Palm’s webOS 2.0 SDK touts new Synergy APIs

Palm unveiled the first release of its webOS 2.0 SDK, available for download here to all registered members of the device maker’s Early Access developer program. Chief among the enhancements in webOS 2.0: APIs for Palm Synergy, which automatically brings together user information like linked contacts, layered calendars and combined messaging into one single, integrated view. Developers can now merge their applications with the Contacts, Calendar and Messaging services, with other webOS data types on tap. The revamp also features Stacks, described by Palm Developer Community manager Chuq Von Rospach as an evolution of the multitasking card-shuffling metaphor introduced in webOS 1.0–the new operating system groups related cards in stacks, effectively reducing clutter and simplifying toggling between tasks.

In addition, webOS 2.0 boasts Just Type, a renamed and revamped Universal Search tool making it easier for users to update their social network status, set reminders and complete other in-app tasks. Also new: Exhibition, which introduces a special full-screen mode optimized for passive enjoyment and utility when devices are docked. “A handful of compelling Exhibition options will be built into webOS 2.0, but we’re counting on you and your fellow developers to make Exhibition truly great,” Von Rospach writes. “You can add Exhibition support to an existing app, or build something new just for Exhibition.”

webOS 2.0 additionally builds in the Node.js runtime environment, offering developers the flexibility to build services in JavaScript. The OS also adds a host of HTML5 features and enhancements. “These are just the highlights,” Von Rospach notes. “We’ve added a lot of features that will give your apps more power and flexibility than ever.” Palm is scheduled to release webOS 2.0 sometime during the remainder of 2010.

For more on the webOS 2.0 SDK:
- read this Palm Developer Center Blog entry

Related articles:
Palm to release webOS 2.0 ‘later this year’
Palm issues webOS 1.4.5 update for Pre and Pixi
HP promises to expand webOS platform post-Palm deal
Palm launches 3D games on webOS

Paid apps 70 percent of the App Store–and just a third of Android Market

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will hold its annual autumn press event on Sept. 1, and as usual, the rumors are piling up–the smart money says the computing kingpin will unveil a new iPod touch with a camera for video chatting, a revamped iTunes platform integrating social media features and a redesigned Apple TV running iOS. If past Apple media shindigs are any indication, we can also expect some metrics contextualizing the company’s continued marketplace dominance–Apple execs likely will announce the App Store now exceeds 250,000 iPhone, iPod touch and iPad applications, a benchmark the storefront passed Friday according to website 148Apps.biz. As of late Monday afternoon, the App Store offers consumers over 253,000 applications from more than 50,000 unique publishers, 148Apps.biz reports–the store is now adding an average of 629 new apps each day, with Books leading all other categories at close to 44,000 active applications, followed by Games (almost 37,000) and Entertainment (roughly 29,000).

148Apps.biz cites $2.66 as the average price of a premium iPhone application–subtract games (average price: $1.24), and downloads across other categories climb to $2.90. Paid apps now make up about 70 percent of the App Store’s total inventory according to website monitoring firm Pingdom–it’s a far different picture on Google’s rival Android Market, however, where free applications make up about 64 percent of the 95,000 total available apps. There’s probably no one explanation that accounts for such an enormous discrepancy, but Pingdom suggests several theories, chief among them the continued difficulties facing developers hoping to make a living selling Android apps–the firm notes that payment options are available in just 13 of the 46 international markets where Android smartphones are available, while the App Store supports premium downloads in 90 countries worldwide. (Other possibilities: Without a strict approval process, Android Market could be drawing more hobbyist app projects–also, it’s possible a significant number of Android devs hail from the open source world, where issuing free software is commonplace.)

