WebProNews

Category: LowCodeUpdate

LowCodeUpdate

  • Google: Use This Code To Adjust Your Bounce Rate

    Google put out an interesting post on the Google Analytics blog today about how to track adjusted bounce rate.

    For the record, Google apparently does not use bounce rate as a ranking signal, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important metric to track. However, as Google notes, it’s more useful for some types of sites than for others.

    “Imagine you’re promoting a blog post that describes all the benefits of your company,” writes Alexey Petrov from Google’s Analytics Insights team. “The visitor might read the whole post and remember your company and products really well – they might even go to search for your product on one of the search engines straight away. However, since the visitor only looked at 1 page (exactly where the blog post is) they will be recorded as bounced visitor.”

    “Another example if you have a description of the product right on the landing page, and your phone number on the same page,” adds Petrov. “The visitor might study the description and call straight away – again, they will be recorded as a bounced visitor, as only 1 page was viewed. There are many more examples, and even traditional websites may benefit from the method described below as opposed to the standard bounce rate.”

    So that’s where “adjusted bounce rate” comes in. If you tweak your GA code, you can keep certain visitors from being counted as bounces.

    Here’s the code:

    <script type=”text/javascript”>

      var _gaq = _gaq || [];
      _gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-XXXXXXX-1’]);
      _gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]);
      setTimeout(“_gaq.push([‘_trackEvent’, ’15_seconds’, ‘read’])”,15000);
      (function() {
        var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
        ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
        var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
      })();
    </script>

    Petrov has further explanation about how it works on the blog.

    More discussion in our forum.

  • Will Code 4 Latte: Homeless Woman Looks for IT Work

    A “Will Code 4 Latte” sign is sure to draw some attention, both good and bad. Which, of course, is to be expected, particularly when someone who claims to be homeless is holding a makeshift shift cardboard sign with an iPhone 4 in his or her pocket. Such is the case of unemployed Australian IT professional Adelle Hartley, who, despite not having a home to hang her hat, still owns a laptop computer. According to her, staying connected is much more important than having a place to safely rest her head at night.

    Hartley, who studied mathematics and computer science in Tasmania, had been working in Sydney for the past 10 years, that is, until she lost her job six months ago. Unable to make ends meet, she is now counted amongst the city’s homeless, albeit one with laptop and smartphone.

    “It’s not that expensive to have a mobile these days. I’ve held onto it because people who know me sometimes get in touch with work,” she explained. In order to stay connected, Hartley plunks down $10 a day to plug in at a local Internet cafe.

    Although a lot of folks are sympathetic towards Hartley — one man even offered her use of his vacant office, complete with WiFi — a few people do take issue with the fact that she’s essentially begging for money on the street while doing business on her iPhone.

    “I don’t think people usually look close enough to see my mobile, when I use it, but one guy came up and yelled at me the other day,” she explained. To be fair, the thought of a homeless person owning both a laptop and a mobile device is a little hard to swallow, especially when so many people are struggling just to get by.

    Given the amount of coverage this story has received as of late, I’d say it won’t be too long before Hartley finds a full-time job with a steady paycheck once again.

    Image provided courtesy of NineMSN

  • Twitter Encouraging Girls To Learn To Code

    While debates about issues related to women in the workforce rage, one thing is certain: women continue to be woefully underrepresented in certain fields. Specifically, only a fraction of graduates in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) fields are women. There have been efforts in recent years to change that. Some graduate schools offer special scholarships and fellowships to women who are entering these underrepresented areas. Other programs try to encourage school-age girls to get interested in scientific fields.

    In a post on Twitter’s blog today the social media company announced that they were partnering with one such organization, Girls Who Code. Girls Who Code is an organization focused on introducing high school-age girls to technological and engineering fields – computer science, specifically. On the organization’s website they note that women account for a mere 14% of the computer science degrees received each year, despite receiving 57% of all bachelor degrees overall.

    This summer in New York Girls Who Code will be holding an eight-week program that will teach basic coding and computer science to high school girls. Girls who participate in the program will also be paired with a female mentor from one of several participating tech companies – including Twitter. The goal is to inspire participants to pursue careers in technological fields while providing connections to possible job resources later on.

    For more information on Girls Who Code, you can check out their website.

  • Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Outed By Teaser Site Source Code

    One of the more interesting rumors that has come about this week said Konami was working on a sequel to their excellent Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Those rumors gained a bit more traction this week with the launch of a countdown Web site.

