Tags: I see it this way! Heritage Shores Bridgville De E.W. Faircloth photography photographer children grandson programming logic computer programming open source software linux Android ZTE Merit smartphone

I've been using open source software for years.  That's why I use Linux as my operation system of choice. My wife bought me a smartphone the other day, not an iPhone.  We use StraightTalk for our cellular service, and she picked me up StraightTalk phone. The phone is a ZTE Merit. Yes, it's made in China.  The operating uses Android, which is an open source system. What does this mean to me? Well, instead of just being able to download apps, I can make my own! Google, the developer of Android created a tool called App Inventor to help folks make apps in a simple and easy way.  Google then passed the project onto MIT, which continues to develop it. If you have an Android phone you could be making apps in as few as 5 minutes.  Believe it or not! My smartphone now has an app which displays my grandson's picture.  When I touch the pictures, the phone plays the sound of him saying "Hi grandfather."  Total time to make this app once I had the picture and sound files was about 10 minutes.