Google Code Jam Contest.

Google Code Jam contest.

Hi guys. This is one contest that nerds wait for all round the year just like atheletes wait for the Olympics. If you are a nerd you know what I am talking about. Its none other than the Google Code Jam contest. Its been a success since it started. Let me present to you Google Code Jam contest 2008 "The battle of the geeks". Do you love solving tough problems and algorithms, then this is the place you belong. And even you are not very proficient in programming, go give it a try. You will come to know where you stand because only the "geekiest" survives.

Google Code Jam is a coding competition in which professional and student programmers are asked to solve complex algorithmic challenges in a limited amount of time. The contest is all-inclusive: Google Code Jam lets you program in the coding language and development environment of your choice.

Google Code Jam begins in July and continues in August, when you will compete in online rounds against contestants from around the world. The Top 500 participants will advance to onsite competitions at a local Google office to compete against those in their region (Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and the Americas). The Top 100 will participate in the final round at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California on Friday, November 14.

Did I forget something. Oh yes, the winner gets a handsome prize money of 10,000 USD. Now this will surely make you give it a try. Top 500 finalists gets a Google Code Jam T-shirt. The Top 100 finalists from the local onsites will be flown to Mountain View, California to compete in the onsite finals. Travel and accommodation will be covered by Google.

Well if you are interested enough to register for Code Jam then click here. Registration closes on July 17, 2008. Hurry up guys. Don't miss this one.

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Wine Is Served.

Wine is served.

Hi guys. Sorry for not posting anything for a long time. Its just because i didn't find anything worth mentioning. This one is pretty interesting. Finally Wine 1.0 got released on June 17th 2008. This is the first stable release of Wine after 15 years of development and beta testing. Dont know what m talking about??? Well then, let me give you a brief introduction about Wine. Obviously, its not about french wine. Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. Wine provides both a development toolkit for porting Windows source code to Unix as well as a program loader, allowing many unmodified Windows programs to run on x86-based Unixes, including Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, and Solaris.

The Wine project started in 1993 as a way to support running Windows 3.1 programs on Linux. Bob Amstadt was the original coordinator, but turned it over fairly early on to Alexandre Julliard, who has run it ever since. Over the years, ports for other Unixes have been added, along with support for Win32 as Win32 applications became popular.

Wanna know more about Wine. Here you go: click here

To download wine 1.0: click here

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Android Bootcamp

Android Bootcamp.

Till now I have been writing about Android and Google and on similar topics. But this is something very interesting and practical. Guess what!!! Android Bootcamp is here. It starts on September 15th in Atlanta, Georgia. Not only Android, there are a whole lot of courses to choose from. Starting from C, Cocoa, Django, iPhone etc. You name it, you have it. This is no child's play. Pros are here to teach you. They are one of the best in their respective fields. Android course is priced at $3500. To check for course availability and pricing click here. There are courses held in Frankfurt, Germany also for Europe Geo.

Big Nerd Ranch, Inc. is a company with a radical new approach to teaching. They offer intensive, head-down computer programming courses taught by experts in a retreat environment. Classroom, accommodations, and dining all take place within the same building, freeing the student to learn, code, and discuss with your programming peers and instructors. If you want to know whoz gonna teach you click here. A knowledgeable instructor is a wonderful thing, but knowledge alone doesn't make for a good teacher. Big Nerd Ranch instructors provide the necessary combination of knowledge and outstanding teaching skills.

Expense reporting is a simple process for a Big Nerd Ranch class. One fee covers tuition, meals, lodging, and transportation to and from the airport. You get on and off a plane. We take care of everything else.

At the Big Nerd Ranch, they remove the distractions inherent in standard corporate training. We offer classes in quiet, comfortable settings in Atlanta, Georgia; Frankfurt, Germany; and Rome, Italy. After an intense day of learning, you walk a few steps to your room for a good night's sleep and awake refreshed and ready to focus on the next day's lessons.

To register for any course click here.

To have a glance at their library click here.

China's Huawei May Sell A Stake Abroad.

