Google has just announced the new Google Maps API that will let Android developers use the same vector-based data that Google Maps has been using for some time. Previously, Android apps could only use a (bitmap) tile-based map system. The new API offers better visuals and better data throughput than its predecessor. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Libon: Free Calls and Visual Voicemail for iPhone, ORA: Ultimate Speaker Case and Stand for iPad,
Deezer may not be the number one player in the music streaming game, but it’s looking to gain ground on its biggest rival with the release of its “App Studio.” In addition to an “App Centre” for showcasing software that integrates the service’s catalogue, developers “can now place feature-rich apps inside Deezer.com.” The company also hopes that a partnership with Echo Nest should make it easier for devs to use music in their projects. A modest 8 items will be available in the App Centre at launch, including the edjing app for mixing Deezer tracks on virtual decks, and the cheeky Spotizr app for importing your Spotify playlist. The French streaming outfit has also been busy improving its social aspects in Facebook and through updates to its Android and iOS apps. Check out the PR below for more info on recent news, details on how to get developing, and the full list of launch-day App Centre wares.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, Software
Via: TechCrunch
Looking to browse with the full weight of your 64-bit hardware? Well, if you’re a Firefox and Windows user, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, as Mozilla has announced it’s closing the development of Firefox for the bigger computer architecture. Mozilla manager, Benjamin Smedberg outlined several reasons for the decision, including limited access to 64-bit plugins, a higher propensity for the browser to hang when using available plug-ins and difficulty distinguishing between 32- and 64-bit versions when dealing with stability complaints. After posting the announcement at Bugzilla, it riled plenty of nightly testers, with one Mozilla dev suggesting that around half of them were currently using the now defunct 64-bit version — presumably due to the fact that an official release never made it out of the gates. What are the options then, if you need your browsing 64-bit? You could return to Internet Explorer or give Opera a try — both offer a higher bit version, or make a switch to either OS X or Linux, both of which have fully-fleshed versions of the 64-bit web browser. Check out some of the (surprisingly vigorous) debate at the source below.
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Via: TNW
Source: Bugzilla (Mozilla)
After unveiling plans for PlayStation Mobile last summer, opening the storefront and letting its software development kit marinate in beta for roughly a year, Sony has finally given the dev platform the “go” (no, not that one) for launch. Developers eager to create games and apps for PlayStation-certified Android tablets and smartphones — and even the PS Vita — can download the SDK so long as they’re willing to shell out $99 a year for the chance to publish as many titles as they wish. If you’re ready to start slinging code, see the source links below to enroll in the program and download the SDK.
Source: PlayStation Blog, PSM Dev Portal
Sony has announced the launch of the PlayStation Mobile Developer Program, allowing developers to create content for PlayStation Mobile. This comes after the PlayStation Mobile launch back in October, a platform where users can play games on PlayStation Certified devices, including the Vita and certain Android smartphones. With the launch of the Developer Program, users can expect to see the catalog of available content rise in the coming months.
Via the Dev Portal, developers can access the resources needed to start creating content for PlayStation Mobile. Users can download the PlayStation Mobile SDK for free, and can create and test content before buying a license. In order to put content up on PlayStation Mobile, there’s a $99 fee, which allows for an unlimited number of app publications annually.
Some of the Android devices that are PlayStation Certified include the Xperia Play, Xperia Arc, Xperia S, Xperia Ion, Xperia Acro (and Acro HD), Sony Tablet S/P, as well as the HTC One X, One X+, One S, and One V. The PlayStation Mobile platform can be used on up to three devices. While a decent enough number, this limitation seems to put a damper on the idea of playing games across multiple devices, which is the basis for the network.
Developers can set up an account by registering over at the PSM DevPortal page. You’ll need to sign into the Sony Entertainment Network; if you don’t already have an ID, you’ll have to create an account, then sign-in with it. After that, it’s straightforward: agree to the terms and conditions, fill out the registration form, and verify your email.
[via PlayStation Blog]
Sony announces PlayStation Mobile Developer Program is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Those of you looking for a more traditional approach to Windows with your newly downloaded operating system upgrade to Windows 8 will be glad to find no lack of appreciation from app developers on your side of the argument. One of these – perhaps the most popular app in this odd category thus far – goes by the name of Start8. This app will allow you to bypass the Windows 8 touchscreen-friendly start screen with the traditional Windows Start Menu interface for just $5 USD – and they’ve sold “tens of thousands” of copies of their simple application already.
This app will bring the same Star Menu interface you’ve gotten used to on Windows 7 and comes in two different versions, the “free trial” version also having been downloaded tens of thousands of times, so says Kris Kwilas, Stardock’s vice president of technology. Stardock is the group that developed Start8 and suddenly a voice for conservatism in the software universe.
“We were having some success with word of mouth before the Windows 8 release, and since the release, the floodgates have been opened, and the demand is surprising even us. It tells me that early adopters of Windows 8 feel there’s something missing — a comfort factor for how they want to use their PCs, vs how Microsoft has decided for them how they should use their computers.” – Kwilas.
