Code can't be stolen under federal law, court rules | Security & Privacy - CNET News

Code can't be stolen under federal law, court rules | Security & Privacy - CNET News: "The enormous profits the system yielded for Goldman depended on no one else having it," Jacobs ruled. "Because [the high-frequency trading system] was not designed to enter or pass in commerce, or to make something that does, Aleynikov's theft of source code relating to that system was not an offense under the EEA."

Is it more secure to allow the browser to save a website password or prohibit it?

Is it more secure to allow the browser to save a website password or prohibit the browser from saving the password?

Benefits of allow the browser to save the password:

1. Spoof websites are more easily detected because the username and password don't show up (this may be a mute point if the username is saved but not the password).
2. Keyloggers won't pick up the password if you don't type it. (Thanks to Thrawn)
3. People will be less likely to keep the password in an obvious place (i.e. sticky note)

Benefits of prohibiting the browser from saving the password:

1. Stops someone with access to your computer from accessing the passwords (the level of access needed can vary based on how the passwords are stored).

The value of low-level logging

All of the info in logs can be obtained through a debugger, if you can reproduce the problem. Low-level logging allows a devloper to debug a problem without the work of reproducing the problem - Q.A. or another developer can just send the debug log for review. When it is difficult to reproduce a problem, debug logs can be invaluable. Debug logs also give a wealth of information without having to choose that info beforehand. While debugging a developer may find that more information is needed and it can require re-running the test to get that information.

How Trello is different - Joel on Software

How Trello is different - Joel on Software: 'A feature that you built and tested, but didn’t deliver yet because you’re waiting for the next major release, becomes inventory. Inventory is dead weight: money you spent that’s just wasting away without earning you anything.'

Are older people better programmers? | Javalobby

Are older people better programmers? | Javalobby: "Fast programmers who produce disorganized code rely on their superior short term memory to get things done. These programmers get worse with age as their short-term memory weakens. They tend to drop out of the field.
Slow programmers who produce well-organized and readable code avoid relying on short-term memory. They tend to get faster and better with age as they accumulate in their long-term memory an ever increasing portfolio of strategies, patterns and techniques."

Ignore the customer experience, lose a billion dollars (Walmart case study) - Good Experience

Ignore the customer experience, lose a billion dollars (Walmart case study) - Good Experience: "The mistake was a lack of customer focus. I know, I know: 'They ran a survey! Customers loved the idea!' But that's exactly the problem. Walmart didn't pursue the question of what customers wanted. Instead, Walmart came up with the answer first, then asked customers to agree to it. That's exactly the wrong thing to do, because it ignores customers while attempting to fool stakeholders into thinking that the strategy is customer-centered.

Put another way, Walmart based this incredibly expensive misadventure on what customers said, rather than what they did. And the customer experience is all about what customers do. In real life. No hypotheticals. Walmart acted without considering the customer experience, and that was a big mistake."

France Outlaws Hashed Passwords - Slashdot

France Outlaws Hashed Passwords - Slashdot: "'Storing passwords as hashes instead of plain text is now illegal in France, according to a draconian new data retention law. According to the BBC, '[t]he law obliges a range of e-commerce sites, video and music services and webmail providers to keep a host of data on customers. This includes users' full names, postal addresses, telephone numbers and passwords. The data must be handed over to the authorities if demanded.'"