Job Specification

We need a problem solver to work on a wide variety of projects including, but not limited to, the development of …

• Websites
• Web services
• Mobile applications
• Embedded systems

Essential

• An enthusiastic learner and tinkerer who solves problems for funSolid grounding in general-use, object-oriented software development, in any modern language
• Extensive experience with PHP 5.3
• Extensive experience with Javascript
• Ability to build clean HTML and CSS and have it degrade/adapt gracefully across all browsers and platforms; awareness of the quirks that each platform exhibits
• 2+ years experience working as part of a team within a commercial software development organisation
• Adhere to best practices for documenting code at every stage
• Familiarity with version control systems; in particular Subversion and Mercurial
• Working knowledge of the various techniques used in compromising web applications (eg. XSS, SQL-injection, etc.) and the techniques used to nullify these attacks
• An attention to detail to ensure all code is as bug-free and secure as possible
• Familiarity with the Linux command line and basic administration of the LAMP stack
• A good relevant degree or demonstrable knowledge of mathematics, physics or computing science
• A willingness to take new concepts on board and freely share your own ideas and knowledge with the team.

Desirable

• Skills in writing efficient PHP, Javascript, C, or Java that doesn’t leak or bloat
• Experience integrating third-party web services using any of the common protocols, eg. REST, SOAP, XMLRPC, etc
• Experience with Actionscript 3 and the AIR platform
• Experience of writing unit-tests and automated build scripts
• Experience with any CMS, WordPress or ecommerce platforms
• Experience with integrating any payment gateway
• Knowledge of developing native applications for mobile platforms (Android, iOS)Working knowledge of 3D mathematics and physics
• Happy using image-manipulation software including Fireworks, Photoshop, Illustrator

Salary is negotiable dependant on experience.

In the first instance please send your CV to jobs@komododigital.co.uk.

And please, no agencies thanks.

Apple have announced the dates for their WWDC (World Wide Developer Conference) as being June 11-15, held in San Francisco at their Moscone West centre – it’s sure to be a sell out so if you are a registered Apple developer and happen to be in the vicinity of San Franciso mid June I’d get your tickets pronto!

The technology giant have also just posted their Q4 figures and it makes for yet more eye watering reading with profits (net) in the last quater hitting a whopping $11.6bn from a revenue of $39.2bn. The biggest mover and shaker in their product range is the iPhone – they sold 35.1 million of them in the quarter ending March 2012, that’s a unit growth of 88% on the same period last year.

To read more on Apples figures click here.

The Komodo studio is rather excited about the imminent launch of the new Pebble e-paper watch.

Pebble is an infinitely customizable e-paper watch and we think its rather clever.

It allows wearers to download new watch faces, use sports and fitness apps, and get notifications from their phone.

Featured on Kickstarter the product is due for general release in September and at the of writing, has raised over $5m in pledged support from 35,000 backers so it seems there’s a lot of love out there for this product and I can see why.

It’s a device that dovetails neatly into the day to day of life giving you access to content from, and some control over your iPhone or Android phone (to control music playlist for example). The makers are also releasing an SDK (Software Development Kit) allowing developers to create apps for the watch which will see a raft of creative and clever ways of exploiting the hardware. Komodo will be keeping a close eye on this one – watch this space.

Cyclists and runners will be able to track run/cycle progress using accurate GPS data from their phone all delivered to the watch in real-time.

The Pebble e-paper watch comes complete with Bluetooth, an ARM processor, accelerometer and of course the e-paper display making it readable in direct sunlight.

Definitely on the shopping list when it becomes available in September this year.

Continuing our series of WordPress website releases, the latest in the crop from Komodo Digital is the new Rust-Oleum website.

There’s an interesting story behind the formation of the specialist anti-corrosion and protective paint company, Rust-Oleum state:

“There’s a high seas adventure story behind the creation of Rust-Oleum involving a Scottish sea captain by the name of Robert Fergusson.

Captain Fergusson didn’t intend to start Rust-Oleum Corporation nearly a century ago when – while serving in the British Marines – he lunged for a container of raw fish oil before it spilled on his rusted metal deck.

But the Scotsman noticed that his spill stopped the spread of corrosion. This observation ultimately led him to create the world’s first rust-preventative paint.

Since the formation of Rust-Oleum Corporation in 1921 the business has grown into a worldwide provider of decorative and protective paints and coatings for both home and industrial use.”

The company now produces a wide range of paint products and the website allows users to browse all of the Rust-Oleum product line, including all colour variants. They can search for their nearest stockist, and read up on project ideas and tutorials. All the content is cleverly interlinked; allowing a user to view a project idea and see which products they need, as well as related tutorials to any techniques mentioned.

