In the U.K., in-play betting—the ability to wager on who the next football (soccer to us Americans) player to score a goal in a game will be, for example—is taking the online gambling establishment there by storm. The rise in popularity could not have occurred, though, without advances in technology. Specifically, real-time data distribution technology. … continue reading
You’ve gotta read “Data Divination: Big Data Strategies,” Pam Baker’s new book about Big Data. Actually, let me change my recommendation. If you are a techie and you are looking for suggestions on how to configure your Hadoop installation or optimize the storage throughput in your NAS array, this isn’t the book for you. Rather, … continue reading
We are witnessing a transformation in application development tools and techniques that is changing how enterprise software is being constructed and deployed. This transformation is the broadening of mobile application development approaches initially instigated by the mobile revolution (yes, the iPhone changed everything) to embrace initiatives for back-end Internet of Things architectures and even employee … continue reading
Much of the discussion about Microsoft buying Minecraft publisher Mojang has focused on whether this makes business sense for either Microsoft or Mojang. Some people think the whole acquisition is stupid, while others have argued that it makes strategic sense. Some of these articles argue that Microsoft is trying to reach a younger demographic that … continue reading
The presentation of iOS 8 was dominated by Apple’s Near Field Communication (NFC) payment technology and the Apple Watch, but from a developer’s perspective, the most amazing thing about iOS 8 is its sheer size. When I started developing mobile applications just a few years ago, one of the things I liked about iOS was … continue reading
Thirty seconds. That’s about how long a mobile user will spend with your game before deciding if he or she will continue using it. Thirty seconds. Maybe a minute. If you haven’t engaged the customer by then, forget it. That’s according to Graeme Warring, COO of 2XL Games LLC, a game startup based in Phoenix. … continue reading
Apple’s iOS 8 is here, and it will be a game-changer. No operating system on the planet gets adopted faster than a new iOS release. If iOS 7 was any indication (60% of users upgraded just a few days after release), iOS 8 may set new records. Even before worrying about adding new capabilities to … continue reading
First Impressions of the Apple Watch: Surprised that it’s not called the iWatch. The user interface looks surprisingly cool. Distressed that the Apple Watch needs to be charged every day, but if the docking station is sufficiently easy to use, it shouldn’t be a deal breaker. The watches look like real watches, beautiful as well … continue reading
Once upon a time, back when dinosaurs roamed the planet, I learned COBOL. While I never wrote any deployed applications in the language, I did use it to teach an undergraduate course in computer science for business majors, back in the early 1980s. Those poor students, who submitted their programs on punch cards for an … continue reading
Ever since Apple created the iOS ecosystem, countless developers moved to focus their energies on the mobile world. As a result, more and more content is being consumed and more apps are being used as routine parts of people’s daily lives. It seems mobile is dominant in every way. However, according to Web analytics company … continue reading
Being part of the choir, it’s easy to assume that everyone gets cloud. To those of us that live and breathe cloud, the differences in SaaS, PaaS and IaaS are obvious. Working with people that aren’t part of the choir, however, shows that cloud is still one of the most misunderstood phrases in the IT … continue reading
Tuesday’s voicemail from my bank was short and simple: “My name is Patricia from the Bank of America fraud prevention department. This important message is for Mr. Alan Zeichick. We are calling to verify some potentially suspicious activity on your account. It is very important that we speak with you.” Nobody had pilfered a credit-card … continue reading
It seems the gift-giving season each year starts earlier and earlier. Walk into a store in January and see Valentine’s Day promotions. Go to an online retail site in late September, and you’ll see Christmas/Chanukah promotions. So, if you’re writing applications at a retail outfit that counts on online revenue, your planning, development and testing … continue reading
Your app’s user interface is terrible. Your business plan is flawed. Your budget is unrealistic. Your code isn’t efficient. Clients are unhappy with your interpersonal skills. Your meetings are too long. You don’t seem to get along with your developers. You are hard to work with. You are being kicked off the task force because … continue reading
