UBD/eG.InC Community Outreach Programme

COP Poster.jpg

I was lucky enough to be involved in the organisation of the community outreach programme held at UBD recently.  They had the idea of a challenge which is similar to a hackathon/hack day. I tried to keep things similar to how they do things at Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) and consolidated the problems faced by each of the organisations at communityoutreach.bruneigeekmeet.com

Some media coverage of the event and the last link about one of the organisations at the event itself

The day itself saw some teams being bestowed with prizes:

  • Micronet: worked on a database solution for Care and Action for Strays (CAS) (Website / Facebook)
    • managed to get a working prototype using Access
  • Laksamana College for Business: worked on a database solution for the Brunei Darussalam AIDS Council (Facebook / Twitter)
    • managed to implement an Android app prototype
  • Maktab Duli: working on solution for Orang Kurang Pendegaran (OKP)/Association for the Hearing Impaired as part of a skill / mentoring app (Facebook)
    • provided some good ideas and some interface designs for the app

Some notable mentions on my end where:

  • Projek k-3: with a great delivery of their presentation but also a great idea of upcycling existing clothes gathered and to use the youth to help out with the creation of upcycled products
  • The team that created a short video which felt like it was very on-point with regards to trying to raise awareness of volunteering

While each organisation hand some specific issues unique to there, there were a common issues faced by many of these organisations:

  • lack of a volunteer database / communication system so they can reach out to volunteers when running events
  • lack of a personal database to keep track of the things and to run reports
  • lack of public awareness of the organisation or events run by the organisation
  • the need for financial assistance

All in all, I feel that it was a good first step in there being more events such as this to work on actual real world problems rather than the typical business plan competitions that I usually see around. Brunei Geek Meet will try its best to help foster these kind of projects, especially after the event itself, as a part of giving back to the community but also as a way for the general public to get involved, to participate and learn.

Moving on from here, I’ll be consolidating the presentations/solutions provided by the teams and to liaise with the individual non-government organisations on how best they want to proceed with their projects. Once settled we’ll probably have more frequent Brunei Geek Meets with some days particularly catering for hack days or specific projects.

So if you’re interested in helping out, do get in touch by

  • leaving a comment
  • or emailing me at tim_AT_thewheatfield.org
  • or joining us at the next Brunei Geek Meet

Brunei Map – Mukims & Kampongs

As part of Brunei Geek Meet’s Data Hackathon

  • Managed to gather data from the Survey Department http://survey.gov.bn/web/survey_department/map
  • To map out kampongs and mukims in Brunei
  • Webapp allows you to search for kampongs / mukims and explore the neighbourhood around any selected area

brunei_map

Demo: http://thewheat.github.io/brunei_map/
Repo: https://github.com/thewheat/brunei_map

“Is that a Vagrant in your Computer?” and “Computer Whaling” (Using Vagrant/Docker to set up your environment)

This is essentially an intro to Vagrant and an intro to Docker slide decks combined into one. These slides were prepared for GDG DevFest 2014 but was cancelled last minute. Best not let the slides go to waste.

Is that a Vagrant in your Computer? (Using Vagrant to set up your environment)

http://cornergeeks.github.io/vagrant-docker

Is that a Vagrant in your Computer - Using Vagrant to set up your environment - slide front page

Computer Whaling (Using Docker to set up your environment)

http://cornergeeks.github.io/vagrant-docker/#16

Computer Whaling - Using Docker to set up your environment - slides front page

New Telbru Internet Plans (eSpeed / High-Speed Broadband)

new telbru internet rates

new telbru internet ratesThe Telbru eSpeed/High-Speed Broadband (HSBB) Internet rates have arrived and price wise they are going in a good direction, quota wise not so much, but here are the facts that you need to know.

  • Base monthly rates have been reduced
  • Some plans have quotas
  • If you exceed the quota you will get throttled but you pay no extra (you will still have an Internet connection, just slower speeds)
  • Throttled speeds are “about 20% of the subscribed plan package”
    bandwidth throttling
  • Extra quota top-ups can be purchased if you exceed your quota which will restore your speed
    quota topup
  • Price caps are only for those who purchase multiple extra quota top-ups
    price cap
  • At the switch over, you will get the same speed but at the new reduced monthly price (and quota’s if applicable)

How to check your data usage

Notifications can be sent to you via your preferred communication channel (e-mail/text message) when you have used 50%, 80% and 100% of your quota volume

https://www.telbru.com.bn/page.php?c=193

Read more on Telbru’s site

Possible Issues

  • Is the data metering real time?
  • Are both uploads and downloads counted?
  • Best effort Internet: which sounds very similar to the eSpeed problems on yesteryear

My bandwidth at home cannot even reach 1Mbps, is there a rebate?

There will be no rebate given on your rental charge or quota. Our broadband service is best effort service. If your average broadband speed is low (approximately one megabit per second or less) we do not recommend you to purchase higher bandwidth or quota packages.

iOS 8 Shows Android How it’s Done

So iOS 8 has been released and it shows Android how to do things properly in terms of advanced notifications as well as the sharing menu

Advanced Notifications

iOS 8 advanced notifications allow you to respond right in the notification itselfiOS 8 advanced notifications

On Android you may some extra actions (there was none in the messaging app a.k.a Hangouts), but taking a reply action on an email bumps you into the Gmail app itself to reply
Android advanced notification
Android advanced notification reply

Sharing

Android has had sharing capabilities for ages (possibly since the first public Android release) however it is not consistent and seems to exists in at least 4 different variations.

