[slyt] Hug a developer today.
posted on Aug 29, 2008 - View this thread

In March 2007, the FermiLab Office of Public Affairs in Batavia, IL "received a curious message in code" via USPS. In May 2008, scientists posted a facsimile image of the letter to their blog in the hopes of soliciting cryptologists to decipher the letter.
posted on Jul 16, 2008 - View this thread

code_swarm, an animated visualization of open source software project commits. e.g.: Python.
posted on Jun 18, 2008 - View this thread

Google's Android goes live for demo. Lots of video and stills. Cache.
posted on May 28, 2008 - View this thread

It's no secret that amateur radio operators, or hams, often build their own equipment. Especially with the aid of antenna tuners, most anything can be used as an antenna. One group of hams took this to the extreme, using ladders and shopping carts as antennas as they started an annual competition that would eventually see trucks, train tracks, a tree, and even a pair of exercise machines and a football stadium used. I stumbled across the site last night, and it turns out that this year's competition is this weekend! Ham radio, by the way, no longer requires a Morse code exam, just a set of questions on electrical and operations theory. Those curious can take practice tests online, since the FCC releases the question pools.
posted on May 22, 2008 - View this thread

Look up any Zip Code here, get lots of cool demographic data by entering it here (make sure you enter a zip code, not just a town and keep scrolling down, down, down).
posted on May 10, 2008 - View this thread

POV-Ray Short Code Contest #5 - The animation round! This time the competitors were allowed 512 bytes of POV-Ray code to create a (short...) animation. The rules of rounds 2 and 3 (previously on Mefi) allowed 256 bytes but to create stills.
posted on Feb 16, 2008 - View this thread

Getting to the source of 5 beautiful lines of Quake 3. Rys Sommefeldt traces the history of a very quick (and now infamous) inverse square-root function used in Quake 3. (via)
posted on Feb 8, 2008 - View this thread

MATSYS Based on the idea that architecture can be understood as a material body with its own intrinsic and extrinsic forces relating to form, growth, and behavior, the studio investigates methodologies of performative integration through geometric and material differentiation.

B_Complex, N_Table, Endless Ocean, Endless Sky (more), P_Wall. more.
posted on Jan 18, 2008 - View this thread

How many HTML elements can you name in five minutes?
posted on Nov 28, 2007 - View this thread

"This is the story of when I re-wrote the Lotus Notes Formula Engine.... So here was I was, offered this position that I clearly wasn't qualified for. I had no experience with language runtimes or compilers, I knew very little about C and didn't know anything about C++, I had never dealt with platform byte ordering and packing and all the other issues associated with writing something for eight different operating systems, I had never even used proper version control. But none of that mattered to me. It seemed to me like an amazing opportunity and I would be doing exactly the kind of stuff I enjoy most..."
posted on Nov 24, 2007 - View this thread

Bar Code Revolution! With more than just lines and rectangles, Japanese company Design Barcode works around the basic elements of a barcode and infuses real, functional barcodes with creative designs and silhouettes. See barcodes as tomatoes, stomachs, rain, pianos, guns, train tracks, waterfalls, cliffsides, and yes, even combovers.
posted on Aug 15, 2007 - View this thread

lolcats are great but now they can code!
posted on May 29, 2007 - View this thread

Freemasonry has a long history of accusations of evil conspiratorial machinations, both in print and elsewhere. But it seems that, if you ask most Masons, they're just in it for the booze. Now, the newspaper of record is taking a look at the Masons' efforts to open up to the public in this post-Da Vinci code age.
posted on Oct 4, 2006 - View this thread

Gbalf Xozmn Ram Rqzyk Wtacu Lkugc Aaxjx Owkyu Dkoxk Zamdg Bnuio Nmrxk Zmqyf Nqeog Ziqxf Gutxe Nkmxd Gzmqj Brqge Kxkfs Qqzui Nactg Djfnq Eenaa Xjnk
posted on Aug 4, 2006 - View this thread

“Smithy code” The secret lies in HBHG and DVC. According to news reports the Judge who recently ruled in the Da Vinci Code plagiarism case has included his own code in his high court ruling (PDF). At this time, no one seems to have decoded it all...
posted on Apr 26, 2006 - View this thread

More map fun: The first world map of internet country codes. Large jpg here.
posted on Apr 21, 2006 - View this thread

Code Snippets is a tag-based repository for (duh) code snippets.
posted on Mar 22, 2006 - View this thread

A previously unbroken Enigma code has been solved by a group of hackers. After just over a month of effort, the M4 group, using distributed computing, cracked a 60 year-old German naval code. The message: "Forced to submerge during attack." There are lots of other interesting historical codes that still remain mysteries, however. Lots of Enigma goodness in an earlier post.
posted on Feb 27, 2006 - View this thread

