conversation.start( enabling web developers)

By Andy Idsinga (Intel) (7 posts) on October 7, 2009 at 2:02 pm

This month I’m starting a new conversation with web developers, about, you read it right: enabling web developers. If you’re not a web developer, stay tuned - didn’t you know everyone’s a web developer now? ;)

It starts here and now on the blog and this evening face to face when I attend this month’s PDX Web Innovators Demolicious event.
Props to TIE Oregon for hosting a “Cloud Computing” event last month that turned me on to PDX web innovators in the first place.

Okay, “web apps” a big subject area, so let’s narrow it down a little.

I’m very interested [read: my day job] in finding ways to provide web developers with *web browser access* to the kinds of cutting edge capabilities that exist on modern, web connected devices like netbooks, smart phones, mobile internet and gaming devices.

Almost all of our devices connect to different types of networks – cell networks, wifi networks, bluetooth device networks. We frequently use GPS / location awareness to find things. We share our lives with cameras on our phones and laptops! More and more devices are including 3d acceleration and support user input from accelerometers.

OK, deep breath. The point is that these kinds of capabilities are not simply available to web developers through the browser. The key word there was “simply”. Some software teams could certainly write a whole software stack with native plugins and all – but that’s a pretty high bar for many projects.

So, my sense is that better access to device capabilities, done in a way that caters to web developers (i.e. javascript and html embedding) would be great for web developers.

What do you think?
Is there a particular device capability that you could have made use of in your web app?
Are you trying to figure out how to access some capability in a project currently under development?

In my next post I’ll share some technology and thoughts about bite sized APIs, widgets and mashup demos that expose more platform goodness to the web developer. Just as important, I'll be asking for your thoughts.

Categories: Cool Software, Software Engineering

Comments (3)

October 7, 2009 11:37 PM PDT


Travis Spencer		 Thanks again for the presentation, Andy. Love to get access to a built-in, hardware-based cryptosystem at the Javascript level. That would be really helpful.
October 8, 2009 7:45 AM PDT


Dane Hesseldahl		 Great presentation last night.

I'm really excited to see technology like this finally making it to the browser without a cumbersome proprietary runtime.
October 8, 2009 10:43 AM PDT

Andy Idsinga (Intel)
 Hey Travis, Dane - was good to meet you at demolicious and see @tweetybot and Simler in action!. Keep up the interesting work.

Thanks for your comments. In my next posts I'll be getting more specific with a list of APIs and and capabilities that we'll be able to talk about in more detail.

Trackbacks (3)


Leave a comment  

To obtain technical support, please go to Software Support.
Name (required)*

Email (required; will not be displayed on this page)*

Your URL (optional)


Comment*