Author: Henry R. Lares

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Categories
News Tech

The Best Tools For Mobile App Development for 2018

Creating an application is something that most developers have to deal with at one point. Apps need to work properly on different platforms, and this can be quite tricky to realise. Luckily for you, there are plenty of tools that that help you with mobile app development.

Making the app work on multiple platforms is no longer a problem, thanks to the WORA concept (write once, run anywhere). This means that the piece of code only has to be written once, for one platform, and it then runs on many platforms. This reduces the amount of work needed from the developer.

Monocross

This tool is ideal if you want to develop apps for bot smartphones and tablets. One thing that you should know about this platform is that the developer is able to access the native device APIs while coding in C#.

Nonetheless, it can be difficult to learn about Monocross, as there are not many resources online. There are few documents and support for this platform, so you might need to discuss with other developers if you need some help. Monocross supports the Mono framework, as well as .NET, Microsoft and C#.

Xamarin

You can use the C# code base in order to develop apps with this tool. It is possible to use the same APIs, language and IDE in all places. You should know that Xamarin development is tied with important companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Foursquare and Dow Jones. For those who use C# or Ruby, Xamarin is the best choice.

Xamarin offers a free version, as well as a paid one. If you choose the free version, you will have features that are limited and you won’t be able to use open-source libraries, which can be a major disadvantage. Sharing code is also possible for a developer.

PhoneGap

PhoneGap can be used to create apps that do not rely on the device. This platform was created by Adobe and it can be used to translate code from JavaScript, as well as CSS and HTML5. Apps can be developed for Android, Windows, iOS and BlackBerry.

A possible disadvantage could be that you can’t really use it for apps that are graphics-intensive. We should also add that this platform is available for free and it comes with great support for the developers.

NativeScript

This is another tool that can be used to develop cross-platform apps. There aren’t too many resources for its features. NativeScript comes with support for TypeScript, as well as Angular.js 2. Native APIs are also provided in JavaScript.

Appcelerator

Developing cross-platform applications with this tool is simple. A JavaScript codebase is used for it, and Appcelerator is open. Apps can be created for Android, iOS AND BlackBerry, but it also comes with support for HTML5.

More than 5000 devices can be supported by Accelerator, as well as OS APIs. The only con for this tool is the fact that the support team can be a bit slow with its responses.

Kony Mobile Platform

The Kony Mobile Platform comes with numerous impressive features such as API connection, automatic coding and app preview. One great thing about the Kony Mobile Platform is that it also has its own pre-built apps that can be used in order to develop a new app.

Once again, there are not many resources available for Kony Mobile Platform, which means that if you want to use it to develop an app, you are on your own. However, if its community continues to expand, there should be more documentation in the future.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Categories
News Tech

The Best Predictive Analytics Application: R versus Python

Choosing the right language is the first thing you must do when it comes to working on predictive analytics. There are plenty of options, but R and Python appear to be the most popular ones. Most developers choose between these two languages when they develop applications for predictive analytics.

Both programming languages are available on all major operating systems such as Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X. While we can’t say that one of them is the right choice, they both have their pros and cons. It is up to you to analyse them and decide which one matches your needs. Nonetheless, we took a look at certain factors in order to make things easier for you.

Data analytics

When it comes to data analysis, R is a more popular in the developer community. That is because it comes with an Integrated Development Environment that was created for data analysis. The R programming language was in fact created for data analytics, and it is also used to teach statistics in high schools and colleges from all around the world. Python can also be used for data analytics, but the obvious choice here remains R.

If you look at its popularity you can also see that R is used more when it comes to data analytics. Nonetheless, Python has its advantages as well. For example, if you want to implement algorithms for production use you might want to choose this one. Additionally, Python appears to be a better choice if your data analysis will be used in production databases or web apps.

Costs

You don’t have to worry about the availability of these two programming languages as they are bot available for free. There are no costs for either one. Python is usually better when it comes to code reliability, while R is recommended for statistics and data analysis.

