openAPI
Latest
Google reverses course, makes CalDAV and CardDAV APIs open to all developers
Though Google chucked open API access to CalDAV back in March, it appears the company's had a change of heart. Up until today, only a select few whitelisted developers could make use of Google's calendar open standard; a decision it made based on actual usage data. But given the amount of feedback it's received from blocked devs in the time since, Google's decided to re-instate access to CalDAV APIs, in addition to those for CardDAV -- a first -- its open standard for contacts. The news won't make much difference for Windows Phone 8 users (CalDAV and CardDAV support was already promised), but at least your third-party apps can now continue to play nice with your social calendar.
Dolphin unveils Garage, API access for add-ons and web apps
The Dolphin browser has earned quite a following, by offering a healthy mix of speed and features. Now the company is opening up its offerings to further expansion though an open API service called Garage. The new portal opens up 150 APIs to third party developers who might want to build upon Dolphin's solid browser base, or integrate their web apps. As part of the launch of the Garage, four new add-ons have been added to the Dolphin repository. Dropbox, Evernote, Pocket and Wikipedia all now tie directly in to the browser's UI, exposing all the important features of those services. For more, check out the PR after the break and the Garage portal at the source.
Sphero toy ball rolls itself, you control it with your smartphone
Don't have the airspace required for an AR.Drone? Gearing up for its CES 2011 debut, Sphero is a small, robotic toy ball made by Orbotix, and controlled remotely via Bluetooth and your smartphone's tilt sensor. A ball that moves by itself? Call us lazy (too lazy to roll a ball even), but we think this is a toy whose time has come. Sure, the whole thing is pretty straightforward, although we hope that once iPhone and Android developers get ahold of that open API we'll see plenty in the way of augmented reality gameplay: a maze or a racing game of some sort would make this thing quite coveted, in our opinion. Catch a video of the prototype in action after the break.