    The Web site has the simple URL of TheDragonReturns.com with a date of May 31. It’s pretty innocuous, but it looks very Castlevania-like. The real proof comes from looking at the source code. Under og: site_name it says “CLOS Teaser Page.” Unless I’m missing something, CLOS obviously stands for Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

    The source code also comes with a description that is not visible on the main page:

    “Dare you face the evil darkness? It is written that the creatures behind that door will return very soon to claim the souls of your loved ones, and send you straight to hell! Be aware!”

    Not only does that sound exactly like Castlevania, but it’s also a call back to the story of the first Lords of Shadow. In it, Gabriel Belmont is fighting to resurrect his dead wife. Needless to say, he fails in that quest, but the sequel could see Gabriel fighting for another chance.

    The previous rumor pointed to Lords of Shadow 2 seeing release on the PS3, Xbox 360, Vita and Wii U. The Wii U version is of more interest since it’s rumored to connect in some way with the new 3DS Castlevania game being developed.

    We don’t have many details on either game yet, but the confirmation of this new teaser site verifies at least one part of the rumor. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a dual announcement for both games at E3 this year.

    As a final word to Web site designers, keep telling us what the game is in the source code for teaser pages. It makes our jobs so much easier.

    [h/t: TrendyGamers]

  • Zuckerberg Vows to Write Code Every Day in 2012

    Zuckerberg Vows to Write Code Every Day in 2012

    While making his rounds before Facebook’s IPO today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg pointed out that optimization of the platform’s mobile app was the main priority of 2012. Perhaps Zuckerberg plans to work some of this out himself, as he’s also declared that he will now write code every day in 2012, as if running a multinational corporation wasn’t enough.

    This wouldn’t be the first time Zuckerberg had set out to complete a year-goal – in 2009, he vowed to wear a tie to work every day, in 2010 he learned Mandarin and in 2011 he only ate meat he killed himself. So, now it’s coding. It was recently reported that Zuckerberg is worth about $4.5 billion dollars. With that sort of money, he could buy the island nation of Kiribati, declare himself king, and do whatever he wants, forever. Or, at least not write code or wear ties.

    It’s clear the young CEO that has been making investors nervous by merely wearing a hoodie lately isn’t some maverick who lacks focus. Interestingly, Feross Aboukhadijeh, a former intern at Facebook told New York Magazine that Zuckerberg had a bit of a hard time coding for Facebook’s Group feature, as the team was getting the product ready fro launch in 2010. Still, it’s been a very long while since the CEO was sitting in a dorm room at Harvard, developing the social network.

    Today Facebook goes for $16 billion at a $104 billion valuation. Go here for extensive coverage.

  • Digg Engineers Join Washington Post and SocialCode

    At the beginning of the month we reported that there was some type of deal going on with Digg’s tech and engineering team and the Washington Post. If you remember there was some debate about what exactly the deal was, an acquisition or a highjacking, or whatever. There was no official word from Digg at that time.

    Today the Digg Blog reports that indeed Digg’s engineers have left to join a subsidiary of the Washington Post. They will be working on projects at SocialCode, a site dedicated to helping advertisers build communities and get more value from social media.

    Here’s what they had to say on the Digg Bog:

    “At Digg, we have been studying social media since its inception. From Digg Social Reader to Digg Ads, we established a new paradigm for content and advertising on the web. Joining SocialCode felt like a natural next step.”

    The Digg engineers will be joining with the existing SocialCode team and be working out of their offices in San Francisco, Seattle, and D.C., but there’s still no official word on what will happen to the Digg site. We’ll keep you posted as new things happen over at Digg.

  • Google Summer Of Code Gets Over 1,000 Student Participants

    Now that summer has begun for all those kids still in college, it’s high time to find a summer job. If you’re a programmer or developer in college, chances are you already have that summer job. Google Summer of Code exploded this year with over 1,000 students representing countries from all around the world.

    In its eighth year running, Summer of Code saw the highest number of applications and applicants all vying for a coveted spot with one of the 180 organizations, including Twitter, that are offering programming internships this summer. Google received 6,685 applications from 4,258 students representing 98 countries.

    Unfortunately, not everybody can make it, but a large number of them did. In fact, this year saw more students being accepted than ever before. There are 1,212 students from 69 countries participating in this year’s Summer of Code.

    India is at the top spot this year with 227 students having been accepted in the program. The United States is in second with 172 students. German is in third with 72 students. The rest of the students came from a variety of other countries including Russia, China, Poland, Sri Lanka, Romania, France, Canada and more.

