GDG DevFest Philippines 2014

It's DevFest season once again! DevFests are community-organized events that provide an opportunity for developers to learn about Google technologies and developer products.

We at GDG Philippines organized GDG DevFest Philippines 2014 last October 24. It was held at Henry Sy. Sr. Hall at De La Salle University, Manila. This year, GDG DevFest Philippines was bigger and we had some new features, especially the Code Labs and the Sandbox.

Sandbox

We had booths for GDG Philippines and our sponsors. In the GDG Philippines booths, we demonstrated and asked the participants to try the Android Wear smart watches (LG G Watch, Samsung Gear Live, and Moto 360), Cardboard, Chromecast. Most of the time, I was here.

Code Labs

We also organized hands-on code labs aside from the technical talks. We had four tracks for code labs with two technologies each track: Android, Polymer, AngularJS, Google App Engine, Design Thinking and Paper Prototyping, Google Maps API, Appscript, and Game Development with HTML5.

Technical Talks

We had two tracks for the talks. The one in the plenary included Material Design, Game Design, Designing for Mobile, and Ingress. The other track included Google Analytics, Google Compute Engine, and Android. There was supposed to be another track but the other speakers are not available.

Google for Entrepreneurs Week

This year's Google for Entrepreneurs (GFE) Week event in Manila was also held during GDG DevFest Philippines 2014. GFE Week is an annual, global celebration of innovators and entrepreneurs. There was a panel of experts and entrepreneurs who will talked about different Google tools for supporting businesses, followed by a Q&A, and networking session. It was held during the afternoon.

The Aftermath

We had more than 472 attendees for GDG DevFest Philippines. This was the highest number of attendees so far for a GDG DevFest Philippines event. There were more than 25% female attendees this year too.

Photos, slides, and more details about the event can be found in the Events Website and in the Google+ Events Page. Thanks again to our speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and attendees!

CDO-Camiguin-CDO Weekend

Celine was in Cagayan de Oro for two weeks (October 6-16) for their Google Apps for Education trainings. I went there during the weekend (October 10-12). Her training partner Monique's boyfriend (Chech) also went there during that weekend.

I arrived late in the afternoon at Laguindingan Airport and rode a shuttle to CDO. This was cheaper than the taxi (200 peso fixed price) and would be driving us straight to hotels. After meeting with Celine and resting for a few minutes, we went out to eat. We had dinner at Butcher's Best Barbeque and desserts at Something Sweet by Ann.

Desserts at Something Sweet by Ann

The next day (October 11, Saturday), the four of us went to Camiguin Island for the whole-day trip. We took a bus from Agora Terminal to Port of Balingoan. There, we rode a ferry to Port Of Benoni in Camiguin.

After eating breakfast, our first stop was at the Katibawasan Falls. Near the entrance, we tried the kiping. It is made of sweet potatoes and sprinkled with latik. After the falls, we went to Ardent Hot Springs where we get to swim. We had a not so good lunch at Terrasse International Ristorante. We also went to Walkway to the Old Volcano, Sunken Cemetery, and Guiob Church Ruins. We then went to Soda Swimming Pool and Sto. Niño Cold Spring Resort. In Sto. Niño Cold Spring Resort, we got to try an instant fish foot spa in the pool. We got back to CDO in the evening. Celine and I went to Penong's Barbeque and Seafoods for dinner.

Kiping

On Sunday (October 12), Celine and I went to St. Agustine Cathedral for the morning mass. We visited the Gaston Park, MacArthur Memorial Marker, and Capitol Grounds. Paul Labis toured us to Ultra Winds Mountain Resort Zipline & Restaurant for a high-altitude lunch. The three of us then went to Gardens Of Malasag before going back to the hotel. We got our things and Paul gave Chech and me a ride to the airport.

McArthur Memorial Marker

It was a very short trip! I wish I could stay longer.

Android Lollipop and new Nexus Devices

Android L is now here! And it is named Android Lollipop. Along with this news is the announcement of a new Nexus phone (Motorola Nexus 6), a new Nexus tablet (HTC Nexus 9), and the first Android TV device (Asus Nexus Player).

Additional details about the Android Lollipop and the new Nexus devices are available in the official announcement.