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Networking Exchange : Authors : Doug Sillars

Doug Sillars

Principal Product Development Engineer, AT&T

Doug Sillars

Doug Sillars, Ph.D., is an industry leader in mobile application performance, and is a member of the AT&T Developer Advocacy team. To help developers build mobile applications that run as efficiently as possible, Doug and the AT&T Developer Program have written best practices and developed the free Application Resource Optimizer (ARO) test tool, which allows developers to see how an application behaves on the mobile network and points out simple optimization fixes. As more and more AT&T customers adopt smartphones and utilize data hungry applications, AT&T understands how crucial it is that applications run smoothly – efficiently using phone batteries and the mobile network.

Doug has been a lead technical member of the AT&T Developer Program for nearly ten years, starting with helping developers learn mobile Web development from WAP to html to HTML5. He has also worked on messaging and video streaming applications.  Prior to his time at AT&T, Doug received a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he built applications and studied how to measure and optimize the formation of polymers. He received his B.A. at the College of Wooster in Mathematics and Chemistry.

In his spare time, Doug enjoys being outside, hiking or biking with his kids, traveling, and knitting.  He does not really enjoy cleaning up after his dogs, bunnies, and chickens (but he does like the eggs!), and is nervous about the familial rumblings about adding alpacas to the herd.

As a work-from-home father of three small children, Doug plans not only to blog about mobile optimization and performance, but also about the challenges of being productive while working remotely.

 

Doug Sillars

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Jump In To Responsive Web Design

Jump In To Responsive Web Design

April 9, 2013

Every week there is an article on how many more users are relying on their mobile device or tablet to browse the internet instead of their PC. It is no secret that more and more consumers are turning to their phone to...
Why Mobile Application Performance Should Be A 1 Priority

Why Mobile Application Performance Should Be A #1 Priority

February 15, 2013

In his presentation 10 Golden Principles of Successful Web Apps, Fred Wilson asserts that the #1 principle for creating successful web apps is SPEED.  Did you know that for every one second of delay in loading, you lose 16 percent in customer satisfaction and 7 percent of sales conversions?  Mobile users have the exact same expectations about your mobile app/mobile website. ...
Is Your Application Secure

Is Your Application Secure?

February 4, 2013

If you’re looking for a way to make your applications run more efficiently and save the battery of your end users, you might want to visit the AT&T Developer Program Application Resource Optimizer(ARO). The ARO is a free tool that measures the network activity of your mobile application and grades you against 13 best practices that will speed up your mobile apps....
3 Tips For Making The Best First Impression With Location

3 Tips For Making The Best First Impression With Location

January 11, 2013

Are you looking to add location awareness to your mobile application?   The killer applications for smartphones are those that help you find a great restaurant, the best and nearest barista, the next bus, the closest copy shop, or directions to Aunt Millie’s house from an unfamiliar area.  The common key to all of these apps is location....
Put Some Cache In Your Customers Pocket

Put Some Cache In Your Customer’s Pocket

January 3, 2013

Did you know that your application is not caching images by default? If your developers are coming from the world of web, they are used to having the browser do this work for them automatically.  However, in mobile, you have to explicitly turn on caching in your application. A recent study found that 17 percent of all mobile content consumed was downloaded in a duplicate manner, resulting in slower...
Push or Poll? How Email Setup Can Save Your Battery Life

Push or Poll? How Email Setup Can Save Your Battery Life

December 11, 2012

Don’t you hate it when you are talking to someone, and they start reading email on their phone? Aside from being a new technology faux-pas, there are other reasons to avoid checking your email every five seconds. Checking your email less often can also save your phones’ battery life. When setting up email sync on mobile devices, users are often given options on push vs. poll, and options to change the timing for polling.  Since...