CT-SPIN #89 – Android Live Wallpaper Development

Event Sponsor

Korwe

Android Live Wallpapers are a great way to add some much-needed interaction and activity to an otherwise bland Android “desktop” interface.

There are many traps and pitfalls associated with live wallpaper and development. In this talk, I’ll give some code, pointers and tips that will hopefully help you create your very own live wallpaper for Android 2.2 and newer devices.

Among the topics covered are application life-cycle management, dealing with issues like resource management and the different rendering speeds and screen resolutions in the market. We’ll look at a basic framework for creating live wallpapers and see how we can reuse this framework to create different styles of wallpapers.

I’ll also touch cover some game development elements.

Slides and code from the talk now available.

Venue

Wednesday, 15 May 2013, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn,
3rd Floor,
Block B,
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue. We will also try to organise some undercover spaces.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin89.eventbrite.com.

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CT-SPIN #88 – Responsive Web Design in Africa — Why it’s time to adapt

Event Sponsors

Digiata Technologies
Polymorph Systems web site

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is becoming the new standard for web development worldwide. Rian van der Merwe, from Flow Interactive, will present why and how RWD is relevant here in Africa both on the web in general and in a mobile context specifically.

View the slides on Slideshare: Responsive Web Design in Africa – why it’s time to adapt

Snacks kindly sponsored by Digiata.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Wednesday, 17 April 2013, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue. We will also try to organise some undercover spaces.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin88.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.

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CT-SPIN #87: The Case for Personal Agility (or Why I left software development)

Event Sponsors

Unboxed Consulting
Polymorph Systems web site

Join Maritza van den Heuvel, as she shares her views of how we need to foster individual agility by reinventing education and supporting individuals to embrace personal agility.

Exceptionally on a Tuesday!

Snacks kindly sponsored by Unboxed Consulting.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Tuesday, 19 March 2013, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue. We will also try to organise some undercover spaces.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin87.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.

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CT-SPIN #86 – Agile at the Corporates

Event Sponsors

Amazon
Polymorph Systems web site

Agile in the corporate environment is challenging, but it has been done. Antoinette Coetzee, from Just Plain Agile, will present the challenges and rewards of implementing agile in the corporate space. Come learn which methods work and which don’t.

Snacks kindly sponsored by Amazon.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Wednesday, 20 February 2013, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue. We will also try to organise some undercover spaces.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin86.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.

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CT-SPIN #85: Agile-ish is good enough

Event Sponsors

Alacrity web site
Polymorph Systems web site

A contrarian view on how strictly one needs to follow formalised agile methodologies (Scrum, etc.) to get the benefits and intentions which inspired the agile manifesto. Bradley Whittington will give a brief look at some tools, and explore development processes in tech organisations.

View the Presentation Slides: Agile-ish is good enough (Speaker Deck)

Snacks kindly sponsored by Alacrity.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Wednesday, 16 January 2013, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin85.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.
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CT-SPIN #84: SPINJam – Native vs Cross-platform for Mobile Development

Mobile continues to be a huge area of opportunity and challenges, especially in South Africa. And it’s not just about phones anymore: featurephones and smartphones are being joined by tablets, phablets, TVs and games consoles, bringing us an ever-increasing range of screen sizes and capabilities.

Like any question worth discussing, the answer to ”Native or Cross-platform for Mobile Development?” is “It depends.” This year’s SPINJam aims to have a frank and open discussion around the options and approaches available, and the pros and cons of each.

The format of the SPINJam will be similar to last year’s inaugural event: we will have a panel of 4 people, with a facilitator to lead the discussion. We’ll begin with a few minutes from each of the panellists to put forward their take on the topic. This will lead into an open floor discussion lead by the facilitator.

Topics may include:

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CT-SPIN #83 – Sleeping with the enemy: The agile affair between developers and testers

Event Sponsors

Growing Agile web site
Polymorph Systems web site

Traditionally developers and testers have been sworn enemies, each vehemently defending their own realm. Then agile came along and started talking about the whole team approach. Suddenly developers and testers are sitting together, collaborating, even pairing. Join Karen and Sam in an undercover investigation to expose the truths about what’s happening in agile teams today. Could this really be true? Have developers pulled the wool over tester’s eyes, or is it the developers who have become test infected…

View the Presentation Slides: Agile Affair [PDF, 2.4MB]

Snacks kindly sponsored by Growing Agile.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Wednesday, 17 October 2012, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin83.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.

Continue reading →

CT-SPIN #82 – Built in, not bolted on: web application security done right

Event Sponsors

Alacrity web site
Polymorph Systems web site

Security for your web applications is not something you should ignore or defer to a later stage of your project. Paul van Woudenberg and Theo van Niekerk, the founders of ThinkSmart Information Systems and Security, will discuss the strategy of incorporating security measures into the development process from an early stage.

View Presentation Slides

Snacks kindly sponsored by Alacrity.
Wine kindly sponsored by Polymorph Systems.

Venue

Wednesday, 19 September 2012, 18h15
Bandwidth Barn’s NEW location,
3rd Floor,
Block B
66 Albert Road,
Woodstock

Note: It is one of those old industrial buildings in Woodstock that is getting a revamp. Enter  from Williams St (around the back) which is closer to the lift/stairs. Their offices are in the corner of the building by Williams and Station St. There is parking on Station St and Williams St around the venue.

RSVP

Anyone is free to attend. Please RSVP at ctspin82.eventbrite.com. Alternatively, RSVP by sending YES or MAYBE via our contact form.

Continue reading →