I'm Saying Goodbye to London

Where to next?

Mountain View in sunny California!

Following this year's Google I/O, I'll be relocating to the home of the giant dessert sculpture garden, where I've been given the opportunity to take on the role of Tech Lead for the global Android Developer Relations team.

It's a chance for me to focus on some more strategic ideas and to work more closely with the core Android engineering team. It's a challenge I'm really looking forward to.

I've spent the last 6 years in London - the last 2 working here at Google - and it's been an amazing experience. I'll be leaving the Android developers of EMEA in the very capable hands of Nick Butcher, Richard Hyndman, and Robert Rhode - and I'll still visit, I'm particularly looking forward to this year's round of Google Developer Days.

I'm still working at Google, and I'm still part of the Android team, so being based in Mountain View I'll have the opportunity to meet and work with some of our North American Android devs - so be sure to say hi if you're coming to Google I/O this year.

The move is still some months away, but in the mean time here are some of the things I will (and won't) miss about London, and what I'm looking forward to in California.

Things I'll Miss About London

• World class theatre, restaurants, and concerts all at my door step.
• Living in close proximity to the rest of Europe.
• Proper bacon and real cheddar cheese.
• Seasons (particularly Spring and Autumn).
• The awesome Android developers I've worked with over the last 2 years.
• Full English breakfasts.

Things I Won't Miss About London

• Commuting for an hour every morning, and again every evening.
• The Victoria line and South West Trains.
• Hearing my neighbor snoring.
• Driving in London.
• Black pudding.

Things I'm Looking Forward to in California

• Fruit that tastes like fruit.
• Living on the West coast (the best coast).
• Living in close proximity to an ocean.
• Living in close proximity to the rest of the US.
• Wide roads and cheap(er) petrol gas. 
• American breakfasts.

Listomania! My Reading List and Gadget Compendium

tl;dr

Those of you interested can check out these lists of what I've been reading and what gadgets I'm using (and have used).

The Long Version

My Reading List

One of my resolutions for 2010 was to read at least one book every two weeks. Having kept track of everything I read, I figured I might as well share it - hence Reto Meier's Reading List. Some observations from reviewing the list:

• Favourite Book: Music for Torching by A. M. Holmes.
• Most Read Author: Philip K Dick accounted for 4 of the 23 books I read in 2010.
• The Kindle Effect: I read 6 books in 2 months on Kindle versus 17 in the 9 months before.
• Hardcover versus Paperback: 12 hardcovers, 6 eBooks, 5 paperbacks.

I'll continue to update this with new books as I read them -- hopefully at a rate of one every two weeks.

My Gadget Compendium

I often get asked which gadgets (Android powered or otherwise) I'm currently carrying around. These days the list seems to change every month or so, so for easy reference I've put together Reto Meier's Gadget Compendium.

I'll update it whenever a new gadget gets slightly less top secret, or something gets retired from the active lineup. A couple of observations from looking at my current lineup and the honorably discharged:

• Rate of Innovation: From 2 phones in 5 years, to 5 phones in two years since the G1 was released in 2008.
  
• Size: Everything (except my Netbook) has gotten thinner, lighter, and sleeker. There's also a distinct movement away from physical keys / buttons -- my SE P910i had a qwerty keyboard, dial pad, and a 5 function scroll wheel, my Nexus S and Galaxy Tab have only power and volume keys.
• Connectivity: The only pieces of old kit with a mobile data connection where the phones. Now the only gadget in my bag without 3G is my camera. Which reminds me, I must pick up an Eye-Fi card.

With a broader variety of Android devices scheduled for release this year it'll be interesting to see if they replace or augment my existing collection of portable gadgets. I'd love to replace the netbook for a Chrome-powered variety, but I'm not sure I can imagine writing a whole book without Word so I'm not sure if that's on the cards.

New Year, New Template, New Direction

2008 promises to be another big year in technology. Apple's 3G iPhones are set to do battle with Google's Android phones, Google looks to take on Facebook on multiple fronts, and a whole bunch of secret (and not so secret) Google projects look set for release.

On a personal note 2008 is shaping up to be pretty massive too. I'm getting married in January and I've just started writing a new book (more on that later). I've also decided to tweak the emphasis of The Radioactive Yak. I'm going to leave the comprehensive Google coverage to Philipp and Tony at Blogoscoped, and the up-to-the-second Google-code-hacking to Ionut at the Google Operating System.

I'll be looking more closely at Google's programming offerings - particularly Android - so expect to see more tutorial posts like How To Program Google Android and Google Mashup Editor. I'll continue to write speculative posts like Google TV and Google World, as well as more detailed analysis of announced services like Android and Knols.


I'll also continue my series on the Google Office and I'll announce the projects I'm working on like Earthquake!, Hit For Six, and what I promise will be an increasingly large collection of Android applications.

Along with content changes I've given the template a fresh new look. I hope you like it and continue to visit and read in 2008!

Guest Post on Google Mashup Editor

The good people behind the Google Mashup Editor recently invited me to share my thoughts on my experience with the GME.

Check out my ramblings on the Google Mashup Editor Blog.

I will be adding 'pioneer' to my resume later tonight...