Monthly Archive:: July 2008

This article introduces the Google Calendar Data API, demonstrates how you can use it to browse user-generated calendars; add and update calendar events; and perform keyword searches. Also, it illustrates how to integrate data from the Google Calendar service into a PHP application using both SimpleXML and the Zend client library.

Gadgetzone.com has an interesting artcile on 20 things Windows 7 MUST include (their emphasis, not mine). They begin "Despite its enhanced security, improved CPU scheduler and excellent stability, it's still the flawed gem in many critics' eyes. But can Microsoft win back the XP crowd with its upcoming Windows 7 offering? The fact is, they have to." My Take: Not sure I agree with them all -- do home users really care about WinFS? -- but some, like home user licensing and simpler management of startup items would be really compelling features for upgraders.

Quicksilver users can breathe a sigh of relief. "Today, our pal, Tim Gaden of Hawk Wings, posts on the availability of a bug fix release of Quicksilver that's come out in the last few weeks. He also points to a thread on the QS Google Group that suggests Quicksilver's auteur and flippered mystery bot, A1c0r, is currently hard at work on a substantial rewrite."

Wildcards can be very confusing when it comes to generics in the Java language, and one of the most common mistakes is to fail to use one of the two forms of bounded wildcards ("? super T" and "? extends T") when needed. You've made this mistake? Don't feel bad, even the experts have, and this month Brian Goetz shows you how to avoid it.

If you walk into a BestBuy this week you may spot some new software peeking out from the shelves. Yes, Ubuntu is now available as a spiffy boxed set in stores and on-line.

Though features are not yet being officially accepted for Fedora 10, there are already plenty of great proposed features. We can only hope they make it into the final release!

This article walks you through the steps of retrofitting a Web 1.0 shopping site with Ajax techniques. In addition to Ajax techniques and best practices, you learn how Ajax can improve your user experience through principles of progressive enhancement, usability, and user experience design.

Microsoft recently announced that effective November 1st, 2008, OEMs will no longer be able to license Windows for Workgroups 3.11 in the embedded channel. It's the end of an era.

Although Mobile Safari is more than adequate at rendering normal Web pages, many Web developers created versions of applications aimed at the iPhone. Here in Part 2 of this series learn the common use of drill-down lists as a navigation method. Part 1 of this series took an existing Ruby on Rails Web application and began the process of augmenting it to serve iPhone users.

It's no surprise that Vista's vanilla operating system hasn't fared too well with some users. That said, why not customize it to make it better? ExtremeTech describes five useful and free Vista utilities designed to enhance Microsoft's latest operating system. One such application is TweakVI Basic, which allows users to customize Vista's user interface. Another is Launchy, which is a handy startup/launching application.

Google has open-sourced its protocol buffers, the company's lingua franca for encoding various types of data, in order to set the stage for a wave of new releases, according to official company blog posts and documents reported in this article. "Practically everyone inside Google" uses protocol buffers, states a FAQ page. "We have many other projects we would like to release as open source that use protocol buffers, so to do this, we needed to release protocol buffers first."

OpenMoko launched its highly anticipated FreeRunner smartphone, a Linux-based handset that's completely open in both hardware and software, and is designed to encourage third-party modification and customization. Although the FreeRunner's software platform is still incomplete, the device has attracted considerable attention from mobile software developers and Linux enthusiasts.

One benefit to open-source applications is they can run on any operating system you want. But getting open-source software developed for the Mac is -- depending on whom you ask -- slow as molasses or quick as lightning. Mac expert Lisa Hoover collected several viewpoints. Which do you think is right?

Giga-byte and and mobile phone service provider Chunghwa will launch the M528 MID ('mobile internet device') in Taiwan this August. The Linux-based device will have a 4.8-inch touchscreen and use an 800MHz Intel Centrino Atom processor.