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| Resources for Your Developer Toolbox | ||||||
| Theresa W. Carey | ||||||
Thanks to the miracle of magazine lead times, I�m writing this column in my half-packed disaster of an office in Tokyo, but by the time it�s in print, I�ll be writing from my newly established half-unpacked disaster of an office in California. Please bear with me as I catch my breath. OK, thanks. Now get back to work! And here are some new goodies to help you kick-start your latest development projects.
Scalable Development Environment
ISE Eiffel 4.5 was released recently by Interactive Software Engineering Inc. (ISE). This version provides the user with improvements in the EiffelBench compiler and development environment. C compilation can be up to 10 times faster, with a finalization from a precompiled system as fast as a finalization from scratch. Interactive Software DVD Authoring Studio
DV Studio Technologies LLC announced that its Apollo Expert DVDer real-time MPEG-2 encoding solution is now available with Spruce Technologies� DVDVirtuoso software. This combined product is intended for users who have sophisticated DVD authoring needs. DV Studio Technologies LLC Windows CE Interface DesignBSQUARE Corporation has released the newly updated CE Interface Composer, a design tool for developing a custom user interface for Windows CE-based devices. Its COM object model approach using loosely coupled components offers the developer a quick-start kit for interface development. Using a scripting language, you can create virtually any interface you want. Key features include new SKINS support, where any bitmap image can become a device interface providing absolute control over appearance, and a new plug-in for the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser control, adding Internet browsing support and unique browser creation. The CE Interface Composer has a completely COM-based design, with the ability to integrate custom COM objects. It also includes support for multiple user configurations on the same device, and control over all user options with password security and administration mode. CE Interface Composer is compatible with the Windows CE 2.11 and 2.12 operating systems. BSQUARE also provides additional Windows CE-based products and services for developers of intelligent computing devices, including CE Xpress platform development kits and CEValidator, an automated quality assurance tool. BSQUARE Corporation Get ActivePerl on CD
Does the idea of downloading a humongous file make you cringe, even if it�s one you really want? Here�s a break. ActiveState Tool Corp. has announced that ActivePerl, its Perl distribution for Windows, is now available on CD. The ActivePerl CD contains a range of additional content on top of the ActivePerl binary, including ActivePerl source code, a snapshot of ActiveState�s module repository, a debug build of ActivePerl, a Y2K advisory module, and ready-to-license packages of the Perl Developer�s Kit and PerlEx. The Y2K advisory module examines Perl scripts to identify potential problems, a valuable tool for hunting down nagging Y2K problems. The ActivePerl CD package can be ordered directly from the ActiveState Web site. ActiveState Tool Corp. Build Dialog Boxes in VBScript
Australia-based Topten Software recently released QuickPrompts, a small ActiveX® component designed to facilitate building user interface dialog boxes from scripting environments such as Microsoft VBScript and JScript®. QuickPrompts forms are created entirely in code and require no GUI-based designer or editorâ€"hence the suitability to scripting languages. Topten Software Make Your Own CD-ROM Business Card
BizNetCard.com has released the BizNetCard.com Do-It-Yourself CD Business Card Kit to the retail channel. Now companies and individuals can create their own Mini-CD Business Cards in any quantity. The BizNetCard.com CD Business Card Kit contains a supply of 12 mini writable CD Business Cards (measuring 2.5 x 3.125 inches) with a 50MB storage capacity, 16 self-adhesive printable labels for the front of the CDs, and simple-to-use custom label-creation software. The kit also contains tips on creating your own CD Business Cards, as well as a demonstration of multimedia that can be created with off-the-shelf products. CD Business Cards can be programmed with multimedia, video, pictures, graphics, text, and with the click of the mouse can link to a company�s Web site. They can also be easily carried in a pocket or purse, and even mailed using standard postage and packaging. BizNetCard.com The Bookshelf
Like travelers in a foreign land, Macintosh users working in Windows or Windows users working on a Macintosh often find themselves in unfamiliar territory with no guidebook. The just-released Crossing Platforms: A Macintosh/Windows Phrasebook, by Adam Engst and David Pogue (O�Reilly, November 1999) offers users a way of translating skills and knowledge from one platform to the other. Whether it�s explaining the difference between Macintosh aliases and Windows shortcuts or explaining how to set up Internet access on a Macintosh, this book provides readers a simple means to look up familiar interface elements and system features and learn how they work on the other platform. The book is set up like dictionary. It bridges the Mac-PC knowledge gap many users are faced with when they need to use both a PC and a Mac. O�Reilly |
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Theresa W. Carey is a freelance writer who lives in California. Her byline has appeared in Barron�s and PC World. You can send her New Stuff at twcarey@msn.com. |
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From the March 2000 issue of MSDN Magazine.