When I’m not working on a specific assignment (for free or for fee), I like to play. I am always finding new things to learn, absorb, use, and otherwise spend my time.
I am usually involved with at least ten different projects at the same time. This is not an all-inclusive list, merely a sampling of the most recent projects I had a moment to describe in an entry somewhere.
Apps and Channels for the Roku – My roommate and I bought a Roku set-top box for the household in 2010 rather than the AppleTV we’d originally contemplated; the Roku had the proper connectors for the older television in the living room that the AppleTV box does not. The Roku is a device that we use daily, in fact so much so that I purchased a second box for another room. I’m continually amused by the channels offered on Roku, and I keep playing with ideas for my own channels, both public and private, along with games, screensavers, and other apps that no one else has developed for the system. I’m learning my way around the Roku SDK, because it’s a path not many have gotten into, and I would like to interface with other businesses and individuals who wish to produce their own Roku channel or app.
Apps for the Kindle 2 – I’d really rather have an iPad for its 3G, cameras, and usability for both play and work, but I had the chance to purchase a refurbished Kindle 2, and did so out of curiosity. I find myself choosing to read in my off-time more often, and this device is entirely and happily to blame. Out of curiosity as to how it functions, I started poking around the Kindle KDK, partially because I’m generally too thrifty to afford the few apps available for the device, and because I’d like to create a few useful apps that have a little more functionality and intuitiveness than what’s already out there. If I can make something that people are happy to pay for, all the better. It’s a small market but still…
Apps for the iPhone and iPad – I’m very much a fan of the Apple line of products, even if they are too expensive for me to justify purchasing at the moment. I do play with a first gen iPhone, on loan from a friend who upgraded her phone. Even without a SIM card, the device is still entirely usable through WIFI and offline. I take it everywhere when I foresee the need to amuse myself via games, productivity lists, and even ebooks. There are a few apps I have ideas for, and so, when I am motivated, I dink around with that project. Making a career out of developing mobile apps would be spiffy keen.
Hacking of the Augen Genbook – The Augen Genbook is a horrible-quality netbook from a defunct German company who attempted to (cheapily and failingly) adapt an older version of Google Android to a not-tablet format. The workmanship is shoddy, its upgradability in hardware and software utterly nonexistent. Someone kindly remarked that the device had the properties of a children’s toy, and not a very good one at that. For instance, the outer case is made of plastic so thin it is as flexible as a shampoo bottle, which is bad news for sensitive and finicky electronics. The electronics are soldered in, the battery, memory, and all other components permanently attached. And so of course, I had to buy one just so that I could figure out if there’s any way to make the device more functional. Someday soon I hope to purchase a better device that runs Android so that I can code for something more updated than this horrible thing, but in the meantime, there’s this.