development Archive

  • Skype VP says company isn’t developing software for Windows Phone 7 (Update: it’s ‘on the roadmap’)

    Skype VP says company isn’t developing software for Windows Phone 7 (Update: it’s ‘on the roadmap’)

    Posted on May 13, 2010 | No Comments
    Consider the bombshell dropped. Skype, the godfather of VoIP apps and an increasingly ubiquitous piece of mobile as well as desktop software, has just let it be known that it's not planning on bringing its goodies to Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 OS. Dan Neary, the company's Vice President for the Asia Pacific region, said that it's "not developing software for the new Windows Mobile software due later this year," but seemed reluctant to expand on the reasons why. Perhaps, like Mozilla, the Skype devs felt they weren't getting access to the right tools. Whatever the reason, this would be a major competitive disadvantage for Microsoft's great new hope on the mobile front, which is already expected to launch with a few things missing. Then again, we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves as this isn't an official renouncement from Skype, merely a statement of the status quo -- and from a regional exec at that. All we can take away from it for now is that the road ahead looks a bit bumpier than before for WP7.

    Update: Looks like this quote might've been taken out of context. MobileTechWorld followed up and learned that while Dan Neary left out Windows Mobile and Windows Phone from a list of currently supported platforms (which makes sense, since one is dying and the other isn't out yet), he said Windows Phone 7 "is on the roadmap." The question seems to be more of a "when" than an "if" they'll start building it.

    Skype VP says company isn't developing software for Windows Phone 7 (Update: it's 'on the roadmap') originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 03:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • MeeGo project garners new industry participants

    MeeGo project garners new industry participants

    Posted on April 12, 2010 | No Comments
    MeeGo, the unification of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo, and shepherded by the Linux Foundation, is getting a lot of support from a variety of companies. From hardware developers to software houses, from games to automotive to embedded solutions providers, the recent announcement indicates an influx of potentially millions of developer-hours. Some of the new participants are no-brainers, while some are a bit surprising. Whether it's an effort to hedge bets for or against Android, or just widening the market potential for their products, the end result is hopefully a better MeeGo, which is better for you and me.

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  • Symbian goes open source, releases code to developers

    Symbian goes open source, releases code to developers

    Posted on February 4, 2010 | No Comments
    After so many years of hoping and wishing, developers can start getting excited about coding for the Symbian platform. Sure, it’s taken a while and some might be looking forward to Maemo 6 later this year far more than a newer version of Symbian, but opening up the source code to the world’s largest operating [...]

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  • Today’s lesson: Know your opponent

    Today’s lesson: Know your opponent

    Posted on January 19, 2010 | No Comments
    225px-Rasmus_Lerdorf_croppedI'm a big believer in open source development. The bazaar development model allows quality ideas to float to the top, albeit in sometimes contentious ways. The Linux kernel, the Apache httpd web server, and the PHP programming language are all developed in the open, and anyone is allowed to participate in their development. Filing bug reports is as important as writing the actual code. It helps, though, to have some sense of understanding of who you might be dealing with when you engage in a pissing match in a bug report.

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  • Ford to give Sync some App Store flavor, opening API to devs in 2010

    Ford to give Sync some App Store flavor, opening API to devs in 2010

    Posted on December 18, 2009 | No Comments
    Ford has already shown it can tie the controls of Sync-enabled vehicles to the music and contacts databases of drivers phones and PMPs and though it may take time before our emotions can be detected, the next step is extending that connectivity to downloadable apps on those devices. Since Sync first debuted, the explosion of the App Store concept has meant nearly every smartphone owner is packing plenty of ways to access and use information from the internet, but without an easy way to interact with it while driving. Extending access to vehicle controls could lead to programs like Pandora or Google's turn by turn navigation letting users change stations with their existing stereo knobs, or listen to directions via the in-car system by simply updating their existing software. The first ones to get a crack at it? A few university students, check after the break to see what they came up with given just a few weeks to test system out.

    Continue reading Ford to give Sync some App Store flavor, opening API to devs in 2010

    Ford to give Sync some App Store flavor, opening API to devs in 2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Raytheon’s iPhone app will track enemy combatants in real time

    Raytheon’s iPhone app will track enemy combatants in real time

    Posted on December 16, 2009 | No Comments
    Raytheon, known more often than not in these parts for its ability to zap people at a distance with microwaves, has just announced a little something called One Force Tracker. Essentially an iPhone app, it leverages recent developments in location awareness and social networking to keep tabs on both friends and enemies in the field, displaying positions on maps in real time -- all the while enabling secure communications between soldiers. "If there is a building with known terrorist activities, it could automatically be pushed to the phone when the soldiers get near that area," said Raytheon CTO J. Smart. Of course, there is still quite a bit of work to be done to make this work: iPhones do not have removable batteries, nor do they support multi-tasking, meaning that some sort of ruggedized, battery-powered external case would be necessary to get this battle-ready -- as well some jailbreaking. There's no word on a possible release date yet -- which means, sadly, that it looks like the U.S. Army is stuck with its Celio REDFLYs for the time being.