Nor can you discount Apple’s ongoing efforts to improve the App Store consumer experience, an initiative that benefits iPhone developers as well. The latest major overhaul is the introduction of On the Grid, a new App Store section devoted exclusively to the burgeoning location-based solutions category. For now, On the Grid features just a dozen apps, including customer favorites like Facebook, foursquare, Twitter and Gowalla–all are free except for one, location-enabled productivity app GeoFences, which retails for 99 cents. The timing is interesting given that On the Grid’s rollout coincides with new Forrester Research data indicating that just 4 percent of Americans have tried location-based services, and only 1 percent use them weekly. Consumers may be slow to embrace location-based apps, but at least now there’s a dedicated section of the App Store ready and waiting when they decide to take the plunge. -Jason

Google defends Android licensing service after hack published

Google is publicly defending its new Android Market licensing service following the recent publication of a hack enabling some Android applications to bypass the anti-piracy measure. Writing on the Android Developer Blog, Android developer advocate Tim Bray contends that despite the setback, the licensing service remains a step forward over the plain copy-protection facility that was the previous norm: “The first release shipped with the simplest, most transparent imaginable sample implementation, which was written to be easy to understand and modify, rather than security-focused,” Bray explains. “Some developers are using this sample as-is, which makes their applications easier to attack. The attacks we’ve seen so far are also all on applications that have neglected to obfuscate their code, a practice that we strongly recommend.” Bray adds Google will soon publish detailed instructions on code obfuscation.

While Bray admits that the number of Android apps that have migrated to the licensing server is presently very small, he argues the program is still a step forward, explaining that when correctly implemented and customized it can dramatically increase the cost and difficulty of pirating. “The best attack on pirates is to make their work more difficult and expensive,” Bray writes. “Android Market is already a responsive, low-friction, safe way for developers to get their products to users. The licensing server makes it safer, and we will continue to improve it. The economics are already working for the developers and against the pirates, and are only going to tilt further in that direction.”

Google introduced the Android Market licensing service roughly a month ago. The free service promises a secure mechanism to manage access to all paid apps targeting Android 1.5 or higher–applications can now query licensing server to determine a user’s license status, receiving data on whether the consumer is authorized to employ the app based on stored sales records, allowing or disallowing further use as appropriate. Developers can also apply a flexible licensing policy on an app-by-app basis, enforcing licensing in the manner most appropriate for each individual application. All applications published via Android Market are eligible for the licensing service, with no special accounts or registration–because the service does not use dedicated framework APIs, developers can add licensing to any legacy app using a minimum API level of 3 or higher.

For more on the Android licensing service:
- read this Android Developer Blog entry

Related articles:
Android Market adds licensing service to combat app piracy
Google opens up Android development, expands app billing options
Google looks to emerging markets to boost Android  
Google activates Android Market app kill switch
Google aggressively wooing iPhone developers to Android

Report: European operators mulling common mobile OS

European operators Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone are slated to meet next month in Paris to discuss the possible development of a common mobile platform designed to fend off mounting threats from rival operating systems like Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and Google’s Android. French newspaper Le Figaro reports France Telecom-Orange CEO Stephane Richard has invited the heads of the three competing operators to meet Oct. 8 to explore the creation of their own common OS–the report states the talks are motivated by a belief that iOS and Android are “Trojan horses” enabling Apple and Google to establish their own relationships with consumers, effectively minimizing the carrier’s role in the mobile services value chain. Le Figaro notes the operators are still determining what form an alliance might take, with options including the formation of a joint venture or the construction of a common application development platform. Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone boast a combined subscriber base totaling around 1 billion.

All four operators involved in the discussions are also members of the Wholesale Applications Community, a GSM Association-organized industry initiative created to simplify mobile software development and distribution. Formally announced in February 2010, the WAC encourages open standardized technologies, driving scaled deployment of those technologies and providing complementary commercial models in an effort to enable developers to efficiently deploy apps across a host of devices and carrier networks–the organization also will facilitate developer payments for content sold through an associated application store.

For more on the common OS negotiations:
- read this GSMA Mobile Business Briefing article

Related articles:
With an eye on application revenues, WAC operators announce business model
WAC pledges to be ‘open for business’ by next year 

Calix ponies up $171 million to buy Occam Networks

Last-mile gear provider Calix–which went public in March with an $82.3 million IPO-has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Occam Networks in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $171 million, or $7.75 per outstanding share of Occam Networks stock.

