August Software News Roundup
In this roundup of interesting software news, read about a new software scheme targeting YouTube viewers, Microsoft’s attempts to move its software development processes to the cloud, and what the chief architect of Microsoft Word and Excel has to say about the complexity of software development.
Schemers Create Shady Software for YouTube
Be careful the next time you browse YouTube looking for the latest cutest animal videos. The Financial Times reports that Internet fraudsters have created shady software “that is hijacking web users’ visits to the YouTube website and inserting an extra layer of adverts—some of which load malicious programs on to the users’ computers.”
The software under fire promises users that they can download videos from YouTube instead of streaming them. However, this downloading ability comes with a price. The next time a user visits YouTube, additional ads will appear, and none of the advertising revenue will reach Google, like traditional ads.
Fortunately, the business paper says that the company behind the scheme withdrew its software from the market after the Financial Times reached out to them.
Microsoft Moving Software Development to the Cloud
According to a report from ZDNet, Microsoft is attempting to move its internal software development to the cloud. This would be quite a shift for the Redmond, WA-based company, as it currently creates software using desktop tools.
Apparently, an initiative to “get developers to write in the cloud, not on the desktop" was put into place a year and a half ago. Microsoft developers appear to be excited because moving to the cloud could potentially speed up their software development process.
From ZDNet:
Microsoft also is doing other work revolving around the cloud and software development. Its Team Foundation Service is hosted on Windows Azure. And the Windows Phone team has used "cloud compilation" techniques to make the Windows Phone operating system and applications faster and to help with porting apps to new versions of the Phone OS.
The Atlantic Interviews the Chief Architect of Microsoft Word and Excel
The Atlantic recently posted a fascinating interview with software executive Charles Simonyi, who, when working for Microsoft, was the chief architect of the Word and Excel programs.
In the interview, James Fallows picks Simonyi’s brain over why software has to be so slow and why it's inherently more complex than hardware.
From The Atlantic:
JF: As you think of the software of right now, of 2013, which part of the software that people interact with are you most impressed by, for its incorporation of intelligence? Which one most annoys you for its lack of intelligence? And 10 years from now, what will be the most dramatic change for people?
CS: I think that just in terms of usefulness and the incorporation of intelligence, the simple task of spell-check is very impressive, actually. The statistical translations are getting surprisingly useful for purposes that people use them for. When you go to Wikipedia and misspell a name, for example, you will get very, very good suggestions, and you get there very quickly even from limited context and hits. I think that's amazing, and I'm in awe of that.
