Wallace B. McClure

My article on Mapping and Location with MonoTouch is now out and available on the DevProConnections web site.  Here's the intro to the article:

My article on the UITableView in the iPhone/iOS with MonoTouch is now available online. Hopefully it is of value to you.

Article overview:

Ok, getting the Android 4.0 emulator is not obvious.  In previous versions, I had set the "Keyboard Support" to yes.  I did that this time, and nothing.  I played with touch support, and no luck as well.  I finally had to beg to my Android contact for some help.  After much discussion, he pointed me towards turning off the "Keyboard Support" (aka setting the value to no).  Really?  Really?  Ok seriously, I'm glad that this is now working as I thought it should, and that the virtual keyboard support actually looks right in the Ice Cream Sandwich emulator.  But, this is also stupid.  This value is the exact opposite of previous settings.  While I am glad that this now works, the fact that the value is the exact opposite of previous settings is a hassle.

There's no doubt about it: Smartphones based on the Android OS are hot. Currently, they're generating 550,000 activations per day. Their market share is at approximately 40 percent, and continuing to rise.

I'll be in Sandusky, OH on January 9th and 10th to provide two full days on MonoTouch for the iPhone and Mono for Android.  This training is open to the public.  Signups can be done through SharpeAxe Training.  The pricing is $999 for signups before December 1st and $1,199 December 1 and later.

I'll be doing an HTML5 Webinar for ASP.NET Developers for DevProConnections Magazine on October 26, 2011 at 10 am PDT.

 I'll be speaking at the Charlotte .NET User Group on September 27 (next week).   The subject will be Mono for Android.  Info on the talk:

Tuesday, September 27, at 6:00 PM in the Mt. Kilimanjaro/Mt. Everest rooms of the Charlotte Microsoft Campus for an introduction on writing native applications geared for the Android Platform based on .NET/C#/Mono. We'll examine the overall architecture of MonoDroid, discuss how it integrates with Visual Studio, debug with MonoDroid, and look at a couple of example apps written with MonoDroid. This session is for the .NET developer that wants to move to the Android Mobile Platform. While the session will be introductory for the Android Platform, it will be intermediate/expert for those on the .NET Platform.

Android development is predominantly with the Java Language based on the Java VM "Dalvik" using the Eclipse IDE. If a developer or company has already made a significant investment in .NET, the time to learn Java and the Android Mobile Platform is significant. An attendee of this session will be able to take their existing knowledge of .NET/C# and Visual studio and immediately apply this to writing apps for the Android Mobile Platform. The significance of this should not be understated. Learning a new language, no matter how similar to .NET/C#, results in a significant learning curve as well as a significant time investment. Add in the time required to learn Eclipse, and there is even more time required. With this session, you will learn how to develop Android Applications using Visual Studio and the Novell MonoDroid plugin. Attendees will be able to immediately begin development on Android in Visual Studio 2010 using their existing language skills and known development environment.

Bio:

Wally McClure graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) with a BS & MS in Electrical Engineering. Since that time, he has done consulting and development for companies large and small. Wally has authored books on iPhone Programming with Mono/Monotouch, Android Programming with Mono for Android, application architecture, ADO.NET & SQL Server, and finally AJAX. He is a Microsoft MVP and an ASPInsider, and a partner in Scalable Development, Inc., where we're ramping up to provide training on Monotouch and Mono for Android. You can read his blog at morewally.com and follow him on Twitter at @wbm.

Wally is married and has two children. When not writing software, Wally plays golf, exercises, and hangs out with his family.

I was recently interviewed on Keyvan TV regarding mobile software development. We talked a lot about monotouch, mono for android, the general marketplace for mobile, and other assorted things.