New at CODE Magazine! 
Markus Egger |
A lot of new things are going on at CODE Magazine, both online and offline, and both directly associated with the magazine as well as efforts even more directly related to your development efforts. You may have already seen some of the things we do with CODE Consulting (www.codemag.com/consulting) and CODE Training (www.codemag.com/training), but today I would like to draw your attention to other things. New Versions of Xiine! You may already be using our very own “Xiine” desktop (Figure 1) reading software to read CODE Magazine digitally. (If not, get your free copy at www.Xiine.com and get immediate access to all issues of CODE Magazine you ever owned.) What you may not be aware of is that we now also have mobile versions of Xiine! Check out the versions for iOS in the Apple store (both iPhone and iPad are supported) as well as the Android versions (available in the official Android store as well as the Amazon.com Android Marketplace). The Android version also supports Amazon’s new Kindle Fire as well as other tablets and Android-powered phones. 
Figure 1: Xiine is available on many platforms.“But wait there is more!” We are currently also working on versions for Windows Phone 7 as well as Windows 8 Metro. Stay tuned and keep an eye out for these as well. All versions of Xiine are, of course, completely free of charge! Find links to all versions (desktop, phone, or otherwise) on www.Xiine.com! CODE Magazine in ePub - Kickstarter CODE Magazine is available in a number of digital formats including Kindle, Xiine, PDF, HTML, and more. However, one format is currently absent: ePub! With ePub support, people could read CODE Magazine on devices such as the Sony Reader, the Nook, practically any other eBook reader available today (except for Kindle), iPads (with or without the Apple bookstore), desktop computers, and so on. We also assume readers would like it if we made ePub books available completely DRM free, so that is part of our vision. So why is CODE Magazine not available in ePub format today? Simply put, it is a matter of resources and priorities, and an associated evaluation of those. Would people like to read our magazine in this format? If yes, how many readers want it and how badly? Are there other thoughts and ideas readers would like to share with us? We simply do not know! For this reason, we decided to research the matter by creating a Kickstarter campaign (www.kickstarter.com) (Figure 2). 
Figure 2: Go to Kickstarter and tell us if you want CODE Magazine available in ePub format.If you feel it would be a good idea to create an ePub version of CODE Magazine, then visit our Kickstarter campaign and let us know! You can search for “CODE Magazine” on the Kickstarter website, or visit www.codemag.com/kickstarter for a direct link! If enough people are interested, you may be able to read CODE Magazine in ePub format as soon as the next issue (and we would then also create ePub format for all back-issues as well. CODE Framework You may already be aware of this since we have been running a series of articles on this subject, but did you see we have released our very own framework called CODE Framework completely free and open source on CodePlex (Figure 3)? If you are engaged in business application development, regardless of whether that happens on Windows, the Web, mobile platforms (Windows Phone, iOS, Android), services, or even Windows 8 Metro, you should check out this offering. The framework can be used in full, or you may just pick out some interesting nuggets you may want to use or get inspired by. The license associated with this open source project is particularly unrestrictive and allows you to do just about anything you want free of charge. (Note, however, that this is a supported product and premium support, training and consulting is available for those who desire it, but this is completely optional.) Oh, and make sure you read our series of articles on the subject! 
Figure 3: The CODE Framework is available on CodePlex.For more information, visit www.codemag.com/framework. What’s Next? A lot of stuff, really. Make sure you join us at our website (www.codemag.com) as well as on our Facebook site (www.facebook.com/CODEMagazine) to stay up to date with new developments, and also to let us know about ideas and feedback you may have! Markus Egger Publisher, CODE MagazinePresident and CSA, EPS Software Corp.Microsoft RD and MVP | |