This sentiment is not new – Microsoft was plagued with nay-sayers since the moment they first showed off their Windows 8 panels to the world. Touchscreen interfaces were made a priority while the standard for computing today – clicking with a mouse or a touchpad – was slightly degraded. It’s perhaps because of this most of all that Microsoft is finding slightly less-than-desirable sales numbers at the outset with Windows 8.
Have a peek at the timeline below to see other recent reports on how Windows 8 is faring in the global computing market. Let us know if you’re one of those “early adopters” excited about where Windows 8 is and where its going – and don’t forget to say why you think Microsoft isn’t doing as well as they thought they might!
[via USA Today]
Windows 8 Start Menu app sells “tens of thousands” for $5 a pop is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Windows 8 has been available for a couple of weeks now and Microsoft is itching to get developers making apps for the Windows Store, as it should be. Earlier in the month, Microsoft teamed up RocketSpace to host the first Windows Store App Lab, which helps Windows 8 developers with making apps for the Windows Store. Today, the company announced that it will be hosting even more of these Windows Store app labs in 30 different cities around the world.
These Windows Store app labs are designed to provide a boost to the development process, whether a developer needs help bringing their ideas together to form the beginnings of an app or simply wants to test their app on a range of Windows 8 equipment. Each app lab will last for four hours and will be taking place in a variety of locations around the globe, including New York, London, Paris, and Shanghai.
This seems like it will become an ongoing thing, with several dates and times shown for a number of the locations on Microsoft’s list. Even better is that these app labs are free, and those who wish to attend are welcome to drop in on the day of to see if there are any open spots. If you like to plan ahead of time, you can also register to attend, which guarantees you a spot in the lab you’ve got your eye on.
“Whether you have an app in progress or a set of design ideas you want to advance, we designed our Windows Store App Labs to provide you with in-depth technical guidance and leading design assistance to get your app launched in the Windows Store,” Antoine Leblond wrote on the Windows Store Developers blog. It sounds like these labs are the perfect springboard if you want to get an app published on the Windows Store but don’t really know where to start. Are you planning on checking one out?
[via TechCrunch]
Microsoft set to expand app labs to help Windows 8 devs is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you’re a developer making apps galore and hope to move forward with Dropbox integration, today is your lucky day. The folks at Dropbox have introduced Dropbox Chooser, a helpful package of codes and goodies for developers to easily integrate the cloud storage environment into their 3rd party apps. Dropbox has announced also that Asana is the first company to support and use the Dropbox Chooser for future-minded app action.
This update builds upon recent Dropbox integration with Facebook Groups, making it easy for brands and clubs to use Dropbox web storage for all manner of needs. Here with Dropbox Chooser, users will be able to see, search, and share files straight out from their Dropbox account from within whatever app makes use of it. As for Asana integration, Dropbox has made it clear that, “this was a natural fit on both sides and one which nicely compliments both services.”
The update to Dropbox’s support of developers of all kinds can be found in the Dropbox Chooser documentation which requires essentially a tiny set of integration codes for you to make use of it. It’s incredibly simple when it comes down to it. If you’re a developer thinking of working with 3rd party cloud storage for your users, it would appear that Dropbox has your card.
With the chooser, users will get a built-in photo gallery as well as a simple image-based chooser system. Users will have a perfectly easy-to-use user interface with future-proof aesthetics to boot. Have a peek and make it work!
Dropbox Chooser makes developer integration simple is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The Unity game engine and development platform has reached the 4.0 milestone and is now available for purchase with a slew of new features onboard. Headlining the update are DirectX 11 support, new animation tools and an add-on for publishing games to Flash. In addition, Tux is getting some love with a preview of a deployment option for publishing games to Desktop Linux. Sure, a landmark release might seem like a good time for Unity Technologies to cool its heels and slow down development, but a respite isn’t on the roadmap. According to the firm’s CEO, David Helgason, Unity 4 will see a faster paced schedule and more frequent releases than the platform previously had. Developers can snag a free version of the software or shell out at least $1,500 for a professional license. For more details on additions and improvements to the engine, hit the jump for the press release or tap the second source link below for the complete rundown.
Filed under: Gaming
Unity 4.0 now on sale with DirectX 11 support, Linux publishing preview, new animation tools and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Nov 2012 02:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft has kept its internally-developed Kinect Fusion tool all to itself, but now, hot on the heels of Build 2012, the firm has announced that it’s working on baking the software into the Kinect for Windows SDK. Concocted by Ballmer and Co.’s Cambridge, UK research lab, the tool can be leveraged to create 3D models of objects or environments, develop augmented reality applications and even take 3D measurements. By the looks of it, creating a model with the tool is a pretty painless process. When passing an object in front of a Kinect or sweeping the hardware throughout an area, the software will use the continuous stream of data collected by the device’s sensors and compile it into a 3D model. Intrigued by Kinect Fusion? Hit the jump to catch a video presentation made for SIGGRAPH 2011 by the team behind the software.
Filed under: Software, Microsoft
Kinect Fusion tool coming to Kinect for Windows SDK, will help devs create 3D models originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 01:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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