Eclipse Open Source Developer Report 2012

Do you aware of Y2K38?

Okay let me first tell what is the term Y2K38 or Unix Millennium bug or year 2038 problem: Well it is a some kind of computer programming problem with date (something similar like Y2K), says that all programs and software are going to crash on near or after 2038. You will find a Wikipedia definition here. Okay look at some php code and its output:

$timestamp=mktime(0, 0, 0, 01 , 01, 2009);
echo date("F j, Y, g:i a",$timestamp);   // January 1, 2009, 12:00 am

Well output shows expected result. But notice this code now:

$timestamp=mktime(0, 0, 0, 01 , 01, 2039);
echo date("F j, Y, g:i a",$timestamp);  //January 1, 1970, 7:00 am

Yes output is little shocking. This is what they are calling Y2K38. I think we don’t need to worry about it too much. We still have enough time to solve this.  The code above is tested in php(5.2.9) language. I also tested the same thing in java and there is no such problem i found yet (yes java is great!!! :D).

Calendar cal=Calendar.getInstance();
cal.set(2059,11,1,0,0,0);
Date date=cal.getTime();
String output;
DateFormat df=DateFormat.getDateInstance(DateFormat.FULL,Locale.ROOT);
output=df.format(date);
System.out.println(output); //Monday, December 1, 2059

notice input and output(shows as expected). Yes we don’t need to worry about it. If we manage to survive until 2038 we will definitely have a solution by then.

Why cows point north!

Cows automatically point north because they have their own in-built compasses, say scientists.

Their ability to find north is believed to be a relic from when their ancestors needed an accurate sense of direction to migrate across the plains of Africa, Asia and Europe.

Dr Sabine Begall and colleagues from the University of Duisburg-Essen looked at thousands of images of cattle on Google Earth in Britain, Ireland, India and the USA.

Although, in many cases, the images were not clear enough to determine which way the cattle were facing they were aligned on a north/south axis, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Huge variations in the wind direction and sunlight in the areas where the beasts were found meant that the scientists were able to rule out those factors as being responsible for the direction they were facing.

“We conclude that the magnetic field is the only common and most likely factor responsible for the observed alignment,” the scientists wrote in an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

It is already known that many species use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate across the planet. Examples include migratory turtles, salmon, termites and birds.

Animals are thought to use their own internal magnets made of crystals of magnetite. Homing pigeons have a small amount of the substance on their beaks, which gives them their uncannily accurate powers of navigation.

source: ananova

what could happen on 21 december 2012?

According to Mayan calender, Chinese ancient prediction, The Bible and lots of fortune tellers, the world is going to an end on 21 december 2012. According to NASA This date (December 21, 2012), is the day of the Winter Solstice, that means, In 2012 the next polar reversal will take place on earth. This means that the North Pole will be changed into the South Pole. Scientifically this can only be explained by the fact that the earth will start rotating in the opposite direction, together with a huge disaster of unknown proportions. To understand what i want to say here take a look at these video footage taken from History Channel.
[part 1]

[part 2]

[part 3]

[part 4]

[part 5]

Help! We’re Running Out Of Internet!

If you thought the World Wide Web was a limitless receptacle to the world’s news, blogs and occasionally pointless musings, think again. The Internet could run out of web addresses by 2011, undermining the potential of businesses to use new services and applications, Karine Perset, the author of an alarming report on the future of the World Wide Web, warned Friday.

Perset, from the Organization for Economic Co-operation (OECD), told Forbes.com that 85.0% of all remaining Internet addresses that could be used, were being used, and the rest could be taken within three years.

The rapid expansion of the Internet, which has allowed businesses to expand on their services and monitor activities from afar, took on more than a billion new users in 2007.

IP (internet protocol) addresses are essential to the constant expansion of the Internet. Perset said businesses must adopt an updated IP network with almost an unlimited number of domains to help expand services and applications even further.

“Companies are not upgrading their IP addresses as quickly as they should. And changing an entire protocol requires time. By the time they start thinking about it, they probably won’t be able to find the right expertise or they won’t be able to grow their network,” Perset said.

“The smart ones like Google (nyse: GOOG – news – people ) or the large American engineering company Bechtel have already migrated to the updated IP network,” she added.

Bechtel, a San Francisco-based contractor, is able to profit from its operations on the Internet by setting up wireless connections that allow the company to monitor large projects, without putting at risk any lives, Perset said.

Governments and businesses need to start preparing now for the move. “Any last-minute reaction to this problem will only generate panic, the setup will not be very stable, we could see the network going down and nowadays we can’t afford for things to break,” Perset said.

Source: forbes.com