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Google's Made with Code encourages girls to embrace computer science
Less than one percent of high school girls are interested in computer science, but Google wants to alter that script with a new initiative called Made with Code. Created in conjunction with heavy hitters like the MIT Media Lab, Chelsea Clinton and the Girl Scouts of the USA, the campaign connects girls with coding resources, inspirational videos and more. The effort sprung from Google's own research showing that kids are more likely to get excited about computer science if they try it at an early age and are shown how it can benefit their careers. It hopes the effort will help girls to not just consume technology, but also use it as a creation tool in whichever profession they choose.
Looking at Swift and what Steve Jobs said about increasing programmer productivity
Apple this week introduced Swift, a new high-level programming language meant to usher in a new future for iOS development. While there are a number of great facets to Swift, one of its more frequently cited benefits is that the syntax is much more approachable and readable than Objective-C. What's more, Swift promises to let developers create powerful apps with less code, making for a more efficient development process. To illustrate this, there have been no shortage of code snippets posted online which match up Swift code against Objective-C code. For instance, developer Jordan Clifton earlier this week posted a few examples which make the point rather emphatically. Array initialization: Objective-C NSArray *myArray = [[NSArray alloc] init]; Swift let myArray = String[](); ... Creating an array with items also looks quite different: Objective-C NSArray *myArray = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:@"one", @"two", @"three", nil]; Swift var myArray = ["one", "two", "three"]; The unveiling of Swift and its myriad of features brings to mind a blurb about programming Steve Jobs once made during a Q&A session at WWDC 1997. The way you get programmer productivity is not by increasing the line of code per programmer per day. That doesn't work. The way you get programmer productivity is by eliminating lines of code you have to write. The line of code that is the fastest to write, that never breaks, that never needs maintenance is the line that you never have to write. The goal here is to eliminate 80% of the code that you have to write for your app. That's the goal. Video of the unscripted Q&A, which is well worth watching in its entirety, is viewable below. The pertinent portion of the video begins at 40 minutes and 50 seconds.
LittleBits' Arduino module puts the focus on programming, not wiring
Getting your feet wet with programmable hardware can be tricky; even if you're comfortable with coding, you may not want to break out the soldering iron just to build a usable device. LittleBits is aware of just how intimidating these make-it-yourself gadgets can be, so it has just launched its first software-programmable module, the Arduino at Heart. As the name implies, it's an Arduino core (the same as the Leonardo) designed to fit into LittleBits' simple, building block approach to circuit boards. If you want to attach a light, motor or sensor to the Arduino board, you just snap it on -- you can spend more of your time coding rather than dealing with wiring and other hardware hassles.
Artist helps Arabic speakers to code without learning English
If you want to build software, it's almost mandatory that you'll need to know the English language since all of the tools rely upon that tongue. Unfortunately, that puts non-English speakers at a huge disadvantage when it comes to computer literacy and programming. Artist and coder Ramsey Nasser decided to remedy the problem by constructing a programming language written not in English, but in Arabic. Nasser had more than a few problems getting "Alb" to work, since Latin-based text editors couldn't handle the script, and even GitHub struggled to accommodate the data. In the end, Nasser had to use Lisp, a language from 1958, because it doesn't rely upon non-Arabic punctuation like semicolons and commas. "Alb" actually works, and if you fancy giving it a go, then you can test your Arabic programming skills down at the source.
Remembering BASIC on its 50th birthday
Nowadays, "basic" has a very different and derogatory Urban Dictionary-style meaning. Fifty years ago on this very day, however, it was the name given to a new computer-programming language born in a Dartmouth College basement. Devised initially by a group of the school's undergraduates and professors, BASIC's initial academic purpose was simple: to enable time-sharing on Dartmouth computers with an easy-to-learn, English-based language. Programming itself has greatly evolved since, but our early memories of coding in BASIC are no less fond.
