Ars takes a close look at Seed, a new framework that allows software developers to build GTK+ applications with JavaScript. The popular web scripting language could soon become the dominant application extension language on the Linux desktop.
markmcb writes “A year ago my company began using SAP as its ERP system, and there is still a great deal of focus on cleaning up the ‘master data’ that ultimately drives everything the system does. The issue we face is that the master data set is gigantic and not easy to wrap one’s mind around. As powerful as SAP is, I find it does little to aid with useful visualization of data. I recently employed a custom solution using Ruby and Graphviz to help build graphs of master data flow from manual extracts, but I’m wondering what other people are doing to get similar results. Have you found good out-of-the-box solutions in things like data warehouses, or is this just one of those situations where customization has to fill a gap?”
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Lets set the stage a bit, imagine you’re a Publisher, planning to release a new franchise on Wii. You’ve got 2 offers from developers, 1 game a hugely aggressive and promising hardcore game ( think Project:H.A.M.M.E.R.) and the other a novelty “minigame” collection.
Cory Foy writes “When my wife got an Touch several months back, the first thing I wanted to do was build some applications for it. Who wouldn’t want to play with a device that has accelerometers, position sensors and multi-touch gestures? But being new to the Mac world, I needed something to help guide me along. Beginning iPhone Development aims to be that guide. But does it live up to the challenge of teaching a newbie Mac and iPhone developer?” Read below for the rest of Cory’s review.
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jeffomatic writes “Here’s a question for Service Day: what kind of volunteer opportunities are available out there for the technologically-inclined? I’m a software developer and I’m wondering if there’s anyone in the field engaged in pro-bono work, like IT or teaching or web design or whatnot. I’m not at all above rolling my sleeves up and working at shelters or the local park, but it occurs to me that my professional skills might be usefully applied in the service context as well. I’d like to hear about what other people are doing, in terms of projects, time commitments, organizations, etc.” Or just commit a patch to your favorite project.
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Da Massive writes in with another possible answer to a recent Ask Slashdot about FOSS replacements for Microsoft AD server. “Enterprise networks now have an alternative choice to Microsoft Active Directory (AD) servers, with the open source Samba project aiming for feature parity with the forthcoming release of version 4, according to Canberra-based Samba developer Andrew Bartlett. Speaking at this year’s linux.conf.au Linux and open source conference in Hobart, Bartlett said Samba 4 is aiming to be a replacement for AD by providing a free software implementation of Microsoft’s custom protocols. Because AD is ‘far more than LDAP and Kerberos,’ Bartlett said, Samba 4 is not only about developing with Microsoft’s customization of those protocols, it is also about moving the project beyond just providing an NT 4 compatible domain manager.”
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I vividly remember my first video game system, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and the games that came with it: Super Mario Brother and Duck Hunt. Now I can recapture my youth on my iPhone because some developers have made a port of Duck Hunt for the device.
If 2008 was the year of the MMO Crash then 2009 is the year of MMO Doubt. It seems improbable, if not impossible, for most developers to put out a good MMO. And that is to say nothing of the finer points of game design such as balanced combat, stable economy and, you know, making the game fun to play.
A major third-party publisher will reportedly release an online Wii game in 2009 that is unrestricted by Friend Codes. The developers of the title discovered that it was possible to access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection without them, and built a custom engine that did so.
For a medium that lets us chainsaw faces off, punch presidents in their plums and slaughter endangered species; it’s amazing how sensitive some of us get when developers do things we don’t agree with.
