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Writing on the JQuery blog, John Resig said that mobile phone heavyweight Nokia also is adopting JQuery as part of its application development platform. As is the case with Microsoft, he said, Nokia isn’t looking to make any changes to the library, and its developers will contribute to the JQuery project.

Guthrie also pointed to a newly posted tutorial on Scott Hanselman’s Computerzen blog about integrating JQuery with ASP.net Ajax.

…The jQuery test suite is already integrated into the test suites of Mozilla and Opera and this move will see a significant level of extra testing being done on Internet Explorer and WebKit - above-and-beyond what is already done by the jQuery team.

The announcement came in a blog post by Scott Guthrie, a vice president in Microsoft’s developer division, who described the library’s attraction:

(Credit:
Microsoft)

The software powerhouse said that jQuery would be one of the libraries used to implement higher-level controls in the ASP.net Ajax Control Toolkit, and would also have a role in new Ajax server-side helper methods. The 15KB JQuery JavaScript library will be distributed as is, with no forking, and files will continue to adhere to the JQuery MIT license.

Resig, a lead developer of JQuery, wrote:

In addition, Microsoft said that it would contribute tests, bug fixes, and patches to the JQuery open-source project and that later this year it would extend product support to JQuery.

Nokia is looking to use jQuery to develop applications for their WebKit-based Web Run-Time. The run-time is a stripped-down browser rendering engine that allows for easy, but powerful, application development. This means that jQuery will be distributed on all Nokia phones that include the web run-time…

Microsoft said Sunday that it plans to ship the JQuery JavaScript library with its Visual Studio developer tool suite.

A big part of the appeal of jQuery is that it allows you to elegantly (and efficiently) find and manipulate HTML elements with minimum lines of code. jQuery supports this via a nice “selector” API that allows developers to query for HTML elements, and then apply “commands” to them. One of the characteristics of jQuery commands is that they can be “chained” together - so that the result of one command can feed into another. jQuery also includes a built-in set of animation APIs that can be used as commands. The combination allows you to do some really cool things with only a few keystrokes.

Sample JavaScript using JQuery.

The SDK item drawing the most attention Friday, however, is that third-party applications will not be allowed to run in the background. TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington wrote, “Instant-messaging applications (we saw a demo of an AIM version at the event today), can’t run in the background and collect messages while you are doing something else. Leave the application to take a phone call, and it shows you offline.”

Also, Aspelagh notes that a third-party application can’t write data to another application, which is known as “sand-boxing.” This is a security-influenced rule, presumably. The downer is that “the possibility of cool mashups is basically eliminated,” notes Wired’s Scott Gilbertson.

One interesting passage in the iPhone SDK documentation should give Intel something to think about. “If you have an existing computer application, don’t port it to iPhone OS. People use iPhone OS-based devices very differently than they use desktop and laptop computers, and they have very different expectations for the user experience.”

In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s presentation at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., reaction was almost universally positive to Apple’s SDK plans. Some developers had feared worse outcomes, such as having to submit their source code to Apple, and seemed willing to let Apple take a piece of their revenue and be the exclusive distributor for iPhone applications in exchange for getting a crack at the technology.

For example, you’re not going to be able to use anything other than Apple’s official APIs (application programming interfaces), notes Ken Aspeslagh (via Daring Fireball). This isn’t much of a shock, but it means that a lot of techniques learned developing unofficial iPhone apps will probably not work with the official SDK.

Apple’s SDK documentation (embedded in the TechCrunch post) points out that the iPhone can only display a single application screen at a time, and urges prospective developers to spend a lot of time designing an application that can handle quick stops and starts. “In other words, users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer.”

(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Twenty-four hours after Apple revealed its procedure for getting third-party applications on the
iPhone, developers have a few questions about the software development kit, but seem mostly satisfied.

Now that everyone has moved a good mile or so away from the famed “reality-distortion field,” a few tidbits regarding the SDK are coming to light. Thursday, I noted that the devil would be in the details of the SDK, namely in what types of applications Apple chose to allow on the iPhone. A day later, we’re getting a better picture of that.

Intel has been pitching its upcoming lineup of x86-based Silverthorne and Moorestown processors as ideal for the next generation of mobile devices, because they can run any type of software that you can currently run on a PC. The chipmaker has a point in that if you’re already familiar with x86 development process, you might find a Silverthorne chip an easier target than an ARM-based chip. But all those
Mac and PC software developers will have to bring a totally different mindset to mobile development anyway. Those developers who have been doing this type of development already could have a substantial edge.

Apple's Scott Forstall explains how application development works on the iPhone.

There could be a number of reasons behind this stance, perhaps chief among them that the iPhone might not be able to support the processing demands required by multitasking, but plenty of other phones seem to be able to juggle more than one application at a time. I wonder whether future Apple-developed iPhone applications–like, say an iPhone version of iChat–will be subject to the same restrictions.