Reprogram your surroundings in Glitchspace, now on Early Access
First-person puzzler Glitchspace is now available through Steam's Early Access service for PC, Mac and Linux. The alpha version of the game from developer Space Budgie is available for $6.99 on Early Access and $6.49 through the game's official site. Described as a "first-person programming" game, Glitchspace has players navigating a cyberspace-style world to locate a place that is a "by-product of cyberspace and its various glitches" known, appropriately enough, as Glitchspace. Space Budgie focused on emergent mechanics for the game, as players can identify glitches in the game and "exploit them in various different ways." Objects in the game are both programmable and non-programmable thanks to the "Null" programming system in the game created by the developer. Programmable objects include a "canvas" in which players can add functions to affect them, such as forces to move them, scale them, duplicate them and a myriad of other possibilities. The game includes a sandbox mode for players to toy around with as well as Oculus Rift support for those that want to immerse themselves in the matrix-like world. Space Budgie expects to launch the full version of Glitchspace in Q2 2014. [Image: Space Budgie]
Microsoft partners with UK studio to produce sci-fi drama 'Humans'
Microsoft is pushing forward on its original television programming initiative by partnering with UK broadcaster Channel 4 and production company Kudos to create a drama series called Humans. The sci-fi drama is an English-language adaptation of Sveriges Television and Matador Film's series Real Humans, and depicts a modern family that lives with a highly-developed robotic servant known as a "Synth." The show will air on the Xbox platform in North America and Channel 4 in the UK in 2015. What's more, Bloomberg recently interviewed Microsoft's President of Entertainment and Digital Media Nancy Tellem about the company's media ambitions on Xbox Live. Tellem said Microsoft's approach to television, which spans multiple genres like sports, animation and feature-length projects, will be "under the banner of Xbox Originals." Tellem also touched on the properties that Microsoft owns, such as Fable, Age of Empires, Gears of War and Forza, noting that "these are the things that frankly if we weren't attached to Microsoft everyone would yearn to have." Tellem is the head of Xbox Entertainment Studios, which set its sights on "interactive TV" in February 2013. One of the company's projects is a live-action show based on the Halo series that has ties to Steven Spielberg, which Tellem assured is still in development. As far as the expansion of the Halo brand is concerned, while no movie based on the property is in sight, a "digital feature" for Halo is expected to launch this year. Additionally, former AMC programming director Ari Mark joined Xbox Entertainment in January to create unscripted video content. [Image: Xbox Entertainment Studios]
Microsoft already has six TV series lined up for Xbox and more are coming (updated)
Though Microsoft has yet to produce any original TV programming, it has Netflix-like ambitions, according to a report from Bloomberg. Xbox's TV studio, headed by ex-CBS exec Nancy Tellem, now has at least six series in production and three in development. Those include a sketch show from JASH (founded by Sarah Silverman, Michael Sera and others), a Seth Green stop-animation series and Humans, based on a creepy Swedish thriller about replicant-like robots. Those go along with the previously announced Halo TV series produced by Steven Spielberg, a Halo "digital feature," soccer reality show Every Street United, and an Atari documentary. Xbox's new chief Phil Spencer said all shows will be selected to help draw users to the Xbox platform, and won't be approved unless there's a gaming or interactive angle. There are also a number of others under consideration, so hopefully the budget can stretch to a series with giant brawling robots. Update: Microsoft has told us that the JASH sketch comedy show and Seth Green stop-animation projects are under under development, not in production. The post has been updated to reflect that. Check after the break for a complete list of announced projects.
Hour of Code campaign teaches programming in 30,000 US schools (video)
Code.org wants to make computer science a staple of the classroom, and it's taking a big step toward that goal today with the launch of its Hour of Code campaign. More than 30,000 US schools (35,000 worldwide) will devote at least one hour this week to teaching programming, with incentives in store for everyone involved. Students who take an online follow-up course can win gift cards and Skype credits, while schools and teachers can win everything from 10GB of Dropbox space to a class-sized computer set. The initiative has plenty of outside support, as well. Apple and Microsoft are holding Hour of Code workshops in their US retail stores, while politicians on all sides (including President Barack Obama and Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor) are endorsing the concept. You don't even need to be a student to participate -- Code.org is making its tutorials available to just about anyone with a modern web browser or smartphone. Whether you're curious about what kids are learning or want to write some code yourself, you'll find everything you need at the source links.
Google Doodle lauds computer programming pioneer Grace Hopper
If you're wondering what's up with today's Google Doodle, it's honoring Grace Hopper, the mathematician who pioneered the use of English-like programming languages. Prior to her work, computers were considered to be glorified calculators and were programmed with binary machine code, which kept the field limited to specialists. After working on computer tech used on the Manhattan Project during World War II, she developed the A-O system for the UNIVAC 1 in 1951, which is considered to be the first-ever computer compiler. That eventually formed the basis for COBOL, the first widely used English-like compiler that laid the foundation for most computer languages today. Hopper did further research for the Navy until the age of 79 (when she retired with the rank of rear admiral) and worked for DEC until she passed away in 1992 at the age of 85. As you can see in the video after the break, most of us should be so sharp now as she was at 80 with David Letterman.
