Continue reading »]]> Foursquare, a location-based social networking website for mobile devices, such as smartphones and Ipads, has temporarily ended a controversy about an app designed to stalk women. The New York-based company terminated access to its technology for the app – non-euphemistically called “Girls Around Me” – which allowed men to locate women around them and access their personal information via platforms like Facebook. Asked for an explanation, Foursquare told cultofmac.com: “We have a policy against aggregating information across venues using our API, to prevent situations like this where someone would present an inappropriate overview of a series of locations.”

So, the question is whether or not the moment has finally come when all the warnings by privacy scolds finally made an impression on millions of users  who let Facebook and friends have all their personal information for all to see? Judging from the ballyhoo on the web, the idea that anyone will be able to view your personal information, including images and location, via a simple mashup certainly made folks nervous. Maybe “Girls Around Me”, produced by the Russian developer i-Free, crossed the line because it somehow brought sex into the whole affair. But that is not point as Cult of Mac argues. More importantly, the web community and all its users need to reflect on the amount of information people are sharing online and on the potential scenarios that go along with that – but always get ignored. We love mashups, we do, but the only way the development community can look into a positive future is by contributing to a productive discussion on the future of privacy.

Continue reading »]]> Great news if you’re about to open your first online shop – or if your old provider is beginning to really annoy you: ePages. Sounds simple and simple it is. And yet sophisticated. And functional. And cheap. Yes, we could go on and on. Instead, come join us for a peek into the world of carefree online selling.

First, let it be said that ePages offers many options. In fact, its large portfolio includes solutions for everyone, from large-scale, global companies to the local one-man (or woman) show. More than 50,000 customers are already trusting ePages (how could we miss it for so long?). Today, we just want to focus on the base model that is available for just 10 Euros (about 13 USD) a month. It is, we believe, the perfect solution for every small business.

The base package includes a WYSIWYG editor that lets you choose from several preconfigured designs and offers various options, which will make it easier for you to do business. Using the smart content management editor, you will then be able to format texts while the software automatically re-sizes your product images to the required formats. And via the “back office”, you gain control of every functionality needed to get going and keep going: design, product management, customer management, or inventory management: you are in command. Did we mention all you need was your Internet Browser? It is that simple.

But it doesn’t stop there. The Marketing tools included in the base allow you to distribute newsletters and organize special promotions. And if you still haven’t sold everything, you can connect to one of large online auctions (eBay, Kelkoo, Ciao or Google Base) and bring the global market place to your feet. All that, for 10 Euros a month. Here’s a final gimmick worth mentioning: the so-called “appointment-management module” comes in handy for those offering services and products for hire, everything from hairdressing to lawnmowing (or the lawn mower). All you need to do is store the according information necessary for the booking (such as times, prices, etc.) and you are ready to go. Your customers will love it and so will you!

Continue reading »]]> The next generation gaming console from Microsoft has been lovingly dubbed “Xbox 720” by those eagerly awaiting it’s announcement but how does Xbox 8 sound? Having announced the features of the new Windows 8 Phone operating system such as greater internet connectivity control and the ability to connect to wireless networks in under a second, industry observes are now looking towards what the new operating system means for the next console.

Xbox Live, the network by which gamers already access digital content and manage their gaming statistics will become an integral part of Windows 8 according to an anonymous Microsoft source. Games, applications, movies, music, and television programmes will be available through the console and sync with Windows 8 for PC and the Windows 8 phone. Sony have yet to comment on the operating system for it’s next generation console the PS4. But it goes without saying that they will probably be looking towards the Microsoft model of sharing data across all of their platforms in one, single network.

The Xbox 360 currently runs the same interface as Windows 8 but will have to wait for an update to get the full features. Rumours are flying around the internet that developers, such as Ubisoft, have already received target boxes for the next generation Microsoft console to allow game development. A target box is a PC built to the specifications that Microsoft hope to achieve with the next console. Only time will tell if this turns out to be the case.

Continue reading »]]> Exciting news for all web developers and mashup freaks: Microsoft just released its fourth overall preview of their Internet Explorer 10. Especially aimed at you, new features and better  HTML5 functionalities improve possibilities for the creation of Web applications. However, there is one caveat: The new release only works on the Windows 8 preview release which Microsoft released in September.

Most notably among the new functionalities: CORS, the Cross-Origin Resource Sharing tool that defines ways for a web server to allow its resources to be accessed by web page from a different domain, thus enabling broader cooperation between developers; JavaScript typed arrays, which provide mechanisms to allow more efficient access to raw binary data; and HTML 5 video subtitling which makes videos more accessible and provides more options to the viewer. CORS especially proves to be a crucial tool in the creation of mashups, which, as you know, combine Web services from various different providers.

The problem remains the fact that IE 10 will not run on Windows 7, which is an interesting choice from Microsoft, especially since IE 10 will eventually work fine with Windows 7 once its released. IE 10 will be fundamental to Windows 8, more so than any earlier version of the browser has been. HTML and JavaScript make it possible for developers to create so-called touch-friendly Metro-style applications, and this support rests on the shoulders of IE10. However, while Metro-style applications may be important to Microsoft, the browser will still have a substantial user base on Windows 7, those that use regular non-Metro Web applications. The last thing Microsoft wants to do is exclude this group from the preview. So we are not sure what the entire purpose of the scheme is.

