Apple tells developers that apps must support iPhone X notch from July
Apple has issued new guidelines for iOS apps submitted to the App Store, with the biggest change being that developers must use the iOS 11 SDK.
Devs are advised that they should "update your version of Xcode to the latest release of Xcode 9 available on the Mac App Store" as this includes the relevant SDK. Apple also says that apps should be "ready to take advantage of the Super Retina display by respecting safe areas, supporting adaptive layouts, and more".
Thousands of Android apps have built-in crypto keys and passwords
A large number of free Android apps suffer with flaky security because software developers are leaving cryptographic keys embedded and passwords hard-coded.
Speaking at the BSides security conference in San Francisco, software vulnerability analyst Will Dormann revealed how he had found serious security problems in thousands upon thousands of apps. After testing 1.8 million apps, he found almost 20,000 featured built-in passwords and keys, and even when a separate password store was used, user data was still open to attack from simple password crackers.
WSL-DistroLauncher is an open source tool designed to lure Linux distros to the Microsoft Store
Is it cool that there are Linux distributions in the Microsoft Store? Eh, I suppose. While I don't fully trust Microsoft's commitment to both Linux and open source, understandably, some Linux users and administrators have the need to also run Windows 10. And so, from a convenience standpoint, the whole Windows Subsystem for Linux thing is appreciated (we are watching you though, Microsoft!).
Unfortunately, not all Linux distributions are available in the Microsoft Store. This is a problem, as Linux users are very tribal -- a Fedora user, for instance, might be unhappy using Debian. Microsoft hopes to solve this dilemma by making it even easier for distribution maintainers to get their distros into the store. How does the Windows-maker plan to do this? With an all-new GitHub-hosted open source tool called "WSL-DistroLauncher."
Linus Torvalds: Linux 4.16 kernel launches on Sunday. Possibly. Maybe.
After a series of release candidates, Linus Torvalds could well be ready to unleash version 4.16 of the Linux kernel onto the world at the weekend. That is unless he changes his mind about the RC build: "rc7 is much too big for my taste," he says in his weekly update to the kernel mailing list.
Torvalds says that while he's not planning for there to be an eighth release candidate, the current size is causing him to think about the best course of action. For those who have not been following the story, he also details what's new in Linux 4.16.
Google launches 'Change the Game' design challenge to encourage female coders and gamers
Google has teamed up with Girls Make Games and ESA Foundation to launch a new initiative called Change the Game. It is designed to encourage more women to get involved in playing and creating mobile games, and there's a $10,000 college scholarship and a $15,000 technology donation up for grabs.
The company is seeking game ideas from US teenagers who are invited to share details of their designs. Google asks for details of game mechanics, storylines and asks "what emotions could the player experience or feel while playing the game?"
Google Play Instant lets you stream Android apps and games to try them out
With so many apps and games to choose from in Google Play, it's very easy to be tempted to try all of them out. Well... maybe not all of them, but it's easy to get carried away. This can mean waiting an age for a particular title to download, only for you to try it and discover you don't like it.
Today Google announces a solution to the problem: Google Play Instant. It lets you get started in a game without having to download it completely -- in essence you're streaming the bits you need to your Android phone or tablet.
Google opens up Maps API to game developers
Google is giving developers the chance to build games based on real-world maps by opening up the Maps APIs to them. On top of this, Google is bring Maps to the Unity game engine so developers can make use of real-time map data.
Titles such as Jurassic World Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and Ghostbusters World will make use of augmented reality to create truly immersive gaming experiences. Developers have access to over 100 million 3D buildings, roads, landmarks, and parks from over 200 countries, allowing for great flexibility.
Download Android P developer preview as Google reveals release schedule
It's mere days since we were talking about the impending release of Android P for developers. Now, slightly earlier than expected, a preview of the latest version of Google's mobile operating system is here.
As this is a preview build, it is not only not aimed at the masses, but is also only compatible with a handful of Android phones -- specifically the Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. If you have one of these devices, you can try out Android P for yourself, but Google has revealed that we’ll have to wait until Q3 for the final release.
Chrome for Windows drops Microsoft compiler in favor of Clang
The Windows version of Google Chrome is ditching Microsoft's C++ Compiler and switching to Clang. The change brings Chrome for Windows in line with versions of the browser for macOS, Android and Linux.
The move not only makes complete sense for Google -- why not use the same compiler on all platforms, after all? -- it makes Chrome the first high-profile Windows app to make use of the open source compiler Clang.
Android P should be making its way to developers later this month
While a lot of Android users are still waiting for Oreo to arrive on their handsets -- well, let's face it, there are still plenty waiting for Nougat -- Google is hard at work on Android P. The P may or may not stand for pistachio (or possibly pie, leading to speculation of a March 14 -- Pi day -- release), but what people really care about is what's new and when they can try it out.
It shouldn't be too long until we find out more about what to expect from the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. The company is expected to release the first Android P Developer Preview later this month. This will give us a chance to see whether there really is notch support and a "dramatic redesign".
Microsoft will let developers add support for multiple instances of their UWP Windows 10 apps
Starting with Redstone 4, Microsoft will give developers a new option for their UWP apps in Windows 10 -- support for multiple instances of an app. This is a feature that lots of Windows 10 users have been asking for, so it will be welcomed with open arms.
As of Windows 10 version 1803, multiple-instance support for UWP apps will be available to developers on an opt-in basis. Microsoft has published a detailed blog post that explains how the function can be used.
Google is bringing AMP to Gmail, promising dynamic emails with interactive content
Google has launched a developer preview of AMP for Email, bringing its Accelerated Mobile Pages feature to Gmail. The aim is modernize email, allowing for the creation of messages with interactive, dynamic content.
In practice what this means is that emails could be updated with new information if details change, and that it will be possible to fill out forms and so on without leaving your inbox. There are already a number of big names getting involved -- including Pinterest and Booking.com -- and more will use the open source tool.
Corporate cultural issues hold back secure software development
As the digital economy expands and software becomes more critical, security worries grow. In a new survey, 74 percent of respondents agree that security threats due to software and code issues are a growing concern.
The study of over 1,200 IT leaders, conducted by analysts Freeform Dynamics for software company CA Technologies, finds 58 percent of respondents cite existing culture and lack of skills as hurdles to being able to embed security within processes.
Java is the most popular programming language, but C is gaining ground
Java established itself as one of the leading programming languages shortly after its debut, over two decades ago. According to the TIOBE Index for January 2018, it is actually the programming language that most people are interested in. For newcomers, it is among the top picks, no doubt due to the sheer number of jobs available.
The TIOBE Index, which provides a glimpse into our interest in programming languages based on searches on Google, Bing, Wikipedia and YouTube, among other major resources, puts Java at the top of the pack with a 14.21 percent rating. It holds a comfortable lead over its main rivals, though at least one of them is starting to gain ground again -- C.
Avast makes 'RetDec' machine-code decompiler open source on GitHub
Open source is the future of computing. Don't believe me? Three of the most important technology companies -- Microsoft, Apple, and Google -- not only license open source software, but they contribute to open source projects too. While closed source will likely never go away, it is becoming less important.
Today, popular anti-virus and security company, Avast, announces that it too is contributing to the open source community. You see, it is releasing the code for its machine-code decompiler on GitHub. Called "RetDec," the decompiler had been under development since 2011, originally by AVG -- a company Avast bought in 2016.
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