- Google's high-flying cloud for Python code
- Daily News beat for April 30, 2008
- Test Center review: Adobe Flex Builder 3.0
- IT not fast to follow mashup trend
- Test Center Guide: RIA tools
- Test Center Guide: RIA tools
- Pro software developer: An oxymoron?
- Review: Adobe AIR 1.0 breaks out of the browser
- Code snippets and open source
- Review: WaveMaker's Java for dummies
May 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Google's high-flying cloud for Python code
Attention all you readers dreaming of building the next brilliant Web application: Google App Engine is designed to simplify the problem of deploying and scaling Web applications.
Contributing editor Peter Wayner provides insight into Google's game-changing app dev platform in the cloud in his first look at the Google App Engine, currently in beta.
Wayner's bottom line: "Google App Engine hides the grime of deploying a scalable application to a number of servers. The limitations on the sandbox make this 'cloud' best for dynamic Web sites that act as a relatively thin layer of business logic sitting on top of a data store. Google's Python/Django framework makes developing simple applications quick, and the database structure encourages scalable design by excluding joins.
"On the downside, there's not much support for AJAX, porting some applications will require rethinking the database schema, and your coders better like Python, which is currently the only option."
There's a very good reason why the beta version has a waiting list. Read the full review here.
Posted by Caroline Craig on May 12, 2008 07:31 AM
April 30, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily News beat for April 30, 2008
Tibco is putting its support behind Microsoft's new Silverlight browser plug-in technology for rich Internet applications.
SAP is putting the brakes on the roll-out of its Business ByDesign ERP offering for small businesses, as it reported first-quarter net income down 22 percent compared to a year earlier.
Skype released an upgrade to its VoIP client for Windows PCs that cuts out more background noise and drops fewer calls.
The Service Component Architecture, an SOA specification for transforming IT assets into reusable services, is being billed as a way to lower barriers to adoption and link SOA to Web 2.0.
Microsoft is blaming a "compatibility issue" for its delay of the third service pack for Windows XP.
Posted by Caroline Craig on April 30, 2008 08:24 AM
April 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Test Center review: Adobe Flex Builder 3.0
Adobe Flex Builder 3.0 offers a relatively inexpensive means of jumping into RIA with only a modest learning curve.
The highlights, according to tester James R. Borck, include "better visual layout tools and more control over CSS, new wizards for WSDL introspection and back-end data connectivity, and plug-ins that augment workflow between developers and design teams running Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications."
Borck's wish list consists of a service monitor framework for both Flex and AIR applications, and time-based effects and other component behaviors accessible via the Design view.
And while "some of the implementation here feels clumsy -- especially compared to the tight integration Microsoft has achieved between Silverlight and the Expression and Visual Studio development environments," Borck explains that for developers looking to improve the user experience of customer-facing applications or for a more flexible way to create dashboards, "I highly recommend you give Adobe Flex Builder 3.0 a try."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 25, 2008 05:03 AM
April 24, 2008 | Comments: (0)
IT not fast to follow mashup trend
Enterprise mashups, thus far, as not as prominent in practice as they are in hype.
"There are four good reasons: First and foremost it's an immature marketplace, and we're still in the early adopter phase," Bill Snyder reports in this week's Tech's bottom line post.
That said, there are enterprises drinking the mashup Kool-Aid, you just have to look hard to find them.
"Dig below the hype and there are indeed interesting technologies and business opportunities to explore."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 24, 2008 05:44 AM
April 23, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The frameworks available for Rich Internet applications, or RIAs for short, span a range of types and technologies, can be heavyweight or lightweight, open or closed, and just about anything in between.
"The lightweight end of the spectrum has seen most of the attention in recent months, with Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's AIR the new kids in town. But AJAX is still where most of the lightweight action resides," Martin Heller explains. "And despite the recent focus on lightweight app dev, significant developer focus remains on the heavyweight tools in the Microsoft .Net and Sun Java worlds."
We look at the whole spectrum. Read the entire Test Center Guide: RIA tools.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 23, 2008 06:08 AM
April 23, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The frameworks available for Rich Internet applications, or RIAs for short, span a range of types and technologies, can be heavyweight or lightweight, open or closed, and just about anything in between.
"The lightweight end of the spectrum has seen most of the attention in recent months, with Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's AIR the new kids in town. But AJAX is still where most of the lightweight action resides," Martin Heller explains. "And despite the recent focus on lightweight app dev, significant developer focus remains on the heavyweight tools in the Microsoft .Net and Sun Java worlds."
We look at the whole spectrum. Read the entire Test Center Guide: RIA tools.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 23, 2008 06:08 AM
April 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Pro software developer: An oxymoron?
Martin Heller asks that question after reading Emergent Design: The Evolutionary Nature of Professional Software Development by Scott Bain.
In this Strategic Developer post, Heller explains that Bain says software development is by nature a professional activity, and should be conducted as such but that IT is not currently doing so.
"What do you think?" Heller asks. "Is the phrase 'professional software developer' an oxymoron?" Talkback via the comments function below or at the link above.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 21, 2008 10:10 AM
April 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Review: Adobe AIR 1.0 breaks out of the browser
"Adobe AIR brings new hope to Web developers," James Borck begins his look at the tool for building RIAs (rich Internet apps).
"AIR packages Web-enabling technologies and RIAs (rich Internet applications), and enables them to run outside of the browser on the user's local desktop," Borck explains. "The resulting application gains access to OS features such as dragging and dropping to and from the local file system, clipboard access for cutting and pasting between AIR and other applications, network connectivity, and perhaps most noteworthy, offline functionality."
What's more, AIR apps are a snap to build.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 21, 2008 07:35 AM
April 17, 2008 | Comments: (0)
IP pollution is becoming a problem as the growing popularity of modular, reusable code creates headaches for users and developers of commercial software.
No easy answers there, of course, but as Bill Snyder explains, "what is clear is the continuing development of the open source ecosystem. The stronger it gets, the more likely it is that the remaining doubters in the Pentagon and mainstream business will come aboard."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 17, 2008 08:38 AM
April 17, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Review: WaveMaker's Java for dummies
WaveMaker Visual AJAX Studio and Rapid Deployment Framework can "strip away plenty of the monotony of building Java applications by putting a pretty face on much of the endless editing," Peter Wayner writes.
