Archive for July 2017

Chip Hall of Fame: Motorola MC68000 Microprocessor – IEEE Spectrum

https://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/processors/chip-hall-of-fame-motorola-mc68000-microprocessor The 68000 found its way into all the early Macintosh computers, as well as the Amiga and the Atari ST. Big sales numbers came from embedded applications in laser printers, arcade games, and industrial controllers.  IBM wanted to use the 68000 in its PC line, but the company went with Intel’s 8088.

Lucasfilm goes open source, DIY lab equipment | Opensource.com

https://opensource.com/article/17/7/news-july-22?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY The VFX studio behind Star Wars and Indiana Jones made a major open source release. ILM Visual Effects, Lucasfilm’s VFX and animation studio, open sourced its MaterialX computer graphics library July 11. MaterialX was used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Rogue One: A Start Wars Story. The source code and examples are available on GitHub and through materialx.org. Group of

Things you should evaluate before proceeding into test automation

https://www.valagroup.com/fi/2017/07/five-things-you-should-evaluate-before-proceeding-test-automation/ Test automation is not a magic button that can solve all your problems when pushed. Test automation is only a tool. Test automation requires longer initial development time and it is not cheap. Test automation only shows benefits in mid long term. Good candidates for automation can be test cases which: – take a lot

Why WebAssembly is a game changer for the web — and a source of pride for Mozilla and Firefox

https://medium.com/mozilla-tech/why-webassembly-is-a-game-changer-for-the-web-and-a-source-of-pride-for-mozilla-and-firefox-dda80e4c43cb With today’s release of Firefox, we are the first browser to support WebAssembly. If you haven’t yet heard of WebAssembly, it’s an emerging standard inspired by our research to enable near-native performance for web applications. This new standard will enable amazing video games and high-performance web apps for things like computer-aided design, video and image

The Story of Firefox OS – Medium

https://medium.com/@bfrancis/the-story-of-firefox-os-cb5bf796e8fb Interesting story: During this five year journey hundreds of members of the wider Mozilla community came together with a shared vision to disrupt the app ecosystem with the power of the open web.  This is the story of Firefox OS, from the birth of the Boot to Gecko open source software project in 2011, through

Smart Contact Lenses and Eye Implants Will Give Doctors Medical Insights – IEEE Spectrum

http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/devices/smart-contact-lenses-and-eye-implants-will-give-doctors-medical-insights Poets say the eyes are a window to the soul. But biomedical engineers are using the eyes to gain insight into the body. They’re hard at work on futuristic-sounding technology that uses smart contact lenses and implantable lenses to diagnose, monitor, and treat a wide range of diseases.

Wireless & IoT protocols & their security tradeoffs | EDN

http://www.edn.com/design/systems-design/4458666/Wireless—IoT-protocols—their-security-tradeoffs?utm_content=buffer01b00&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer Many products suddenly become hacking targets when their products become smart and connected. This article is about securing them. The issue is that bad press and major security and privacy issues might slow down the adoption of IoT for improving our lives. Many end users are already skeptical to connect simple devices we rely

What caffeine does to your body and brain | IFLScience

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/what-caffeine-does-to-your-body-and-brain/ Many of us depend on caffeine – especially many coders. For starters, caffeine makes most of us feel more alert and awake. But while it can keep us focused, too much can also backfire. And it also affects everything in our bodies from our digestion to our metabolism and vision. Caffeine excites our brain

The Tesla Solar Roof Finally Has a Price | Inverse

https://www.inverse.com/article/31438-tesla-solar-roof-price?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=on_site&utm_campaign=mobile_article-top  Tesla opened up orders for its long-anticipated solar roof.  Consumer Reports found that a solar roof needs to be $24.50 per square foot to compete with other kinds of roofs, the Tesla solar roof comes in at $21.85 with 35 percent of the roof being active solar. The solar tiles themselves are $42 per square foot.