New Flex Builder Flash Builder 4 and Flash Catalyst

From InfoQ comes news that Adobe has released betas of Flash Builder 4 (the next version of Flex Builder) and Flash Catalyst. These are public betas, so you might want to check them out if you have the interest and the time.

New features added to Flash Builder 4 include:

• Template support
• Event handler generation
• Getter/setter generation
• ASDoc tooltips
• States-based code view
• Package explorer
• FlexUnit testing
• Command-line build

Adobe® Flash® Catalyst™ is a new professional interaction design tool for rapidly creating user interfaces without coding.

• Transform artwork created in Adobe Photoshop® and Adobe Illustrator® into functional user interfaces.
• Create interactive prototypes with the ability to leverage them in the final product
• Publish a finished project as a SWF file ready for distribution
• Work more efficiently with developers who use Adobe Flash Builder™ 4 to create rich Internet applications (RIAs). Designers use Flash Catalyst to create the functional user experience then provide the project file to developers who use Flash Builder to add functionality and integrate with servers and services.

Dell Bundling Open Source Applications for SMBs

PCWORLD: "The more advanced the customers, the more likely they will adopt open source, because they are likely to ask why they should spend money on something they can get free," said Amit Midha, president of Dell's Asia Pacific and Japan region for the SMB business, on Tuesday.

Note: SMBs - small and medium businesses

The Future of the Internet

Linux Magazine: During the 2009 Google I/O Conference, Google’s technologists revealed a number of groundbreaking technologies over the course of two days. All of the Google inventions are worthy of your attention.

1. Google Wave is nothing short of a revolution in personal communications and collaboration. The Wave application is still in development, but Google is granting access to Wave’s API to select developers.
2. Google Web Elements are free Google applications that can be embedded into any Web page via cut-and-paste. The Web Elements are available for immediate use.
3. Google Android 2.0 is a new, Linux-based operating system for Android-powered devices. Scheduled for release in late 2009.
4. Google App Engine is a high-performance cloud computing solution for enterprise applications. Previously available for Python coders, the Engine is now open to all Java developers, and costs nothing for resource-limited apps.
5. O3D is a development framework for building 3-D apps capable of running in a browser. The tool set and code is freely available.
6. Google Web Toolkit (GWT) 2.0, a toolset for Java-to-Javascript cross-compilation, takes the headache out of browser-specific JavaScript coding. GWT 1.5 is freely available now, but 2.0 is still in development.

Linux Magazine describes each technology in more detail.

California To Move To Online Textbooks

BBC: Online push in California schools

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has unveiled a plan to save money by phasing out school textbooks in favour of internet aids.

MercuryNews: Schwarzenegger: Digital textbooks can save money, improve learning

Today, our kids get their information from the Internet, downloaded onto their iPods, and in Twitter feeds to their cell phones. A world of up-to-date information fits easily into their pockets and onto their computer screens. So why are California's public school students still forced to lug around antiquated, heavy, expensive textbooks?

How to install Nagios on Ubuntu server

Ghacks.net: In this article you will see how to install Nagios on a working Ubuntu Server installation. The release I used was 9.04, but you should be able to use 8.04 just as easily.

Nagios is the industry standard in enterprise-class monitoring for good reason. It allows you to gain insight into your network and fix problems before customers know they even exist. It's stable, scalable, supported, and extensible. Most importantly, it works.

40+ awesome free Windows apps you can download in 2 seconds

DOWNLOADSUAD: There are a ton of great, free applications that have been created in less than 1Mb - I didn't fully realize just how many until I started putting this list together.

Test your site's load time with Webslug

DOWNLOADSQUAD: Webslug is a tool that attempts to give you a read on the load time from request to fully-loaded. You can put in one URL or compare two URLs in a head-to-head battle.