Google I / O through the eyes of a non-programmer

Author: Elena Fedorova

My name is Elena Fedorova, I am a doctor by profession, but it so happened that I have been working in IT for more than ten years (which I am very pleased about). I lead the Department of Human Resources Marketing at DataArt in Voronezh. In addition, for more than eight years I have been coordinating the technical community of the Google Developer Group Voronezh and organizing IT events. That's why I got on Google I / O 2016 in Mountain View.

Anips-hipsters welcome guests.
This was my second Google I / O. An enthusiastic report on the first conference for me can be viewed here .
In principle, anyone with $ 900 in his pocket can get on I / O - the price of a ticket. However, you can get to the conference and free of charge - read life hacking under the article.

The huge conference logo with mirror elements was invented probably for photographing only.

The technical details and the complete keynote entry are best seen on the I / O website . I will tell you what impressed me as a simple technogic.
Those who flew across the Atlantic know that morning begins early. So we went to get our badges from the very opening of registration. Much to my surprise, no queues were found.


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Queues appeared later and were everywhere. Where do without them, when more than 7,000 people came to the conference. At first there was a big queue for keyout, but this is normal. Everyone wants to be the first to hear the most important news, especially the craziest Android developers. As members of the Google community, we were given the right to spend the first night (crossed out) to stay in a zone near the stage under a canopy. Then there were the queues for the section: the participants took up the queue for reports a couple of hours before the presentations.


Representatives of GDG Russia in the collection.
After Keynote, I went for a walk in sections. The territory is just huge, there are huge tents everywhere, in which reports are held, platforms for touching and touching different devices, parties for communication, programming areas, awnings for rest and communication, pavilions and various benches, swings, hammocks and stove benches. Around a lot of ships (?) And a variety of Android-figures.





It seems that Google decided to grow specialists from kindergarten. The section where the smallest are taught programming. If you have children - below is a photo of a t-shirt with a very useful link.


Self-propelled carriage (crossed out) Google-car looks, to put it mildly, strangely rustic, especially inside. But I watched this box live plying in a stream of cars on the way to I / O. Two people were sitting in it, and the driver was absent. Guys, and the future is already here!

What only interesting personalities you will not meet at such a geek conference! Here, for example, steampunk-grandfather with a bunch of VR-glasses.

The dream of all IT recruiters - masterclass on programming on Android - collects stadiums! On the big screen, the dude writes the code, and the people watch, take notes and enjoy the process.


CodeLab programming area is a special section for those who want to use real Google experts to learn how to program or try new technology on real devices.



It should be noted that in each section, in each corner, there were real Google expert developers who answered numerous questions, demonstrated devices and capabilities of new technologies.

The funniest robot artist, who demonstrated the capabilities of machine learning, constantly gathered crowds of spectators. The bottom line is that an application is installed on the smartphone, where you can twist a virtual cube canvas, then choose a paint color, and a robot hand selects a paint brush. Next you need to swing the camprone, and the robokistochka exactly repeat the movement. After that, the robot will dance a wild victorious dance, as if inviting you to dance. In general, cool.

A fun project to transform a photo of a person’s face into a drawing that is drawn by a single line. All grandmothers are eagerly awaiting a public release to make layouts for knitting sweaters.

There were a lot of music projects. For example, something of a smartphone barrel organ: you can stick a piece of paper with a note on a rotating circle, the smartphone recognizes it, and the barrel organ will play a note. If you collect a lot of spinning circles and a lot of smartphones, you get interesting pieces.


In the pavilion Google Play Music darkness reigned, music and mysticism.


The Loon project is a huge gas-filled balloon that is planned to be launched into the sky and used as stations for distributing the Internet, for example in Africa. Announced it for a long time, but it's interesting to see it live.



And, of course, poor nameless Android N! Well, someone, think up his name already! A couple of culinary options from me: Napoleon (well, he's a cake), Noktyurn (there is such a cake).

Can dumbbells be attributed to wearables?

A wall of ideas. Post your idea, and Google will think and consider.

The project on Google maps was designed as a charming bus, which could get inside and test electronic exhibits.


The Android Auto project is a heated discussion.

It’s great that we have friends and active members of Google groups that broadcast the conference from Mountain View. As it was, read here. Thanks you!
And, of course, it was cool to meet friends and fellow GDG organizers from other cities and countries. Special thanks to Natalia Efimtseva and Kate Pysanka for supporting the Russian GDG communities.

How to get to I / O for free

So, friends, I am ready to share a secret.
A few years ago, on the world map of Google Developer Group in the region of Russia there were only single specks of groups: Moscow, Voronezh, Omsk, Peter. Now I am very glad that the number of like-minded groups is growing. This year there are already 16 Google-communities in Russia.
So, to go to this plague conference, you need to find a Google community in your city and become an active participant. If there is no such community near you, organize it! Do not know how? Ask us! See you on Google I / O 2017 And do not eat much sweet :)!