Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 10

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App Inventor Parse JSONIn this tutorial I’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of using App Inventor to Parse JSON data. You have to watch the last tutorial to understand this one.

I’ll pull JSON weather data from Weather.gov and show how App Inventor organizes that data. I’ll then pull in specific data that we will use to create our Android weather app. I’ll also show you how to add padding to components in App Inventor. All of the blocks used can be found after the video below. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 10 →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 9

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Parse JSON Data with App Inventor This is the first video in a series in which we will make a professional weather app for Android. In this video I will show how to parse JSON Data with App Inventor. I also cover the App Inventor Web component, using Location Sensor, converting JSON data into an App Inventor List and much more.

I pull all the weather data from weather.gov. If you want international weather data I’d use the JSON feed from the Weather Underground. All of the blocks follow the video. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 9 →

Diet Nutritional

Green Curry Eggplant Recipe

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Green Curry Eggplant RecipeIn this video I present my Green Curry Eggplant Recipe. This is a very spicy recipe if you get a nice and spicy jalapeño. I loved this recipe so much that I had to find alternative ingredients that were available to me year round.

I’m sure this video will get some laughs because I have so many people from around the world watching these videos. I’d love to hear more about how I could make this dish and others in similar ways. I love to eat different food from around the world. The recipe follows the video below. Continue reading Green Curry Eggplant Recipe →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 8

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Make an Android ToolbarIn this part of my tutorial I’ll show you how to make an Android toolbar and then show how to switch between screens in App Inventor.

We’ll finish up the icons we made in the previous tutorial. You can download them here. Then I’ll shrink them to size in Photoshop. Then we’ll put the toolbar together in App Inventor and use them to switch screens. The blocks used can be found after the video below. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 8 →

Android Development Tutorial, Inkscape Video Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 7

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Drawing Android ButtonsIn this tutorial I’ll show you most of what you need to know for drawing Android buttons for your interfaces. I’ll be using a free program called Inkscape to draw 6 buttons. I did my best to cover all of the most common techniques you will need in this one tutorial.

If you want to know more about Inkscape, I have an Inkscape Video Tutorial that goes over most everything you can do with Inkscape. Here is the finished vector art from this tutorial. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 7 →

Diet Nutritional

Cheese Polenta Recipe

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Cheese Polenta RecipeI have received numerous requests to make more cooking recipes so to day I’ll show you my cheese polenta recipe with mushroom sauce! I absolutely love delicious food that I can make quickly. It took me under 13 minutes to make everything you see in this video. Minus the 1 hour soaking time for the dried mushrooms. If you don’t have an hour then feel free to replace the dried mushrooms with another cup of what ever other mushrooms you have on hand.

When you make polenta like this it tastes amazingly rich. Then when we add the mushroom sauce that takes it completely over the top. The ingredients follow the video. Continue reading Cheese Polenta Recipe →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 6

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Android Beat Box AppIn this tutorial I decided to make an Android Beat Box App. It could also be converted into a voice note app, or anything else that would benefit from being able to record and later play back sounds.

I’ll specifically cover how to use the Android SoundRecorder, Player, take another look at using list, teach more about logic and incremental programming. All of the blocks used can be found below after the video. The answer for the Reset Button homework is also down there. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 6 →

Android Development Tutorial

App Inventor Java Code

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App Inventor Java CodeI have been asked numerous times to show the App Inventor Java Code. So here is a zipped archive for all the class files. You can take those classes and easily open them with a program called JD GUI. There are versions of it for every OS.

I got the code pretty easily with 2 programs being the apktool and Dex2Jar. They can convert APK files into the class files most of the time. After you install them you issue the following commands in your terminal or command prompt: Continue reading App Inventor Java Code →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 5

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Android Development for Beginners 5In this tutorial I thought it would be fun to make 2 apps. I make an app that grabs weather map data dynamically and displays it. I also make an app that shows how to use the camera, image picker and TinyDB with App Inventor.

I got the maps from the Weather Underground and weather.com. All together I show how to display images from the internet, take pictures, retrieve images from the gallery, store pictures in TinyDB, resize your app to fit any device and more. The blocks used can be found under the video below. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 5 →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 4

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Android Development for Beginners 4In this tutorial I’ll finish up the app I made in the last part. I’ll continue to cover event handling, sliders, and notifier. I’ll also cover how to open other App Inventor apps, browsers, email, Google Maps, YouTube and more.

All the blocks I drew in the video follow below the video to help. Next time I will create an app that will show how to display audio, video, images and more locally and across the internet. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 4 →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 3

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App Inventor ActivityStarterIn the next 2 parts of my App Inventor video tutorial I will take a step back and cover a bunch of topics in general. I’ll spend a lot of time showing how to use the App Inventor ActivityStarter. We’ll see how to open other App Inventor apps, browsers, email, Google Maps, YouTube and more.

