 -0500

This is a different type of question that i would like to ask all java and non-java programmers. (Hopefully i put it in the right place...)
Anyway...
I am a fresher this year and i decided to study Computer Science with lack of any prior knowledge.I have to admit that it is very challenging but very rewarding at the same time and im enjoying it a lot.

Because i havent done any programming before going to uni, i never "experienced" any other programming language and im programming now in Java but its not becasue i want to but becasue we cover it in our course.

So i was always curious about other languages.. Some people say that Java is not powerful, slow etc that C/C++ is better and therefore i started wondering where does Java stand in the world of programming? Is it gonna be useful when i graduate (in 3 years)? Is Object Oriented Programming the future of programming or lets say declarative is better? Maybe does the usefullness of a language vary on what i want to do e.g software development, web development?

So if people could post their opinions on the issue that i have outlined, then it would be very helpful not only to me i guess but also to people who want to learn programming but dont know what language to pick..

Thanks for replies in advance

darek

Windows Phone Developer Tools CTP Now Available in Industry News

Core — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:35:47 -0500

Windows Phone 7 was actively discussed at MIX10 during the keynote today. But here comes another announcement that could interest some developers - today, the CTP (Community Technology Preview) build of Windows Phone Developer Tools was released.

What is included with it?
[b][list]
[*]Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone CTP
[*]Windows Phone Emulator CTP
[*]Silverlight for Windows Phone CTP
[*]XNA 4.0 Game Studio CTP
[/list][/b]

You can download the CTP here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2338b5d1-79d8-46af-b828-380b0f854203&displaylang=en

How do you plan your code? in Software Development

r1zla — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:34:40 -0500

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering how all of you plan you application? I've always been more of a sit down and do something kind of guy. But unfortunately I'm finding that as I learn more VB.Net and start creating more complex code I end up going in circles and eventually hitting a creative snag somewhere along the line. I really battle with deciding what functions to make and whether they perform multiple or single tasks. (eg. One function to compare running processes and append them to XML or two, one for each.)

Does anyone have any suggestions? /smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

Week #11 Challenge: Android in 52 Weeks Of Code

Core — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 17:14:10 -0500

[b]Week #11: Android[/b]

[img]http://www.android.com/images/android2-logo.gif[/img]

Challenge submitted by [member=gabehabe]

[b]CHALLENGE:[/b]
Develop a simple application & interface for an android application. Whether you enjoy programming in Java or not, using the Android SDK still makes it fun!

[b][color=red]You don't need an Android phone to try this challenge. The SDK comes with an emulator![/color][/b]

[b]INTRODUCTION TO ANDROID:[/b]
Android, as you all probably know, is Google's mobile handset operating system, introduced in 2008, as the first major competitor to the iPhone OS. Unlike iPhone OS, however, Android is available on a plethora of different devices, with different specs, different hardware, etc. Certain manufacturers have even customised Android to suit their handset, such as HTC's "Sense" UI, available on the Hero, Legend, Desire, and many more. In the last year, Android has begun to spread from just being a mobile operating system onto other platforms, particularly netbooks.

[b]IDEAS:[/b]
[list]
[*] Tabbed note editor (To my knowledge, there isn't even one of these on the market!)
[*] GUI calculator
[*] Shopping list
[*] Twitter client
[*] Weather widget
[*] Calendar/diary application
[/list]

[b]RESOURCES:[/b]
[list]
[*][url=http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html]Android documentation[/url]
[*][url=http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/index.php?showforum=129]Dream.In.Code Tutorials[/url]
[/list]

[b]HOW TO GET STARTED:[/b]
Getting set up for using Android is a relatively simple task, you can download the SDK from [url=http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html]here[/url]. From there, you will also find a link to download the [url=http://www.eclipse.org/]eclipse IDE[/url], for which there are many tools & plugins for debugging & getting the best out of your Android application.

[b]WHERE TO GO FOR HELP:[/b]
If you're struggling, you can get help from [url=http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/showforum109.htm]Dream.In.Code's Mobile Development forum[/url], or from [url=http://www.anddev.org]anddev[/url], a thriving Android development community.

