News Wire Stories for October 2013

By Tim Slavin / News Wire / October 2013 Issue

Must read stories about computer science, software programming, and technology for September 2013. More stories can be found at the News Wire link at the top of every page of this site.

An Oral History Of Apple Design

A six-part unofficial history of Apple designs and how they came into this world.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3016318/an-oral-history-of-apple-design-1992

The Curious Case of the 103-Year-Old Car Phone

http://www.wired.com/business/2013/09/ericsson-apple-car-phon/

You can now visit 85,000 square miles of the UK in Minecraft

http://qz.com/128288/you-can-now-visit-85000-square-miles-of-the-uk-in-minecraft/

Why Even the Worst Bloggers Are Making Us Smarter

http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/09/how-successful-networks-nurture-good-ideas/

Shadow App Wants Your Money So You Can Explore Your Dreams

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/shadow-dream-app-raise-money-remember-dreams/story?id=20281112

Bill Gates admits Control-Alt-Delete was a mistake, blames IBM

http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/26/4772680/bill-gates-admits-ctrl-alt-del-was-a-mistake
http://www.geekwire.com/2013/rest-story-controlaltdelete-inventor-expect-command-widely/

Tim Slavin

Tim is an award-winning writer and technologist who enjoys teaching tech to non-technical people. He has many years experience with web sites and applications in business, technical, and creative roles. He and his wife have two kids, now teenagers, who are mad about video games.

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Also In The October 2013 Issue

People

An Interview with Troy Hunt

Troy Hunt is a software architect and Microsoft Most Valued Professional (MVP) focusing on security concepts and process improvement in a Fortune 50 company. He's based in Australia.

Notebook

1Password, LastPass, RoboForm

If you use a password you created that is less than eight characters, your password is vulnerable to hacking. Here are three ways to create and use secure passwords online.

Best Practices

How to Write Secure Code

Coding securely doesn't have to kill the joy of programming. In fact, learning how to code securely provides insights into languages and computing.

Projects and Puzzles

How to Code HTML Email

How to code an HTML email like the ones you open every day turns out to be an offbeat software coding challenge.

Concepts

What is an SSL Certificate?

How to tell if a web page is secure is one of the most basic yet least obvious ways to protect your data online.

Best Practices

Where to Find Command Line Interface Software

One key computing skill is the ability to use command line interface (CLI) software to enter commands to control a computer. Here are some options.

Language of the Month

Lua

Lua is a comparatively simple programming language used in a wide range of places, from digital TVs to video games to phone applications. It's also designed to be simple to use and lightweight.

Code Snippets

Arrays

Here is how three programming languages handle a common problem: how do you organize and keep track of useful data?

Notebook

Linux Command List for Command Line Interfaces

Some of the most common commands you'll need for a command line interface (CLI), in a Linux command list.

Computer science education cannot make anybody an expert programmer any more than studying brushes and pigment can make somebody an expert painter.

News Wire