Mourning Google · On March 15, 2010, I started a new job at Google. The fourteen years since that day feel like a century. The title of my announcement was Now A No-Evil Zone and, OK, I can hear the laughing from ten timezones away. I tried, then, to be restrained, but there are hardly words to describe how happy and excited I was. I had escaped from the accretion disk the former Sun Microsystems was forming around Oracle, that blackest of holes. And Google, in 2010, was the coolest place in the world to work ...
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[25 comments]
Why Google Did Android · What happened was, in the late stages of my career at Sun Microsystems, as we were sliding into Oracle’s loathsome embrace, I had discovered Android. The programming language was Java, and not a dorky “ME” subset. My employer was saying nice things about it, and I’d long craved something I could both carry in my pocket and program. I discovered it was pretty easy to program and eventually published the Android Diary series in this space, which got pretty lively readership ...
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[10 comments]
Google + 1yr · As of this month, I’ve been an ex-Googler for a year. Sometimes I miss it, but my rearview-mirror feelings are mixed ...
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[4 comments]
IO in the Rearview · I enjoyed it more than any other so far. More APIs, less hardware. More sessions, each shorter. One keynote ...
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[16 comments]
Fun at IO · There is a conscious effort to make Google IO not just an information-dense environment, but a party. I joined in the fun for all three evenings I was free in San Fran. This included one photo-walk, one rock & roll performance, and one cross-faction Ingress event. Here are words and pictures ...
Less Pain, More Money · Logging in is annoying and slows you down. My job these days is mostly about reducing that pain, ideally to zero by eliminating it. Google really wants this to happen; here are two reasons why, one general and one specific ...
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[22 comments]
Google I/O 2012 · I was there, after having worked on parts of the program, I took pictures, and I guess I should share some of that. It seems years ago already ...
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GDD in Yokohama · I was part of the entertainment at the recent GDD Tokyo 2011; I guess nobody’s feelings are hurt if you hold a Tokyo-branded event down in Yokohama ...
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[4 comments]
Things About Google+ · No, I haven’t figured it out. Neither has the rest of the world. Which means that now is a good time to write about it, while our impressions remain plastic ...
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+1 · The official statement is: The +1 button is shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out”. This blog now has ’em. If you’re one of the (vast majority of) people who are looking at this in one feed-reader or another, you can’t see them, but you might want to glance at the home page to get the feel. Or just open this article in a browser and look down at the bottom ...
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[38 comments]
Pictures of I/O · I would be the wrong person to ask for an overview of the just-concluded Google I/O 2011. I’ve been working on the presentations and exhibitors quite intensely since February or so — even contributed a couple of lines of code to the Android app — and I have a strong vision of how it was supposed to be; this could not fail to color anything I might say about the event ...
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[6 comments]
100mm of the Day: Overcommitted · Today is Monday; four weeks from the week of Google IO. What happened was, I liked it last year and told everyone “Hey, I’d like to work on IO” and they said yes. So you won’t be hearing much from me between now and then except for maybe a few pictures, because you’ve always got time to shoot when you have a new lens; today’s are close-ups from the Bugdroid surgical facility ...
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[2 comments]
A Year at Google · March 15th is my first anniversary. When I’d been at Sun for a year I wrote how I was Angry at the Cat because I loved my work but I had to feed him before I could get online in the morning. Well, I’m OK with the cat now, but not because I’m less fully engaged. I’m not sure how this whole Google thing is going to work out but I’m glad I took the plunge ...
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[11 comments]
I/O 2010 Words and Faces · I worked like a madman right through I/O 2010 and went straight from there to an internal meeting and from there to my Mom’s 80th-birthday bash, so there hasn’t been much time for reflection. I can’t find a theme to organize my notes by, so what you get is a dozen poorly-sequenced take-aways interspersed with seven faces ...
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[4 comments]
Being at I/O · The facility, Moscone West, is jam-packed to busting; the organizers slammed on the attendance brakes weeks back, worried about militant fire marshals, breaking the hearts of outsiders and Googlers alike. It’s a nice building, full of light even in a grey California spring ...
Blogging at Google · First of all, I should announce my editorship (starting today) of another blog, the Android Developers Blog. But at Google there are stories behind the stories ...
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[8 comments]
Public Speaking · I get a lot of requests to appear at one conference another; while I gripe about the wear and tear of travel, and being away from my family, I love doing this kind of stuff. Quite possibly you sent me such an invitation not too long ago and are irritated because I’ve been ignoring you. Sorry about that; I just didn’t feel I should make any commitments while my professional status was so muddled. Anyhow, now is the time for a reset ...
Now A No-Evil Zone · As of this morning I work for Google. The title is “Developer Advocate”. The focus is Android. Fun is expected ...
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[197 comments]