In his evaluation, Wayner found that the guys at WaveMaker aimed to create the equivalent of, say, Microsoft Access or PowerBuilder for the Web, using Java technology hidden underneath. "They did a good job."
That said, there are limitations.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 17, 2008 06:36 AM
April 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
When he tested Curl 6.0's predecessor last August, Martin Heller deemed it "the most interesting computer language you don't already know."
Heller maintains that it is also true of Curl 6.0, which brings improvements to the language, IDE, graphics, controls.
"All in all, Curl 6.0 continues to be an excellent RIA technology, but is only incrementally improved over the previous release," he writes.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 7, 2008 07:53 AM
April 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Adobe AIR: Nice, but not the next big thing
Nothing like a bit of repartee between developers.
Earlier this week Tom Yager declared that AIR gets rich apps right, a belief Martin Heller counters is "a bit over the top."
Specifically, Yager asserted that Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), "solves all of the major issues keeping the browser from being a common front end for applications," in this Ahead of the curve post.
Heller, too, likes AIR and enough so that he'd recommend it to Flash and Flex developers creating desktop apps. "But there I stop."
"I have been shipping browser-based applications that look and act like Windows desktop applications for awhile now without any need for Flash or AIR," Heller explains in Adobe AIR is nice, but not the next big thing.
And then there's Microsoft's Silverlight, of which Yager writes, "I can't bring myself to imagine what adding Silverlight to the mix would do.”
Heller takes issue with that. "Having played with Silverlight quite a bit, I can say that Silverlight will not end the world as we know it: in the right hands, Silverlight, especially Silverlight 2.0, really dances and sings ... But there I stop.”
Is AIR the next big thing, or just another RIA tool? Talkback below.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 4, 2008 08:16 AM
April 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The open source IDE has become what one official described as an "integrated everything environment" but it may now be time to pair down the toolset, back into an IDE.
"Downloaded about 1 million times each month, the open source IDE has become a major force in software development, battling other giants such as Microsoft Visual Studio for the hearts and minds of developers," Paul Krill writes in Eclipse at a crossroads.
Such a pairing down "should not be feared but embraced as a sign of maturity in Eclipse," Oliver Cole, who leads the Eclipse Test and Tools Platform Project.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 4, 2008 05:25 AM
April 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Not yet widely-used, Adobe's AIR, as in Adobe Integrated Runtime, solves all the major issues keeping the browser from being a common front-end for applications, Tom Yager writes.
"And the openness that Adobe invested in its solution will bring about a delightful consequence: An explosion in the worldwide library of well written, great looking applications."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 3, 2008 06:53 AM
April 02, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Fear and loathing in bug reports
Add software errors to the list of life's inevitabilities, if you've not already.
"Even if the software is perfect when it goes out the door, the environment will change and break assumptions that you hadn't even known were changeable and hadn't realized that you'd built into the software," Martin Heller explains in Fear of bugs.
For that reason, Heller encourages developers not to loathe bug reports but, instead, to welcome them and view it as "an opportunity to improve what is inherently imperfect code," if only because that will make you a better debugger.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on April 2, 2008 11:18 AM
March 31, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 31, 2008
Adobe on Monday said it is joining the Linux Foundation and foreshadowed an "alpha-quality" release of AIR for Linux, though the company stopped short of publishing source code for the software.
The ballots for voting on whether Microsoft's Open Office XML spec should become an international standard closed amid a tight race.
Sophos warns of money-grabbing malware that attacks Macs by claiming false privacy problems in an effort to install itself, but the security vendor tells users not to panic.
With Vista breached, Linux remains unbeaten in a hacking contest that saw MAC OS X fall first, followed by a Windows Vista machine.
And WSO2 boosts Spring developers with Web services.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 31, 2008 09:06 AM
March 24, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Test Center Review: WSO2 Mashup server takes first steps
WSO2's design team kept in mind what developers seeking a complete environment for building, deploying, and administering composite applications would need, Steven Nunez writes.
Even though business users might be in a good position to create enterprise mashups, they are unlikely to master this tool.
"This limitation might not be entirely relevant at this stage of the game, considering it will probably be several years before even the average corporate IT user is able to assemble useful mashups."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 24, 2008 04:42 AM
March 13, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for March 13, 2008
IBM moves on mashups with SMash, a tool for securing them that Big Blue says it is donating to the OpenAjax Alliance.
A database experts contends that Oracle trails Microsoft on patch management, does not make it easier for customers who want to make their databases secure and, what’s more, actually lags Microsoft by 5 years.
It’s not yet available to the public but already a team of developers claims to have jailbroken iPhone 2.0 firmware and done so in one day.
Microsoft is releasing an OOXML SDK into final beta next month, followed by Version 1.0 in May.
For the first time in history, data being created exceeded available storage space, according to an EMC-sponsored report conducted by IDC. (Full disclosure: IDC is owned by IDG, the parent company of InfoWorld.)
And Bill Gates says the next decade will bring “very substantial” software advances that permeate all facets of life, including television, telephones, PCs.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 13, 2008 09:34 AM
March 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Making iPhone 'over the top' for developers
Come June, when it finally delivers the SDK for iPhone, Apple gets a pass to brag about its mobile OS all it likes.
That's according to InfoWorld chief technologist Tom Yager.
“From the work I'm doing with the publicly available preview tools and documentation, I can attest that iPhone will be the simplest, best-documented, and most enjoyable experience for mobile application developers,” Yager contends in iPhone SDK upends mobile niche.
“Two details put iPhone way over the top for developers: the multitouch display and the three-axis accelerometer. Both of these are accessible in native code as well as JavaScript.”
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 12, 2008 08:27 AM
March 10, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Musings about iPhone apps and licensing
While Ephraim Schwartz reports that what appears to be the first iPhone app from the new SDK has arrived, over at the Enterprise Mac blog Tom Yager questions the enterprise development option Apple is providing for developers that prefer not to use the Apple Store for distributing apps.
“If you run a consulting shop that creates commercial iPhone software for clients' private use, does each client need an iPhone enterprise license?” Yager asks in Musings about iPhone app licensing. If so, they might balk at sharing their client lists with Apple.
