DHTMLX team has announced the availability of version 2.1 of dhtmlxScheduler, a lightweight and highly customizable Ajax calendar component for creating rich scheduling UI. The update includes numerous enhancements and bug fixes, and introduces the following new features:

- Agenda View, which allows users to see the list of oncoming events starting from the current date (if needed, this starting date may be easily changed).

- In addition to Day/Week/Month Views, version 2.1 provides the ability to display events in the Year View.

- The update includes multiple extensions for the most common use-cases such as: read-only form, loading from multiple sources, key navigation, html templates, etc.

- Online Skin Builder for dhtmlxScheduler now provides developers with the ability to choose the coloring scheme for the calendar, or change the colors of each part of the skin.

- Localization capabilities of dhtmlxScheduler have been extended. The list of supported languages includes Chinese, Japanese, French, Finnish, German, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and more.

Version 2.1 also provides much more samples, which demonstrate the capabilities of the calendar and simplify the use of the component. For more info and download please visit this page.

Ample SDK is a standard-based cross-browser JavaScript GUI Framework for building Rich Internet Applications. It employs XML technologies (such as XUL, SVG or HTML5) for UI layout, CSS for UI style and JavaScript for application logic. It equalizes browsers and brings technologies support to those missing any.

Today’s web browsers are playing a role more and more crucial in web application development since they’re becoming the web platforms that we build on, but for web application developers problems to solve remain the same : use of open technologies and standards while assuring compatibility between different browsers and devices. AMPLE SDK provides a client-side application layer to build standards-based GUI using open technologies and guarantee a compatibility with most web browsers. No need to learn anything new !

The SDK simplifies coding client-side applications by providing common playground across all web-browsers. It doesn’t modify/enforce any new programming practices or API – only standard technologies used. It enables XUL (Mozilla-based GUI technology) cross-browser, as well as it adds SVG 1.1 to the Internet Explorer. And many more.

The project is available under MIT and GPL license, more information and download available at http://www.amplesdk.com/

Forums benefit eCommerce business owners:

• by generating free content that helps to drive sales and contributes to SEO;
• by increasing traffic to the web store;
• by adding interactive social element to the web store.

The vBulletin Integration extension has rich functionality and is 100% Open Source. It enables shoppers to discuss products right from the Magento store front-end. The extension makes the registration, navigation and account management easy both for shoppers and admins. Lite version of the extension is available for free download.

MXsense is designed to help organisations manage the ever-growing volume of information and intelligence stored in email communications and attachments. As a cloud-based email archiving solution, MXsense provides a powerful search engine with built-in indexing and retrieval features, giving users full access to their personal and corporate “extended inbox.” A fully-managed solution, MXsense does not require the installation and management of client software or on-premise equipment. All archived email is securely stored and managed in our data center.

Arabic is a language spoken in many countries. The number of PHP developers from countries that use the Arabic language has been growing a lot. Currently it represents almost 2% of the users that access the PHPClasses site.

Below the press release :

Visual WebGui to Reveal the First Cloud Application Platform to Migrate Legacy to the Cloud at a “button-push”

Developers can now deploy their applications to Windows Azure with the click of a button with no re-writes or new programming skills needed

Los Angeles, CA. – November 17, 2009 – Gizmox, the developer of Visual WebGui Web & Cloud Platform, today announced that it will reveal its application platform atop Windows Azure and its development framework, Visual WebGui web/cloud platforms offers the only push-button .NET desktop legacy application migration path to Windows Azure. With Visual WebGui enterprises will be able to migrate to Windows Azure, by reusing their existing Windows software code on Windows Azure without re-write or re-engineering. The process is as simple as copying and pasting the Windows code into VWG, selecting Windows Azure run in Visual WebGui SDK, and run.

