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    Review: Peppermint Ice Linux

    These days, if a desktop-focussed Linux distribution wants to stand out from the pack of Ubuntu-wannabes it either needs to be especially slick or offer something a little bit different to the norm. Peppermint Ice falls into the latter category: It's a Debian-derived (via Ubuntu), lightweight Linux distro that's designed for netbooks and has a strong focus on Web applications.

    Written by Rohan Pearce • 09 Feb. 11 10:36

  • Product Review: Micosoft System Center 2010

    Last month, Microsoft released the first two products in the System Center 2010 wave: the management suite System Center Essentials 2010, and the backup-and-recovery-focused Data Protection Manager 2010. I've been evaluating these products in late prerelease form, and I'll share my impressions and what I've discovered here.

    Written by Jonathan Hassell • 22 May 10 03:43

  • Google's Chrome OS is a work in progress

    Google released its Chrome operating system last week to a great deal of hoopla and debate — depending on your point of view, it was either the Next Big Thing or Much Ado About Nothing.

    Written by Preston Gralla • 25 Nov. 09 06:33

  • Palm Mojo SDK 1.1

    When the Palm Pre appeared two months ago, the world took one look at the graceful curves and immediately decided there was finally a contender that might stand a chance of attracting some of the crowds clustered around the iPhone.

    Written by Peter Wayner • 17 Aug. 09 16:50

  • Initial thoughts on PayPal's new developer platform

    I just finished watching the PayPal Platform Preview, which was PayPal's official announcement of their new open development platform (it was previously leaked on TechCrunch). Officially called "PayPal X," the platform was presented by Osama Bedier (VP of platform and emerging technology) in broad, almost utopian terms, as something that would unleash waves of innovation transforming the way goods and services are delivered. Maybe.

    Written by Aaron McPherson • 30 July 09 04:50

  • Review: Firefox 3.5 makes browsing faster, easier and more fun

    The just-released version 3.5 of Firefox is a winner, offering significantly faster Web browsing, better tab handling, a host of interface tweaks and, like just about every other browser on the planet, a "porn mode." If you already use Firefox you'll want to upgrade right away. If you're not a Firefox user, this version represents a very good opportunity to give the browser a test run.

    Written by Preston Gralla • 02 July 09 07:55

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1

    Although not without problems, Microsoft Visual Studio is the premier IDE for developing applications with the Microsoft .Net Framework and at least a contender for the best Windows-hosted C/C++ IDE.

    Written by Martin Heller • 15 June 09 12:35

  • Adobe AIR soars to loftier heights

    Hot on the heels of Microsoft's Silverlight 2 release, Adobe AIR 1.5 adds impressive new features to the desktop extension of Adobe's Flex RIA (rich Internet application) platform. This is the second update since AIR's debut earlier this year, a testament to Adobe's seriousness about owning a piece of the desktop.

    Written by James R. Borck • 12 Dec. 08 10:50

  • New Day dawns for Web CMS

    Day Software may be best known for its CRX (Content Repository Extreme) Java Content Repository. But after testing the general release of its Communiqué 5.1 (CQ5) modular CMS, I think it's time to get reintroduced to the rest of what the company offers. This notable Web content manager will impress business users with drag-and-drop page design, in-context content editing, and a component library that includes Flash elements, form builders, and Google Gadget support. And it will impress IT with a nice complement of enterprise bells and whistles -- from integrated BPM to hot backup, disaster recovery, and clustering capabilities.

    Written by Mike Heck • 05 Dec. 08 08:44

  • Silverlight, for real this time

    Microsoft's answer to Adobe Flash and Flex and several other RIA (rich Internet application) and AJAX frameworks, Silverlight arrived with a flourish just over one year ago. Silverlight 1.0 manipulated its multimedia-savvy, WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) user interface using JavaScript. Silverlight 1.1, which added support for compiled .Net languages and supported more of the .Net API, was available at that time only as an alpha test.

    Written by Martin Heller • 19 Nov. 08 08:58

  • Coghead clicks for non-coders

    The relentless drive to control every part of the world from a browser-based widget is now turning on itself. Not only are all of our desktop applications being replaced with HTML, but the act of creating a Web application itself has moved to the Web. The new platform from Coghead lets anyone build Web applications by pointing and clicking at another Web application. The only time you need to edit ASCII is when you're putting labels on columns and widgets.

