Category Archives: IT NEWS

New Google features include music service

Sundar Pichai, Google’s senior vice president, Chrome and Apps at Google, speaks at Google I/O 2013 developers conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Google opened its biggest I/O developers conference on Wednesday with new features for its Android and Chrome operating systems, as well as a new streaming-music-subscription service that will go head to head with services such as Pandora and Spotify.

Called All Access, the new service blends songs users have already uploaded to their online libraries with millions of other tracks in an attempt by the world’s dominant Internet company to carve itself a bigger piece of the digital music pie as more people listen to streaming music on mobile devices.

The announcement Wednesday at Google’s annual developers conference in San Francisco kicks off a wave of developments as technology giants go beyond core music fans and look to entice more casual listeners.

Google is playing catch-up in the digital music space after launching its music store in November 2011. Apple’s iTunes Store, which launched in 2003, is the leader in song downloads and Spotify claims about 6 million paying subscribers worldwide.

But Google’s massive reach on mobile devices that use its Android operating system means it could narrow the gap quickly. Some 44 percent of active smartphones in the U.S., or about 53 million, are powered by the Android software, according to research firm eMarketer. Google said about 900 million Android devices have been activated worldwide.

Google’s All Access allows users to search for songs, albums or artists directly, or peruse 22 different genres. Google also offers up recommendations based on your listening behavior and your existing library of songs.

“This is radio without rules,” said Chris Yerga, engineering director of Android. “This is as lean-back as you want or as interactive as you want.”

According to research firm eMarketer, more than 96 million Americans are expected to stream music on mobile devices at least once a week in 2013, up from 85 million a year ago.

Several top executives participated in the three-and-a-half hour I/O opening keynote presentation. CEO Larry Page made an unexpected appearance at the end of the session, delivering a speech about the state of technology and taking questions from the crowd, which numbered more than 6,000 at the site.

“We’re just getting started. The opportunities we have are tremendous,” Page said. “We haven’t seen this rate of change in computing in a long time. But when I think about it, we’re all here because we share a deep sense of optimism for technology to improve peoples’ lives and the world as part of that.”

The company revealed some new search tools Wednesday at I/O. Taken together, they are another step toward Google’s trying to become the omnipotent, humanlike “Star Trek” search engine that its executives say they want it to be.

When people ask Google certain questions, it will now try to predict the person’s follow-up questions and answer them, too.

“The ‘Star Trek’ computer shouldn’t just answer questions; it should make you more intelligent, should anticipate what you expect next,” Amit Singhal, senior vice president for search at Google, said in an interview before the conference.

Google is also trying to make search more conversational by encouraging people to talk to their phones and computers and hear answers out loud. Google announced that people can now talk to its Chrome browser to perform a search, by saying, “OK Google,” similar to the command used to activate its Internet-connected Google Glass.)

The upgrade to Google Maps provides more context and recommendations, whether for a particular restaurant or museum, according to Jonah Jones, lead designer at Google Maps.

Underlying many of these developments is Google’s privacy policy, which it revised last year to permit the company to use information shared with one Google service on another one.

Keeping a fresh lineup is critical as Google vies with Amazon.com, Apple and Microsoft for Web consumers of information and entertainment.

Google shares rose past $900 for the first time, a sign of shareholders’ optimism CEO Page will outpace software and services competitors.

“Investors are responding to the overwhelming evidence presented today that Google is keeping up with — and in some cases staying ahead of — its major platform rivals,” said James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research.

Google shares rose to a record, climbing 3.2 percent to close at $915.89, the highest since the initial public offering in August 2004. Google has advanced 29 percent this year, compared with a 16 percent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

Source: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020993708_googlemusictoolsxml.html

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HP Addresses Cloud DevOps Agility And Scale Pain Points

Customers have been struggling with agility and scale when it comes to the cloud, said Manoj Raisinghani, Senior Director, WW Product Marketing, Cloud Automation Software and SaaS, HP Software. They’re asking for faster application development and the ability to respond more quickly, but they also want to minimize the amount of new expertise required, and keep costs the same, he said.

The world’s largest IT vendor has responded with what it calls the next generation of data center automation, orchestration and cloud management software. The four new offerings are: HP Operations Orchestration (OO) 10, which automates the execution of up to 15,000 simultaneous operations; HP Server Automation (SA) 10, which automates server life cycle management to increase utilization, while reducing manual administration; HP Database and Middleware Automation (DMA) 10, which automates manual database management tasks; and HP Cloud Service Automation 3.2, which provides service life cycle automation, utilization and financial management capabilities to manage and scale cloud services.