Continue reading »]]> I recently came across this fine piece of programming after weeding through the IT blogosphere. And since activity on this site has all but stopped for a while, I thought it was high time to get back on track and once more let you know about some of the exciting stuff out there. Bibliogo is a journal article web app that will help you keep track of what is happening in your respective line of work. Bibliogo alerts you to the newest publications, it gives you access to them, it facilitates collaboration and sharing – in short: it makes the web a whole lot more efficient for you.

Photo: Jack Amick

What it is?
Bibliogo’s description of their project is simple: It is “a free web application for secure and efficient workgroup collaboration around journals, citations and bibliographies. Browse, access and share copyright cleared articles from over 14,000 scholarly journals – from one central location.” This impressive portfolio makes Bibliogo more or less the only web app on the market that covers the whole range of journal-article related issues, from tracking publications through using them for your work to paying for royalties once you’re done.

How much is it?
As is the case with most apps, there is a free base subscription and an extended premium use – the latter is priced at $300 annually. Included in the base are functionalities that allow you to track and upload publications, create bibliographies and citations or request quotes for reprints. The premium package enables you to collaborate with up to 25 users (as opposed to just three in the base version) and it increasing collaborative possibilities, making it the perfect tool for the sciences. The developers stressed their emphasis on the fields of engineering, information management as well as medicine and healthcare but it might just be available for other areas one day, too. Definitely check it out, especially since the sign up is free

Continue reading »]]> For those of you thinking about creating your own mashups, we can get you started with some easy steps through the process. This post is not so much about the coding itself but about what youll need to think about before getting started.
First, you should think about the subject that you want to address with your mashup. Lets say you plan on making a mashup with the best pizza places in town, something that you and your friends can share and pass on among everyone living in the community. The rule is to keep it simple in the beginning and to expand afterwards. Keeping it simple and focusing on the subject will help you figure out what APIs and tools to use. A good place to start looking for APIs is here.

Next, you need to think about the source for your information. For your pizza place mashup, you will need to enter most of the information yourself or allow other users to add data, for other mashups you might want to go with APIs from vendors like Flickr or eBay.

Now you need to figure out, how much of the coding you want to do yourself or if you plan on getting help from tools like MapBuilder. Depending on your skills, you will be able to do most of the coding yourself, especially if you plan a simple mashup and have some time on your hands. Of course, if the mashup gets more complicated, so will the coding and you might be more likely to “outsource” some of the work for time’s sake. Also, you’ll need to think about server and programming language.

After you have signed up for an API (which should take no more than a few minutes in most cases) your last step is to start coding. Countless good tutorials exist on the web, consult Google for more.

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The World on Your Screen

Continue reading »]]> For those that used to work with Popfly, Microsofts Game Lab “Kodu” (speak: Code-ooh) might be an adequate replacement. For the longest time it was only available for XBox 360, but since 2010 a PC-version exists as well. Simple but fun games are quickly created and without source code or compilers its a simple way to program games – no programming knowledge required. The way it works is fairly straightforward: Per mouse click you pick and place objects in your “world” and assign them properties and behaviors. “Kodu” provides you with the graphical development environment and in several tutorials your first steps are adequately explained. Additionally, some games that have been developed with “Kudo” are included in the “Kodu Game Lab” package which can be downloaded at fuse.microsoft.com/page/kodu.aspx. Of course, the source code is never more than the stroke of a key away if you want to make changes directly in the code.


In the meantime, the first projects have appeared that make creative use of Microsoft’s “Kudo”: Expressive Intelligence Studio recently presented their work on the Kodu AI Lab, which is an extension specifically designed for kids. The idea of a visual programming language instead of the source code illegible to the untrained eye is of course appealing to those who design tool especially for our offspring. The AI Lab extension needs more time but the idea of putting “artificial intelligence tools into the hands of children and allowing them to create games centered around characters and changing relationships” is powerful and has every potential to turn into a promising business idea for the 21st century. Its a good way to channel creative energies and set the young ones on the right track to successful careers. SantaCruz.com has more: news.santacruz.com/2011/06/29/the_game_of_life

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David Ortez via Flickr

Since Popfly was mainly a Mashup tool, we should devote some time to the concept before starting off: A mashup (a term borrowed from the musical blending of two or more songs) is essentially an online application that lends services from third party applications and uses these services for its own purposes. The benefits are apparent: if someone else has done the work, you don’t need to do it anymore, so you save time and money. Even advanced mashups might only take an hour to create if you are experienced. Mashups are a classical feature of the Web 2.0 world: The content comes from multiple sources, such as public interfaces or web feeds (like RSS or Atom), JavaScript may be included, screen scraping (extracting data from human-readable output originating elsewhere) a frequent technique. A popular source for data are eBay, Amazon, Google and Yahoo APIs.

Mashups can be found all over the web and chances are you have used one before. Take for example news.linktv.org, a media project that employs the APIs Freebase and FreebieSMS and brings you TV programming from across the globe, thus providing a unique perspective on international news and current events. Downtweet.com on the other hand is a microblogging mashup that uses various Twitter APIs and allows you to search Twitter for virtually any subject, get results instantly, and integrate them into your website. Less useful, but very fun: Let’s make a Puzzle which lets you upload any picture you want and make it into a puzzle. You see, the opportunities are endless if you know how to do it. For a great tutorial on how to create your own mashup in less than an hour, check out this tutorials that tells you how to do just that: http://brenelz.com/blog/create-a-mashup-from-scratch/