The Unreal Engine is the technology behind popular PC and console games such as Gears of War, Unreal Tournament, Bioshock, Medal of Honor, Army of Two, and Batman: Archam Asylum. It’s one of the best game engines available today. See the UDK features page for more details on all of its capabilities.

Previously, if you wanted to use the Unreal Engine in your programs you had to enter into a very expensive agreement with Epic for access to the technology. A few years ago, Epic reportedly asked for up-front payments of as much as $8 million before your game was even developed! Now anyone can download the PC version of the UDK and immediately try it out without paying a cent or signing anything. As a former professional game developer, this is just amazing to me.

The Unreal community was going nuts this morning after the announcement. Some were shocked that Epic chose to release the entire engine and not just a crippled subset. As one poster put it,

“Man, one thing I hope you guys realize is that this is almost EXACTLY the engine build that we’re using here at Epic! You get every single feature that we’ve been using here that aren’t even in any games yet! We only got some of these features last week!”

Use of the new UDK is free for noncommercial purposes, but it can be licensed cheaply for commercial uses. For example you can use it to write a commercial PC video game and pay nothing up front and no royalties until your sales go over $5,000. See the licensing page for all the details. Currently, the free kit is only offered to PC users but Epic says console support is “under consideration”.

“Unreal Engine 3 has been used to create games in a wide range of genres, as well as military simulations, 3D architectural walkthroughs, animated movies and more,” said Epic VP Mark Rein. “Users are only limited by their imaginations. Go ahead, make something Unreal!”

Related articles:

• Epic Offers Free Unreal Engine 3 Dev Kit, New Licensing Deals
• North Carolina’s Research Triangle–“the hub of East Coast video games?”
• Never mind the recession, the Triangle computer gaming industry is booming

In a clarification posted today on Skype’s Linux blog, developer Stanislav Karchebny (aka berkus) wrote:

Yes, there’s an open source version of Linux client being developed. This will be a part of larger offering, but we can’t tell you much more about that right now. Having an open source UI will help us get adopted in the “multicultural” land of Linux distributions, as well as on other platforms and will speed up further development. We will update you once more details are available.

The key words here are “open source UI”. Oliver Faurax, who initially broke the story Monday, posted a Q&A on his site which explains:

Q. Will the protocol be open?

No. Berkus commented on my blog and on the Skype Linux blog that they will open the GUI code, and not the library. The most likely outcome is that they will provide a libskype closed binary library that will allow someone to communicate with a GUI.

One reason the library will not be open source is that Skype doesn’t, um, have the source. According to a lawsuit filed in September over Skype intellectual property,

An executable-only object code form of the GI Software was licensed by Joltid to Skype, a well-known Internet-based company that provides users throughout the world with free or low-cost telephone services over the Internet. Skype did not obtain a license to the GI Software source code, however, and the license it did obtain was terminated based on Skype’s breaches of the license agreement.

In other words, Skype doesn’t own their own core technology. If you believe Joltid, Skype is not even supposed to have the source code. Unless copyright holders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom (founders of Joltid) agree, Skype cannot change the license on that code and release it as open source. And given that Skype recently sold for $2 billion it’s not likely they’re going to hand it over for free.

Related articles:

• Skype plays footsie with open source

By the way, if you have any questions that I didn’t cover, just ask them in the talkback area.

Q. When can I get Android 2.0?

The Android 2.0 Software Development Kit is available now. This includes an emulator that lets you run a virtual Android device on your desktop computer.

The first phone with Android 2.0 installed is the Motorola DROID, which will be carried by Verizon in the US starting November 6th. The second one will probably be Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X3/Infinity/Rachael . A release date for that model hasn’t been announced but it’s widely expected to be out before the end of the year as well.

Q. Will the Acer A1 Liquid phone with Snapdragon have 2.0?

Liquid is set to be released with Android 1.6.

Q. Can I upgrade my ___ (fill in the blank) phone to 2.0?

The only one we know for sure that will be upgraded is the HTC Hero.

It has been rumored that the first Android phone, the HTC G1/Dream, doesn’t have enough memory to run 2.0. However, I don’t think that will necessarily be the case. If you remember, they said the same thing about version 1.6. Like 1.6, 2.0 is a little too big to fit into the G1’s memory. But with a few optimizations, 1.6 was slimmed down enough to fit, so the current speculation is that 2.0 can be made to fit also. …

Continue reading: Android 2.0 FAQ >

Droid boasts a glorious 3.7″ FWVGA (480×854) capacitive multi-touch display, which works out to 260 dots per inch and a true 16:9 HD aspect ratio. By contrast, the Apple iPhone is only 3.5″ HVGA (320×640), at 160 dots per inch and a 1.5:1 aspect ratio. Bottom line: on the Droid you’ll get crisper graphics, smoother letters, high definition movies without letterboxing, and web pages with less scrolling.

