MIT App Inventor Back Online 55
mikejuk writes "If you have been missing App Inventor, you'll be relieved to learn that it is now available again — albeit still in beta. After two months, MIT has managed to open the beta program and users can once again create App Inventor Android programs. However, you still need a Google ID to sign in, and among the known issues is the problem that MIT App Inventor cannot load projects that are as large as those supported by the Google version. It also reports that some projects have loaded with missing blocks. While the world seems to be intent on making a fuss about the educational impact of cheap hardware like Raspberry Pi, really valuable tools that could produce a new generation of programmers such as App Inventor don't seem to get the headlines or the concern due when they go missing for months."
Re: (Score:1)
Wow, 230 words per minute, that's a new world record! And you even had time to find links and format your text.
Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Why Google cancels all their projects (Score:5, Insightful)
the NoSQL projects would be so far behind without Google LevelDB (derived from BigTable). The entire Android OS was open sourced, a contribution the likes of which we haven't seen since Linux. V8 Javascript engine, funding Firefox, even after the release of Chrome, this is just the stuff I can name off the top of my head. Google's business depends on open source and unlike other companies we could name, they give back more then they take out.
You have that backwards, Google are the only one's not trying to shoehorn "standards" into a propratary solution. WebM is the perfect example of this, H.264 is restricted, if you wish to use H.264 to produce or publish content, you need to pay MPEG-LA for the rights to do so. Just because H.264 is free on Windows (meaning Microsoft paid for the license to use it) doesn't make it open source.
Actually, they give services a good go. They keep what works, dump what doesn't. They're a business and this isn't evil, it's sensible, even adventurous for a business.
As a business, Google are trying desperately do diversify because, as you pointed out an inordinate percentage of their revenue is from one source.
History, you mean before Google purchased them. Got anything after?
Google, as you pointed out is an advertising company and it makes sense for them to expand by buying a competitor (once again, this is not the evil you seem to think it is). Google ad's are the least intrusive and bandwidth wasting (with the exception of adwords and I haven't seen a site with them for a while). Compared to other advertising companies, they're saints.
I'll be the first to admit that their transition from hosting AppInventor and open sourcing it was not smooth, but this is Google for you. But what other companies Open Source anything they dont have to. If Microsoft or Apple bought Android Inc. do you think they would have open sourced it at all? I think not.
Now that rant is over, I wish I could have AppInventor installed as an IDE on my own machine but props to MIT for hosting it, maybe one day I'll have it as an independent IDE.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
On top of paying revenue share to competing browsers, they are also paying shareware authors and OEM's to bundle Chrome with their apps and PC's. A quite adwarey and shady tactic.
How is that shady, it's not hidden or hard to remove (al a Norton). In fact I bought a new Asus laptop, it came with Google Chrome pre-installed and I'm certain I'm not the only one who's glad I had a browser other then Internet Exploiter.
Also, how is Chrome adware? You're really grasping at straws here.
RLZ (Score:2)
Also, how is Chrome adware? You're really grasping at straws here.
Is this close enough? Usage tracking including RLZ identifier [wikipedia.org]
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)
On top of paying revenue share to competing browsers, they are also paying shareware authors and OEM's to bundle Chrome with their apps and PC's. A quite adwarey and shady tactic.
On top of making Bing their default search engine with IE, Microsoft is also bundling their browser with the OS and making it a mandatory not-removable component. Quite a shady tactic.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Google funds Firefox (and other browsers, none the less) because it brings them revenue
And you get out of bed every weekday morning and go to work because it brings you "revenue." Did you have a point?
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Hey look at this!! Somebody's writing about Raspberry Pi! I wonder what it is!
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
> I'm the target demographic for this product. But it's not solving any problem I really have, and I'm so sick of hearing about it I'm not going to buy one out of interest.
What? No you're not, right - it probably isn't, and they couldn't care less. It's targeted more like the OLPC than a hobbyist machine, only arguably better-targeted, because it's ideal for both hacks and for places that can't afford anything better, and has an insane price point.