    Google makes special note of a student from Mauritius being accepted into the program, a first for the small African nation. It just proves that programming is starting to be accepted and proliferate throughout the world. Like art and music, code is a universal language that can tie people together.

    In other fantastic news, this year set a new record for the number of women accepted into the program. Out of the 1,212 students accepted this year, 8.3 percent identified themselves as women. That’s up from 7.1 percent last year. Here’s hoping that number can get above 10 percent next year. We need more women in computer science and programs like this are perfect for fostering that kind of interest early on.

    The next update will see Google breaking down students by university. I hope my Alma Mater, the University of Kentucky, will be proudly representing this year. They have a fantastic computer science program that doesn’t get enough credit for all the awesome work they do.

  • Twitter Details Google Summer Of Code Participation

    Google’s Summer of Code program is about to get started and Twitter couldn’t be more stoked. This is the first time that Twitter has joined in the program to mentor students and help them learn more about programming.

    Google’s Summer of Code focuses on open source technology which is a great fit for Twitter. Not only are they now a sponsor of the Apache Foundation, but they have been open sourcing a lot of the software used to power the inner workings of Twitter. Working with a company as well-known as Twitter must be pretty awesome and we wish them the best.

    Twitter chose three students to help them develop code over the summer. All three students will be working on various open source projects that Twitter is developing. Besides the students getting an invaluable education, Twitter gets free help with their code since Google pays the students who participate in the program.

    The first student, Federico Brubacher, has been programming since he was 6. If that’s not impressive enough, he is also on his way to finishing up his MS in computer science at ORT Uruguay. During his time with Twitter, he will be “building scalable, online machine learning algorithms on top of Storm.” Storm is the software that powers Twitter’s Analytics platform.

    The second student, Kirill Lashuk, is currently studying math and computer science at Belarusian State University in Minsk. For his summer project, he will be adding more localization capabilities to TwitterCLDR. TwitterCLDR “uses Unicode’s Common Locale Data Repository to format certain types of text into their localized equivalents.”

    The third and final student, Ruben Oanta, is also on his way to finishing up his MS in computer science at DePaul University. His job will be adding MySQL support to Finagle, a “protocol-agnostic library that abstracts the complicated details of asynchronous RPC communication.”

    It looks like Twitter has some fantastic students working on some really important stuff. It’s nice to see a company giving students proper jobs in programming. Twitter is a friend to the open source movement so here’s hoping they instill that same love for open source in the next generation of programmers.

  • Google Chrome Gets Better Code Optimization For V8

    Chrome is widely regarded by users for its speed and ease of use. The speed is definitely the biggest selling point though with the code running in the background really helping that along. To help speed things along even more, Google is introducing some code changes to the V8 JavaScript Engine.

    Google announced that the latest dev and beta channel release for Chrome now feature a new algorithm for V8. This new algorithm uses counters to decide which functions to optimize for a faster experience. It was found that the new V8 increases performance of small JavaScript programs with V8’s speed itself improved by almost 25 percent.

    V8 doesn’t optimize the code when it first compiles it to machine code. There is a second compiler that is much faster so V8 has to pick and choose which functions to send through for better optimization. The old V8 would stop every millisecond to look at the current functions to see which ones were worthy of optimization. It was great for longer functions, but the smaller functions would finish before ever being optimized.

    So the smaller functions don’t feel left out, Google now has V8 making “earlier and more repeatable optimization decision.” The counters then come into play to keep track of “how often JavaScript functions are called and loops are executed in a program.” This allows V8 to get performance bottleneck information quickly so that the most deserving functions, big or small, receive the most optimization.

    As previously said, the new V8 engine is now available in the beta and dev channel releases of Chrome. That means that it’s still under testing, so be sure to download the latest release to test it out before it hits the stable channel release.

  • Google Refuses Request For Galaxy Nexus Source Code

    Google has filed a motion opposing an Apple subpoena for the source code used on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The subpoena was filed in the second of Apple’s two current lawsuits against Samsung in the U.S. (not the one currently approaching trial). In this suit, as with the other, Apple alleges patent infringement against Samsung.

