The Objective Blog

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Fusion Radar: July 18, 2012

July 19th, 2012 - by brittany - Salt Lake City, Utah

Parse

Parse is a mobile app platform for developers. It allows developers to focus on app development and functionality rather than developing, deploying, or maintaining their own server-side stack. The Parse SDKs (software development kits) provide all of the server-side functionality for internet-enabled applications. With Parse you can save and manage data with the spreadsheet-like interface for objects, integrate push notifications more easily, allow multiple users and sessions, create social integration, utilize geolocation functionality, and update an app without having to submit a new bundle. It sounds too good to be true, so if any of you have tried it or try it in the future let us know if it really is a dream come true.

UserVOD

UserVOD is a spy camera for your app. It is a mobile SDK that allows app creators to capture videos of app users using the app. The SDK records videos of user sessions and captures their actions and gestures within the app. It runs in the background of the app and claims to not impact user experience. It allows the flexibility to control which sessions are recorded and tracks crashes. If UserVOD can make good on all of their features, it will be a be a very valuable tool for app development.

ClickTale

ClickTale, like UserVOD, hopes to make the online world a more useful and streamlined place for users. ClickTale is ‘in-page web analytics’ that allows you to analyze the performance of your site through video recordings and visual heat maps. Such detailed analytics could allow site managers to make adjustments to their site more quickly with less guess work if they know where users are leaving the site or how they use certain tools.

Rocketr

In the words of the man in charge at Rocketr, “Rocketr bridges two worlds that could not be further apart right now- how we capture information (using personal tools), and how we get work done (using team-based tools). We’re betting that these worlds will converge, because if they don’t, it will get harder and harder for teams if they can’t collaborate at the spread that information is changing around them. Oh…and the medium we use to facilitate all this is note-taking – something we all know how to do.” It seems market-y because it is. It’s his pitch to investors. And since the tool hasn’t been released we don’t have much more to go on, but if he can bridge those two disparate worlds, at least some of our team would be willing it give it a try.

kuler

An oldy but a goody. Kuler is a tool for finding/creating color palettes . Kuler is an Adobe project that allows you to search thousands of existing palettes or create your own from color schemes or images. If you like color and analyzing different combinations and the emotions they create, you’ll love Kuler.

The Evolution of the Web

The Evolution of the Web is a site that beautifully displays, uh… the evolution of the web. The site uses color bands to represent the interaction between web technologies and browsers that ultimately result in more technologies (the end looks like many of the pages of our childhood coloring books). We like it not only for the information but also the representation and design (we think it’s sexy). If you have a minute and want to learn about the history of the Web through aesthetic pleasure, check it out.

PHP: The Right Way

PHP: The Right Way is a site dedicated to the proper learning of PHP. As they say, “There’s a lot of outdated information on the Web that leads new PHP users astray, propagating bad practices and bad code. … PHP: The Right Way is an easy-to-read, quick reference for PHP best practices.” So if you are looking to make your way from the shallow end of the pool (HTML and CSS) to the more secretive depths of the development pool, this site will help you avoid the sharks (or at least know the pool rules so the other developers don’t pick on you).