Re: (Score:2)
it's not really targeted like olpc. not at all, at least not successfully. if it were it would find it's way to school labs and so forth among people who haven't really played with arduinos etc... but as it is they're having trouble supplying enough units to electronics hobbyists - who already have spent bucks on arduinos and equivalents, that is it's not beginners who are ordering it - and consequently it's being sold through hc electronics hobbyist distributors as well.
atmels and arduinos are more like ol
Re: (Score:3)
Funny, I got the impression that Raspberry Pi was yet another extension of the BASIC Stamp/PICAxe/Arduino idea; a neat hardware wrapper around a microcontroller, but in Pi's case a processor with enough grunt to run Linux.
Maybe not a robotics platform particularly, but who knows what crazy repurposing of the board is just around the corner?
(Disclaimer: I haven't got a Raspberry Pi, but a motley collection of Arduini and friends, steppers and techo stuff!)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Please move aside and let those of us that want to figure out things to do with it enjoy our moment where a computer that is pretty open source from the ground up gets its moment in the sun.
Oh if that were so. [raspberrypi.org]
Re: (Score:3)
I would be considerably more interested in the Raspberry Pi if it were actually an open architecture.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
and then they'll be selling this. http://www.dealextreme.com/p/android-1080p-media-player-w-av-usb-sd-hdmi-ports-white-113252 [dealextreme.com]
the novel thing about raspberry pi is that(who cares if it's actually manufactured in asia, from asian parts?) is that it's project by a british charity(though they haven't done any actual charity yet? ).
in short it doesn't really seem that much that they know what they want to do - do they want to sell boards to hobbyists needing media players or do they want to give devices to schoo
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
I don't want "more IOs to drive steppers". I would settle for ANY.
What about the Gertboard [raspberrypi.org]?
Re: (Score:2)
I'm tired of hearing about Raspberry Pi. Really sick of it.
Like Homer Simpson, I'll never grow sick of Raspberry Pi.
Re:Sick of pi - Retarded Comment (Score:5, Insightful)
The parent comment is retarded. How is it moderated insightful?
"I'm the target demographic for this product. "
No your NOT! It's target is education and "third-world" countries
"Yes, it's a cute piece of hardware, yes it's cheap. No, it's not revolutionary or game-changing."
It has potential to be "game-changing" because IT education in the UK is a joke - technical ability is shunned in favour of teaching Microsoft products instead. The Pi project is an attempt to start a similar UK computer culture as seen in the 1980s.
" We've had plenty of SBCs in the past that do pretty much what it can do."
At the current price - no, not really a 700mhz cpu AND gpu with 256mb ram, 2xusb and ethernet for $25?
"And the stupid thing is, I'm a robotics researcher and an electronics hobbiest to boot"
No the stupid thing is, you're stupid for not checking your facts first.
" I'm so sick of hearing about it I'm not going to buy one out of interest."
It's a charity and publicity is important to attract donors, sponsors and other sources of income. Producing hardware is an expensive undertaking.
As the saying goes "Ignorance is bliss" aka "twitchy slashdot commenter"
I also slay your troll-like posting with the following quotes from the Raspberry Pi "about" page: (Obviously your troll-like eyes are too tired to read the "about" page)
"..The idea behind a tiny and cheap computer for kids came in 2006, .."
" became concerned about the year-on-year decline in the numbers and skills levels of the A Level students applying to read Computer Science in each academic year."
"the 1990s where most of the kids applying were coming to interview as experienced hobbyist programmers, the landscape in the 2000s was very different;"
" David has been tireless in raising press awareness and finding us sponsorship."
"We’ve had enormous interest, support and help from the educational community, and we’ve been delighted and a little humbled by the number of enquiries from agencies and people far away from our original targets for the device."
"The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK registered charity (Registration Number 1129409)"
Re: (Score:2)
Innit. [xkcd.com]
Re: (Score:2)
No your NOT! It's target is education and "third-world" countries
Right, because the most effective way to give students computers is to buy a HDMI monitor, USB keyboard, mouse, and power adapter for your $25 computer (oh wait, you want internet? $35)
Never mind that that it's an even worse idea in third world countries. As much flak as the OLPC gets, it solves far more problems than this board does - very low power consumption, a battery, mesh networking for internet, a durable case, and a complete GUI software stack with Python and Logo built in.
It has potential to be "game-changing" because IT education in the UK is a joke - technical ability is shunned in favour of teaching Microsoft products instead.
Oh, right. It's for the
Re: (Score:1)
I'm a robotics researcher and an electronics hobbiest to boot - I'm the target demographic for this product.
