More on Theoretical History

We read, in the July 2, 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal:

"The reason Axis & Allies and other such games have such lasting resonance is that they teach a subject which is no longer fashionable: the mechanics of military history. Playing as Japan in Axis & Allies, for instance, you see that, as a tactical matter, you must attack Hawaii as soon as possible. Play as Russia and you can conduct What-If? experiments with variations on Stalin's strategic retreat."

But note that this is still a far cry from Theoretical History for the focus is narrow in subject matter and domain. Moreover, one major shortcoming of these games is that they do not model the human action at the individual level - there are no autonomous software agents through the actions of whom what we call history arises.

But, it is a start.

MeeGo

http://appdeveloper.intel.com/en-us/blog/2010/06/23/pre-alpha-meego-atom-tablet-including-appup-store?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IntelSoftwareNetworkBlog+%28Intel+Software+Network+Blog%29#more

Perhaps this is a stealth partnership among Intel, MIcrosoft and Google?

Intel Moblin -> Google Chrome followed by Intel Meego -> Google TV open codec for Web Browsers?

Neat Clock

http://home.tiscali.nl/annejan/swf/timeline.swf

Engineering And US Congress

From EE Times, May 24 2010

What really aggravates me about situations such as this oil spill, and in other similar catastrophes, is the large number of instant experts it creates. I cringed as I watched the first Congressional hearings into the spill. Congressmen and Congresswomen lectured with phony fluency (and a sanctimonious tone) about deep-sea drilling, underwater concrete, safety and shutoff valves, and similar complex engineering subjects as if they knew what they were talking about. They may have known the words, but they had no idea what they were saying, I have no doubt about that.

...

Can you see any Congressman asking a doctor at a hearing, "after you cut through the pericardial layers, why didn’t you insert the stent from the left side, instead of the right side?" or a similar question? The questioner would look like a fool, for sure. But expounding about deep-sea drilling technology? Why, that's OK!

Amphibious Car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO4cw565V98&fmt=18

Cool World Cup Web Site

If you are interested in watching the 2010 the World Cup games and want to know the schedule of your favorite football team, I would highly recommend you to click on the following link:

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

Screen Clean

http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf

Free eBook

Defensive Database Programming with SQL Server by Alex Kuznetsov http://www.red-gate.com/specials/Ebooks/Defensive_Database_Programming.pdf

Irony - .NET Language Implementation Kit

Irony is a development kit for implementing languages on .NET platform. It uses the flexibility and power of C# language and .NET Framework 3.5 to implement a completely new and streamlined technology of compiler construction. Find it @ http://irony.codeplex.com/

Cliodynamics

Peter Turchin's site on theoretical history: http://cliodynamics.info/ and a short video on his ideas: http://www.truveo.com/Beyond-Belief-Candles-in-the-Dark-Peter-Turchin

Man Infected With Computer Virus

"...in an experiment to see how simple radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips like those used for tracking animals can host and spread technological diseases...created a malicious code for the chip. When the lab's sensors read the code, the code inserted itself into the building computer database that governs who has access to the premises"

.PST Tools

Microsoft has released two new tools for .PST file format used by Outlook. They are the .PST Data Structure View Tool and the .PST File Format Software Development Kit. Both are available under the open source Apache 2.0 license @ http://pstviewtool.codeplex.com/ and @ http://pstsdk.codeplex.com/ .

The first tool provides a GUI that shows the internal data structure of .PST files. The second tool provides a library of source code and high-level APIs that developers can use to build their own applications such as e-discovery software for legal purposes.

10 Things That Annoy Programmers

http://www.kevinwilliampang.com/2008/08/28/top-10-things-that-annoy-programmers/

Google Apps Marketplace

The Google Apps Marketplace offers products and services designed for Google users, including installable apps that integrate directly with Google Apps. Find it @ http://www.google.com/enterprise/marketplace/

There is a related video channel @ http://www.youtube.com/appsmarketplace and a developer Web Log @ http://www.googleappsdeveloper.blogspot.com/ .

Silly Pictures

http://www.tburke.net/fun_stuff/pictures/

Assembly Language Programming

Two good books on assembly language programming are Jeff Duntemann’s “Assembly Language Step-by-Step” (Wiley) and Randall Hyde’s “The Art of Assembly Language” (No Starch Press). Both are thick books that cover the 8086 instruction set from AAA to XOR.

Duntemann’s style is breezy and very easy to read. Hyde style is dry and his book uses “High-Level Assembly” (HLA), a programming language with a somewhat Pascal-like syntax, control structures and a standard library as a scaffolding to teach assembly language programming.

Microsoft WebSiteSprak Program

A WebSiteSprak offers visibility, support and software for professional Web Developers and Designers.

Find it @ http://www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/

Photo Copiers

Take a look at this video. Nothing you can do but worry about it!



http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6412572n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Sending a Duck to the Eagle School

http://www.eagleschoolmovie.com/

Microsoft Kin

http://kin.com/