Symbian Mobile OS Goes Open Source

The Symbian mobile operating system is the world's most widely used smartphone platform. On Thursday, the Nokia-backed organization that controls the code took a step to further increase its popularity. The Symbian Foundation said its Symbian OS is now fully open source and open to contributions from developers around the world. As open source software, Symbian can now be used or modified by developers "for any purpose," the Foundation said, "whether that be for a mobile device or for something else entirely."

"The development community is now empowered to shape the future of the mobile industry, and rapid innovation on a global scale will be the result," said Symbian Foundation director Lee Williams, in a statement.

Nokia bought out Symbian for about $410 million in 2008 with an eye to bringing the OS into the open source community. Symbian gives phone manufacturers an alternative to commercial mobile operating systems such as Microsoft's Windows Mobile. Symbian held about 47% of the worldwide smartphone OS market last year. Research in Motion's Blackberry was second, with a 20% stake, and Windows Mobile third with 12.4% of the market.

All 108 packages containing the source code of the Symbian platform can now be downloaded from Symbian’s developer web site (tiny.symbian.org/open), under the terms of the Eclipse Public License and other open source licenses. Also available for download are the complete development kits for creating applications (the Symbian Developer Kit) and mobile devices (the Product Development Kit). These kits are compatible with Symbian^3, the very latest version of the platform, which is now fully open source and will be "feature complete" during Q1 of this year.

Read more about this migration to Open Source on the official Symbian Foundation website, in the News & Media section.

Google Apps gets more IT-friendly

Google Apps become more IT-friendly today with the addition of new security features for iPhone, Nokia, and Windows Mobile users. The new features allow administrators to enforce password requirements and remotely wipe data from mobile devices.

"With this change, Google Apps Premier and Education Edition administrators will be able to manage their users' iPhone, Nokia E series, and Windows Mobile devices right from the Google Apps administrative control panel, without deploying any additional software or having to manage dedicated enterprise mobile servers," wrote Bryan Mawhinney, a Google software engineer, in an announcement posted Wednesday on the company's Enterprise Blog.

These new mobile device management capabilities will allow administrators to:

• Remotely wipe all data from lost or stolen mobile devices
• Lock idle devices after a period of inactivity
• Require a device password on each phone
• Set minimum lengths for more secure passwords
• Require passwords to include letters, numbers and punctuation

These features will be accessible from the 'Mobile' tab under 'Service Settings' in the Google Apps control panel. Once a user starts syncing their devices with Google Apps, the domain administrator will be able to remotely wipe device data, right from the user settings page. These policies will let employees access their data from their phone while helping IT administrators easily control access to corporate data on mobile devices.

Read the official article on the Official Google Enterprise Blog

Microsoft brings Bing to iPhone, RedLaser tops $1M in revenue from AppleInsider.com

Microsoft's search engine, Bing, now has its own application on the App Store that allows voice search, location finder, maps access and more; and the popular RedLaser app has earned more than $1 million in revenue.

The Redmond, Washington, software giant announced the new application's release on its Bing blog. Much like the browser-based Bing.com, the application shows the image of the day and clickable hotspots that include trivia.

It offers search of images, movies, maps, businesses, news and directions. Users can even check their flight status on the go.

Read the rest of this article on AppleInsider.com.

PHP 6 comming soon

PHP 6, the next major revision of the popular Web application development language, looms on the horizon and promises many changes. It isn’t yet available as a pre-built package, but you can download and install a development snapshot of PHP 6 now to check out the new features and verify your scripts remain functional. Since it removes some backwards-compatibility features you should test your existing code thoroughly.

To compile, install, and run PHP 6, you must have the GNU make utility, a compiler such as gcc, some additional libraries to power new PHP features, and a Web server. Compiling and installing PHP 6 requires:

• Apache with development headers, such as apache-prefork-dev. The threaded MPM version of Apache is not recommended for use by the PHP group for production use.
• An International Component for Unicode (ICU) library, like libicu-dev
• The XML2 development headers, libxml2-dev

Since PHP 6 removes some backwards compatibility features, your main concern is to make sure that your PHP scripts are up to date before upgrading your system. Following the tips in this section—like discontinuing the use of register_globals and magic_quotes—will not only help you get ready for PHP 6 but will also help you to make your code more secure.

In PHP versions prior to version 6, the register_globals setting allowed you to register “EGPCS” (Environment, GET, POST, Cookie, and Server) variables as global variables. For many reasons, using register_globals is a poor security practice that could lead to cross-site scripting holes. An attacker could populate a variable using a query string parameter (GET) where your script was originally looking for cookie values or POST variables. As a developer, you should be sure where your variables are coming from, whether it’s from a GET or POST method or from a cookie. As of PHP 5.3.0, the register_globals feature is deprecated, and as of PHP 6 it is completely removed.