The companies said the deal would enhance the portfolio of access systems and software available to communications service providers and enabling greater broadband services proliferation at a time when communications service providers are facing major changes in technology.

The acquisition should result in more access options over both fiber and copper for communications service providers to deploy, which could boost the roll out of advanced broadband services to both residential and business subscribers, including such services as high-speed Internet, IPTV, VOIP, Ethernet business services, and other advanced broadband applications.

“By combining Occam Networks’ expertise in IP and Ethernet, Calix’s strength in fiber access, and both companies’ experience in copper access, we believe there is a clear opportunity to further enhance the Calix Unified Access portfolio, accelerate its future innovation, and enable greater broadband deployment by communications service providers globally,” Carl Russo, president and chief executive officer of Calix. “As a result of this acquisition, communications service providers can expect new innovations to the expanded Calix Unified Access portfolio that directly address the emerging needs of the broadband-connected consumer while also making these communications service providers more capitally and operationally efficient.”

After the completion of the acquisition, former Occam Networks stockholders will own between 16.5 percent and 18.9 percent of the outstanding shares of Calix’s common stock. Calix expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2010 or first quarter of 2011, subject to Occam Networks stockholder and regulatory approval.

Calix has made hay with contracts related to the Broadband Initiative Program, and saw a 50 percent increase in revenue for the second quarter to $71.7 million from $47.8 million a year ago. It was the first full quarter following the IPO.

Occam counts more than 380 communications service providers as customers.

For more:
– see this release

Related articles:
Calix sees part of $37.2M in broadband stimulus-related contracts
Calix reports 50% boost in revenues in first post-IPO earnings
Indiana telco picks Calix as partner in ‘Fiber Forward’ build

Free Video and Multimedia Open Source Website Software Supported

We currently offer and fully support two excellent free HD video/multimedia website software scripts and systems (and we’ll be adding more soon). Both of these video website software scripts are HD video, multimedia, and social media sharing websites — also known as “YouTube Clone” scripts, primarily because they have the same features and functionality of YouTube. We offer both of these video sites virtually turn-key configured and ready to go. Both can be easily and automagically installed in just a few clicks on every video and multimedia website hosting package we offer too. Read more below…

Check out our example HD video and social media website here (#1), and our second example HD video and multimedia website here (#2).

Note: The embedded video examples below are re-sized at 550×253 to fit our blog page and mobile. Check out the full size HD video examples here.

Our example video website #1 and the video embed above, is from a custom version of Clip Bucket V2 with our Open Sunrise Template and HD Gold Flowplayer addons installed. Clip Bucket V2 was created by Arslan Hassan and his team of talented developers international. We’re impressed, it’s packed with features right out of the box and hits the scene running — no pun intended. In our humble opinion it’s clearly one of the best HD video sharing/social media open source software scripts available online.

Clip Bucket is fairly new to the game too for video software scripts, but already has a solidly built foundation, incorporates full video encoding in all major PC / Mobile formats, offers tremendous upside potential, and has a growing community which helps support it’s continued development. We will be contributing the development, and building many more addons for Clip Bucket V2 (download some here). We have several already which are due to be released in the next few days — hit us up on the Clip-Bucket forum or drop us a line to check on the status. Example video website #2 and the video embed directly below is from Vidiscript, another excellent free and open source video script we offer and fully support. The example website Blue/Gold template, white label (your brand) HD video player and MP3 player will be our first module addon releases for Vidiscript with more in the works. VS was just recently acquired and now under new ownership, but we’ve heard there won’t be any changes to the open source licensing, just more overall support, plugins, templates, and good stuff continuing to happen.

That’s good news too, we like Vidiscript’s overall build and potential. It has a solid platform to customize and develop further. Some unique features include an MP3 player and Flash game embedding baked right in (see below example), full HD video and mp3 encoding system which supports all major video and multimedia formats. We plan on releasing some addons for Vidiscript, the current template on our example #2 video website will be our first template released which should be done by next week, and available on our downloads page.