In addition to an on-screen keyboard it also features a super-thin QWERTY slide-out keyboard. Yet somehow Motorola managed to squeeze all that in a package that is almost exactly the same size as the iPhone. It’s a little heavier, though:

In a departure from other Android phones, the Droid has no physical keys on the front. Instead, it has a touch sensitive area below the screen that accesses the back, menu, home, and search functions. If you’ve ever tried to apply a screen protector to a phone with lots of buttons on it, or you’ve gotten dirt and grit in the tiny cracks around the buttons, you’ll appreciate this “slab” approach.

Other features:

• Webkit HTML5 based browser with geolocation and video support; Flash 10 on the way next year
• Exchange, Gmail, IMAP, POP, Macmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL mail support
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR Stereo, 3.5mm Headset jack, microUSB 2.0 with charger
• Advanced video record/playback at D1 resolution (720×480) with up to 24fps capture and 30fps playback, MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
• 5.0 megapixel autofocus camera with dual LED flash and image stabilization (digital I presume)
• 16GB microSD card included, 32GB supported
• aGPS and sGPS, turn-by-turn directions
• TI OMAP 3430 Cortex A8 ARM CPU with GPU for faster graphics

It looks like Motorola and Verizon have a hit on their hands with the Droid.

Related articles:

• What’s new in Android 2.0? Part 1: User features
• What’s new in Android 2.0? Part 2: Developer features
• Motorola Droid gets official on Verizon; arrives Nov. 6 for $199
• First pics of Motorola Droid with Android 2.0 build
• Verizon vs. AT&T: Droids for the win
• Motorola hopes new Android phone will Cliq with users
• Mobile megahertz madness heats up
• Google gives away 4,000 phones, promotes Android and HTML 5

[ See Motorola DROID on Verizon: Is this the iPhone killer you're looking for? for the first Android 2.0 phone. ]

This is the second of a series of 3 articles covering what’s new in this new release. Part 1 covered user features and availability, this part will cover developer features, and part 3 will try to answer any other questions you might have about the new platform. You should read part 1 first, if you haven’t already.

Should I stay or should I go now?

In the announcement of version 2.0 on the Android Developer’s blog, Xavier Ducrohet wrote:

Over the next few months, we expect to see more and more Android devices being released. These devices will be running Android 1.5, 1.6, or 2.0. We are also planning a minor version update of Android 2.0 towards the end of the year, and that will be the last update for 2009.

That’s right, folks - by the end of this year there will be 4 different versions of Android running in the field. It’s going to be a challenge for developers to keep on top of this. One thing seems clear - all Android devices will not automatically be upgraded to the latest version:

• Android 1.5 provides the base functionality common to all versions of Android.
• Android 1.6 adds support for screen sizes smaller and larger than HVGA 480×320.
• Android 2.0 adds support for multi-touch and virtual keys, among other things.
• Android 2.1 will probably be a minor bug-fix version.

With rare exceptions, 1.5/1.6 apps will run fine on 2.0 phones. Most apps will not need the new features that 2.0 brings, so they can continue to use the 1.5 SDK and get the greatest possible reach. Other apps can test to see if they’re running on 2.0 and only use new features if they are available. A few apps, however, will want to require 2.0 and rely on its features even if it means they can only be run on a few new devices (for now, anyhow).

Continue reading: What’s new in Android 2.0 for developers >

[ See also: Motorola DROID on Verizon: Is this the iPhone killer you're looking for? ]

New user features
This video from Google shows off a few of the new features:

Eclair features include:

• The most important new feature in Android 2.0 is support for multi-touch devices. Up to 3 fingers can be tracked on the screen at a time. Among other things, this allows for faster typing on the virtual keyboard and multi-touch gestures for zooming and scrolling.
• Android 2.0 has a single, secure interface for managing multiple online accounts. You can enter your credentials once (for example your email address and password) so that applications don’t have to prompt you for those individually.
• The email and contact apps support multiple accounts, including Microsoft Exchange Server. (Note: Exchange support is optional and some carriers might not offer it, but the Motorola Droid will have it).
• Support for soft keys. Some new Android devices will not have hardware buttons for HOME, MENU, BACK, and so forth. Instead, they’ll either have touch-sensitive areas on the front of the device, or dedicated widgets or soft key areas on the main display.
• An updated browser with a refreshed user interface, web page thumbnails, and better support for HTML5 (including the <video> tag).
• An enhanced camera app with features like digital zoom, flash, color effects, and more.
• Searchable SMS and MMS messages.

