Android Apps on Windows?
From:
Microsoft is bringing Android apps to Windows 11 with Amazon’s Appstore – The Verge:
Microsoft says it’s using Amazon’s Appstore to bring Android apps to Windows 11. Apps will be listed in the new Windows store, and can be pinned to the taskbar or snapped alongside traditional Windows apps. Microsoft is also partnering with Intel to use its Intel Bridge technology to make this a reality, although the Android apps will still work with both AMD and Arm-based systems.
So, Android Apps on Windows?, not via the Google Play store though – would have been interested on being a fly on the wall assuming those conversations happened! We’re short of details, but this is an exciting play. Microsoft already has a development route to market for Android using it’s own plaforms (Xamarin allows code (almost) once development in C# using Visual Studio to develop cross platform mobile apps) so it makes sense to tie themselves further into Android having abandoned their own Windows Mobile platform.
Using the Amazon Store however is not an assumed simple move for existing Android apps, certainly there’s some hoops to jump through to migrate to Amazon and losing Google Play Services could mean platform changes of functionality losses.
I’m off now to research the Intel Bridge technology that they are using, news is a little thin but this quote from Engadget offers some suggestions;
Intel says Bridge is a runtime post-compiler that allows applications that were originally designed for a variety of different hardware platforms to run natively on x86 devices. The company points out the technology is part of its ongoing XPU strategy, which means it won’t be merely limited to bringing Android apps to Windows 11.
Probably not quite enough to get me to jump to Windows 11, not now that I’m all in on Apple Silicon! But If you’d like to know more about cross platform apps, mobile or otherwise, and how they could benefit your business then I’d love to hear from you.
About me
Andy Flisher is a Mobile App Developer based in the North East of England with over 20 years software development experience. He is available for hire and specialises in cross platform mobile app development, web applications, desktop software, bespoke cloud architecture solutions and providing outsourced project management services.
File -> New -> Project -> Swiss Ball App?
New client project time, swiss balls, apps, iPhone / android and a Teesside collaboration to boot, watch this space ????♂️
Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer ????
From
Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer in 2022 – The Verge:
Microsoft is finally retiring Internet Explorer next year, after more than 25 years. The aging web browser has largely been unused by most consumers for years, but Microsoft is putting the final nail in the Internet Explorer coffin on June 15th, 2022, by retiring it in favor of Microsoft Edge.
It is completely unnatural how happy this makes me, especially you IE 6, so much pain, so many differences, and so many corporate environments hanging on to it for dear life for reasons I do not understand.
You will not be missed!
What could it all mean? #wwdc
Glasses, AR, overthinking it much? I always love the over the top analysis of the #wwdc artwork
“Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is back in its all-online format”
Software bugs reportedly keep Arizona inmates jailed past release dates
From: Software bugs reportedly keep Arizona inmates jailed past release dates | Ars Technica:
A failure to update critical prison management software has kept hundreds of incarcerated people in Arizona behind bars longer than they should be, according to a whistleblower report.
Hmm, how could that be? ….
…. neither inmates nor their families should contact anyone to request an eligibility review. “This is done automatically based on system programming, which generates a list… “
… ah, what could possibly go wrong.
That’s some high pressure programming responsibilty right there.
“We knew from day one this wasn’t going to work,” a source in the Department of Corrections told KJZZ. “When they approved that bill, we looked at it and said ‘Oh, shit.'”
And some hindsight for good mearure too!
Facebook Australia: Tech giant faces growing criticism over news ban – BBC News
Updated 20/02/2021 it’s Tim Burners-Lee quote
From: Facebook Australia: Tech giant faces growing criticism over news ban:
The law will force tech giants to pay for news content on their platforms.
Facebook says the legislation “fundamentally misunderstands” its relationship with publishers.
But politicians, publishers and rights groups in several countries have accused it of bullying, and raised concerns over access to information.
Under Facebook’s new rules, Australian users are blocked from viewing and sharing local and international news, while local publishers are restricted from sharing or posting any links on their pages.
It’s not very often I side with Facebook, but unless someone can better explain this to me, certainly as a believer of a free and open Internet (warts and all), how is it fair that Facebook are expected to pay if Australian ‘me’ shares a link on it’s platform?
Australian authorities say they drew up the legislation to “level the playing field” on profits between the tech giants and struggling publishers. Of every A$100 (£56; $77) spent on digital advertising in Australian media these days, A$81 goes to Google and Facebook.
This is admirable, but surely the publishers opportunity to generate revenue is from visitors, Facebook generates those visitors, Facebook is good for their business no? Taxing them like this just seems like greed (or underlines publisher’s not moving quickly enough with the times to change their revenue model).
Or am I missing a massive part of this?
From Tim Burners-Lee:
Specifically, I am concerned that that code risks breaching a fundamental principle of the web by requiring payment for linking between certain content online,” Berners-Lee told a Senate committee scrutinizing a bill that would create the New Media Bargaining Code.
If the code is deployed globally, it could “make the web unworkable around the world”, he said.
Agree, and better put than me, they’re breaking how the Internet works
Apple Watch study on early COVID-19 detection graduates to peer-reviewed status – 9to5Mac
From: Apple Watch study on early COVID-19 detection graduates to peer-reviewed status:
A new study from Mount Sinai researchers published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Internet Research found that wearable hardware, and specifically the Apple Watch, can effectively predict a positive COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before current PCR-based nasal swab tests.
I’m by no means an expert on the science, but I love the fact that consumer tech, afforable to many, has the prospect to have such benefits, not just for COVID but for the other similar challenges that are sure to follow
Twitter Mulls Subscription Product – what would make you signup?
From: Twitter Mulls Subscription Product, Tipping For Generating Revenue:
To explore potential options outside ad sales, a number of Twitter teams are researching subscription offerings ….. Other possible ways to generate recurring revenue include charging for the use of services like Tweetdeck or advanced user features like “undo send” or profile-customization options.
I was a big fan of Tweetdeck in the day, now I happily subscribe to Tweetbot on iOS / Mac, do you pay for your Twitter client, or would you consider it? If so what would be the reall killer feature to make you sign up?
Making GitHub’s new homepage fast and performant
From: github.blog/2021-01-29-making-githubs-new-homepage-fast-and-performant/
Creating a page full of product shots, animations, and videos that still loads fast and performs well can be tricky
I’m a long way out of modern front end web design and development techniques, but I love reading up on how others are making the best of the tech available, Github unsurprisingly are at the forefront and share how.
I’m in awe of some of the approaches front end developers are taking, any current techniques to optimise and enhance that I’ve missed out on?
Hopefully I can keep below the 1 million USD threshold!
If your proceeds surpass the 1 million USD threshold in 2021, the standard commission rate will apply for the rest of the year.
Nice problem to have!