Both of these excellent HD video and multimedia open source scripts can be easily installed automatically with a few clicks under your Ultimate Admin GUI Control Panel screen on ANY video and multimedia website package we offer. Plus all of our server packages come turn-key ready for you to start creating your video and social media empire. Everything you would need has already been pre-configured for HD video/multimedia encoding via upload, multiple HD player choices for playback/display for PC/Mobile, and ready to deliver that HD experience at blistering fast speeds to your viewers. If you have other video scripts or multimedia software you want to install on your server account it’s not a problem, just install and go.

Bonus Sneak Peek: Now let’s move on to “the bleeding edge” of open source video tech online

Below is an example of a cross platform HD HTML5 video player (No Flash needed) which can stream both FLV PC or MP4 mobile via RTMP or HTTP for playback depending on the viewers browser. It’s a promising WordPress plugin called Stream Video developed by Rodrigo Polo, we like what it has to offer and are going to be developing it further for integration into our platform. There is a bug to work out with the flash fallback and mobile sniffer. Translation; meaning the player has trouble automatically recognizing a mobile or PC based browser, so it can deliver either a MP4 (mobile) or FLV (PC) video to the viewer.

This isn’t really a big deal though from what we can tell and we’re not scared, this can be easily fixed. It works about 90% of the time “as is” tested on Firefox, Chrome, IE8 and Opera. If you see a “stream not available for this medium” message then it hates your browser. Be a good guinea pig and try refreshing your screen again. Hey that’s why it’s called the bleeding edge of technology, right? If it worked 100% of the time we’d be filing this “Sneak Peek Bonus” topic under the “Stable / Production Ready” (yawn) section.

That’s all we have for now folks for HD video examples, but promise there will be more goodies coming real soon. We’re always busy trying to make Multimedia easier, now go relax and enjoy making your video and multimedia website… or two.

Get Started

Getting started with a multimedia and video package from BoonJack Media is simple and easy, hey it’s not just a slogan that’s how we do it. The real magic happens on our Partner Portal, the first screen shot below is the homepage listing all of the areas in the portal. We’ll start by clicking on the “Place An Order” icon.

This is step 1 on the ordering screen, you’ll want to select a product or service category first. The default category is our Multimedia packages, we’re going to select the “Marketing Expert” package, hey it says best value… sweet!

Moving on to step 2, we’re going to select a Domain for our multimedia package. There are three choices, 1) purchase a domain directly from us 2) Transfer a domain you already own to use with your multimedia package 3) Use a domain you own and change the domain nameservers to point to your multimedia account. We going to register a new domain cause that’s how we roll, and hey look – mysupercoolhdvideowebsite.com is available… awesome!

On Step 3 you can configure any options or domain addons for your multimedia package  and the payment terms, then click on “Update Your Cart” to continue.

Here’s step 3 (continued), we bought extras for our supercoolhdvideowebsite.com domain. Hey we know it could be considered excessive, but we just can’t help splurging!

On step 4 you can configure your domain extras and set your Nameservers (optional) for your domain. We are going to use the default anonymous Nameservers provided for free, because we dig our privacy. Confirm the order looks OK, then click “Checkout” or you can continue shopping and stuff your cart full of goodies.

On Step 5 fill in your account details and information. We recommend choosing a strong password and using a security question, better to safe as Mom always says.

Step 5 (continued), use your account details for your domain contact or enter a any new details here. Select your payment service either Authorize.Net or PayPal, both are excellent and accept all major credit and bank debit cards. Add any notes or other information to send to us, most people just type something in here like, “You All Are Awesome!” or similar. Read through our legal stuff, click agree to our terms and conditions, then activate your account!

That’s it you’re ready to deliver HD multimedia and video at unheard of speeds! Go ahead and access your client area dashboard now.

