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Google Introduces Programming Challenge In Advance Of GoogleIO
First time accepted submitter X10 writes "Google announced some time ago that they want only developers to attend their Google IO conference. They hinted at developing a 'programming test' that you have to pass before you can register. Now, they have introduced the Input Output machine at the same time they announced that Google IO registration will open on March 27. I take it that registrations will be ordered according to the quality of one's IO machine. Cute idea ..."
n/t
I want to go to google io. I have never been before. Maybe this will help my chances. I'm not opposed to this entry criteria.
It fails to load in Chrome but works flawlessly in Firefox. Is somebody not eating their dogfood?
No one is commenting because they are too busy trying to get tutorial machine built...
I take it that registrations will be ordered according to the quality of one's IO machine. Cute idea ...
So I guess my "blank canvas art" submission won't get be an invite?
Google has commented on various other comments in the google+ posts for IO that it's a first come first served process on the 27th. There have been some comments about an easter egg in the game which gives a link for preregistration but google has not confirmed. Known IOn members (Those who have attended 3 IO's) have gotten preregistered this week, and the rumor is that Past attendees will get the nod next week. But as of now google has been saying it's a free for all on the 27th. I'm betting they want to break their previous record for how fast you can sellout a conference. And I think that the price hike to $900 is their plan to try and keep out those who simply want to get whatever they give away. We'll see on the 27th how well that worked.
Is there anyone at all who'd be interested in this other than developers and the press?
Gimmicky marketing is gimmick.
I could really do without the shitty load music
So what? Life contains much fascinating fun stuff other than being around women. I for one, would have loved to attend this event in person, but sadly wont have the money or the time to spare.
Football Odds
How do you use this... the ball always seems to bounce violently off of it.
Yeah, for instance the organizers and the Slashdot submitter are all men.
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault
Way to go google!
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
.. this brings to mind the experience of a friend who applied for a job as technical writer. He was given a "test" to write a fully-specked chapter of documentation for a supplied program undergoing beta testing. On showing up for the interview carrying his "test' assignment, he ran into another interviewee who carried a draft of a different "test" chapter.
What does your contract with Google say about payment schedules?
Because if it says nothing, or says something that means they *can* delay payment, you don't have a leg to stand on and Google aren't technically doing anything wrong (you may have a moral argument, but that's about it).
The only quote I've found is:
"Google expects to initiate payments to your bank account on the second of the month; exceptions to this are weekends or Bank Holidays. Payments will include sales processed from the first day to the last day of the previous month. Google Checkout will send your payout to your bank account; however, your bank may take an additional three business days to register the payout in your bank account. Please contact your bank representative for the specifics of your bank's turnaround time for electronically deposited funds. Note that in the event of a technical issue, your payout may be delayed and is expected to be initiated by the 15th of the month."
Considering it constantly says "expects" and not "will definitely and guaranteeably pay", that suggests to me that there is no "deadline". If you signed up to that, that's your own fault.
"Sign in with Google+"
They just want to track people who can program.
Even if you have an account it asks you "Google Developers is requesting permission to: Know how you are on Google, Perform these operations when I'm not using the application". If you click "No thanks" instead of "Allow access", you get "Access Denied".
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
still looking at the 'spinning record player of Death' icon...
The challenge is to port a stable copy of ICS to the Nexus S for OTA delivery?
I can only dream of the day when the challenge is to write Android in such a way that it runs any hardware that meets basic standards, a la Windows. As opposed to the current model, which seems to be lengthy OS re-writes for each individual handset.
The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English vocabulary.
They're probably eating their dogfood but there's some combination you've exposed that affects either the tool or Chrome.
As for me, it works fine in my copy of Chrome. I run sans extensions in Win 7. Both Win 7 and Chrome auto-update.
Just built a machine that, depending on some hidden factor, either catches the ball and transports it, throws the ball away off the bottom of the screen, or just misses the catch entirely and lets it smash into the end wall. But the actual result seems random because I don't change anything in-between, just press the spacebar to "launch" a ball.
Sorry, but I played The Incredible Machine when I was a child, thanks, and it was frustrating enough even when it WAS consistent. I don't program in languages that like to change the parameters at random.
A tip for anyone who wants to go through with it. The simple design is usually the better design. The inconsistency are factors which you have to factor for in your design. Kind of like how in life nothing is truly consistent.
Haven't played around much with this yet, but it could be used in a similar way to how Minecraft was used to build an ALU, right? Wonder if they'll eventually allow you to chain multiple machines together with multiple outputs...then I think you'd be able to do it...
A sales rep would never hire a programmer to pass the test for them... that would never happen...
Company that makes money from harvesting your personal details to send you advertising demands more access to your personal details in exchange for features you may like.