ADVICE ON ANALYZING AND READING CODE in C++ Programmers

ballslicker — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:25:56 -0600

[size="3"][font="Georgia"][/font][/size]

Hello there , am just here to ask you guys some questions and for advice on how to read and understand code .Am a c++ beginner and when i read or at least try to read it /anime2.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='>.<' /> i get overwhelmed when i look at it ..i know what something does and i try to go into detail when am reading it and trying to figure out what it does and how everything works but sometimes i forget and get frustrated when i do..and i have to keep reading it over multiple times just to remember

my question is do you guys read it as a whole? or do you go into details of what it's doing and try to remember all of that ....seems like am always losing track of something (i.e what is this function doing ,calling,classes,what's it returning...pointers /anime2.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='>.<' /> )how do you read code?

sorry if this sounds stupid >.>

Quantum Computing: The Way of the Future? in Corner Cubicle

Dogstopper — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:58:17 -0600

I recently learned vaguely about Quantum Computing in Chemistry today and it really seemed interesting, so I stumbled upon this video:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq4hkzGZskA[/media]

This whole idea is rather confusing (unless you happen to be a physicist who has studied the stuff), but based on what this guy is saying, it seems as though quantum computing is the way of the future because it completely redefines the way that a computer is used. What do you guys think?

Is .NET code safer than other code? in VB.NET Programmers

Asscotte — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:45:15 -0600

The title is my question; Is .NET code safer than other types of code? The reason why I ask this is because you hear about patches to exploits for java, C and C++ code but rarely if ever for .NET. Personaly I belive that .net is safer because the worst thing that you can do exploit wise is cause a memory leak, of course you can write a program that will do horrible things but that's not what I mean, for the purposes of this question.

In .net the actual code is complied into IL code where it can be read at runtime by the framework. But if as many Reading this will know, an unhandeld error occurs, then a dialog pops up telling the user that an error had occured, and what to do next. In langauges such as C or C++ this does not happen to the same degree, so unhandled coding errors can leave huge holes for anyone to try and poke their own code through.

So on this basis is the .net framework safer, because it protects it's users from buffer overflows and other horrible errors that can make applications targets for people with evil intent?

(PS: This is not an opportuntiy to voice your opinion on how much you hate the .net framework.)

MLB.com is looking for rockstar Mobile Developers in Post a Job

MLB.comRecruiter — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:18:38 -0600

Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLB.com) is looking for talented individuals to join our Mobile Team based in New York City.

The Mobile Applications Developer will work with a group of engineers responsible for mobile client applications, with a concentration on Java based platforms such as Android and BlackBerry. As the mobile space is both very dynamic and fragmented, the right person for this role will be deeply comfortable with technology and able to move easily between domains.

Requirements:

* BS or MS in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering
* 4+ years professional development experience in UNIX/Linux/OS X environment
* 4+ years professional development experience with Java based technologies
* Mobile applications development experience, especially on BlackBerry, J2ME, or Android platforms preferred
* Quick learner who enjoys working in a wide range of technologies
* Interest in and knowledge of current trends in open source and mobile application development
* Some knowledge and experience in web application development
* Grasp of database concepts and fluent in basic SQL

To apply, please send resume to jlc@mlb.com with 'Mobile Developer' in the subject line.

XNA Game Studio 4.0 - Coming Very Soon in Industry News

Core — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:58:15 -0600

From what is available on blogs led by Microsoft developers, it is clear that XNA Game Studio 4.0 is coming out really soon. What is it about? It still supports development of Windows and Xbox 360 games, but it also introduces development capabilities for Windows Phone. Shawn Hargreaves writes [url="http://blogs.msdn.com/shawnhar/archive/2010/03/09/in-which-hints-become-facts-xna-game-studio-4-0.aspx"]in his blog[/url](short list of new features):

[quote]
* New platform
- Windows Phone 7 Series

* New features
- Integrates with Visual Studio 2010
- Dynamic audio output
- Microphone input
- BasicEffect has four new siblings
- SkinnedEffect
- EnvironmentMapEffect
- DualTextureEffect
- AlphaTestEffect

* Improved portability and usability
- Collapsed graphics caps into just two profile levels: Reach and HiDef
- Many graphics API improvements
- This involves some breaking API changes
- Split Microsoft.Xna.Framework.dll into several assemblies, to make it more obvious which pieces are available on each platform
[/quote]

If you are interested in finding more about XNA 4.0, you might also want to check out Michael Klutcher's [url="http://klucher.com/blog/achievement-unlocked-xna-game-studio-4-0-for-windows-phone/"]blog post[/url].

How to Ask Questions The Smart Way in Java

Dogstopper — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:26:43 -0600

Alright, I realize that this topic will be read as often as the rules topic is, but it is really important to understand the best way to ask questions. What I mean by that is the proper information to get help and the right questions to ask are very important in getting advice from anyone.

Since there is such a huge suggestion list out there already, I think I'll just share the link with you all. This article was written by Eric Steven Raymond, one of the most brilliant hackers ever. He helped the start of the Linux Kernel an Open Source.

Anyway, [url="http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html"]"How To Ask Questions The Smart Way"[/url]. I hope that many of you question-askers find this article useful!

/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

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