Your complete package details and instructions for your new multimedia website package will be emailed to you. We highly recommend saving this welcome email, but if you don’t it’s no problem. In your client area Dashboard, every email we send to you is saved and archived appropriately under “My Emails”.

Here’s some more screen shots below of the client area called “Your Dashboard” which is the one stop, one access point where you can completely manage every service under your multimedia account. Put quite simply, it rocks!

Client area  “Your Dashboard” continued… you’ve complete control with easy one-click logins to access all of your server account administration services.

Want more? No problem, just create your free account here and fill in your information, then browse around the Partner Portal with full access! BTW we provide that cool “Your Dashboard” page for free accounts too.

Below are all the screen shots you can click to view larger images, use the >> located at the bottom right to cycle through.

Mobile

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Features

Here’s the list of features included with all of our website hosting packages.

Below is the list of over 200+ supported open source software and systems you can install on Every Multimedia Video Website Hosting Package we offer for Free, Enjoy!

HD Video and Multimedia Website #1

Upload a HD video test the speed!

Get your HD video on with this Free top-shelf HD video / Social Media website. It’s loaded with features, completely customizable, excellent for online video seo and marketing, integrates into any existing website platform, easy to use administration and management tools, great search engine rankings, and ready for your branding design. Plus you can easily install this video website yourself for FREE on any Multimedia video Website hosting package we offer with Fast HD Video Delivery – No streaming media server needed!

HD Video Site #1 Features Include:

• 5 full featured customizable video players to choose from via admin
• 2 design templates to choose from
• Social Media features and design format; messaging, comments, sharing, plus much more
• Full Admin GUI with User / Media Management System
• Similar design as Youtube; Groups, channels, roles, etc.
• Video RSS and mRSS Feed System
• 2 Video and Multimedia Encoding Libraries to choose from – FFMpeg and MP4Box
• Full Video Management and Editing System
• Video File Uploading System: Full Meta-Tagging and Video Embedding
• Full Advertising System for Video Banners and Site Ads: Monetize and Earn!
• Supports all Major Multimedia formats: FLV/MP3/AVI/WMV/3GP/MP4/WAV/F4V
• Plus much more, but we’ve made you yawn enough from reading about it… so go check it out for yourself!

FREE Software And Easy Installs Included With Every Package

[Try the demos below Or click the software links for demos]

Get FREE Software with any Multimedia website hosting package we offer with Easy DIY Full Installations and Admin Account Configuration including the Database with just a few clicks! On every BoonJack Media Package we offer these top-shelf, proven, award winning Open Source Software and Systems which are completely customizable to fit your branding and design located right in your cPanel Server GUI. All software easily integrates into any existing website platform, features an Admin GUI complete documentation, community support, design templates, helpful tutorials, forums, and much more to get you going on developing your website platform.

Don’t Get Bogged Down with Standard Shared Hosting Accounts Using These Power-Packed Software Systems!

All of Our Multimedia Website Hosting Packages come with a Maxed-Out Multimedia Server Configuration to Fully Support all the Software listed below. Achieving the Hi-Performance needed and desired for Your Online Business typically found only with dedicated servers.

An example, our PHP Memory Limit Allocation for every Multimedia Package is 512M per app! While standard shared hosting only offers you 32MB on average per account, and won’t allow modifying this level even if you have an “Unlimited” storage / bandwidth package or are a reseller. You need to upgrade to a dedicated server to get that kind of control.

How can we offer this kind of performance?

Simple, we don’t overload our servers. Typical shared hosting providers which sell “Unlimited” packages and add 400-600 accounts per server, so you’re actually sharing performance with 400 to 600 other websites just like yours. At that level of sharing per server, they have to allocate memory and have to restrict certain performance related features, so every account on the server isn’t overpowered from just one account.

We assign a maximum of 50 accounts per server, which is the primary reason we can provide superior performance, overall speed, and features for power-hungry apps or HD multimedia. If your website, app, or script needs bandwidth from traffic surges then we deliver it now – our network is 10MPBS burstable to 100MBPS.

