We started out in the industry when Visual Basic had just been unleashed on the developer community. It contained these add-ons called VBXs that allowed programmers to add just about any type of grid, graph, spell checker or button maker to the language. Over time, VBX became the standard for other Microsoft products (as well as for most third-party companies). It took development tools to a new world. Though VBX controls looked fairly simple at the time, Microsoft was quick to jump on the idea of allowing users to add extra features to its products. Today we have COM objects or ActiveX controls, which at the end of the day are the basics of most Microsoft products. To prove we're not just on Microsoft's side....In the last couple of years, a small games company (ID Software) produced Doom and Quake. These games allowed players to create their own levels, weapons an... (more)

Hotfixes Now Available for ColdFusion and JRun

Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in ColdFusion v8.0.1 and earlier versions, and JRun 4.0. Adobe has now patched them with a Security Update released on August 17, 2009. Here are the details, direct from Adobe's own Security Bulletin: "Summary Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in ColdFusion v8.0.1 and earlier versions, and JRun 4.0. These vulnerabilities could lead to the potential compromise of user accounts or the affected system. Affected software versions ColdFusion 8.0.1 and earlier versions JRun 4.0 Solution Adobe recommends affected ColdFusion and JRun customers update their installations using the links in the Details section below. Severity rating Adobe categorizes these as critical issues and recommends affected users patch their installations. Details Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in ColdFusion v8.0.1 and earlier versi... (more)

Where Are RIA Technologies Headed in 2008?

I am always being told off by i-technologists for quoting Picasso as having said that computers are useless. But I still love his reasoning? "Because they can only give you answers." Picasso, like AJAXWorld Magazine, liked questions. So we thought we would share with you what some of the world's leading rich Internet application pioneers are thinking may be the next questions that we need to see answered. From that readers can themselves infer where AJAX is headed. What are the top questions to ask next about AJAX? Eric Miraglia of Yahoo! 1.  (From March'08) How do I calculate the ROI of building my RIA on the iPhone SDK vs using AJAX? 2.  How do I assess the performance of my app and decide what to do next to make it faster?  3.  When it comes to accessibility, how do I know what's required of me for my rich web apps?  Beyond what's required, what makes good business se... (more)

The Next Programming Models, RIAs and Composite Applications

I’ve been around software for 20 years now. Looking back, I have mixed feelings about the progress we’ve made. The end results have been amazing but the process of building software hasn’t fundamentally changed since the 80s. In fact, I see us make some of the same mistakes over and over again. One of the common anti-patterns is over-relying on tools and frameworks instead of inventing new programming models. Layers of abstraction are fundamental to software. Some layers are defined through programming models, e.g., machine language, assembly language, 3GLs, JSP. Others are defined through a combination of tools and frameworks, e.g., MFC and Visual Studio on top of C++. There is a limit to how high we can raise a level of abstraction through tools and frameworks alone. At some point, a new programming model is the best way forward. Here are some examples: CASE tools ... (more)

Cloud Expo 2011 East To Attract 10,000 Delegates and 200 Exhibitors

SYS-CON Events announced today that the 8th International Cloud Expo will take place June 6-9, 2011, in New York City. The International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo series is the world's leading Cloud-focused event and is held three times a year, in New York, Silicon Valley and in Europe. Over 600 corporate sponsors and 10,000 industry professionals have participated in Cloud Computing Expo since its inception, more than all other Cloud-related events put together. Cloud Computing Expo 2011 East Call for Papers Deadline November 30, 2010 - SUBMIT YOUR SPEAKING PROPOSAL TODAY! The four-day event will offer a rich array of sessions led by exceptional speakers about the business and technical value of cloud computing with more than 150 sponsors and exhibitors and over 5,000 estimated delegates from well over 48 different countries. Explore Cloud Expo Sponsorship &... (more)

