It is nice to see that shared_ptr is finally making its way into C++ standard library. The question is, of course, when it will actually happen. The document was composed in 2003, but today no compiler ships with anything but std::auto_ptr. more »

Want yeast? Drink yeast! more »

Once I read about a rather unusual fraud scheme. In essence, some 1000 random people would receive letters, 500 of which claimed, that stock A would go up, and the other 500 that it would go down during the next NY Stock Exchange trading day - all based on their new ground braking prediction models or insider information. Well, it is not hard to realize, that at least half of … more »

Awhile ago I read an interesting article (and another one ) about bottled water popularity. According to its authors, selling mineral water is a genius business idea, but the product has very little to offer to an average consumer in the Western world, especially where tap water is good. It connects, actually, to a not so recent scandal in the UK, when Coca-Cola was caught red-handed pouring tap water into … more »

An interesting paper from you know whom, talking about new features, planned for the next version of C++ (yes, someone works on C++ too). It looks quite nice the way they describe it, but given previous attempts to improve it, I wouldn't be surprised, if the extension turned the arithmetic operators into a super-Turing language, with its own intellect more powerful than that of an average Nobel prize winner. more »

It looks like the cellular companies couldn't stop the proposed legislation for slashing prices of roaming calls in the EU. Good news for frequent travelers and chatterboxes. more »

Quite a funny optical illusion - it looks like the little green dragon turns its head to follow you as your position moves, but it actually doesn't! Follow the link to see the original video, demonstrating the curious effect. more »

From Microsoft's Media Connect FAQ : Fewer software requirements. Unlike Windows Media Connect 1.0, version 2.0 no longer requires installation of Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Well, even Microsoft sometimes dump .NET, although it is hard to believe. more »

After many years of development, GnuCash - the open source personal and small business money management application, has moved to version 2.0. This is essentially a port go gtk2/Gnome2, and will hopefully, run on Windows as well, given true cross-platform open source and high quality tool for everyone. I used GnuCash for many years and find it quite intuitive and simple. more »

According to this blog , some Chinese engineers claim, that they managed to reverse-engineer the protocol, used in Skype VoIP products. They are also said to be developing an example application implementing the protocol, which will be able to communicate with other Skype clients. more »