Tag Archives: java
Android earned Google $22 billion in profit, says Oracle
Google will strip Oracle’s Java code out of Android
Oracle settles charges that it misled you on Java security
Firefox will stop supporting web plugins (except for Flash) by the end of 2016
Using Disk Drives and 3D Printers as MIDI Musical Instruments
We’ve seen floppy drives and hard drives used to make music, but laurens.weyn’s Unconventional Instrument Orchestra can use “pretty much anything with steppers, or anything that makes noise on a signal pulse as percussion.” That includes hard drives, and floppy drives along with 3D printers, CNC machines and even doorbells.
While it’s fun to watch the hardware play, laurens.weyn admits that the real star of his project is the Java program that he wrote. “This program was by far what took the most effort in this project, as it has to parse MIDI files, make adjustments through an interface, and send instructions to the various instruments to play their parts while providing a synthesia-style music visualisation in real time.” The orchestra is run by a PC and a Fubarino SD; the latter is needed to control floppy drives and hard disk drives.
Laurens.weyn knows what you’re thinking. “Do you think YOU’RE tired of hearing this song? Do you know how many attempts this took to get working? Too many!” Check out his Hack A Day post for more on his project. You can see more of the Unconventional Instrument Orchestra’s performances on his YouTube page.
[via Hack A Day]
Nanoarcade: A Tiny Arcade Cabinet on the Cheap
Have you always wanted an arcade cabinet, but didn’t have the space or the money to invest in one? Well Nanoarcade hopes to change that with their teensy arcade cabinet that’s small enough to keep in your desk drawer at work so the boss doesn’t see you playing it.
The 1/10th scale Nanoarcade has a complete arcade game system with a 3.2″ color display, a built-in speaker, a 360-degree joystick, and six buttons. Better yet, it runs on standard AA batteries.
It’s also a bargain for early adopters, with the least expensive Kickstarter reward going for just $39 for early birds. For $59, you can score the starter pack, which includes a microUSB cable, three pre-designed cabinet stickers, and a blank one if you want to create your own cabinet art.
So what’s the downside to this tiny arcade machine you can fit in the palm of your hand? Well, it doesn’t play the real arcade games like MAME. Instead, it runs Java, and therefore can only play J2ME games – the sort you might play on older mobile phones. Its creators have pre-loaded the cabinet with a handful of games they’ve created, but you can load in additional games via its MicroUSB port. On the plus side, there are numerous J2ME games floating around the internet, some of them being clones of the classics.
To reserve your Nanoarcade cabinet, head on over to Kickstarter and pledge now. I just ordered one for myself, because why not. It’s a mini arcade machine for less than a single PS4 or Xbox One game.
The Trend To "Open Source" Software And What It Means For Businesses And Consumers
Microsoft and Oracle are Partners in the Enterprise Cloud
Java, Silverlight left in cold as Firefox disables all plugins by default — except Flash
In an effort to prevent "drive-by exploitations," upcoming versions of Firefox will have Java, Adobe Reader and Silverlight disabled by default, according to a recent Mozilla Security blog. All other third-party plugins except Flash will also be disabled, requiring users to enable them using the so-called click to play feature introduced last year. All that is to prevent "poorly designed" Firefox plugins from crashing or recent headline-grabbing exploits involving the likes of Java, with Adobe's Flash player being the one exception that works out of the box -- though versions longer of tooth than 10.3 won't see daylight without your say-so.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Source: Mozilla Security Blog