Spicy iPhone

Cisco finally makes its big announcement–and it’s a router. Plus, Sony 3DTVs are on the way, and is the Drudge Report spreading malware?

Cisco finally makes its big announcement–and it’s a router. Plus, Sony 3DTVs are on the way, and is the Drudge Report spreading malware?

After complaints the original algorithm was not doing the job, Redmond fixes the code shuffling the order of the browsers in its ballot screen for European users.

A year after the launch of FileMaker Pro 10, the Apple-owned database company is back to debut the latest version of its franchise product. FileMaker Pro 11 introduces long-awaited features and builds on the interface and engine improvements to create new capabilities. I have been taking the product through its paces for the last few weeks and I am left with the impression that this is what FileMaker Pro 10 should have been because the changes made to the interface and the scripting engine are really evident in 11. The update includes a variety of improvements that will benefit both users and developers.

A New Start

When greeted by the redesigned Start Screen, among the starter solutions offered as a template is a new Invoices solution. This solution allows you to track customers, products, and invoices in a single database. Invoices implements multiple tables and relationships on multiple keys and provides a great introduction to a moderately complex database. I recommend peaking under the hood to get a feel for how things are done if you are new to FileMaker. Beyond the starter solutions, you can also create a new database by starting with data from Bento, XML files, Excel spreadsheets and other sources.

Once you are up and running in a database, there are a few interface changes that will jump out at you immediately. First up is the new Quick Find feature. Quick Find adds a Spotlight-like search field to your toolbar that will search through multiple fields on the current layout.

This feature is handy if you are looking for something like a phone number, but are not sure if the number is in the home, office, mobile, or fax fields. You can set which fields are included in the Quick Find index to limit the search and the size of the indexes. Quick Find works like an “AND” search across multiple fields and matches on the start of strings only. It does not do partial string matching so a search on “maker” will not match “FileMaker” at this time.

Layouts

One small refinement is Text Highlighting. You can mark text with a yellow background in a field to bring attention to the highlighted section. More significant changes have been made to improve the ease of working with layouts. The new layout assistant makes setting up table-based report layouts a breeze. The assistant walks you through choosing fields, setting the sort order and adding sub-summaries. In the table view itself, you can now directly add fields and records with convenient + buttons and change the sort by clicking on column headers. Layouts themselves can now be organized into layout folders to make it simpler for both users and developers to work in a database with a large number of layouts.

Another layout option is Portal filtering. Portal filters allow you to limit related records that are displayed in a portal by either fixed or calculated criteria.

When designing layouts, new Inspector palettes grant immediate access to common formatting functions and settings. The Inspector has three tabs, but you can open up multiple inspectors and have each tab visible. The addition of the Inspector may seem a minor change, but it does bring the database product into better alignment with the iWork applications. Inspectors are packed with detail that might be overwhelming to some users, but they do add a bit of convenience and expose some features to discovery that may have been hidden deep in menu options.

Charting

The biggest visual change to Filemaker Pro 11 is the addition of the new charting feature. You can create pie charts, bar charts (vertical and horizontal), line graphs, and area charts and include those directly in your layouts. The charts provide an opportunity to not only create better reports but also design completely new interfaces for dashboard views and other ideas.

Snapshot Links

Another new user-focused feature that takes a bit of explaining is Snapshot Links. You can take a snapshot of the current records that you are viewing and send those to a co-worker with access to the same database. The snapshot includes the current found set, but also remembers the selected record, the current layout, the focused tab on a layout and other information. Previously, you may have printed a report to PDF or saved a search in FMP 10. The problem with those approaches is that the PDF is completely static and the results of the saved search may change between the time you look at the records and send those to someone else. The snapshot link always shows the current information in the database, and keeps the found set intact even if the underlying data changes. It took me a while to fully grasp the implications, but the more I think about it, the more uses I find to use this feature in a workgroup environment.

Other Improvements

Recurring import will watch an external file like an Excel spreadsheet and update the data in FileMaker as the watched spreadsheet changes. You can set script triggers on this file as well to have it update every 15 minutes or some other interval.

You can copy and paste scripts to make it simpler to bring tricks over from other solutions. External file protection improves the security of Filemaker databases. The server version has new diagnostics to help find out which user has issued the query that is bringing the system to a crawl. Filemaker Pro 11 Server Advanced also removes user limits in this version.

System requirements are substantially the same.

Pricing

All FileMaker 11 products are immediately available. FileMaker Pro 11 is $299/$179 upgrade (U.S. suggested list price) and FileMaker Pro 11 Advanced is $499/$299 upgrade. FileMaker Server 11 is $999/$599 upgrade and FileMaker Server 11 Advanced is $2,999/$1,799 upgrade.

For a limited time, FileMaker extends upgrade pricing to licensed users of FileMaker 8 and 8.5 products. This offer expires September 23, 2010, and details are online.

Recommendation

There is something for everyone in this update to FileMaker Pro. Users will love the convenience of Quick Find, the visual enhancements in charting and layouts, and sharing snapshots. Developers will love the Inspector for quickly making layout changes, the scripting improvements, and the flexibility of using portal filtering and charting to create great layouts and reports without extra plugins.