“Developer and user licensing will be the messiest aspects of iPhone custom development leading up to the public release in June.”
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 10, 2008 08:15 AM
March 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Getting started with Silverlight 2 beta
Having wandered into, and found his way out of, several blind alleys with Microsoft’s Silverlight 2 beta, Martin Heller shares the best tactics to begin developing with this version.
Getting underway with Silverlight 2 beta.
Related: Silverlight for iPhone next?
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 7, 2008 08:52 AM
March 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)
The enterprise facets of Apple's new iPhone 2 software
After months of optimistic speculation and chatter, Apple at last released the iPhone SDK and, thus far, to rave reviews -- even if it doesn’t complete IT’s checklist of requirements for business users.
“This is what everybody wanted,” Tony Meadow of Bear River Associates is quoted as saying in iPhone SDK exceeds developer expectations.
InfoWorld chief technologist Tom Yager writes enthusiastically that, “the enterprise half of Apple's new mobile strategy speaks to IT, and therefore to me as an IT journalist.” Apple’s iPhone software strategy moves me. “iPhone 2.0 brings iPhone and iPod touch many steps closer to parity with the high-end BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Nokia QWERTY and stylus handsets that are enterprise mainstays now.”
Indeed, Nancy Gohring of the IDG News Service reports that enterprise bans on the device may be lifted, thanks in large part to the Microsoft Exchange support iPhone 2.0 will bring when it becomes available in June.
Even still, “as welcome as the SDK and enhanced business-oriented features are, people still have more they want Apple to offer,” editor at large Ephraim Schwartz writes.
Related guide: How to make the (new) iPhone work at work.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 7, 2008 07:13 AM
March 04, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Sure, survey respondents say that they are practicing agile development techniques, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
A trio of reports indicate that agile development is commonplace and at least one determined that the same number of companies are using agile strategies as were last year, meaning it may have peaked.
But there ought to be more to such a conclusion than just statistics.
“The real question is whether the respondents actually know what they're talking about,” Martin Heller explains in Agile is as agile does.
Lots of organizations, Heller asserts, label their software development practices ‘agile’ because it's trendy, but they don’t actually implement many of the recommended tactics for the agile development approach.
What do you think? Has agile peaked, or is just a mis-used term?
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 4, 2008 10:17 AM
March 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Product review: Inside open source AJAX toolkits
There are now more AJAX libraries than any sane person can even consider. So, with that, we concentrate on the more established ones: Dojo, Ext, Google Web Toolkit, jQuery, MooTools, Prototype and Scriptaculous, and Yahoo User Interface Library.
"Many of the open source libraries are best for programmers who need to add a bit of AJAX functionality to a Web page," Peter Wayner explains.
They are usually collections of tools in different states of development. But the ones we look at are not designed for creating full-blown Web applications; that task is still reserved for the heftier packages from commercial companies.
"All of these packages will solve most of the same problems. Major differences or missing widgets are usually erased quickly because the developers borrow ideas and code from one another. Cool widgets are often duplicated by other projects. The secondary issues are more important in the longer run."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on March 3, 2008 05:03 AM
February 28, 2008 | Comments: (0)
An old Visual Studio problem rears its ugly head in VS08
In discovering "a weird symptom" in Visual Studio 2008, Martin Heller is "looking forward to Visual Studio Service Pack 1," already.
After contacting Microsoft's Visual Studio team to little avail, Mr. Heller eventually uncovered something of a surprise: those corrupted .NCB files that were a recurrent problem in Visual Studio .NET are not behind us but, instead, still nagging in VS08.
"I've isolated the problem. I've also fixed it for now," he writes in An old Visual Studio bug rears its ugly head.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 28, 2008 07:49 AM
February 27, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Test Center preview: Inside Google's Android SDK
Our reviewers peer under the hood of Google's foray into the handheld OS realm and find out what it's like to work with the Android SDK.
"When a developer writes an Android application, that developer codes in Java," Rick Grehan explains. And the Europa version of Eclipse is the preferred development platform for Android applications, though "you are not tied to Eclipse as your Android development system. The Android SDK does provide tools that let you use other IDEs in place of Eclipse."
Android also brings a whole new lingo for developers to learn which, Grehan points out, will require some time spent with the documentation.
What it doesn't bring is anything compelling enough to set it apart from other handheld OSes.
"Android is definitely a work in progress. If you want to try your hand at creating a significant Android application with the existing toolkit, I salute you. But be prepared for a challenge."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 27, 2008 07:30 AM
February 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Adobe melds desktop, Web apps with AIR
Adobe's AIR, short for Adobe Integrated Runtime, ships today.
The runtime allows Web applications to be run on the desktop in a disconnected fashion, said Michele Turner, vice president of the Adobe platform business unit, because, "we really believe the innovation in technology today is ... on the Web and that the desktop has stagnated over the last couple of years."
AOL, NASDAQ and The New York Times are already using AIR, Paul Krill reports in Adobe melds desktop, Web apps with AIR.
"Although AIR is offered free of charge, Adobe plans to make money from it by selling development tools for it such as Flex Builder. The company may sell service components as well. Adobe also is building products such as Adobe Media Player for playing video feeds on top of AIR," Krill writes.
Adobe today released an AIR SDK and Flex 3, the primary programming language for AIR.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 25, 2008 05:50 AM
February 25, 2008 | Comments: (0)
MS open APIs and file formats a mixed blessing
"Be careful what you ask for: you might get it. That goes double when you ask Microsoft to release its internal APIs, protocols, and file formats."
And so Martin Heller begins Open Microsoft APIs and file formats a mixed blessing.
Sure, it's good in principle. And it's even a boon for some Microsoft competitors, but what about for programmers?
"I'm not so sure it's a good thing for me. Frankly, I was already overwhelmed trying to keep up with the explosion of APIs and classes coming out of Microsoft. And those were the ones that were designed to be used by mere mortals."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 25, 2008 04:23 AM
February 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Daily news beat for Feb. 21, 2008
At long last, Microsoft acknowledges the impact open source and open standards have had not only on its business but, more important, on the industry as a whole. That came as the software giant promised "greater transparency" in its development and business practices and outlined a new strategy to provide more access to APIs and proprietary protocols. Related: Microsoft opens APIs.
