The BBC released a new sports app last week. In the comments to the announcement though, there is little attention given to the app or its content. Rather, the discussion is about why the BBC has apparently prioritised iOS over Android, since the Android version is not yet ready, with an occasional interjection from a ...continue reading The cross-platform app problem. What should the BBC do?
A security issue has been discovered in Ruby on Rails, a popular web application framework. It is a serious one: There are multiple weaknesses in the parameter parsing code for Ruby on Rails which allows attackers to bypass authentication systems, inject arbitrary SQL, inject and execute arbitrary code, or perform a DoS attack on a ...continue reading Got a Ruby on Rails application running? Patch it NOW
I have been writing about Embarcadero’s RAD Studio XE3, which includes Delphi and C++ Builder, and as part of the research I set this up for cross-platform development on a Mac. My setup uses a Parallels Virtual Machine to run Windows 7, on which RAD Studio XE3 is installed. This is convenient for Mac ...continue reading Hands on Cross-Platform Windows and Mac development with C++ Builder XE3
Microsoft has released an update for .NET Framework 4.5 which you may have noticed flying past if you keep an eye on Windows Update in Windows 8. The update is described here, and it is a big one. For example, in the Network Class Library: Assume that you run a .NET Framework 4.5-based application that ...continue reading Microsoft updates .NET Framework 4.5 for Windows 8, Server 2012 to fix performance, bugs
BLORGE TECH MAC IPHONETOUCH TABLET IPAD MOBILE BUY GAMER PHOTO Windows 7 news and tutorials About Contact Privacy statement Subscribe E-mail Subscribe RSS Follow Become a fan The BBC says No to apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 January 8, 2013 by Susan Wilson Wow . 160 The BBC has signaled its lack of faith in Microsoft’s latest operating systems by refusing to develop apps compatible with the new Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8. The BBC has a variety of apps for iOS , Mac OS X and Android devices and is still developing and updating those apps . 160 It even has apps for Xbox 360 but won’t for Windows 8. According to Neowin the BBC has given the following rationale for why the broadcasting company is declining to develop apps for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 The Android and Apple
Database NSF to PST is a standalone tool to convert the complete database of NSF to PST along with folders like: emails, address book, calendar, and so on.
The most remarkable statement in the report from the US Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Google is this one: The FTC concluded that the introduction of Universal Search, as well as additional changes made to Google’s search algorithms – even those that may have had the effect of harming individual competitors – could be plausibly ...continue reading Extraordinary: the FTC says it is OK for Google to bias search results in its own favour
A developer on the XDA Developers forum, known as clrokr, has figured out how to run unsigned applications on Windows RT (Windows on ARM), including Microsoft’s own-brand Surface RT device. The technique is described here and involves patching the Windows kernel. Currently it is not possible to jailbreak Windows RT completely, because Secure Boot prevents ...continue reading Hacking Windows RT and Surface RT to run desktop apps
Google has fired a one – two – three salvo at Microsoft and Windows Phone users. Consider the following. First, we learn that Google, under the guise of Winter cleaning, is removing Google Sync from its Mail, Calendar and Contacts online products, for consumers only. This is the Exchange ActiveSync protocol used by Windows Phone ...continue reading Google the new Microsoft, goes to war on Windows Phone users (updated)
Google has revised the terms of the Android SDK license agreement so that users must now agree not to fragment Android by deriving other SDKs from Google’s official offering. In fact, you now have to agree not to fragment Android in any way as a condition of using the Android SDK. The key clauses ...continue reading Google fights Android fragmentation with new SDK terms
Microsoft’s Visual Studio LightSwitch is an innovative development tool that lets you build multi-tier database applications without ever designing the user interface directly. Instead, you work with defining the database and the the features you want on your screens. LightSwitch generates the user interface for you. You can also add code snippets, and advanced developers ...continue reading Visual Studio LightSwitch HTML: mainly for mobile
What happened in 2012? Windows 8 Whether you regard it as the beginning of the end for Windows, or a moment of rebirth, for me it was the year of Windows 8. Microsoft’s new Windows is fascinating on several levels: as a bold strategic move to make a desktop operating system into a tablet operating ...continue reading Android up, Apple down, Microsoft so near, so far: 2012 in review
BLORGE TECH MAC IPHONETOUCH TABLET IPAD MOBILE BUY GAMER PHOTO Windows 7 news and tutorials About Contact Privacy statement Subscribe E-mail Subscribe RSS Follow Become a fan Windows 8 fails to set world alight December 23, 2012 by Dave Parrack Windows 8 has got off to a slower than expected start , at least according to the industry people and analysts willing to talk about the initial response to Microsoft’s latest operating . system Microsoft released Windows 8 to a muted response at the end of October . Since then there have been at least 40 million Windows 8 upgrades , but many experts are now suggesting Windows 8 has been a bit of a failure to this . point The New York Times quotes Emmanuel Fromont , president of the Americas division of Acer , as saying , It’s a slow start , there’s
Now that the initial shock of “where is the Start menu” is wearing off, some of the real issues and points of interest in Windows 8 are coming to the surface (ha!), one of which is what a good Windows Store (also known as Metro) app is meant to look like. Microsoft has not been ...continue reading Fresh Paint Windows Store app: in equal parts great and frustrating
Microsoft is giving up its long effort to compete with Adobe in the design tools space. The Expression range of products is being discontinued, in favour of enhanced design capabilities in its developer-focused Visual Studio. Blend for Visual Studio continues, as a design tool for Windows Store apps and Windows Phone apps. A future edition ...continue reading Microsoft scraps Expression Web and Design, blends Blend with Visual Studio
Appcelerator and IDC have released their latest mobile developer report, in which nearly 3,000 users of the cross-platform development tool Titanium report on their views and intentions. These reports are always interesting but experience suggests that they are poor predictors. A year ago, the Q4 2011 report told us: Amazon’s new Kindle Fire ignites developer ...continue reading Mobile: Windows Phone appeal growing, iOS and Android secure say Titanium developers
One way of looking at Microsoft’s Windows 8 strategy is as an attempt to establish a new tablet platform. By welding the tablet platform to the desktop platform, Microsoft ensured that every customer who wanted the latest Windows release would also get the tablet release, though some are stuck with keyboard and mouse to control ...continue reading The Windows 8 app platform: how is it going? A few clues from developers