Monday, March 31, 2014

3 app building services for building an Android business app

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/3-app-building-services-for-building-an-android-business-app/#ftag=RSS56d97e7
I've found three such services that warrant your time and effort. Each of them offer pretty much the same service:
  1. Build an app that contains various types of pages
  2. Include their ads (or pay a premium to remove the ads)
  3. Publish the app to the Google Play Store
What's key to this is the type of pages these services offer. You won't be creating seriously in-depth, interactive tools. But you can add pages to your app like:
  • RSS feeds
  • Websites
  • YouTube channels
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Social links
  • About
  • Audio player (with custom audio track)
  • PDF
  • Contact
  • Phone
  • SHOUTcast Radio
  • Custom pages
Let's examine each of these three services and see which one is best suited for creating your businesses Android app.

1. Andromo

The Andromo service is one that will allow you to pretty much customize your app how you want it, within some very tight limitations. You build your app by adding Activities. Once you've created a project (you can only create one with the free subscription), you then click the Activities drop-down (Figure A) and select which activity to add. Once you've added an Activity, you can then fill in the details (such as URL, RSS feed, images, audio, and more).
Figure A
Figure A
The Andromo Activities list.
Once you've created all of your Activities, you can then:
  • Edit styles
  • Create a dashboard (with background image)
  • Set up monetization (displaying third-party ads)
  • Add services (such as Google Analytics)
Finally, with a single click, you build your app. After the app is built, it's up to you to get the app distributed. Besides the limitation of what you can add to the app, this is one of the biggest misses of Andromo. There's no facility within the service to help publish your app. You're on your own.
Andromo is the only service in the listing that has a paid offering, which allows you to create more than one app and rid your app(s) of ads.

2. AppsBar

The AppsBar app builder offers a bit more in the way of features. Your first step is to select a category. Depending on the category you choose, you'll have different options to add. Most every category offers the ability to add websites, contact info, and social networks. However, some categories allow for further additions. For example:
  • Real estate: Request info, properties, services
  • Online business: Employees, services, coupons
  • Restaurant: Menus, events, reservations
  • Salon: Staff, services, gallery, appointments
  • Author books: Schedule, release info
The list goes on (there are quite a few categories). You can also add forms and ecommerce to your app.
From the Page Manager (Figure B), you walk through the editing of each piece of your app (editing the name and information for each page).
Figure B
Figure B
The Appsbar app manager page.
As you build the app, you can do real-time testing with the emulator on the right side of the window. This makes for a very simple process. Once you've completed adding and editing, click Publish. If there's any information missing from the various pages or app settings, you'll be prompted to made adjustments. If there are no problems, click Continue To Publish and then fill out the necessary information for the app (keywords, title, etc) and send the app off for review.
Appsbar has a significant review process in place. They'll comb through every aspect of your app and make sure it's modified to meet the needs of the app store. Once the app has passed review, it will be published to their Appcatch where they'll then help you get your app pushed to the app stores desired.

3. AppsGeyser

In similar fashion to both Andromo and Appsbar, AppsGeyser allows you to easily create an app for your business. However, unlike Appsbar, you're quite limited to what you can add. AppsGeyers allows the addition of:
  • Web pages
  • Offline content (like ebooks)
  • TV channels (there's an extensive listing of channels that can be added)
  • Social feeds
You won't be adding ecommerce or selecting from various categories to fine-tune your app. This one is very basic, but it can at least get you started. The one thing AppsGeyser does have is the ability to easily submit your app to the Google Play Store, to the AppsGeyser Market, and even using a QR code for easy download (Figure C).
Figure C
Figure C
Publishing your app with AppsGeyser is simple.
AppsGeyser also allows you to edit the permissions your app needs, such as:
  • App can set wallpaper
  • App can add shortcut to home screen
  • App can write files to external storage
The truth about AppsGeyser is that its fit for business is slim. But if you're just looking to get an app that offers information about your company (and not much more), and you want an easier path to get your app into the Google Play Store, this is the service to start with.
Codeless app building for business has a ways to go. As it stands, it will never best having in-house staff to build your app. But if you're looking to get something out there (in some cases, something very basic), and you're willing to spend a bit of time and effort to do so, you should give one of these services a try.
For the time being, programmers have nothing to fear from these services. But if they continue to evolve, things could easily change.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Microsoft Office Goes Fully Free on iPhone and Android Phones

WebScaleSQL(“We're Gonna Need A Bigger Database”)

http://webscalesql.org/

What is WebScaleSQL?