Learning how to use it

If you are a beginner, you might want to take into account other factors. For example, Python is usually considered more mainstream, and it can represent a better option for amateurs. On the other hand, R can be considered quite complex for those who are not familiar with programming.

Resources

Before you choose a language you might want to see how many resources are available for each one. The community provides assistance for those who want to master these languages, but you need to make sure that there are enough resources for your learning process.

Regarding this topic, a bit of research has already been done. If we take a look at Google search results we can see that there are a lot more results for R compared to the results offered for a Python search. To compare the two, when searching for “linear regression”, there were 6.48 million results for Python and 77.1 million for R.

Python cons

If we are talking about the disadvantages of Python, we must mention the fact that it has its flaws when it comes to mobile development. Additionally, the fact that it is quite simple to learn Python might make it difficult to pick up other programming languages in the future. Python might not be the best when it comes to data analysis.

R cons

One of the biggest cons of the R programming language is the fact that it can be quite difficult to learn. If you need to learn it as fast as possible, you should know that R requires some time. Additionally, its memory management department could be improved. However, if the community continues to grow, this is an issue that will be fixed.

Related comparison:

Python vs. Java – Best Programming Language Comparison

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Categories
News Tech

The Best Programming Languages for Mobile App Development

Mobile applications have created an industry that has evolved more and more in the past years. Many developers have shifted towards this field, which is truly a rewarding one. However, the task is more challenging as well. Innovation defines this industry and mobile apps are expected to be as productive as possible.

If you are interested in mobile app development, you should know that an essential first step is choosing the right programming language. There are various factors that you need to take into account before you choose one. We are going to discuss about the pros and cons of some of these languages.

Objective-C

This is the main programming language for iOS. Apple itself chose it to build apps. It comes with some features that are able to handle the graphics, display functions. We should also add that Objective-C is integrated into all MacOS and iOS frameworks.

C++

If you are going to develop a mobile app for Windows and Android, C++ can handle the job. However, keep in mind that this language is fit for low-level programming. Back in the day C++ used to be one of the dominating programming languages, and it can help you create an app, no matter what its purpose is.

Swift

This programming language is newer, and it is perfect for iOS applications. It was used for the latest APIs from Apple, Cocoa Touch and Cocoa. This language was originally written to work Objective-C, but it shortly became the ideal choice for iOS developers. All the flaws that existed with Objective-C are removed, and Swift developers have become more and more popular.

Swift

If you are looking for a programming language that merges well with iOS apps, Swift is a great option. In fact, Swift was used by Apple to write the code for two APIs, Cocoa Touch and Cocoa. iOS developers are encouraged to take a look at Swift, as this language comes to fix all the vulnerabilities that were possible with Objective-C.

It is also a known fact that Swift developers are wanted by many businesses, so learning this programming language might offer you various job opportunities.

Java

Java remains one of the most popular options for developers who are working on an Android app. This language was developed at Sun Microsystems, which now belongs to Oracle. There are two ways in which Java can run, either in the window of a browser, or in a machine that does not need a browser.

The only drawback for Java is that it does not represent a good choice if you are looking for iOS development. Otherwise, there are plenty of reasons why you should choose this one.

HTML5

This programming language is one of the most well-known. If you want to build a Web-fronted app, HTML5 is ideal. However, you should remember that it remains a proposed standard. The good thing is that numerous browsers support it.

This programming language comes with plenty of benefits. HTML5 makes it fairly easy to insert different data types, the input parameters are rationalized and it also manages to account for various screen sizes. It is also easier to learn this language as it builds on HTML, and it would be a lot more difficult to learn a brand new language.

C#

This programming language is just what you need, if your goal is Windows development. Developers who want to build Windows Phone apps should take a look at C. While it does not represent a good alternative for other platform, it is the perfect match for Windows.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Categories
Economy News Tech

Top IoT Business Trends which will Drive Innovation in 2019-2020

The Internet of Things managed to create a lot of hype among people and it will continue to do so because, by 2020, it is predicted that it will generate $344 billion in additional revenues and it will be able to produce $177 billion in cost reductions as well. The factories based in the United States have already noticed notable increases in performance metrics thanks to enhanced reality solutions and IoT.