    As part of the suit, Apple filed a subpoena asking for the source code of Android as found on the Galaxy Nexus, as well as documentation showing how, specifically, that source code differed from the publicly available version of the Android source code. In a filing on Saturday (PDF), Google expressed its opposition to the subpoena, calling it “a manufactured controversy.” Google’s filing notes that Apple’s subpoena was delayed until too near a court-imposed deadline, making it impossible for Google to produce the relevant documentation. They also point out that Google has repeatedly provided the source code for “lead devices” (i.e., the Nexus devices that Google releases with each new major version of Android) like the Galaxy Nexus, and that Apple’s only reason for delaying was to make it possible for them to file a motion to compel Google to turn over the code.

    For much of the first portion of the filing, it seems as though Google has a fair point – they appear to have been willing to play ball with Apple, and Apple appears to have employed some sneaky lawyering in order to get more than Google is willing to give. It’s what Google isn’t willing to give, though, that’s really interesting. First of all, Google’s filing points out that Samsung is the manufacturer of the Galaxy Nexus, and that the freely available open source code is not relevant, as it is not the final version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich that went onto the phone (though it’s worth noting that earlier in the document Google claims that for lead devices, OEMs are only provided the binaries for installing Android, and not the software itself).

    Second, and more interestingly, Google opposes Apple’s subpoena on the grounds that providing the information Apple requests “would reveal critical Google trade secrets.” That is, the exact form of Android as it is implemented on the Galaxy Nexus is proprietary, not open source at all. Google opposes Apple’s demand on the grounds that “Apple has failed to meet its burden required to pierce Google’s trade secrets.” They also argue (rightly, almost certainly) that “Apple could want this request for one purpose only – to design claims for other litigation.”

    Google’s response to Apple’s subpoena makes sense. The Galaxy Nexus is Google’s flagship phone – the only Google-branded Android phone currently on the market, and arguably the best Android phone available. That said, though, the refusal to hand over the Galaxy Nexus source code is another nail in the coffin of the idea that Android is an open platform. Android is, as iMore said last year, “openy.” While Google may brag about the platform’s openness, when it gets down to it, they are as protective of Android as Apple is of iOS.

    [H/T: FOSS Patents]

  • LinkedIn Open-Sources its iPhone Navigation Code

    LinkedIn, the popular business and career networking social network, announced that it would be releasing the navigation code from its simplified iPhone app as an open source library. Sudeep Yegnashankaran, a mobile software “imagineer” for LinkedIn, made the announcement in a LinkedIn Engineering blog post. Using the library, called LIExposeController, developers can “easily create multiple, visually distinct areas in their apps for ease of flow for their users.”

    LIExposeController is available now at GitHub, and works for both iPhone and iPad apps. The library is a new container view controller class similar to UINavigationController and UITabBarController. In his blog post Yegnashankaran wrote a little about what the code has to offer developers:

    With this new experience, users can easily switch between different areas of the app in a visually pleasing way. We have gotten a lot of great feedback for this brand new navigation scheme, with a lot of our users calling it “easy to navigate” and “fun.” We chose this model over a standard tab bar because we wanted something more visual and tactile, giving users more context for the different areas of the app.

    The LinkedIn iPhone app

    The code does not use the new container controller APIs in the iOS 5 SDK in order to continue support for iOS 4 devices. However, LinkedIn is encouraging developers to fork the code and submit contributions, so that functionality could soon be implemented.

    Will you try out LinkedIn’s navigation system on your new app? Are you sticking to the tried-and-true tab bar navigation? Let us know in the comments section below.

  • Facebook Might Add Video Embed Codes

    Facebook Might Add Video Embed Codes

    Facebook Inc., the new owner of photo sharing platform Instagram, might be adding a new media functionality to its social network – embed codes to allow users to post videos uploaded to their profiles onto other sites. At present, Facebook doesn’t offer this sort of embedding like Youtube and Vimeo does, but now the folks at Reqvu, a Facebook video status update platform, have submitted some intel regarding the possible new feature.

    Apparently, for a short time Facebook had flashed an “embed this video” dialogue on its site, and showed a sample embed code. This has all since been taken offline, but the screen shot below hints that the functionality in question might be in a testing phase – and I might add that the image grabbed by Reqvu is beyond um… let’s just say that not much by way of verifiable proof of any new features is afforded:

    fb embed

    Still, someone apparently saw something, and a potential video embedding feature is not exactly scandalous Facebook intrigue worthy of fabrication. And, with the aforementioned addition of Instagram, it makes sense that Facebook realizes that there’s a future in legitimate photo/video content hosting. The site recently added a hi-resolution, full-screen photo feature, and perhaps will update its video standards. The social network would definitely benefit from offering a more adequate video hosting option, which is a bit lacking at present – especially for brands.

