Ever since finding myself the happy owner of a Droid (+1 for early Christmas presents), I've found myself increasingly interested in the app market for Android-powered devices. As has been noted in many iPhone/Droid sudden-death-round comparisons, the latter languishes in quality and quantity of available applications. Perhaps in an effort to increase Droid's competitiveness in the market, the powers that be have created a new section of resources for Android developers . Let the games (and other apps) begin! Sponsor In the new Resources tab of the online Android SDK documentation , devs can now access technical articles, some pretty detailed tutorials, a breakdown of platform versions, common tasks, troubleshooting tips, a community across groups/IRC/Twitter channels and a library of code for sample apps - just what a mobile/smartphone dev would need to get started. The list of sample code now includes: API Demos Bluetooth Chat Contact Manager Home JetBoy Lunar Lander Multiple Resolutions Note Pad Searchable Dictionary Snake Soft Keyboard Wiktionary Wiktionary (Simplified) The Android dev team has also taken their most popular developer blog posts and turned them into a series of technical articles ranging in scope from backward compatibility issues and future-proofing apps to layout tricks and text-to-speech uses. Currently, around 10,000 applications exist in the Android Market as compared to the (roughly) eleventy bajillion apps in the Apple App Store. Hopefully, these resources will help this open-source mobile development platform take off, allowing Android's available applications to become a selling point for Android-powered devices rather than a point ceded to Apple in the smartphone wars. Discuss

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Android Developers: Here's Some Sample Code & Tutorials

Games can be a clever way to gain knowledge about a market and provide a simulated way for people to play with the products you sell. "IT Manager III: Unseen Forces" does just that. It's an online game developed by Intel that touches on the aspirations of any IT manager to become the CTO of a global enterprise. Sponsor The game is set in an IT Department of a fictitious company. The aim is for the player to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the company by applying special powers to a fleet of PC's, laptops and servers. In the meantime, the player faces a constant array of technology issues that pose threats to the company's bottom line. Successful players discover that their IT department and company expand, leading to more challenges that come with any corporate expansion. The "special powers," gives the game a sense that the IT Manager is like the "Clark Kent," of the enterprise. He's the ordinary guy who fixes the laptop when it crashes. But in actuality he is a super hero, who, of course, uses the special powers of Intel technology to save the day and bring new glory to the corporation. The game is entertaining and can be a bit stressful, too, as glowing, red wrenches float over the heads of the people who need assistance. This game is about gaining work knowledge but also about the culture and the camaraderie that comes with working in an IT department. In the game the player can unwind after a stressful day or engage in friendly competitive games. For instance, the game has its own sense of humor that runs through the IT culture of any enterprise. Employees who need help are sometimes spoofed for the types of questions they are asked. An employee with a faulty monitor may ask what is wrong with their television. Hilarious is the "bozon" count that measures the level of technical naivety. Awards are given that include an "attitude adjustment and an "Order of the Reboot," medal. It provides the hopeful intention of giving the user a reason to come back to the game, a place where they can relate to their peers. The game is definitely intended to serve as a community builder for Intel. Developers can show off their high scores and player profiles on their web sites. Code snippets are available for badges. It has also been localized into 12 languages. Players may also use a Facebook application. The entire experience of the game is to engage IT managers in the world of Intel technology with the goal of becoming an IT superhero. It looks like Intel has done its research. The game is engaging and recognizes the culture of the IT worker. The only risk is if the game becomes too much about Intel instead of the user who is playing the game. Bu at first look, that does not appear to be the case. Discuss

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The Intel Game for the "Unseen Heroes" of the IT Department

Google just announced a new product in Google Labs: Google Image Swirl . Image Swirl introduces a Wonder Wheel-like user interface for Google Images. The new search interface combines the Wonder Wheel experience with Google's ability to find similar images and discover faces in these images. Instead of just showing one image, the Image Swirl interface displays a stack of photos. Clicking on this stack opens up a Wonder Wheel with related images clustered around the original photo. Sponsor For now, Image Swirl only works for about 200,000 queries, though Google plans to include more in the near future. Better Photo Search Through Smarter Algorithms This new feature takes image search to a new level, as it doesn't just display the most relevant images. Instead, Google notes, these "are the most relevant groups of images." To create these clusters of related images, Google analyzes the characteristics of the images themselves, but the algorithm also looks at meta tags and other clues in the description of these images. Google uses the same algorithms to find and organize images of landmarks in its index. In an interview with eWeek , Google Image Swirl Product Manager Aparna Chennapragada said that this is new service is part of Google drive to "go beyond just relying on text." Bing introduced its visual search feature a few weeks ago and is still ahead of Google in bringing these features to its core search product. Image Swirl makes looking for images on Google a far more interactive and fun experience. For now, Image Swirl is only a labs product - and some of the results can be a bit off at times - but chances are that this feature will find its way into the search options panel on Google Images in the future. Discuss

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Google Image Swirl Brings the Wonder Wheel to Photo Search