In this quick Prizefight, CNET TV’s Brian Tong and I pit the two against each other in a 3G speed test, clocking the time it takes for each device to load CNET News from start to finish. Now, there are a couple of things to remember. Both smartphones use different Web browsers, and there are a number of factors that might affect 3G speeds, such as the area you live in and how many people are on the network at one time. However, in the spirit of friendly competition and out of pure curiosity, we decided to go for it. Check out the video to see who comes out on top.

The T-Mobile G1 is officially on sale now, but maybe you’re still on the fence about it. What’s Google Android all about? What’s up with the design? Is it better than the iPhone 3G? Perhaps you’re wondering which of these 3G smartphones is faster? Well, glad you asked.

Also, be sure to check back next week when we’ll have a full Prizefight between the
iPhone 3G and T-Mobile G1–five furious rounds of battle, judging everything from navigation to multimedia to call quality.

It’s not that the CIO is clueless. It’s just that she’s not directly responsible for rolling out new technology. That happens at the rank-and-file level as needs arise and budgets get squeezed. The CIO buys from IBM; the architect and department IT lead buys from everyone else.

It just doesn’t show up on the CIO’s multi-million dollar check stub. Not yet.

The CIO will probably say “No” to the latest open-source software investment, but that’s because she doesn’t realize it’s already spreading like wildfire throughout her enterprise. By the time she does, she’ll be there to negotiate the enterprise license/subscription agreement. Her timing, in other words, will be impeccable.

I wish I saw Billy Marshall, CEO of rPath, more often. His post today on new technology pervading an enterprise long before the CIO knows about it is spot on. It’s how we get goofy survey data that suggest that open source is far away on the distant horizon…despite it being widespread and heavily adopted already.

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The CIO is always the last to know about new technology. The head of engineering brought UNIX into the enterprise for CAD/CAM and analysis applications, and the CIO was the last to know. Department managers brought in PCs and Windows for personal productivity and desktop publishing, and the CIO was the last to know. System administrators brought in Linux for network services, and the CIO was the last to know. The sales force brought in salesforce.com and introduced the enterprise to SaaS, and the CIO was the last to know. Developers in the business units will use cloud computing, and the CIO will be the last to know.

Sanyo Pro 200

Starting June 15, Sprint’s new Chat will be off and running in more than 40 markets nationwide. For those not in the know, QChat offers push-to-talk (PTT) interoperability between CDMA and iDEN networks for the first time. That means that customers using the new QChat phones will be able to make PTT calls to both Sprint CDMA phones and Nextel iDEN handsets.

Sprint unveiled six QChat handsets at the CTIA show two months ago Four models, the Sanyo Pro 200, Sanyo Pro 700, the LG LX400, and the Samsung Z400, will go on sale Sunday with the remaining two phones, the Motorola V950 and the Samsung Z700, following later this year.

(Credit:
Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

In one corner is Microsoft, the leader in enterprise software and PC-centric applications. Microsoft’s eye is on the prize–a bigger slice of the $75 billion in online ad revenue that is forecast by 2011.

Then there’s the fact that Google’s got a huge head start in online ads over Microsoft and even if Microsoft acquires Yahoo the gap wouldn’t close.

But Google does need to figure out exactly how it’s going to make money off cloud computing, especially in the short term as software-as-a-service gains momentum. They did it with search; they could do it with apps too.

Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo plays into this strategy, and would make the combined company the clear No. 2 in advertising, Smith says.

And now, onto the next round.

Smith says he’s not convinced Google is trying to make much money off Google Apps, and he predicts that while the effort may be a distraction to Microsoft it won’t seriously threaten Microsoft’s enterprise business anytime soon.

Microsoft is looking for growth after failing to see big payoffs from investments in areas like mobile, games, and online services, says David Mitchell Smith, Gartner research vice president and fellow, who authored the “Google vs. Microsoft” report that will be presented at the Gartner Symposium/ITExpo 2008 in Las Vegas this week.

In the other corner is Google, the search engine that has turned pay-per-click ads into a cash cow. The company is looking to take advantage of (and promote) the move to cloud computing with its Google Apps, which are free for consumers but have a per-user yearly charge for the premier edition targeting businesses.

“When you look at the likelihood that Microsoft is going to make their progress in advertising, we think that’s higher than Google making inroads into the enterprise,” he says.

To play devil’s advocate here, Google Apps could wind up being widely adopted within corporations just like instant messaging and Linux spread virally through workforces and engineering teams. And Google has been addressing the security concerns that are the primary concern for corporate execs, and adding offline access.

Microsoft can give Google a better fight in online ads than Google can compete against Redmond in enterprise software, a Gartner analyst concludes in a new research report.

Not to mention that the future of the licensed software market, which is already flat, feels more at risk than the world of online advertising, despite the economic slowdown. It’s really hard to argue with free.

“It doesn’t mean that Google won’t make some progress,” Smith adds. “But the use we’ve seen thus far in businesses is almost exclusively bottom-up, end-user driven. There are not a lot of executives of enterprises who have made a strategic decision to use those products.”

On this week’s EIC Squared podcast, ZDNet’s Larry Dignan and I discuss the executive exodus at Yahoo, the launch of Firefox 3 and Bill Gates’ last days as a full-time Microsoftie. We also talk about the impact of millennials, the younger generation brought up digitally, on the corporate workplace. Will they turn off their Facebook, MySpace,
iPod, and Twitter while they crunch numbers for a sales report or resolve configuration problems in a data center?

