Gee’s Blog

I did a “lightning talk” today at a local meetup for developers interested in cloud computing and Google’s App Engine specifically.  The demo covered the basics of how Rotzy (which is built entirely on AppEngine) works and what it does etc… but I also tried to fit in as many tips and tricks for using App Engine as I could.  Seemed like at least a few devs found it useful which is great!

Here are some of the (poorly made) slides I used while explaining some of the App Engine specific stuff.  Hopefully some more people will find it useful too.  Also, definitely check out Rotzy for the iPhone… it was built in our spare time and we are excited that it is growing steadily with a great community of users

Gee Projects, Python, Tips, rotzy appengine, google, iphone, rotzy

I love my iPhone and MacBook Pro but I have to say that Apple’s quality control seems to be a bit lacking. Last night, my Macbook Pro’s screen suddenly went black and would not come back on.  I tried a hard reboot, resetting the PRAM, resetting the SMC, plugging in an external screen, and even just leaving it alone for 10 minutes before trying again LOL. It was already 1am at the time, so I just browsed Digg on my iPhone, went to sleep and brought it in this afternoon to see a  Genius at the Bar.

After some routine tests, he said it was a video board/chip error and that it would have to be replaced.  Lucky for me, this is a known/documented error and the repair would be free even though I am out of warranty.  They do have the part in stock and he assured me it would be ready for pickup in a couple days. Not too bad considering I have lots of other computers at home I can use.

So why am I questioning Apple’s QC?

This is actually already the second repair I have had to do on the MBP in just over a year.  The first time they had to replace the entire top panel because of a faulty touch pad.  On top of that, I have also gone through 4 different iPhones due to random issues where it just would not power on anymore (2 of the 1st gen and 2 of the 3G).  Each time they replaced it on the spot, with no questions asked (except for the obligatory, “did you drop it in water”?). None of my old PCs ever needed servicing and they are still running strong (Dell, Fujitsu, IBM, etc).  So, I was thinking… if not for their stellar customer service, I might be tempted to stop buying Apple stuff… but really I know I just can’t resist their shiny new products

Gee News, apple apple, iphone, macbook pro, pram, repair, smc

If you are looking into adding some map functionality to your app or web site, remember to also consider the Static Maps API for a non-interactive version of Google’s maps. This static API takes a list of parameters such as the map center, width & height, any markers or path data… and returns a static IMAGE instead of using javascript to render your map.

You won’t be able to interact with the map… but the main advantage here is speed.  The javascript needed to run the regular Google Maps API is quite heavy.  It doesn’t run well on mobile browsers and can take a few extra seconds to finish loading on regular desktop browsers as well.  So, if all you need is a nice looking map, the static API is a great choice.

For example, it seems to load a good 10x faster than the regular Google Maps API when loaded into a UIWebView controller on the iPhone.  Even on a wifi connection, the javascript API takes a good 5-10 seconds to show up, whereas the static image API loads almost instantly.  For mobile devices, speed currently trumps functionality in many cases such as this one.  The user won’t be able to pan and zoom, but they won’t complain if the map loads fast

We are using the static maps API in our Rotzy iPhone app and will just give users the option of clicking on it and bringing up the native Google Maps application if they really want to pan and zoom.

Here’s an example of how easy it is to generate a map by simply passing paramters to the API url:

# Note that this URL wraps at the '\' character.
# For clarity, we don't write the actual API key in use.
#
http://maps.google.com/staticmap?center=40.714728,-73.998672\
&zoom=14&size=512x512&maptype=mobile\
&markers=40.702147,-74.015794,blues%7C40.711614,-74.012318,\
greeng%7C40.718217,-73.998284,redc\
&key=MAPS_API_KEY&sensor=false

The code above will generate a map that looks like this:

Read more and get the full documentation here.

Gee API, Projects, Tips API, google maps, iphone, rotzy

Testing out a mobile blog from my iPhone using the wordpress app. Pretty cool!

Gee News iphone, mobile