Does or will monodroid support async await? - xamarin.android

I've written an app in wp7, handling most of the asynchroneous tasks with await. I was asked to look into porting it to Android. Fortunately I have MonoDroid at hand, so I don't have to dust off my Java. But I just realized, I cannot reuse my code, as MonoDroid is up to date until .NET 4.0 which doesn't include the compiler for async.
I've found this post from december, saying MonoDroid will have async soon. Any news as to WHEN?

This article describe how to use Mono 2.11 (or later) tools which provide support for async/await keywords.
http://www.fizzylogic.nl/2012/05/04/adding-asyncawait-support-to-your-mono-for-android-projects/

I pinged Miguel on twitter about it, and while it will be coming, it's not there yet (at least as of yesterday, March 3rd :)
https://twitter.com/#!/migueldeicaza/status/176033097555517440

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Add map with list to Form for mobile app?

This is a very basic question, but I have no idea how to be begin, so please bear with me.
I'm a C# software developer, so I'm very familiar with the VS IDE and with Windows and Web development. But I have never developed a mobile application.
With that said, I came up with an idea which is essentially a screen with a map and a bunch of pins, and a list that represents each pin. It will run in an iphone and android phone. It will look something like below.
I decided to develop it in Xamarin because 1) I've worked with VS for many years so I understand how it works, 2) I can develop one app in Xamarin that can run both in ios and android.
I understand that it may be a very basic question, but I have no idea where to start. I also have experience with development, so I don't want to go thru the Hello World example. Finally, I also have a full-time job, so my limited free time would be used to completing this particular app.
So my question is: where do I start?
First thing first. You should get yourself familiar with Mobile Development(app life cycle, patterns etc.) by creating few sample applications (since you stated you were developing in Visual Studio using c# before it should be quick procedure for you). You can find documentation and sample codes on official Xamarin site:
Xamarin Website
Next get yourself familiar with MVVM pattern and MVVM frameworks to write applications using modern patterns and modern practises. I personally recommend MVVMCross or MVVMFresh.
Data Binding from Official site
FreshMVVM with Samples
Then get yourself familiar with Xamarin.Forms maps. It's a nice library that allows you to use one code and share them across 2 platforms. Google Maps official apis are also good but they are platform specific.
Xamarin Forms Maps
Enjoy and welcome to the Dark Side ;)

Is there a way to load up a web browser in the augmented reality magic leap and parse the data in this browser into another magic leap app?

Is there a way to launch a AR web browser with the magic leap AR dev kit? And then parse data from this web browser via an API into another application?
Exokit ( https://webmr.io ) can solve your problem.
This project enables developers to build XR experiences using the same code that runs on the web. Exokit engine is written on top of Node and emulates a web browser, providing native hooks for WebGL, WebXR, WebAudio, and other APIs used in immersive experiences.
We recently released a Magic Leap API which has led to experiments on the Magic Leap via Exokit like shared meshing between the Magic Leap One and HTC Vive.
Feel free to reach out on Discord or Slack to help get set up with the Magic Leap One.
These links should provide your answer. But, yes what Exokit has posted is indeed the correct response.
Exokit On GitHub
Exokit On The Docs Site
Exokit On WebMixedReality
Avaer Kazmer With Nick On Exokit, Multi-Player Experience

how useful is Cling C++ JIT interpreter developed at CERN?

I recently watched great google talks speech about Cling - C++ language interpreter. But I wonder if anyone except people at CERN (where it is developed) are using Cling, and how good it is from non-collider-physics-scientist point of view, can you write desktop apps with it?
There are some videos of uses cases different from the High Energy Physics: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cling+c%2B%2B (I think first couple are the relevant ones)
It has the potential to be very useful, but it is very young. There is no documentation that I could find, no dedicated mailing list, no online tutorials. I was able to get small toy code to run, but couldn't figure out how to use it productively on a large library yet.
Cling project is well established one. You can find more information in their official website cling. They also have a forum
Thanks

Unity 2.0: How does it work?

I'm using Unity and would love to read a good explanation about its internal works - mostly how it builds up objects.
I am aware of this nice MSDN article - Getting to Know the Unity Application Block, and it has a great drawing of the proccess, but I'm looking for a more technical and detailed explanation.
Can anyone direct me to such an article? I couldn't find one myself.
Thanks!
While I'm not aware of a technical article that covers what you are asking for, you can take a look at the source code - it's open source.
Orbifold has a helpful two-part series on Unity & ObjectBuilder, which is a core component of Unity. The articles are from October 2008, and cover Unity 1.1, but much of the detail here should be applicable to Unity 2.0, as I don't believe that some of the core concepts/implementation have changed in Unity 2.0.
http://visualizationtools.net/default/unity-objectbuilder-part-i/
http://visualizationtools.net/default/unity-objectbuilder-part-ii/
Chris Tavares, developer on the Enterprise Library team, has an article, also from 2008, that goes into some detail on ObjectBuilder.
http://tavaresstudios.com/Blog/post/Deconstructing-ObjectBuilder-What-Is-ObjectBuilder.aspx

Anyone ever tried to develop in C or C++ for Blackberry platforms?

Every indication I have, based on my experience in embedded computing is that doing something like this would require expensive equipment to get access to the platform (ICE debuggers, JTAG probes, I2C programmers, etc, etc), but I've always wondered if some ambitious hacker out there has found a way to load native code on a Blackberry device. Anyone?
Edit: I'm aware of the published SDK and it's attendant restrictions. I'm curious if anyone has attempted to get around them, and if so, how far they got.
I've seen this question pop up in a number of different forums over time. The original Blackberries were programmable in C++ but I think that RIM ran up against the problems of trying to implement a secure platform in the C/C++ compile to native paradigm.
The devices do have JTAG ports, but unless one could get hands on the RIM code as a place to start the problem is enormous.
I also have to wonder how useful a Blackberry with a replacement FOSS operating system would be, since it would not likely have the protocols to connect to BES or BIS, send PIN's etc. If one was simply looking for a the power of the hand held computing platform I suspect there are many more likely candidates available.
No, C++ is no longer a supported RIM development tool, as they phased it out a number of years ago. Client applications can be developed in Java (or one of a few 5GL frameworks), and web + sever-side apps can be developed using standard tools.
For those looking for updated information, the new Playbook os, also known as QNX, also known as Blackberry 10 (or it will be when the phones running it come out) is in fact c/c++ based, also using QML and a C++ add on called Cascades.
Unfortunately the official SDK website only seems to mention Java. According to wikipedia, different versions of the BlackBerry use different processors. Combined with the fact that RIM uses a proprietary operating system for the devices, it becomes pretty difficult to develop native code without official tools. There is also a partial API-level security restriction which would further prohibit advanced tinkering.
Just randomly searching for an answer to this and came across http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/Tablet-OS-SDK-for-Adobe-AIR/Native-C-C-SDK/td-p/778009 which mentions that BB intend to release a C/C++ SDK soon, more details will be provided at the 2011 Game Developer Conference.

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