Monday, February 23, 2009

Open, Mobile, & Linux: My Android talk at Ignite Portland!


On Thursday, February 19, 2009, I gave a talk for Ignite Portland about the Android G1 phone (video and slides). What is Ignite? It's about sparking ideas in one-another. Each presenter gets 5 minutes to speak, exactly 20 slides must be used, and the slides auto-advance every 15 seconds.

It was an exciting experience! I was very nervous, but I was happy with the outcome and the audience reaction. I think there were over 600 people in the audience, so it's the biggest crowed I've addressed. I definitely recommend giving Ignite a try if you like to share your ideas. There are Ignite events in many, many cities. The other speakers were absolutely incredible. If you weren't there, you should watch the video of the entire event.


Android is a Linux-based open source operating system by Google that can be used to power smart phones like TMobile's G1. It's a very open platform, and easy to develop software for. In this talk, I give an overview of the development environment and highlight some key features of the operating system with a focus on what makes the open nature of the Android so powerful.
For programmers, this talk will aim to be an effective introduction to Android so that you can go home, install the development tools, and start hacking even if you don't have a phone. For non-programmers, this talk will aim to give you a taste of how open-source principles will soon affect a cell phone near you.

I like giving talks, so if you want to hear more about Android, let me know. For information about the projects I'm working on, see the pages on Meditation Words a well as Crypto Intents.
The Ignite volunteers were awesome, and there are official photos and official video of the event, including video of my Android talk. The video has very nice production quality, with good cuts back & forth with the slides, but you can't hear the audience reacting very well:

If you get a chance, check out the OpenIntents project, and if you're in Portland, the Android meetup is the 2nd Monday of every month at the SE Hawthorn Lucky Lab at 6PM.
As I mention in the talk, a portion of the proceeds for Meditation Words goes to Kiva, the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website. Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (e.g. $25) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty.
P.S. Here's the exact same talk from another angle: This version from @linuxaid doesn't integrate the slides as nicely, but I kinda like it better since I can hear the audience laughing at my jokes ;)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Supporting Micro-Lending through Software?


A few weeks back, I released a beta version of a simple guided meditation program, Meditation Words to the Android Market. Android is a Linux-based smart-phone platform by Google. Currently everything in the Market is free, but my understanding is that Google will start allowing paid applications Real Soon Now.

Besides the simple breathing exercise, I have updated Meditation Words with a lot more features, and I'm looking for more texts to extend it with, so drop me a line if you have an idea. I plan to release MeditationWords as a paid application, but with a twist!

Kiva - loans that change lives
A portion of the proceeds for Meditation Words (I don't know how much yet) will go to Kiva, "the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website". Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (e.g. $25) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty.

I have no idea how this will work out, but I think it will be really fun to try! You don't have to wait for the application, or own an Android phone, to join our Meditation Words team and lend on our behalf :)