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| 04-29-10 / 11:49 PM : Flash and common denominator (cjed) |
| Steve Jobs published an open letter about Flash, that lists the 6 main reasons (another one being strategical) of lack of Flash on iPhone and iPad. Indeed it has been proven that solutions heading to the (low) common denominator aren't compatible with the mac experience, as we can see on some iPhone application, and previously on mac (Eclipse, OpenOffice, games ported using Cider). The main interest of Apple's solutions against Windows or Android resides in these few innovative applications. Some have still undestood this and make full use of OSX features : idSoftware, Blizzard, and recently Valve. As a paradox, the same companies that claim about cross-platform development (and that took 10 years to migrate to Cocoa) forced Apple to cancell the Yellow Box (worked also on Windows), and to provide Carbon, some of a compromise. Advanced object concepts from AppKit and ObjC runtime aren't likely to be easily unified with MFC programming and even Java. |
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| 04-24-10 / 01:36 AM : Akihabara : creating game using HTML5 (cjed) |
| Akihabara (see here) is the first comprehensive and optimized (2D) game creation framework based on HTML5 (uses Canvas for rendering) : - allows multiple grouped objects moving simultaneously, helps with collisions, rendering and moving objects, provides monospaced pixel-fonts rendering too, handles keyboard, double buffering and eventually FSEs, - provides a complete generic game cycle: intro, menus, crossfading between stages/lifes, gameover and ending - provides lots lots of common routines during the game developing: from effects for screen titles to HUD handling to platform/SHMUP/RPG oriented routines, like jumping characters, Z-Indexed objects, bullets, sparks, staff rolls, bonus screens, dialogues etc. - provides some Javascript-specific functions, such object copying, randomizing functions, string/array handlers and the akihabaraInit function, that automatically sets a comfortable preset of configurations: 25fps, double-sized display for non-mobile devices, dynamic frameskip - provides simple developing tools. Actually there is only a cel-composer: it can compose an image stacking a set of frames for animating objects, applying a number of filters to each frame. - provides some math stuff for moving objects in a direction or following a round path - provides a touchpad for touch-based device (for now, Android and iDevices) Demo games are provided. Another area where Flash isn't anymore required. However there is still to consider that Flash's interest isn't all about its plugin (Adobe indeed just started to migrate its solution to HTML5/WebKit foundations), and more about its components library, editor (Flash Studio), and bridge (BlazeDS). The later is however less evolved than Cappuccino's CP2JavaWS (this solution works at Objective-J level - higher level/more object than ActionScript -, and manages far more complex objets graphs - including nested heterogeneous collections, null values, generic types, references/cycles -, as well as Digest authentication, and finally Direct2CP mode). |
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| 04-20-10 / 10:29 PM : Flash Player 10.1 RC2 : the last for PowerPC (cjed) |
| The RC2 of Flash Player 10.1 is downloadable here. We have to uninstall Flash before, using the provided uninstaller. It will be the last version compatible with PowerPC. |
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| 04-17-10 / 03:19 PM : WebGL unsupported on Radeon 9000 Pro (cjed) |
| With latest WebKit nightlty (and enabled WebGL option through write com.apple.Safari WebKitWebGLEnabled -bool YES command), scenes are still blank on a G4 MDD with Radeon 9000 Pro. In fact WebGL requires a graphics card that supports OpenGL ES2, and then OpenGL 2.0. Under Leopard, this compatibility matrix states that the Radeon 9000 Pro is restricted to OpenGL 1.3. The MDD G4 can receive a Radeon 9600 Pro Mac et PC Edition card as an option (was priced 200$... however it isn't available yet), that supports OpenGL 2.0. We can get the list of new APIs added by OpenGL versions here. |
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| 04-15-10 / 11:52 PM : WebKit : Web Inspector enhancements (cjed) |
| Through a recent WebKit nightly build, the Web Inspector provides many new features : - styles inspection, contextual DOM editing (and display per chunks for nodes that contain many children), - informations about HTTP redirect, - global enabling/disabling of breakpoints, contextual popup (hover) for evaluating elements, - new keyboard shortcuts, - timeline that displays the duration of operations (loading, script execution, rendering), sorted/nested against event causation, and with syncrhonous operations being displayed as solid parts, - audit page (reports unused resources, and provides hints about caching, etc.), - dedicated page for the console. |
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| 04-14-10 / 12:18 AM : Intel AVX expected late 2010 (cjed) |
| Intel confirmed that its Sandy Bridge platform will be launched next fall : it will finally bring the AVX vector engine, similar to G4's Altivec (that was launched in 1999...) |
