Tech update

         Oracle updates NetBeans for HTML5

NetBeans 7.3 features code completion for HTML5, JavaScript and CSS

.IDG News Service - With the release of version 7.3 of NetBeans, Oracle has updated the IDE (integrated developer environment) so Java developers can more easily build rich HTML5-based user interfaces for their mobile and Web applications.

NetBeans 7.3 "allows developers to use the same IDE [to compose in] HTML5 that they would use for building back-end services that their Web and mobile applications would connect to," said Bill Pataky, Oracle vice president of product management of tools and frameworks.
Increasingly, enterprise Java developers are using browsers as the primary interface for their applications, so it was a natural choice to expand the support for Web 2.0 technologies, Pataky said.
The new version of the IDE, released Thursday, contains a number of new features to aid in writing HTML5, JavaScript and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) code. The IDE offers a full set of code completion capabilities for these technologies, allowing the IDE to intuitively suggest the remainder of a line of code that the developer is typing in.
The IDE also makes debugging Web interfaces easier. Oracle now offers a plug-in for the Google Chrome browser that can render a Web page as it is being composed by the developer in the IDE. This feature uses the WebKit remote debugging protocol.
NetBeans 7.3 also comes with an entirely new JavaScript editor and debugger, one based on Oracle's new Nashorn JavaScript engine. The IDE can offer code completion for the jQuery JavaScript library, and it can generate JavaScript code based on supplied Java REST (Representational State Transfer) requests.
Beyond Web programming, NetBeans IDE 7.3 comes with a number of other improvements as well. JavaFX projects can now work with JavaFX's FXML layout file format. And a new stand-alone JPQL (Java Persistence Query Language) editor allows developers to test JPQL queries directly from the IDE. Developers have more access to the clipboard history and Breadcrumbs based navigation has been improved as well.
NetBeans IDE is an open source IDE for Java, PHP and C/C++ languages. It is available for the Windows, Apple Macintosh, Oracle Solaris and Linux platforms.
 

Software firms defend patents in D.C.

Software patents are needed to protect huge investments by developers, firms tell congressional staffers

IDG News Service - Software patents, facing new scrutiny in the U.S., drive innovation and protect huge investments by developers, representatives of software companies said during a Capitol Hill briefing.

The U.S. patent system isn't perfect, but lawmakers and judges shouldn't solve current controversies by eliminating software patents altogether, executives with Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Covia Labs and Procter & Gamble said during a briefing Thursday before congressional staffers in Washington, D.C.
"As my grandmother used to say, you don't throw the baby out with the bath water," said Dorian Daley, senior vice president and general counsel at Oracle.
Instead, lawmakers should look at ways to improve patent quality, make it tougher for patent licensing firms to file infringement lawsuits and require companies to be transparent about the patents they hold, Daley said during the briefing, sponsored by software trade group BSA and the National Association of Manufacturers.
But companies can be transparent about the patents they hold without congressional action, said Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president. Microsoft will publish information on all the patents it holds by April 1, Smith announced.
Congress passed the America Invents Act, a patent reform bill, in late 2011, but it can do more, panelists said. Smith called on Congress to look into requiring the loser of a patent infringement lawsuit to pay the winner's legal expenses. That change would give pause to so-called patent trolls -- patent licensing companies that produce no products -- before they file lawsuits, he said.
Microsoft and Oracle were among the companies supporting patent reform efforts during the last seven years that some critics say would have weakened patent protections and made it harder for patent holders to collect huge damage awards. But Smith and Daley argued Thursday that software patents need to be protected.
Software patents have been under fire for several years, with some tech lawyers and advocacy groups calling on Congress to scrap or weaken them. The Free Software Foundation has long advocated for an end to software patents, saying they threaten a wide range of companies.
But just this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit heard a case that could have a broad impact on software patents. In the case, CLS Bank v. Alice Corp., the court is considering whether companies should be able to get patents on abstract ideas when they combine those ideas with a computer process.
Developing complex enterprise-level software takes time and money, and patents help protect that investment, Daley said. "In today's environments, where hundreds of thousands of apps are just a click away on all of our mobile devices, it's pretty easy to see how some assume that software development is easy," she said. "I'm here to tell you it's not. It requires highly skilled engineers and incredible investments."

LG lowers cost of LTE smartphones with Optimus F series

The Optimus F5 and Optimus F7 are both powered by dual-core processors and have big batteries

By Mikael Ricknäs

February 21, 2013 08:11 AM ET

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IDG News Service - LG Electronics has launched the Optimus F5 and Optimus F7 smartphones, which will bring LTE to a "mass audience."

Global LTE smartphone shipments are expected to triple this year, allowing the technology to take off on a grander scale and driving down device prices, according to market research company Strategy Analytics.
LG agrees: "The adoption of LTE is expected to explode in 2013," and with the two new devices the company wants to show that 4G techology "isn't just for heavy content users and techies anymore. It's for everyone," according to a statement.
LG didn't say what the phones will cost, but the specifications provided by the vendor hint at a lower price tag. The Optimus F5 has a 4.3-inch screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a 2,150 mAh battery. The Optimus F7 has a bigger 4.7-inch HD screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and a 2,540 mAh battery. Both phones will use Android Jelly Bean.
The worldwide rollout of the Optimus F5 will start during the second quarter in Europe, followed by the Optimus F7 in selected markets. Details on timing and pricing will be announced at a later date, according to LG. The phones will be displayed at Mobile World Congress, which starts Monday.
The Optimus F family follows in the footsteps of the Galaxy Express, which was launched by Samsung Electronics in January. It is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and has a 4.5-inch screen.
LTE smartphone shipments will grow from 90.9 million units in 2012 to 275 million in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics.
By the end of 2013, there will be numerous midrange models available for under $200 wholesale, according to Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. However, LTE won't start to spread to the low-priced devices until 2014 or 2015, he said.