iPod inventor Tony Fadell explains his high-tech, smartphone-inspired thermostat

Tony Fadell, the iPod Inventor explains his high-tech, smartphone-inspired thermostat in the video by the Verge below:

Matias Duarte on Why Android doesn't use Helvetica

Matias Duarte, Android design chief, speaks on why Android doesn't use Helvetica.

Android design chief addresses the face-unlock controversy

Android design chief, Matias Duarte, recently addressed the face-unlock issue while speaking with the Verge.

Learn iPhone/iPad Application Development for free courtesy of Stanford University

If you are interested in learning iOS app development, the instructors at Stanford University are offering a course in iOS 5 focused on iPhone Application Development. The course is offered for free and you can take the course without actually being a student of Stanford. The course is available on iTunes U.


Throughout the course, students will develop several iPhone and iPad apps that help automate tasks in their day-to-day life including games and social networking apps.

Before taking the iPhone Application Development class there are two prerequisites you must complete, Programming Methodology and Programming Abstractions, which are also available on iTunes.

It's worth checking out if you are interested in developing iOS apps.

Java Magazine November/December 2011 Issue now available

The November/December 2011 issue of Java Magazine is now available for download. You can as well read it in your browser if you so desire.

Appcelerator/IDC Q4 2011 Mobile Developer Report now available.

In a survey recently carried out by Appcelerator, findings reveal that Amazon’s new Kindle Fire edged Samsung Galaxy Tab as the leading Android Tablet in North America, on par with interest for the iPad prior to its launch in April 2010, and second only to the Galaxy Tab globally with developers. Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 also decisively moved ahead of RIM’s BlackBerry OS to become the clear number three mobile OS behind iOS and Android. Appcelerator and IDC also continued their research into how companies are making the move from the web to mobile.

Here are the top-line findings of the report:

• Amazon’s new Kindle Fire ignites developer interest.
• Price is the leading reason for interest in the Kindle Fire.
• When considering Kindle Fire’s potential drawbacks, fragmentation and lack of features like camera and geo-location were the two top concerns cited by developers.
• Windows Phone 7 separated from the pack to become the clear number three mobile platform this quarter.
• Microsoft is enjoying symbiotic success with Nokia. 
• There’s now more interest in Nokia’s new Lumia Windows Phone lineup than RIM’s smartphones.
• HTML5 continues to keep developer interest.
• Connected TV app development interest continues to slide.
• iOS continues to reign at number one in developer interest levels.
• Android phones fell nearly 4 points to 83% while tablets fell nearly 6 points to 68%.

You can download the report here for free.

Ice Cream Sandwich Face Unlock feature compromised.

Android 4.0's new facial recognition to unlock phone feature can be fooled with the photo of the phone's owner.

Besides Flash on the mobile, Adobe is also abandoning Flex.

Just a few days after improper communication of the demise of Flash on the mobile, Adobe has just shown that they wouldn't directly be responsible for the development of Flex, going forward. They've decided to abandon Flex for HTML5, a little too early.

Deepa Subramaniam, the former Product Manager on the Flex team primarily focusing on the Flex SDK and current Senior Product Manager & Engineering Manager for Adobe Monocle, recently answered some questions regarding Adobe's plans around the Flex SDK, and from her responses, it became clear that Adobe will be abandoning active development of the Flex product line not very long from now.

Is Adobe still committed to Flex?

Yes. We know Flex provides a unique set of benefits for enterprise application developers.  We also know that the technology landscape for application development is rapidly changing and our customers want more direct control over the underlying technologies they use. Given this, we are planning to contribute the Flex SDK to an open source foundation in the same way we contributed PhoneGap to the Apache Foundation when we acquired Nitobi. 

Flex SDK has always been open-source, so I wonder why you're just about contributing it again to open-source. It seems to be an indirect way of saying the community will determine it's future, going forward.

Does Adobe recommend we use Flex or HTML5 for our enterprise application development?

In the long-term, we believe HTML5 will be the best technology for enterprise application development. 

Will previously discussed Flex roadmap features be released?

The Flex roadmap will be determined by the governing board once it’s been established. We plan to contribute framework features previously highlighted as part of Adobe’s Flex roadmap, into this new project. 

So, what’s next? 

We are close to wrapping up development on Flex 4.6 SDK and it will be released on November 29th 2011. Following this, we will begin the process of moving to the open development model described above.

...

We believe these changes to the Flex SDK development model will ensure that the broader community can continue to use and directly enhance Flex for many years to come. 

 An abandoned technology is good as dead. You can read the Q&A here, as well as the interesting comments.

Sixth-grade iOS developer starts school app club, wows in TEDx video

Some elementary school kids play video games or ride bikes with their friends. Sixth-grader Thomas Suarez builds iOS apps — and has started a club at his school to encourage others to do the same.

10 incredible facts of the most popular social network.

800 million users, 11.7% of global penetration: 10 incredible facts of the most popular social network.

Facebook Facts 2011

Source WoorkUp

From Meego to Tizen

From Meego to Tizen 

Eight months after Nokia embarrassed Intel by withdrawing support for the MeeGo project, Intel has followed suit. On 27th September, Intel and Samsung announced the birth of a new mobile platform called Tizen. After only 19 months, MeeGo has been left parentless, and appears to be on life support. Tizen is, in fact, a successor of the Samsung Linux Platform, a reference platform of the LiMo operator consortium, with some components taken from the MeeGo stack.

The scenario is clear.  Quite unfortunate.

Mobile Developer's Guide to the Galaxy, 9th Edition, now available

The 9th Edition of the Mobile Developer's Guide to the Galaxy by Enough Software, the creators of the popular JavaME framework, J2MEPolish is out for download. The guide provides an overview on the different mobile technologies and an in-depth view of programming across different platforms, from Android to iOS, to JavaME and Bada. Almost 20 writers contributed their know-how and outline their views on the pros and cons of different operating systems and development approaches. You can download your copy here.