New book release: "Rabbit MQ in Action" by Alvaro Videla and Jason J.W. Williams

Our colleague at Liip, Alvaro Videla has co-authored the new release "RabbitMQ in Action. Distributed messaging for everyone".

The book gives a 12-chapter run through on how to use messaging architecture to ensure scalability of applications. Starting with the fundamentals and administration of RabbitMQ, it moves on to show many example implementations of projects written in Python, PHP, Erlang, Java, and C#.

"What we had in common was a desire to write down in a single place all the knowledge we had acquired about RabbitMQ the hard way," Alvaro Videla and Jason J.W. Williams (CTO of DigiTar) say in the introduction. The two co-authors met two years ago - Alvaro was working in China at the time - when they discovered messaging with RabbitMQ as the solution to the scalability challenges they both had been facing.

The book provides developers with a quick introduction to getting started on the messaging technology and to finding new solutions previously not thought achievable that easily.

Order at Manning.com.

Lukas Kahwe Smith is Symfony Evangelist of the Year

We proudly congratulate Liiper Lukas Kahwe Smith on being named "Best Evangelist" at the first "Symfony Community Awards 2011".

The Symfony2 community honored extraordinary commitment with awards in seven categories. The "Best Evangelist" title recognizes Lukas' contribution as a conference speaker and facilitator between development communities.

Lukas is a talented presenter and a passionate networker bringing people together from many communities including the Symfony2, Drupal, PHP, Doctrine communities. The Midgard CMS community decided to migrate to Symfony2 after working together with Lukas on PHPCR. Lukas was also a valuable contact for the Drupal community when they were evaluating frameworks to take Drupal 8 in a new direction. He answered many questions, smoothing the way for a closer partnership between the Drupal and Symfony communities that will benefit both Drupal and Symfony.

Liip pushes the Content Management Framwork (CMF) based on Symfony2 – originally one of Lukas' initiatives in 2010 – forward with many primary contributions. The CMF already forms the basis for Liip when implementing complex, customer specific CMS-functionality which is found in most Liip customer projects.

Liip web tool supports Amnesty International activists

The Amnesty International Swiss section office is using a new web tool, developed by Liip, to ease the planning and evaluation of the human-rights actions of Swiss activists.

Whether organizing an info stand or a movie night – a group's first step is to register the planned activity with the Amnesty office in Bern using the new web tool.  Thanks to the systematic interfaces and data collection provided by the tool, the organization can update their publications' event calendars and also compile statistical information. As a final step, the planners are able to share feedback on the success of their action Antonia  Bertschinger, working for Amnesty International Switzerland, summarized the use of the tool saying, "Our office as well as the activists benefit of a much simpler and more efficient way to plan and evaluate their activities".

Liip developed the two-tier web tool with the help of the Symfony2 PHP framework. Thanks to the solid base offered by the framework, the Liip developers could devote extra attention to meeting the user's specific needs. User stories were discovered and elaborated together with the client. The user's stories were prepared in short development cycles in which they were tested and demonstrated regularly in a staging environment before the tool was released. For  frequent and smooth deployments, the team used the Debian packaging solution put forward by Liip. This experience shows that the scrum framework, as well as Symfony2, can be applied successfully on rather small client projects

Liip is proud to support Amnesty International by providing a considerable portion of the development as part of a sponsorship agreement.  

JOIZ TV wins technology-gold at the Best of Swiss Web Awards 2012

Congratulations to Joiz, Jungfrau.ch and "Football for all"! We are very pleased with our awards from this year’s Best of Swiss Web Awards. In detail:

Joiz.ch (nominated for a Master)

Joiz takes gold in the technology category and bronze in the innovation category. The young Swiss TV channel produces interactive, cross-media entertainment programs for 15-34 year olds. Liip developed a live channel for the web and mobile devices.

Jungfrau.ch

Jungfrau.ch wins silver for business efficiency. The resort's website enables visitors to the region to complete all arrangements ahead from home, so they can relax and enjoy their trip from the start.

Football for all

"Football for all" wins bronze in the technology category. The European football organisation's mobile and barrier free versions of their website provide football fans worldwide with realtime updates of European football news to their smartphones.

These achievements would not have been possible without our clients and partners, and we thank them for providing us with such exciting and challenging projects. Liip is proud to have been recognised and the

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Liip launches a new website for Swissaid

The Swiss charity Swissaid is aiming at making things easier for its donors: it is now possible to make donations or purchase products to support active projects in developing countries online. The website was developed by Liip with a large part of the work being offered free of charge as a contribution.

With this new website www.swissaid.ch, the charity for cooperation and development is given a contemporary internet presence. The projects in the nine countries where Swissaid is active are described in comprehensive photojournalism features. Donating online has now been simplified through the use of Paypal. Donors can also buy a token farm animal from the online shop; contributions are transferred to local populations either as support for education or as an investment in a means of transportation. “SWISSAID is looking forward to reaching new supporters and donors through this clear and pleasing website” says Pia Wildberger, webmaster and editor of Swissaid’s magazine.

In realising the project, Liip used the latest version of the open-source content management system Drupal. In connection with this, several modules developed by Liip have been updated for Drupal 7.

With the support of Liip’s innovation program, Drupal has been extendend to be used with Git as a versioning tool and with Debian Packages as a deployment tool.

The new website is attractive and accessible. The strip of hearts in Swissaid’s logo can now also be unfolded online.