The portfolio of software and services helps to automate the complete life cycle of IT services—from routine data center maintenance delivery of business processes, said Raisinghani. By automating repetitive, manual and time-consuming operations, HP’s automation and cloud management software ‘minimizes complexities in heterogeneous environments and allows IT to focus on higher-impact activities to increase the overall value for the business.’

The company has been busy making cloud and datacenter-related announcements as it ramps up for next month’s HP Discover, its annual customer and partner conference. Two weeks ago it announced a new architecture for the datacenter, an SDN (software-defined networking) network fabric. A month ago it added to – and enhanced – its OpenStack-based cloud offerings, and also delivered on a new server platform, Moonshot.

There have also been multiple developments in the DevOps space over the last couple of weeks. While primarily focused on mobile app development, the issues of speed, agility and cost were all highlighted by CA, IBM as well as HP.

Raisinghani said a lot of the competitors in this space, i.e. IBM, BMC, VMware and Microsoft, can address part of the challenges, but nobody offers the breadth that HP does. The new offerings also allow the company to go after new markets, in addition to upselling and cross-selling to its installed base.

He said lines of business and smaller groups are now within reach. “For example with SA 10, we have a virtual appliance that installs within an hour, and manages up to 3,000 servers. That market is new, and we will be going after that market in a big way.”

By reducing the complexity involved in cloud, HP also believes this will significantly expand its channel partner play. This will make it much easier – and quicker – for its systems integrator and service provider partners, he said.

HP OO 10 is priced per orchestrated node. HP SA 10 and HP DMA 10 are priced per operating system instance. HP Cloud Service Automation 3.2 is priced per operating system instance and available as one package of 10 instances that includes HP SA and HP OO licenses. HP OO 10, HP SA 10, HP DMA 10 and HP Cloud Service Automation 3.2 will be available individually.

Source: http://it-tna.com/2013/05/13/hp-addresses-cloud-devops-agility-and-scale-pain-points/

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Microsoft struggles to re-start Windows 8

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at Windows 8 launch

With an upcoming fix for Windows 8, Microsoft finds itself in a strange position: It has to make the faithful happy by shaping the experience to be more like the respected Windows 7. Meanwhile, the company must continue to support the modern "Metro" interface and push the notion that the OS delivers a touch-tablet experience that surpasses iOS and Android.

The strategy is understandable — like most of Microsoft’s moves up until now — but if you’re out in the ocean, with each foot on a perfectly good log, wouldn’t you want them lashed together, not drifting apart?

Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet has an unrivaled Microsoft tipster network. They’re telling her that the fixes that comprise Windows "Blue" could include the return of the sorely missed Start button and an option to boot straight into the classic Windows Desktop environment, avoiding that colorful screen of live tiles that characterizes Windows 8. Additionally, Foley reports, there may be enhancements to the Metro interface to make it even more mouse-and-keyboard friendly. Foley admires the rumored fixes. If they make it into the final release, she says, "it’s nothing but goodness."

She’s right. Making Windows 8 more palatable to more people is good, not only for Microsoft’s share of the PC business but for users in general. But how does playing up the classic experience not do something to erode the promise of a redesigned, tablet-friendly Windows? My biggest beefs with the new operating system have actually been the opposite of Foley’s: I feel you’re thrust into classic Windows all too often, especially when handling files, tweaking advanced control panel options and of course, running any kind of software that wasn’t preconceived for Metro. If developers — including Microsoft’s own Office team — have seen little reason to release a Metro version of their apps to date, a deemphasis of Metro by Microsoft would only confirm their prejudice.

With Windows 8, Microsoft faced its uncertain future by striking out in a bold new direction. Now that that has essentially failed, it feels like the company is putting a curb on the pioneering, and taking its wagons back east.

Beyond the OS

Windows itself is not what it was, when all software ran on it, and families and businesses both had to play it safe and steer clear of other operating systems, even that pop-culture darling, the Mac. In my immediate family, I can think of just a handful of Windows-dependent programs, niche business software and websites that are headed for retirement anyway.

As these crusty software systems evolve or disappear, Microsoft runs out of arguments for buying into its OS. Even though over a billion licenses have been served, it’s not as if Microsoft can claim "security" and "ease of use" as competitive advantages. (NASA mentioned the other day that it was dropping Windows for Linux on the International Space Station’s laptops, and that Linux is already the platform of choice at mission control and in its various robots and rovers.)