Availability

The Android 2.0 Software Developer’s Kit (SDK) is available today so that developers can verify their programs will work with the new operating system. The first retail device running 2.0 will be the Motorola Droid. It’s expected to be announced tomorrow at a Verizon event and is scheduled to come out sometime in November. The second device with 2.0 will probably be Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X3/Infinity/Rachael (it’s traditional for every Android phone to have at least 3 names). A release date for that model hasn’t been announced but it’s widely expected to be out before the end of the year as well.

Software freedom activist Richard Stallman and others are trying to block Oracle’s acquisition of MySQL. Why? Because MySQL is covered by the GNU Public License (GPL), and the purchase has exposed a flaw in the GPL that Stallman says will cause a “major setback” to the development of the free database if the acquisition is allowed to go through.

Under the GPL, the copyright holder (usually the author) has special privileges that no one else has: they can use the code in a proprietary product. In an open letter to the European Commission, Stallman admits that revenue from this proprietary licensing is necessary to fund development for the free version (emphasis added):

MySQL uses the parallel licensing approach to generate revenue to continue the FLOSS development of the software. If Oracle acquired MySQL, it would then be the only entity able to release the code other than under the GPL…. As only the original rights holder can sell commercial licenses, no new forked version of the code will have the ability to practice the parallel licensing approach, and will not easily generate the resources to support continued development of the MySQL platform.

The letter was signed by Richard Stallman and representatives from Knowledge Ecology International and the Open Rights Group.

Stallman’s position is exceptional when viewed against his long history of evangelizing Free (as in speech) software as the “morally correct choice” that trumps all other considerations. Compare the letter above with this sermon on his gnu.org web site:

Proprietary software developers have the advantage of money; free software developers need to make advantages for each other. Using the ordinary GPL for a library gives free software developers an advantage over proprietary developers: a library that they can use, while proprietary developers cannot use it…. Proprietary software developers, seeking to deny the free competition an important advantage, will try to convince authors not to contribute libraries to the GPL-covered collection…. But we should not listen to these temptations, because we can achieve much more if we stand together.

We free software developers should support one another. By releasing libraries that are limited to free software only, we can help each other’s free software packages outdo the proprietary alternatives. The whole free software movement will have more popularity, because free software as a whole will stack up better against the competition.

Even if MySQL were owned by Oracle because of its purchase of Sun, the database would still be Free Software. Anyone could use the source code, build their own version, and distribute it to others. But finally Stallman has recognized that may not be good enough because somebody has to pay for this stuff. Score one for pragmatism over purity. Hallelujah.

(Photo illustration by Zack Whittaker)

Barnes and Noble announced a new eBook reader today called Nook, and it’s already earned a place in our hearts (as well as our wish list). On the outside: a curvy industrial design that would make Apple engineers proud. On the inside: an ARM processor powered by the Android operating system. It’s available now for pre-order with shipments expected to start as early as next week in late November.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Nook is that it has two screens. The top screen is for reading, and like a regular book it’s high-contrast black and white (eInk). The bottom one is for navigation, typing, and other interactivity. It’s a standard back-lit LCD touch-sensitive display. Overall, the Nook is about the size and weight of a paperback book.

The Nook lets you use two different wireless networks for free: AT&T 3G Wireless (like Kindle’s WhisperNet), and WiFi. You can browse books, magazines, and newspapers using either network. When you’re inside a B&N store, you get free WiFi plus exclusive content, special discounts, and more. Soon you’ll be able to read entire eBooks for free at your local store.

Another innovation in the Nook is the ability to lend books to your friends for up to 14 days. They don’t even have to have a Nook, just the free B&N eReader software installed on a PC, Mac, or mobile phone.

After the break we’ll get into the technical specifications and other details…

Continue Reading >

Small visual changes can be seen in several of the shots when compared to the stock Android 1.6 image. For example, some of the home screen icons are different, and the browser has a redesigned address line with space for the site’s “favicon”. The key lock screen looks quite different too. But it’s hard to tell whether these are due to Verizon customizations or changes in Android 2.0. The phone dialer looks different, but it also looks different on the Acer Liquid A1 phone which appears to be running 1.6. The only thing that screams “2.0″ is the Firmware version shown on one of the screen shots. You can see another view of it here. If it had said “1.6″ there I would believe it, chalking up the minor changes in the screen shots to vendor mods.

According to BGR, this model does not have Adobe Flash. That’s odd, because Adobe recently demonstrated Flash running on what appeared to be this very model. It was covered in tape but the back button is in the right place, the resolution was the same, and the size seemed to be about right. According to Adobe, operating system changes were necessary to make Flash work on all the demo’d phones, which made me think that we wouldn’t see Flash until some version beyond 1.6. Version 2.0 seemed like a natural milestone for it, but maybe not.