Apache Linux Servers featuring FastCGI with Dynamic Caching and much more, plus all the latest and greatest goodies…

The bandwidth available on our servers are unlimited with raid and scaled clustering with solid state high-rpm hard drives.

We open up our servers and network full-throttle. Offering unlimited file uploading (1G file max) on every account upto your maximum account storage for large file management, or emailing files. Every account comes pre-configured with the complete range of Multimedia, Video, Structured Framework and Code libraries you’ll need for delivering your own Hi-Def video and multimedia content without the costly need of a streaming server.

BoonJack Media Has You Covered With Our BIG List

Open Source (FOSS) / Proprietary (LICS) Software and System Partners

We have spent numerous hours doing due diligence on our multimedia server platform. Our R&D is rigorous and unforgiving, we try to break the software first then attempt to fix it, this helps us discover the true inner workings and full capabilities of the software systems we’re considering. Out of literally thousands of software systems, we’ve only selected a few overall which we support and adopt for integration into our multimedia server platform. You can be assured the software and systems we approve and recommend are the best available solutions online, plus we’re continuously surfing the bleeding-edge of technology looking for more winners for approval and integration.

Below is “Our Big List” of Software and Systems we recommend – Over 250+ titles. All can be installed for FREE on ANY of our Multimedia Website Hosting Packages we offer.

Most of the software and systems listed are Open Source (FOSS), meaning the software is free to use under certain conditions and is supported by a community of people sharing in the continued development of the software and system together. We also recommend some Proprietary software and systems which require a paid license to own or use, all of which of course are well worth the jack.

Ok enough of the rant, let’s get on to “Our Big List” of stuff…

BoonJack Media is NOC partners with Softaculous and Installatron featuring their awesome automated installer’s.

These are by far the 2 best auto-installers available online we’ve found. Together they support over 250+ free software and scripts you can easily install in just a few clicks.

Softaculous and Installatron are included with every Package we offer.

Here’s a demo for Softaculous to play around with: Softaculous List and Demos

Check out our Softaculous Demo here, or simply admire the pretty image sample of free software that can be automatically installed in every web hosting package we offer!

Everything is Multimedia

Multimedia is basically everything considered “Content” within any given website. From photos/images, videos, text, graphics, Flash, JavaScript, and HTML 5 coupled with interactivity. The great thing is there’s no secret formula, or secret code you need to discover on “how to make multimedia happen” on your website nowadays. The Code resources are abundant, driven and led by organizations which power the web 3.0 movement.

The abundance of online resources available today is constantly growing, updating, and evolving all related to multimedia. Your only requirement is you’ve got to be plugged into it 24/7/365, knowing the difference between what works well, and what software and systems aren’t worth your effort. Having that time to spare while keeping up on the ever-changing world of multimedia is the real secret to making it happen for your business online today.

• So how can I plug into it all (but without that 24/7/365 part) you ask?

That’s a rather simple answer really, but first we should provide some more details about our multimedia efforts – while we try our best to be brief and not bore you into being a bounce stat.

BoonJack Media has spent several years in online multimedia, video technology business successfully – we’ve contributed to the video craze in various market sectors since 2004. Through the years we’ve been researching various systems and software continuously, trying to stay plugged-in to it. We’ve been developing our multimedia asset management platform for many years too, with the idea of making multimedia easy for anyone to utilize for website publishing. We’ve debunked countless systems, software online for multimedia and deemed most of  them worthless, but we’re always looking for the winners. We’ve installed, configured, tested, corrupted, consumed copious amounts of delicious java while reading support-forum threads until the birds start chirping, meticulously stripping away all the pump, spin and hype – trying to literally break it too discover the inner workings, the true reliability of the software and systems we ultimately adopt.

Out of thousands of R&D hours spent, we only settle for the best software and systems for our multimedia hosting platform. All of which are thoroughly proven, tested solutions which are rock solid, effective, and simple for anyone with average computer skills to manage, simply put…

Check out our Packages and other Stuffhere or below