squared99

For the past couple months I have been working with Silverstripe and I have to say I am very impressed. Anyone looking for a new CMS should definitely check it out.

It allows both front-end and back-end customization. Meaning the admin of the CMS can be customized and added to.

I have used this approach to build the new Interact CMS system which is tied into the Interact APIs. This has allowed the creation of a slick and powerful digital content management system that can be used for both web and mobile. All the bells and whistles are there including mobile delivery, e-commerce, phone data, member management etc.

I’ve also used it used on typical website projects as the more traditional CMS. Again, it is very easy to get going with the template system and build something that is familiar from a CMS point of view for the client, but also flexible enough to be extended to the specific needs of the client.

Rather than forcing the client/user to adapt to the CMS, the CMS adapts to the user.

It seems that the ASA, a body responsible for advertising standards in the UK, has found and upheld a claim that Apple has been misleading with its current ad campaign which claims that “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone”.

Whether you agree that Java and Flash specifically are parts of the Internet, I find this encouraging.

Apple has been claiming all sorts of holy grail status regarding iPhone web capabilities, but until the recent 2.0 firmware upgrade and 3G launch it wasn’t even possible to download and save a file unless a ‘hack’ was installed. This is a capability possible for years on some of the lowest end handsets out there, and the fact it wasnt possible on the iPhone has lead to confusion by both the users of the iPhone and those that try to create services accessible by wireless devices.

Flash and Java are just the tip of the iceberg with respect to what features taken for granted are not actually possible on the iPhone. They do expose two holes in the firewall Apple has put in place to prevent “unauthorized” 3rd party access to the device. If Apple allowed Flash and Java to run via the browser, then the App Store becomes less a gatekeeper for apps.

Is Apple likely to allow these features? Probably not soon, but at least we can avoid confusion in the meantime. It also allows other devices to market effectively against the iPhone by highlighting the features they allow compared to the iPhone and prevents Apple from hiding behind broad claims of supporting “all parts of the Internet”.

Ars Technica has published some benchmark findings of the latest Firefox 3 beta 4.

I’ve been running every released version of the beta as my main browser, hey might as well go whole hog. I hope my feedback and bug reports have helped! :)

And I have to say from personal experience/observation that, yes, the memory footprint seems to be very good, and page rendering speeds are very good (haven’t done any benchmarks my self). This latest release has been a delight to use.

An interesting thing in that article is the comments at the end regarding the mobile web. Probably a salvo at Apple, as there is still uncertainty about Firefox on the iPhone.

These types of comments are coming up more and more and it is just more proof about where the web industry is turning its eye, the momentum is definitely picking up speed.

Imagine the day when proprietary browsers on the handset are old news, and we get to choose between browsers competing against each other on speed, memory usage, usability, etc.