Time commenting could be time coding. Day in, day out, you pull off star moves: gnarly algorithms, wicked refactorings, stunning optimizations. Why should you stop and explain? Yes, you've got plodders on your team, but hey — youAreAStar and yourTimeIsExpensive. Time spent explaining, documenting, commenting — dude! — that's time you could be using to crank out yet more mind-altering code. Welcome The Commentator.
posted on Aug 2, 2005 - View this thread

"A shocking discovery has been made deep within the text of Moby Dick. The great codes researcher Michael Drosnin, who pioneered the art of predicting assassinations using Equidistant Letter Sequences, is himself encoded in a famous book. And directly across his name appears the text 'Him to have been killed'! Yes, folks, using the method that Drosnin himself uses, and the text that he himself chose as a challenge to his critics, we find that Drosnin himself will be murdered in a grotesque manner."
posted on Jun 20, 2005 - View this thread

That, as previously reported, a newly deciphered fragment of the Book of Revelations shows 616 is the true Number of the Beast, rather than the popular 666, is nothing new in the world of those obsessed with codes in the Bible. However, one Bible code in particular -- Theomatics -- has sparked debate among believers and non-believers alike.
posted on May 10, 2005 - View this thread

DailyWTF is a "Programming Bloopers" repository and forum, collecting, dissecting and making good fun of badly written code. Programmers can appreciate their fellow coders' strange or plainly funny problem solving techniques. Sometimes programmers will square the wheel while reinventing it. Or take the best practices to the insanity level.
Some programming knowledge required.
posted on Apr 27, 2005 - View this thread

The Daily WTF features braindead code samples. High-larious to a nerd like me.
posted on Oct 15, 2004 - View this thread

Ceci Nes't Pas Une Satanic Message • "Years ago someone told me that if you played Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven song backwards that you could make out 'satanic messages'. It is not my opinion that Led Zeppelin and the other artists here were given some kind of evil power to make these backwards sounds have a satanic message. And, no, I did not create this to show the evils of Rock and Roll. Instead I made this flash piece for two reasons: 1. I was new to Flash and wanted to be better at it and 2. The reverse files sound cool. "
posted on Oct 8, 2004 - View this thread

Coincidence or contortion? Ivan Panin deciphered a numeric code in the Bible. Known as Gematria, the 'code' implies the Bible could not have been written without Holy assistance. Panin offered an open challenge for someone to create text using a similar pattern, yet no one was able to create one(nor tried).

However many people doubt the authenticity of the code though. The code is found in the same verses using different translations. It is also claimed that Panin manufactured his own translations to create this mathematical phenomenon.

Whether or not you believe, you can determine how good or evil any text or website is.
posted on Jun 25, 2004 - View this thread

1980s Vinyl Multimedia In the 1980s UK, artists were busy embedding multimedia-enabling compiled computer code into the locked grooves of their vinyl releases (and some cassette tapes). Who knew?
posted on Mar 19, 2004 - View this thread

Voynich manuscript detemined to be a hoax ... maybe? Discussed here previously, this cryptic document has been intriguing researchers worldwide. In December scientists determined that the text could have been produced using a Cardan Grille and look to known prankster and alchemist Edward Kelley as the likely agent of this deception. But the question still remains, is it encoded gibberish, or encoded something else?
posted on Feb 16, 2004 - View this thread

ZIP Code Visualizer A Java-based map of the continental US that progressively narrows down the area covered by a ZIP Code as you type in the numbers one by one. [Doesn't work so good in Mac IE 5. via xBlog]
posted on Dec 22, 2003 - View this thread

The Last Stage of Delirium Research Group (LSD-PLaNET) have posted code on the Internet that can allow hackers to exploit a previously disclosed vulnerability in Microsoft's Windows operating system. This kind of thing happens all the time. What never happened before is a widespread government and media panic perpetuating the buffer overrun threat as terroristic in nature, originating from the Department of Homeland Security and upsetting the gerneral public at large.
posted on Jul 31, 2003 - View this thread

The Code of Hammurabi is generally recognized as the first laws ever written. Hammurabi was the ruler who chiefly established the greatness of Babylon (present day Iraq), the world's first metropolis.
posted on Mar 31, 2003 - View this thread

CSS on Demand allows users to set several preferences for how they want to see your site, rather than just using one of your themes via a switcher. Kind of like Matt lets you do here.
Perl. Free. Try it out.
posted on Jan 28, 2003 - View this thread