PHP 6 offers Unicode support for Unicode characters in input, output, processing files, and for PHP scripts themselves. The most common of the Unicode encodings is UTF-8, which is the default encoding for many of the PHP 6 functions.

In addition to function changes, PHP 6 will not support compatibility for the PHP 4 object model. If you have objects in your PHP code, make sure they’re PHP 5 objects. The PHP 4 object model compatibility was only available after 5.0.0 and was removed in PHP 5.3.0, so any object that works in 5.3 later versions will work fine in PHP 6.

More information about installing and configuring the yet not officially released version of PHP 6 you can visit the following link: Get ready for PHP 6 on linux-mag.com.

Apple released iTunes 8.1

Apple announced the release of the new version of iTunes, now at version 8.1, the free application for Mac and PC that plays all your digital music and video, syncs content to your iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV and it’s an entertainment superstore that stays open 24/7.

If you are interested in getting the latest features of this great software, here's a small list that is meant to ignite your appetite. The full article can be found here, along with screen shots and a lot more details. The download links as well, of course.

• Genius Playlists - Play a song, click the Genius button, and iTunes creates a playlist of other songs from your library that go great together. Genius playlists help you discover songs in your library you never knew you had — and rediscover forgotten favorites.
• Genius Sidebar - As you select songs in your library, the Genius sidebar displays songs from the iTunes Store that go great with it. The Genius sidebar won’t recommend songs already in your library, and you can preview and buy recommended songs directly from the sidebar.
• High-quality, DRM-free music. iTunes Plus is the new standard on iTunes. - you can choose from millions of iTunes Plus songs from all four major music labels and thousands of independents. With iTunes Plus, you get high-quality, 256-Kbps AAC encoding. All free of burn limits and digital rights management (DRM). So iTunes Plus music will play on iPod, Apple TV, all Mac and Windows computers, and many other digital music players. It’s also easy to upgrade your iTunes library to iTunes Plus. You don’t have to buy the song or album again. Just pay the 30¢ per song upgrade price. (Music video upgrades are 60¢ and entire albums can be upgraded for 30 percent of the album price.)
• HD TV Shows - Purchase select episodes of your favorite TV shows in high definition for just $2.99. Or get the whole season in HD with a Season Pass. And when you buy HD, iTunes doubles your viewing pleasure: You also get an iPod-ready version with a file size and resolution that's ideal for smaller screens.
• Enhanced Accessibility - Tunes 8 is now screen reader friendly on both Mac and PC. Manage your iTunes library using VoiceOver in Mac OS X Leopard or Window-Eyes for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Or use your screen reader to purchase or download content from the iTunes Store - including iTunes U.
• New Visualizer - Turn on the new Visualizer and lose yourself in a 3D-scape of spheres, ribbons, and lights that pulsate to the beat and tempo of the song you’re playing.
• and last but not least, Faster. Smarter. Better. - a lot of great improvements added to the new iTunes 8.1 along with a speed boost, make this a product worth having. And it's free too

For the full list of features in Apple iTunes 8.1, check out this address. To download iTunes, head on over to Apple.com, download section.

Microsoft Office 2007 and OOXML

Source: CNET News

"Word documents generated by today's version of Microsoft Office 2007 do not conform to the Office Open XML standard under development by the International Organization for Standardization, according to tests run by a document standards specialist."

It comes to no surprise to many of us that the Microsoft giant follows it's own path, practically ignoring standards and regulations. Well, it's a giant, after all. But the ones that eventually suffer are the end users. After paying an enormous sum for the Microsoft Office 2007 software package, you have the unpleasant surprise that it doesn't work well with other similar software. The standards are in place for a reason. Just imagine what the world would be without them. The thing that really surprises me is that Microsoft, although they are under a lot of investigations from so many international or European organizations, they still do things their own way.

Even if I'm not a big user of the documents, they are very often used in office activities across the world. The fact that there are free alternatives out there, like Open Office or even the online Google Docs, people prefer the commercial versions. I remember a few days ago a friend of mine bought a new computer and it had Windows Vista pre-installed. He was so happy that he had this beautiful operating system, but that soon ended as soon as he had to install his other software. The confirmation dialogs brought him to the edge of insanity. But that's another story. He then needed a good text editor and a spreadsheet editor. He opted for Microsoft Office 2007 although Open Office is completely free and more than capable of handling the job. His decision was based on the fact that he "heard more people talking about Microsoft Office that Open Office". I guess this kind of thinking is what keeps Microsoft going despite their continuous rules breaking actions.

