Google announced the discharge of Google Play Services version 4.0 today, consisting of the Google Mobile Ads SDK and enhancements to Google+, geofencing, and Google Wallet Instant Buy APIs. This time around, they’re dropping support for Froyo. Froyo devices won’t be able to make use of the brand new APIs. “If you’re using AdMob to monetize your apps, the hot Google Mobile Ads SDK in Google Play services helps provide seamless improvements on your users,” says Google in a blog post. “For example, bug fixes get pushed automatically to users without you having to do anything. Inspect the post at the Google Ads Developer Blog for more details.” “The Maps and Geofencing APIs that launched in Google Play services 3.1 has been updated to enhance overall battery efficiency and responsiveness,” Google adds. “You can save power by requesting larger latency values for notifications alerting your app to users entering or exiting geofences, or request that entry alerts are sent only after a user stays within... Read More »
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Disruptive Technology: Follow Fight Club Rules
I’m a sucker for blockbuster movies, and one among my all-time favorites is Fight Club starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. For those of you unfamiliar with this gritty film, it is the story of an insomniac office worker who meets a soap salesman and together they form an underground fight club. The fight club is a brutal affair, but founded on a group of spoken and indisputable rules. This got me considering the significance of rules and the struggle IT professionals have day by day attempting to explain to their business counterparts the cost of latest disruptive technologies — and the way like within the Fight Club, the winners might be people who stick with the guidelines. Webcasts More >> White Papers More >> Reports More >> Rule #1: You don’t speak about disruptive technologies. Mention DevOps, cloud or perhaps mobility and watch the eyes of what you are promoting colleagues glaze over. We’ve all made this error normally before, throwing acronyms like ITIL,... Read More »
Mozilla’s Open Web Apps Have Made Great Progress
When building apps for Firefox OS, developers use modern Web tools like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS to deliver apps with near native performance on mobile devices. Now Mozilla helps those self same developers bring their Firefox OS apps to other platforms. A while back, Mozilla introduced a brand new technology called Open Web Apps that might help developers bring HTML5 apps to platforms like Android, Windows and OS X. Worthwhile part was that these apps will require no additional development as Mozilla’s tools would automatically convert the HTML5 app right into a native app upon being downloaded to a non-Firefox OS platform. Here’s a video demo that shows how an app built for Firefox OS is automatically converted right into a native app on Android, Windows and Mac OS X. Mozilla notes that privileged apps may even seamlessly install from the Firefox OS marketplace to an Android device. Similar to within the Google Play store, the app will ask for various permissions upon being installed.... Read More »
Cloud Stack Wars: Tough Questions
7 Vendors To observe At Cloud Connect Chicago 2013 (click image for larger view) On Wednesday, Oct. 23, i will have the risk to debate the present cloud stack wars with proponents of 3 different stacks at Cloud Connect Chicago. While many carriers and providers mix virtualization and orchestration tools, these three organizations are aligned with three distinct technology stacks: — HP has embraced OpenStack strongly, and i will be joined by Monty Taylor. Webcasts More >> White Papers More >> Reports More >> — Verizon Terremark has a big role in CloudStack deployments, and Jim Anthony may be participating. — VMware has its own suite of virtualization and cloud tools for both private and non-private environments, which Mathew Lodge could be ready to speak to. a number of weeks ago, I postulated that today’s cloud platforms are in a race corresponding to that of operating systems a number of decades ago. Greg DeKoenigsberg of Eucalyptus posted a super rebuttal, wherein he speculated that, if... Read More »
Flash Player’s Worst Nightmare Is Now In Firefox Nightly
Adobe’s Flash Player is without doubt one of the few plugins on the web that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. HTML5 has certainly tried to dethrone the net video playback king, however it still lacks most of the features that make Flash so convenient. Which may not be the case sooner instead of later though if Mozilla has its way. Ghacks reports that Mozilla, in its never ending quest to eradicate plugins from the net, has integrated Shumway into the newest version of Firefox Nightly. What’s Shumway, you ask? It’s an open source javascript-based SWF renderer. In other words, it’s Mozilla’s try to create a local Web technology which can do everything Flash does. In a blog post from last year, Mozilla’s Jet Villegas said the Shumway project had two main goals: 1. Advance the open web platform to soundly process rich media formats that were previously only available in closed and proprietary implementations. 2. Offer a runtime processor for SWF and other rich... Read More »