Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley today signed a bill banning the sale of assault weapons, limiting magazines to 10 bullets, requiring handgun purchasers to submit fingerprints and get a license, and creating penalties for people who don’t notify police when their firearms are lost or stolen. The Baltimore Sun reports that gun control advocates are now planning Baltimore-area TV ads to bolster support among Maryland voters, in case of a future referendum or campaigns to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly.

This ad buy begs the question: Could Maryland’s anti-gun control community gather enough support to change course in the state? The NRA’s threats “scared the pants off Congress,” says Donald F. Norris, professor and chair of public policy at UMBC. But, he clarifies, the national stage and state are different matters.

Asked about potential efforts to remove legislators who supported the gun control bill, Norris noted, “Whether that will work in Maryland, I’m not so sure. My gut tells me no. They might be able to knock off a few people, but I think it’s very much a long shot.”

Google sent a love letter to developers yesterday by way of a three and a half hour keynote presentation at Google I/O 2013. Take a minute and watch this opening video from the keynote and tell me if you don’t feel inspired as a developer, or as a user of technology, for that matter:

It’s really not about us. It’s about you: developers, who are building the most amazing and magical experiences that make those platforms and services come alive.

- Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President, Engineering

But words, spoken or shown on a giant screen in Moscone Center, are empty unless there are actions to back them up. Fortunately for us, the keynote was a parade of actions taken by Google to make our jobs as developers easier and more enjoyable.

Let’s get the devil’s advocate stuff out of the way first, though. Sure, I understand that the “Don’t Be Evil” corporation has a reputation lately of being a little more, well, evil. Take the reaction to sunsetting Google Reader, for example. Those types of decisions are open for criticism, but as far as developer relations go, Google has a history of taking care of developers and listening to their feedback. That trend continued today with a long list of developer-friendly announcements. (Feel free to continue this discussion in the comments!)

Why Google Loves Web Developers

Though Android was first up in the docket, Google spent plenty of time talking about Chrome and the web. Developers would love to see web technologies become first class citizens for native app development, but that just ain’t happening yet. Google did, however, talk about improvements to Chrome and some new file formats that will help improve the experience of web applications on mobile devices.

First up was support for a few new file formats for compressed images and videos. Google showed side-by-side comparisons of images in JPEG and the more recent WebP format, which is free and supports lossless compression, transparency, and animation. The images looked nearly identical but the WebP file was 31% smaller. (This is currently only supported in the beta version of Chrome for Android.)

Mobile-friendly WebP format will help sites load faster

They also showed two videos simultaneously that compared the standard H.264 versus the VP9 format. The videos were again nearly identical, but the bitrate was much lower for VP9 and the overall file size was nearly a third of the size of the H.264 file.

This is a big deal for web developers because a high speed internet connection on a mobile device is not a given. We need to be aware that users around the world are accessing our content from all sorts of networks, and while speed is certainly an issue, cost is too. Anything that Google or developers can do to reduce file sizes helps to speed things up and keep costs down.

Google has been hard at work improving Chrome on mobile devices, too. Performance increased by 50% in the past year for the mobile version of Chrome, according to their own Octane benchmark.

Why Google Loves Android Developers

It seemed like everyone who took the stage yesterday said “Thank you” to developers. It felt like some real recognition of how developers have contributed to Google’s success by creating such an amazingly rich ecosystem of apps. They announced that over 48 billion apps have been downloaded to date from Google Play, and that more payments have been made to developers in the first four months of this year than all of last year. Revenue per user is 2.5 times what it was last year globally.

The other phrase that was repeated often was “we listened to your feedback”. Many of the new features released have been asked for by the development community, including some really exciting ones like the ability to publish to alpha and beta testers within Google Play, using Google+ circles for authorization. The Google Play Developer Console also offers a new translation service to more easily globalize our apps, and it will analyze apps and give feedback on how they might be improved to make more money from them.

Games! Cross-Platform Games!

Another big change for Android developers is the introduction of Google Play Game Services. This is like Apple’s Game Center that allows easy multiplier gaming in apps, but it is cross-platform, meaning that it will work on Android, iOS, and the web. The Game Services will allow developers to easily hook into multiplayer functionality that includes things like leaderboards and integration with your Google+ circles.

Game Center is pretty slick, but if developers and users adopt this, it could blow Game Center out of the water. There is no technical reason to dictate that you can’t play a multiplier game with any device you choose, and it is very refreshing to see Google provide these types of services.

One IDE to Rule Them All: Android Studio

The biggest announcement in the eyes of many Android developers was the unveiling of a new-ish tool called Android Studio. Since Android’s inception, the officially supported Integrated Development Environment (IDE) has been Eclipse, an open source IDE built in and for Java that frankly has come a long way in the past few years. It has a reputation for being slow, clunky, and buggy, though, and many an experienced Android developer use a more polished and powerful product by JetBrains called IntelliJ IDEA.