That aside, we'll just have to wait and see how this issue will be resolved. After all, you can't claim to handle certain file types if you don't respect the standards internationally accepted.

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition

Source: Ubuntu Official Website

Canonical Ltd. released the latest version of the popular operating system Ubuntu, now at version 8.04. Along with the Desktop Edition, the Server Edition has also been released, and will be avasilable for download on Thursday 24 April.

Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) provides a stable platform for software and hardware vendors, developers and users. With three years of support and maintenance on the desktop, 8.04 LTS is a great choice for large-scale deployment. A substantial and growing ecosystem of free and commercial software built for Ubuntu provides a rich set of choices for desktop users. This is the eighth desktop release of Ubuntu. Ubuntu's track record in delivering - on a precise schedule every six months - a commercial operating system that is free, stable, secure and fully supported, remains unique.

Ubuntu includes the latest, stable version of many core products, and in that spirit is the first distribution to bring Mozilla Firefox 3 (Beta 5) to millions of users. The combination of Linux and Firefox make Ubuntu 8.04 LTS a superb web desktop, with fast browsing and greatly reduced exposure to viruses, web forgery and spyware. The enhanced default photo manager, F-Spot, together with improved camera and phone recognition means users can upload, tag, manage, display, delete, print and share photos with friends and family more easily. Users can plug in a PSP, share playlists with friends, buy from the Magnatune online music store, stream live radio and plug in more devices than ever (with UpnP). The new default movie player now allows users to browse YouTube and other video sources across the web and to share their videos with others. It integrates with Myth TV, the open source TVR, so users can watch their favorite TV shows straight on the desktop. Brasero allows them to easily burn all content to CD or DVD. Clock and calendar integration is available to manage time across the globe with a single click to set, attend and receive alerts about appointments. Ubuntu 8.04 LTS combines the latest GNOME applications with desktop visual effects, giving users a smoother, better-looking and more intuitive experience.

And that's not all:

• Longer support: Ubuntu 8.04 LTS is supported with security updates and maintenance for three years so corporate and individual users have a longer upgrade planning cycle. Those who want the newest applications will be able to upgrade to Ubuntu 8.10, due in October 2008, those who prefer longer deployment cycles can stay with Ubuntu 8.04 for three years before moving to the next LTS release.
• More applications: More than 30 commercial ISVs plan to support and distribute their applications on the 8.04 LTS desktop platform, including Adobe, Google, Real Networks, Nero, Skype, Corel, Parallels and Fluendo.
• More accessibility: Gesture support allows users to navigate Ubuntu in a more natural fashion. Also available are increased language support for voice command, support for keyboard accessibility, slow keys, zoom and more.

Due to the fact that Ubuntu is so easy to install and use, I encourage people to give it a try. It's certainly worth it.

Internet Explorer 8 - First Impression

Following the previous post, I installed Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. The first thing that was absolutely clear is that it is indeed a beta. Actually I would classify it more as an Alpha release. Here are the first things that it spat in my face. Soon after this post I will remove it and wait for a more decent release.

After a restart I was ready to try it out. First off I was surprised that it detected the other browsers I had installed on my system, Firefox and Safari for Windows. I didn't expect that, but as they stated, they aim for interoperability. That is definitely a step forward for Microsoft. After that it offered to import the bookmarks and feed subscriptions from these browsers. OK so far.

One huge surprise was that it detected the Firefox extensions I had installed and asked if I would like them imported as well. That almost made me faint. I said "Sure, go ahead". Afterwards I was asked if I want to enable the anti-phishing filter and a few other things and I was ready to go. After it started, I remembered that it's a beta version. One of those pesky notification bars kept popping up every time I accessed a page, telling me that my current security settings put my computer at risk. No matter what I did, it just didn't go away. It disappeared eventually after I restarted the browser. The overall look is similar, if not identical to IE7. Maybe there will be certain design changes in the final release. But that's not really important now.

I then went on to configure the browser to my own preferences. First thing I checked out was to see if the bookmarks were imported correctly and they were. They even handle favicon (favorites icon), although I think this was implemented in Internet Explorer 7. Then let's set the homepage. I use iGoogle because I like using one service for as many things as possible, like search engine, email, RSS reader and so Google works best for me. The developers said that this version of IE would be CSS standards compliant. I sure doesn't look like it when I access my homepage. From three columns I end up with two and an empty space where the third should be. I later found it under the first column. The widgets refuse to move around and the buttons just don't want to work. The Google Reader doesn't load the feeds and the tags (or folders). It too is placed as a widget on the front page. When I try adding a new tab, instead of the semi transparent layer and the centered dialog box, it get to see a blank page with a black sidebar where the dialog is placed.