But this is a tool for learning isn't it? Unless you are interested in teaching, then experts in robotics are pretty much outside the target market.
and I'm so sick of hearing about it [therefore] I'm not going to buy one out of interest.
Seems like a pretty mean spirited and irrational basis for your decision (as was the unnecessary swipe at RP in the summary). I have a young son who is starting to ask lots of questions about computers and I've always thought that the barrier for getting started is way too high. Software such as Alice is well meaning and all that, but there is still a lot of set
A new generation of programmers? (Score:3, Interesting)
"really valuable tools that could produce a new generation of programmers such as App Inventor"
Ah, Really?
Could someone please point me at the important differences in App Inventor that makes it special
and at all innovative?
Something a "new generation of programmers" are going to take hold of and will somehow make them
better, stronger, faster (queue super slow motion running..) programmers?
Sounds like someone is missing their favourit pointy-clicky "programming" but really is there something
here of importance?
There are plenty of accessible, entry level "introduction to programs" type systems around...
I would certainly say Raspberry Pi will do more for REAL programming for than App Inventor ever could,
as it gives people a very real system, at a "toy" price.. That is a game changer (of course there are other
similar projects, but this one looks like it will be ACCESSIBLE, which makes a big difference).
App Inventor is not BAD of course, but certainly not a critical path to anywhere.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
I'm not sure about your statement, ages ago, as a child with minimal ability to grasp the complexities of programming I started with Qbasic, and then visual basic. These are both TERRIBLE TERRIBLE languages that have inane syntax for complex things, but there basic syntax is very 'talk friendly'- and it was a rather natural transition for me to 'tell the computer what I want' and achieve a very rudimentary program (Click box, get flashing lights, make bananas in banana wars have huge radius for me, no radi
Not programming (Score:5, Insightful)
Is App Inventor really programming? It's a drag-and-drop system which produces bytecode directly. The user can't see or edit the Java code. Once you hit the limit of what App Inventor can do (it's limited to one view, for example), you can't extend your app by working on the Java code. This means that even if you become an expert with App Inventor, you're not really any closer to becoming an Android programmer.
Re: (Score:1)
Indeed, what does drawing a graph representing an algorithm [wikipedia.org] have to do with learning programming? No relation at all.
Teaching algorithms is overrated, you should begin learning to program with fine distinctions between passing a variable by reference and passing a reference by value, proper object-oriented design and so on.
Re:Not programming (Score:4)
Yup, and what about those fancy Visual Studio and Eclipse stuff? How can a man learn to program with all the distracting colors and tree-view point-and-click windows? You can't even see the assembly bits in binary! How will you recognize the micro-ops?
(Face it, programming has never been about laying out streams of text - that's typing. Programming is about knowing which combination of primitives to place in what order to solve a problem).
Re: (Score:2)
I played around with app inventor - it's fun and let's you create an app quickly. Then you hit a wall though - you can't copy and paste similar structures, you can't have multiple apps screens, the sound objects have severe limitations etc. There are quite a few bugs as well.
In principle it would be a good tool to teach someone programming, but in it's current form it will become a source of frustration sooner or later because you will not be able to progress beyond a certain point. Maybe MIT will develop
Re: (Score:3)
Is App Inventor a tool to train computer scientists? Heck no. Can it be used to teach teenagers how to build simple apps to install in their shiny smartphones? Yes!
Even if the environment lacks that are essential for the professional programmer, it's a working programming language useful to build toy applications, which is exactly the kind that absolute novices should be exposed to. Once the students understand the essence of sequential execution and state changes in variables, they can move on to a real en
Re: (Score:3)
How is that a relevant comparison? Visual Studio doesn't let you create an entire application without typing any code, and it certainly doesn't prevent you from reading or editing code.
That also describes building something out of Lego.
I think there's some educational value in App Inventor, just as there is
Re: (Score:2)
Because you're overstating the importance of typing as opposed to specifying an automated behavior.
And who says the App Inventor visual blocks are not a programming language? It certainly looks like an imperative language to me.
yeah! better than pi (Score:1)
when can I host my own? wasn't it going floss?
way better than pi, for $50 (or 0 for my old phone) I get 500mhz, apps, WiFi, gps, accelerometers, touchscreen, battery, card slot, another $50 at sparkfun gets me all the breakout usb io I want 'cept hdmi.
Re: (Score:2)
Oh really? (Score:2)
App Creation tools (Score:1)