Instant Messaging Wows Wireless Developers

A survey of developers building applications for wireless devices such as cell phones and handheld computers pegged instant messaging as the technology du jour, according to a survey released this week.

Overtaking e-mail as the most popular wireless application being developed for corporations and consumers, more than half of the 600 programmers polled said messaging is their new love, results of a survey from Evans Data showed.

Conducted every six months, the Santa Cruz, California, market research company uses the Wireless Developer Survey to follow trends in software programming.

Down to Business
Considered by many a consumer application, instant messaging has crept into the workplace at an increasing rate. As well as using standalone messaging products, organizations are integrating the technology into internal applications so employees can collaborate on projects and communicate quickly over the Internet.

"A majority of developers working on messaging applications are creating them for business purposes," says Jay Dixit, an analyst with Evans Data.

About 32 percent of the developers polled said they are building commercial applications used by consumers and businesses that incorporate instant messaging technology. Another 23 percent of developers are developing internal applications with messaging capabilities, and about 10 percent said they are building instant messaging applications for individuals or small workgroups inside a corporation.

Switching Standards
Separately, the study observed changes in the wireless standards being used by developers. Wi-Fi, a popular standard for wireless networks, is now used by one in four developers, compared to one in five developers polled six months ago. Also known as 802.11b, the wireless protocol was the only technology to gain ground since the previous survey.

The popularity among developers of Bluetooth and HomeRF held steady since the last survey, Dixit says. About 14 percent of those polled said they are working with Bluetooth, and about 8 percent chose HomeRF.

Meanwhile, the most used security standard, according to Evans Data, is HTTP over Secure Socket Layer, a protocol for accessing secure Web servers or encrypting Web pages. About 39 percent of those polled said they are targeting HTTPS above other security standards.

A security standard used with Wireless Application Protocol called Wireless Transport Layer Security is being used by 9.6 percent of developers, the research company said, while RADIUS, or Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, is used by 11.5 percent of those polled. Another 40 percent of respondents said they use various other security protocols, according to the survey.

"That suggests that we're still very early in the battle for wireless security protocols," Dixit says.

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Infogrames announces Operation Blockade

Infogrames has announced Operation Blockade, an arcade-style shooter that takes place just after the Great War. Players will assume the role of a character who must parachute on to a tiny island to keep enemy supply and troop transports from invading their country. The weapons in the game will be specific to the time period it is set in. Operation Blockade will also feature cooperative and single-player campaigns.
"By enabling players to jump quickly into the action without needing to become tactical geniuses, we've availed our games to a much wider mainstream audience,'' said Dennis Davidson, marketing manager of Infogrames' Minneapolis label. "By maintaining military authenticity, we simultaneously broaden that reach to the dedicated player as well."

The game is scheduled for release this spring.

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Dark Planet ships

Ubi Soft has announced that it has shipped Dark Planet: Battle for Natrolis to retailers in North America. Developed by Edgies, Dark Planet features three distinct races--the technologically advanced colonists, the lizardlike sorin, and the mutant insects known as the dreil, each of which has different advantages and disadvantages. The single-player mode in the game contains three separate campaigns, along with four multiplayer modes.
"We've taken a lot of time with Dark Planet, ensuring that it has high replay value and that the three races greatly contribute to that end," said David Wightman, managing director of Edgies. "Veteran RTS gamers will feel like they're experiencing three entirely different games, given the different goals, resources, and strategies for each individual race, and players of all skill levels will appreciate the scalable gameplay and beautiful 3D environment."

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Valve unveils Steam

Valve, the developer best known for creating Half-Life and Counter-Strike, unveiled Steam, its broadband software delivery technology, at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) today in San Jose, California. According to the developer, the new technology will let consumers purchase and start applications faster than if they install them from a CD. The technology will also let users access their applications from their PC by logging into their Steam accounts. In addition to streamlining the installation process, Steam will eliminate the hassle of dealing with downloadable patches and updates. Another advantage of the new distribution technology is that it eliminates the overhead costs of traditional physical distribution.
Steam technology can be implemented in any software application. The technology gives developers an integrated package of direct content publishing, flexible billing, ensured version control, antipiracy, and other features.

According to a Valve poll of more than 1 million of its active online consumers, more than 75 percent of its group currently has broadband Internet access.

"With the rapid proliferation of broadband connectivity throughout the world, and as gaming and all software developers continue to extend their products' functionality via the Internet, it became very apparent that a platform for delivering new services and offerings was needed," said Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve.

Valve is demonstrating the Steam technology at the GDC today with a test version of Microsoft's upcoming real-time strategy game Impossible Creatures.

"The performance and improvements to operating efficiency are tremendously exciting," said Alex Garden, CEO of Relic Entertainment, the developer of Impossible Creatures. "This is the right way to go about taking advantage of broadband for next-generation applications."

Valve is currently conducting a beta test of Steam, with more than 75,000 testers.

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Dungeon Siege goes gold

Microsoft has announced that Dungeon Siege has gone gold. Developed by Gas Powered Games, Dungeon Siege is a role-playing game set in a full 3D fantasy world. The game has been designed so that players will not experience any load times while making the transition into different areas of the gameworld. Players will be able to hone their characters' skills by using certain abilities as opposed to just leveling up and distributing points into different stats. In addition, the game will have a number of inventory-conserving features, including a pack mule that will hold multiple items and a magic spell that can turn weapons instantly into gold.
"Everyone at GPG has worked hard to finish the game that we originally envisioned, and we are extremely happy with the way it all came together," said Chris Taylor, creator of the Total Annihilation series and lead designer on Dungeon Siege. "We hope that everyone enjoys playing it as much as we did creating it."

Dungeon Siege is currently scheduled to hit store shelves on April 5.

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NEW Blitzkrieg Shots

Today we offer 4 new hi-res shots from WWII RTS "Blitzkrieg" -

Source: http://www.xaos.ru/img/bk/index.htm

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