But neither Windows nor the Mac, which has seen a recent rise in popularity among consumers, won’t be able to stand up against a tide that is drowning the PC business as a whole. Global PC shipments fell last year for the first time in a decade, and the blood is only just starting to flow.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/microsoft-struggles-re-start-windows-8-1C9898091

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IBM Upgrades MobileFirst; Supports Mobile Lifecycle To Promote Apps for People, Devices

ibm_mobilefirst_01

Last week, IBM revealed just how much stock it plans to put into the mobile-ready business, unveiling a wide range of upgrades to its MobileFirst platform and portfolio. The upgrades, unveiled during last week’s IBM Impact conference, support the full mobile app lifecycle – and aim to meet needs of devs, deployment teams, operations managers and even LOB managers responsible for mobile projects.

“Mobile is now second nature and the next generation will expect it,” said IBM general manager for WebSphere Marie Wieck said during her keynote address.

Just a quick look at the expected supersonic growth in the enterprise mobile sector supports her view – and says a lot about IBM’s focus in this space. The market for mobile enterprise infrastructure software and services will reach $30.9 billion in 2016, according to IDC.

Integration Developer News takes a look at IBM’s latest MobileFirst upgrades across the mobile ALM.

Design Time. The IBM MobileFirst toolkit add-ons will also let devs more efficiently monitor battery and network bandwidth. The MobileFirst IDE (WorkLight Studio) works with Eclipse and supports CSS3, HTML5 and Apache Cordova to support devs working on apps for Android, iOS and Blackberry.

Pre-built adapters to backend APIs and other resources are available. Devs also can use a wizard-driven UI to access Java Script libraries, JQuery Mobile, Sencha Touch and Dojo Toolkit. When necessary, devs can also build their own connectors in SQL or HTTP. Integration to backend systems is delivered via IBM’s WebSphere Cast Iron.

IBM MobileFirst also adds geo-location support to allow devs to more easily build apps that use location services and extend the value of apps by providing contextual personalized services based on a user’s location, Wieck noted. “Much of the value from mobile apps will be tied directly to providing information based on the location of the user,” she said.  This can run the gamut from providing location-based offers to consumers all the way to enforcing privacy constraints on access to sensitive information, such as when a health care professionals leaves the hospital grounds. 

These dev improvements come on the heels of IBM’s acquisition of UrbanCode, a provider of automated software delivery solutions for apps, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

In its announcement of the UrbanCode purchase last month, IBM’s official statement said in part, “[B]y combining UrbanCode software with the IBM MobileFirst Worklight technology, businesses can now author and deploy an application for any mobile device in hours, versus a previous multi-day timeline,” UrbanCode will also works with traditional applications including middleware, databases and business intelligence, Wieck noted.

Testing  Beyond design time, MobileFirst adds app testing capabilities to more quickly let teams test their apps across different mobile platforms. Thanks to integration and optimization of IBM Rational Test Workbench, devs and ops teams can automate the testing required for complex and highly integrated applications accessed by mobile apps, and ensure they meet SLAs and performance metrics expected by users. MobileFirst also lets dev teams coordinate the development and delivery of multi-platform mobile apps.

In addition, the Rational Test Virtualization Server lets teams develop virtualized software and services for efficient, economical testing. This virtualization approach provides simulated access to unavailable software dependencies to let devs perform integration testing earlier and more often.

Deployment. IBM will also speed deployment and ease operations with a range of new cloud services optimized for mobile. These services simplify complicated and costly backend connectivity and integration issues. Among these services is a new mobile marketing, cloud-based service to help customers create digital passes for employees in Apple’s Passbook without having to purchase on-premise development tools.

Usability. Beyond helping IT launch apps quickly, IBM also wants to help IT launch apps that will be well used.

To tackle that thorny issue, IBM also unveiled new integrated analytics capabilities and cloud services for MobileFirst powered by Tealeaf CX Mobile. Tealeaf will capture and replay the experiences of users accessing mobile apps and data. A wide range of analytics on usability and performance will reveal how mobile apps and services are being used, by whom, and how effectively.

With Tealeaf integration, the IBM MobileFirst platform can collect usage data based on how mobile users interact with the overall app, including UI, data feeds, social capabilities and other features to measure the on-device experience of mobile users, including gestures, dwell time and navigation.

