'Net Features : web apps

Developers Wanted for Mozilla Apps Marketplace

Linc Wonham — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 18:00:00 GMT

The just-announced Mozilla Marketplace will open for developers to begin submitting Web apps at next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

By building on open Web technologies like HTML5 and Mozilla-proposed APIs, the Mozilla Marketplace will enable developers to write one app that runs across devices and platforms. Mozilla has always maintained that its mission is to keep the Web open and put people in control of their Web experiences, and users will be able to buy apps once and use them on any HTML5-enabled devices.

By creating new APIs and putting developers back in control of every aspect of the app experience – from easy development and distribution to direct consumer interaction – Mozilla says that it is advancing the Web as a platform and closing the technology gap between Web and native apps.

The Mozilla Web Apps platform gives content owners, operators and service providers a direct connection to their customers and increases the possibilities for consumer interaction and customized experiences. The “Write once, deploy everywhere” nature of the platform should reduce the cost of creating, versioning and maintaining applications, says Mozilla.

The Mozilla Web Apps platform will feature the following:

• The Mozilla Marketplace, the first operating system- and device-independent market for apps based on open Web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript and CSS.

• New Mozilla-proposed APIs that advance the Web as a platform and will be submitted to the W3C for standardization.

• A new identity system for the Web that puts users in control of their content, tying apps to the user and not the device or platform.

The Mozilla Marketplace will open for developers to submit Web apps at Stand 7B96 in Hall 7 at Mobile World Congress on February 27, and will open to consumers later this year. The Mozilla Marketplace will feature apps in the categories of games, media, music, productivity and more.

Conduit Continues to Add Big-name Publishers

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:00:00 GMT

Say what you will about Conduit and the value its technologies bring to Web users, but the company certainly has a knack for acquiring big-name publishers.

The Web and mobile app company focuses on helping publishers create, exchange and distribute apps, like toolbars, everywhere "from browsers and websites to all major mobile devices." Since acquiring Web application solutions provider Wibiya back in May, the company has seen a slew of interested brands looking to leverage their combined technologies.

New clients using Conduit’s products or Web toolbars from its recent Wibiya acquisition include eHow, ResumeBucket, SpeedDate, Give Back America, Slingo, Profile Song, WhiteSmoke, Garnier, Bakespace, Free Ride Games, Army Wife Network and BrotherSoft.

“The summer was incredibly busy for Conduit and the fall has shaped up to be even more eventful as additional publishers recognize the power of our solutions,” says Conduit president Adam Boyden. “Publishers understand the value of the relationship with their users and are turning to Conduit to help them reach and further engage their communities. While Wibiya allows publishers to keep their users engaged for longer while on their websites, Conduit allows publishers to extend those relationships as their users leave their sites and travel the Web.”

Google Chrome Demolishes App Divide

Michael Garrity — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:00:00 GMT

Google's powerful Web browser Chrome has unveiled a release that brings us all a little closer to univseral Web development.

The release came with two new technologies: Web Audio API, a feature that brings some advanced audio capabilities to JavaScript, and Native Client, which allows for execution of C and C++ code within the browser. Oh, and it also seemingly erases the divide between Web and native apps.

Originally, these features had been released on the beta channel back in August, but they are now a prominent part of the Chrome experience.

Web Audio API will help developers add in audio effects to JavaScript programming that will allow them to have a little more fun with "cool" sounds, as opposed to just playing back simple files. These only appear on browsers that support Web Audio API.

It's safe to say that most developers are going to be more interested in the offical release of Native Client, which makes it possible for all Chrome users to run applications that have been written in either C or C++ securely inside their browser. It works through the use of an API Google calls "Pepper" that provides HTML5 bindings for C and C++. When Native Client apps use Pepper, they will be provdied with a set of interfaces that equip them with the necessary bindings, allowing developers to leverage their proficiency and knowledge of the native code and pump out portable, high performance Web apps.

Google says that they have plans to eventually make Native Client available to other browers as a plugin. This could pave the way for cloud-based applications to execute desktop-level codes that could be run on Google Chrome, more or less eradicating the line between Web/cloud and desktop applications.

In addtion to these two major overhauls, Google's update also presents some improvements for Mac OS X Lion users, which, as I'm sure they'll tell you, isn't the most Chrome-friendly OS available. These include fixing crash bugs and adding some "visual polish," like the new Lion scrollbars and support for full-screen mode.

Conduit’s Web App Network Goes Mobile

Linc Wonham — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 14:44:00 GMT

With the recent release of a new mobile platform, Conduit has extended its network of app publishers from the Web browser to iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows and Nokia devices. Now developers creating mobile apps can join the fastest-growing Web app network of more than a quarter-million publishers.

The Conduit platform is free to use and allows publishers – from professional developers to individuals without engineering expertise – to create an app and deploy it across every major mobile device and all major Web browsers. Conduit-powered mobile apps meet all the specs and standards for marketplaces like iTunes and Android, and publishers can monetize their apps through an integrated targeted advertising module.

“The mobile app market has grown at a staggering pace and has created a climate where publishers, brands and developers are under pressure to create apps for many different devices,” says Conduit president Adam Boyden. “With Conduit Mobile they can create, deploy and manage their apps for all the major smartphone platforms in one location.”

Game publishers BigPoint and Exent are among Conduit’s early mobile customers, joining big-name clients on the Web side such as Univision and Major League Baseball. Conduit announced its new mobile platform at last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.