Posted 08/27/09 at 03:30:20 PM by David Murphy

It sounds like Buzzword Bingo, but a new Mozilla Labs project is applying an open-source, crowd-sourced routine to solve common Web developer issues. The program's called TestSwarm, and I must confess, it's a novel idea for increasing a developer's ability to test out new JavaScript framework on a variety of browsers at once. And the fact that this an open-source project is cooler still: Aspiring testers can load the framework onto their own servers and set up their own test

TestSwarm was developed by one of the Mozilla Foundation's JavaScript Tool Developers, John Resig, to deal with the scalability issues that factor into JavaScript code testing. To Resig, the proper testing platform includes at least five different browsers split into 12 total versions per operating system. Although he doesn't go into this length in his example, you should triple that number to factor in the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 operating environments.

Factor these (now) thirty-six tests against an average of ten test suite iterations--a minimum number of variances that Resig runs in a common jQuery testing environment. That's three hundred and sixty runs for every test you create, more if you're expanding to include OSX and Linux platforms. And did I mention that the best results tend to occur when actual human beings are behind the testing instead of some automated attempt at user interaction? Yeaaaah...

So how did Resig address this grand problem of JavaScript testing scalability? You should know--you're a part of the solution, after all. Click the jump.

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Posted 06/23/09 at 06:30:55 PM by Pulkit Chandna

The Palm Pre App Catalog currently features only thirty apps and excepting one all others are in beta mode. A lot of people are eagerly waiting for a deluge of Pre apps to overwhelm them. But apps will only dribble in for a few more months as the official SDK (software development kit) isn’t available as yet. Palm has announced it intends to have the SDK fully ready by the end of the summer.

"We've been working very hard on the SDK and are eager to open access on a wider scale, but the software and the developer services to support it just aren't ready yet,” Palm wrote rather apologetically on its developer blog. It is believed that since the Palm Pre doesn’t still have a huge installed base a la the iPhone, many app developers may stick to developing apps for more popular platforms like the iPhone. But who knows the number of Pres sold during the months leading up to the release of the SDK might allow Palm to woo some of the dithering developers.

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Posted 02/19/09 at 04:12:09 PM by Pulkit Chandna

With Google having opened Android Market to paid apps, users of the fledgling mobile platform are eagerly looking forward to an inevitable rise in the number of apps. Google, on its part, is trying its best to offer more reasons for Android users to exult.

And exult they will on hearing that the Android Market will let users return any application within 24 hours from the time of purchase. Google has stolen a march on Apple’s App Store by espousing an application return policy. 

Also, users will be allowed unlimited reinstalls by Google. If any dispute arises - including billing issues - between a user and a developer, the two parties will have to settle it directly as Google is not interested in playing arbitrator. Another thing Google is not interested in is porn. The Android Market policies expressly prohibit “nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material.”

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Posted 10/29/08 at 02:49:54 PM by Mark Edward Soper

It was called "Project Red Dog" during development, but this week Microsoft revealed its favorite color for its cloud computing development platform is actually blue - Azure, in fact.

Windows Azure Services Platform was introduced at this week's PDC, and includes the following key components, according to eWeek:

• Windows Azure (service hosting, management, low-level scalable storage, computation and networking)
• Microsoft SQL Services (databases and reporting)
• Microsoft .NET Services (.NET Framework workflow, access control, and so forth)
• Live Services (file and media synchronization between PCs, phones, apps and website)
• Microsoft SharePoint Services and CRN Services (business content, collaboration, and rapid solution development)

To learn more about the Azure platform, and what it might mean for the future of Microsoft, join us after the break.

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Posted 10/24/08 at 04:28:29 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Amazon has agreed to acquire casual web gaming company Reflexive Entertainment. The move marks the internet behemoth’s foray into casual gaming. Reflexive was constituted in 1997 and is stationed in Orange County, California. Reflexive is working on a game development and distribution service called Reflexive Arcade.

The Reflexive Arcade service will be restricted to only PC, Mac and web-based games. The true motivation behind this particular acquisition is not yet known. The two companies haven’t made the details of the transaction public.

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Posted 06/20/08 at 09:46:31 AM by Chris Moody

Microsoft has issued a challenge for developers and newbie developers worldwide to use Microsoft's XNA Game Studio 2.0 to build their game for the Xbox 360. This year they are accepting teams from 1 to 7 people to compete. First prize is $40,000, second is $20,000, third $10,000, and fourth is $5,000.

The deadline is September 23, 2008, after which the judges will be choosing the best entries on 3 main criteria: Fun Factor (40%), Innovation (30%), and Production Quality (30%).

Ready to get your Design On? Head over to dreambuildplay.com and sign up!

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Posted 06/20/08 at 08:03:26 AM by Chris Moody

Just how much cooler can they make Microsoft's Surface? Oh, I suppose they could do a nifty holographic 3D interface but that is for the future. In the here and now, the Surface gives new meaning to "Desktop".

Crunchgear reports that at a recent conference they got to look at the SDK, which allows developers the ability to slide an object around and have it stop based on friction or what objects it hits. Think about sliding a photo across a desktop with your fingertips into a folder. The good thing is if you miss, it doesn't end up on the floor. It takes the intuitive interface of the desktop as we know it and brings it together with our most intuitive interface device, our hands. The promise for this technology for the future is outstanding.

Object Recognition is planned for the future. Users will be able to place physical objects on the display to trigger different types of response, like downloading images from your Bluetooth enabled phone or uploading music to an MP3 player.

Now don't you just want one of these for a coffee table in your living room?

Image Credit: Microsoft

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