Gregg Pollack and Jason Seifer from RailsEnvy.com do some Ruby on Rails commercials in the same style of the Mac vs PC ads.

From installing ColdFusion 8 to creating your first web application – watch this video to get started.

JavaServer Pages and Java Servlets are programs executed by a Web server to produce Web pages which are sent to a client Web browser in response to a request from the browser. This course by Arthur Griffith not only demonstrates how to write them, it also shows how to deploy them to a server and make them run in response to a request. Both Servlets and JavaServer pages can read from files, including the use of SQL to read from a relational database, and use the information to construct a Web page. To begin learning today, simply click on one of the Java 2: JSP and Servlets lessons.

Both by accident and by design, C++ supports a number of different styles and approaches to programming. Its evolution from C gives it obvious support for a procedural systems programming style based on C idioms, but past, present and future language support opens up a wealth of other approaches and idioms, including object-oriented programming, generic programming and some elements of functional programming.

This diversity is both a strength and a weakness. It can lead to code that is crisp and well matched to its problem. But it can also lead to code that is at best considered an exercise in groundless post-modernism or, less favorably, an unmaintainable and incoherent mess. This talk examines some of the styles and approaches, including their key strengths and accidental complexities, as well as consequences of and techniques for combining them.

Speaker: Kevlin Henney
Kevlin Henney is an independent consultant and trainer based in Bristol, UK. Kevlin’s work focuses on software architecture, programming languages and development process. He has been a columnist for various magazines and online publications, including SearchSoftwareQuality.com, The Register, C/C++ Users Journal, C++ Report, JavaSpektrum and Java Report. With Frank Buschmann and Doug Schmidt, he is coauthor of two volumes in the Pattern-Oriented Software Architecture series: A Pattern Language for Distributed Computing and On Patterns and Pattern Languages.

Just a tutorial to cover the very basics of Java, also the first time I’ve used Windows Movie Editor to make.

With Apple poised to finally confirm its long-rumored tablet device on Wednesday, Amazon.com is going on the offensive--as Apple muscles in on its Kindle ereader territory, the online retail giant is targeting the App Store in kind, releasing a software development kit offering coders the means to build and upload "active content" for the Kindle platform. According to Amazon, the Kindle Development Kit will include access to programming interfaces, tools and documentation for both the 6-inch Kindle and 9.7-inch Kindle DX, enabling creation of content that leverages Kindle hallmarks like seamless and invisible 3G wireless delivery, high-resolution electronic paper display and battery life extending as long as seven days with wireless activated. Amazon will kick off a Kindle Development Kit beta trial next month (details here), and adds that firms including Handmark, EA Mobile and Sonic Boom are already creating content for the platform.

The challenge facing Amazon is the same one looming in front of all of Apple's rivals: How to lure developers away from the iPhone, especially with the promise of the Apple tablet on the horizon. Amazon does not report Kindle sales totals, although analysts project the number sold at between 1.5 million and 2 million--by contrast, Apple announced Monday that it sold 8.7 million iPhones and 21 million iPods in Q1 2010 alone. Jeff Smith, CEO of Smule--the startup behind App Store bestsellers including I Am T-Pain and Ocarina--tells BusinessWeek that while it might cost 10 percent of the original development outlay of an iPhone app to fashion a new version for the tablet, it would probably cost as much as another 70 percent to rewrite the software for the Kindle. Developing for Amazon would essentially mean "rethinking how I design applications from the start," Smith adds.

But the biggest obstacle facing Amazon could be the quirks inherent in the Kindle concept. As the Kindle Development Kit homepage points out, Kindles are not smartphones: Users don't pay a monthly wireless fee or sign up for an annual service contract. Which means Kindle applications must be priced to cover the associated costs of downloads and ongoing usage--according to Amazon, that translates to content delivery fees of 15 cents per megabyte. (Applications smaller than 1MB that use less than 100KB per user per month may be offered free to consumers--Amazon will cover any wireless costs associated with delivery and maintenance.) On top of that, Kindle applications will face an upper size limit of 100MB; apps larger than 10MB will not be delivered over-the-air, meaning consumers must instead download content from the Kindle Store to a computer and transfer the app to their Kindle via USB. For niche developers and content providers like educational software designers and comic book publishers, the chance to reach the core Kindle demographic could be a game-changer, but most programmers may have to change up too much of their own game to make the opportunity worth pursuing. -Jason

Booyah attracted attention months before releasing its first mobile application: In spring 2009, the firm landed $4.5 million in Series A funding via Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers' iFund, the $100 million investment initiative created to support ideas and products for the iPhone and iPod touch platform. KPCB's instincts proved correct when Booyah launched its first iPhone title MyTown in December--the location-based social gaming application already boasts more than 500,000 users playing the game an average of more than 30 minutes a day, reaching number seven on the App Store's top free apps list. FierceDeveloper speaks to Booyah co-founder and CEO Keith Lee about playing in the real world and the importance of originality.