You've probably heard of the WWII Navajo "code talkers" who managed to baffle crack Japanese cryptanalysts and were credited with enabling US success at Iwo Jima. Civil engineer, journalist and photographer Philip Johnston was the determined mind behind the "windtalkers". The son of missionaries, Johnston grew up on a Navajo reservation and was one of only a handful of outsiders fluent in the Navajo language. A bit of his background is included this article, and you can read a complete history of his plan, view an archive of photos by Johnston, and see copies of his enlistment application letter to the Marine Corps commandant, as well as a recommendation letter from the Commanding General. (more inside...)
posted on Jan 22, 2003 - View this thread

CodeDoc, a new exhibition at Whitney Artport, forces us to view the scripts and codes that generate software art before seeing the “art.” The other aspect of the curatorial premise: each artist's code must create art that connects three points in space.
[via rhizome].
posted on Sep 23, 2002 - View this thread

While poking around today, I found a link to Treefold, which isn't all that impressive in and of itself. The reason for my interest was that it's the first use I've come across of the Proce55ing language, which is a sort of continuation of John Maeda's teaching language, DBN(Design by Numbers). While still not ready for general release, it's grown a lot since the last time I looked at it.
posted on Sep 10, 2002 - View this thread

Winners of The 5K Competition revealed. Remember the thread about the call for entries back in May? Well, there were many fine entries, but finally the winners have been announced. Check out the Editor's picks for the cream of the crop. My favorite is Wolfenstein 5K, which ones have you enjoyed? Of course, 'real men' do it in 256 bytes instead ;-)
posted on Aug 8, 2002 - View this thread

Competition to "reverse engineer" mystery program.
Another cool thingy from the HoneyNet Project; they're inviting people to convert a binary file into its original source. So, who's participating?
posted on May 3, 2002 - View this thread

Interesting The guy who wrote Your CSS Bores Me(previously linked and discussed here) has decided to accept his own challenge. For the month of February, he will be applying a different stylesheet to the index page of his site, with no manipulation of the HTML document itself. This is one to watch, if you're also a code geek.
posted on Feb 5, 2002 - View this thread

Blogger Code Decoder. Those Blogger Codes are the most annoying thing since Pokemon but just in case...
posted on Jan 14, 2002 - View this thread

B4 d t+ k s++ u-- f++ i o++ x e l- c--
posted on Jan 10, 2002 - View this thread

Hackers win round one! Feel free to post DeCSS to this thread; it is no longer illegal.
What, if anything, does this mean to the movie industry?
posted on Nov 2, 2001 - View this thread

Clippings is the GPL-ed code behind IHT's news-clip feature, which has been discussed on MetaFilter before. This is very cool code and I think any site with many front page links could benefit from it. Serendipitously found at smokinggun, which is not the smoking gun.
posted on Jul 31, 2001 - View this thread

Reassembled. Assembler is back -- at least, in its latest, frozen form. Score one for indie content makers. (thanks to Zeldman; his exit page notes the new URL.)
posted on Jul 27, 2001 - View this thread

Disassembled. Assembler.org ("making art with machine code") is no more. Quoth the Zeldman: "Lately we feel like Smokey the Bear - and the forest fires are winning."
posted on Jul 6, 2001 - View this thread

Weird Programming Languages All the info you wanted to know about obscure programming languages
posted on Jul 5, 2001 - View this thread

Article on New Scientist about "software that turns everyday language into computer code".
posted on Apr 5, 2001 - View this thread

The Key Vanishes: Scientist Outlines Unbreakable Code [NEW YORK TIMES - free reg required]
In essence, the researcher, Dr. Michael Rabin and his Ph.D. student Yan Zong Bing, have discovered a way to make a code based on a key that vanishes even as it is used. While they are not the first to have thought of such an idea, Dr. Rabin says that never before has anyone been able to make it both workable and to prove mathematically that the code cannot be broken.
 
Once this gets out, the debate on exporting strong crypto would seem to be essentially over.
posted on Feb 20, 2001 - View this thread

XHTML is in the spotlight. The specs were announced months ago, and on December 19th the w3 reccommended it as the new web language.
posted on Dec 23, 2000 - View this thread

Building A Great DHTML Chaser -- by Aaron Boodman. I've built one or two of these - what Aaron calls "Chasers" - you know, the little floating layer that follows you on a web page as you scroll. I was never too thrilled with the outcome for various reasons, but Aaron really put in extra efforts to resolve DHTML animation issues and came up with a fairly slick bit of code. A sample can be seen here. Whether you think they're annoying or useful, the based-on-refresh-rate animation info is still fairly useful.
posted on Sep 21, 2000 - View this thread

Is computer code a form of expression and therefore protected by the First Amendment? That's something being considered in the MPAA's case against Eric Corley and DeCSS.
posted on Jul 26, 2000 - View this thread