Opinion: If Flash is dead, is HTML5 now ready for the big time?

Picture credit: "HTML5 Logo On Screen", by "David Martyn Hunt", used under CC BY / Modified from original

There was a 17 year gap between HTML5, which was finalised and published on October 28 2014, and its predecessor HTML4. In that time, the technology landscape changed in virtually every conceivable way. Google was founded a year after HTML4 was finalised. Mark Zuckerberg was 13 years old. Steve Jobs had only just returned to Apple. Heck, in the UK, it would be a year until...

26 January 2016 | Development Tools

Opinion: Should you choose a Web or a Native app?

(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Aeya)

The first step in developing an app is determining whether it should be native or on the web. This decision will impact every stage of development, from hiring the right programmers to determining which devices it can be accessed on.

Wait — Aren’t There Hybrid Solutions?

While current technology allows for hybrid applications — either by wrapping browser scripting in a native app like Adobe PhoneGap or by compiling...

30 November 2015 | Android

Weeby places game development into the cloud – offers HTML5 to escape App Store

(Image Credit: Gameloft)

Based in Google's home city of Mountain View, the Weeby team hope to be as disruptive to mobile game development as Google has been for the web. In fact, both Weeby and Google have something in common – a love for the cloud. 

Weeby is building the first complete mobile game development suite based in the cloud. The current suite consists of a cloud-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) along with seamless integration with servers...

20 October 2015 | Android

Alliance for Open Media will deliver next-generation media formats

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The web is based on a collection of standards which even Apple knows must be open in order to thrive. Several high-profile technology companies have formed a new alliance to create the next-generation of media streaming formats. 

Heavyweights including Netflix, Google, Amazon, Intel, Mozilla, Cisco, Microsoft, and more have partnered for the 'Alliance for Open Media' which hopes to deal with the challenge of meeting high consumer...

2 September 2015 | HTML

Mozilla Webmaker addresses local content shortage

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The web is vast, but it doesn't yet represent everyone. Mozilla is on a mission to change this underrepresentation of some communities with the launch of their 'Webmaker' tool which aims to address "the lack of local content in mobile-first markets." 

Developed after extensive research (PDF) into how people use technology in emerging smartphone markets such as Bangladesh, Kenya, and India, Mozilla found that people...

18 August 2015 | Android

Opinion: Why the “Native vs. Web” contest doesn’t really exist

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Web developers have suffered from debilitating cases of “app envy” by believing that GUI components traditionally used on native platforms represent the ideal, when instead they ought to be secure in the strengths of the web platform whilst honestly facing the challenges.

The truth is that “native vs. web” is a false dichotomy - the correct path to take for development is always dependent on the circumstances....

16 June 2015 | Android

Respoke PaaS adds scalable WebRTC to your apps

(Image Credit: Respoke)

Digium, a firm which specialises in telephony software, has announced the launch of its 'Respoke' platform which enables developers to add WebRTC to their applications. The PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) began as a virtual startup within the company, but has now been released for anyone to add powerful communication features.

WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a specification drafted by the W3C to allow direct...

24 February 2015 | API

Ubuntus first smartphone takes on Windows Phone

Ubuntu, the world's most popular Linux distro, is bringing its open-source expertise to mobile with the launch of its first smartphone. The device will be hitting the European market next week as the 'Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition' for €169.90, and is manufactured by Spain-based BQ.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, attempted to break the smartphone market once before with the 'Ubuntu Edge' but failed its $32 million crowdfunding campaign. At...

6 February 2015 | HTML

As HTML5 grows, security risks become a bigger issue

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As the combination of JavaScript and HTML5 become the defacto software standard for building websites, enterprise-ready solutions or mobile applications, it’s surprising to discover that 99% of the code used and delivered as production-ready code is literally open, and running naked through the woods.

The W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), as of October 2014 officially approved HTML5 as a complete industry standard. But the adoption process...

23 January 2015 | Hacking & Security

Asana shifts from HTML5 to a native Android app

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This month on DeveloperTech, we are releasing a series of articles which compares web development to native from a variety of different angles and will wrap-up with a nice insight report on the topic. Yesterday, for example, we posted an article which focuses on helping you to decide whether a client is better with a responsive web app or a native client.

Since going native on Android, Asana has switched...

21 January 2015 | Android