In some cases, Mint can get even more specific than categories, and analyze comparative spending per vendor. Mint has over 225,000 users, Patzer says, which yields enough data that it can tell you, for example, how much people like you spend each month at your favorite fast food restaurant.

The service also collects data on fees that show up in your stock accounts–important data that most online trading and retirement fund sites don’t go out of their way to highlight.

(See initial review: Mint: Solid but incomplete online personal finance.)

See also: Wesabe, Expensr (just acquired by Strands).

Quicken users should take note that Mint does not let you actually transact. You can’t pay bills, trade stocks, or do anything else to spend your money. It’s just a tracking service. You have to go elsewhere (banks, brokers) to move your money around. However, as a tool for insight it’s quite good and getting better.

Mint is, and will remain, free. The new features will be rolled out to public beta on May 6, but Webware readers who use Mint can get priority access by visiting www.mint.com/webware after 9:00 a.m. PDT today.

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Mint - demo data)

Mint shows you how well (or not) your investments are doing.

As it does with cash and credit accounts, the investment feature connects to your online accounts and reads in the data from them. You can get historical data only as far back as your brokerage site will provide it. However, there’s no capability to enter in your historical data (like purchase date and cost) for stocks you’ve owned for years.

Silicon Valley denizens waiting to get rich off their prepublic company stocks will find, though, that Mint doesn’t track vesting schedules on stock options. It also doesn’t yet track loans, although CEO Aaron Patzer says tracking for student loans,
car loans, and mortgages will be added around June, when the service official ends its beta period.

Other new features in Mint include deeper comparative data. You can now see how much other people are spending each month in each spending category (such as “groceries”), compared with you. Patzer says Mint’s smart auto-categorizing is a piece of making this work. It doesn’t hurt that most of Americans’ personal spending is debit- or credit-card-based; cash is not automatically categorizable.

The personal finance Web application Mint is adding investment tracking, making it a more well rounded service for people with moderately complex financial situations, as opposed to people who care solely about cash flow.

As soon as you point Mint at your accounts, you’ll be able to use it to visualize what’s happening in your investments, and in this area, Mint really shines. The Flash-based charting interface shows you either account value or comparative gains and losses by default, instead of stock price charts. It’s a more holistic way to look at investments, and appropriate for Mint’s mission.

My grocery expenses compared with other Mint users in San Francisco, who must not have families or houseguests, ever.

Red Hat’s JBoss division has big plans for the future. Fortunately, it’s not squandering its development pool to get there.

JBoss was always an ambitious project and company. It would appear that not much has changed now that JBoss is a division within Red Hat, as Red Hat announced today its intention to push JBoss into 50 percent of enterprise middleware workloads by 2015. This isn’t 50 percent of all installed middleware, but rather than half of every new enterprise middleware deployments in 2015 will be JBoss.

That’s pretty impressive, even if only aspirational at this point.

Except BEA/Oracle/IBM, of course.

During Red Hat’s press conference on JBoss today, therefore, I asked if the reported JBoss defections had hurt JBoss’ momentum.

Muzilla also noted that Red Hat is actively building out its JBoss sales and marketing team.

This is impressive. Marc Fleury left, as did Bob Bickel, Ben Sabrin, and others (to various open-source companies, for the most part). Yet Red Hat has managed to keep the core architects of the JBoss products.

So, even with a JBoss diaspora of talented business executives the JBoss beat goes on….The industry is better for having experienced JBoss people permeating other open-source companies while Red Hat continues to build out the JBoss revolution. Everyone wins.

Craig Muzilla, vice president of Red Hat’s middleware business, was clear that despite some early departures of JBoss employees, mostly from the sales and marketing ranks, the core JBoss development team remains intact and all (or virtually all) of the JBoss developers have stayed with Red Hat. No leading or core engineers from any of the JBoss projects have left, affirmed Sacha Labourey, CTO of the JBoss division.

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Much more interesting to me than this marketing aspiration (as this really is all such a number can be at this point, given that we’re eight years away from being able to measure the claim) is the fact that the JBoss development team is still intact. For Red Hat to reach its ambitions, it has to retain good employees that contribute to that vision, and specifically the developers who lead and develop the projects.

In August, HBGary has announced a partnership with McAfee to provide forensic tools for its enterprise offerings. HBGary specializes in monitoring information systems for external and internal threats.

On Wednesday, HBGary announced that Andy Purdy has joined their advisory board.

Purdy, while a member of the White House, co-drafted the 2003 edition of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, then joined the Department of Homeland Security. There, he served on the tiger team that helped to form the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) and the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). He went to head both organizations and was dubbed by the media as the “cyberczar” of the United States until DHS appointed Greg Garcia as assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications.

In 2006, Purdy oversaw the first large-scale mock cyberattack, code-named Cyber Storm. A second mock attack, under Garcia, was held earlier this year.

(Credit:
Andy Purdy)