Android Studio is a new package based on IntelliJ IDEA. I downloaded the preview and at its core it is the same as using IntelliJ IDEA. It does have some new branded and integrated features that should make developers happy. For example, instead of clunky string resource identifiers, we will now be able to see the actual string values pulled in and displayed in layout files and code, as if we had hard-coded the string. We also will see real-time updates to layout files as we edit them in XML or the Graphical Layout Editor.

Live string resource preview makes code more readable

This early access preview doesn’t have many features that differentiate it from IntelliJ, or Eclipse, for that matter. But as Tor Norbye (an engineer on the Android team) says, “We have big plans for Android Studio.”

Having used both tools, I am excited to see official support move to IntelliJ. I have long defended Eclipse as a robust tool that shows how open source software can be very effective and useful. The support community around Eclipse is large and helpful as any question about an Eclipse bug or oddity on StackOverflow will show. But IntelliJ is the more powerful and feature-rich IDE, and becoming the officially supported tool means that the community of developers using it will grow quite a lot, which means better support for everyone and more voices pushing the envelope for Android development tools.

The Hidden Meaning Behind These Android Updates

In other news for Android developers, there were some exciting new APIs released as well. For location-based apps, there are new APIs regarding a “fused location provider” (which will be better on battery life), geofencing (one of my favorites), and activity recognition, which means you’ll be able to tell if the user is walking, biking, or driving. Google+ sign in was enhanced to allow users to sign in seamlessly across devices, upstream messaging was added to Google Cloud Messaging service, and some new UI features were even snuck in without any fanfare during the keynote.

Dustin Earley from Android and Me wrote a post called “Google updating Android without updating Android is the biggest news out of I/O 2013” that sums the hidden meaning behind all these updates. In it he says, “Google’s answer to fragmentation has been fully realized at Google I/O 2013.” This is good news for developers (and everyone, really). His observation is really astute. The new features today are part of different support libraries like Google Play Services that don’t require a new version of Android for developers to take advantage of them. We can start writing apps right away that make use of the new location APIs, for example, which means we can reach a much wider audience than waiting for the latest version of Android to trickle through the system to end users.

Lightning Round

The rest of these announcements are not necessarily meaningful from a developer perspective, though some are certainly ripe with opportunity for developers, like Google Play for Education:

• Google Play for Education was announced, which looks like a great resource for educators.
• The new Hangouts app is a cross-platform messaging service with apps for the web, Android, and iOS.
• A new Google Play Music: All Access service looks to compete with Spotify.
• Many enhancements were made to how photos are stored and edited in the cloud through Google+.
• Google Now (voice search) was improved with more results, and it’s now available on the desktop version of Chrome.
• Improvements were made to Google Maps to give more real-time, context-aware information.
• There were no hardware announcements except for a special Samsung Galaxy S4 that runs stock Android. It’s cool, but expensive at $649.
• There was no mention at all of Google Glass (though it was in attendance on audience member’s faces).
• Developers still can’t access Google+ through an API. (Don’t you trust us, Google?)

Looking Forward

All in all it was an exciting day for the tech world, and the rest of the world as this technology spreads to developing nations and people who have never used anything like this before. It’s an exciting time to be a developer, and that enthusiasm and excitement showed in everyone who presented, all the way up to one of the top dogs himself, Larry Page:

I think today we’re still just scratching the surface of what’s possible. That’s why I’m so excited … I cannot wait to see what comes next. I got goosebumps while I was watching some of these presentations here.

I cannot wait either. I wonder what will be revealed at WWDC?

The post Why Google Loves Developers appeared first on Treehouse Blog.

Another Google I/O, and another raft of awesome products. One announced API that I’m particularly excited about is requestAutocomplete(), a feature which is landing in Chrome Canary for Windows and Mobile (with OSX support coming shortly). What this API does, in a nutshell, is give you programatic access to autocomplete (or autofill) data.

Autocomplete was originally designed to make it quicker to fill out forms, but what if we could remove the forms altogether! Back in June I proposed just such an API - a way to programmatically retrieve autofill data stored in the browser. The proposal has evolved, improved, and is now going to be baked into future versions of Chrome.

What does it look like? Essentially it involves calling requestAutocomplete() on a form element. The form doesn’t necessarily need to be shown to the user, but the browser uses it to detect which input types to autocomplete.

<button id="checkout">Checkout</button>  
    
    <form id="payment" hidden>
      <input autocomplete="cc-name" name="myname">
      <input autocomplete="cc-number" name="ccnumber">
      <input autocomplete="cc-exp" name="ccexp">
    </form>
    
    <script>
      (function(){
        var form = document.getElementById('payment');
        var button = document.getElementById('checkout');
    
        if (!("requestAutocomplete" in form)) return;
    
        button.addEventListener('click', function(){
          form.requestAutocomplete();
        });
    
        form.addEventListener('autocomplete', function(){
          // The form contains the data. We could either submit it, or read the data
          form.submit();
        });
      }).call(this);
    </script>
    

Once requestAutocomplete() has been called, a permissions info dialog will be displayed by Chrome, prompting the user to share their information with the page.