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| 04-13-10 / 11:50 PM : New MacBook Pro : HD video/best battery (cjed) |
| The new MacBook Pro bring new CoreI5 and Core i7 mobiles processors (15,4' and 17' models only) : contrary to the similarly named iMac (desktop) processors, those are dual core (not quad), however they also feature Turbo Boost, Hyperthreading, and an on-chip memory controller, wich leads to up to 50% performance increase (notably in video encoding and 3D rendering). Moreover all models (including 13,3') unveil the best battery life ever (more than doubled) : 10 hours on the 13,3 model (only includes a classic Core2 Duo, and an integrated Nvidia GeForce 320M chipset), and 8-9 hours on 15,4' and 17' models (common use - when based on the Intel HD chipset). Finally all models will benefit from a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter (option), and even the GeForce 320M chispet found on the 13,3' model (derived from the GT216 and featuring 48 shader cores - and using 256 Mb of shared memory - over 4Gb or RAM) will also manage HD video decoding (and also CUDA, OpenCL and DirectCompute). Despite this chispet being half powerful than the dedicated GeForce GT 330M card (256 or 512 Mb of VRAM) found on the 15' and 17' models, il will be able to run older games in high quality, and most recent ones in low quality. It offers up to 80% more fps than the previous Nvidia 9400M chipset. The switch between Intel HD chipset and GeForce GT 330M card on the 15' and 17' models is managed automatically (feature developped by Apple - isn"t the rumored Nvidia's Optimus technology). A HD resolution option (1680x1050 instead of 1440x900) is available for the 15' model (+100$), as well as an anti-glare screen (+150$ - is also HD). The anti-glare option is also available for the 17' model (+50$). |
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| 04-10-10 / 06:23 PM : Adobe : forced to migrate Flash to HTML5 ? (cjed) |
| This text animation using WebKit implementation of CSS3 (gradients, transforms, transitions) confirms the better performances of the new standards on mac, compared with Flash : processor usage (reported for Safari by the Activity Monitor) range from 20 to 85 percent (50 percent average) for the CSS animation on a 1,25 Ghz G4 (with Radeon 9000 Pro - 64 Mb VRAM), while most similar Flash text animations require the same usage (85 percent), however constantly . Flash interest isn't however all about performance (or not) of its plugin, Adobe acquired a great experience in user friendly interfaces/controls : to remember, Adobe's Photoshop and Illustrateur were mac only (System 7 - another Seven !) between early 90s and mid 90s, and so Adobe set some UI standards at that time. Since iApps and later iPhone/iPad however, Apple opened new eras. The amateurish of Flash development (compared with advanced object concepts inherited from Next) could be resolved by migrating Flash on HTML5 basis. And that seems exactly what Adobe is preparing to, as a fallback (see Creative Suite allowing WebKit to develop extensions). What will be kept is its huge catalog of rich/evolved UI components. However there is still more and more HTML5 examples and frameworks coming from various companies (including Apple, with PastryKit and ADLib). All this coming so fast was unpredictable a year ago (Adobe should be surprised, as it stated some months ago that HTML5 would take at least 10 years to be implemented. In fact even Microsoft is embracing - has to catch up with - the HTML5 side !). |
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| 04-10-10 / 01:59 AM : WebKit2 : split process model (cjed) |
 The WebKit2 framework brings an elegant answer to separating HTML and Javascript exceutions into processes. The provided C API (non-blocking API that is mostly platform agnostic) use the following techniques : notifications, policies, injected code. Objective-C wrapper classes will be available also for MacOSX. The article also explains the differences with Chromium implementation.To remember, Safari under Snow Leopard (and now Firefox 3.6.3 on Windows and Linux) runs plugins (Flash, etc.) in separate processes. Finally all this seems welcome if we consider the references to Grand Central Dispatch found in the iPhone OS4 SDK, that could lead to an optimal performance on ARM Cortex A9 architecture (1 to 4 cores). |
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| 04-10-10 / 12:09 AM : Apple answer to fake devs, Adobe and Google (cjed) |
| Since the starting of the crisi between Apple and Google (whose Android and more recently Nexus - in contradiction with their implicit non-competing agreements -, leaded to Apple being angry - what is understandable considering Google was among its board of directors these lastest 3 years-, and to an indirect threat through sueing HTC about Apple's patents), and more recently Google's help provided to Adobe (integration of Flash into Chrome - that is the opposite of Google's commitment to HTML5/WebKit, and so a threat to Apple), things go faster and faster : Apple just stated through the iPhone OS4 license that non-natives applications (that is those using a compiler to transform code that do not rely on Apple's SDK APIs into binary) will be excluded from AppStore : 3.3.1 — Applications may only use Documented APIs in the manner