Computer Scientists Ask Supreme Court To Rule APIs Can't Be Copyrighted 260
It's Time To Revive Hypercard 299
HyperTalk wasn't just easy, it was also fairly powerful. Complex object structures could be built to handle complicated tasks, and the base language could be expanded by a variety of available external commands and functions (XCMDs and XFCNs, respectively), which were precursors to the modern plug-in. But ultimately, HyperCard would disappear from Mac computers by the mid-nineties, eclipsed by web browsers and other applications which it had itself inspired. The last copy of HyperCard was sold by Apple in 2004. "One thing that's changed in the intervening decades is that the hobbyist has largely gone by the wayside. Now you're either a user or a full-fledged developer, and the gulf is wider than ever," writes Peter Cohen. "There's really nothing like it today, and I think the Mac is lesser for it."
The One App You Need On Your Resume If You Want a Job At Google 205
Adobe: Click-to-Play Would Have Avoided Flood of Java Zero-days 111
Book Review: Scaling Apache Solr 42
Interviews: Ask Florian Mueller About Software Patents and Copyrights 187
Why the Trolls Will Always Win 728
It turned out that a man named Andrew Auernheimer was responsible for having harassed Sierra. Known as 'Weev', he admitted it in a 2008 New York Times story on Internet Trolls. There, he spoke to the lengths which he and his cohorts went to discredit and destroy the woman. "Over a candlelit dinner of tuna sashimi, Weev asked if I would attribute his comments to Memphis Two, the handle he used to troll Kathy Sierra, a blogger. Inspired by her touchy response to online commenters, Weev said he "dropped docs" on Sierra, posting a fabricated narrative of her career alongside her real Social Security number and address. This was part of a larger trolling campaign against Sierra, one that culminated in death threats."
Now, seven years later, Kathy Sierra has returned to explain why she left and what recent spates of online harassment against women portend for the future if decent people don't organize. The situation has grown much more serious since she went into hiding all those years ago. It's more than just the threat of Doxxing to incite physical violence by random crazies with a screw loose. Read on for the rest of maynard's thoughts.
Ask Slashdot: Swift Or Objective-C As New iOS Developer's 1st Language? 316
Rosetta Code Study Weighs In On the Programming Language Debate 165
How Flickr Is Courting the Next Generation of Photographers 97
Malware Distributed Through Twitch Chat Is Hijacking Steam Accounts 53
Scala Designer Martin Odersky On Next Steps 94
DMCA Claim Over GPL Non-Compliance Shuts Off Minecraft Plug-Ins 354
The programmer says that Mojang must release the Minecraft server code to the public domain since decompiled, deobfuscated versions of the Java code are included in the Bukkit project before he will withdraw the DMCA. Mojang has never released the real source code and has stated they will not open source the server code to meet the GPL and LGPL licensing requirements. This approach might be a risk for other GPL and LGPL projects out there which are derivative of or enhance non GPL programs or products. Mojang COO Vu Bui writes in a post at the Bukkit forums The official Minecraft Server software that we have made available is not included in CraftBukkit. Therefore there is no obligation for us to provide the original code or any source code to the Minecraft Server, nor any obligation to authorize its use. Our refusal to make available or authorize the use of the original / source code of the Minecraft Server software cannot therefore be considered to give rise to an infringement of any copyright of Wesley, nor any other person. Wesley’s allegations are therefore wholly unfounded.
Carmack On Mobile VR Development 60
If Java Wasn't Cool 10 Years Ago, What About Now? 511
Interviews: Bjarne Stroustrup Answers Your Questions 102
Russia Cracks Down On Public Wi-Fi; Oracle Blocks Java Downloads In Russia 254
Oracle Hasn't Killed Java -- But There's Still Time 371
Ask Slashdot: Best PDF Handling Library? 132
- open source, with a community following ; the kind of stuff Slashdotters would prefer
- tidy software architecture; simple things should remain simple
- allow open API allowing usage across many languages (say: Python & Java)
- clear licensing status, not estranging future commercial use
- serious multilingual & font support
- PDF-handling rich features, not limiting usage for invoicing, e-commerce, reports & data mining
- digital signing should not go against other features
I'd like to poll the collective Slashdot crowd wisdom about if/which PDF related libraries, they have written software with, keeps them happy for *all* the above reasons. And if not happy with that all, what do they thing is the best bet for learning one piece of software in the area, with great reusability across different circumstances and little need for extra hacks? I'd really like to hear the smoked out war stories. It is easy to obtain a list of such libraries, yet tricky to understand whethe people have obtained success with them!