I’ll also cover using lists, event handling, sliders, notifier, check boxes and much more. All the blocks I drew in the video follow below the video to help. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 3 →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners 2

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app inventor blocks editorIn this part of my Android development tutorial for beginners I will focus on the App Inventor Blocks Editor. I did my best to cover as much as possible in this one video. I also have pictures of the blocks below to help everyone easily copy from them.

I cover Location Sensor, global variables, changing label text, working with strings, Sound, Buttons, Event Handling, Text to Speech, Vibration, Accelerometers, Orientation changes, Dialog boxes, executing activities, and so much more. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners 2 →

Android Development Tutorial

Android Development for Beginners

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Android Development for BeginnersThe time has come to cover Android Development for Beginners. After reading hundreds of comments it has become clear that well over 80% of the apps everyone wants to make can be made using a tool called App Inventor. Over the next few videos I will cover everything you can make with App Inventor.

I’ll cover how to install App Inventor and then use it to make an app that uses GPS, Opens Dialog Boxes, Opens other apps, vibrates devices, plays sounds, converts text to speech, uses the accelerometer, adapts to screen orientation and more. Continue reading Android Development for Beginners →

Inkscape Video Tutorial

Inkscape Video Tutorial 8

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Inkscape BitmapsWelcome to the last part of my Inkscape Video Tutorial. In this video I will cover most every tool that I previously didn’t cover. As well I provide samples of the most popular Inkscape Raster Extensions.

Specifically I will cover linking vs. embedding images, Patterns, Clipping, Masking, Make a Bitmap Copy, Tracing and more. I also provide a cheat sheet below you can use after you watch the video. Continue reading Inkscape Video Tutorial 8 →

Inkscape Video Tutorial

Inkscape Video Tutorial 7

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Inkscape Filter EditorIn this part of my Inkscape tutorial I will finish up covering the Inkscape Filter Editor. If you missed the previous part of this tutorial watch it first because I cover how to fix a common Filter Editor bug.

I cover how to use the Inkscape Displacement Map, Image, Morphology, and Convolve Matrix parts of the Filter Editor. We will create neon signs, ripple water, sharpen, emboss and more. Continue reading Inkscape Video Tutorial 7 →

Inkscape Video Tutorial

Inkscape Video Tutorial 6

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Inkscape Filter EditorIn this part of my Inkscape video tutorial I cover the Inkscape Filter Editor. Previously I showed what every single Inkscape filter looks like and this time I’ll show how they were made.

Specifically I’ll cover the following filter primitives available in the Filter Editor : Gaussian Blur, Blend, Offset, Merge, Turbulence, Color Matrix, Flood, Diffuse Lighting and Specular lighting. Continue reading Inkscape Video Tutorial 6 →

Inkscape Video Tutorial

Inkscape Filter Effects

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Inkscape Filter EffectsI decided that rather then make a video tutorial about Inkscape Filter Effects that I’d just provide a sample of every single Inkscape Filter Effect.

There are a ton of them and I thought it might be a useful tool if you want to see what you can expect all in one place. Click on any of the following to go to that exact filter effect : ABCs, Bevels, Blurs, Bumps, Color, Distort, Image Effects, Image Effects Transparent, Materials, Morphology, Non Realistic 3D Shaders, Overlays, Protrusions, Ridges, Scatter, Shadows and Glows, Textures, and Transparency Utilities. Continue reading Inkscape Filter Effects →

Inkscape Video Tutorial

Inkscape Video Tutorial 5

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Inkscape Tiled Clone ToolIn this part of my Inkscape video tutorial I focus on the Inkscape Tiled Clone Tool. I also cover clones and how they work in Inkscape.

I explain what every tiled clone tool does and provide a few examples of the cool things you can create with them. Specifically we’ll look at Symmetry, Shift, Scale, Rotation, Blur & Opacity, Color and Trace. We’ll make cool patterns, flowers, spirals and so much more. I also have my notes listed below the video to help you along. Continue reading Inkscape Video Tutorial 5 →

Web Design

Ask Me Anything

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Ask Me AnythingI noticed a few weeks back that I have over 1,000 Google Hangout requests. While I go out of my way to answer every question I receive it would be impossible to personally talk to each and every one of you nice people 🙂

So, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to have a live Ask Me Anything type video where I can answer many of the questions that come up all of the time, or anything else you may be interested in. I’d answer all the questions live on YouTube, but to help me decide if this is a good idea or not, leave any questions you have below in the comments. Continue reading Ask Me Anything →