McAfee says that virus writers are acting locally. No longer interested in worldwide fanfare, or the law enforcement efforts that brings, malware creators, instead, are becoming more crafty with attacks and targeting users in specific regions.
Cisco tries to turn cities green in order to battle climate change; CEO John Chambers told government officials that instead of working individually, pioneering cities should work with each other and private industry to create a "replicable blueprint" for making urban centers friendlier to the environment.
Analysts predict that NAND flash memory prices will plummet which, in turn, will bring down the cost of consumer products, including Apple iPods, as well as other MP3 players, digital cameras.
Even with its proposed Yahoo acquisition holding the potential to disrupt the company's entire search strategy, Microsoft forges ahead with enterprise and Internet search technologies, including Live offerings and products to come out of its purchase of FAST.
And Hewlett-Packard's former managing director in India, Som Mittal, faces prosecution charges for not providing adequate security to employees.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 21, 2008 10:15 AM
February 21, 2008 | Comments: (0)
What with a plethora of scripting languages and app dev frameworks just now starting to walk, the stalwart Java is starting to look a little bit old – and at just 13 years.
Microsoft .Net, PHP, and the Ruby stable, are among the younger generation threatening to push Java out. What's more, vendors and IT shops alike are increasingly turning to the new crop, opting against Java. And a research firm's study stated a case for .Net surpassing Java, popularity-wise, in enterprises.
"But don't count Java out just yet," Paul Krill asserts in Java threatened by new app dev frameworks. "The platform has incredibly strong allies and an immense code base. Just as user sites must tend to legacy Cobol code, so will they have to tend to a lot of Java code in the future."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 21, 2008 04:41 AM
February 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Android in spotlight, doubt rises
Like Sun Microsystems promised of Java before it, Google claims that its Android will hand developers the holy grail of being able to write an application once and then run it anywhere.
An expert on mobile APIs, however, says Google's reissuance of Sun's slogan not only is "a bit of hyperbole," but that Android will not write once, run anywhere.
Such speculation and doubt, of course, did not stop chip makers Freescale, Marvell, NEC Electronics, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments from showing off Android phones based on their chips, and saying they expect such devices to come to market later this year.
Nor did it prevent AOL's announcing an open mobile platform it hopes to release by mid-year that developers can use to create applications that run on any mobile phone.
Ultimately, experts doubt that potential for Android or any other mobile platform, citing differences at the hardware level that make standardization downright complex.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 12, 2008 08:34 AM
February 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Vendors show off Android prototypes but experts doubt 'write once, run anywhere' promise, Microsoft hints at hostile takeover of Yahoo, RIM acknowledges service outage, and more 
LISTEN!
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 12, 2008 08:21 AM
February 12, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Gates tells of new ‘quest’ for less code
Promising to greatly reduce the need to code, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates describes an effort within Microsoft to transform development from a procedural approach to a declarative model.
Gates explained that "we're investing very heavily to say that customization of applications, the dream, the quest, we call it, should take a tenth as much code as it takes today."
The project has been referred to as the "D" programming language in reports, though Gates did not mention that name when speaking at the 2008 Microsoft Office System Developer Conference.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 12, 2008 04:39 AM
February 06, 2008 | Comments: (0)
3 safeguards for securing ActiveX controls
Security: Writing secure ActiveX controls is more art than science. In fact, "to succeed a developer has to look beyond intended purposes of the interfaces, to other purposes for which they might be used," Martin Heller explains. To that end, Mr. Heller shares three safeguards for secure ActiveX controls, beginning with "be noisy about what you're doing." I'll not spoil the fun by giving away the others. Related: Security pros say kill ActiveX, and Attackers zero in on Yahoo Jukebox's ActiveX flaw.
M&A's: It's a simple math equation, really: Microsoft + Yahoo = Antitrust bait? The only thing is, it might be hard to get anyone to listen, what with Google's pole position in search and all. "Is Google happy about this? Not quite," explains Peter Bruzzese. "Isn't that the point? A little healthy competition (or unhealthy competition) never hurt anyone."
Notes from the field: Cringely is making noise about the noise that G-man Eric Schmidt has been making since Microsoft proposed to Yahoo. "I don't think anything Google does will sway regulators or Yahoo's investors, who can recognize a sinking ship when they see one. When you're going down for the third time, even a garbage scow looks like the Queen Mary. Or maybe just the Titanic. I'm not alone in thinking MicroHoo is heading for an iceberg," Cringe asserts in What's worse, MicroHoo or YaGoogle? This will prove to be "a good time to be a Microsoft competitor, and an even worse than usual time to be a Microsoft customer."
The news beat: Adobe fixes undisclosed flaws in Reader without detailing the vulnerabilities, leading one security vendor to speculate that they're serious enough to compromise PCs. India emerges as the fastest growing market for SAP, in which it has doubled its customers there in the last year. And IBM fuels its Information on Demand strategy.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 6, 2008 10:48 AM
January 15, 2008 | Comments: (0)
Early thoughts on Apple's iPhone SDK
Best of the blogs: Macworld starts today and, likewise, so does a veritable flood of coverage. First up is Tom Yager, who has been pondering some possibilities about the coming SDK. "Why do an SDK? Certainly not to make the world happy. If Apple spoke with me about iPhone, it would point out that I'm among a tiny handful of people campaigning for a native iPhone SDK," he writes in Thoughts on the iPhone/iPod touch SDK. "The question in my mind is how developers will get paid. Is Apple going to cut hundreds of developers individual checks? Will Apple demand to be the only source through which signed applications can be acquired?"
Notes from the field: Mr. Yager is not the only InfoWorld writer thinking about Macworld. Our own gonzo journalist, Robert X. Cringely, is on the road again this week, after CES in Las Vegas just last week. "I was on the edge of the desert
just outside Cupertino when the drugs began to wear off," Cringe begins in Fear and loathing at Jobs World. Three days later, and he's wandering San Francisco streets hunting down the hallowed Moscone Center for Macworld. "What happened in between is kind of a blur, but I wouldn't rule out an alien abduction." Along the way, he jotted down notes, and rumors, on cocktail napkins... Ongoing coverage: Macworld 2008.
