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'Androids' by Chet Haase is on sale now, and you can get started reading for free
Available from both Google Play and Amazon Kindle
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The history of Android has been told in many small parts; but to get the whole story you would have to scour thousands of blog posts, hundreds of podcasts, and the minds of a few dozen people that would probably ask you to leave them be — until now, that is. Androids: The Team That Built the Android Operating System is set to release tomorrow, bearing the tale of how the world's most widely used operating system came into existence. If you're curious about the backstory of the OS that you spend half your day staring at when you should really be working, you can buy the book now on Google Play and Amazon Kindle.Chet Haase, the author of Androids, is perhaps best known for delivering witty banter while hosting Google I/O fireside chats and developer sessions, or even educating people about bugs wherever they will let him. But he is also a longtime developer at Google with over a decade on the Android, working primarily on the UI Toolkit team; and he had a lot to do with enabling the smooth animations and visual effects of Material Design.[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/chethaase/status/1424113349160144896[/EMBED_TWITTER]As Chet pointed out shortly after the original announcement last weekend, this book is meant for everybody, not just engineers. There won't be a lot of technical jargon, but instead it's filled with the events, experiences, decisions, and anecdotes of the people behind the green bot. And fear not, it has been confirmed on no uncertain terms, there will be puns.The ebook is now available for $9.99 USD from either Amazon or Google Play Books. If you would like to preview part of the book before purchase, samples are available from both stores. Amazon provides the first 4 chapters, while Google Play provides the first 7 chapters (about 20% of the total book).
How to read all your local library's books on your phone or Kindle for free
Catch up on new releases, best-sellers, and classics alike — though beware of waitlists
Reading the news can be a bit of a drag at the moment, and spending money on more and more streaming subscriptions can really start to eat into your monthly budget. As more of us turn to a good book to escape reality, we may be starting to realize that books can be a bit expensive, especially for newer, in-demand titles. And with local libraries closed, our avenue for free literature seems to have gone away with them. But it hasn't, at least, for many: there's a little app called Libby, and as long as you have a library card and your library supports it, you may be able to freely access thousands of books straight from your phone or Kindle.
Sesame Street eBooks are free on Amazon, Google Play, and other platforms
Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?
Many companies and organizations are working to make movies, TV shows, books, and other entertainment free (or cheaper, at least) for folks stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak. Sling TV has free movies and TV shows, 24 Hour Fitness made some of its premium features free for everyone, and now the makers of Sesame Street have made over 100 eBooks free on various platforms.Sesame Workshop announced yesterday that "over 110" free Sesame Street eBooks are now available on all major platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, Google Play, and Kobo.
A few months ago, Google began testing a new interface for search card results, which removes the bold header color, uses a new Follow button with the Discover logo, and introduces more tabs for accessing relevant information about the subject. That interface seems to be rolling out more widely now and comes with redesigns for almost all search result cards and plenty of added information.
[Deal Alert] Packt is offering all of its eBooks, including Android development-related ones, for $5
If you're looking to learn how to develop for a certain platform, chances are that Packt will have what you're looking for in either eBook or video form. As it does a few times per year, the publishing company is currently offering all of its material for just $5 a pop.
Let's be honest, busy people don't have time to trudge through long books made of mostly filler. Unfortunately, publishers know they can't put a high price on a 40-page book. In the end, authors are stuck building a lavish sea of meaningless words around the simple concepts they want to convey. That's where Blinkist comes in. It's a service that boils popular non-fiction books down to their most formative and salient points. Think of it like Cliffs Notes, but even shorter and not funded entirely by high school students. Blinkist has been around for about a year with a website and iOS app, but now its making a debut on Android.
When it comes to publishers, few names stand out in the technical world like O'Reilly. With literally thousands of books and videos, there are topics ranging from Programming to Business, and Fitness to Photography. Not only does O'Reilly print under its own name, but it also owns several other brands including: Wiley, Packt Publishing, No Starch Press, and more. Almost every developer probably has a small stack of books with the trademark line-drawn animals on the covers.