AJAX World RIA Conference & Expo Kicks Off in New York City

In the tight economy, front-end engineers and front-end engineering can play a conspicuous role: good user experience, as the iPhone spectacularly demonstrates, means good business. At the 7th International AJAXWorld RIA Conference & Expo which opened Monday in New York City, the speaker lineup is as usual dripping with real-world expertise. The distinguished Speaker Faculty is headlined by Oracle's Ashish Mohindroo, whose Opening Keynote on "Breaking the Collaboration Barrier with Rich Enterprise Applications" set the tone for two intense days of breakout sessions across three parallel tracks. According to Mohindroo and Oracle, Rich Enterprise Applications (REAs) promise breakthrough capabilities and services for achieving higher levels of personal and team productivity throughout your enterprise. "Consumer web and mobile technologies are setting high standards for wha... (more)

Cloud Expo, Inc. Announces Cloud Expo 2011 New York Venue

Click Here to Save $800 at Cloud Expo New York ! Cloud Expo, Inc. announced on Thursday that Cloud Expo 2011 New York, the 8th International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo, will take place June 6-9, 2011, at the Javits Center in New York City. Cloud Expo - International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo series is the world’s leading Cloud-focused event and is held in New York, Silicon Valley, Prague, Tokyo, and Hong-Kong. Over 900 corporate sponsors and more than 65,000 industry professionals have participated in Cloud Expo since its inception, tenfold more than all other Cloud-related events put together. Click Here to Save $800 at Cloud Expo New York ! "Cloud Expo was announced on February 24, 2007, the day the term ‘cloud computing' was coined," said Fuat Kircaali, Chairman and Founder of Cloud Expo, Inc. "Cloud has become synonymous with ‘computing' and ‘soft... (more)

Personal Branding Checklist

This is a checklist of items you need for an all-encompassing personal branding strategy. Personal branding is the process of marketing and selling yourself as a brand in order to gain success in business. Personal branding is a continual process just as knowing yourself is a continual process. As you grow, so does your brand. The need for personal branding arises from the fact that globalization has increased competition in the workplace. As the wheat is separated from the chaff, if you are left standing, you are left standing with others of good caliber. The playing field is now that much more challenging since your competition is as good as, or better, than you. To paraphrase David Samuel, the bloke who got me into personal branding after I saw him speak a few years ago; he spoke about of why you need personal branding. His audience was a group from a large teleco... (more)

Building a Zip Code Proximity Search with ColdFusion

Recently I was tasked with improving our Web site's Reseller Locator application. This tool helps potential customers in the U.S. find a product reseller in their state. By choosing a state from a drop-down box, a listing of all resellers located in that state is displayed. Over the years, as more and more resellers have signed on to sell our products, some problems with this application have surfaced: Some states, such as California, display a very long list of resellers, and customers may never contact those listed near the bottom. The states with smaller populations such as North Dakota may not have any resellers to list. Competitors could use the tool to easily find all our resellers, and may steal these valuable partner relationships. The Solution Is Defined We needed a solution to solve these problems, and searching by zip codes appeared to be the answer. The ne... (more)

Constructing an Application with Flash Forms from the Ground Up

As you may know by now, ColdFusion 7 includes a new feature that lets us create forms in flash format. They work as a replacement for html forms, but give us some additional controls like the tree, grid, and calendar. Even if making a "form" doesn't sound very appealing to you, once you start using this feature you will find that you can do much more than simple forms. But the best is that they can enhance the usability of your regular forms, even if they are simple, with built-in features such as validation, tooltips, and tabs. It doesn't take much to make a flash form; basically, we only have to specify that the form's format is flash in the cfform tag and proceed with the cfform elements. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of creating a small application interface using only flash forms. There's a lot to discover about flash forms, although you d... (more)

Cloud People: A Who's Who of Cloud Computing

Behind every cloud service or cloud-based solution, there are real people... A robust ecosystem of solutions providers has emerged around cloud computing. But who are the CEOs & CTOs behind those providers, who are the internal and external entrepreneurs driving companies involved in the Cloud, who are the leading engineers, developers, analysts, researchers, marketing professionals, authors...who, in short, are the people behind the cloud? This list will be updated weekly between now and November 4-7, 2013, when 13th Cloud Expo | Cloud Expo Silicon Valley opens its doors in the Santa Clara Convention Center, in the heart of California's Silicon Valley. Here are some highly prominent "Cloud People" to kick off with... RANDY BIAS | @randybias "Randy Bias is visionary. He sees things others don't." [Emphasis added.] That is how Mårten Mickos puts it, as succinctly as ever.... (more)