I don't think we need a film for this one, guys. Animated short at 11.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Tried it in Firefox, didn't seem to work; must need Chrome. Tried it in Chrome, didn't seem to work; remembered WebGL is disabled because the Linux ATI driver is blacklisted. Restart Chrome with google-chrome --ignore-gpu-blacklist but it still doesn't seem to work. Maybe it's a puzzle and I just don't get it; I'll check the comments on slashdot.
This is what the web felt like 10 years ago. Maybe it's my fault for not realizing I had to sign in, but there isn't anything on the page to indicate that, and I don't use Google+ anyways.
tomorrow who's gonna fuss
Self reply.... FlashBlock was my problem. I'm going for coffee.
tomorrow who's gonna fuss
Why, then, it might mean that the user isn't willing to put in the time, thought and preparation necessary for an inherently complex task.
Or it might mean that the user is trying to do something simple (registration? hello?), and the implementation is brittle, obfuscated, and/or inefficient.
If your user has to read instructions in order to register for an event, YOU fail, not your user.
There's nothing to support the idea that machine quality is linked to registration.
I believe the hike to $900 is their response to 'freeloaders' showing up just to get swag.
Ugh. Seeing a sentence like this "...architect a machine only you could have dreamt of" makes me think that they may want to consider allowing just *one* non-developer... someone who can write.
Steve
I hope when they fire the idiot responsible for this, it will be the manager and not the developer. (Also hope this is not some developer-centric manager behind this shit.)
I have been trying to create a machine which spells "stupid" but I am finding it difficult because of the "p". I have now settled for a machine which spells "stunt" but after the ball leaves the "u", it heads upwards and dies. What should I do?
Yep, they must not want any machine I might make more than they want to target me for ads. They get neither.
Someone had to do it.
The tutorial level you have to complete in order to actually be able to play with it has an annoying non-dismissable pop up at the bottom which covers up part of the machine. Either it's buggy or they don't like my monitor size.
Wait, are you arguing that Google doesn't ALREADY know all the details you gave to Google+?
How exactly would you expect giving Google Developers special permission to mine your Google+ account make the situation any worse?
I don't buy it. I think registration will be a form and a cart. The dev challenge is can you afford $900.
"Then, share your machine on Google+ using #io12. Build well and you won't lose your marbles — build a machine of epic design and your creation could be featured at Google I/O 2012. "
http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/
Not for the accountless. Requires Google+. Lame.
Sucks to be the "accountless" then. I have a Google+ account and my machine rocks. Life's too short to get hung up on minutia.
Irony is, most people probably already have a G+ account, even if they never signed up for one.
Of course, if you're wanting to go to Google I/O you probably are an Android user, which means you have a Google account and by definition, it's a G+ account even if you did nothing...
Hell, I bet if all you did was sign up for YouTube you have a G+ account.
And hundreds of people are willing to fill that void, and come up with machines just as great or greater.
Input: Any text. Output: "Buy (any text) online in canada! Available at your local shopping mart!!!! Great deals (any text) secrets they don't want you to know!!"
Yes, wanting to go to Google I/O but don't want to participate in Google's main ID hub... Isn't that a bit like wanting to drive without a license?
I8-D
Because now they have even more explicit permission...?
It does not allow for predictable state changes!? Stupid machine...
Irony is, most people probably already have a G+ account, even if they never signed up for one.
A Google+ account is not the same thing as a Google account. You have to sign up for G+, it's not automatic. For example, Google Apps administrators have to specifically enable Google+ access for their users, after which the users then have to use their Apps account to sign up for G+.
A recursive sig
Can impart wisdom and truth
Call proc signature()
i didin't even get past the fist tutorial puzzle. this is way too dumbass even for a dumbass like me.
so, googies, here is my application:
arbitrarily limited component size: fail.
gui - geekish look : nice
gui - crappy responsiveness : fail
lousy mechanics : fail
embarrassingly idiotic animation : fail.
random behaviour on a logical puzzle: fail (cool for rpgs, though)
too pissed off to continue / evaluation aborted.
well, just the cool looks is not enough, guys.
it wasn't so hard, you should just concentrate in innovating what doesn't work, stick with what does:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Machine_(series)
i guess my application is now accepted, but i couldn't care less.
My eight year old just made a "machine" with me. I couldn't edit the code in Iceweasel. She is delighted and want to play some more tomorrow.
Any 8 year olds allowed at the conference?
Insight into Google's Input / Output machine -- http://blog.varunkumar.me/2012/03/insight-into-googles-input-output.html
I found it pretty fun....
That stupid thing wants me to create a Google+ account in order to let me play.... Also the idiotic music is the worst thing in the Internet since Pioneer's java appleted page in 1999...
-- no sig today
On the Internet, men are men, women are men and even the children are men.