prescribed by Apple and must not use or call any private APIs. Applications must be originally written in Objective-C, C, C++, or JavaScript as executed by the iPhone OS WebKit engine, and only code written in C, C++, and Objective-C may compile and directly link against the Documented APIs (e.g., Applications that link to Documented APIs through an intermediary translation or compatibility layer or tool are prohibited). To remember Adobe did success recently going through Flash ban on iPhone, by using a compiler, that indeed will be provided as part of Flash CS5 in a few days... Most of editors of non natives solutions (Unity, Corona, Appcelerator Titanium) don't seem too much scared (they have the required skills to adapt to the new rules, or some tricks), as we can read at Corona's blog (whose solution still produces a compliant XCode/Objective-C application through a compilation step - contrary to Adobe's producing a binary). For fake developers that were used to make fast porting without much implication nor care (this lack of Cocoa concepts use leaded to deceiving results, and typically to dispoasble/event targeted applications), the required changes will be more costly. However this cleanup will benefit the platform in the long run, and ensure better software quality ! Finally, as some say (see an interview of Backelite by Macgeneration), those that don't want to make efforts to adapt to the target platform / Cocoa concepts (that is in the end very productive once the first step succeeded) may better go back to their less evolved langugages and non elegant solutions. Apple's strategy (that can now be deployed thanks to the amount of iPhone/Cocoa developers), alongwith the new idAd solution (based on HTML5), is a final no go for Flash on iPhone, notably Flash ads and associated revenues. Not only Adobe has to loose, Google also is threatened, as this market could generate billions of $ per year. In reaction to this announce, a Google employee just (that is in a non official way) stated that HTML5 might not replace Flash in ads companies. However this is without considering the new framework that Apple is likely to unveil soon to create these contents (some ADLib derived one, with a web image and video editor, featuring a timeline ?) For other areas (RDA applications) there is still Cappuccino and Atlas. Note : through AppleInsider we learn that another reason for the new SDK restriction could be related to iPhone OS4 multitasking compliance... |
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| 04-08-10 / 11:51 PM : iPhone OS4 : tasks, folders, iAds (cjed) |
| Apple presented a beta version of iPhone OS4, that notably brings some multitasking emulating modes (the background tasks do not run continuously and long, in order to save battery and resources) : 1) background audio streaming 2) VoIP calls more like regular cell phone service 3) background GPS location updates 4) push notifications (not new, but there are implementation improvements) 5) local notifications - "background" processes can send a notification based on scheduled time, or possibly as the result of an event in the location, audio streaming or VoIP service 6) task completion - a specific task that your application is performing can run until completion, and then stop 7) fast app switching - save application state rapidly to be able to give the appearance of switching back to your previous state when you launch it again. These features are however restricted to iPhone 3GS and third generation iPod Touch (the iPhone 3G includes only 128 Mb of RAM - a half -, and its processor and architecture are way slower, so it might not provide optimal multitasking experience in all situations). Another new feature is folders, that allow to arrange applications (the limit is now up to 2000 from 180). The iPhone will also get a version of iBooks application. Finally Apple presented Game Center (unifying social network for handheld games, alla Xbox Live), as well as iAds, that will allow free softwares developers to get revenues from "in app" ads (60 percent, the remaining 40 going to Apple, that then enters Google's market). These contents will be produced using HTML5, through an Apple framework to be unveiled... derived from ADLib ? |
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| 04-08-10 / 11:33 PM : QuartzGL for Cappuccino ? (cjed) |
| Since the WebGL performance demo brought by Quake II GWT Port, we can imagine what would be Cappuccino if its CoreGraphics implementation switched to using WebGL accelerating, that is now a cross-platform feature. We could then reproduce MacOSX's QuartzGL. On iPhone's WebKit (and now in Safari on Snow Leopard), CSS Effects accelerating is handled through CoreAnimation, that however isn't available on other systems. The fact is that modern browsers still provide Canvas (even now on IE) and CSS3 accelerating: when on MacOSX, the Cocoa or Carbon APIs used to develop the browser (thas is CoreGraphics and CoreAnimation for 2D, and typically OpenGL for WebGL) will lead to hardware accelerating through the system graphics engines (Quartz - and in the future QuartzGL when the graphics cards 3D renderers will allow the required precision calculations to draw sharp 2D -, and OpenGL). On Windows IE8 will use Direct2D. So Cappuccino could simply continue relying on Canvas (and CSS3 in some cases) for its 2D graphics (CoreGraphics and CoreAnimation) implementations. There isn't finally any need to reproduce a QuartzGL like layer using WebGL, as we still will benefit in the end from OSX's Quartz/QuartzGL on mac browsers (and on Windows's browsers from Direct2D/DirectX/WPF, and soon animation framework copied from Apple's CoreAnimation :-)). |