Operations and Management.  MobileFirst extends BYOD support for a wide range of management and security features to protect mobile apps, data and devices. Powered by IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, admins can safeguard data by wiping it from lost or stolen devices, as well as reconfigure and enforce passcode policies and even enforce encryption. Admins can also automatically identify non-compliant devices, and where needed deny access or issue user notifications. .

Further, to combat such threats, MobileFirst allows admins to quickly remediate, protect, and report on endpoints in real-time, and automates time-intensive tasks across complex networks.

Why Mobile Reaches Beyond People

IBM MessageSight Supports ‘Internet of Things’
IBM’s MobileFirst updates also went beyond mobile for employees, partners and consumers, MobileFirst now sports a solution to help IT cope with the expected billions of remote and mobile devices – what’s known as the “Internet of Things.”

IBM MessageSight is a specially-engineered integration appliance that can support up to one million concurrent sensors or smart devices and scale up to 13 million messages per second. Further, this large volume of events can be processed in near real time and let companies consolidate all that data in one place for easier ways to glean insights.

According to IMS Research, by 2020, there will be more than 22 billion web-connected devices, the vast majority of which will be mobile. This sector of devices and sensors will generate more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of new data every day, the firm added. 

“Until now, no technology has been able to handle this volume of messages and devices,” Wieck said.

To cope with such massive scale, IBM MessageSight uses the lightweight Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) technology, MQTT was recently proposed to become an OASIS standard, providing a lightweight messaging transport for communication in machine-to-machine (M2M) and mobile environments. Sensors are often small in size, have low power and typically low communications bandwidth capabilities. MQTT can be used in conjunction with these devices. Its low power consumption, high performance and reliability allow real-time updates that can be acted upon immediately.

Major mobile telecom carrier Sprint has been testing IBM MessageSight, and officials there are enthusiastic about the early results. “To realize the vision of a smarter planet, we must first enable the universe of instrumented sensors, devices and machines to communicate more efficiently while sharing, managing and integrating large volumes of data at a rate much faster than ever before,” said Bob S. Johnson, director of development for Sprint’s Velocity Program. IBM MessageSight could help Sprint deliver various innovative solutions, he said.

Since its debut in 2011, IBM’s MobileFirst platform has been adopted in nearly 1,000 customer engagements.

Source: http://www.idevnews.com/stories/5765/IBM-Upgrades-MobileFirst-Supports-Mobile-Lifecycle-To-Promote-Apps-for-People-Devices

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Build Data Driven and Native Mobile Apps with RAD Studio XE4

RAD Studio XE4 is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the creation of multi device and true native applications for PCs, iPhone, iPad and other portable devices using a single code base. It includes a wide range of native user interface controls such as buttons, textboxes, listboxes, combo boxes, date picker, custom picker, different keyboard types and service notifications including support for ShareSheet which enables you to share and print using social media.

With the help of RAD Studio, developers will be able to create apps for multiple platforms such as iOS, Windows and Mac by taking advantage of FireMonkey FM3 using a single code base. Moreover, rapid prototyping enables developers to quickly create no-code visual mockups with live or stimulated data and deploy them to actual target devices which can be either PCs, smart phones or tablet.

RAD Studio XE4 provides support for IBLite and SQLite iOS database via dbExpress, FireDAC and IBX. It also includes ISV and enterprise class integrated database connectivity and cloud computing with the help of dbExpress and FireMonkey including support for SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, DB2, InterBase, SQL Anywhere, SQLite, MySQL in addition to Windows Azure and Amazon Web Services.

RAD Studio XE4 enables you to build rich GUI client, HD, 3D, Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, local and remote database apps including web and cloud based applications. According to official sources, apps developed using RAD Studio reduces the risk of third party attacks or hacking since the code directly runs on the device.

Source: http://www.infoq.com/news/2013/05/rad-studio-xe-4

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Oracle sharpens up mobile app development tools

oracle-sharpens-up-mobile-app-development-tools

Oracle says the latest version of its mobile development toolkit makes it easier for programmers to build applications for a range of operating systems from a single code base.

Mobile Release 1.1 of the Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) Mobile, generally available now, extends support to newer versions of operating systems, including iOS and Android, and adds device-native push notification and full file attachment viewing.

Oracle’s framework also offers a new infrastructure for integrating devices based on Apache Cordova APIs, which allow developers to access native functionality using JavaScript.

"With push notification and the new Cordova infrastructure, Oracle ADF Mobile 1.1 further enhances developer productivity and enables them to cost-effectively deliver mobile applications faster,” said Chris Tonas, Oracle vice president application development tools, in a statement.