    Raytheon's iPhone app will track enemy combatants in real time originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Microsoft already looking at Windows 8

    Microsoft already looking at Windows 8

    Posted on December 1, 2009 | No Comments
    Well Windows 7 is out, the reviews are in, the service packs are starting to be worked on - that's the end of it right? Wrong. Microsoft is already looking forward to the next generation of its OS, Windows 8.

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  • Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money

    Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money

    Posted on November 23, 2009 | No Comments
    We're still waiting for this so-called QR code revolution to hit North America, but our contemporaries across the Pacific are already looking to develop the next big thing. Reportedly, a smattering of mega-corps (including the likes of Toshiba and NEC) are joining hands in order to concoct a rivaling technology that requires even less effort to get content from billboards, books and posters to one's mobile. The heretofore unnamed system utilizes blinking LEDs to send data to phones, and so long as an ad has enough room for a minuscule light, consumers can come within five meters of it and receive the associated information by simply pointing their handset in the direction of the light. If all goes well, the technology will be ready for commercialization by 2013, or just after phase one of the Robot Apocalypse.

    Blinking LEDs to give QR codes a run for their (ad) money originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS

    Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments

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    Currently, mobile entrepreneurs wishing to hawk their wares on the Pre (or Pixi, or unnamed webOS device of the future) use a software development kit from Palm called Mojo, a stack of Java-based tools that must be installed, studied, understood, loved, and respected before serious development can get underway. Palm sees that as a barrier of entry for web-oriented developers who want to make the leap to mobile apps, though, which is why they've crafted a new SDK called Ares that's based entirely on web technologies -- in fact, there's no install at all, apparently. Much of the interface is said to be drag-and-drop with enough JavaScript exposed to make your local .com designer feel right at home, potentially opening the app landscape to a whole new set of folks -- and considering that the App Catalog is tens of thousands of goodies behind the App Store and Android Market, they can use every loyal dev they get.

    Palm demos web-based Ares SDK for webOS originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Symbian Horizon app store launched, dev program detailed

    Symbian Horizon app store launched, dev program detailed

    Posted on October 28, 2009 | No Comments

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    Mobile World Congress came and went all those months ago without an app store for Symbian freaks, but you know what? That's OK -- Rome wasn't built in a day, y'know. Besides, all that is changing now that the Symbian Foundation has announced that Horizon, the publishing program / mobile marketplace, is up and running as we speak. Currently the home of fifty award winning downloads (including Bubblewrap!) users can look forward to "thousands of applications in 2010." What are you waiting for? Hit that read link to get started -- but not before you peep the PR to see how you too can begin developing for the platform. It's after the break.

    [Via TrustedReviews]

    Continue reading Symbian Horizon app store launched, dev program detailed

    Symbian Horizon app store launched, dev program detailed originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Motorola quietly takes one step away from LiMo, looks to Android for consolation

    Motorola quietly takes one step away from LiMo, looks to Android for consolation

    Posted on October 12, 2009 | No Comments

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    Man, remember LiMo? Amazingly, there are some 40 handsets on the market today based on the platform, but precisely none of them are boasting a profile as high as any one of the Android smartphones also on store shelves. As Motorola scrambles to re-make itself and prove that its CLIQ is a force to be reckoned with in the burgeoning Android phone sector, the company has also decided to remove itself as a "founding member" of the LiMo Foundation. The company recently noted that the outfit was sliding down to "associate member," stating that "at this time it feels that the Android platform gives it a richer, more consistent foundation with strong support for the ecosystem and developer community." That's a pretty damning statement to our ears, but we won't go so far as to call the breakup between Moto and LiMo official; we're guessing "it's complicated" would be entirely more appropriate here.

    [Via phonescoop]

    Motorola quietly takes one step away from LiMo, looks to Android for consolation originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Linux is big business

    Linux is big business

    Posted on August 21, 2009 | No Comments
    linux developmentHot on the heels of the news of UNIX's 40th anniversary comes a Linux Foundation report entitled Who Writes Linux. This report investigates who is contributing to the Linux kernel, and how much: "Since 2005, over 5000 individual developers from nearly 500 different companies have contributed to the kernel. The Linux kernel, thus, has become a common resource developed on a massive scale by companies which are fierce competitors in other areas." Wow! Click through to see who's been contributing.

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