LiveCode Server from RunRev is a new and novel solution that provides back-end and cloud services for mobile or desktop applications and processes. The advantage of LiveCode Server, says RunRev, is to enable developers to create data-intensive apps with confidence that the sheer volume of information and files required are kept securely in the cloud and readily accessible. LiveCode is a programmable server environment that allows developers to write flexible CGI scripts, rather than obscure symbolic languages. An English-like programming language is used to describe server application logic quickly and build and deploy solutions rapidly. Users can use the LiveCode server as a standalone engine to install on their own Mac OS or Linux hardware or utilize RunRev's On-Rev hosting service.
The thrill of Sencha Touch Charts lies not merely in the ability to explore complex data sets with simple gestures on a smartphone or tablet, but more important, to do so using HTML5. Sencha says that its new Web app development framework renders charts at the same level of fidelity as native apps without having to rely on native drawing packages. Sencha Touch Charts renders charts, captures multi-touch inputs and drives interactivity. A simple swipe will pan across a data set, whereas a “reverse pinch” will zoom into detail. Richer interactions, such as axis swaps, aggregation, filtering and more, are all enabled by similarly simple gestures. The HTML5 Canvas technology is fully supported by the latest WebKit browsers that ship with Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry OS6 and HP WebOS.
As long as we're on the topic of Sencha Touch, allow us to note that extensive help already is available, so you can utilize the platform to maximum benefit. Narasimha Rao's Sencha Touch 1.0 Mobile JavaScript Framework teaches all one needs to know to get started with Sencha Touch and “build awesome mobile Web applications that look and feel native on Apple iOS and Google Android touchscreen devices”, says publisher Packt Publishing. Beginning with an overview of Sencha Touch, the book guides users through increasingly complex sample applications. Other topics include styling the UI, exploring Sencha Touch components and working with animations and data packages using comprehensive examples.
The new Linux-based, wireless device server PremierWave EN is a collaborative effort between secure communication technologies provider Lantronix and embedded Linux specialist Timesys. PremierWave EN allows design engineers and OEMs to add Wi-Fi and Ethernet networking to virtually any device easily. As a result, companies can transmit medical, financial, customer or other important data securely across corporate networks. Lantronix applications, such as the Advanced Applications Suite, tunneling applications, an enterprise-class command-line interface, management capability using a standard Web browser, diagnostic utilities, Ethernet-to-Wireless LAN bridging and virtual IP are standard. A subscription to Timesys' LinuxLink embedded Linux software development framework also is included.
Step one to database nirvana: clear your mind of the most undelicious fast-food item imaginable out of your head (that is, a McObject). Step two: with mind now clear, check out McObject's new eXtremeDB Cluster, which the company bills as the first clustering database system built especially for distributed embedded software and real-time enterprise applications. eXtremeDB Cluster manages data stores across multiple hardware nodes, which increases the net processing power available for data management; reduces system expansion costs; and delivers a scalable and reliable database solution for increasingly data-intensive real-time applications. According to McObject's benchmarks, eXtremeDB Cluster delivered a 161% throughput improvement when scaling to four nodes from one. Targeted applications include carrier-grade telecom, algorithmic trading applications, SaaS platforms and the like.
Take your pick—expletives and ibuprofen or Vector Fabrics' vfThreaded-x86 Tool—to take the pain out of the task of optimization and parallelization of applications for multicore x86 architectures. The cloud-based software tool, which is aimed at developers who write performance-centric code for high-performance computing, scientific, industrial, video or imaging applications, greatly reduces the time involved and the risks associated with optimizing code for the latest multicore x86 processors. By using thorough dynamic and static code analysis techniques, vfThreaded-x86 quickly analyzes code and guides the developer to make the right choices for partitioning code to separate cores. This includes examining cache hit/miss effects, data bandwidth to memories and bandwidth between individual code sections. An intuitive GUI provides code visualizations that highlight code hotspots and dependencies that might require partitioning trade-offs.
Besides our fealty to Linux, there may be nothing else besides tinkering with our PCs that defines our Linux geek identity. Therefore, we know that books like Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs, now in its 20th edition, will appeal to many of our readers. Publisher Que calls Mueller's book “the definitive guide to the inner workings of the latest PCs” and “with nearly 2.5 million copies sold, it's the best-selling hardware guide ever”. The book contains extensive information on troubleshooting problems, improving system performance and making the most of today's best new hardware. The latest hardware innovations and repair techniques since the previous edition have been added. Ninety minutes of DVD video is included, covering insider information about several key PC components, including hard disk drives, power supplies, motherboards and so on. Besides presenting comprehensive coverage of every PC component, Mueller also covers overclocking, cooling, PC diagnostics, testing and maintenance.
From the “saving green by going green” newsdesk is Cutting Edge's new Power-Saving Cloud Archive (PSCA), an energy-saving storage technology for the cloud. Cutting Edge describes PSCA's advantages to include “extremely high performance and scalability, a low acquisition cost, up to a 90% power savings and a new low in TCO for organizations that are struggling to address the relentless flood of unstructured data and longer retention times”. Moreover, PSCA, says the company “is the ideal solution for today's power-hungry storage environments where the cost to provide power and cooling for storage systems now actually exceeds the cost to acquire the equipment being powered and cooled”. Cutting Edge's technology is a combination of its fifth-generation EdgeWare unified storage software and multi-tiered archiving, as well as innovative power-saving hardware and open systems.