Open Recall: Python award, SmilePlug, Firefox is 10 and $linq

The ARMv7-powered SmilePlug runs a Node.js server that can serve a whole classroom
Source: GlobalScale Technologies Open Recall is a space on The H for those things that are too small to package as news but are worth the linkage. This edition looks at the Python Foundation's new Distinguished Service Award, the SmilePlug, Firefox turning 10 years old and a JavaScript LINQ library.

• New Python Software Foundation award – The Python Software Foundation has created a new Distinguished Service Award to honour "sustained exemplary contributions to the Python community". The first award has been given posthumously to John Hunter for his creation and contributions to the language's plotting library matplotlib and the community building that he engaged in.
  

• The SmilePlug – The SMILE Consortium has announced that it will start shipping Stanford University's SmilePlug soon. The device has been developed in conjunction with hardware manufacturer Marvell, runs Arch Linux and a Node.js server and is designed to create an ad-hoc network that students can connect to with mobile devices which lets them create and rate multiple-choice questions during tuition. SMILE stands for Stanford Mobile Inquiry-based Learning Environment and is a teaching system that aims to involve students more fully in the classroom by making teaching more interactive.

• Firefox turns 10 – Firefox is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its very first public debut. On 23 September 2002, Asa Dotzler announced the release of Phoenix 0.1; codenamed "Pescadero", Phoenix was later renamed to Firebird and then, finally, to Firefox. Version 1.0 of Firefox arrived just over two years later in November 2004.

• Fox health – As the Firefox browser is getting on a bit, at least in internet years, the announcement of a Firefox Health Report couldn't come at a better time. The new feature will give detailed reports on the health of installations of Firefox and is just arriving in the Firefox nightly builds.

• A JavaScript LINQ library – Developers have created $linq, a JavaScript implementation of Microsoft's Language Integrated Query (LINQ) component. LINQ is a part of .NET that adds native data querying to the framework. The $linq library already implements most of the common LINQ to Object methods and works with arrays and jQuery collections. The source code for the library is licensed under the MIT License.

(fab)