Parse
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Facebook's F8 app hints at big changes for Messenger
Typical. Just when you're about to unveil a new project at your own developer conference, the event's companion app breaks the news ahead of time. A notification from Facebook's F8 app, presumably scheduled for the 26th, went out early to inform conference attendees that the company was announcing two new initiatives: Parse for IoT and Messenger as a Platform.
Facebook buys mobile development tool house Parse
Facebook has purchased Parse, a service that provides a cloud-based set of mobile services and development tools. This news comes on the heels of last week's Mobile Developer Conference where Facebook introduced tools making it easier to implement Open Graph on mobile along with the release of Facebook SDK 3.5. With the addition of Parse's toolset developers will be able to store and build server-based apps for Facebook in the cloud without the need for expensive infrastructure. The best news regarding the deal is Facebook's plan to keep Parse's current tiered pricing. The basic level of Parse is free, with up to 1 million requests or pushes per month. Pro and Enterprise options are available for users seeking more requests and pushes, greater security, support, and collaboration features. This creates a new revenue stream for Facebook without losing the existing "freemium" user base. As Facebook seeks to become a force in the mobile market, it has two major stumbling blocks; it doesn't own an mobile OS or have its own device. Parse's developer tools will help make Facebook integration easier, both inside the apps and via ad buys. Couple that integration with the monthly fees from subscribers and this purchase is an interesting way for Facebook to establish themselves in the mobile marketplace. Here's Parse's statement on the sale. Parse has come a long way. In just under two years, we've gone from a rough prototype to powering tens of thousands of apps for a very broad spectrum of customers. Some of the world's best brands trust us with their entire mobile presence, and a growing number of the world's brightest independent developers trust us with their next big thing. We couldn't be happier. As stewards of a good thing, we're always thinking about the next step in growing Parse to become a leading platform in this age of mobile apps. These steps come in all sizes. Most are small and incremental. Some are larger. Today we're excited to announce a pretty big one. Parse has agreed to be acquired by Facebook. We expect the transaction to close shortly. Rest assured, Parse is not going away. It's going to get better. We've worked with Facebook for some time, and together we will continue offering our products and services. Check out Facebook's blog post for more on this. Combining forces with a partner like Facebook makes a lot of sense. In a short amount of time, we've built up a core technology and a great community of developers. Bringing that to Facebook allows us to work with their incredible talent and resources to build the ideal platform for developers. We think this is the right way to accomplish what we set out to do. We're excited about the future of Parse! Ilya, Kevin, and James And here is Facebook's statement: Last week, we hosted our first Mobile Developer Conference, where we launched several new products to help mobile developers integrate Facebook: Open Graph for mobile, better Facebook Login, and new developer tools. Today, we're making it even easier to build mobile apps with Facebook Platform by announcing that we have entered into an agreement to acquire Parse, a cloud-based platform that provides scalable cross-platform services and tools for developers. By making Parse a part of Facebook Platform, we want to enable developers to rapidly build apps that span mobile platforms and devices. Parse makes this possible by allowing developers to work with native objects that provide backend services for data storage, notifications, user management, and more. This removes the need to manage servers and a complex infrastructure, so you can simply focus on building great user experiences. We've worked closely with the Parse team and have seen first-hand how important their products and community are to developers. We don't intend to change this. We will continue offering their products and services, and we're excited to expand what Facebook and Parse can provide together.
Facebook to acquire Parse, promises easier cloud-based app development
Hot on the heels of its Mobile Developer Conference, Facebook today announced its intentions to buy cloud-based app development service Parse, a company with which the site has collaborated in the past. According to a post on Facebook's Developers blog, the purchase will go a ways toward helping devs, "rapidly build apps that span mobile platforms and devices." The acquisition will bring a number of cloud-based tools like data storage, user management and notifications to Facebook developers. For each company's take on the news, check out the source links below. We also spoke to a Facebook spokesperson, who told us, "This is an acquisition, not a talent deal." As for financial terms, they wouldn't say.
DevJuice: Parse jumps to OS X Mountain Lion
If you love Parse, you'll be happy to hear that the company just released an OS X SDK. Parse helps you store, sync and push data, enabling you to build server-based apps in the cloud without having to bring your own infrastructure. The new OS X API supports Mountain Lion development and you can check out the iOS/OS X guide for details on how you can store objects, access social media accounts, create "GeoPoints" and provide push notifications. There's a QuickStart guide that helps you get going in Xcode. Parse offers a free account with up to 1 million pushes per month ($0.07 per 1,000 pushes over that amount) and a "pro" account that supports collaboration, and higher storage and API request calls volumes. I am not personally a Parse user but it has very good buzz as a service.
Patch 4.1: Combat log addons cause framerate issues
One glitch I noticed when testing on the PTR recently was that my DPS meters caused ridiculous, terrifying framerate issues. The issue's been long known on the forums, of course. Skada, the addon I use, had been completely unusable on the 4.1 PTR for pretty much its entire existence. It seems the issue is with addons that parse the combat log. There supposedly are fixes available, but at present, if you're running a damage meter or other combat log parse, you should most likely turn off your out-of-date addons until they've been updated. I can attest that at present, Skada does not seem to work at all with 4.1, and I'd definitely recommend turning it off. Updated: Check your favorite addon sites for updates to patch 4.1. While I can't promise your personal favorite addon will be up to date, Skada has released an update that makes it usable with the current patch as of 5:29 PM eastern. WoW Patch 4.1 is live, and WoW Insider has all the latest news for you -- from guides of the revamped Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub to new valor point mechanics and new archaeology items.
Encrypted Text: Steal these rogue tips
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Encrypted Text for assassination, combat and subtlety rogues. Chase Christian will be your guide to the world of shadows every Wednesday. Feel free to email any questions you may have about our cloak-and-dagger class. Rogues are a results-driven class. While napkin math and fluff may suffice for the hybrids, rogues need for their hard work to end in a DPS increase. There's no reason to perform at anything else than our best, and so every adjustment or suggestion is viewed through our critical lens of analysis. Every optimization is made in order to bring up that bottom line. What's the best way to improve your DPS? What's the optimal strategy on a given boss fight? These answers are closely guarded secrets for many rogues. Luckily for us, we have other ways to extract information. World of Logs is a public repository of combat parses, and with a bit of know-how, we can mine this data for nuggets of wisdom. Many of the best rogues in the world don't even realize that all of their secrets are being laid bare. We can exploit this to increase our own skill and strategy.
