Google open sources Page Speed

InfoQ reports that Google has released Page Speed as an open source project. The tool acts as a plug-in to Firefox’s Firebug extension, and it analyzes pages for common causes of slowdown. This looks like a very useful tool, and it includes a lot of minor details that I never knew about. I suggest that you give it a try.

Adobe betas new tools

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.

Tips for working with Bing

Bing, Microsoft’s replacement for Live Search, is being billed as a “decision engine.” While everyone else is talking about what it does and how it does it, I have some details that are useful for Web developers and Webmasters to help work with the new system:

  • Sitemaps can be submitted to help with the indexing. There is no need to submit a new sitemap if you have already submitted one to Live.
  • Microsoft will soon provide guidance on how to make your site as open as possible to Bing.
  • The indexing system is unchanged at this time.
  • Sitemaps should be resubmitted when the site or content changes dramatically.
  • The Document Preview content is not customizable at this point.
  • The Project Silk Road and Bing APIs are still available for free and for unlimited quantities of queries. You will need to sign up for an AppID to be able to access the APIs.

Check out these related galleries:

Python 3.1 Release Candidate available

Python 3.1 RC is out now. From the “What’s New In Python 3.1” document, it looks like ordered dictionaries are the major change, as well as a ton of minor fixes and such.

JRuby gets ISP, cloud availability from Engine Yard

Not only is Engine Yard now offering JRuby as a runtime, but the company is providing it through its Engine Yard Solo cloud offering. This gives Rails developers an alternative to self-hosting their JRuby applications.

Scala 2.7.5 released

Scala 2.7.5 has been released. It is a maintenance item that fixes a few minor items in the actors library, which makes it optional if you do not use actors.

Free Web hosting to try out new .NET 4 and VS2010 features

If you want to try out the new .NET 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010 stuff and put it in public, DiscountASP and OrcsWeb are offering free hosting with these technologies.

CodeWorks conference for PHP developers

The annual CodeWorks conference for PHP developers is coming up, and it is being held in multiple cities across the United States. Each conference is a two-day event; the earliest is in September, and the latest is in October. If you are a PHP developer, this looks like a great way to learn more and meet new people. Pricing is a low $99, but they will raise prices as the conference gets closer. Also, each event only has 300 seats, so you will want to get on this quick.

Micro Focus releases Modernization Workbench 2.1

Micro Focus released version 2.1 of its Modernization Workbench software (acquired when the company bought Relativity earlier this year). The tools are designed to help development and leadership teams understand the structure of their applications and resources, allowing them to make better decisions about future efforts.

J.Ja

Disclosure of Justin’s industry affiliations: Justin James has a working arrangement with Microsoft to write an article for MSDN Magazine. He also has a contract with Spiceworks to write product buying guides.

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