Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Find: Mozilla launches Thimble site-building app for HTML novices

Mozilla launches Thimble site-building app for HTML novices

mozilla thimble

Mozilla added a new app to its Webmaker suite today, with the launch of Thimble — a tool designed to simplify website creation. Thimble, in its most basic form, is a visual HTML editor and tutorial that allows users to create and preview sites in real-time, using side-by-side editor and output panels. The app also alerts users whenever they make a coding error, providing simple explanations that underscore its focus on HTML novices, rather than veterans. Coders can either start from scratch, or build their sites from a pre-loaded template. Once a project has been finalized, users can publish it to the web with one click, and instantly share it with a customized URL.

Alongside Thimble, Mozilla has also unveiled a revamped Webmaker.org...

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Find: The Google APIs Explorer has a new look


The Google APIs Explorer has a new look


Jake


Antonio
By Antonio Fuentes and Jake Moshenko,

Google Developer Team

Last March we introduced the Google APIs Explorer, an interactive tool that enables you to try out a Google API in minutes and explore its supported methods. When we launched it, the APIs Explorer supported over a half dozen APIs.

Starting today, the APIs Explorer has a brand new look to make it easier and more fun to navigate. We are also adding new features, including an indexed history of your API calls, a better editor for the body of a request, and a search box so you can search for APIs and methods easily.

screen shot

Moreover, we have been busy adding support for more APIs to the Explorer. The Explorer now supports over two dozen Google APIs, and the list continues to grow! We have also added an indicator to show which methods require authenticated requests.

To get started, here are some sample requests you can try in the Explorer:


  • Use the Books API to search for a particular book.

  • Use the Google+ API to list your personal Google+ activiti...
  • Monday, June 11, 2012

    Job: [CS-Alumni] Rendering positions with Activision

    More via David

    Benjamin Watson
    Director, Design Graphics Lab | Associate Professor, Computer Science, NC State Univ.
    919-513-0325 | designgraphics.ncsu.edu | @dgllab

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: David McAllister <davidm@cmonline.com>
    Date: Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 10:07 AM
    Subject: Fwd: [CS-Alumni] Rendering positions with Activision

    Begin forwarded message:

    From: Aaron Fulkerson <aaronf@mindtouch.com>
    Date: June 8, 2012 1:27:47 PM EDT
    To: Andrew Zaferakis <andrew.zaferakis@gmail.com>
    Subject: Re: [CS-Alumni] Rendering positions with Activision

    Thanks Andrew for reminding me of this resource. :-) 

    Hi, I'm Aaron. I graduated in 2004 from UNC with my degree in CS and went on to start www.MindTouch.com. I'm also the CEO. We're hiring too! Our customers are companies like SAP, Citrix, Mozilla, Intuit, etc. We develop a product that's a kind of next generation help system for technology companies. Moreover, we're located in San Diego, minutes from the beach. 

    We're looking for engineers with web development skills. 

    Andrew, let's get a beer sometime. 

    On Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 1:54 PM, Andrew Zaferakis <andrew.zaferakis@gmail.com> wrote:
    Hello all!
    I'm the Lead Engineer on a new game development project for Activision that is about to begin next month.  The studio is located in sunny San Diego, minutes from the beach.  The target is for next-generation consoles (new Xbox, PS4) and PC.  I'm looking to add more rendering positions given the new technology.  If you are interested or know anybody else please send them my way.

    -Z

    Andrew Zaferakis
    Lead Engineer
    High Moon Studios


    Monday, June 4, 2012

    Tool: Mozilla Thimble Teaches You HTML and CSS with a Side-by-Side HTML Editor


    Mozilla Thimble Teaches You HTML and CSS with a Side-by-Side HTML Editor [Learn To Code]

    Mozilla Thimble Teaches You HTML and CSS with a Side-by-Side HTML EditorWe recently told you about Mozilla's new Webmaker projects that teach you how to code, and the first one is ready for a test drive right now. Thimble is an easy to use, in-browser HTML editor that shows you the finished product right alongside your code, so you can learn as you go.


    Thimble won't teach you HTML directly—you'd still want to have something like Codeacademy on hand—but it's a tool that makes learning a lot easier. Instead of having to type your code in a text editor and load the resulting file up in a browser, you can see all your changes in real time as you make them. That also makes correcting mistakes a lot easier, since you'll know exactly what caused a problem as soon as you type it. You can even publish your finished web pages right from Thimble's app for all your friends to see. It's still in the testing phases right now, but you can use the testing version by clicking the link below.

    Friday, June 1, 2012

    Find: Qt 5 makes JavaScript a first-class citizen for app development


    First look: Qt 5 makes JavaScript a first-class citizen for app development

    The Qt development toolkit is undergoing a major overhaul. The developers behind the project announced the availability of the Qt 5 alpha release this week. It's a key milestone on the path to the official launch of Qt 5, expected to occur later this year.


    Qt is an open source toolkit designed to support cross-platform desktop and mobile application development. It provides libraries, user interface controls, and other components. Qt was originally created by Trolltech, a Norwegian software company that Nokia acquired in 2008. Nokia subsequently relicensed Qt under more permissive terms and transitioned the toolkit to a community-driven open governance model.


    The rise of Qt Quick


    The update to Qt 5 will bring many significant technical and philosophical changes to the toolkit. The developers aim to transition the focus of Qt away from the traditional widget system (based on QWidget C++ classes) in favor of Qt Quick, a declarative scripting framework for building rich interfaces. This change will gradually shift Qt application developers away from the toolkit's C++ roots.

    Read more on Ars Technica…