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NEWS ABOUT: computer programming

Man Who Coined 'Artificial Intelligence' Dead at 84

John McCarthy a computer visionary

(Newser) - John McCarthy, the computer scientist who coined the term "artificial intelligence" in 1955, died Monday, reports the New York Times . He was 84. McCarthy was teaching mathematics at Dartmouth when he organized the first Artificial Intelligence conference in 1956. Later he founded AI labs at MIT and Stanford, and... More »

Computer Visionary Dennis Ritchie Dead at 70

He created UNIX, C programming languages

(Newser) - Dennis Ritchie, who invented the C programming language and helped create the UNIX operating system, died last weekend at age 70. His death after a long illness was first reported by Google engineer Rob Pike . Obituaries popping up on tech sites hail his work, vision, and legacy:
  • “Ritchie's
... More »

Kids Need Better Computer Classes

Middle-schoolers tuning out because they're not engaged: Neil McAllister

(Newser) - It's no wonder that young students shy away from computer programming, writes Neil McAllister at InfoWorld . The way schools teach it is so ... boring. "Traditional computer science classes at the high school level and earlier teach programming as if it was an end unto itself," he writes.... More »

Computer IDs the Most Boring Day Ever

Though now April 11, 1954, is kinda interesting ... for being so boring

(Newser) - If you ever find yourself a bit bored, just be happy today isn't April 11, 1954. A Cambridge scientist developed a computer program to calculate the 20th century's most boring day, and that one takes the cake. The program, True Knowledge, was fed 300 million facts about people, places, business,... More »

Hidden Sex Scenes Cost Grand Theft Auto $20M

Take-Two settles suit over x-rated 'Hot Coffee' uproar

(Newser) - The makers of Grand Theft Auto are shelling out $20 million to settle a lawsuit over hidden sex scenes in a version of the popular video game, reports Gawker. The suit by investors claims Take-Two Interactive Software officials knew about the x-rated "Hot Coffee" minigame inserted by programmers before... More »

Algorithm Can 'Fill in the Blanks' of Ancient Texts

Algorithm could also be basis of search engine for old docs

(Newser) - A new computer algorithm could soon take some of the guesswork out of deciphering ancient texts, Reuters reports. The program, developed in Israel and currently used with ancient Hebrew, works with digital copies of unreadable texts and uses pattern recognition to “fill in the blanks,” says one of... More »

'Hedonometer' Gauges US Mood Via Blogs, Tweets

(Newser) - If you think blogs are useless, think again: Scientists have developed a “hedonometer,” or happiness gauge, that analyzes personal online statements to pinpoint the overall contentment of the US population on a given day, the Discovery Channel reports. The program looks at sentences beginning with “I feel”... More »

Google Launches Web-Based OS, Takes Aim at Windows

Fast-booting Chrome may push Vista out of the market

(Newser) - Google has doubled down in its battle with Microsoft. The search giant announced it is bringing out an open-source operating system, named Google Chrome OS, that looks to go head-to-head with long-dominant Windows. Chrome OS is Google's biggest push yet onto traditional Microsoft turf, reports the Financial Times, following free... More »

'Hardware Hackers' Get Handy

Programmers leave screens for soldering irons

(Newser) - Seeking an escape from the confined world of their computer screens, programmers are applying their technological know-how to the physical world, building and tweaking an array of devices with their hands, the Boston Globe reports. “My normal job is way up in the clouds,” said a programmer at... More »

Single App Nets $600K in Month

The gold rush continues in Apple's App Store

(Newser) - With more than 20,000 iPhone apps available, it seems inevitable that most would make peanuts. But Ethan Nicholas’ tank artillery game, iShoot, raked in $600,000 in one month——$37,000 on its best day—proving the gold rush is on in the App Store, Wired reports. The... More »

9-Year-Old Writes Popular iPhone App

(Newser) - A 9-year-old Singapore boy has created a drawing application for the iPhone that is popular around the world, the Electric New Paper reports. Lim Ding Wen reworked one of his existing 20 programs for the touchscreen gadget. “I wrote the program for my younger sisters, who like to draw,... More »

Teary Farewell for Gates

Microsoft CEO salutes founder, leaving after 33 years, for 'enormous opportunity'

(Newser) - Microsoft celebrated Bill Gates’ last day as a full-time employee today, the Seattle Times reports. More than 800 employees, family members and friends shared memories at the company’s corporate conference center in Redmond, Wash. CEO Steve Ballmer bid a tearful farewell to his longtime friend: "We've been given... More »

Intel, Microsoft Fund Multicore Research

Future products call for chips with many more microprocessors

(Newser) - Intel and Microsoft will fund researchers at two universities working on new programming techniques for multicore chips, sources told the Wall Street Journal. The companies will reportedly provide $2 million annually for five years, to speed the development of chips that can contain dozens—or even hundreds—of microprocessors of... More »

Want to Vote, O'Connor? Think Again

Apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces in names confuse computers

(Newser) - The Information Age has been bad news for O'Connors, D'Angelos, Al-Husseins, and Van Kemps everywhere. Apostrophes in Irish, French, Italian, and African last names; hyphens in Arab names; and spaces in Dutch ones cause their owners endless headaches when computer systems reject or mis-record them, reports the AP, blocking them... More »

Programmers Take on Rock Star Status

Competitions, money power coder boom

(Newser) - A growing number of computer programmers aren’t content to be anonymous code monkeys: Today’s most talented tech nerds are paid exorbitantly well to turn out brilliant code, and can even earn a small amount of fame doing it, ComputerWorld reports. “Some developers base their careers around eventually... More »

Building a Computer That Learns What You Want

PC 'assistant' could prioritize, even decide

(Newser) - Wouldn't it be nice if your computer could figure out what you wanted it to do? That dream just might be approaching reality, thanks to a project called CALO that aims to teach computers to understand users' intentions, according to the MIT Technology Review. "If CALO succeeds, it'll be... More »

Web Mogul Controls $300 Million in URLs

Meet Kevin Ham, the Donald Trump of virtual real estate

(Newser) - Kevin Ham rules the shadowy Internet domain name market, having amassed an online real estate empire worth over $300 million, Business 2.0 reports. The doctor-turned-tech tycoon began buying and selling URLs in the nascent days of the web; today he trades hundreds of addresses a day, sometimes for as... More »

MIT Makes Programming Child's Play

Computer science goes kid-friendly with a new language, Scratch

(Newser) - The latest programming language to come out of MIT's cutting-edge labs has an unusual audience: sixth-graders. “Scratch” replaces the technobabble of Java and C++ with simplified, jigsaw-shaped pieces of code, which budding programmers can arrange into customized sequences. A test group of 12-year-olds in Massachusetts is already at work... More »

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