Punch Through's new Arduino board can stay wireless forever (video)
You'll have to plug in a typical Arduino-compatible board at some point in its life, whether it's to add code or just to supply power. Not Punch Through Design's upcoming Cortado, however. The tiny device centers on a custom Bluetooth 4.0 LE module that both enables wireless programming (including through mobile apps) and helps the board last for more than a year on a replaceable watch battery. In fact, the Cortado will already be powered up when you get it -- you can start coding before you've opened the shipping box. It should also be relatively flexible for its size with a built-in accelerometer and the ability to serve as an Apple iBeacon transmitter. Punch Through is crowdfunding the board with hopes of shipping its first units in May. If you're interested, you can pledge $18 to pre-order a Cortado; there's also a helpful promo video after the break.
Play-i uses adorable robots to teach children programming, and it might be the future of educational play
This past May we reported about Play-i, a startup by former Google and Apple employees that was seeking to make programmable educational robots for children. The robots would teach children as young as five years old how to code, with a scaling difficulty that would teach kids new programming concepts as they grew older. Play-i is now at the tail end of its crowdsourced funding drive, and with only 16 days left to go they company has already funded its project at 164% of what it was initially looking for. Recently I was able to speak with Play-i's founder and CEO Vikas Gupta about Bo and Yana, the two robots the company sees as the future of teaching programming to children. When I first reported about Play-i back in May I was a little bit cynical about how realistic their goals were -- could you actually teach a child to program using robots? While we haven't been able to spend any hands on time with Bo and Yana -- much to my sadness -- speaking with Gupta and seeing the company's development philosophy has turned my doubts to excitement. Considering there are already child-friendly programming languages out there, why did Play-i feel the need to build robots to teach these concepts? Gupta explained their philosophy and motives to me simply: The focus is on getting very young children to learn programming, and do it in a way that's a lot of fun, and doesn't feel challenging or intimidating to the point where they don't meet their goals. That's why we created robots. All the research we've read shows that tangible products make those concepts of programming accessible to children in a very concrete way. We've also found the Robots, Bo and Yana, are fun for kids to play with, so it engages children in a very different way than other products, like online tutorials, typically do. With Bo we were making a robot that is engaging. Motion is a key aspect of the Bo robot. Bo has a lot of character that is conveyed through its motion and head, which moves independently of the body. Yana lacks motion, but keeps the same emotional expression through its eye ring, lights, and sounds. Each robot comes with its own different sensors and options that help it provide a unique experience for play. Bo is obviously the star of the line, with motorized wheels for movement, a moveable head that can pan and tilt, an eye light-ring for emotions, full color ear lights, a headlight, tail light, speaker, and IR beacons for making itself known to other robots. It also features front and back sensors to detect obstacles, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and IR detectors for communicating with other robots. It even has six attachment points for attaching toys and even musical instruments. All that could easily over shadow Yana, its largely stationary sibling, but don't discount the static bot yet. Yana comes with a eye light-ring for expressing itself, a speaker, and IR beacons for letting other robots know that it's around. In addition it has an accelerometer and a button, with three multi-function attachment points for accessories. The eye light-ring is a special part of what allows the robots to clearly communicate with children. The 16 multicolor LED lights allow Bo and Yana to be programmed to smile, frown, flash red when they're frustrated or blink blue when they solve a problem. It gives the bots a remarkable range of emotion. If a child sees that Yana is upset, it can program the bot to calm down when its motion sensor is petted, turning the eye back to its happy setting. Yana has remarkable awareness that could easily ignite the imaginations of children, even if it can't move like Bo. This is where the genius of the programming idea shines. Children can start small with Yana by coding it to make a simple smile but, as they get more comfortable with the concepts of programming, can eventually teach it more complex emotional responses. The robots present challenges out of the box that encourage kids to get started with programming. Gupta explained to me how the robot's initial lack of knowledge out of the box is designed to teach kids how to code and solve problems. For example, when you first turn on Bo, the robot doesn't know how to avoid walls. When you open Bo it won't know how to avoid walls. So when it encounters a wall it doesn't know to stop or turn, so it just runs into the wall. But it knows when it runs into a wall. So it can be programmed so that when it runs into a wall it backs up, and shakes its head. The next step for the