The news beat: The W3C plans to detail SPARQL, a query technology that will boost the Semantic Web and may even force Google to rethink its search model. Cognos updates its Cognos 8 BI tools with expanded performance management, one day after shareholders voted to approve IBM's proposed acquisition of the company. Perimeter eSecurity buys SECCAS (Secure Electronic Communications Compliance Archival System) for its e-mail management products tailored for financial services companies. And security researchers say that MacSweeper may be the first instance of rogue scareware for Macs; the Web site selling the program contains corporate information that, F-Secure says, is plagiarized from Symantec.
Full disclosure: Macworld is owned by IDG World Expo, which has the same parent company as InfoWorld.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on January 15, 2008 10:28 AM
December 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)
What happens when languages interfere?
App dev: Sometimes learning multiple languages leaves the speaker spitting out a word in one tongue when actually trying to talk in another. But, Martin Heller asks, does the same hold true for programming? When languages interfere. On balance, does already knowing one programming language help you to learn another, or do they get in the way of each other and cause you to make errors? Talkback below or via the link above.
Columnist's corner: First, a question. Does virtualization kick start your hunger for speedy storage systems? If it does, then Mario Apicella has one for you in this installment of Storage Insider. The notion that "virtualization is driving demand for bandwidth will hit like a ton of bricks for anyone who ever had to connect a VMware ESX server to a SAN," Apicella explains. Just think of how limited a 2Gbps FC pipe can be if you have to feed a bunch of virtual machines out of your FC array. "Makes you scream for faster storage, does it not?" PMC-Sierra has a promising solution in its Tachyon QE8 chip.
The news beat: Intel says it will offer solid-state storage for ultramobile PCs in the form of drives that weigh 0.6 grams and hold up to 4GB. JetBrains adds Ruby and Groovy support to its IDE via free, open source plug-ins. Gwava issues software for tracking BlackBerry text messages and phone calls to, ultimately, help customers makes sense of BlackBerry Enterprise Server logs. And Facebook sues a Canadian porn company, charging that it mined the social networking site for users' personal records.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on December 17, 2007 10:48 AM
November 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Apple spits in face of Java developers
Platforms: The problems with Leopard just keep on coming. "If you're a Java developer or a user of Java applications, Leopard may not be for you, at least not yet, and possibly not ever," Martin Heller explains in Java flawed on Leopard. Heller points to a piece by Michael Urban of JavaLobby titled So long Apple, the party's over, in which Urban points out that Apple not only shipped Leopard sans Java 6 but also didn't bother to tell its customers why or when the OS would have that support, if it even will. "Caveat upgrader." Indeed.
The news beat: Mozilla Labs' Prism project blends the Web with desktops to let users strip a Web app from its browser and, ultimately, work with the app as if it were a desktop program. The Storm Trojan dupes users with a Halloween jig. Critics say the U.S. FTC should investigate online advertising practices as consumer groups complain about invasive targeted ads. And Google denies ranking hanky-panky after a screenshot listing dollar values for each link raises eyebrows about how it ranks Web sites.
Tech's Bottom Line: No one can control the weather, good or bad. Meet WeatherBill, a San Francisco startup that offers a way for smaller businesses to "insure" themselves against the ravages of weather. Those quotes around weather, Bill Snyder explains, are there because the company does not offer insurance; rather, it purports to be the first to sell a financial instrument knows as a weather derivative used to hedge against the havoc weather can wreak on business. The odds on rain. "Although it sounds like you could have a good time betting on the weather, [CEO] Freiberg, a former Google exec, says that can't happen. WeatherBill demands proof that customers are a business with a net worth of at least $1 million," Snyder explains.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on November 1, 2007 11:06 AM
October 22, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Secrets to building better software
App dev: The notion of boosting developer productivity via fewer people has Zack Urlocker pointing out five key findings that begin with small team size, a modular approach and, ultimately, focus on team chemistry. Over at the Advice Line blog, meanwhile, Bob Lewis addresses a reader's question about what really has the most impact on software quality. At the heart of this student vs. professor debate is the question of whether requirements or testing is more important. "After thinking it over, I have to disagree with your professor," Lewis asserts.
Best of the blogs: It's a bit premature, perhaps, to say that 2007 is winding down. Nonetheless, Gartner is already looking ahead to 2008, and David Marshall checks in on Gartner's top 10 predictions for 2008, wherein he finds that the outlook is virtual and green. What else? WOA and SaaS, among others. "Gartner also talks about Virtualization 2.0 saying that virtualization technologies can improve IT resource utilization and increase the flexibility needed to adapt to changing requirements and workloads. However, by themselves, virtualization technologies are simply enablers that help broader improvements in infrastructure cost reduction, flexibility and resiliency."
The news beat: The U.S. DOJ says it opposes extending antitrust regulations against Microsoft. Intel's general counsel maintains that it's time to fix problems with the patent system, particularly when it comes to those who purchase patents with litigating in mind. A security researcher says that the Storm Worm is now just a squall as the majority of infected PCs have been cleaned. And a chemical industry group slams Greenpeace's iPhone report claiming that all the substances reported by Greenpeace are approved for use.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on October 22, 2007 11:11 AM
September 13, 2007 | Comments: (0)
An old Microsoft bug back to haunt
App dev: After running into installation issues with Silverlight, Martin Heller heard back from Microsoft informing him that his template directories were not set to the default and, had they been, the Silverlight JavaScript application template would have installed properly. "My non-default directories were a result of being a Visual Studio 2005 alpha and beta tester. It's not like I changed them," he explains in Installing Silverlight 1.0: follow-up. "I don't have any need to play guinea pig for Microsoft, or any other software tools vendor, more than absolutely necessary."
Notes from the field: Vista moves in mysterious ways. That's according to Cringester J.J., who last week decided to upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate. "I was browsing while eating my sandwich and noticed all but the default system icons disappear from my desktop, when I went to the Start menu (classic) I noticed several icons here were also missing as well as icons from the QuickLaunch toolbar," he writes. Cringe shifts gears, albeit slightly, to another curiosity. "Netflickers seeking instant gratification via Netflix' Watch Now movie downloads have been thwarted by Vista's DRM scheme, which pulls the velvet rope taut across Windows Media Player 11 and says 'I'm sorry, but you're not on the guest list.'" Related: Microsoft patents watermark technology that may lock down DRM-free music.
