Infinity Times Over
http://www.fastcompany.com/28121/they-write-right-stuff
Great read about the programmers who wrote the software for the space shuttles.
When I first started my CS major, I had this desire to become extremely proficient in two or three languages to the point where I was so experienced that I didn’t even need resources or help when coding in those specific languages (my choices were C++, Java, and Python). While this isn’t necessarily an unrealistic goal or a bad idea, this doesn’t really fulfill the meaning of a Computer Scientist. From Wikipedia.org: A computer scientist is a scientist who specialises in the theory of computation and the design of computers. Although most of my CS classes were focused on solving theoretical problems in C++ and Java, what I really should have been getting out of those classes is the theoretical solutions behind each problem I was faced with.
A really good post by the IEM Manager Carmac about eSports and how a game’s eSport viability/longevity is based entirely on its business model.
StarCraft II will die as a professional esport due to an in-built, genetic flaw. Same as all esports before it. League of Legends might be the first game not to.
The game’s longevity lies in how well it manages to replace its leavers with fresh blood. I consider a game dead (or dying) when it…
It’s been over a month since I’ve last written something on my blog, but to keep you all updated, I recently obtained an internship at Sequoia Technologoes IMS in Pleasant Hill. I’ve been working for them for about a week now and I’ve learned more in that week that I have ever if I had spent that same week in school. From learning the Agile development method to learning new languages (PHP, and JavaScript), I’ve quickly found that in the real world, you never stop learning.
Disclaimer: I actually haven’t played around enough with the Windows 8 Release Preview, and i’m only writing based off of what I’ve seen and heard from friends and news sources. I will be writing another article after I’ve played around with the OS.
Recently Microsoft just released their Windows 8 Release Preview, which is almost representative of the final product that Microsoft plans to ship to the public. From what I’ve seen and toyed around with, I’m fairly impressed with how Microsoft is approaching Windows 8 without pushing the boundaries too far from the stability and overall polish of Windows 7. One of the most obvious differences between Windows 7 and 8 is the introduction of the Metro-style UI, and in my opinion, this is the best feature for Microsoft to implement on their new OS.
April 21st, 2012, I attended Chico State’s programming competition and took home 5th place in my division and in overall scores.
Overall the experience at the competition was great. There were about 40 participants and while I didn’t achieve top 3, I was somewhat satisfied with my placement at 5th. The problems I had to solve were fairly easy and the time limit I had to complete these in (three hours) were very reasonable.
I learned quite a bit from participating in the competition, including learning how to find what the problem is asking for and finding the quickest solutions to problems despite them not being the most efficient. (I was given a two second time limit to each problem, which surprisingly is a lot of time.) In addition I hope that I can carry that knowledge over to my ACM team when we compete this Fall.
For those who would like the 6 problems I had to solve for the competition, let me know and I’ll be happy to provide them for you.
Today, I was hit with a question that many potential smartphone customers have: Is Android or iOS better? This hasn’t been the first time I’ve answered this question to several of my friends, but I figured that I’ve answered this question so many times that maybe I should blog about it. I may receive much criticism from both sides (essentially shooting myself in the foot), and may seem biased towards Android (I own a Galaxy Nexus), but I will do my best to write this from an objective standpoint.
Ever since the iPhone stirred up a storm in the smartphone market, many companies have attempted to create a product that rivaled the success of the iPhone. Back in 2007, I would have argued that no OS or phone could rival Apple’s ingenious product, but since the popularity of Android has grown 200%, it has come down to sheer preference. So lets get down to the nitty-gritty, what do each of the platforms feature mainly?
In my quest to try to apply to as many internships as I possibly can this summer, one of the companies that came to my mind was TwitchTV.
TwitchTV is a subsidary of JustinTV, a company dedicated to broadcasting live video streams. TwitchTV is basically JustinTV, except its sole purpose is to provide a platform where gamers, professional and amateur, can broadcast their gameplay. It is where most well-known eSports Professionals come to stream their gameplay.
I’ve always been a fan of TwitchTV’s features and technology, and when I heard that TwitchTV hiring Software Engineer Interns, I knew this company was going to be one of many that I would apply to for an internship. Even more exciting was the opportunity to solve challenges for a chance at an interview. For me, challenges are always fun and exciting because I get the opportunity to learn something new, and my brain gets a nice little exercise to keep it in shape.
Welcome everyone to my new blog, where I hope to update it as frequently as possible. I’ll mostly be talking about recent technology news and my opinions, as well as personal projects I’m working on. Follow me, and we can discuss together things about technology and programming!
