The next version of WordPress, the most popular platform for websites, is due on the 1st of May, 2010. So, we propose to read about the most significant changes that are coming in WordPress CMS 3.0.
Combining WordPress MU and WordPress
It’s a great piece of news for those specialists who work at professional website development on WordPress. And what does it mean for CMS users?
They will be able to create multiple sites using the same admin area (without any new installations).
Custom record types
This function wasn’t added in WordPress 2.9, but finally will appear in the 3.0 version. The combination of record types and taxonomy will make WordPress a more powerful CMS. This option allows to create different types of articles for a website or blog.
Improving website menus
А so-called Custom Woo Navigation will be included in the WordPress system, its mission is to make the website navigation more convenient. Users will be able to drag and drop menu items on a special page, like on the page with WordPress widgets.
New default template
This new template supports replaceable backgrounds that can be added in functions.php:
add_custom_background ();
Templates for designers
WordPress 2.9 has an option that allows to create templates for categories with their URL (slug) in category-slug.php. So, the 3.0 version will have similar feature for WordPress website developers (a new function get_author_template ()).
Now we can touch and feel Android in Oxagile office not only on screens of our mobile phones. We have got quite a full-fledged idol and can address it in terms of worship.
Artist Andrew Bell talked with guys from Google and together with Dyzplastic he created something what can be called as “designer toy”. This creature in the flesh represents a popular logo that has become favorite one for those who work at application development for Android OS.
Android is available in variety of skins from the 10th of February (with international delivery services!). Its head rotates, as well as hands, its price is about seven dollars, and the height is three inches.
Mobile software developers working for Oxagile think that Android toy can become the same legendary hero as Be@rbrick and Memobot.
In the fourth quarter of 2009 world smartphone supply grew by 39% and reached a record peak of 54.4 million devices. Apple was the most active player in the smartphones market. Nokia was still on the first place by the quantity of produced devices (this figure grew to 20.8 million units, while market share was 38.2%). The second place gone to Research in Motion with 10.7 million smartphones. So the market share of the popular BlackBerry smartphone producer was increased to 19.6%.
According to the forecasts from business analytics more and more people in the world will gradually switch to smartphones. It means that mobile applications for such platforms as iPhone, BlackBerry, WM and Android will come to be in great demand.
Results for 2009: the companies produced 174.2 million smartphones and it was a 15% increase in deliveries comparing with the past year.
Professional portal development demands special knowledge of Flash, JavaScript, Java-applets and ActiveX-components. All these technologies are not supposed to complicate your life. But sometimes it’s not so easy to enrich user experience going beyond traditional tasks and at the same time ensure great results in a short space of time. On this point Rich Internet Application and RIA development offers revolutionary possibilities that combined in a single runtime environment.
What does it mean for users? It means “all in one” or integration of content, communications, user interface and a set of custom components and. Of course, all these units work in real time.
What does RIA mean for programmers? First and foremost it opens doors to Rapid Application Development or RAD. Developers use advantages of Ajax GWT programming and in the shortest possible time create new web portals based on reusable program components.
Beyond question, web is a dynamic, vibrant platform, where it is very important to reduce the time from birth of new ideas to their realization. That is why such RIA components as Ajax Toolkit will be in great demand. They allow to make fast and easy changes in new applications, giving developers what they want at this very moment for this very project.
As we know, the Motorola Corporation refused to sell its mobile unit. Now the management of this American electronic giant is betting on Android, an operating system developed by Google. Motorola plans to release from 20 to 30 new models of smartphones during the year 2010. And all these devices will use the Android OS. This information was reported to Electronista.com by some unnamed top-manager of the company. So Electronista, a popular online source of news about such mobile application platforms as Android, iPhone, BlackBerry etc., published this informal announcement without delay.
As for other “simple” Motorola cell phones, new models will use either the Qualcomm Brew platform or a special mobile platform that was developed by Motorola.
Now the company has three working groups of mobile developers and all their activities are somehow connected with the Android platform. First group works in the U.S., the second one works in China and the third one applies its ideas in industry in Korea. Their results can be seen in practice. Motorola has already announced four devices based on Android: Cliq, Droid, Backflip and Motoroi. But soon companies that work at application development for Android will offer their mobile soft not only for these four models.
