The other day I was required to update my insurance information. I find it interesting that in this day and age we are still using paper as our primary mode of information exchange with regards to personal data. With the cost of healthcare spinning out of control, one must wonder where are the oppertunities to [...]
Well it is time to end this day. Tomorrow will be dedicated to some mobile development as I try to figure out it's purpose for my company. 16 hrs ago
Looks like Richard Garriott, the Executive Producer for Tabula Rasa at NCSoft, finally got his wish and is making his way to the ISS. A great personal achievement. Too bad his last game will not experience the same kind of achievement.
I recently turned down a job at NCSoft here in Austin and it looks like that was a good decision. It was a hard choice though. I mean to work on MMORPGs world-wide sounded so appealing but the gaming industry is a cut throat sector, plus where I am at now has me on a project I am DETERMINED to see completed.
Congrats Mr. Garriott, I hope your journey will be a safe one. Now that you got your dream, what will be next for you? Another MMORPG? God I hope not, lately there are just not enough room in gamers’ mind for another game.
So here is my first post of many on the development process of my app on Android. First comes the environment, then comes JAVA. I finally had couple of hours free to check out the Android SDK. Here is what I found out when setting up the environment on Hardy (8.04):
Android SDK
Obviously the first thing you will need to do is sign up as a developer at Android’s site: http://code.google.com/android/. Um, yeah since I am a Google peasant, that was not really a big deal (kind of sad how much of my life is under Google’s control). Like everything else from Google, the documentation is ridiculous. No need to repeat it here, just unzip the package and put it where you develop all your apps. Unlike the iPhone SDK, I can put this bad boy on any OS. I like that.
Eclipse
I use vi for everything but since JAVA is new to me, I would like any help I can get. Since it seems Eclipse is the defacto standard for JAVA development, it looks like I need to get this tool on my lappy. I was not paying attention at the version of the deb package for Eclipse on Hardy. Synaptic loads 3.2 but when you try to grab the Android development tools, you will notice that you are required to install the Web Platform Tools for Eclipse and sadly the WPT 3.0.2 does not play well with Eclipse 3.2. Not really a problem since Eclipse is a java app in of itself. Just make sure you have the latest version of java installed on your distro. I personally like to keep everything under one vendor, so I stayed on the SUN side of things:
Get rid of what Synaptic dumped on your system with regards to Eclipse then head over to Eclipse’s site and grab the latest version of the IDE (Ganymede). If I were you, grab the distro for Java EE, it has WTP as part of it’s plugin suite (one less thing you need to do). Grab the Android plugin from within Eclipse and you are all set to build your first project.
Emulator
When running the emulator, try out the G1 skin from Jeffry Sharkey. It gives your test app a shot of reality from an actual Android phone. Awesome Work Mr. Sharkey.
With the exception of Eclipse, installing the SDK was painless. Next up will be the coding and debugging, which will mean time spent learning a new code base. Not too bad, I mean seriously how hard can it be to code in JAVA right? Muhahahaha!
As I start to build the object map of my app that will be built on the Android SDK, I begin to think of what APIs I would like to use. Google’s set is a no brainer but what about other tools? A silly thought crossed my mind on how cool it would be to watch 30 Rock or Heroes on the G1 from Netflix. No sooner did that nugget hit my grey matter, Engadget posted that Netflix will open it’s API to all developers. My mind is flooded with possibilities. NO MORE MS IE for instant watch (I hope anyways). Life is golden.
Steiner Ranch social networking site
Looks like I am not the only one messing around with web social. A fellow resident in my neighborhood has created a social framework for all residences of Steiner Ranch. It is called Steiner Social. One thing about living in Steiner Ranch is that we are extremely social! From our biannual block parties to workshops, there is always something going on around our home. This has created an immense pride in our community. I am not the only one talking about our community, take a look at the dedicated blog for my neighborhood. It is nice to be part of something that everyone can be proud of.
I made my fair share of rubberband guns during my youth but as an adult, you need better tech to send those bands across the cubical farm. You need weapons like these:
My Comments