The framework, which is part of Oracle’s Fusion middleware, is based on Java and HTML5 and is designed to allow developers to create and deploy applications to an estate of mobile devices running various operating systems.

According to Oracle, support for device-native push notification means updates from enterprise systems and middleware are pushed instantly to mobile applications. With full file attachment viewing, a mobile app can show various types of file attachments and mitigate differences in platform.

Also included in the latest version are new components for data visualisation, including rating and dial gauges. Badging support gives mobile users visual indicators for application events and updates. The framework also now supports languages such as Arabic and Hebrew, which read from right to left.

Source: http://www.zdnet.com/oracle-sharpens-up-mobile-app-development-tools-7000014880/

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Can Jony Ive and "Flat Design" Save iOS 7?

skeuomorphism Can Jony Ive and Flat Design Save iOS 7?

Jonathan “Jony” Ive is the Senior VP of Industrial Design at Apple, and has been responsible for the design of some of Apple’s most successful and iconic products – including the iPod, iPhone and iPad. After the departure of Scott Forstall from the iOS development team, Jony Ive has also taken on leadership of the Human Interface team – effectively making him entirely responsible for the ‘look and feel’ of not just Apple’s hardware, but also their software.

iOS 7 – An End to Skeuomorphism and the Rise of Flat Design

Scott Forstall was a big proponent of ‘skeumorphism’ – essentially a technique where digital design elements are intended to replicate another, real-life object. Skeuomorphism is rife throughout iOS – the yellow-lined paper of Notepad and the wooden bookcase in iBooks and Newstand are just two examples.

With the 2013 WWDC coming in June, we’re just months away from the unveiling of iOS 7. According to all reports thus far, iOS 7 is said to represent a complete re-think of the user interface for iPod, iPhone and iPad. Gone will be the skeuomorphism, the gloss and shine of iOS 6 – replaced instead with a streamlined, flat design. “Flat design” is a relatively new term, but is an in-vogue design principle at the moment, especially on the web. Flat design is a concept exemplified by simplicity and minimalism – it’s modern, fresh and fast. Several commentators have noted that iOS 7 is going to be “very, very flat” – and it makes sense, given that Jony Ive has always been a big proponent of minimalism.

We’ve already seen Jony Ive’s influence on the Podcasts app, which recently received a major overhaul with replacement of the tape-and-deck look with a much more streamlined interface.

podcast Can Jony Ive and Flat Design Save iOS 7?

But what does all this “flat design” talk mean in a practical sense? While iOS 7 will look a lot different to iOS 6 with new icons and a big UI face-lift, the navigation and mechanics of iOS are unlikely to change much.

While the visual changes may be met with some hostility from users who have grown comfortable with the current look-and-feel of iOS, the redesign of iOS 7 is an essential step towards revitalising Apple’s mobile products.

Source: http://www.tapscape.com/jony-ive-flat-design-save-ios-7/

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Firefox OS Developer Phones Sold Out: Specs, features, release date details

Mozilla, famous for its Web browser Firefox, like its rival Google is planning to enter the smart phone market and has come up with two “developer preview” Geeksphone devices.

The first lot of phones supported by the Mozilla Foundation’s open source Firefox OS has sold out within hours after they were out for sale.  The new devices are manufactured and sold by Geeksphone, a Spain-based company.

Geeksphone founder and CEO Javier Aguera said, “Today is going to be a long day. What we were not expecting is that speed for selling. So immediately after we announced it we had thousands of people visiting the store, checking the prices, trying to make purchases. We were surprised at the quick reaction.”

The company has described handset as “developer preview” smart phone being determined to attract app developers to develop and test applications for Firefox OS.

“The Firefox OS Developer Preview Geeksphone devices have development versions of Firefox OS and are unlocked so that developers can use them wherever they are in the world and they are updated regularly with the latest Firefox OS build,” said Stormy Peters, Mozilla’s director of websites and developer appointment, in a blog post on Monday.

Mozilla came up with two smartphones running on Firefox OS mobile operating system which is Linux-based and open source mobile operating system that focuses on the Web. Both the phones, the Keon and the Peak, was out on sale but were sold out within hours on Tuesday.

“In the first few hours of the Geeksphone store opening, demand has been overwhelming, surpassing initial expectations causing our store to be taken temporarily offline,” a Geeksphone spokesperson claimed in a statement.

Firefox OS apps are developed by making use of basic Web technologies like the HTML, CSS and JavaScript, consequently making possible for anyone to develop an app who has ever developed a Web page.