    Hat tip to Ubergizmo.

  • Ultraviolet Code Crackdown Starting on eBay

    Ultraviolet Code Crackdown Starting on eBay

    In an attempt to get consumers to start investing their disposable income on packaged media again, Hollywood studios have embraced the Ultraviolet format, which essentially allows users to watch the movies they purchase on any device that supports the cloud-based digital locker. For instance, say you’re really getting into “Avatar”, but you’ve got a pesky doctor’s appointment scheduled right in the middle of your viewing. You could, in theory, pause the movie, trek to the doctor’s office, and resume watching the flick on your smartphone while waiting for the nurse to collect you. It’s an interesting idea, for sure, but movie-goers have not been overly thrilled with the format’s performance.

    Ultraviolet is owned by five major studios — Sony, Paramount, Universal, Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox, to be exact — all of which are struggling to keep consumers interested in collecting the movies they love. So when someone comes along and, through no fault of their own, threatens their business model, the studios are going to react accordingly. Given the industry’s shakiness at the moment, it definitely makes sense.

    Such is the case of an eBay user who was accused of copyright infringement for selling his unused Ultraviolet codes online. Whenever he’d purchase a new movie — in this instance, it was “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” — the guy would stick the codes online for people to buy, usually for $6 a pop. Unfortunately, the studios aren’t too crazy about individuals separating the codes from their physical counterparts and putting them up for auction.

    Here’s what the eBay user told The Consumerist:

    I picked up “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” on Blu-ray this morning. It came with a digital download code good for a free Ultraviolet copy of the movie. As Ultraviolet is worthless to me, I listed the code on eBay. Within a few hours of the listing going up, eBay took it down for copyright infringement. They warned me not to list it again, or my account would be suspended.
    I called their customer service number to explain that the listing was taken down in error, and the helpful lady on the phone was much more concerned with the fact that there was no birth date attached to an 11-year-old eBay account. Once we got that taken care of (she literally refused to help me until I tied my birthday to my account), she basically just kept reading and rereading the email to me over and over again.

    Now, let’s forget the fact that I’ve sold Ultraviolet codes on eBay before. Let’s also forget the fact that, right this very second, there are a boat-load (metaphorically, not literally – that would be weird) of Ultraviolet code auctions live. How, exactly, are they able to claim Ultraviolet codes as copyright infringement? It’s a product. It’s barely different from me selling a physical copy of the Blu-ray that I don’t want, or the third disc in the set which is a DVD copy I’ll never use. And why are they enforcing this imaginary policy selectively?

    Is this an awful lot of trouble to go through just to make, at most, $5? Yes, it is. However, I’m self employed, and today is a slow day.

    According to attorney Jim Burger, this practice is considered “unbundling”. “[The] use of the UV code is governed by the UV license, [which] permit[s] the owner of the disc to access digital content in the cloud and does not allow resale of the service,” he explained to MESA. In short, unless you’re willing to sell the whole package along with those unused codes, studios aren’t going to be too thrilled with your online transactions.

    Burger also added that individuals who purchase these codes from sites like eBay could be considered guilty of copyright infringement themselves. All of this may seem outrageously silly from a consumer standpoint, but the studios are obviously struggling to maintain an economic foothold in an age where people can download just about any sort of entertainment they want for free.

    At present, there are roughly 20 codes available for purchase on the auction site, most of them ranging from $2 to $5, depending on the title. Since you shelled out your own hard-earned cash to bring these titles home, should you be allowed to sell the unused codes to those who only wish to purchase the digital copy? Should the studios be allowed to tell you how to resell something you already own? Let us know in the comments section.

  • French Tweeters Use Code Words to Flout Election News Ban

    Last week French Twitter users were warned against reporting results from the French Presidential election before polls were closed. France has a strict law banning exit poll results from being published or broadcasted before voting has ended. It was asserted that election results published on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook could fall under the law and incur fines of up to 75,000 euros.

    My speculations turned out to be correct and French citizens ignored these warnings, openly tweeting election results – but with a twist. The New York Times reports that French citizens were using code words to report election results before the close of polling. Words such as tomato, flan, and other thinly-coded references that French citizens would instantly understand, stood in for the candidate’s names in tweets. Flan stood for Francois Hollande, the French Socialist Party candidate who currently leads with 28% of the vote. Incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy was sometimes referred to using allusions to the temperature in Budapest.

