Backbase Newsletter - November 2007

Dear ${Demographic.FirstName},

We have some interesting new Ajax articles for you below. On the Backbase front we have just introduced the new Rich Applications for Customer Engagement 2.0: Rich Dashboard, Rich Forms, Co-Browse & Chat and InPage Analytics. These rich applications are designed to increase customer satisfaction and online conversion through customer interaction.

View Rich Application Demos »

In addition, we have released Backbase 4.1, with several worthwhile enhancements (see What’s New article). Because of our rapid growth, we’re also looking for Technical Consultants, ideally with Ajax knowledge, but we’ll also consider talented people who are willing to become Ajax specialists. For more info, see our job postings.

Best regards,
Jouk Pleiter
CEO, Backbase

PS. We still have a couple of spots left in our
Ajax Training class on November 26-28

Backbase Enterprise Ajax 4.1 is now available for download. It contains a new data binding system, JSON and Bayeux support, a new advanced debugger (similar to Firebug, but cross-browser), over 10 new and improved widgets, expanded documentation, and more. See also the list of what’s new.

Brian Reindel has posted 10 questions to ask when you are picking an Ajax framework. He does not focus on technology alone, but also on the viability of the project: there are many frameworks available, but only few are actively maintained.

Comet is a name for server-push via HTTP, and is an alternative for HTTP polling or for Java and Flash browser plug-ins. Joe Walker wrote a great piece on why Comet is of growing importance, published on the new website CometDaily. Bayeux is a protocol to simplify implementation of Comet, which is already supported by multiple Ajax Frameworks.

Backbase conducted a survey among 4000 people who downloaded the Backbase software last month. The findings were great input for our product managers. Among the findings: 95% of the respondents rated Backbase “good” or “excellent”; most people use Java or PHP; 50% of the respondents suggested we create an installation wizard; and rated high on the “wish list” were tutorials and tips & techniques. And that’s exactly what we’ll be working on. We’d like to send a big THANK YOU to the respondents. We truly appreciate your time and feedback. And lastly: the winners of the gift certificates have been contacted.

In the previous newsletter we were plugging Firebug as a great Ajax development tool. However, it only works in Firefox, and not in IE. The IE developer toolbar is not as full-featured as Firebug. Debugbar is working on better tools, including Companion.JS, which are free for personal use. You can get more background info on Ajaxian.

Have you ever wanted to package a web application as a desktop application? This is now very easy with Mozilla Prism, formerly known as Webrunner. It’s based on the Firefox engine, but without the browser chrome, and packaged as an executable. This makes a great combo with Google Gears for working offline. The technology is currently in an early stage, but you can already try it out.

Ext JS is a popular Ajax widget library, because the widgets look very good. We frequently get requests to integrate Ext JS with Backbase, so we’ve put an example on the Backbase Developer Network. Widgets from other libraries can also be used: see the 3rd party integration page on the BDN.

Many web developers complain about Safari 2, because it does not support Ajax so well. Apple released Mac OS X Leopard on October 26th, which includes a much-needed upgrade to Safari 3. The new OS is being rapidly adopted: in the first weekend Apple sold 2 million copies. On our own website we see that 50% of the Safari users are on Safari 3!

The new Android mobile phone platform got major coverage in the past weeks. So what does it mean for Ajax developers? It includes a web browser that is based on Webkit, which the iPhone also uses. So – once Android handsets are available – we can expect a decent web browser: good news. To stay up to date, visit the Android category on DevPhone, the new site of the Ajaxian founders.