Angular vs. Knockout

FYI:


http://blog.nebithi.com/knockoutjs-vs-angularjs/

SIVO Python Distribution (SIVO-PyD)

IVO-PyD (from NASA) is a self-contained Python distribution that includes a set of Python related packages for scientific computing. It attempts to provide a simple and but robust alternative to the Enthought Python Distribution.  Find it @ https://modelingguru.nasa.gov/docs/DOC-2109.

Measuring Cyber-security Success at the Summit

From Center for Strategic and International Studies:


http://csis.org/publication/measuring-cybersecurity-success-summit

  

"If press reports are accurate, it is a welcome development that the United States and China (in response to the threat of sanctions) have begun ..."

NetLogo

NetLogo is a multi-agent programmable modeling environment. It is used by tens of thousands of students, teachers and researchers worldwide. It also powers HubNet participatory simulations. It is authored by Uri Wilensky and developed at the CCL. You can download it free of charge.   Find it @ https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/ 


The book "An Introduction to Agent-Based Modeling: Modeling Natural, Social, and Engineered Complex Systems with NetLogo" provides an introduction to one of the primary methodologies for research in this new field of knowledge and uses NetLogo in its exercises.

Military Applications of the Internet-of-Things

From the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

http://csis.org/publication/leveraging-internet-things-more-efficient-and-effective-military

4 Habits of Highly Employable Developers

http://sdtimes.com/code-watch-the-first-four-habits-of-highly-employable-developers/

Intimate robots on the march

BBC -- They do what you want, and they don't talk back

The idea that it will be possible to stop the development of sex robots seems fanciful, given the explosion in so-called 'adult' content on the internet, and all the rest of it.


Next week: Japanese company develops My Perfect Girlfriend, a robot that does not do sex and small talk, but irons her man's shirts, hoovers his flat, does the cooking/ washing, and never complains. If you get bored, you can re-programme My Perfect Girlfriend so that she may start arguments and cry at given times (e.g.: once every 12 hours). When it gets too much, unplug the machine and re-set it.

---------------------

A campaign has been launched calling for a ban on the development of robots that can be used for sex. Such a use of the technology is unnecessary and undesirable, said campaign leader Dr Kathleen Richardson. Sex dolls already on the market are becoming more sophisticated and some are now hoping to build artificial intelligence into their products.

 

Those working in the field say that there is a need for such robots.

Dr Richardson, a robot ethicist at De Montfort University in Leicester, wants to raise awareness of the issue and persuade those developing sex robots to rethink how their technology is used. [...]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34118482

Humanoid robots falling over

BBC

In the video-clip, one robot struggles to open a door and a few others fall over, which is somewhat reassuring: they are not quite there yet.
 
____________________
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-33041149


Robots have been competing on a Pentagon obstacle course at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.

Team Kaist of South Korea defeated 22 others to win the top $2m (£1.3m) prize from the US Department of Defense's Darpa research unit with its DRC-Hubo humanoid robot. Just keeping upright seemed a challenge in itself for some of the metallic competitors, as BBC World TV reports.
 

3D-Printed Jumping Robot

http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/harvard-3d-printed-explosive-jumping-robot


and the paper:


http://bertoldi.seas.harvard.edu/files/bertoldi/files/science_bas.pdf

Causes of Ice Ages

Two publications on ice ages that establishes why "Deniers" - such as myself - are right.


http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Ages-Astronomical-Causes-mechanisms/dp/3540437797/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439917131&sr=1-1&keywords=ice+ages+and+astronomical+causes


and


http://climate.fas.harvard.edu/files/climate/files/abeouchi_nature_2013.pdf

Open-Source Development Platforms for Drones

If you are looking for mature open-source software development tools for drones , look no further than OpenPilot and Dronecode.


Check them out!


Please note that a commercial pilot's license is required to control a drone.

Exercises in Programming Styles

In this book the author, Cristina Vidiera Lopes, presents 33 different programming styles by solving  a single programming problem, that of identifying the most common words in a text file and sorting them by frequency, using Python.


The code for the book is available @ https://github.com/crista/exercises-in-programming-style.


There is PowerPoint version (in .pdf format) also available @ http://gotocon.com/dl/goto-aar-2013/slides/CristinaVideiraLopes_ExercisesInStyle.pdf

NASA Global Climate Change Projections

https://cds.nccs.nasa.gov/nex-gddp/

Robot Operating System (ROS)

The Robot Operating System (ROS) is a set of software libraries and tools that help one build robot applications.  Find it @ http://www.ros.org/

Tools for Constraint Programming

http://jacop.osolpro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=28

 

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff524509(v=vs.93).aspx


http://www.visual-prolog.com/


http://www.amzi.com/

Top 10 Free Tools - Change Auditing and Password Management

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/top-10-free-tools-change-auditing-password-bandeira-de-oliveira

Cool App.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1ONXea0mXg

What's wrong with Agile?

A few contrarian views - picked up from the public Internet:

"The biggest failure with "Agile" teams is a result of what is called Cargo Culting. Essentially, teams want the effects of successful agile teams so they mimic the visible actions

1. Daily standups (that run for an hour or so)
2. Breaking work into sprints
3. User stories (that are usually little more than a sentence but an estimate is expected)

Those are the three that you'll see consistently "applied" in these environments but very little commitment to actually being agile. In fact you'll hear management say we're "doing agile." (Run away at those two words it's a bad sign.)
You'll also hear a lot about technical debt but their definition of technical debt is "do it quick and dirty and maybe we'll get around to making it better later." (Translation: we are going to make it sound like we're concerned with maintainability but in reality we will keep the same boiler room mentality because that's what's worked for us in the past).
Other key phrases: "I know these stories aren't fully defined but we're doing agile so we can fix them as we go."
"We're doing agile development so you should be able to accommodate what I need within the sprint as I identify it."
"We're not able to lock down our committed stories at the beginning of the sprint because needs keep changing mid-sprint."
The key indicator on whether an Agile project will be successful is if the project lead (scrum master or whatever role) has had experience or formal training on leading an agile project. Too often I've seen people read about Agile in a book or take a two day course on being a scrum master and think they've got the chops to successfully implement it. Sorry it ain't happening captain."

 

and

"I can't take this Agile..."

 

and

 

"What's wrong with agile development..."

 

and

 

"Seven Things I Hate About Agile"

Using MS LYNV without a cable

The Jabra Link 360 MS LYNC-Optimized USB Adapter is a USB dongle which presents itself as an audio card to the computer and connects to up to 8 Bluetooth headsets.


Once configured you can plug it into any other computer and it just works, or you can use the software for additional call management. It even works with gaming boxes such as the PS4. And it works for all audio not just LYNC.

 

The Amazon price is $53 with free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/Jabra-LINK-Lync-Optimized-Adapter/dp/B00FDL3J9A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1432061859&sr=8-3&keywords=jabra+lync+360

Free Application for Cloning Drives

This is an application for cloning drives that is free.


http://www.hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/