The TechBlogger

I was invited to attend the BlackBerry DevCon Asia 2011 held at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre last week. As you can imagine, one of the key topics for this year’s conference was developing for the PlayBook Tablet OS. In that vein, all participants were given a 16GB version of the PlayBook Tablet to help them get started.

BBM, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter your way around DevCon

I eschewed the normal retail version of the PlayBook for a developer version that runs beta 2.0 version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS. Essentially, the developer version comes with the requisite binaries required to test apps targeting the next version of the OS.

Had to sign a one-page disclaimer, but that was completed very quickly. And despite various dire warnings of potential incompatibility with existing apps, it worked well for me – so far.

Because I had classes on Wednesday and Thursday, I only managed to attend one workshop session on Wednesday. Learned about developing for the PlayBook using the Native SDK (NDK) and gained a few nuggets of information.

In a nutshell, the NDK in its current state doesn’t support any of the GUI widgets that you will need for a typical application. (Which may explain the dearth of productivity apps) There is no doubt that it is a powerful platform for the creation of games using the C or C++ programming language, however. I was told that the initial release of graphical widgets will be in the “next few months.”

For now, I would only recommend the NDK for demanding games and apps; for a quick way to create good-looking apps for the PlayBook, use Adobe AIR or WebWorks.

On-site registration was done using the BlackBerry PlayBook

Attending a session on developing for the PlayBook using the Native SDK (NDK)

I read a lot of fiction.  Its been my pastime since I was encouraged to read when young; others watch TV or cable for relaxation – I just read.  Strange for a tech guy? Then again, perhaps not, since my favorite genre of books is science fiction, though I do read the occasional thriller and fantasy title.

The iPod Touch (32GB) that I bought late last year was the catalyst for me to read even more, as I find myself buying ever more e-books from Amazon’s Kindle store. I previously purchased my fix books from Mobipocket and then Fictionwise – but lets just say that their selection just doesn’t cut it where my needs are concerned.  Today, my main e-book reader is an iPhone 3GS (32GB), which I hope will eventually be replaced by an iPad once it becomes available in Singapore.

For the publishers out there, no, I’ve not read one (fiction) physical book in the last few years.  The titles below represent books that I’ve read since November 2010, and I estimate that they form only about one third to a quarter of all the ebooks that I’ve ever read.

Note that there are titles that I liked a lot more than others, and a few that I’ll never recommend to anyone (Thankfully, there are few books in this category). Maybe I’ll get around to sorting the list one day, or writing some reviews.

Here goes for now, in no particular order: (All ebooks purchased from Amazon Kindle unless otherwise noted)

• Mission of Honor by David Weber (WebSubscription EBooks)
• The Lost Fleet: Victorious by Jack Campbell (Mobipocket)
• Helfort’s War Book 1: The Battle at the Moons of Hell
• Helfort’s War Book 2: The Battle of the Hammer Worlds
• Helfort’s War Book 3: The Battle of Devastation Reef
• Axis by Robert Charles Wilson
• Brainbox by Christian Cantrell
• Human Legacy Project by Christian Centrell
• Containment by Christian Cantrell
• The List by J.A. Konrath
• Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston
• The Clone Alliance by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Betrayal by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Elite by Steven L. Kent
• The Clone Republic by Steven L. Kent
• Rogue Clone by Steven L. Kent
• Death’s Head: Day of the Damned by David Gunn
• A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
• The Machinery of Light by David J. Williams
• Old Twentieth by Joe Haldeman
• Seeker by Jack McDevitt
• Singularity Sky by Charles Stross
• Supervirus by Andrew W. Mitchell
• The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
• The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton
• Earth Strike by Ian Douglas
• Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
• House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
• Without Warning by John Birmingham
• Dominant Species by Michael E. Marks

Non-Fiction

• Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

PS: I have another 10 ebooks that I’ve purchased but not yet read.  I guess I’ll have to update this list again then.