Being able to build apps for iOS, Android (and more) without writing any "code" is cool - Illumination Software Creator has been doing it for years.

But wouldn't it be even cooler if you could do it all from a webpage that works on any device (including iOS and Android itself)?

Yes.  The coolness would be off-the-charts.

So I made it happen.

I call it... The App-Make-inator.

Some quick details:

• Visual development, building on the years of experience with Illumination Software Creator.
• Easy to learn and use.  No "coding" required.
• Builds native apps for multiple platforms -- including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, HTML5 and Desktops.
• Completely web-based interface with full support for designing, and building, your app or game right from Chrome on Android and Safari on iOS.
• Free to use to design and test your app or game.  You only pay for a subscription for the platforms you want to ship on.

That's right.  Build an iPhone app from the comfort of your Android tablet (and vice versa).

Here's how it works:

1. Load up the App-Make-inator webpage.
2. Design how your app looks by drag-and-drop.
3. Tell your app what it should do... also by drag-and-drop.
4. Test your app right from the web page.
5. When you're ready to deploy your app, you hit a button and, wham-o, your app is generated (including complete, native source code for the platform you want to release for).

The App-Make-inator will launch publicly in March.  Currently in closed Beta testing.

But wait... there's more.

The source code for the latest version of Illumination Software Creator 5.0 (the Linux/Windows/Mac Desktop-based daddy of the App-Make-inator) is being released under the GPL.

Q: Why release Illumination source code under the GPL?  Why now?

A: The combination of the success of the "pay (what you want) to download" system, combined with the (completely selfish) advantages of having Illumination as an open project that the community can get involved in, makes this a no-brainer.  This isn't an experiment in GPLing a closed source app.  This is the way forward.

The latest versions of Illumination Software Creator will continue to be released on the Download Page here, with the code available on GitHub.

Filed under: App-Make-inator, Game-Make-inator, Illumination, Linux, Open Source, Tech Stuff | Comments Off

All of the software, video games and comics on this website are now available for free.

Illumination Software Creator, Linux Tycoon, Road Sign Hank and the Aliens... the whole shebang.  Free.

This isn't an experiment in funding Open Source Software.  This is a permanent change (at least as permanent as anything in this crazy, mixed up world) to the way I am distributing my software -- brought about, in part, by significant changes in my life.

I will be accepting donations that will be used to fund continued development, design and support -- including funding others to work on them.  There's even a handy-dandy set of sliders that allow you to set how much you want to donate towards various types of projects (including support for the BBS).  Those donations are entirely voluntary.  There is no catch.

Links are on the individual project pages.  And on the side of this page.  Or you can just click here.

All are entirely viable options.

Filed under: 2299, 2299 : THE COMIC, BBS, BLABA, Comics, Games, GLL, Illumination, Linux, Tech Stuff | 14 Comments

I am building a list of alternatives for certain types of applications for an article series I am writing... and I'm only interested in ones that run in DOS (MS-DOS or FreeDOS).

For example, as an alternative to Excel and OpenOffice Calc -- we have Lotus 1-2-3.  As an alternative to Word we have... well... Word (there is a DOS version).

But there are still a lot of holes to fill in.  So I am reaching out to you amazing, nerdy folk to help track down the best old DOS applications  that can replace some of the modern apps many of us use.

Here's what I'm still looking for:

Visual App Programming (such as Illumination and App Inventor)

Visual Game Creation (such as GameSalad and BLABA)

Presentation Software (such as Powerpoint - I know Harvard Graphics exists... but I can't find a way to get a copy of it anywhere... it seems to have vanished into the abyss)

Video Player (such as VLC, Totem, etc.)

Project Management (such as MS Project or Calligra Plan)

Instant Messaging (I know, I know.  I ask for a lot.  Possibly a DOS port of naim?)

For those interested, I will be including my complete list and details in an upcoming Network World article (I'll link to it here).

