TechCrunch
CloudBees Platform Now Connects To iOS Tool Chain For Enterprise Developers To Build And Test Apps
Developers are pushing to do more app development in the cloud, but IT has a history as a command and control environment that has focused on locking down infrastructure more than opening it up. CloudBees is a company that is offering a middle layer that connects the cloud and enterprise worlds so developers can build apps in a fluid and continuous manner but with the security and processes that IT demands.
Today the company is announcing the ability to continually test and build OS X and iOS apps by connecting on-premise systems with cloud services. CloudBees is also announcing new ways to use virtual private networks (VPN) for connecting cloud services with database and source-code repositories.
CloudBees is a Java platform that use Jenkins, an open-source continuous integration environment. With Jenkins, CloudBees has built a service that allows developers to build apps without the need to continually do it manually.
The new mobile offering integrates Jenkins with the iOS tool chain in a managed, hosted environment, said Steve Harris, SVP of CloudBees in an email interview. With the new capability, CloudBees turns Jenkins into a cloud service of sorts by making the needed hooks fully on-demand and elastic. They have also added the capability to preserve the needed components so connections can be made effectively with on-premise libraries.
The new VPN-to-Jenkins capability connects cloud-hosted Jenkins builds with the enterprise, Harris said. For example, development teams want to use cloud-based resources for development and test staging to get an app built and deployed quickly, but their IT team insists that they be able to use the identity systems such as SAML to gate access and enforce their own requirements. SAML is an identity management system used often in the enterprise. With its SAML support, CloudBees customers can use hosted services like OneLogin and Okta, or they can use their in-house SAML systems directly with CloudBees.
The challenge CloudBees faces comes from both PaaS and MBaaS providers, as well as the dozens of other tool companies that are creating new ways for developers to build and deploy apps.
CloudBees faces competition from PaaS providers and mobile back-end services (MBaaS) companies that simplify the setup and operation of cloud infrastructure for mobile apps. Major PaaS vendors include Engine Yard and Heroku, two of the first providers to enter the market. Red Hat OpenShift and Cloud Foundry are two of the emerging power players in the space. Apprenda, Stackato and a host of others are also considered competitors in the market. In the MBaaS space, such companies as Kinvey, Parse (acquired by Facebook), AnyPresence and Firebase all provide mobile back-end services.
For CloudBees, the key is in keeping to its roots in continuous integration, focusing on developers and enhancing its platform with more features to connect the cloud to the enterprise.
Google Will Start Blocking Most Netscape Plug-In API Plug-Ins In January 2014, Will Whitelist Silverlight, Unity & Others
The name “Netscape Plug-in API” (NPAPI) sounds like a relic from another age of browsers but Chrome, Mozilla and other browsers still support this architecture for writing browser plug-ins today. Its time is quickly coming to an end, though. Mozilla will block NPAPI plugins in December and Google today announced that Chrome will stop blocking webpage-instantiated NPAPI plugins by default in January 2014. The Chrome team plans to completely drop NPAPI support from the browser by the end of 2014.
Starting today, Google also won’t accept any new apps or extensions that contain NPAPI-based plug-ins in its Web Store.
As Google notes, NPAPI-based plugins were the first to bring video and audio support to browsers. Today’s web, the company argues, doesn’t need this 90s architecture. NPAPI, Google says, “has become a leading cause of hangs, crashes, security incidents, and code complexity.” Moving forward, Google security engineer Justin Schuh writes in today’s announcement, the company’s “goal is to evolve the standards-based web platform to cover the use cases once served by NPAPI.”
Google argues that most users won’t notice this change. Currently, only six NPAPI plug-ins are being used by more than 5% of Chrome users. These are Microsoft’s Silverlight, Unity, Google Earth, Java, Google Talk and Facebook Video (though Java has already been blocked by the Chrome team for security reasons). These plugins will be put on a temporary whitelist and end users and enterprise admins will also be able to whitelist other plug-ins as needed.
Developers who currently have apps or extensions that use NPAPI can still update them until May 2014. After that, they will be removed from the Web Store home page and search results and in September 2014, they’ll be unpublished. For developers who need an alternative to NPAPI, Google recommends switching to NaCl, Apps, Native Messaging API, and Legacy Browser Support.
Valve Introduces SteamOS, A Linux-Based Platform To Bring Steam To Your Living Room
Valve just announced the first part of its living room strategy with SteamOS, a free Linux-based operating system that takes the ‘Big Picture’ feature one step further. In addition to playing your game collection, SteamOS allows you to watch movies and listen to music.
The company has yet to announce a hardware partner for SteamOS, but this could certainly be the operating system behind the rumored Steam Box computer. OEMs will be able to use SteamOS to build gaming computers, as Valve states multiple times that it’s an open platform.
When it comes to gaming, SteamOS will work particularly well for audio performances and reducing input latency. Yet, only Linux games will work on SteamOS. While many games are now available on Linux, it still has a long way to go compared to Mac OS and especially Windows. That’s why you will be able to run Steam on your Windows or Mac computers in another room and then stream your games to your living room using SteamOS. Latency shouldn’t be an issue, as everything happens on your local network.
The family sharing feature now makes even more sense as the living room is the perfect place to let your kids play video games. Everyone will be able to have a separate profile and play the same games, just like you would on your Xbox.
SteamOS could certainly replace your gaming console, but it could replace your Roku or Apple TV as well for movies, TV and music. Valve didn’t announce a content partner but did say they are “working with many of the media services you know and love.” Services such as Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus and HBO Go should make their way to the platform.
While many of these services are only available in a few countries, SteamOS will be available for everyone in the world. We just don’t know when or what devices will run SteamOS. The second announcement is set for Wednesday.
The company has yet to announce a release date for SteamOS. And while it isn’t the long-anticipated Steam Box, Valve plans to make other announcements in the coming days. On Steam’s website, users can find a teaser page with three icons that represent three different announcements for the living room — SteamOS is only the first one.
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