child is to think "we need to train Bo to be good at avoiding walls." Play-i is still fine-tuning the robot's tablet/smartphone interface, but it will work with any Bluetooth enabled device. Regardless of the platform you use, Play-i has an exciting way to introduce programming concepts out of the box to children. The robots come with "Missions" designed to teach children lessons, like the aforementioned "how to avoid walls". The missions are designed to teach children the basics of programming, while still encouraging them to find their own solutions. There isn't one correct way to code Bo to react to running into a wall. One child may want Bo to immediately back up, frown, and shake its head whenever it encounters an obstacle. Another may program it to smile and turn in a circle. What's great is that both approaches are perfectly valid. The company's goal was to have children as young as five be able to learn a programming language. To do this the company built its own visual programming interface that would engage young children. There are child-friendly languages out there, such as Scratch or Blockly, but they aren't intuitive for very young children who can't read yet. The difference in the age groups is cognitive ability. For example at age 5 we've found they're not very good at written or spoken language. They have weak motor skills. They can't write very well. But their cognitive ability to grasp programming concepts is actually quite advanced. So we've developed these interfaces thinking about what is developmentally appropriate for a child at this age. Play-i's interface for 5 to 8 year olds uses a mix of music, story telling, and animation to teach young children how to tweak the code of their robots. For 8 to 12 year olds the interface becomes more complicated, using Scratch and Blockly to program the robots with the help of included tutorials. For children 12 and up, the Play-i app aims to teach how to write actual code, with the goal of teaching kids how to build iOS and Android apps using the company's API. In the meantime, kids are using their now advanced coding skills to make the robot even more fun to play with. The company is planning to release an online sharing program to allow users to upload their own code and help other users learn. If you want to teach Yana to dance you'll be able to look online and see how other users coded their robot to dance. By giving children the ability to share their programming with other kids, Play-i is providing a layer of support beyond their helpful age-appropriate interfaces. Peer support and interaction is an important part of play and creativity, and it helps children to see how their peers have succeeded in overcoming the challenges that are currently frustrating them. As of press time, Bo and Yana are expected to start shipping in Summer of 2014. Shipping is free in the United States, and there's a charge of $20 for international shipping to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU. Bo and Yana are priced at $149 and $49 respectively during the funding campaign, reduced from the retail price of $199 and $69. The company has already met its first stretch goal for the fundraising campaign, allowing pre-orderers to add an accessories pack to their purchase. The pack comes with a pusher bar and tow hook for Bo, and bunny ears and a tail for whichever robot you feels needs to be more adorable. If the company passes its goal of $500K, it will make attachments that allow children to connect their pre-existing building block toys (think Legos) to their robots. At $700K the company will release a custom-designed Xylophone for Bo, complete with a full programming stack for making him play sweet, sweet music. Play-i has come a long way since May, and the results are incredible. While it will still be awhile before the robots hit your doorstep, the discounted price of early ordering should make this an easy choice for interested parents or 20-something tech bloggers. You can watch Play-i's demo video below. We simply can't wait to try these robots out. Head over to Play-i for more information and to pre-order if you're enchanted.
Play-i's Bo and Yana robots teach kids programming concepts through stories (video)
There are efforts to promote coding to kids, but they're typically aimed at an older demographic -- few young children are ready to sit at a keyboard and start writing. Play-i hopes to foster that interest at an earlier age with its upcoming programmable robots. Both the three-wheeled Bo (right) and its stationary cousin Yana (left) teach coding concepts through the context of stories, which are easier to grasp for kids. Owners can tell Bo to give a flower to a friend, for example, or get Yana to make helicopter sounds when it's shaken. Play-i's Bluetooth-based remote control app (currently iOS-only) simplifies arm, eye, gesture and wheel commands, reducing them to icon-based sequences; effectively, kids learn about if-then code without mastering a programming language. The company is running a crowdfunding campaign to help with its planned summer 2014 launch. Interested parents can pledge $49 for Yana, and $149 for Bo; prices should climb to a respective $69 and $199 when the robots reach the market. Tinkerers can also spend $499 to get a developer combo that includes both machines as well as early access to an API. If you're interested in giving your kids a head start in the tech world -- or just want particularly clever toys for yourself -- you'll want to check out Play-i at the source link.