    The issue now is what the French government will do about such open, if playful, disrespect of the law. According to the New York Times, traditional French media outlets respected the ban, meaning they were silent while coverage of their country’s election was provided by Belgian and Swiss media. I suspect the tweets and announcements will be ignored this time, since the election results were not close enough to warrant a challenge from any candidate. However, this is an issue that will only grow, as social media begins to overtake traditional news outlets.

    Is the French election law banning early election results a relic of the past that has no hope of being enforced, or do you think the French government will follow up in some way? Have a look at some of the tweets that went out yesterday and leave a comment below.

    @lemeckiltefaut
    lemeckiltefaut.com    En direct de #radiolondres: Le flan 28, le nain 26, voldemort 16, cravate rouge 13, mais euuh 11. 1 day ago via Facebook ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @rosselin
    rosselin    Le prix du flan à drôlement augmenté en Guadeloupe mais les Rolex sont en solde. Je répète… #radiolondres 1 day ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    @Hedia
    Hedia    Apparemment la météo mondiale donne : 27° à Amsterdam, 26° à Budapest, 17° à Nuremberg, 14° à Cuba et 10° à Pau #RadioLondres 1 day ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Google Code Jam Offering Developers Chance At Google I/O Tickets

    Google kicked off their annual Code Jam last week that sees programmers from all over the world competing to solve various algorithms. Our own Micael Marr participated in the qualification round and even live blogged his attempts to answer the questions. It seems that Google is upping the stakes for the Code Jam by offering Google I/O tickets to developers who can solve a challenge tomorrow.

    You heard that right, folks. The Google I/O tickets that sold out in 20 minutes this year and made countless developers all riled up that they couldn’t get one. Google is offering you a second chance to get your hands on some of those tickets. The only thing you have to do is be at Google Developer’s Google+ page tomorrow at 7:00 a.m PDT. Google will post a two-part challenge with the first 100 developers who solve it given a chance to buy Google I/O tickets.

    If the excitement made you skip that last sentence, let me repeat that for you. Google is only offering you the chance to buy Google I/O tickets. This is a contest where the award is spending $900 to attend a conference that sold out within minutes this year.

    Of course, there are some people who have the money and are willing to do anything to get a hold of those tickets. For those who want to participate, Google has some advice for you. First, you’ll want to register in advance. Considering how crazy people are for those Google I/O tickets, registering right now would be the best option. If you need a warm up or some help, Google also has the usual guide and questions to get you started on your quest to spend money on Google I/O tickets.

    As an aside, if this is Google’s way of getting back into developer’s good books, I’m not buying it. I’m sure plenty of people are going to take part in this tournament, but making developers buy the prize is a pretty rotten move. It’s like if Charlie found the Golden Ticket, but then Wonka forced him to pay a fee to actually take the tour of the Chocolate Factory. Sure, the rich kids who found their tickets will be able to go in, but the real dreamers, in this case developers, are being locked out of attending something that would be beneficial to them.

    Do you think Google should charge the winners for the I/O tickets? Or at least give them a discount? Let us know in the comments.

  • YouTube Upgrading Embed Codes To ActionScript 3

    YouTube Upgrading Embed Codes To ActionScript 3

    You may have a Web site that uses copious amounts of YouTube videos that solely rely on Flash player across your many pages. Chances are you have embedded which makes use of the ActionScript player. Further chances are that you are using an ActionScript 3-based player. There is a small chance, however, that you’re still using ActionScript 2. If that’s the case, YouTube has news for you.

    The video streaming site has alerted the masses via their blog that they’re changing the default selection when using a URL like this – http://www.youtube.com/v/VIDEO_ID. When this happened, it would select an ActionScript 2-based player by default unless you specifically added in a version=3 into the code. Starting May 2, it will now default to ActionScript 3.

    The team points out that this change affects both embedded and Chromeless Flash players. You have nothing to worry about if you’re using the newest iframe embedded player. This means that the vast majority of developers and users are already using ActionScript 3 when using Flash playback.

    Now, what about the tiny majority making their voice heard among the masses demanding their ActionScript 2 versions? Easy enough, just add the version=2 URL parameter into your player URL. This will fix it right up and won’t cause any compatibility problems.

    Of course, this is only a temporary solution to your problem of being behind in the times. In an effort to make you ActionScript 2 users feel old, YouTube points out that ActionScript 2 has been deprecated for several years now. Enough is enough, time to let the relentless march of time take its toll. To that end, YouTube is shutting down its ActionScript 2 support in October. You have until then to move everything over to ActionScript 3.