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| 04-08-10 / 11:20 PM : ADLib : Apple's RDA solution for June ? (cjed) |
| The iPad User Guide (web application) was made using a new framework, ADLib, developed by Apple. It is based on HTML/CSS/JavaScript and it reproduces the controls and effects from the UIKit. Apple still had developed such framework for the iPhone, PastryKit, as well as more recently TuneKit to make iTunes Extra and iTunes LP contents. We can then hope an announce of a finalized solution in June (during the WWDC), the only way for Apple to catch up with Cappuccino (or they will have to buy it, and merge best ideas from both solutions). |
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| 04-08-10 / 01:06 AM : Cappuccino 0.8 available (cjed) |
| The final 0.8 version of Cappuccino is available We can watch a video that demonstrates the new CPTableView : sorting, lines and columns reordering, fast scroll even with thousands of elements. There is to note that CP2JavaWS still offered automatic sort management, as well as a live mode (automatic buffered access to remote elments while browsing/scrolling the table). The additions (complementary) brought by Randy to the new TableView make it finally as evolved/polished than the original MacOSX component (there will still be one feature to add, 'in table" editing, to go definitely beyond ExtJS). |
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| 04-08-10 / 12:50 AM : Apple patents for iPhone validated (cjed) |
| We learn that Apple will be able to use its patents about key features of the iPhone : - multi-touch interfaces of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, - virtual keyboard concept, -error correction for a multi-touch surface, - Cover Flow, the album browsing interface Apple acquired several years ago, All this will certainly hurt other mobile companies (HTC, etc.), that still cannot catch up 3 years later (not easy without Core Animation...) |
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| 04-08-10 / 12:46 AM : ArsTechnica : iPad review (cjed) |
| ArsTechnica provides a very detailed (as usual) review of the iPad. |
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| 04-05-10 / 05:41 PM : iTunes 9 : create an iMix from ITMS (cjed) |
| Since iTunes 9 we cannot anymore drag and drop songs from ITMS to iTunes library, if we didn't have buyed them before (it then limits creating iMix). There however exists a workaround : - from the ITMS home, click on the Browse link (in the Quick Links area, up and right, under the Open a session link). - in the columns views, choose Music, then genre and sub-genre (choose All for the later), artist, and album. - in the bottom view drag and drop the songs to the Library. - create a new playlist and add the songs from the library into the playlist. - select the playlist and click on the icon (right arrow) that now displays. - choose Create an iMix in the dialog. The iMix will be published at best in the following 15 minutes. Through your account section, click on the "Manage the iMix" link to display your submitted imixes, and then on an imix link. Then click on "Display all imix from this user" link to check for avaibility. To reach the global iMix section, search for imix, then click on imix link under "Related" (on the left). Note : you can only post imix to the store corresponding to your account country. You have to create additional users to release imix to other stores. MJ Style part1 iMix |
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| 04-05-10 / 04:17 PM : Quake 2 with WebGL/HTML5/WebSockets (cjed) |
| Following Quake Live, a Quake 2 version (based on Jake2 source) is available for modern browsers (nightly builds of WebKit or Chromium). It uses WebGL, HTML5 audio, HTML5 storage, and WebSockets. There isn't yet any public server hosting the web application, so we will have to checkout the source code and launch the maven build in order to get the war (see also here). We can watch a demo video at Youtube. |
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| 04-03-10 / 12:51 AM : iPad : audio apps and HD games are here (cjed) |
| Few new/great iPhone games emerged these last two months, and the reason is mainly developers were working on making changes to their titles for these to work on iPad (that now counts more than 20 percent of new mobile projects - Android falls from 18 to only 10 percents). Indeed porting existing applications to iPad is easy, and this is a new market (contrary to iPhone's oversatured one). On the audio side we can find AC-7, a virtual control surface for Logic, ProTools, etc., and Korg just announced KORG iELECTRIBE. On the games sides, Gameloft presented HD (iPad) versions of NOVA, Sandstorm, Asphalt5, etc. We can also find an HD version of Real Racing and X-Plane (4x the resolution of the iPhone version, and ground details - buildings, etc.) |
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