Once a user has completed their project, they’re encouraged to enter a monthly competition for the best restoration. The site facilitates quick and easy entry, including image uploading. Users can keep in touch with the results by reading the latest news on the site, which showcases all entries for more inspiration.

The site is custom built on WordPress, and is due to launch localised versions in two further countries shortly.

Check out the Rust-Oleum site here.

It certainly is for Dominoes Pizza who announced yesterday that mobile sales hit a record £1m in a week.

They stated:

“The Company continues to enjoy strong online growth, with e-commerce sales accounting for 50.6% of UK delivered sales (2011: 39.3%) in the 13 week period. Total online sales for the period were up 44.5% to £59.3m (2011: £41.3m) and, of this, 16.4% was taken through one of Domino’s many mobile platforms. In a first for the Company, during the period over £1million in sales were taken through its mobile platforms in a single week. In addition, Domino’s continues to develop in the social media arena and now has over 520,000 Facebook fans in the UK, with another 13,700 in the Republic of Ireland (2011: 160,000 total), and over 22,000 Twitter followers (2011: 5,000) in our respective markets.”

Clearly a company with a great product and appetite (pardon the pun) for developing online and mobile channels supported with strong social media activity.

Amazon have today announced the launch of the Kindle Touch, a touchscreen e-ink device. The pricing is £109 and £169 for the WiFi and WiFi + 3G models respectively.

For anyone that reads e-books this is an interesting product, the Kindle Touch is capable of storing 3000 books and shipping with the new ‘X-Ray’ feature that lets users find related passages in a book as well as more detailed information from Wikipedia and Amazon’s community-written book encyclopaedia “Shelfari”.

The big question for me is when will the Kindle Fire be available in the UK!

Continuing our glut of WordPress powered website releases we are pleased to announce the launch of the new T Manners & Sons website built on, yes you guessed it, the mighty WordPress.

When Thomas Manners founded this company in 1860 Queen Victoria was on the throne, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States and golf’s Open Championship was played for the first time.

You could say they have been around the block a few times and in fact they reckon that they are the oldest established family run construction company in the North East of England. We were honoured to be appointed to design and build their new website.

Take a look by clicking here.

Another WordPress based production goes live from the Komodo studio this week, it’s a website for The Sustainable Communities North East Initiative (SCNEI) called Brighter Futures Together.

SCNEI’s vision is “To help create sustainable communities across North East England in order to improve people’s quality of life and help secure our future.”

The website provides a toolkit of resources for groups to put into action ideas that will build a more sustainable future for local communities.

SCNEI says:

“The toolkit has been designed in partnership with community groups, for community groups and individuals to use. It has been created by expert organisations, both local and national. Every factsheet provides practical information on different kinds of sustainable actions. You can find out where to go for further help, advice, funding opportunities. There is also a collection of good existing projects, so that we can all learn from one another. Collectively the factsheets will help us to improve our communities throughout the North East of England, helping the region to lead the way on sustainability.”

Komodo has designed a visually engaging website that is a pleasure to navigate, being built on WordPress it’s also a pleasure for the Brighter Futures team to update.

To take a look at the Brighter Future website click here.

Tor Coatings is a market leader in the field of specialist protective coatings for buildings.

Established in 1975, Tor Coatings is a pioneer in the field of high performance, technologically advanced liquid coatings for the interior and exterior protection and decoration of buildings.

Within their extensive portfolio are specialist coatings designed to waterproof roofs and balconies, add fire and graffiti resistance to walls and protect hygiene areas from harmful bacteria.

Komodo were appointed to develop a fully content managed website solution that is also being localised to key European audiences. Using WordPress as the development solution allowed the new website to pack a lot of punch in terms of functionality and the granulat control over product data that it affords the team at Tor Coatings.

The custom WordPress build allows for easy connection of relative content within the website and presents to the user. This content not only includes product information but reviews, technical data sheets as well as related products making browsing between different branches of content simple and efficient.

The site handles all the hard work, making close associations based on shared categorisation and tagging resulting in a website that is a rich, visual browsing experience with plenty of information on hand for a user.

Check the new Tor Coatings website here.

All the way to Sierra Leone in fact, check out the logo design on the t-shirt that the chap next to Craig Bellamy is wearing – we did that .

Always pleased to see our work ‘out there’ we luckily caught this article broadcasted on ITV4  highlighting the brilliant work that the footballer champions out in the West African country.

The Craig Bellamy Foundation (CBF) is a charity that offers underprivileged children in Sierra Leone the chance to reach their true potential through sport and education, enabling them to build a better life for themselves and their communities.

Visit the Craig Bellamy Foundation website to find out more.