PCs down, Android up: astonishing figures from Gartner show shift to mobile

By tim, on November 15th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Want to know why Apple is suing Samsung over Android, or why Microsoft is re-imagining Windows as a touch-friendly mobile OS? Look no further than Gartner’s latest report on European and worldwide sales in the third quarter of 2011.

First, this release shows PC sales in Western Europe, not helped by HP’s dithering over

…continue reading PCs down, Android up: astonishing figures from Gartner show shift to mobile

Quick thoughts on Xcode and Objective C versus Microsoft’s tools

By tim, on November 4th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I have been trying out JetBrains’ AppCode which meant working in an Apple development environment for a time. I took the opportunity to implement my simple calculator app in iOS native code.

Objective C is a distinctive language with a mixed reputation, but I enjoy coding with it. I used Automatic Reference Counting

…continue reading Quick thoughts on Xcode and Objective C versus Microsoft’s tools

Delphi XE2 FireMonkey for Windows, Mac, iOS: great idea, but is it usable?

By tim, on October 24th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I am sure all readers of this blog will know by now that Delphi XE2 (and RAD Studio XE2) has been released, and that to the astonishment of Delphi-watchers it supports not only 64-bit compilation on Windows, but also cross-platform apps for Windows, Mac OS X and even iOS for iPhone and iPad (with

…continue reading Delphi XE2 FireMonkey for Windows, Mac, iOS: great idea, but is it usable?

A few observations on Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”

By tim, on September 28th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I received a Windows Phone running version 7.5 “Mango” for review yesterday. Here are some initial observations; I am not going to call it a review after such as short time.

There is still no screen capture utility – well, there is this one but it requires a developer accounts. So no screens,

…continue reading A few observations on Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango”

Adobe to ship Flash 11 and AIR 3, repositions Flash vs HTML 5

By tim, on September 21st, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Adobe has announced that Flash 11 and AIR 3 will ship in early October.

There are significant changes in this release.

Flash gets Stage 3D (previously codenamed Molehill), a set of low-level 3D APIs, GPU accelerated where hardware allows, which will make console-like 3D graphics and games possible in Flash. Stage 3D wraps DirectX

…continue reading Adobe to ship Flash 11 and AIR 3, repositions Flash vs HTML 5

Building Windows – when Microsoft shows its hand

By tim, on September 12th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

I’m in Anaheim, California on the eve of Microsoft’s BUILD conference. I have heard the phrase “wait until BUILD” so many times from Microsoft over the last few months that it has given this conference a special flavour. After Wednesday, the company will have to think of another way to avoid awkward questions like

…continue reading Building Windows – when Microsoft shows its hand

Thoughts on Apple and Steve Jobs as he resigns as CEO

By tim, on August 25th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Steve Jobs has written to Apple’s board of directors:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple.

…continue reading Thoughts on Apple and Steve Jobs as he resigns as CEO

HP discontinues WebOS, considers PC spin-off. Should have stuck with Microsoft

By tim, on August 18th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Oh yes, and buys Autonomy, a fast-growing specialist in enterprise knowledge management.

Here’s the news from HP’s announcement:

As part of the transformation, HP announced that its board of directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives for the company’s Personal Systems Group. HP will consider a broad range of options that may include,

…continue reading HP discontinues WebOS, considers PC spin-off. Should have stuck with Microsoft

Reports of 19% decline in Western European PC market show structural change

By tim, on August 17th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

As if we needed telling, a new Gartner report shows a steep decline in the PC market in Western Europe. A “PC” in this context includes Macs but excludes smartphones and what Gartner called “media tablets”, mostly Apple iPads. A few figures comparing shipments in the second quarter 2011 with the same period in

…continue reading Reports of 19% decline in Western European PC market show structural change

Google Native Client: browser apps unleashed, or misconceived and likely to fail?

By tim, on August 15th, 2011 Follow tim on Twitter

Last week Google integrated Native Client into the beta of Chrome 14. Native client lets you compile C/C++ code to run in the browser. It depends on a new plug-in API called Pepper. These are open source projects sponsored by Google and implemented in the Chrome browser, and therefore also likely to turn up

…continue reading Google Native Client: browser apps unleashed, or misconceived and likely to fail?

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