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Google IO 2011
I am so bummed that I could not get tickets to the Google IO 2011. I wanted to be there this year but tickets were sold out in 59 minutes and I could never get to the site.
As expected, a lot has been going on at the IO this year with big announcements coming from Google including its Cloud Music Service. My previous post was about Amazon’s cloud storage and music player and now we have another tech giant jumping into the same arena. I think Google has an advantage since it can immediately have an Android app and accessibility from Android phones will be high. However, I am not quite sure if I would use it from a mobile device especially if I have to use my 3G data plan. With telecom companies limiting the data plans, it is difficult to take advantage of such cloud based players.
One thing I would like to see is Google coming up with something totally radical and not just follow some other company’s game plan. Google is better than that and somehow, It trying to imitate others especially in the social network playground and now the cloud, leaves me a bit disappointed.
There were bunch of other announcements too including Movie rentals for Android, Icecream sandwich etc. You can find more of the google announcements here.
To watch it live, go here.
A lot of twitter activity is going on too and you can track it with tag #io2011. Google IO site has a cool around the globe tracking that you can see at http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/io2011.html .
I hope 2012 will be the year I can make it to this annual event.
Amazon Cloud Storage
Amazon launched Cloud Drive and Cloud Player last week to enable users to upload their music to a virtual drive and play it from anywhere via PC or Android phones. I think that is a great idea because I for one find it painful to sync my music between all the devices I own. However, a lot is being said about legality and controversy has been stirred up by the record labels.
But why is there a legal problem? People can upload music to any virtual drive and use it from anywhere. Amazon has just added another layer through its player to enable them to listen to the songs directly. People would have bought that music and own it. It doesn’t matter how they store it or listen to it or from where they access it. Granted, there might be users who may upload pirated stuff, but I think the days of purely pirated music are gone. People do buy and own the music and it should be their right to use it anyway they want for personal use.
Currently, one can still play music stored on home PC using other mechanisms to access your PC. So the idea is not really new, but simply been made easier by Amazon. The recording industry already has deals for the music Amazon legally sells and that should suffice. In fact, the promotions Amazon generally has might encourage users to purchase more music directly from Amazon and use it through the drive. This scenario can be easily compared with the e-reader market and how Kindle has actually increased the book sales. People tend to read and buy more e-books when using Kindle because the buying action is so simple.
Old-fashioned industries need to understand that simplicity and accessibility are really important for this fast-changing generation of users who are addicted to their mobile devices.
Books for Android newbies
This post is different from the usual cloud discussions I have had so far. Since I am all about learning new technology, mobile development is something I am excited to know more about. It is free for developers to start developing on Android system and therefore really easy to step into. I started out by getting book suggestions on the Android LinkedIn group. Thanks to so many wonderful suggestions from great people. I would like to share these book suggestions and hope it helps you.
Books
Hello, Android: Introducing Google’s Mobile Development Platform
Professional Android Development, Reto Meier
The first two books require some Java knowledge/experience. I have gotten the most suggestions for the Reto Meier book.
Unlocking Android, W. Frank Ableson, Charlie Collins, and Robi Sen
Android Wireless Application Development, Darcey & Condor
Professional Android Programming with MonoDroid and .NET/C#
Online Resources
There were also few online websites/courses that were recommended. Some are free and some not, but if these seem more interesting to you, then definitely try them out.
http://www.javacodegeeks.com/2010/10/android-full-application-tutorial.html
http://www.manning.com/ableson2/
Cloud Notions 