Users of Visual Studio, Rejoice? Yes, REJOICE!

There are tons of great IDE tools for all kinds of programming, everything from odd ball power apps like RazorSQL and Espresso to the standard IDEs used by everyone like Eclipse and Visual Studio 2013. I am always pleased when people (especially open source groups) create solutions that out perform these mainstream tools and I’m also excited when we get new options in the forms of plugins and extensions for commercial products.

Telerik Icenium is one such option. The folks at Telerik have come up with a tool, Icenium, that goes right into Visual Studio and can be used for construction of hybrid apps for iOS and Android. Subscriptions vary, with a free trial available and developer subscriptions from $16/month paid annually on up to $79/month paid annually for the full suite of features and unlimited personal support tickets.

Check it out and see if this might be a useful tool for you!

 

 

Building Your Own PC or Hackintosh (and recommended off-the-shelf Hackintosh Laptops)

Want to build a new PC? Want a Hackintosh?

The website PCPartPicker makes that easier than ever. With all of the parts you can imagine and benchmarks for quite a few CPUs, this website takes the guesswork out of assembling your own new rig!

For Hackintosh fans, there are a number of excellent choices. Here’s an article from last year on editing raw video with a $900 Hackintosh as compared to a $5000 Mac Pro.

If you are interested in converting a Windows laptop to a Hackintosh, the HP 4x30s and HP 4x40s make perfect options. The HP ProBook 4540 is available from Amazon here and is pictured below.

A couple of suggestions for your new computer:

• SSD is the way to go, especially for a computer you hope to use for a year or more
• Get the best CPU you can afford. With the right CPU, you can always upgrade your motherboard and RAM for better performance. I built a new PC for a relative last Christmas using the quad core CPU I’d initially used in the last computer I build for her a full 4 years earlier.

Remember, there are tons of forums that can make building a PC -- even your first -- a worry-free and fun project.