WebScaleSQL is a collaboration among engineers from several companies that face similar challenges in running MySQL at scale, and seek greater performance from a database technology tailored for their needs.
Our goal in launching WebScaleSQL is to enable the scale-oriented members of the MySQL community to work more closely together in order to prioritize the aspects that are most important to us. We aim to create a more integrated system of knowledge-sharing to help companies leverage the great features already found in MySQL 5.6, while building and adding more features that are specific to deployments in large scale environments. In the last few months, engineers from all four companies have contributed code and provided feedback to each other to develop a new, more unified, and more collaborative branch of MySQL.
But as effective as this collaboration has been so far, we know we’re not the only ones who are trying to solve these particular challenges. So we will keep WebScaleSQL open as we go, to encourage others who have the scale and resources to customize MySQL to join in our efforts. And of course we will welcome input from anyone who wants to contribute, regardless of what they are currently working on.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Master the command line

http://linoxide.com/guide/linux-cheat-sheet.pdf
http://www.nixtutor.com/linux/all-the-best-linux-cheat-sheets/

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Secure your Google account with a little 2-step shuffle

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/secure-your-google-account-with-a-little-2-step-shuffle/#ftag=RSS56d97e7
Google Authenticator
 Security has become issue number one for many companies, people, services, and devices. With more people hopping over to the cloud, having tight security could mean the difference between your data being secure and your data being stolen. This has become especially true with the massive use of mobile devices to connect to those accounts.
Your Google account is no exemption. If you have a simple password, that account will most likely get hacked. If you have a complex password, the possibility decreases. With 2-step verification, the likelihood of your account getting hacked is even further reduced (drastically even).
What is 2-step verification and how do you get it? Simple — after you set up 2-step verification, you enter your Google account password, and then you're prompted for a passcode that's sent to your mobile device (via text, voice call, or the mobile app).
“Mobile app,” you say? Why yes. Google has created an Android app, Google Authenticator, that makes 2-step authentication simple. Google Authenticator works like this:
  1. Set up 2-step verification for your account (on your PC)
  2. Install the Google Authenticator app (on your Android phone)
  3. Log into your Google account the standard way (again, on your PC)
  4. When prompted, the 2-step code will be sent via the method you set up
  5. Enter the code to authenticate your login
  6. Enjoy your Google account with its new level of security

Setting up your account for 2-step

Before you can make use of the Google Authenticator app, let the 2-step verification wizard help you through the simple set up on your PC. The first step of the wizard requires you to log into your Google account. This is a standard login (your email address and password associated with that account). The second step (Figure A) prompts you to enter a mobile phone number so that Google can send an electronic message with the verification code. This code will be used to authenticate against untrusted computers.
Figure A

Figure A

Setting up 2-step authentication for your Google Account.
You'll immediately receive either a text or voice message (whichever you chose to use) with a verification code. Enter that code and click Verify (in the 2-step wizard). The next step will ask if you want to trust the computer you’re on. If so, keep Trust this computer checked and click Next. If not, uncheck the Trust this computer box and click Next.
The final step of the wizard is to confirm the enabling of 2-step verification. All you have to do is click Confirm, and you’re done. 2-step verification is now activated for your Google account.
After 2-step is established, you have to reconnect all of your apps. You'll be prompted (once you’ve completed the last step of the 2-step setup) to click the Reconnect my apps button. After clicking this button, you'll be asked to log back into your account and retrieve the backup codes. You can refer to your phone for the backup codes, or you can retrieve them by following these steps:
  1. Click on the Go to my settings button
  2. Scroll down to Backup options
  3. Follow the instructions for Backup codes
Either print those codes or save them as a text file. That's how you'll gain access to your account, should you ever not have your phone handy.

