Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 2nd Jan 2013 19:05 UTC
Expected, but still insanely cool: Canonical has just announced Ubuntu for phones. This is a new mobile phone operating system, with its own user interface and development platform. It's built around Qt5 and QML, and the interface reminds me of MeeGo on the N9. It's supposed to be on the shelves in early 2014, but the developer preview is out today.
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Member since:2010-06-08
If they wanted familiarity, they would've chosen C#
Bad idea. The woes of Google with Dalvik and Java should teach anyone to avoid encumbered development technologies, especially in the crazy mobile sphere. If Java has a shadow of Oracle behind it, C# has a shadow of Microsoft attached. While Sun encouraged Google to use Java, Oracle isn't Sun. So even if Microsoft wouldn't mind now, you never know where their rights over C# will end up tomorrow, or even if they'll just change their mind. It just doesn't worth the risk.
Edited 2013-01-02 23:51 UTC
Member since:2005-11-29
C# is an open specification, so are large parts of .NET.
What Google did to Oracle to Java at the LEAST is highly unethical and appalling from a company that claims to do no evil. They likely would've had an easier time working with the Mono team.
Seriously, C# is everywhere, people have been saying that Microsoft will become aggressive any day now over .NET since 2001
Member since:2006-05-09
Qt is nice, but Qt and especially QML are very immature pieces of technology yet.
Actually all the QML-like technologies (JavaFX and XAML as far as I remember) are very immature pieces of technology yet, but they are already in production.
But I completely disagree with the Qt part. Qt is one of the best and most mature UI frameworks available right now (IMHO next to Java Swing). Qt is by far the best C++ UI framework (more powerful, easier to learn and portable than, say, MFC, WTL, wxWidgets or the old VCL) and the best portable UI framework.
The Qt portfolio is very nice, AFAIK: Google Earth, Perforce Client, Adobe Elements, the KDE desktop, KOffice, Swipe Nokia N9 UI use it with success.
Member since:2005-11-29
Actually all the QML-like technologies (JavaFX and XAML as far as I remember) are very immature pieces of technology yet, but they are already in production.
QML to me had very elementary limitations that showed that it hasn't been put through its paces. Things that I've taken for granted in XAML are not present in QML.
For example QML has states, but no concept of state groups, so its impossible to have states which are not mutually exclusive co-exist within a view.
That, and I think a lot of the C++ and JS and even the Signal and Slot integration is pretty clumsy.
XAML falls on its face in a few regards here too, but XAML has well developed frameworks to show people how to use it the right way.
Not saying that QML is fundamentally bad, it is the best thing to happen to Linux, I just don't know if its ready for prime time yet.
I do love the JSON-ish syntax over XML. XAML is way too verbose.
But I completely disagree with the Qt part. Qt is one of the best and most mature UI frameworks available right now (IMHO next to Java Swing). Qt is by far the best C++ UI framework (more powerful, easier to learn and portable than, say, MFC, WTL, wxWidgets or the old VCL) and the best portable UI framework.
I can concede that, I'm sure you have more experience with it than me.
Member since:2010-05-16
The Qt portfolio is very nice, AFAIK: Google Earth, Perforce Client, Adobe Elements, the KDE desktop, KOffice, Swipe Nokia N9 UI use it with success.
Qt is also used by
- Autodesk Maya [8][9]
- Skype
- VLC media player [10]
- VirtualBox
- Mathematica [11]
- the European Space Agency [12]
- DreamWorks [13][14]
- HP [15]
- The Foundry's Nuke [16]
- Lucasfilm [17]
- Panasonic [18]
- Philips [19]
- Samsung [20]
- Siemens [21]
- Volvo [22]
- Walt Disney Animation Studios[23]
- RIM (Research In Motion) [24]
[8] http://web.archive.org/web/20110723145736/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/au...
[9] http://web.archive.org/web/20110723145736/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/qt...
[10] http://qt.digia.com/Qt-in-Action/VLC-media-player/
[11] http://qt.digia.com/Qt-in-Action/Mathematica-by-Wolfram-Research/
[12] web.archive.org/web/20110723145813/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/story/custom er/esa-european-space-agency
[13] http://qt-project.org/videos/watch/behind_the_scenes_at_dreamworks_...
[14] http://qt-project.org/videos/watch/ui_system_design_challenges_for_...
[15] http://qt-project.org/videos/watch/developing_innovative_desktop_an...
[16] http://qt.digia.com/Qt-in-Action/The-Foundry/
[17] http://qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/story/app/lucasfilm-entertainment-com...
[18] http://web.archive.org/web/20110723145947/qt.nokia.com/about/news/p...
[19] http://web.archive.org/web/20110723145930/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/qt...
[20] http://web.archive.org/web/20110723145854/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/qt...
[21] http://web.archive.org/web/20110714191438/qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/st...
[22] http://qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/story/customer/volvo-mobility-systems
[23] http://qt.nokia.com/qt-in-use/story/customer/walt-disney-feature-an...
[24] http://blog.qt.nokia.com/2011/11/17/new-keynotes-rim-and-community-...
There's quality in Qt.
Edited 2013-01-03 11:39 UTC
Member since:2005-08-11
Member since:2009-08-18
Member since:2011-06-26
Member since:2005-11-29
I agree. XAML is however an open specification and people are free to implement it. Not that I think they should. I like QML's approach a little better. Immature does not mean bad in my opinion, just needing of some more incubation.
XAML's XML long syntax is getting long in the tooth and it seems like its just a DSL made for tooling rather than for developers to write.
I'd love a decent .NET Toolkit with QML (or a QML like) declarative UI markup language and from someone who's learned lessons from the XAML platforms.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:11 UTC, submitted by Drumhellar
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."More News »
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Member since:
2005-11-29
If they wanted familiarity, they would've chosen C# which has broad cross platform support:
Windows Phone 7, 8, Windows XP - 7, Windows 8 (Desktop and Metro), iOS, Android, PS3, PS Vita, Linux, OSX, etc.
It is a higher level more productive language, safer, and with a richer set of tooling.
Qt is nice, but Qt and especially QML are very immature pieces of technology yet.