They allow your employees to cover routine management issues and increase the level of productivity by 40 to 60 percent. These impressive numbers showcase one of the latest trends in the IoT which can be singled out from what shown during the IoT Tech Expo which took place this year in Amsterdam. This exposition was able to gather under the same roof the latest advances in the blockchain, IoT and AI technologies.

Clients use these very innovations to improve their businesses. So let’s see what are the latest trends which will help your business grow through the Internet of Things. The first one says that the IoT is driven by industries and that’s what most of the cases are about. Raw technologies aren’t worth being the primary point of focus. Instead, clients should focus on real problems and solutions.

A survey took by IDC shows that 31,4 percent of companies took the path of launching IoT products, while an additional 43 percent of them are looking to do so in the next 12 months. From the ones that use it, 55% believe that IoT represents a strategy to help them face their competition in a more efficient way.

Another trend in represented by a wider adoption of consumer IoT. According to Gartner, connected things will show a huge increase in revenue, reaching 20.8 billion in 2020, as opposed to only 6.4 billion in 2016. Often, this rise is linked together with the emergence of various smart home devices, like CUJO.

The foreseeable future shows the market being formed by hardware manufacturers and their partners who look towards making their products reliable and easy to use and maintain. By launching platforms and SDKs, they want to cut down costs and time consumption required for making firmware or software products.

The third trend tells us that interoperability matters because that’s the direction in which the market is drifting towards. The owners will shape it and adjust it through carefully though of steps. The process of unification around certain protocols and standards might take a while to implement, but some of them are already promoted by companies, such as the Bluetooth Low Energy which is incorporated by MobiDev for automotive IoT.

Regarding this third trend, you should make sure that the next IoT product you make should be easily adjustable to standards that are yet to be made. This is where things get tricky, in designing a project that is flexible enough to support transformation and maintenance.

The fourth trend is about IoT’s security issues and solutions that are constantly evolving. Business Insider stated that approximately $6 trillion will be spent in the next five years by businesses and governments for IoT solutions. They would have to deal with the vulnerability of connected devices.

With multiple attacks happening in these past years, the focus should be put on preventing main security threats during the earliest stages of development. A manufacturer should dedicate a separate page concerning security standards and requirements necessary for the product inside their product documentation.

Last but not least, you will face a trend that looks to combine multiple innovations inside IoT solutions. A tech product that looks towards achieving a certain business goal must be based on a number of technologies which must be able of working together. For this they must be a perfect fit and work seamlessly.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Categories
News Tech

Zedge: How Safe Is the Most Popular App for Ringtones and Wallpapers?

If you’re here, you’re probably asking yourself if Zedge is safe and legal. According to some reports, Zedge is the best app for free wallpapers and ringtones from the web. And there were no malware cases known for this site.

If you Google it, you’ll see that many people ask if it’s safe. Let’s take a look into this matter.

The thing is that the website is safe. You might have some problems if you download the app from strange, unknown sites. The Zedge app is only safe if you get it from the Google Play or from the iStore. Google Play always checks its apps for viruses, but there are some that can get infected. To avoid that, you need to make sure you get the app from Zedge themselves. There are many clones on Google Play, so make sure you choose the original app.

You should only give the necessary permissions

You should never give to any app the admin permission. If you do, it will be harder for you to uninstall it and it may even harm your phone.

Many people give permission without actually checking what access they’re granting. You need always to check this thing. This is the first opportunity to see whether the app is safe or not. Why would any app, actually, need to access your text messages? Think about it.

Who uploads on the app?

The Zedge app allows the users to upload content. You’re probably asking yourself what’s happening if the content comes infected from a user. You don’t have to worry about that. Zedge comes with some security systems that check every upload on the app. Each wallpaper or ringtone is free of any kind of malware.

Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post.  In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.

Exit mobile version