E.P.O.D

Best Practices Before you fire up your development environment and put what you've just learnt into practice, it's important you know what makes a great Android Wear app, so you can create the best possible experience for your users. In the second part of this two-part series, we'll look at the best practices you should keep in mind when you're developing Android Wear apps. Create a Glanceable App The key to developing a great Android Wear app is to keep questioning how you would use a traditional watch. Do you stare at your watch's face for any significant length of time? Or do you just glance at it and expect to get all the information you need? The user will expect to interact with their smartwatch—and by extension your app—in exactly the same way as their normal watch. Therefore, a big part of designing a successful wearable app is to make it as  glanceable  as possible. To design a glanceable  app and notification cards, keep the following guidel...

3.  Android Wear Libraries and Classes The Android Wear APIs are delivered via Google Play services and the Android Support Library. This is a broad topic that's worth exploring in-depth, but there's a couple of libraries and classes that are worth getting acquainted with straight away. Android Support Library &  NotificationCompat The easiest way to start developing for wearables is to create a handheld app that can send notifications to a paired wearable device. Extending your notifications in this way requires several classes, which you can find in the  Android v4 Support Library : NotificationCompat.WearableExtender : This class allows you to add wearable-specific extensions to your notifications, which is essential for providing users with the best possible Android Wear experience. NotificationCompat.Builder : This builder class ensures your notifications display properly, both on handheld and wearable devices. NotificationManagerCompat :...

2.  Understanding Android Wear's User Interface The Android Wear operating system is very different from the operating system you’re used to seeing on tablets and smartphones. This difference is most prominent in terms of user interface. Google has developed an entirely new user interface for Android Wear. For now, think of this new user interface in terms of its two major components, the Context Stream and the Cue Card. Context Stream Rather than quitting and launching apps as you would on a smartphone or tablet, the majority of wearable apps work around a card-based system. The heart of the Android Wear user interface is a vertical stream of  cards  that appear automatically based on factors such as location, time, and the user's activity and interests. If you're familiar with Google Now, the Context Stream will feel instantly familiar as it resembles an automatically-ranked stream of Google Now cards. Unlike the Google Now cards you're used to seeing on ...

In March 2014, Google officially announced they were branching out into the world of wearable mobile handsets with the unveiling of  Android Wear , a new version of the Android operating system designed specifically for wearable devices. In the first part, you'll get all the background information and best practices you need, ready to start developing for the wearable platform in the second part. 1.  What is Android Wear? The Android Wear operating system uses Bluetooth to connect to handheld device(s) running  Android 4.3  or higher. Once this connection is made, the wearable channels information and updates from the paired smartphone and/or tablet, and conveniently displays them on the user's wrist. These updates include things like Google Now cards, Gmail, Google Calendar, and phone notifications, such as incoming calls and text messages. But, Android Wear is more than just a convenient way to receive smartphone and tablet notifications. Android Wear can...

     The best way to learn is to do. The Hybrid Class workflow lessons help  information. The tools that you need to participate are free. Converge or concede, my own mantra, was the demand I imposed upon myself when I made a career in Internet Journalism the fixation of my thought waves.        Tools were not always available when my informal  training  began  DON'T wait to download and become familiar with the The Hybrid Class Toolbox.. Expensive software is not necessary.The designers of  Open Source Software want every mind to have every opportunity to grow.Educating people on demand requires me to provide tools and training to users of these tools.I do it for free. Follow the lessons and if you want to ask me about things unexplained than do so with a comment.I will try to help .  Yours,                   Christopher Eck ...

The second part of the Snap Pages workflow series explains how to create the topic description text.This explains the content  or  purpose served by those who click the button,  beneath the text.Notice how each part is connected to the visual component beneath it The text above  the button  describes the headings atop itself.The top down,visual  construction translates a site map,graphically without technical jargon.   The user can edit the text below the headings by double clicking in the area shown in highlight above. Next ,the button , can be linked to a new page.This page will be entitled Energy.So within 10 minutes, a novice designer can construct a 3 layered content column and begin to grasp the relationships between each editable object.

       App exploring is the design thinker's paradise. Comparing visual cues, grading usability and gauging the rate of usage are some preliminary areas of concentration. Signing up for an account is only justifiable when personal needs are met in return.The sign up for Snap Pages is quite fast an d thankfully,well worth it.   Snap Pages is a website maker that is simple to operate and stunningly fast.Snap Pages is cloud based and has expanded upon  the Weebly and Wix services,which I have used as my site design training ground for years. Drag and Drop web design sparked my fixation upon programming languages. Learning,by doing things on the web, inspired my channel The Hybrid Class 101,on YouTube.  The screen display makes good use of spacing.Several templates are displayed in a scroll-able grid.The designs target mobile screen functionality so single taps accomplish page building tasks.Drop down tips and options guide first time users through bas...