China's Huawei may sell a stake abroad.

HONG KONG -- Huawei Technologies Co. is considering the sale of a multibillion-dollar stake in its mobile-devices division to a foreign investor that could help the closely held Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker navigate the North American market, according to people familiar with the situation.

The sale, which could rank among the largest foreign investments in a Chinese company, is at an early stage, the people said. Later this month, Huawei plans to invite strategic investors and private-equity companies to make bids for a significant stake in the business, with a foreign investor possibly taking a majority shareholding in the business.

Verizon Launches The Samsung Glyde.

Verizon launches the Samsung Glyde.

One of the worst-kept secrets in Verizon's stable is finally getting official today; that's right, ladies and gentlemen, meet the Glyde from Samsung. Wearing CDMA guts underneath its F700 clothing, the fashion-friendly QWERTY slider offers a 2 megapixel cam with flash and autofocus, GPS, the full range of Bluetooth profiles, microSD slot, and a true HTML browser. Unlike its crosstown competition -- the LG Voyager -- the Glyde doesn't offer support for Verizon's VCAST TV service, but we imagine most folks will consider that a minor (read: nonexistent) inconvenience. Look for the phone to start circulating into retail channels this week for a princely $249.99 on contract after $50 rebate.

For more information: click here

Google Holds Verizon’s Feet To Fire On 700MHz Open Access

Google holds Verizon’s feet to fire on 700MHz open access.

The struggle over the Federal Communications Commission's 700MHz auction's C Block just flared up again. Google has written a stern letter to the FCC demanding that the agency force the block's winner, Verizon, to honor the spectrum region's open platform provision.

"The rule requires openness for 'Any Applications, Any Devices'—not 'Any Applications, Except on Verizon Devices,' as Verizon would interpret it," a small squad of Google attorneys told the FCC on Friday. "The Commission must ensure that Verizon understands that this license obligation means what it says: Any Apps, Any Devices."
Google wants the agency to make Verizon promise to adhere to the C Block rules—in writing.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080505-google-holds-verizons-feet-to-fire-on-700mhz-open-access.html

Is It A Challenge Or Phishing.

Is it a Challenge or Phishing.

Is the Android Challenge legit or an elaborate form of phishing,or even an outright scam of sorts?It seems that the challenge has a few glaring problems:

The rules favor teams and/or individuals with financialbacking or resources. The Challenge is scored in 4 areas. I suggest that Originalityand Indispensibility are areas that favor contributors equallywhether they are poor individuals or well funded teams.However "Effective Use of the Android Platform" and "Polish and Appeal" penalize those with limited financialresources. These qualities require more time to implementthereby favoring those who could spend more time on thechallenge than those who responded to the challengein the "Willy Wonka" spirit (believing all had a chance)and had to work on the challenge in their spare time.2) Google discontinued support for the Challenge userswhile continuing to support OHA and other stakeholders(e.g., device manufacturers, MIT) thereby marginalizing/under supporting the Challenge members.
Using the Android platform, whichdespite being Linux and Java, is no picnic or walk in the park.The processing model is different (and I'll question it's necessity on a Linux platform in another post), the SDK has bugs, thedocumentation has inconsistencies (e.g., look at the variousplaces where TableLayout and table row are documented),pieces of the SDK were missing (e.g., BT, etc.) and so on.And while independents were toiling away trying to slog throughthe Android'isms and bugs, Google was actively supporting membersof the OHA (are they really on the same SDK version as we are? Are all submitters really isolated from those who had moreinside information? Access to the source. Participants who fail to win in round 1 stand to lose even more.

When you made your submission you agreed that if Google or any of the Judges developed your idea you had no recourse.What if Google/Judges never had the idea before you submitted it?Had not yet visualized it on the Android platform before the entries were submitted? Do you think you can get your idea to market faster than the multi-billion dollar Google juggernaut?In it's most perverse form isn't it all really a way for Googleto potentially get 1700+ original ideas for which they only need to pay for 50.