Mobile software developer Bolt Creative announced its Pocket God has now sold more than 2 million copies via Apple's App Store--according to the firm, it's the first premium iPhone and iPod touch application to reach the 2 million sales benchmark. First released in January 2009, the 99-cent Pocket God--a casual game giving users the opportunity to rule their own remote island, complete with deity-like powers--has released close to 30 free updates in the last 12 months; Bolt Creative reports the title has moved as many as 53,000 units in a single day, and downloads topped 100,000 per week throughout the holiday season.

For more on the Pocket God milestone:
- read this release

Microsoft briefly posted a Windows Mobile 6.5 software development kit to its Microsoft Download Center website last week, removing the SDK within a matter of hours. According to ZDNet, the WinMo 6.5 SDK appeared on Jan. 22, and remained online long enough for some bloggers and developers to download the kit--some speculate Microsoft pulled the download because it reportedly contains widget tools and emulators for Windows Mobile 6.5.3, an interim build said to add support for "touchable tiles" as well as enhanced gesture support, a revamped address book and updated start menu placement.

With the web buzzing about the SDK post, Microsoft on Monday issued the following statement: ""On Friday, January 22nd Microsoft prematurely posted a version of an upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 SDK to a public facing Web page. While the SDK was not announced or promoted, it was discovered and generated questions from the community. The beta SDK has since been removed and will be reposted once final testing has been conducted. We apologize for any inconvenience."

The WinMo 6.5 SDK snafu seems likely to fuel increased speculation over Microsoft's mobile roadmap and the long-promised release of Windows Mobile 7. While some sources report the software giant will formally announce the revamped OS during February's Mobile World Congress 2010 event in Barcelona, others indicate it is now delayed until 2011.

For more on the WinMo 6.5 SDK release:
- read this ZDNet article

Related articles:
Microsoft to discontinue Mobile2Market program
Microsoft adopting chassis strategy for Windows Mobile 7

A number of Windows Mobile developers are venting their frustration with Microsoft over Windows Marketplace for Mobile payment delays, posting messages on the Windows Mobile Developer Center forum that indicate they are owed substantial sums derived from premium application downloads via the storefront. According to this thread, multiple WinMo developers are awaiting payment following extended delays, some dating back to October 2009 and in several cases totaling thousands of dollars--on its Windows Mobile for Developers FAQ, Microsoft pledges to pay within 15 to 30 days for credit card billing, and within 90 to 120 days for mobile operator billing. "If you're a developer, you will be paid 70 percent of all application sale prices as your revenue share," the FAQ states. "At the end of the month, Microsoft will total all transactions for your application sales on which we were able to collect money. Your 70 percent revenue share is then applied to the total and if that equals or exceeds $200 USD we will initiate an Electronic Funds Transfer payment to your bank account."

Microsoft's Windows Marketplace for Mobile product manager Mihir Rao responded directly to the Windows Mobile Developer Center thread, stating that Microsoft completed its first round of payouts in December and plans a second round this month. According to Rao, there appears to be confusion around Dashboard status updates indicating whether a developer is eligible for payout, suggesting that some programmers are currently ineligible due to missing bank or tax information, or because the $200 threshold has not been met. However, multiple developers responded to Rao's post to report their Dashboard has read "Eligible for revenue payout" since last fall.

"I see my explanation of the ‘Eligible for revenue payout' status has raised more questions than it has answered," Rao wrote in a post dated Jan. 21. "I am going to get some more details on this particular dashboard status to provide further clarification. I will post back with more details by the end of this week, so stay tuned."

For more on the Windows Marketplace payment delays:
- read this Ars Technica article

Related articles:
Windows Marketplace extends to WinMo 6.0 and 6.1
Microsoft adds online app sales to Windows Marketplace