Byte Into It - 29 August 2012

Aug 29, 2012

On this week's Byte:

• Apple's US$1bn victory over Samsung in their US patent fight; Samsung wants us to know this does not (yet) affect Australian sales of Samsung products.
• Steve Jobs, in an earlier time, had a rather different view on the right way for product ideas to flow in the computer industry.
• The Robotics Institute is asking the public for nominations to the Robot Hall of Fame awards for 2012.
• We interview Richard Jones, our guest host and a long-time Python hacker, about:
  • The Python programming language.
  • Our local Melbourne Python User Group (MPUG), meeting monthly in Richmond.
  • PyConAU, which was this year (and also next year) in Hobart for five days, and all the fun Ben and Richard had there with hundreds of Python programmers.
  • The programming challenge Pyweek, to program a game from start to finish in one week, with registrations open now for next month's competition.
• The Personal Energy Orb attaches to your bicycle, and limits your computer usage time proportional to the distance you ride your bike.
• Television viewers in the USA during their presidential election can use the Super PAC App to recognise campaign adverts by the audio. The app then displays information about the advert's sponsor, details of funding, accuracy of factual claims, and more. It also allows rating the advert once it's played.
• Somewhat lower brow is the Little Face Mitt photo blog.
• Georgia has mixed feelings about the MSL Curiosity rover broadcasting a live song to the Mars landscape.
• Logitech have made a keyboard designed to be washable in a household sink. Is it the end of this disgusting optical illusion?
• NASA has prototyped PhoneSat, a line of tiny satellites powered by the Android phone Nexus One, designed to be launched early and often as improvements to the design proceed.
• Researchers at Princeton University get predatory fish playing video games designed to research their behaviour. It's good they get to join the fun.

Presented by Georgia Webster, Warren Davies, and Ben Finney.

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