Careers: It's a question everyone should pose to themselves. Can you make the boss's eyes pop? "I have a stock question I ask all managers after I've spent a little time with them. What would you do if someone called you on the phone and said, 'I've long been interested in your company, and I've studied where you've been and where you're going,'" and here's how I can help. One manager, tired of hearing unimpressive answers during interviews, said he'd love to have just one candidate say that.
Best of the blogs: Bob Lewis offers mathematical proof that teams are more productive. Well, not exactly. "All I've heard is assertion and anecdote," he confesses. Then again, mathematicians might call it a Q.E.D. situation. "When work processes require cooperation among employees, those who know and trust each other will be able to spend more time and energy doing the work and less questioning and challenging each other."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 13, 2007 04:55 AM
August 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
What to know about AMD's SSE5 instruction set
Best of the blogs: Whereas AMD typically follows Intel's lead when it comes to x86 instructions, the chipmaker has now published its own, known as SSE5. "If you maintain operating systems, drivers, libraries, or compilers that support AMD64 processors, you really should care about this, and start thinking about how you'll integrate this instruction set into your products," Martin Heller explains in SSE5: Should you care? Those who develop applications in a high-level language might not feel as much need to learn the new instruction set. "On the other hand, there's an opportunity here for people who write specific kinds of image- and sound-processing applications to speed up their code. Is it time for more people to get their hands dirty with assembly language?" Related: AMD proposes speedier x86 instructions for multimedia.
Columnist's corner: When instituting changes that will affect users, make sure to let them about it. Sounds obvious enough but all too often, in IT and other areas, it just doesn't happen. "Don't assume people will figure it out ... hit them over the head with it!" David Margulius suggests in Change coming? Say it loud. "For a big process change, you need flashing signs, cars with megaphones on the roof driving back and forth, airplanes pulling banners." Margulius directs this plea toward IT pros and urges them to imagine that users are deaf, dumb and blind. "They aren't, of course."
The news beat: Microsoft buys Parlano and plans to use the acquired enterprise group chat software to bolster Office Communications Server and Office Communicator products. Once again, Yahoo reorganizes, this time creating a new global sales organization. Microsoft blames human error for the Windows Genuine Advantage glitch, which identified legitimate users as pirates. And LG unveils its second iPhone-like handset, now with 3G capabilities.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 30, 2007 10:34 AM
August 30, 2007 | Comments: (0)
A magic compiler? No, not just yet
Best of the blogs: In response to articles about replacing programmers with more automation, Gordon Morrison's new approach being the latest example, Bob Lewis reminds us in Concerned about automating programmer jobs? that such thinking "reappears every so often, sometimes succeeds, doesn't eliminate programmer jobs, and goes away again," he explains. "In an infinite universe, everything must happen somewhere at least once. If I had to play the odds, though, I wouldn't bet that the magic compiler has happened here, on this planet, just yet."
Columnist's corner: It's advice to heed: Never send an HTML hacker to do a developer's job. "Organizations are going ape over the promise of apps that deliver the desktop experience while running entirely on a server, zero client code, completely client-agnostic," Tom Yager reports. Alas, it's never so simple. "Unless the original application was idiot simple, turning it into a Web site is harder than many other types of porting projects," Yager writes.
Podcasts: Surveys, surveys and yet more surveys. This week's SOA Report addresses the ever-elusive ROI, and the studies that support it. "If you wanna get in the press, go do a study," David Linthicum says. And several folks have done just that. In reality, though, "a lot of people have not had time to figure out what kind of return on investment they can get from the implementation of a service-oriented architecture." It's too early to survey everybody on that. "The value of an SOA is going to be holistic, not about tactical deployments around applications." Tune into SOA Report.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 30, 2007 04:54 AM
August 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Setting Silverlight up for development
Best of the blogs: Confessing to a little confusion about the best means of preparing for Silverlight Martin Heller dives in nonetheless. The basic question was whether or not to install both the 1.0 and 1.1 SDK, or simply pick one. "The two do not install side-by-side, although you can certainly install them on separate machines of in separate Virtual PCs on the same machine," Heller writes in Silverlight: How to set up for development. Of course, "there is one small disadvantage to doing this."
Notes from the field: Are OEMs bowing to pressure from Microsoft not to sell systems with XP installed but, instead, to require a 'downgrade' process from Vista? One Cringester writes in to say that, and more. "I'm disgruntled because this will cause extra work for my staff, and because I'm being used by Microsoft to falsely pump their Vista sales numbers." Another reader feels slimed by a Dell promo promising the chance to win a new car, while a third points out that Trend Micro seems to have missed the whole Y2K thing. Reader writes and wrongs.
Green IT: Taking a contrarian's view to Gartner's suggestion that Green Grid try to "influence legislation and behavior for broader issues," Ted Samson explains in this Sustainable IT post that there are already other organizations pushing environmentally-oriented legislation. "If the Green Grid is to effectively pursue its ambition of being an independent body for developing vendor-neutral recommendations on best practices, metrics, and technologies for all datacenter operators, the last thing it needs is to let itself be distracted -- or potential members and supporters to be put off -- by dabbling in politics."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 10, 2007 05:54 AM
June 27, 2007 | Comments: (0)
App dev: After his update on Ruby on Rails IDEs Martin Heller is back with more free options. Such as NetBeans 6.0 Milestone 9, Ruby In Steel's Personal Edition, and Komodo Edit, sibling to none other than the Komodo IDE he looked at earlier in the week.
From the Test Center: It's not the dream-come-true single product that encrypts data on all operating systems and media, but "PGP's suite of encryption products offers a competitive solution to protect a variety of content on Windows," begins Roger Grimes, who focuses on PGP's newest NetShare, version 9.6. The software allows files on local and remote SMB shares to be encrypted. "On its own, it's a solid encryption product and should help secure shared files and folders. However, most of NetShare's enterprise functionality is provided by PGP Universal Server." Read Grimes' rating and recommendations in the full review.
