New Azure Toolkit for Windows 8

Microsoft has released the new tool for mobile application development companies that allows using the possibilities of the cloud platform Windows Azure and the software Windows 8 Metro.

The new set of the Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 has been designed for the simplified apps development under Windows Metro which is able to work with the cloud operation system Windows Azure. The new tool is reported to let using the remote Azure storage as well as its computational capabilities.

The new tool includes the Windows 8 Cloud Application templates for Visual Studio, which allows working with it from the common environment for software developers.

Windows Azure Toolkit for Windows 8 supports JavaScript and HTML5, as well as .NET, C#, C++ and Visual Basic. Among the additional options there are tools for checking dependency, Windows Push Notification Service libraries and Visual Studio 2010 templates.

HTML5 Labs to test and set new web standards

Microsoft introduces HTML5 Labs where early HTML5 specifications will be showcased and web developers will be able to test them and share their experience of leveraging the new generation of web standards in their web development projects. Software companies and developers will be able to make suggestions on the possible ways to improve HTML5 standard, which will favour further development of web technologies based on HTML5.

Some of the draft specifications like IndexedDB, WebSockets are already on display in HTML5 labs for developers to review them. IndexDB allows storing large amounts of structured data, while WebSockets provides for enhanced bidirectional communications and W3C standardized API.

HTML5 is a web standard that accelerates web sites work, provides more articulate syntax and allows to discard the use of plug-ins and third-party APIs to manage graphics and multimedia. Dean Hachamovitch, the Corporate Vice President for Internet Explorer, pinpoints the necessity to make a clear distinction between HTML5 specifications under development and well-established standards.

Microsoft has also demonstrated its HTML5 prototypes with Christmas themes – Santa Workshop and HTML5 Blizzard. The corporation employs in its demos such technologies as SVG graphics, HTML5 audio, HTML5 canvas, CSS3 and Web Open Font Format fonts. Despite the fact that HTML5 and Silverlight are considered to be competing technologies, Microsoft is determined to develop both of them.

iAd from Apple: ads in mobile apps

This month Apple has introduced its new mobile advertising system iAd. It differs from competitors (for example, Google’s AdMob), because iAd integrated directly into iPhone OS. Moreover, these ads will be stored on Apple servers.

Advertisements will be interactive and will look like small applications. It is already known that some of them will be created using HTML5 technology. According to this new business model, iPhone apps developers will receive only 60% of proceeds from the iAd advertising.

The iAd system was announced by Apple CEO, Steve Jobs. According to his words, the average user works with iPhone mobile apps about half an hour a day. So, demonstrating new ads every three minutes the company will get about a billion hits a day.

Also Steve Jobs stressed that Apple is not going to focus on the quantity of advertising, on the contrary it will intend to raise its quality making from ads a new source of positive emotions.

The iAd platform will be integrated directly into the operating system, and will run ads within applications. Apple engineers want to change the approach to development of the most commercials: it is proposed to use not only text and image links, but multimedia applications that will be embedded into other applications ( such as games, readers, RSS-clients etc.). The platform will make its debut this summer.

Read also: Mobile Application Development: Boom in the IT World

Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight: which platform to choose?

SD Times, the first and only newspaper that was launched for software development managers in February 2000, has become interested in our expertise in Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. So we have got an opportunity to share our experience with more than 60,000 subscribers in more than 130 countries.

Mr. Sergey Marchuk, the Chief Technical Officer of Oxagile, disclosed some secrets in his interview. First of all he explained whether it’s correct to compare Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight, and noted that speaking about AIR on this point we should considered Flash / Flex development and such technologies as JavaScript / HTML.

Discussing pros and cons of both platforms he provided interesting data about their percent abundance. Silverlight was proved to be less popular than Flash (50% of PCs with preinstalled Silverlight plug-in vs. 97% of machines supporting Flash). Moreover their rates of popularity can change as new version of HTML (HTML5) becomes available. As we know, it allows watching video without any additional plug-ins (Flash Player or Silverlight). So, as the CTO of Oxagile stressed, nowadays it’s very important to find “the right” software developer and consult on how and which platform to use for every specific software project.