Posted 11/04/09 at 08:16:12 PM by Ryan Whitwam

The Flickr API is nothing new, but the photo sharing site is now bringing it more front and center. Flickr has unveiled their new “App Garden” that provides a better interface for finding useful photo apps. The new page is more compact than the old API interface. Each app gets a thumbnail preview that links to an individual page. Here, users can tag, discuss, and favorite an app.

There are still a few missing features, though. Flickr is about sharing, but there’s no way to share a list of your apps with friends. It also doesn’t take advantage of Flickr’s friend activity feed to show off what apps you’re using. However, the recommendation system does allow users to recommend individual apps. If you’re a Flickr user, do you like the new interface?

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Posted 10/06/09 at 08:01:38 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Perhaps after seeing the lackluster selection in Blackberry App World, RIM decided to change it up a bit. The Blackberry maker has announced a new web-based Software Development Kit (SKD). The Widget SDK will utilize the Blackberry browser engine to render apps using HTML, CSS, and Javascript languages.

Existing web content can be brought to the surface easily in the form of an always-on widget. The widgets will have full access to the operating system via the Widget API. Apps would be able to take advantage of the email system to display messages, location-based services, and the Blackberry’s push notifications system, just to name a few.

The new Blackberry Widgets will be distributed via the Blackberry App World interface. Unfortunately, all the live widget running goodness will only be available on Blackberry OS 5.0 or greater. When official, 5.0 will include an enhanced browser (finally), and support for both SQlite and the Widget API.

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Posted 09/25/09 at 09:33:52 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Google on Thursday announced the release of a new API for its Sites tool, an online drag-and-drop solution for building internal websites. The new application programming interface (API) enhances the overall ease of moving data to and from Google Sites.

The API follows days after Google announced a romantically named initiative, called Data Liberation Front, aimed at offering greater data portability to those that use its services (Che Guevara could not head the initiative due to his premature demise). With the new Sites API, businesses can update Google Sites from third-party applications, easily move data to and from Sites, and edit their Sites pages offline.

If your business does not possess the right men to build apps based on the API, or if they are too indolent to engage in anything other than social networking, you can always use apps built by other companies.

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Posted 08/07/09 at 10:05:00 AM by Paul Lilly

GPGPU computing has been a frequent subject of tech chatter, the latest of which involves AMD's release of the first OpenCL SDK for x86 CPUs. What this does is enable developers to take OpenCL code that would normally be written for GPUs and target CPUs instead.

GPGPU computing, which offsets tasks from the CPU to the GPU, offers a range of benefits, including the potential for much faster video encoding and less time waiting for effects to be applied in supported applications like Photoshop CS4. But is there much use for AMD's "backwards" concept?

"The beta will help programmers more easily develop parallel software programs and take further advantage of multicore x86 CPUs to accelearate software and deliver a better computing experience," AMD states.

According to Arstechnica, until AMD's SDK is able to target GPUs, debugging will remain the primary use.

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Posted 08/04/09 at 10:42:44 AM by Paul Lilly

OpenGL 3.2 is here, marking the third major update in twelve months to the 2D and 3D graphics API (application programming interface). The updated API adds a bunch of new features, including a new WebGL standard for 3D on the web.

According to the Khronos Group, a member-funded industry consortium focused the creation of OpenGL, the latest release adds features to enhance performance, visual quality, accelerated geometry processing, and easier portability of Direct3D applications.

In addition, the OpenGL ARB (Architecture Review Board) working group on Khronos has defined an updated version of the OpenGL Shading language, along with two profiles within the OpenGL 3.2 specification for new application development and backwards compatibility.

Both AMD and Nvidia commented on the updated release, with the former calling the development of three new versions in twelve months a "remarkable achievement," while the latter announced the release of its OpenGL 3.2 beta drivers.

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Posted 07/23/09 at 04:15:43 PM by Pulkit Chandna

On Tuesday, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch reiterated the company’s promise to release a beta version of its Flash 10 player for mobiles by the end of this year. He was addressing analysts at an event specially organized for them. He went on to add that the mobile version of Flash will begin making full use of APIs by the beginning of next year. This will allow the mobile variant of Flash to fully tap such hardware features as multi-touch and accelerometer, which are found on an increasing number of smartphones.

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Posted 07/08/09 at 09:40:28 AM by Paul Lilly

Parts of the mobile community have thrown up their arms in frustration over a recent change to Amazon's Product Advertising API. Under the revised terms, apps like Delicious Library for the iPhone are left out in the cold. Taken from Amazon's Product Advertising API License Agreement:

"You will not, without our express prior written approval requested via this link, use any Product Advertising Content on or in connection with any site or application designed or intended for use with a mobile phone or other handheld device."

No big deal, just request permission and Amazon will oblige, right? Apparently not. Developer Wil Shipley tried to do just that, but was told that no exceptions were being made. In addition, Shipley tweeted "they told me to remove it today, or they'd shut me down." Never mind that he had been working on the app for the past 8 months.

Bummer.

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Posted 06/26/09 at 04:15:25 PM by Paul Lilly

At long last, Nvidia may finally adding DirectX 10.1 support to its videocards, assuming Fudzilla is right on the money. According to the news and rumor site, Nvidia's GT200 will be refreshed to a 40nm manufacturing process and the new chips will sport DX10.1.

To date, ATI has been the only one to offer DX10.1 support on some of its videocards (yes, we're completely ignoring S3's Chrome series), a minor extension to DX10 that thus far hasn't meant much for gamers. To to fuel the conspiracy flames, that could change with Nvidia jumping on board. Remember that DX10.1 instructions did at one point show a performance boost on ATI cards in Assassin's Creed, but after a patch removed support for the instruction set, some accused Ubisoft of bowing to pressure from Nvidia after the GPU maker sponsored the title with its The Way It's Meant To Be Played program.

In any event, it looks like refresh will come on the tail end of summer or early fall.

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