Qt SDK 1.1 Technology Preview released

Nokia has released Qt SDK 1.1 Technology Preview that supports mobile and desktop platforms. The new SDK is a merge of the Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 and the last Qt SDK, based on Qt 4.7.

The target of the Qt SDK 1.1 is to easily get started with Qt Quick development on Symbian, Maemo5 and the desktop.

Specifically this means:

* Qt Creator 2.1RC, which includes the first iteration of tooling support for Qt Quick.
* Qt 4.7.1 for Symbian (Symbian^1 and Symbian^3) is bundled in the toolchain and is also available as sis packages to install on your phone.
* Qt Mobility 1.1 for Symbian targets (both Symbian^1 and Symbian^3) adding many new features and fixes
* The N900 target allows development with Qt 4.7
* Qt Simulator uses Qt 4.7.1 as well as Qt Mobility 1.1 as a basis for development.

The new Qt SDK 1.1 Technology Preview enables developers targeting desktop platforms to use the same setup, features and environment as developers targeting platforms. This eases the migration of desktop applications to mobile platforms.

Lots of feedback has been received from developers about the Symbian support level in the Nokia Qt SDK 1.0, specifically that it was not possible to use native APIs. In this case developers were asked to install the platform SDK, which required manual efforts. It has been simplified by refactoring the Symbian toolchain parts completely, allowing you to enable the usage of native APIs for Symbian^3 optionally. This can be done via the installer or the maintenance tool. Further features will be coming in this area in coming releases.

In addition to this, supplementary packages have been added or received updates. The Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 already had the remote compiler integrated, which allows compilation of your project on a remotely hosted server. Several improvements made it into the latest version, also allowing compilation based on the updated Qt and Qt Mobility versions.

The Notifications API describes a unified framework to create a connection to a server for receiving notifications, of course based on Qt. It is designed to use a minimum of data bandwidth as well as behave in a battery friendly manner, as is required by today's smart phones. This feature is located in the experimental section of the SDK and will finalize soon. For more details, follow this link.

More details here.

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New Technology: Laser Projectors

Lasers entered mainstream culture through science fiction classics like star wars and star trek, however they have also quietly served a functional purpose within our daily lives. While most people recognize their use in the popular laser pens used in classrooms, they have also quietly made their way into overhead projectors.

Laser projectors utilize the same core elements of a laser, which is the optical amplification of electromagnetic light. The intensity that is generated from this process makes it a more viable and useful option than light projectors. Light projectors rely on a fully dark room to fully see the projected image. Likewise with LCD projectors, which also rely on relative darkness to function properly. Instead laser projectors can be used in most lighting conditions. The image also retains much of the detail through different lighting conditions, that other projectors are unable too.

This type of technology is still relatively new, however it can be applied to a variety of everyday uses and when marketed properly has the capacity to replace all other projectors in boardrooms and classrooms. The technology can also be used to display digital content, meaning theoretically it could eventually be modified to show movies on the big screen. A small laser could be set-up outside to project a film on the side of a building for promotional purposes. The bottom line is that it is still a relatively untapped form of technology and still in its infancy.

Because laser projectors have not been widely produced and are still being tweaked by the few manufacturers that make them, the costs are still relatively high. Currently, there are only four commercial manufacturers that are making the device for consumers. Out of this four, only one has a consumer grade laser projector for home use.

If you'd like a more comprehensive look at the four companies and the products they are working on, check out this [link]

Harvey J. Sharp is an avid traveler and writer, who spends little time in the United States, preferring South America, India and parts of Asia. His interests are in art, design, photography and sculpture.

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