PlanetSide 2 launches Operation: Make Faster Game
It's easy for most players not to think about optimization. Games run the way they run, and you turn down options until you strike a balance between graphical prettiness and acceptable framerates. But developers spend a lot of time thinking about these things, and that thinking is precisely what's informing the new major development project for PlanetSide 2. Tech director Ryan Elam explains what this means in a letter to the community about what the team is planning to do with the game. Elam explains that at this point the team feels that the core game mechanics are where they need to be. What the game does need is to trim out bits of visual fluff and effects that force the game to run more slowly than it should. So the developers are working on simple ways to do that, like slowing the rate of updates on adjacent players to speed up large battles and simplifying the physics engine to not render changes that players cannot see or interact with. For a full list of the optimization projects, take a look at the letter. [Thanks to Gustavo for the tip!]
Google Coder lets you build Raspberry Pi web apps in your browser (video)
It's undoubtedly possible to turn a Raspberry Pi into a web server, but it's not always easy. Thankfully, Google just streamlined the process with its new Coder project. The open source tool lets developers build web apps for a ready-made Raspberry Pi web server using only a desktop browser. Coder manages all the files, including any media. The mini PC, meanwhile, only requires a network connection and an SD card reader to store the server. Beyond the hardware, Coder is free to use; if you've wanted a cheap testbed for web programming, you'll find one at the source link.
Element14 unveils Raspberry Pi Projects hub and 8GB Model B bundle
While it's comparatively easy to get started with Raspberry Pi programming, it can be tough to find suitably challenging projects afterward -- what's good for rookies may bore seasoned pros. To solve this, Element14 has launched a Raspberry Pi Projects hub that organizes community projects by skill level. First-timers get tutorials for basic tasks, such as loading Minecraft: Pi Edition, while veterans learn how to build home monitoring systems and other advanced devices. Those who want a faster start on their projects can also spend $40 on a new Raspberry Pi Model B bundle that includes both the tiny PC and an 8GB SD card preloaded with six operating systems. There's no guarantee that you'll become an expert through Element14's hub, but you'll at least be saved from getting in over your head.
Netflix releases trailer for Ricky Gervais' Derek, streaming begins September 12th
A few more of these, and it won't even be news. Netflix is going hard into the original content business, and judging by the outstanding results with House of Cards, we're guessing that it'll be aiming for similar results with a different demographic here. Derek, described as something of a comedy / drama mishmash, is fronted by the affable Ricky Gervais. The show actually aired as Dramedy over on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, so while it's not exactly a Netflix original, it's getting "original treatment." Per usual, the entire season will be available to stream at once on September 12th (overwhelming, we know), and if you're looking to decide just how much time you should set aside, the trailer is embedded after the break.
OpenCL 2.0 provisional spec gets outlined, OpenGL 4.4 released
SIGGRAPH has only just begun, but the Khronos Group is already giving folks of the graphics programming persuasion some fresh APIs to talk about. Yesterday marked the release of the OpenCL 2.0 provisional specification, and it's boasting an Android installable client driver extension, along with improvements to image handling, shared virtual memory and more. It's expected that the new version of OpenCL will be finalized in six month's time, and feedback regarding the changes are being welcomed. The fresh OpenGL 4.4 spec revamps everything from shaders to asynchronous queries while keeping full backwards compatibility, and includes additional functions to make porting Direct3D apps a smoother process. If parallel programming and cross-platform graphics are your thing, hit the break for the full feature breakdown in the press releases.
Apple reportedly pitching ad skipping technology to cable companies
Tim Stevens, forever known as a bearded legend and a dignified gentleman in the realm of Engadget, once placed a small sum of money into a charity bet with Gene Munster. At question, as you'll likely surmise, was whether or not Apple would reinvent television before the end of the year. The outfit's CEO has since upgraded the Apple TV from a hobby to an "area of intense interest," and it seems that discussions are indeed in the works. Jessica Lessin, formerly of Wall Street Journal fame, has been known to break an Apple story or two, and she's recently published a report that puts Apple and cable companies at the table to discuss the premise of ad skipping. Simply put, Apple wants to offer consumers the ability to watch live and on-demand programming "over an Apple set-top box or TV" at a premium, with ads being skipped over and ISPs receiving a slice of the money. That money, of course, would seemingly have to trickle down to the companies who are getting (potentially) shafted when it comes to air time, but details surrounding that notion seem to be unclear. Of course, one could say that folks are already addicted to skipping ads, and if Apple's crafting an idea to make anything from a phenomenon that's already happening... well, you could certainly imagine one or two executives having a listen.
The Daily Roundup for 07.04.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
