Fatal Exception | Neil McAllister

Microsoft's Touchless SDK pulls a mouse out of thin air

Neil McAllister — 2008-10-09T03:00:00-08:00

New code libraries allow Windows apps to use Webcams as pointing devices READ MORE

Should computer programming be mandatory for U.S. students?

Neil McAllister — 2008-10-02T03:00:00-08:00

Core computer literacy will be essential in the global job market, so maybe it's time to start looking at programming as a baseline skill and not as a differentiator READ MORE

SDK shoot-out: Android vs. iPhone

Neil McAllister — 2008-09-25T03:00:00-08:00

Apple and Google differ along familiar lines with their smartphone development kits READ MORE

VMware proposes a new kind of OS

Neil McAllister — 2008-09-18T03:00:00-08:00

An operating system for the virtualized datacenter could signal a sea change in software development READ MORE

Building Google Chrome: A first look

Neil McAllister — 2008-09-11T03:00:00-08:00

Google's open source browser has much to offer prospective hackers (provided they use Windows) READ MORE

Google Chrome: A developer's perspective

Neil McAllister — 2008-09-04T03:00:00-08:00

Google's new Chrome browser sets a new standard for the Web as an application platform READ MORE

Bitten by the Red Hat Perl bug

Neil McAllister — 2008-08-28T00:30:21-08:00

Is it realistic to expect stem-to-stern application platform support from any one vendor? READ MORE

Was JavaScript a mistake?

Neil McAllister — 2008-08-21T03:00:00-08:00

Standardizing on a single language puts too many eggs in the browser's basket. READ MORE

Empowering the software auteurs

Neil McAllister — 2008-08-14T03:00:00-08:00

Can Mozilla Labs harness the creative spirit to breathe new life into open source software? READ MORE

California's COBOL conundrum

Neil McAllister — 2008-08-07T03:00:00-08:00

Maintenance fix or complete overhaul? A state's budget hangs in the balance. READ MORE

Cloud computing on whose terms?

Neil McAllister — 2008-07-31T03:00:00-08:00

As appealing as cloud computing may be, remember that the vendors hold the strings. READ MORE

Is there really such a thing as "programming IQ"?

Neil McAllister — 2008-07-28T18:00:00-08:00

A new standard test or a silly time-waster? You be the judge. READ MORE

Battle for the Cloud: Google vs. Microsoft

Neil McAllister — 2008-07-24T03:00:00-08:00

Independent developers must choose between two radically different approaches to cloud computing. READ MORE

A biological approach to security

Neil McAllister — 2008-07-17T03:00:00-08:00

Nervous marmots and masturbating monkeys: We can learn a lot about how to address software vulnerabilities by studying how animals react to threats in the wild. READ MORE

The Web development skills crisis

Neil McAllister — 2008-07-10T03:00:00-08:00

The proliferation of Web technologies has been much on my mind lately. Last week, I talked about the continuum of Web development tools, ranging from traditional browser-based technologies all the way to applications deployed as binary executables. The interesting thing is that all of these tools are designed to achieve similar goals. So which do you use? I'm not trying to start a flame war. Some developers will swear by Flash, while others will choose AJAX, and even within those groups there will be individuals whose preferences are even more rigidly defined. The question is, how do developers maintain their skill sets -- and, by extension, their value in the marketplace -- when the so-called state of the art seems to change on an almost-daily basis? READ MORE