I see great possibilities to use these new features to create solutions with FileMaker Pro and I am probably more excited about the future of the product now than I have been over the last few years. It feels like the investment in previous versions has paid off and everything is firing on all cylinders to move ahead.

Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Namco is bringing the popular Tekken franchise to the iPhone. It’s not confirmed whether it’s a port of the original game — released back in 1994 in arcades, then on the PlayStation — or the current Tekken 6.

This comes a few weeks after Capcom announced the release of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone, leading to an eventual fighter game showdown in the App Store. While both games on the iPhone is pretty awesome, I’m waiting to see how they will look and play on the iPad. I also wouldn’t mind seeing even more Namco titles on the iPhone - especially selections from the Tales RPG franchise.

Namco has a number of games in the store, including classics like Galaga, which was “remixed” for the iPhone, Burger Time Deluxe, which graced arcades way back in 1982!

Here’s hoping for old-school Tekken.

[Via Gizmodo]

TUAWTekken bound for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Namco is bringing the popular Tekken franchise to the iPhone. It’s not confirmed whether it’s a port of the original game — released back in 1994 in arcades, then on the PlayStation — or the current Tekken 6.

This comes a few weeks after Capcom announced the release of Street Fighter IV for the iPhone, leading to an eventual fighter game showdown in the App Store. While both games on the iPhone is pretty awesome, I’m waiting to see how they will look and play on the iPad. I also wouldn’t mind seeing even more Namco titles on the iPhone - especially selections from the Tales RPG franchise.

Namco has a number of games in the store, including classics like Galaga, which was “remixed” for the iPhone, Burger Time Deluxe, which graced arcades way back in 1982!

Here’s hoping for old-school Tekken.

[Via Gizmodo]

TUAWTekken bound for the iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Developer, iPhone

In a step towards transparency, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has made the entire iPhone Developer Program License Agreement available for the general public. This is the document that all iPhone developers must agree to when they become part of the iPhone developer program.

As EFF points out, public copies of the license agreement are pretty scarce thanks to developers being locked under a non-disclosure agreement as part of the contract. EFF used the Freedom of Information Act to get its copy from NASA, which is the version from approximately a year ago (Rev. 3-17-09). The agreement has been updated since then.

The EFF characterizes the agreement as “a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn,” and that’s not an overstatement. Some of the clauses and conditions in the Apple developer agreement do smack of “our field, our ball, our rules” thinking from Cupertino. Highlights from the 28-page document include:

• A ban prohibiting developers from making public statements about the license agreement; however the contract itself is not considered “Apple Confidential Information.”
• Apps developed from Apple’s SDK are only allowed to be sold through the App Store. You can’t push it anywhere else (Cydia, etc.), even if Apple has rejected the app for any reason.
• Developers are forbidden to tinker with any Apple products, not just the iPhone. This includes jailbreaking.
• Apple is not liable for more than $50 in damages in case something happens on their end to your app. This is laughable, and I’m honestly surprised that Apple has not had a legal challenge over this yet.
• Devices used for testing purposes could be locked into a “testing mode,” and may not be able to be restored to their original condition. That is one way to brick your device.

I discussed the EFF’s post with Mike Rose, and he offered some editorial comment; read on for more.

Mike’s Op-Ed Soapbox Dept.

To get a sense of where the EFF is coming from, it’s worth taking a moment to review the first sentence of Fred von Lohmann’s post: “The entire family of devices built on the iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod Touch [sic], iPad) have been designed to run only software that is approved by Apple — a major shift from the norms of the personal computer market.” While that’s a snappy lead, it’s not technically accurate; all three of the devices are designed to run any compiled & signed application for the platform, and all developers may distribute ad-hoc builds of their apps to a limited number of users without Apple knowing or caring; enterprise developers (who pay $299 for the privilege) can distribute unapproved apps much more widely.

The point von Lohmann is aiming for is that the iPhone OS ecosystem and application distribution channel is almost entirely controlled by Apple; that’s obvious and clear. While it’s certainly “a shift from the norms of the PC market,” it’s far less alien to the norms of the cellphone and consumer electronics market, and none of the devices in question is a personal computer in the traditional sense of the term — not even the iPad. There doesn’t seem to be a similar degree of campaigning for openness around the Xbox Live or Wii online marketplaces, for example.

Although developers aren’t supposed to talk about the program agreement, I’m sure we will be seeing and hearing quite a bit of public comment around it now that EFF has lifted the veil. The EFF post concludes with a call for developers to demand better terms and for users to support them; while it’s unlikely that Apple is going to shift on this, some public feedback from prominent developers might make some difference.

TUAWEFF releases iPhone developer license agreement originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T may have opened its arms to Android with the release of Motorola’s Backflip, but it isn’t exactly embracing the platform’s open nature.

Security vendor Panda came across a new HTC Magic phone that had three malware programs already on it.

Inspired by the recently released film from Disney and director Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland is a remarkably clever 2-D adventure game that is more than a mere movie tie-in.