The news beat: The long-debated GPL v3 is coming on Friday, says the Free Software Foundation, a pronouncement that sparks the question of who exactly will use it. IBM claims that the final edition of DB2 Viper 2 will become available by year's end, after entering public beta testing last week. And BEA Systems is ready to lock down code for Workshop 10.1 which according to one executive, "leaves the shop Friday. It's done."
Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 27, 2007 11:03 AM
June 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)
App dev: Martin Heller has an update on Ruby on Rails IDEs. Those would be Aptana IDE + Rails (nee RadRails), Ruby in Steel and ActiveState Komodo. "The Rails IDE market is continuing to evolve quickly," Heller explains.
Editor's letter: Jon Williams has moved his New York CTO blog to InfoWorld.com, and three people have joined the Open Sources blog: Zack Urlocker from MySQL, Savio Rodrigues from IBM, and Dave Dargo. Whereas Dargo is a "man of mystery and intrigue," editor in chief Steve Fox writes, "the most surprising name here is probably Savio's because he works for a company (IBM) not generally associated with the open-source movement. He is a believer, however, and his traditional software perspective should spark lively discussion." Bloggers, welcome aboard.
The news beat: Oracle's CFO Safra Catz bares her fangs at rivals IBM, Microsoft and SAP, mocking Microsoft for not delivering a third of the features it promised in the most recent SQL Server iteration. Apple patches Safari for the second time since its release to beta testers. And some Macs go snap-crackle-pop after the Mac OS X 10.4.10 is installed, though one intrepid soul already posted a workaround.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 25, 2007 10:59 AM
June 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Early look at Microsoft Popfly
Best of the blogs: Probing into an alpha version of Microsoft's Popfly, Martin Heller finds that, "basically, you can create mashups online by dropping blocks on your design surface, setting their properties, and connecting them." Heller writes in this Strategic Developer post, that, "you can also embed your mashups in other Web pages you may have by copying and pasting the code for an iframe. There's also some basic social networking functionality."
Off the record: This week, our author confesses a surrendering to temptation -- while working under a pilfering boss. "I knew it was going to somehow come back to bite him, especially when we underwent the inevitable IT audit of all our client PCs, servers, and network infrastructure," he writes in No Peeking. But first the reason our author got fired, then more about the boss. Working after hours one night, he came across the final copy of that previously referenced audit. "I couldn't resist. I opened the attachment and viewed it." Then a pair of printing goofs, leaving a trail that was uncovered the following morning. "My boss did get demoted when the state learned he'd been taking equipment that eventually stocked the PC repair shop he's started."
The news beat: Microsoft launches Windows Live Mail beta 2.0, and says it will eventually replace the Windows Mail built-into Vista. Software AG details its plans for webMethods products in terms of integrating wares and eliminating overlap. Dell announces that it will sell virtualization services via partnerships with Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat and VMware. And a hacker posts an attack for Google Desktop that can sneak into victims' PCs.
Video: In The Week Ahead with Gina Smith, she looks at what's in store for June's first. Microsoft's Tech Ed conference, for one. Also, a pow-wow about telepresence, the upcoming partnership between Google and Salesforce.com and, of course, Robert X. Cringely comments from afar, wondering why Bill Gates does not have a better leash on Steve Jobs. Watch it here.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on June 1, 2007 11:05 AM
February 01, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Save the whale (until the next CTP)
Best of the blogs: One of the first things Martin Heller writes about the working copy he obtained of Microsoft's Visual Studio 'Orcas' community technical preview is that "it probably wasn't worth the effort this time around. I probably should have gone with my initial instinct and waited for the February CTP drop." That's not to say it doesn't work. It does, and without messing up his Visual Studio 2005 installation. On the whole, of course, Heller chalks it up as a learning experience.
SOA: For those of you amid the throes of SOA staffing plans, David Linthicum offers these guidelines, beginning with the fact that you'll need an eclectic array of talents. Beyond that it's really the who, the what and how many. Ah, but those categories are not so simple.
The news beat: IBM demos dozens of research projects that focus on SOA and Web 2.0, including wikis, mashups, and social networking technologies. Bryan Lee, a Microsoft Zune executive is leaving the company. And as CEO Kevin Rollins departs from Dell, founder Michael Dell once again takes the helm.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on February 1, 2007 04:32 AM
January 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)
App dev: IBM plays out its Jazz strategy for collaboratively building software with new Rational products slated for the first half of this year that it is tuning for Web 2.0 and AJAX interfaces.
Best of the blogs: Speaking of IBM, the news that Irving Wladawsky-Berger is leaving Big Blue after 37 years prompts Greg Nawrocki (and a whole host of others, I'm certain) to ask What's next for the friend of grid? Nawrocki explains that neither grid in general nor the Globus Tookit "would be where they are today without his hand shepherding the technology."
Video: At Linux.Conf.AU 07 in Sydney, IDG Australia looks at a $100 notebook PC from MIT's One Laptop Per Child program, which was the real showstopper of the event. Watch it here.
The news beat: Webroot says Microsoft's Vista Defender antispyware fails to catch 84 percent of a malware sample -- a claim Microsoft refutes. With all the information breaches occurring these days tech firms are swarming to protect data and a cadre of products is due out in the coming months. And Palm, after years of effort, will make push e-mail available next week in the form of Treo 680 and 700p Smartphones.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on January 26, 2007 04:44 AM
January 08, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Good, bad of Visual Studio 2005 SP1
App dev: I'll let Martin Heller deliver both sides of his news about the first service pack for Visual Studio 2005 since he is, after all, the one who made it through the install process. But I will say that installation is not the only thing that takes a long time. Visual Studio 2005 SP1: Good news, bad news.
Q&A: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in this interview discusses Microsoft's intents for hardware, the future of product distribution, and some of the lessons he has learned as a technology visionary.
The news beat: As Macworld kicks off, the buzz this year has the word business inside. Apple, some rumor sites are speculating, might launch iWorks '07, a suite of applications that serve as an alternative to Microsoft Office. The Wi-Fi Alliance is slated to announce today its WPS, as in Wi-Fi Protected Setup, a specification for making it easier to secure wireless LANs. And Microsoft eliminates four of the eight planned security fixes it will issue tomorrow.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on January 8, 2007 05:50 AM
November 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Quote of the day: The Java trap
It'll be very good that the Java trap won't exist anymore. It'll be a thing of the past. --Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation, as quoted in Sun CEO: Open source Java is momentus.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on November 14, 2006 04:03 AM
September 29, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Best of the blogs: Gatner's code reuse suggestion smells like open source advocacy. When speaking about reusing components, a Gartner analyst posed the question, 'Why would you ever code an app from scratch again?' There is more to that answer than just reuse. "Reading between the lines, or reading into his comments my own bias, this sounds like a clarion call to use more open source software," Matt Asay writes.