Filed under: Tech Stuff | 9 Comments

There is a folder on my server where I keep old projects that have died.

Software for a variety of platforms.  Some complete.  Some half finished.  Others consisting of nothing more than a few mock-ups or prototypes.

Every developer has just such a place -- where good (and not-so-good) code goes to die.  A software graveyard.

I needed to venture into my own graveyard to dig up some old code... and got distracted by some of the older projects.  Because reminiscing is fun, I am now sharing some of the weirder ones with you.

Macabinet

Back in 2004 (or 2003?  No... no... 2004... some time around there) I built this little Mac-only app called "Macabinet".

It was this little drawer that slid out from the side of the screen when you dragged files near it... then you could drop them there.  And sort them.  Basically a place to file away your files to keep your desktop clear.

It was a cabinet.  For your Mac.  Hence... "Macabinet".

It had a few fancy themes (done by the same artist that did my current website design) and it had a small -- but loyal -- base of users.

Candleshire

This was an online game for the original e-ink Kindle that I started working on the moment that the Kindle's Java SDK was made available.

It was basically a simple BBS-style, turn based RPG along the lines of Legend of the Red Dragon.  Except it ran on the Kindle with its fancy, free, always available (but kinda slow) wireless.

Got the game to about, I'd say, 50% complete before I decided to move on to other projects.  It kinda worked.  Was a bit pokey though.  The latency of the Kindle's wireless made things almost maddeningly slow to play.  Was fun to do a Java game project though!

Kernel Attack

This was a game that I started putzing around with some years back and never quite wrapped up.

The basic idea was that you were a program that must protect portions of the kernel from invading code.

Game-play wise it was a funky mix between Rampart and Robotron (quick action in rounds where you rebuild your defenses).  Two of my all time favorite games.

Super, super nerdy.  And very retro.  Every now and then I get the itch to finish this one...

Footlights

This is another "Mac only" project from quite a few years back.

It was a video player with some various, odd options that nobody wanted in a video player.

One such feature is demonstrated in that screenshot.  Adjustable transparency of every video playback window.

Because that is something that everybody wants to do every day.

Other features that only a handful of people would care about : Adjustable settings (like gamma and contrast)... and... I kid you not.  Rotation.

Seriously.  Check that screenshot out to the right.  That's a video playing back nice and smooth... while being rotated.

You might ask me why that would be useful.

To which I would, confidently, reply... "uhhhh... I dunno".

It was cool looking and I wanted to do it.   Does a dev really need a reason to do something random like that?

I'm curious what sort of funky projects are in your software project graveyard... feel free to post away in the comments.

Filed under: Games, I am awesome, Just stuff, Tech Stuff | 7 Comments

Around here we don't discriminate against other programming languages and environments.

Sure.  We built our own development tools [which are awesome]... but, as they say, variety is the spice of life.  That applies to programming languages too.

And, over the years, we've built up a pretty hefty collection of code to accomplish a pretty wide variety of things -- in a wide variety of languages [predominantly in Java, RB, C and Pascal].

Why let all that code go to waste?

So we're bundling together the pieces and parts that make sense [and would be most valuable to others] and selling them as "Dev Packs".

The first of those Dev Packs is actually a resurrection of a code collection from a few years back for RealBasic / RealStudio.  We call it the "Lunduke RB Dev Pack".

It includes the following components (all tested under Linux, Windows and Mac):

RadGraphics - An image manipulation and effects class.

RadRSS - RSS and Atom news feed reading.

RadChart - Flexible charting control for arranging re-sizable objects (including both pictures and text).

RadPicView - Scrollable, zoomable image view.

RadThumbnailView - Highly customizable thumbnail view for images.

RadLinkLabel - Make labels look and behave like web links.

RadColorBar - Customizable progress-bar style control that can take on multiple appearances, be any size and have styled caption text inside the bar itself.

And we're selling it for $25.  [Which is ridiculously cheap.]

Filed under: Dev Pack, Tech Stuff | 4 Comments