    Once again, the majority of users don’t have to worry about a thing. This is only for those who still rely on old versions of ActionScript to keep their videos up and running. While there is something to be said on being retro, I don’t think it applies to YouTube videos.

  • Google Details Summer Of Code In Hangout

    Last week Google announced the Summer of Code 2012, a program has students working with open source development projects around the country while the search giant pays them for their work.

    This year’s Summer of Code features more than 180 projects for students to choose from. Interested students will be pleased to know that some major players in the open source scene are participating this year. Some of the companies include Mozilla, GIMP, Python and Google’s own Chromium project.

    Students have until tomorrow to submit a proposal. Make it the best you can if you want that sweet job working with an open source project. If you’re still having trouble trying to think of a proposal, Google has you covered. The team behind the Summer of Code participated in a Google+ Hangout to talk about the event, the best way to get noticed and other tips.

    If you’re struck by inspiration from the video, check out the Summer of Code Web site to submit your proposal. While some people may say that you can’t make a good proposal in one night, the A I received on a 10-page paper I wrote in three hours begs to disagree.

    Are you applying for the Summer of Code? Who do you want to work with? Let us know in the comments.

  • XRY’s Passcode Bypass Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be

    XRY’s Passcode Bypass Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be

    Last week we brought you news about a remarkable piece of software called XRY. This forensics software allows government and law enforcement officials to retrieve data off of a variety of smartphones, including iOS and Android devices. What’s more, the video Micro Systemation (the company that makes XRY) posted about the most recent update shows the software getting data from a passcode-locked iPhone in under two minutes.

    The software got a lot of attention from the media when the video became known. Apparently, though, it seems that at least some of the hype was overblown. Though XRY does allow access to smartphones, it is not as all-powerful as many thought it to be. Noted iOS Jailbreak developer chronic (Will Strafech) published a post to his blog debunking certain parts of the video.

    Strafech complains about misinformation he sees in discussions of the issue. He starts off with the claim that XRY works by using jailbreak exploits to access the iPhone. He says that XRY (and software like it) uses limera1n, a publicly available exploit developed by George Hotz, to load a custom ramdisk. It’s a fairly process, he says, and Micro Systemation’s accomplishment is not in creating a tool that exploits it, but in creating “a tool that is simple enough to be utilized by [law enforcement] personnel.”

    What’s more, Strafech says, the exploit that XRY relies on does not apply to the most recent generation of iOS devices. The iPhone 4S, iPad 2, and new iPad are all immune to limera1n. As such, they are also immune to XRY and any other software that relies on limera1n to access the devices.

    Finally, he says that the two minutes it takes the software to get into the phone in the demo video is optimistic. In fact, he says, the only reason XRY is able to get into the software in two minutes in the video is because the iPhone’s passcode has been set to 0000. A more complex passcode would be harder to break. And if you have your iPhone set to use a longer passcode (a feature introduced with iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S) it could take “much longer” for software like XRY to get into your phone.

    All told, then, it looks like XRY might not be all it’s cracked up to be (pardon the pun). Nevertheless, software like this is something to be aware of. Just like the jailbreak community, it’s a safe bet that companies like Micro Systemation are continuing to work on exploits that will get them into newer devices like the iPhone 4S, too.

  • White House Code Sprint Invites Developers To Build Job Search Apps

    Summer quickly approaches and while the season’s arrival heralds three months of unadulterated slothing and maybe some vacations for most students, many will take the opportunity to get some much needed job experience. To hopefully ease of the formative experience known as the Summer Job Search, the White House has put out a call for help to developers to build apps for browsers, social media platforms, and smartphones that will put these youngsters in touch with job opportunities.

    The open-source initiative, Code Sprint, which was conceived by the White House and the Department of Labor, is aimed at building an app capable of providing low-income and disconnected youths aged 16 to 24 years old with access to information regarding summer jobs, internships, and the sort. The program through which the app will be developed, Summer Jobs+, is an open call for employers from multiple industries to provide the aforementioned demographic with a way to foster good work ethics and maybe even make some money in the process, as well.

    By providing developers with the Summer Jobs+ API, and thereby with a database of thousands of summer internships, training and mentorships opportunities, Code Sprint is being regarding as a challenge to the developer community to construct job search apps that will realize the goal of the White House and the Department of Labor.