The two introductory smartphones that went out on sale are the Peak which is priced at $194, that sports a Qualcomm 8225 dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 4.3-inch display, and front and rear cameras, and the second one Keon priced at $119, which is smaller than the first one, boasts a Qualcomm 1GHz Cortex-A5 processor, a 3.5-inch display, and 512MB of RAM.

“These devices are strictly for developers looking to test and create apps for Firefox OS,” a Mozilla spokesman claimed on Monday. “These devices have not been designed for consumers and include a pre-release development version of Firefox OS.”

Mozilla is expected to team up with companies like ZTE, Alcatel, LG Electronics, and Huawei to manufacture the Firefox OS phones expected to release next year. In fact, Sony that manufactures smartphone based on Android OS is also said to have been looking forward to Firefox OS phones for 2014.

“The support for these devices has been overwhelming, and we are thrilled to see the development community excited to create content for the open Web on mobile,” Mozilla claimed in a statement.

Mozilla is planning to offer low-cost phones and other devices with the introduction of its Firefox OS that will appeal to customers in the developing smart phone markets.

Source: http://nvonews.com/2013/04/25/firefox-os-developer-phones-sold-out-specs-features-release-date-details/

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Create your own apps for free with open-source LiveCode 6.0

Application development may have once been the exclusive domain of professional programmers, but today a growing number of amateur-friendly development environments invite just about anyone with an app idea to bring it to life.

In the past few years we’ve seen the arrival of BuildAnApp and Google’s App Inventor for Android on the mobile side, for example. An even longer-standing contender, however, is RunRev’s cross-platform LiveCode, a recently renamed version of the HyperCard-inspired "Revolution" development system born in the early 2000s.

LiveCode has traditionally been available only as a paid development environment, but on Wednesday its maker rolled out the platform’s first-ever free, open source version. If you’ve got a mobile, desktop, or server app idea for your small business, the new LiveCode 6.0 could be the tool you’ve been waiting for to help make it happen.

Drag-and-drop functionality

LiveCode 6.0 is actually the result of a highly successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the open source version. Closed at the end of February, the campaign raised roughly $760,500, far surpassing its $539,000 goal.

Targeting iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and server, the commercial version of LiveCode offers an intuitive graphical user interface with drag-and-drop functionality and a natural English-like programming language. Apps developed in LiveCode can be written once and quickly deployed on all popular mobile, desktop, and server platforms. Annual pricing is $500.

Now, however, RunRev is targeting educators, students, and business professionals with this first open source edition of the rapid application development platform.

‘The power of programming’

“With its drag-and-drop interface and easy-to-learn English-like language, LiveCode puts the power of programming in the hands of students, business professionals, and novice developers, regardless of their familiarity with programming,” RunRev explains.

For those who want a little extra help, LiveCode “academies” are also available with step-by-step videos and documentation, including sample apps and code. Two free eBooks on the topic can also be downloaded from RunRev’s site focusing on mobile apps and games.

LiveCode 6.0 is released under the GPL3 license, and the only requirement for users is that they make their apps open source as well, with the source code publicly available. If you decide you want to build a closed-source app, you can buy a LiveCode license at that point, RunRev says. You’ll also need the paid version if you want to upload your app to Apple’s App Store because of license incompatibilities, as RunRev’s product-selection chart points out.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2033881/create-your-own-apps-for-free-with-open-source-livecode-6-0.html

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iOS 7 concept video shows intriguing possibilities

iOS 7 concept video shows intriguing possibilities

With Scott Forstall out of the fray at Apple, having been replaced with Jony Ive, a lot of people are very excited to see what type of UI changes Apple may incorporate into iOS 7.

Recently, we reported on a number of rumblings which suggest that development on iOS 7 is running behind schedule. As a result, Apple has reportedly pulled engineers from its OS X team to assist with iOS development in an effort to ensure it’s ready to go for WWDC later this Summer.

While Ive’s newly applied design aesthetic to iOS 7 is reportedly being well received by those who have seen it, there haven’t been many specific details as to what UI features we can expect to see in Apple’s upcoming iteration of iOS.

To that end, designer F. Bianco recently posted a series of images to Flickr which showcase a number of interesting and thought provoking iOS concepts.

Some of the concepts include an enhanced lockscreen with direct access to settings such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a quick settings pane that displays all of a user’s settings in one location, and an engaging implementation of widgets.

Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2013/04/07/ios-7-concept-video-shows-intriguing-possibilities/

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