I tried to write this post using Internet Explorer, but the buttons were "clickable" only in certain places and the post title input box wasn't visible. At first I thought that there is something wrong with Google, so I decided to try a different portal. Same thing: Netvibes.com shows a blank blue page and Pageflakes.com asks me to confirm my location by clicking a button. Which I can't. I eventually managed to enter the web site by hitting Enter to submit the location form. And things weren't any different here either. At least the widgets can be moved around to some extend, but it's terribly slow and it seems they have a mind of their own. Resizing the browser window threw everything around and the widgets started to overlap each other.

Seeing that I can't get anywhere I though about the Firefox extensions it offered to import. Maybe at least those would work properly. And I would have loved giving them a try and share my experience with you, but I didn't manage to find them. Oh well. At least one thing works properly. On the toolbar, there is one button that gives this release a rating of "not so useless". It's the "Emulate IE7" button. From what I've seen, it works perfectly. Well, you now what I mean, as perfect as IE7 can work. Of course I had to restart the browser, but at least now I could click buttons and move things around. This is the life!

Seeing that it's a Beta release, I didn't expect much from it. But it looks like Microsoft is heading the right way. Yet they're a long way from getting there. What more can I say, I eagerly await your next release. Let's just hope it will be working at least at 50% capability. This one just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

First release of Internet Explorer 8

As I said yesterday, if there will be any other useful information, I will get back to you. So here it is. Microsoft offered it's first public demonstration of it's famous (but not loved) browser, Internet Explorer 8, now in beta 1 version.

Some great features have been added, according to the developers anyway. Things that should have been implemented a long time ago and that others have been using for ages, are now made into sensational by their marketing department. But I guess Microsoft likes to do things at their own speed. I just remember how long they took to implement tabs in Internet Explorer.

If you're asking yourself what this new version of the browser brings, here's short list:

• WebSlices - users can subscribe to parts of a web page. I'm not sure about this, since I'm not a Mac user (can't afford one), but I've read somewhere that Apple has its own Web-clipping subscription method that is part of Mac OS X.
• Cascading style sheets 2.1 compliance - no, I'm not kidding. They really said that it would finally be in compliance with standards (at least a few of them)
• HTML Improvements - like the HTML is the problem. I guess they mean the way the browser treats the HTML files
• Improved namespace support
• Platform performance improvements
• Enhanced protection from deceptive websites - an anti-phishing method that I've seen a lot in Mozilla Firefox and other browsers. Never in Internet Explorer.
  
• Domain Highlighting - "highlights the top level domain in the address bar, allowing users to quickly confirm that the website they are visiting is the site they intended to visit". Also on the anti-phishing problem I guess.

And there might be other interesting changes. We might even enjoy using Internet Explorer from time to time. I you would like to give it a try, you can find the Beta 1 here. I already downloaded it and I'm giving it a try. But I'm pretty certain that I won't give up on Firefox for it.

Nokia plans to make Silverlight available on Symbian OS

For those that still don't know what Silverlight is, here's the short version. It's "a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, Python, and Ruby, and integrates with existing Web applications. Silverlight supports fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality video to all major browsers running on the Mac OS or Windows". This is taken from the official web site. Still not clear what it is? Well it's basically Microsoft's response to Abobe's Flash technology and their attempt to take over their market. And it's a pretty good attempt if you ask me. The Silverlight plug-in brings a lot of great features that allow programmers to incorporate more and more ideas into their applications. Although it's still relatively young technology, it has set a decent foundation and has gathered quite a lot of admirers. But enough about that.

Nokia announced in in a press release on March 04, 2008 their "plans to make Microsoft Silverlight available for S60 on Symbian OS, the world's leading smartphone software, as well as for Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets. That sound pretty good, considering the fact that everyone loves rich media applications and eye-candy effects. If you can have them on your mobile phone or other portable device and they can run smoothly then it's perfect. I personally am a great supporter of JAVA applications on mobile devices, but from a graphics point of view, it just doesn't have what it takes. Another solution would be Adobe's Flash, but even Steve Jobs, CEO at Apple stated, talking about the iPhone: "don't expect support for Adobe's Flash technology anytime soon". That's because it doesn't have the speed required to work on devices limited to such a low processing power.

But apart from that, even if I'm not a huge fan of anything that Microsoft launches, it looks like their Silverlight technology is heading in the right direction. We'll just have to wait how everything works out. Microsoft will demonstrate Silverlight on S60 during the opening keyote at Microsoft's MIX08 conference on March 5 in Las Vegas, so if there will be anything else that needs to be added, I'll get back to you.