“With our unique unrivalled legacy applications migration to Windows Azure, and the ability to run them as responsive as and as rich as desktop’s, with proven unhackable security, we have crossed a new threshold,” said Navot Peled, CEO of Gizmox, “While everyone is talking about the cloud, we’re working with Microsoft to bring our solution to enterprises that are looking at migration to the Windows Azure cloud here and now. We also enable the fast development, desktop’s performance, and richness and security benefits to newly built cloud applications”

X-Cart, the ultimate PHP shopping cart software, have just released version 4.3. Besides functional changes there is the main one : change in X-Cart licensing model. Earlier people that wanted to test-trial X-Cart had to buy a license before deploying it. Now online merchants don’t have to do that. One can easily download X-Cart and register (i.e. buy a license for usage) it later after he/she is ready to go live.

More new features in this release include :

• Built-in modules: X-AOM, X-RMA and Flyout Menus with new “Tree-like expanding menu” scheme
• New “Vivid Dreams – Chromo” and “Light & Lucid (2 columns)” W3C-compliant storefront skin with a CSS layout
• Ajax add-to-cart buttons, minicart and product ratings
• A quick order/product/user search panel that can be opened with a keyboard shortcut
• Integration with three popular WYSIWYG editors: CKEditor, TinyMCE, and InnovaStudio
• Revised item groups in the backend menu
• History of order changes
• Certified integration with PayPal Website Payments Standard, PayPal Website Payments Pro (US & Canada merchants) and PayPal PayFlow Pro; plus support for Fraud Management Filters
• Integration with Carrier-calculated Shipping API for Google Checkout
• Integration with Global Gateway, Amazon SimplePay, NAB Transact, HSBC Secure ePayments (API) and Cybersource (SOAP API) payment gateways
• in addition to a revised shipping and payment modules

Mountain View, Calif. (November 17, 2009) – Elance, where companies hire and manage independent workers and teams online, announced today an expansion of its skill testing platform to augment Elance’s existing 250 skill tests. The new Code Tests, developed in collaboration with partner ExpertRating, provide technical experts new ways to demonstrate their expertise in writing and debugging leading programming languages such as PHP and SQL.

To launch Code Tests, Elance is simultaneously announcing a 14 day “code-off” in PHP – currently the programming skill in highest demand on Elance — offering $250 and a full-year premium membership to each of the coders who score in the Top 10 for PHP programming.

Information Technology is the largest category of work on Elance. The November edition of the monthly “Elance Work Index” shows that PHP programming has retained its #1 spot of skills in demand across all categories. “PHP continues to be the hottest technical skill on Elance. The addition of these new Code Tests gives employers yet another way to be certain that the talent they find on Elance has the skills required to get great results,” said Jon Diller, VP of Elance’s Provider Network. “Meanwhile, the best coders in the market can now further distinguish themselves to help them get paid for what they do best.”

The new Code Tests require the test taker to work with actual code to solve a problem. Each test is made up of 10 questions with a time limit for completing the entire test with recommended time allocations for each question. The test taker will be scored on whether they are able to solve the problem in the allotted time, how concisely the code is written, and how efficiently it uses system resources. “We are pleased to partner with Elance and provide programmers with an opportunity to demonstrate verifiable expertise for key technology skills such as PHP, SQL and many more,” said Ravi Saundh, Co-Founder of ExpertRating (www.ExpertRating.com).

Mountain View, Calif. (November 17, 2009) – The Elance Work Index, which ranks the hottest 100 skills in today’s online labor market, today revealed that for the third month in a row PHP (Personal Home Page Tools) captures the number one spot on the Index, placing PHP-skilled professionals as the most sought after independent workers online today.

Elance is also expanding its skill testing platform to augment Elance’s existing 250 tests with new “Code Tests” that give technical experts in top programming languages like PHP a way to demonstrate their expertise in writing and debugging actual computer code. To launch the new PHP Code Test, Elance is sponsoring a 14 day “code-off” in PHP for its pool of skilled PHP providers– offering $250 and a full-year premium membership to each of the coders who score in the Top 10 for PHP programming. The PHP “code-off” begins now and ends at Noon PST on November 30, 2009.

Despite the difficult economic environment, year over year hiring on Elance is up 40% in October and demand for online contractors in areas such as IT, marketing and administrative continues to grow as evidenced by the over 300,000 jobs posted on the site in the last 12 months.