Floating-point processors have altered the embedded development world, but not always for the best. These digital signal processing powerhouses consume power and increase cost. This has led some to look for ways to migrate designs with less robust but still quite able fixed point alternatives.
After nearly ten years, it's time to upgrade forms on the Web. So says the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which last week published a "candidate recommendation" version of the XForms 1.0 specification. An upgrade of the HTML-based forms that have been the standard since 1993, XForms 1.0 is intended to make forms on Web pages more dynamic and powerful, and to allow them to be read on a range of new devices, according to the W3C.
Don't count out struggling Sun Microsystems Inc. in its battles with IBM, Microsoft and others, contends James Gosling, the creator of the Java programming language and one of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s best known engineers.
Noting that UDDI ''has been beaten up in the press and the industry for a lot of reasons,'' a Web services toolmaker still remains optimistic about the future of the standard. Charlie Ungaschick, senior product marketing director at Systinet Corp., Cambridge, Mass. said that to date several problems have slowed the acceptance and adoption of UDDI registries.
The Boston-based OASIS consortium (http://www.oasis-open.org) has formed a technical committee charged with creating an open, XML-based file format specification that officials promise will allow communication between office applications from multiple vendors.
Metrowerks, Austin, Texas, moved to boost corporate mobile development efforts with the unveiling of CodeWarrior Wireless Studio for PDA devices.
Organizations integrating business information services are increasingly demanding that providers upgrade from HTML to XML, according to Mary McCabe, senior vice president, OneSource Information Services, Inc.
Compuware Corp. (http:www.compuware.com), Farmington Hills, Mich., has signed an agreement with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (http://www.amd.com), Sunnyvale, Calif., to build a version of its SoftIce 64 debugger for systems running the AMD x86-64 processor.
Undaunted by the ongoing IT spending freeze, IBM (http://www.ibm.com) launched the latest version of its DB2 Universal Database last week. The new Version 8.1 adds new self-managing and self-tuning functions designed to lower the cost and time of managing database systems.
The Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), a standards group for the mobile and wireless industry, unveiled eight new technical specifications for
mobile data applications during last week's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas.
Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework for building XML Web services applications deployed on mobile devices is ready to "Go Live."
Following months of speculation, Charles Wang this week retired from his position as chairman of the board of Computer Associates (CA) International Inc., Islandia, N.Y.
Candle Corp. is unveiling several packages of bundled tools and services that will help IT to better utilize IBM's WebSphere offerings during the different phases of the development life cycle.
SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., has acquired certain technology assets of Verbind, a maker of real-time behavioral tracking and event-triggering technology. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The emergence of Service-oriented Management software will lead the rapid growth of Web services management products, which will reach $9.2 billion in the next five years, predicts ZapThink LLC., a Waltham, Mass.-based consulting
firm.
The Microsoft Tablet PC publicity blitz made a scheduled stop in Silicon Valley last week. Speaking to a packed house at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Matt Pease, general manager of Microsoft's Northern California district,
talked about ''the evolution of productivity tools,'' ''extending the PC
infrastructure'' and devices that are ''taking ink to the next level.''
Oracle Corp., out to give Microsoft and IBM a run for their money in the communications and collaboration markets, debuted a new version of its Collaboration Suite.
webMethods Inc., Fairfax, Va., recently unveiled Version 6 of its webMethods Integration Platform.
XForms 1.0, a World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard for creating XML-based interactive forms for end users, is now ready for developers to implement in Web applications, W3C officials disclosed this week.
Progress' acquisition of eXcelon Corp. is intended to strengthen Sonic Software's play in the high-end enterprise integration market.