What does this mean in practice? It means that we can replace most forms with two-click signups and two-click payments, dramatically improving usability and conversion rates.

The fact that most people already have autofill data already in Chrome, and that Chrome is an evergreen browser automatically updating itself, should mean adoption of this API will be swift. Once businesses see improved conversion rate data (something we’re working on demonstrating), then integrating with this API should be a no brainer. My hope is that other browser vendors will follow suit and also implement support.

You can find the preliminary API docs on chromium.org.

Towson University is seeking a dynamic, experienced, highly motivated individual to fill this key position in the Division of Student Affairs. The Director of Leadership & Civic Engagement will lead and coordinate campus-wide initiatives, programs, and activities related to leadership, civic engagement, and community development. This position has been classified as Sustainable Operations.

Responsibilities: Provide leadership and enhance the vision for campus-wide initiatives which include participatory citizenship, service learning, volunteerism, and university–community partnerships; build upon current activities to create a blueprint for success; promote a
culture of leadership and articulate a clear vision for student leadership programs on campus; serve as a source of information about student leadership programs; serve as a resource for faculty and staff as they incorporate civic engagement concepts into their curricular, co-curricular, and scholarship activities; create and expand strategic partnerships with non-university organizations to further the university’s civic engagement mission; supervise
departmental staff; and manage the department’s budget. This position may require work during evening and weekend hours as needed, for programs and special events.

Qualifications: Candidates must have a Master’s degree in a related field and five years of progressively responsible experience. Must have a passion for students, leadership, civic engagement, and community involvement; demonstrated leadership skills with the ability to manage within a diverse cultural organization; excellent written and oral communication skills and experience writing and receiving grants for student programs; knowledge of PeopleSoft Financials a plus. A Criminal Background Investigation is required for the hired candidate and the results may impact employment.

Salary: $50,000-$60,000, with full University benefits to include 22 days of annual leave, 14 holidays, personal and sick days; tuition remission; and excellent health, life, and retirement plans. This position is contingent on funds being available at time of hire.

Towson University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has a strong institutional commitment to diversity. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans are
encouraged to apply.

Start Date: 4/25/2013 - Firm
Education: Master's Degree Required
Work Experience: 5-7 Years

To Apply: Complete the Towson University online application. Please upload a cover letter and resume.

Website/Application: www.towson.edu/jobs

Proposals for paper presentations, workshops, or colloquia are invited for the Ninth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences being held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada from 11-13 June 2014. We welcome proposals from a variety of disciplines and perspectives that will contribute to the conference discourse. We also encourage faculty and research students to submit joint proposals for paper presentations or colloquia.

Proposals are invited that address social sciences issues through one of the following categories:
Theme 1: Social and Community Studies
Theme 2: Civic and Political Studies
Theme 3: Cultural Studies
Theme 4: Global Studies
Theme 5: Environmental Studies
Theme 6: Organizational Studies
Theme 7: Educational Studies
Theme 8: Communications

If you are unable to attend the conference in person, virtual registrations include the option to submit a video presentation, and/or submission to one of the journals for peer review and possible publication, as well as subscriber access to the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Journals.

The current deadline for proposal submission (title and short abstract) is 11 June 2013*. Please visit our website at the link below for more information on submitting your proposal, future deadlines, and registering for the conference.

Proposals are also being accepted for the 2013 Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Conference being held in Prague, Czech Republic from 30 July - 1 August. The proposal deadline for the 2013 meeting for in-person registrations is 11 June 2013. Virtual presentations may be submitted until 30 July.

*Proposals are reviewed in rounds adhering to monthly rolling deadlines. Check the website often to see the current review round.

Vancouver & The Social Sciences Conference:
The 2012 Social Sciences Conference was hosted by the Universidad Abat Oliba in Barcelona Spain and attended by 380 scholars from 46 countries whose interests and studies spanned across a wide breadth of research areas and practices. Next year, the conference moves to Vancouver, Canada in 2014. A global metropolis with booming economic sectors in trade, film, natural resources, technology and tourism, Vancouver has also become home to a broad range of cultures that have brought with them a vibrant and distinct cacophony of cuisines, heritage, belief systems and principles which have helped shape Vancouver’s social and economic systems.

As such, this thriving international city is an ideal venue for the discussions interdisciplinary social sciences. We've strategically partnered with the University of British Columbia, whose breathtaking campus puts you within reach of the city's rich culture, diverse heritage, natural beauty and bustling business sector.

Click HERE to submit a proposal.