    Written by Peter Wayner • 23 Sept. 08 08:33

  • Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is icing, and more cake

    Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 (VS08) Service Pack 1 (SP1) took eight months to arrive. Considering the capabilities that have been added, eight months might not seem so long. In some ways, SP1 feels like the completion of what Visual Studio 2008 was supposed to be. It's certainly not just the collection of bug fixes that you'd expect from the term "service pack."

    Written by Martin Heller • 26 Aug. 08 09:16

  • Test Center preview: Sun JavaFX Preview SDK

    Sun Microsystems recently unveiled the first public beta of its JavaFX framework for RIAs (rich Internet applications). There's a lot to like about the new SDK. It's rich in capabilities, and its Java-like syntax makes it a good springboard to RIAs for Java developers. But even in Java shops, Sun and JavaFX are behind not just one eight ball but two. Heavyweight competitors Adobe and Microsoft, with Flex/AIR and Silverlight, respectively, offer RIA toolsets that are not only far more mature but also include tools that bridge the all-important gap between designers and coders.

    Written by James R. Borck • 13 Aug. 08 11:27

  • JRules for .Net meshes well with Microsoft

    JRules, the Java version of ILOG's BRMS (business rules management system), has always run on Microsoft platforms -- and it's done so quite well. Now, with the latest version of original ILOG Rules, ILOG demonstrates that it's truly taken a large gulp of Kool-Aid, having partnered with Microsoft to build a product set that completely embraces .Net.

    Written by Steven Núñez • 01 Aug. 08 08:04

  • Climb aboard Ruby on Rails

    The Ruby on Rails site bills its eponymous project as "Web development that doesn't hurt." I'm not really sure what that means, but it certainly sounds good.

    Written by Martin Heller • 08 July 08 09:31

  • Lab test: Oracle Database 11g shoots the moon

    I like to define a five-point touch system for my database upgrades. If the new version doesn't change my life in five ways, then it's not a significant upgrade. I'll typically quantify my need by approximating how many hours I spend each week performing certain tasks, and then estimate how much time the upgrade will save me. If I spend five hours every week dealing with resource usage and the new release will do it automatically, then I figure the upgrade will save me five hours a week. Now all I have to do is quantify four other features the same way, and I can sell it to management.

    Written by Sean McCown • 05 June 08 08:20

  • Xythos Enterprise Document Management Suite 7.0

    We have watched Xythos mature impressively over the years, starting as a highly usable, economical document manager through Version 6.0, then broadening its appeal with records management. Enterprise Document Management Suite (DMS) has now reached Version 7.0, and with the number bump comes some important enhancements.

    Written by Mike Heck • 02 June 08 08:16

  • First look: Google's high-flying cloud for Python code

    One of the joys of being a Web programmer is heading to a dinner party, a haircut, or a reunion and fielding the pitches for everyone's dream for a brilliant Web application. Everyone is always happy to cut you in for 5, 10, maybe even 15 per cent of the equity if you just build out the Web site that's sort of like a combination of Twitter, AltaVista, Eliza, TurboTax, and the corner pharmacy, but cooler.

    Written by Peter Wayner • 13 May 08 08:35

  • Ultimus jump-starts BPM deployment

    The success of a BPM (business process management) initiative hangs on a good plan. Spend too little time developing a snapshot of your company's inner workings, and the resulting system of misfiring rules and unhandled exceptions will find you mired in costly troubleshooting. But, sure enough, you can also lean too far in the other direction. Spend too much time charting workflow definitions, control points, and exception management, and the delays will start whittling away at your ROI.

    Written by James R. Borck • 27 March 08 09:34

  • Jtest treks to code-testing supremacy

    Parasoft continues to send its Jtest Java testing suite out to hunt down bad Java code. And Jtest knows that the definition of bad Java code continues to expand: One bit of code might be bad because its developer didn't follow best practices for coding style, making it difficult for other programmers to understand and interface with it. Yet another bit might be bad because it is poorly factored and overly complex, or because it crashes when executed. A different bit of code might be bad because it was written with no consideration for security and could be easily compromised by a malicious hacker.

    Written by Rick Grehan • 09 Oct. 06 15:34
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