Also it’s strange that the model previewed does not have full multi-touch capabilities. BGR reports you can zoom in to Maps with a two-finger tap but pinching or zooming out doesn’t work. The HTC Hero supports real multi-touch and it’s doing all that on 1.6. The Palm Pre supports multi-touch. HP laptops support multi-touch. Microsoft Surface has multi-touch. Modders have hacked it into the Android stack. So what’s the problem?

All this begs the question, if 2.0 doesn’t have ubiquitous Flash and multi-touch, then what exactly does it have? Every release of Android has some reason for being. 1.6 had multiple screen sizes and a new Market. 1.5 had home screen widgets and lots of API improvements. If 2.0 is nothing more than a few UI polishes and extra settings here and there, then there’s not much point to it. Droid could just as easily come out with 1.6, allowing the market to stabilize for a while at that point release before moving on to something major. BGR says the email and Maps applications are improved, but those could just as easily be handled by posting new versions of those apps in the Android Market (as Google has done before). x86 support? Already done in Android 1.x by Archos. BGR mentions text to speech and accessibility on the Droid, but those are already part of 1.6. Exchange support? Already available on some models.

I expected Android 2.0, whenever it comes out, to have something more. But there’s no way for us on the outside to tell, especially if the changes are not visible in the few screenshots we manage to glimpse. Contrary to Google’s assurances, Android continues to be developed behind closed doors and then dumped on the community at the last minute. They could be releasing it as I write this, or it could come out next May. It could already be rock solid and production quality in a lab somewhere, or it could be buggy, incomplete, and not ready for prime time. We just don’t know. And that, my friends, is unacceptable for an open source project, even one with a commercial component.

Even Android book authors such as myself and others I’ve spoken to don’t have any clue what’s going on behind those doors. I went as far as to sign an NDA to get more info before my first book. What did I get for my trouble? Nothing. Maybe Dana’s Android Foundation suggestion isn’t such a bad idea. Or perhaps the governance and project planning should be moved under an existing organization who could do it right, such as the Eclipse Foundation. I don’t blame the Android team members, who would probably like nothing more than to tell the world about all the cool stuff they’re working on. I don’t know the best solution, but the status quo is getting darned frustrating for developers.

My advice to Android programmers? Ignore 2.0 until it’s in your face and about to be deployed to a significant number of your users. Until then it’s just a rumor. 1.5 and 1.6 are where it’s at for the foreseeable future.

Cue the John Williams sound track. (Image courtesy of Zack Whittaker)

Robert Quinn, Senior VP of the Federal Regulatory division of AT&T, wrote:

Google has been less than candid about the types of calls it is blocking. In fact, Google is blocking calls to, among others, an ambulance service, church, bank, law firm, automobile dealer, day spa, orchard, health clinic, tax preparation service, community center, eye doctor, tribal community college, school, residential consumers, a convent of Benedictine nuns, and the campaign office of a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Why would Google want to block calls to and from lawyers, nuns, and politicians? I mean, besides the obvious reasons. AT&T is no saint in this area either. Didn’t they ask the FCC for permission to block the same numbers, or blocks of numbers, because of high fees charged by those exchanges? The difference is that by law they had to ask, and they were turned down. Google didn’t ask, and that just rubs AT&T the wrong way.

Quinn continues:

If the Commission cannot stop Google from blocking disfavored telephone calls…, then how could the Commission ever stop Google from also blocking disfavored websites from appearing in the results of its search engine; or prohibit Google from blocking access to applications that compete with its own email, text messaging, cloud computing and other services?

By bringing search and other services like advertising into the argument, AT&T threatens Google’s bread and butter business. Maybe they hope Google will fold rather than risk regulation of these other, more critical, areas.

The rest of the letter reads more like flame-bait than legalese. Quinn accuses Google of having a “double-standard”, “abusing its market power”, of trying to “obfuscate the issue”, “dominating” markets, instituting a “regime”, being “unapologetic”, “unilaterally” pushing its political messages, “hypocrisy”, “exploiting” its power to “block competitors” and “secretly discriminate”, breaking its “don’t be evil” motto, pursuing an “agenda” to “adulterate” and “blatantly violate” FCC policies and principles, and of trying to “rig the game” in its favor to get a “free pass to discriminate” against “whatever content it pleases”. Whew!

The text of the letter is copied on subsequent pages so you can read it and decide for yourself. Expect a reply from Google soon.

Continue Reading AT&T’s Letter to the FCC >