My Android Resources

As I might have mentioned in one of my previous posts this year, I have recently started to learn how to develop applications for Google's Android platform. There are plenty of reasons why one might want to work with Android, but this doesn't represent the scope of my current post.
The scope of this post is for me to present the most important Android web resources that I follow in my learning and development process. There are also other sites that list Android resources out there, such as AndroidSavvy and Android Tapp, but I wanted to add here the list of things I found most useful and helpful, so that I can share my experience with anyone interested in the same subject.
Anyone can do a Google search and get a bunch of Android resources, but not everything you get is useful, or at least not useful for your context so, in most cases, it helps to learn form other people's experiences and use what's proven to be useful for them. The same is the case with my experience, because I also have started by following links from here to there and doing searches and following RSS feeds and in the end not many of the resources I first encountered proved to be valuable to me, but those that did I think are worth sharing, so here it goes...
For Android, mobile technologies news and application reviews I follow mainly 3 sites:

• Android Guys - they have the latest rumors and news about Android developments and also have reviews of books or Android applications that might prove useful


• AppVee - "the definitive source for Android app reviews" as they call themselves are a site which review applications found on the Android Market. After all it is good to keep in touch with what is being built and also get inspired from that.


• MobileCrunch - this is a more general information site about mobile technology, but if you enter the Android game it is good to keep informed about other possible developments. Besides, there are the occasional Android articles here also.

Along with keeping up to date with news, rumors and developments in the Android world, what an Android developer needs is to find technical information and tutorials on the a fore mentioned subject. Unfortunately, aside of the official Android site where you can find all sorts of tutorials, examples and documentation, and where you should start your quest for learning, the technical blogs and resources for the Android platform seem a bit scarce to me, but perhaps I did not look enough. I will add here the list of sites I find useful when working on Android and I encourage anyone who works on the platform, to add their technical resources in the comments below.

• Android Developers Google Group - with an average of 125 new posts a day, this is the most important resource you could harness if you need some quick information when you get stuck with a problem. The people in the group are very responsive and they can give you lots of advice. Also, there is a lot of information in the group archives, so it is most likely you will find an answer to your problem before you even need to ask.


• Android Developers Blog - this is the official Andorid Developers blog and a hub for lots of tips and tutorials about the Android platform. It also contains links to other resources for developers, so be sure to give it a look.


• Android JavaDoc - a place where you can find the javadocs we all come to treasure and love for the Android SDK releases.


• Learning Android - a blog containing up to date Android tutorials.

This is it for now, but feel free to add your resources in the comments and also let me know if you found these resources useful.

You Reap What You Sow

The theme of this post is concerned with our effect on the environment. I know that lately there has been a lot of talk, controversy and contradiction on the subject of Global Warming and on the effects we as humans impose on our environment, of which many are not too friendly with nature, so I am not going to write here about opinions or philosophies or other useless talk.
I think that the effects of global warming are visible, and if you still are not convinced, go outside and take a look around, you'll be sure to notice some differences. What I intend in this post is to add a few resources that each one of us could use in making a small effort towards living a greener life.
I know that there are many of us wanting to do something, no matter how small, to contribute to the saving of our environment and we may be wondering what can we do about it. Well, here are a few links from one of the most renowned authority in the domain, National Geographic, that might give us a starting point.
Greendex is a green index calculator, that can compute how environment friendly your current way of life is, and give you a general idea of what can you do to improve - feel free to give it a try (my index was 56). Preserve our planed is National Geographic's section on environment preservation where you can find information on global warming and other ecosystem and environment related information. The Green Guide is National Geographic's site with tips about leading a greener life.
These should give anyone a nice starting point in finding some answers about how can we work with our environment and not against it. I believe that it is very important for us to take action now because even with our small contributions we can make sure that we will leave a good home for the next generations.

JobMate BETA is live

A friend of mine, Radu Tanasa, participated on behalf of his company Lightway Software, in the development of a new jobs portal for the local Romanian market, called jobmate, and he asked me to do a little presentation of the application on my blog in order to attract more people to the site.
First of all, please note that the site still is in beta stage, so you are encouraged to give it a try and send any feedback you may have through the site's contact functionality.
The portal is trying to bring more value to the people seeking new jobs by allowing them to create and maintain online CV's, access the site's forum with human resource information, read tutorials and job advice and also get free legal advice from a lawyer available for any questions they may have.
After the beta stage is over, the portal will also allow for companies to be able to view the CV's of job seekers so that they can choose from the available pool, the employees that may fit best their needs.
All in all, the site has a modern look, and offers enough functionality for its intended purpose, so if you are interested in being on the market for a job, or you are looking to hire, please give it a try and offer any feedback you have to it's creators, it might just be the next best thing in this domain.

Changes, changes and, guess what, more changes

Hi everybody and sorry for the long dry streak of articles on my blog. 2008 was a long and busy year for me for several reasons:
1. I got married last summer (pictures here) - so ladies the train has left the station :).
2. We went for a nice 2 week holiday/honeymoon in Croatia - see pictures here.
3. We finished the interior of our new apartment and we moved there.
4. We got also a new car - hooray now the banks own my ass for good :).
As you can see a lot went on in my life last year, and these were only the major things, not to mention other stuff like picking up a new hobby - photography and starting to learn Google's Android platform - see learning project here.
I am not going to make a promise out of writing more on the blog - that hasn't worked too well for me on other occasions, but as a resolution for this year, I intend to spend more time on my personal and professional development, which means that there will be a series of articles on my hobbies, including the biggest one I have, coding :). So stay tuned until next time, and we'll see what the new year brings as we go :).