    The unemployment drag certainly hasn’t left the 16- to 24-year-old demographic unaffected as less than half, 48.8%, were employed last July, a time in which youth employment typically sees a boost. Comparatively, 59.2% of that demographic was employed in the month of July only five years ago. More troubling, the percentages of minority youths who were employed last July was less than the national average.

    In the blog post that announced the Code Sprint, Brian Forde, Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer, listed only the barest of requirements and essentially handed over all creative license to the developers. “Some ideas we’d love to see include an easy way to receive job opportunities through SMS, localized job search apps for the city you live in, map based interfaces or easy way to create summer training playlists that help youth plan a summer of job skills development,” he said. “These are just a few of our ideas but we’re confident that you have even better ones.”

    The White House seems to be spearheading the whole mobile technology/development/search aspect when it comes to fixing some of the country’s ills. Last month, a competition was announced for developers to build apps that could be used by case workers and caregivers of homeless veterans that would expedite the process of locating nearby services for the homeless.

    The deadline to develop and submit the apps is April 9, 8AM, after which some of the best ones will be featured on the White House’s website. More information about the Summer Jobs+ API can be found on the Department of Labor’s website.

    [Via Mashable.]

  • PlayStation 4 Codenamed Orbis, Powered By AMD CPU [Rumor]

    PlayStation 4 Codenamed Orbis, Powered By AMD CPU [Rumor]

    We’ve heard plenty of information on the next Xbox that is not showing up at E3 this year. It’s been rumored to have everything from a discless drive to anti-used game measures. We haven’t heard anything yet about Sony’s next console, but rumors hitting today suggest their next console is going in a similar direction.

    Kotaku, speaking to reliable sources, has found that the next PlayStation is currently codenamed Orbis. The console is being prepared for a 2013 launch. While there isn’t much information to be had at this moment, the source has leaked some of its initial specs.

    It was rumored that Sony would be ditching its custom-built Cell processor with the PS4. If today’s leak is true, then that appears to be the case. Orbis is rumored to run off of an AMD x64 CPU. The more interesting part is the GPU, which is said to be an AMD Southern Islands GPU. This is the same GPU that is powering PCs right now in AMD’s flagship HD7000 series. This power will allow Orbis to display games at 4096×2160.

    Developers are said to already be receiving development kits and have been receiving them since the beginning of this year. The final devkits will be in the hands of developers by the end of the year. Interestingly enough, Kotaku points out that going to orbis.SCEdevnet.com redirects you to the PlayStation development site.

    Just like the next Xbox, the next PlayStation is implementing an anti-used games measure. The console will reportedly have users pay a fee to unlock the full game when trying to play a used game on the system. Orbis will also axe backwards compatibility with PS3 games.

    None of this is confirmed yet, but Kotaku vouches for their source. If it’s true, Sony and Microsoft are both heading down a slippery slope that will be welcomed by publishers and developers, but reviled by consumers. Sony’s system of implementing the online pass to every game is at least a better approach than Microsoft’s rumored no used games at all approach.

    What do you think? Is Sony innovating in the right places for Orbis? What about its anti-used game system? Let us know in the comments.

  • Forensics Software Lets Law Enforcement Bypass Your iPhone’s Passcode

    You’ve probably never heard of Micro Systemation, nor are you likely to heard of their flagship software product, XRY. The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden and has a very narrow customer base for their software. Micro Systemation is a forensic software company and XRY is sold to military and law enforcement organizations. The software is used to extract data from smartphones of all kinds – iOS and Android.

    Micro Systemation offers three variants on the XRY software. One works with your smartphone’s operating system in order to extract all the data your phone knows it has. The product description likens it to “the automated equivalent of manually examining each available screen on the device yourself and recording what is displayed.” The second product in the XRY lineup bypasses your phone’s operating system completely, extracting everything from your phone, including data you may have thought you deleted. The third XRY variant combines the two, allowing military and law enforcement organizations to choose which kind of extraction they want to perform.

    XRY uses the same kinds of exploits that are used to jailbreak an iOS device or root and an Android device. It also bypasses all of your phone’s basic security protections. While a passcode may be effective in keeping someone who steals your phone from getting into it, it won’t keep XRY from getting at your data.

    Micro Systemation recently updated their XRY software to version 6.2, and along with the update they released a video showing the software in action. Check it out below, then let us know what you think in the comments.

    While most people are at least vaguely aware that software like this exists, it’s a little eerie to see it in action. It just goes to show that if you have anything to hide, your phone probably isn’t the best place to keep it or talk about it.