computer science

14 Stories

Women Deemed Better Coders— if Not IDed as Women

Study of GitHub developers shows possible link to gender bias

(Newser) - When a group of student computer scientists decided to test their hypothesis that software coding done by women doesn't get as much cred as that done by males, they came face to face with a couple of surprises. In the not-yet-peer-reviewed study published in the open-access PeerJ journal, researchers...

Your Computer Now Knows When You're Mad

The way you move your mouse is giving you away

(Newser) - We may like to think that we are indescribably complex emotional creatures, but computer scientists at Brigham Young University are finding that they can accurately predict one side of ourselves—our dark, angry side—simply by tracking the way we move a mouse while on a computer. "Using this...

Google Doodle Offers Brain-Teaser Tribute

It honors mathematician Alan Turing

(Newser) - Google today honors pioneering mathematician Alan Turing with one of its more ambitious Google Doodles. As USA Today explains, it simulates one of his theoretical concepts, a Turing Machine. "There are six puzzles to solve, one for each letter in the Google logo," writes Nancy Blair. "After...

Scientists: Yep, Nintendo Is Hard

Classic games like Super Mario Brothers actually 'NP-Hard'

(Newser) - Science has confirmed what you already knew as a 10-year-old: Super Mario Brothers is hard to beat. But the paper by a team of international computer scientists uses actual math to come to that pointy-headed conclusion, the Washington Post reports, and focuses on not just the Mario series but also...

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
...

Prof Gets $700K in Stimulus Cash to Write Jokes

Take my tax dollars ... please!

(Newser) - Here’s a knee-slapper for you: A Northwestern University professor has snagged $712,883 worth of stimulus funds for his efforts to teach computers how to create jokes. Kristian Hammond and his grad students are working on a “machine-generated humor” project that aims to create “structured queries that...

Amateur Math Wiz Calculates Pi to 5T Digits

Breaks record on homemade computer

(Newser) - A Japanese math enthusiast has shattered the record for calculating the value of Pi. Shigeru Kondo, 55, spent roughly $17,800 building the homemade computer that helped him accomplish the feat—it boasted 32 terabytes-worth of hard drive, and had to have fans blown on it at all times to...

Scientist Smashes Pi Record
 Scientist Smashes Pi Record 
3.14159265...

Scientist Smashes Pi Record

He calculates number to 2.7 trillion digits on his home PC

(Newser) - A French scientist shattered the record for calculated digits of Pi, working the number out to 2.7 trillion decimal places—and he did it with a home PC. Fabrice Bellard beat the previous record by 100 billion digits, using a new software algorithm he claims is 20 times faster...

Video Games to Help CSI Teams Solve Crimes

Gaming platform will recreate crime scenes

(Newser) - The real-life counterparts of forensics experts on all those CSI shows will soon be getting a helping hand from the world of video games. A team at North Carolina State University is adapting the platform behind games like FusionFall and VooDude to recreate crime scenes, allowing investigators to play out...

Fury Mounts Over Treatment of Gay WWII Codebreaker

Petition seeks posthumous apology for computing genius Alan Turing

(Newser) - A campaign to win a pardon and apology for gay World War II codebreaking genius Alan Turing is gathering steam, CNN reports. Turing—considered by many to be the father of modern computing—made a vital contribution to the Allied effort with his invention of a machine to crack German...

Computer Science School Tries to De-Geekify Students

Everyone majors in computer science

(Newser) - At Utah’s Neumont University, everyone majors in computer science and “geek” is a badge of honor, not an insult. But some at the school are worried that grads—though highly valued for their tech skills and nearly certain of landing jobs—might be lacking in other areas, the...

Teary Farewell for Gates
 Teary Farewell for Gates 

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...

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...

US Needs More Visas, Gates Tells Congress

America's status as tech leader is in jeopardy, he says

(Newser) - Bill Gates exhorted Congress today to increase the number of available H-1B visas for highly skilled foreigners, and invest more in domestic education in science and technology, cNet reports. "It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidized by US taxpayers, and then insist they return...

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