Columnists' corner: With Windows Vista right around the corner -- regardless of the final delivery date -- it's time to begin planning that massive migration. So Oliver Rist has 10 rules for OS upgrades. First, delay, delay, delay. And, no, these rules are not directed at Microsoft. Just don't rush it. Others include 'harass your applications vendors' and 'impress the brass.' For what it's worth, they don't all have that Dylanesque rhyme scheme.
The news beat: Lenovo joins the problematic notebook party and recalls 526,000 ThinkPads with Sony batteries. Google complies with Brazilian courts and hands over data about its Orkut social networking service. And analysts say that HP's pre-texting scandal won't degrade the company's ability to compete in the long run.
Virtualization: Now for some shameless self-promotion. And when I type 'self' I do mean InfoWorld and not just me. Anyway, this week was the first InfoWorld Virtualization Executive Forum, held in NYC. David Marshall reports on Day 1 in this post, and follows that up with a look at Day 2.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 29, 2006 04:57 AM
September 15, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Microsoft betas dev tools for Office 2007
App dev: As the final version of its next Office suite moves forward, Microsoft issues a beta of Visual Studio 2005 Tools for the Office Second Beta Edition. I'm guessing they didn't run that name by any focus groups, but the tools, previously code-named Cypress, "give developers the power to take advantage of the 2007 Office System as a development platform and create scalable Office-based solutions," in Microsoft's own words.
Storage: There are those celebrating the hard disk drive's 50th birthday. But not Mario Apicella. "Maybe it's because I am not much for celebrating anniversaries, especially those related to unanimated objects, but isn't all the hubbub around the disk drive hitting the big five-o getting annoying?" A clever invention, indeed. Then again, so were printers, monitors, keyboards. "Aren't those machines at least equally important, not to mention more reliable, than disk drives, those irritating recycling bins for bits of data?" For those of you wondering what the first hard drive looked like, Apicella includes a link to it in Fifty years of hard drives: It's time to move on.
Test Center review: Genuitec has just released version 5.0 of its MyEclipse product. Yes, as in the Eclipse open source Java IDE. "This productized collection of plug-ins smoothly expands Eclipse functionality at a competitive price. I found few things to complain about, save for the fact that many of the plug-ins provide only basic functionality," Andrew Binstock writes in the full review. "As much as I was impressed by MyEclipse 5.0’s range of plug-ins, however, I was disappointed with their lack of depth." Senior editor Stephanie McLouglin, meanwhile, counts the ways in which MyEclipse 5.0 benefits consumers.
The news beat: Google is losing users in China, a report by the China Internet Network Information Centre states; indeed, 62 percent of Chinese users typed their way to Baidu for search, up from 52 percent in 2005. The FBI floats a wide-ranging wiretap proposal under which foreign ISPs and application providers would be legally required to base servers they use for U.S. customers inside this country. And the FTC shuts down four illegal spamming operations.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on September 15, 2006 04:42 AM
August 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Intel offers multicore CPU help
App Dev: Chipmaker Intel this morning ships three threading tools designed to help developers take better advantage of its multicore processors. These include a runtime library, an analysis tool to minimize errors and a profiler that offers insight regarding how application threads interact.
Columnists' corner: Neil McAllister digs down for the root of why Microsoft and open source just can't get along in this week's installment of Open Enterprise. "I'm not going to suggest that it's a new day at Microsoft. As yet there's far too little evidence to support that claim. But, at least where Firefox is concerned, the olive branch has been extended and accepted. Can't we feel good about that?"
The news beat: Oracle rolls out the performance management piece of its PeopleSoft 9 suite. BEA Systems this morning launches an upgrade to its WebLogic Real Time Core Edition, bringing lower latency and runtime analysis. And Atheros details a new chipset it claims will enable makers of LAN gear to sell wireless access points for less than $100.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 28, 2006 11:03 AM
August 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Test Center review: This latest incarnation of what is now Adobe's Flex product is no longer plagued by the limited features and hearty ticket that it once was, James Borck finds. "Today, Flex is an affordable solution for developing RIAs (rich Internet applications) with an approachable toolkit and reliable delivery mechanism." Of course, Adobe still faces some obstacles. Read the full review.
Newsmakers: Computer science Ph.D. and renowned expert in 'nonclassical' computer forensics Dr. Neal Krawetz speaks with senior editor Paul Roberts in this interview about how he ties together evidence to pin down online criminals, and his claim that he may have uncovered the author of Agobot, Phatbot and rBot malware.
The news beat: Microsoft's blogging tool, Windows Live Writer, enters beta testing. Hewlett-Packard becomes the first major hardware vendor to support Debian Linux, which it says will run on ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers as well as a thin client. And hackers are trying to sneak into unpatched PCs via the flaw in Windows that generated a warning from the U.S. government.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 14, 2006 10:33 AM
August 11, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Quote of the day: Microsoft ought to open XAML
Here's a crazy idea: Open-source the WPF/E, endorse a Mono-based version, and make XAML an open standard. Why? Because an Adobe/Microsoft arms race ignores the real competition: Web 2.0 ... Imagine a world in which browsers are ubiquitous, yet balkanized by incompatible versions of HTML. That's just where RIA (rich Internet applications) players and their XML languages are taking us. Is there an alternative? Sure. Open XAML. -- Jon Udell. Why Microsoft should open XAML.
Posted by Tom Sullivan on August 11, 2006 04:02 AM
August 10, 2006 | Comments: (0)
Visual Studio 2005 hammers new path
Test Center review: With Visual Studio 2005 Team System, Microsoft is forging "a path familiar to participants in global-scale projects but which has never been scaled down for small to moderate efforts," begins Tom Yager. He predicts that project managers will go crazy for this version from day one. Deployment is easy. Testers have an array of new tools.