Google Authenticator

As I mentioned before, there are three ways to get your verification codes:
  • SMS
  • Voice message
  • Google Authenticator
The nice thing about the Google Authenticator app is that it can generate a code for you, even if you’re in Airplane mode. To install this app, do the following:
  1. On your Android device, open the Google Play Store
  2. Search for Google Authenticator
  3. Locate and tap the entry for the official Google app
  4. Tap Install
  5. Tap Accept
  6. Allow the installation to complete
Once the app is installed, you can launch it from within your app drawer. From the welcome screen (Figure B), tap the Begin Setup button.
Figure B

Figure B

Google Authenticator running on a Verizon-branded Samsung Galaxy S4.
First, you'll be prompted to enter your Google account password. Do that, and tap Done. Next, you'll be required to OK the EULA. If you get a failure (and you most likely will), you'll be prompted to sign in via the web browser. Tap the Next button, and sign into your Google account when prompted. You'll then receive the verification code on your mobile device. Enter that code, and the verification will succeed.
The next step is to set up Google Authenticator. To do this, open up a web browser on your desktop and go to https://g.co/authenticator. You'll be prompted to log into your Google account. Upon successful login, a pop-up window will appear with a QR code. On your device, tap the account (from within Google Authenticator) that you want to set up. In the resulting window, tap Scan barcode. You may be prompted to install the ZXing barcode scanner (if so, tap Install). Hold the device up to the screen so ZXing can scan the code. Upon successful scanning, you'll see the Google Authenticator app display a verification code. The code will only last a short time. You must enter that code into the required text area (within the web browser). When that step is complete, the Google Authenticator will be officially set up.
Now, when you want to log into your 2-step enabled Google account, you can get your verification code for that account from the Google Authenticator app (no more need to get the code sent via SMS or voice message). Again, this app will work even if you’re in Airplane mode.
If you decide 2-step verification is too cumbersome, you can always modify the settings to turn it off.
However, to keep your Google account as secure as possible, consider using 2-step authentication and the Google Authenticator app. Your data will thank you for it.
What do you think? Is 2-step authentication the best way to keep your data from being hijacked? If not, let us know a better solution in the discussion thread below.

Monday, March 17, 2014

ZArchiver

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.zdevs.zarchiver

ZArchiver - program to manage archives (archive manager)

The program has a simple and functional interface.
Attention! The program has problems with work on Android 4.4. I still can not understand reasons .
ZArchiver lets you:
* Create following archive types: 7z (7zip), zip, bzip2 (bz2), gzip (gz), XZ, tar;
* Decompress archive types: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz, chm, dmg, cpio, cramfs, img (fat, ntfs, ubf), wim;
* View archive contents: 7z (7zip), zip, rar, bzip2, gzip, XZ, iso, tar, arj, cab, lzh, lha, lzma, xar, tgz, tbz, Z, deb, rpm, zipx, mtz, chm, dmg, cpio, cramfs, img (fat, ntfs, ubf), wim;
* Create and decompress password-protected archives;
* Edit archive: add/remove files to/from the archive (zip, 7zip, tar, apk, mtz);
* Create and decompress multi-part archives: 7z, rar(decompress only);
* Partial archive decompression;
* Open compressed files;
* Open an archive file from mail application;
* Extract splited archives 7z, zip and rar (7z.001, zip.001, part1.rar, z01).

Thursday, March 6, 2014

“Hydrogen”

http://www.opendaylight.org/

OpenDaylight is an open platform for network programmability to enable SDN and create a solid foundation for NFV for networks at any size and scale.

OpenDaylight is an open platform for network programmability to enable SDN and create a solid foundation for NFV for networks at any size and scale. Enterprises, service providers, equipment providers and academia can download Hydrogen today and begin to evaluate, commercialize and deploy SDN and NFV.
OpenDaylight software is a combination of components including a fully pluggable controller, interfaces, protocol plug-ins and applications. The Northbound (programmatic) and Southbound (implementation) interfaces are clearly defined and documented APIs. This combination allows vendors and customers alike the ability to utilize a standards-based and widely supported platform without compromising technical creativity and solution innovation. With this common platform both customers and vendors can innovate and collaborate in order to commercialize SDN- and NFV-based solutions.
Hydrogen is the first simultaneous release of OpenDaylight delivering three different editions to help a wide array of users get up and running as quickly as possible--Base EditionVirtualization Edition and Service Provider Edition.
For Developers looking to get acquainted with the code currently in the repository, visit theDeveloper Wiki.