Liip rebuilds plaene.uzh.ch

Although the buildings, institutes and workplaces of the University of Zurich are spread across half of the city, navigation help is now available from a new user friendly, smartphone enabled mapping and orientation service www.plaene.uzh.ch.

The web application displays the facilities of University of Zurich overlaid on an interactive city map with search as a central feature. Visitors to the University or members of the UZH community can search by a building's abbreviation or by auditorium number. Users can filter the results in order to find facilities such as cafeterias, food vendors and ATM machines. Floor plans are available for the larger buildings. It is also possible to browse the University maps in full screen mode.

"The success of this project is primarily the direkt result of the good collaboration between Liip and the University of Zurich. Particularly noteworthy is the strong focus on the customer experience", Alexandra Blankenhorn of the University of Zurich said at the go-live. Liip used mapping data from OpenStreetMap and supplemented this with custom graphics from the University planning department. The design was developed by our partner Ala. The interaction concept was prepared by the Liip-UX-Team (LUX) and was refined and optimized in close cooperation with Liip's development team. Developed as a responsive web application, the app adapts itself to run on tablets and smart phones such as the iPhone or on Android devices.

An API is provided to allow all UZH websites to include maps and floor plans directly on their pages. In this way plaene.uzh.ch becomes the University's central platform for orientation and building information.

Liip is turning 5, celebrations on "Liip Day"

Liip will be exactly five years old this year on "Leap Day" (|lēp dā|).

The firm Liip was born in 2007 out of the fusion of Mediagonal und bitflux. The word "liip" comes from old German and means "vibrant" and "lively" which is what we stand for. Our name "liip" is our manifesto. "Liip" is also a homophone of the English word "leap" – as in "leap ahead". Liip stands for a pioneering spirit, as well. We're sounding out the boundaries of what can be done with technology – We are to the web as Armstrong was to the moon.

Now we're growing up. With over 70 contributers working for Liip we're accomplishing great things in collaboration with our customers and partners. Our innovative projects are regularly recognized, and we are three-time winners of the Master of Swiss Web award.

We're looking forward to celebrating "Liip Day" by raising a glass to the future with our partners and colleagues. All information about our birthday celebration can be found at http://liipday.liip.ch/.

Watch a selection of TV shows on your iPad thanks to the «Tages-Anzeiger TV Sélection» application.

"What's on TV tonight?" The cultural editors of "Tages-Anzeiger/Newsnet" answer that question with a selection of program tips and recommendations, and their selections are now available to watch on the iPad using the "Tages-Anzeiger TV Sélection" app.

Launching the application starts a virtual video recorder. Recorded series, movies or documentaries are then available to view anytime and as often as desired. It is also possible to watch all programs from a wide range of selected channels using "Total Recall" search.

The video content for the "Tages-Anzeiger TV Sélection" is provided by Zattoo. To make the app possible, Zattoo worked closely with Liip in order to improve their existing Zattoo API. The API is used to manage user information, deliver the video playlists, and stream the actual programs. The app relies solely on HTML5 and Javascript to handle program logic and drive the presentation of the videos. The app does not rely on a web server but instead gathers all of the necessary data directly over the Zattoo API. Liip developed the app using the NIWEA paradigm and packaged it in PhoneGap to have access to iOS native features such as In-App purchases.

Liip picks up award at "Le Meilleur du Web 2011"

At the first-ever "Le Meilleur du Web" Award-Night in Geneva last Wednesday, Liip won a special award in the "Technology and Innovation" category.

The event provides an important platform for the web industry in the country's French-speaking region, where Liip has a strong presence with offices in Fribourg and Lausanne.

The first prizes in the different categories went to the following agencies and projects:
- "Creation and ergonomics": Antistatique.net for Uchitomi
- "Digital Campaigns": Vanksen for L'Oréal Paris Suisse
- "Business & Marketing": Lombard Odier for E-Merging
- "Technology and Innovation": Virtua for Status Hopper

Liip was given the distinction in the «Technology and Innovation» category for their development of a mobile and a barrier-free version of the Union of European Football Associations’s (UEFA) news site, designed by the Liip-Lausanne team.

The "Le Meilleur du Web" competition for contenders from the French-speaking part of Switzerland was held for the first time this year with the support of the organizers of "Best of Swiss Web" (BOSW).

For a full report see our blog.

Innovation at Liip from the inside

At Liip we have had the good fortune of celebrating quite a few awards in the past years. We received many of these because of innovation in client projects or our own products.

In order to sustain our level of innovation Liip invests heavily into its own internal innovation process which includes the entire company. Innovation needs room for experimentation. We use this room continuously to try out different approaches, which lets us find solutions that wow our customers and their end users.

For example, Liip allocates additional resources to customer projects with innovation potential. Internal projects that promise to make Liip development and our tools more efficient can also tap into this innovation fonds. Self-developed innovation ideas that are of strategic importance to Liip's goals are completed with the allocated time. Some examples of this innovation advancement is Liip's involvement with Jackalope, YUI, Drupal and the Symfony CMF but also the iPad app Radios and twichteln.ch.

For the selection of the innovation projects we use the ECOSTAR process. An innovation committee supports the development of the idea. The project idea is iteratively refined with a series of pitches in front of different groups until finally the idea has the support of the management and the entire company. Smaller innovation ideas up that require 2 weeks of effort may use a shortened process that can be submitted to management after a single meeting with the committee.

Through this process at Liip ideas of one single person frequently mature to market-ready products. Always with the goal of developing our skills, so that we can realize more awesome and successful customer projects.