1) Sharing in the Android Photos app (1st party application from Google): grid of large icons
Android sharing Photos

2) Android sharing in Skitch (3rd party application): a quick touch to share with the last application and going to the “See all” option expands the list and adds extra items to the bottom of an existing list

Android sharing Skitch

3) Android sharing in QuickPic (3rd party app). Selecting “More…” shows a whole new menu that has no correlation with the initial shortcut share menu
Android sharing QuickPic

4) Android sharing in Chrome (1st party app from Google): another 1 touch quick share with last app but otherwise a full alphabetical list of share intents.

Android sharing Chrome

iOS 8 sharing: consistent look and ability to order sharing activities (order seems different based on app, i.e. Safari vs Photos, but at least the order is configurable)
iOS 8 advanced sharing

iOS 8 advanced sharing ordering

As an Android fan, it really bugs me that Android has had a lot of functionality but never seem to fully polish things up and strengthens the argument where Apple doesn’t necessarily innovate with new features but implement features in more usable forms.

Brunei Geek Meet #4 (12th September 2014)

Thanks to Tru-Synergy for hosting Brunei Geek Meet #4 and thanks for all those who attended! It was a much better turn out than I expected and hope for more meetups to come!

Open Source Involvements: Experience in working on the OpenMRS CPM open source project

thewheat.github.io/presentation-open-source-involvements

  • People Management is essential
    • there is a need to manage expectations
  • High barriers of entry => great killer of enthusiasm
  • Reproducible developer environments
  • Documentation
  • Project Management: list of things to work on
  • Communicate
  • Code
  • It takes time
    • commit 4 – 8 meetups to see where you can contribute
    • nothing is too small
  • Places to contribute
    • OpenHatch is a non-profit dedicated to matching prospective free software contributors with communities, tools, and education. openhatch.org
    • CodeTriage: receive a different open issue in your inbox every day. codetriage.com

Testing: TDD, BDD, WTH?

thewheat.github.io/presentation-testing-tdd-bdd-wth

  • TDD: Test Driven Development (Red, Green, Refactor)
    1. Write test (watch test fail in test suite: Red)
    2. Write code (to make test pass: Green
    3. Refactor
  • BDD: Behaviour Driven Development
    • Focuses on clear understanding of software behavior from stakeholders
    • Focuses on why code should be created: thinking “from the outside in”
      1. Given [initial context]
      2. when [event occurs]
      3. then [ensure some outcomes]
  • Unit Tests
    • Testing core unit of works
    • Isolated: no interaction with other systems (e.g. databases, web services)
  • Integration Tests
    • Test the integration between 2 different “units” / systems (e.g. your core system and the database / web service)
    • Database interaction: test database or in-memory databses (H2 / SQLite)
  • Functional Tests

Long overdue Brunei Geek Meet: 12th September 2014

(Note: Due to conflicting schedules we had to postpone to 12th September from the initial date of 9th)

As I’ll be in the country this coming week, I’ve scheduled a long over due Brunei Geek Meet and hope to share my experiences working on an Open Source project namely the OpenMRS CPM that is hosted weekly by ThoughtWorks.

We’re happy to have Tru Synergy hosting our meetup and hope to see any interested developers / project managers / tech enthusiasts there! The event is free and you can RSVP here.

Agenda: 7pm – 830pm

  • 7:00 – 7:10: Intro
  • 7:10 – 7:40: Talk #1: Open Source Involvements: Experiences from the Trenches of an Open Source Project
  • 7:40 – 8:10: Talk #2: Testing: TDD BDD WTH?
  • 8:10 – 8:30: Discussions
  • 8:30 onwards: Discussions at the bar! (I mean some coffee place)

Open Source Involvements: Experiences from the Trenches of an Open Source Project

Tim will share his experience working on an OpenMRS module for the pass 8 months and discuss ways to get open source projects off the ground, what to expect and how to contribute to them. We can also discuss community projects for Brunei

Testing: TDD BDD WTH?

Testing is a key part in the development life cycle and can provide assurance that your code is doing what it is meant to do. We’ll explore some basics of testing referencing the OpenMRS module in the first talk

RSVP for the Brunei Geek Meet Tuesday 9th September: 7pm – 830pm

Hope to see you there!

Google Support: Successfully Shipped! Finally…

After the last post, I gave Google yet another call and found out that there have been similar issues: getting a confirmation on the website but no emails nor courier. They set things up yet again and thankfully the courier finally came to pick up the goods on Tuesday (they came on Monday but we were out for a company lunch, and didn’t even ring my number).

So after 3 weeks, 2 emails and about 5 calls, I have finally managed to get a replacement Nexus 4 and returned my old one. That totally felt much harder than it sounds (more reason to buy from physical brick and mortar stores?)

P.S. Recorded the hold music and found out that it is “The Lighthouse and The Whaler-Untitled (This Is an Adventure)” – listen on YouTube thanks to Shazam (at first I though it couldn’t find it due to the name having “Untitled” in the name…

 

 

Google Support: Progress but still not at home base yet

Nexus4replacement

So after the last post, I followed up with an email to Google Support and this time there was a response within 30 minutes, with the RMA details as below (full email). Hurrah!

Nexus4SupportEmail3

2 days later I got my replacement device. Double hurrah! Backed up and restored data to the new device and on to returning the old device

Nexus4SupportEmail3ReturnDetails

Nexus4Collection

Packing the device on Friday 29th and re-reading these directions, I realised that I didn’t get any confirmation email nor shipping labels. Cue a another call to Google support and Google Support lady (first one I’ve spoke to, previous 2/3 calls have all been guys) says that they don’t email shipping labels to Australia and that the courier man should have it.

Courier man never came yesterday, so retried requesting another return request today and got a “Collection for given RMA Number has already been requested”. So yet another Google Support call….

Nexus4SupportCollectionRequest