Last December, Google Play Books saw an update that allowed users to upload PDF and EPUB files to their libraries from their mobile device (by way of Gmail attachments or downloads). A subsequent update to version 3.1.23, however, removed the ability to add PDFs. At the time, Google confirmed to us that the functionality was removed because it was "experimental," but we were told it would return at some point in the future.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our bi-weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a new Tin Man game book, a Disney endless runner, a modern take on Space Harrier, and a zombie game that might actually be worth a look. Without further ado:
A few weeks ago we found some Newsstand-related goodies in the Play Store APK, hinting at the possibility that the upcoming news service is poised to absorb Google's Play Magazines.
On Tuesday night, surprisingly ahead of the usual update-all-the-things-Wednesday, Google released a major revision of the Play Books app for Android, updating it from v2 (2.9.21) to v3 (3.0.15). The changelog, which was shockingly present from the get-go (thank you!), confused me a bit but after digging around, I finally figured out what it means. Oh, and I found another fix that wasn't mentioned.
ASUS Unveils Dual-CPU (i7 Haswell/Atom), Dual-OS (Windows 8/Android), Dual-Storage (1TB+64GB) 11.6" Transformer Book Trio
Today at Computex 2013, ASUS' Chairman Jonney Shih gave birth to no less than 11 products in a span of less than an hour, a surprising rate of fire we're
Today at Computex 2013, ASUS' Chairman Jonney Shih gave birth to no less than 11 products in a span of less than an hour, a surprising rate of fire we're not used to even at flagship events like MWC or CES, let alone Computex. Not bad at all, ASUS.
Quick Look: Official Book Cover For The Nexus 10 – It's Something
In the interest of time, I'll spare you, dear readers, my usual spiel and say simply this: I like official accessories. In theory, anyway. I like the
In the interest of time, I'll spare you, dear readers, my usual spiel and say simply this: I like official accessories. In theory, anyway. I like the idea of accessories specifically made for specific devices by the device's original manufacturer. I've been delighted by the Nexus 7 pogo dock, and love the Nexus 10 pogo charger (though it isn't actually official yet).
Autodesk has a fantastic record of powerful, well-built apps. Continuing the pattern, the Pixlr Express makers today released SketchBook Ink, a (you guessed it) sketching and line work app specifically built for tablets 7" and above.
Partnered with Steve Jackson, Tin Man Games has brought another Fighting Fantasy title to the digital age with House of Hell. For the uninitiated, Fighting Fantasy is a series of interactive "gamebooks" by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone which began publication in the early 80's. The books each contain their own fantasy adventure, the outcome of which is completely dependent on the reader's choices.
After the successful launches of Play Music in Europe, Magazines in Canada, and Movies in a handful of countries, Google has made another step in its international Play crusade, today bringing Movies and Books to Brazil.
Orbitz.com, one of the top online travel/booking resources around, has just released a new app – Hotels by Orbitz, meant to help users find, book, and enjoy hotels in thousands of destinations world-wide, whether you need a room tonight, or want to book a future stay.
Amtrak, aiming to give you a "new way to take the train," released an official app to the Play Store recently.
Google Play Books Arrives In France Following The Settlement Of All Outstanding Legal Disputes
Last month, Google announced that it would be ending all legal disputes with French authors and publishers in an effort to bring books to a wider audience.
Last month, Google announced that it would be ending all legal disputes with French authors and publishers in an effort to bring books to a wider audience. The announcement came following the French Publishers and Author's Associations withdrawal of their suits against Google, and marked a "win-win solution" which opened "the possibility for out-of-print books to reach a wide audience," while maintaining commercial rights for authors.
[Updated: Here Are The Winners!] Book Giveaway: Take Your Apps To The Next Level With Android Wireless Application Development Volume 2
It seems like most books on developing for Android are geared towards beginners and those who are accustomed to developing for other platforms or using
It seems like most books on developing for Android are geared towards beginners and those who are accustomed to developing for other platforms or using other languages, while fewer help you put that extra layer of polish and shine on your app. With hundreds of thousands of apps already on the market for you to compete with, that's exactly what you need: something to kick your app up a notch or two.