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Download Free technews From viewzoft Nearly a decade ago, during the Internets early heyday, Sun Microsystems Java was the software of choice for companies that wanted to quickly deliver data from a back office to a customers personal computer. As popular as it was, the language never made much money for Sun, thanks to a decision to license the software broadly. Java accounted for a tiny fraction of Suns $13.1 billion in 2006 sales. Today, the computing center of gravity has shifted toward highly interactive Web sites and software for mobile phones. And Sun is introducing a fresh crop of consumer-friendly Java products aimed at riding that new wave. The goal is to make Java more popular and generate demand for products based on the language at a time when Sun is struggling to stay profitable. Thats no small task, considering Sun (SUNW) faces competition from do-it-yourself open-source software tools that can speed creation of online software, as well as products from Microsoft (MSFT) and Adobe Systems (ADBE) that make Web site creation a breeze. Sun announced two upcoming Java software products—JavaFX Script for writing interactive Web sites and JavaFX Mobile for running software on mobile phones—designed to persuade the worlds 6 million Java developers to use the technology to link older Java systems with newer software. "Whats happening on the Internet is all these systems are being connected to one another," Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz said at the JavaOne conference in San Francisco May 8. "We have to have coherence." Open Playing Field Sun introduced Java in 1995, and demand for the programming language and associated software for PCs, servers, and handheld computers quickly zoomed because of the ease and speed with which developers could use it to create new products. But a series of market missteps and changing tech trends have limited Suns ability to capitalize on Java. IBM (IBM) and others became large suppliers of Java software for servers and PCs. Although 1.8 billion cellular phones run Java to power simple applications like games and address books, Sun only collects a small royalty on each one. Whats more, the popularity of Linux and other software thats published in the open has diminished developers interest in Java. Sun is addressing that tension by releasing all of its Java technology under the same open-source license as Linux, a move completed May 8 (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/30/07, "Sun Mulls Deeper Open-Source Dive"). At the same time, Javas influence on the Web has slipped. Adobes Flash software has become the de facto standard for creating sites with highly responsive user interfaces and embedded video clips. Microsoft in April announced a similar set of tools called Silverlight (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/16/07, "Microsoft Aims to Outshine Adobes Flash"). Developers have also turned to the open-source tools known as Ajax and the Ruby on Rails development language as faster alternatives to Java (see BusinessWeek.com, 12/13/05, "Java? Its So Nineties"). "If youre starting a greenfield Web project now, its hard to beat Ruby on Rails," says Dan Kohn, chief operating officer for the Linux Foundation, a trade group. JavaFX Script is supposed to address some of those shortcomings by enabling Java developers to write software faster and run it more quickly over the Web. "Java has historically been too hard," said Suns Schwartz. ( Read More )
Download Free technews From viewzoft Apple, despite (or because of) all its successes and odds-beating triumphs, still cant shake the occasional class-action suit being thrown its way. This week is no different, as the company sees not one, but two separate claims laid on its doorstep. The first hails from Florida, where two righteous citizens have filed suit against Apple alleging the company has recklessly disregarded consumers rights.www.viewzoft.com According to the suit, a law which prevents credit card information from being displayed on receipts has been ignored by the company, and if Apple is found to be in the wrong, it could be responsible for compensation to any buyer affected by its practices (that means you).www.viewzoft.com The second suit comes from a man in Michigan, who claims that the Cupertino computer-maker has violated patents he owns for the inclusion of status lights on rechargeable laptop batteries. If his claim proves successful, Apple could find themselves accounting for lost profits and paying triple the awarded amount for the patent infringement. Of course, Steve Jobs loses money like that in-between his sofa cushions... right? ( Read More )
Download Free technews From viewzoft Book Description: This book shows how to improve the practice of software design, by applying lessons from other areas of design to the creation of software. The goal is to create software that works -- really works -- in being appropriate and effective for people who live in the world that the software creates. The book contains essays contributed by prominent software and design professionals, interviews with experts, and profiles of successful projects and products. These elements are woven together to illuminate what design is, to identify the common core of practices in every design field, and to show how software builders can apply these common practices to produce software that is more effective, more appropriate, and more satisfying for users. The initial chapters view software from the users perspective, featuring the insights of experienced software designers and developers, including Mitch Kapor, David Liddle, John Rheinfrank, Peter Denning, and John Seely Brown. Subsequent chapters turn to the designer and the design process, with contributions from designers and design experts, including David Kelley, Donald Schön, and Donald Norman.www.viewzoft.com Profiles discussing Mosaic, Quicken, Macintosh Interface Guidelines, Microsoft Bob, and other successful applications and projects (ed: this book was published in 1996) are included to highlight key points in the chapters. This book is for the broad community of people who conceive, develop, market, evaluate, and use software. It is foremost, of course, for the software designer, and particularly for the reflective designer -- someone who is driven by practical concerns, but who is also able to step back for a moment and reflect on what works, what doesnt work, and why. At the same time, it reveals new directions and new possibilities for programmers who build software, and for product managers who bring software to market.www.viewzoft.com Software users will also find the book valuable in expanding their understanding of what good software design encompasses, which will help them in evaluating, integrating, and productively using computer applications. ( Read More )
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