Steve Wozniak admitted in his last interview for NBC Bay Area, that he is a happy owner of the Google Nexus One smartphone. He so wanted to test this new gadget that bought it on the first day of Nexus One sales. Moreover, according to Mr. Wozniak’s words, now Google phone is one of his most favorite gadgets. Although he is still using iPhone as the main phone for communication.
Wozniak said that he regularly buys new models of mobile phones from different popular manufacturers. Besides Google Nexus One he used phones based on such mobile application platforms as iPhone and BlackBerry, also he tested the Motorola Droid Phone.
RIM products caused the most serious complaints from Apple founder. Mr. Wozniak has been using BlackBerry phone for a few months and as a result he has remained dissatisfied with it. And as for Droid and Nexus (which mobile apps were developed on Android OS), he considers them as excellent phones, stressing, however, that not every phone with the Android platform on board will be as good as Nexus One.
Most users do not scroll… or they do, nevertheless
According to the research conducted by Jakob Nielsen, a famous usability consultant helping thousands of web developers all over the world, only 23% of users scroll web pages visiting a site for the first time. It means that 77% of users will not scroll web pages; they will look through only the upper part of websites. These data indicate how it is important to show the most significant information on the visible part of a web page. Nevertheless it does not mean that you should put excessive amount of information in the website header.
Basecamp shows how excellently can be used space of the main web page. It contains a great screenshot, subtitle, proposals, call to action, list of customers and video at the top of the site (height = 768 pixels).
So, those who working at web application development and custom programming services should put only key data on the home page:
1. A site name.
2. Your unique value proposition.
3. Navigation or links to the most important pages.
However, user habits change constantly. Recent studies show that in some situations users are ready to scroll to the bottom of the page with pleasure. Also web development companies should take into account a great variety of displays with high resolution.
If to consider the near future of mobile application development (2-3 years ahead) Android OS seems to be a very interesting option. Why? Because number of devices based on this OS is growing before our eyes. Such a giant as Google develops and supports this system, so it guarantees that Android won’t be lost and won’t be forgotten.
Analysts forecast that Android devices will overtake iPhone and even Windows Mobile in 1012-1013 years. Also, we must note that Google begins to inform its users (we mean users of Android phones) that mobile software will be provided in both variants, free and paid, as well as the company expands the list of countries, where can be accepted payment, also it expands payment options for users. These steps will have a positive influence on turnover of those companies who provide application development for Android (developed mobile apps –> money).
Google Android wins our hearts by its open source: any developer can write apps without any licensing applications. All development tools are also available in source code and free.
All mobile apps developers always face choice of the right platform. The existing abundance of mobile operating systems can easily throw you into confusion. Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian — which of them is the best one? And moreover we should take into account a large number of the applications and frameworks developed by manufacturers of cell phones, communicators, PDAs and smartphones. Let’s come to know the particulars of all this mobile stuff.
First of all, a developer should define the main objectives:
professional development of commercial mobile software or amateur development (open source);
target audience;
competitive abilities and competitive environment.
All this seems rather complicated. With relation to monetization (commercial development) it’s better to choose such leading OSes as iPhone and Windows Mobile. This variant has some significant pluses. For example: a large number of users who are ready to pay for their software. But at the same time you will have to compete with more than 200,000 developed mobile applications for Windows Mobile and iPhone. And as is well known Apple follows a quite tough policy of apps submission. That is why it may take a long time before your new program is approved and appears in App Store.
The number of Apple iPhone users has exceeded the number of sold mobile devices based on Windows Mobile operating system.
According to a study conducted by the ComScore company, Apple iPhone smartphones are very popular among Americans older than 13 years. Moreover, sales of Apple phones in the U.S. have overtaken the popularity of mobile devices with Windows Mobile OS for the first time in the U.S. market. ComScore experts get the following results in October of this year:
8.9 million of iPhone users vs 7.1 million of WM-smartphones.
This ‘’alignment of forces’’ should be taken into account by mobile software development companies. Especially because such a result can’t be considered as fortuitousness. The number of Apple smartphone lovers is growing at high rates this year:
But a top position hasn’t changed. The Research In Motion company with its BlackBerry remains as undisputed leader in the U.S. smartphone market. The number of RIM customers has reached 14.9 million in October. So application development for BlackBerry can be considered as strategic direction for many software companies.
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