Thread: All Things Android

Strange... a Microsoft app developed for Android, and getting praise to boot. I can see problems if the missus can text you "where?" and it says "Soi 6" or something.

Yuhnke Commentary: New Microsoft app provides glimpse into future of smartphones

Posted: 06/09/2012
Last Updated: 14 hours and 56 minutes ago

By: Kirk Yuhnke, ABC15 Mornings By: Kirk Yuhnke, ABC15 Mornings

PHOENIX - App after app after app after app. There are literally hundreds of thousands of them for iPhone and Android.

Sorting through them to find the “good” ones can be nearly impossible. It’s very rare that a new app pops up that makes me say, “WOW!” This week, that happened and it came from the most unexpected company to do it.

Microsoft released an Android app (which is odd considering Microsoft has it's own mobile operating system) called on{x} . It’s one of a few apps ( Motorola Smart Actions , Llama , Tasker , etc) that I think points to the future of smartphones. On{x} automates your life. It’s a programmable app that can invoke actions based on certain triggers.

The powerful thing is that these triggers can be your location, the time of day, the weather forecast or what you’re doing. For example, you can program it to automatically send your spouse a text message when you leave work. You could also program it to remind you to take an umbrella to work if the forecast for that day calls for rain or to automatically load up your music app whenever you start driving. The possibilities are endless since on{x} allows YOU to code an event for it. Microsoft includes some example “recipes” for users to try out. Check out the list to get an idea of the kind of stuff it can do.

The reason I wanted to write about this app is because I think it’s an example of what’s next. It’s an example of the type of things that will soon be integrated into our smartphones and allow them to actually be smart. Right now, our smartphones only do things that we tell them to do. What if it used basic logic to do things based on certain conditions, location and actions? Our smartphones become devices that actually think for us. I don’t need to see the forecast every single day but I do want to know if it’s going to be abnormally cold, hot or rainy. With an app like on{x} you could program your phone to help decide when you need to know about the day’s forecast. You could program your alarm to go off early if traffic is bad on your route to work. How cool? No more morning scramble when you realize the Loop 202 is a mess.

On{x} isn’t the only app that does this nor is it the perfect solution but if you want a peek into the future of smartphones, check it out.

Microsoft on{x} is free and available right now on Android.

Read more: Yuhnke Commentary: New Microsoft app gives glimpse into future of smartphones

OK scratch that, it requires giving M$ complete access to Facebook.

Like we want them to have that.

Microsoft has also gone ahead and released the APIs for the application, allowing developers to create new rules. Unlike much of Microsoft’s software, this application is free and wide open to developers. Developers are able to look at every single rule, how it is coded, and how it is applied. This gives them the unrestricted ability to code their own rules so users can expect there to be a healthy development of custom rules.
And now for the promised tutorial on how to use it:

1. First and foremost, download the application from Google Play Store using that link.
2. Head on over to the on{X} landing page.
3. In both the application and the website, log into the application using your Facebook account. There has been some negativity about this, as the app tracks basically everything on your phone so it can properly apply these rules, and users are clamoring for a non-Facebook solution. As this is a beta, though, Facebook is the only way for now.
4. On the website, you reach a dashboard page with a number of options including checking out recipes or coding your own script. For those proficient in JavaScript, you can also get to the APIs from the dashboard page. Other options include the forums, blogs, and a link to get to your specific rules.
5. For now, click on “recipes” and you’ll be taken to the page where you can use the rules that Microsoft has already written. The rule I chose to test was “Remind me to take an umbrella every day the first time I unlock my phone, if it is going to be rainy”. If you know JavaScript, you can also click on the Create button and immediately be taken to a page where you can literally code your own rule right there on the website.
6. Once you’ve selected one of the recipes, the website will take you to your active rules. From here you can alter rules, delete rules or activate/deactivate rules. On your device, the app will notify you when rules have been changed and will refresh.

That’s basically it—nice and simple. As it is scheduled to rain in my area, I received a notification telling me to grab my umbrella almost immediately. Users can expect more rules to be posted by the on{X} team as the beta continues, and keep on the look out for custom rules as JavaScript aficionados get a hold of those APIs.

Android is about to speed up, Gonzales!

Linaro makes phones go like the clappers

11 Jun 2012 07:30 | by Nick Farrell in Rome | Filed in Software Google Open Source




An open saucy project to speed up Android has just worked out a way to speed up the software by between 30 and 100 per cent.
The Linaro open source software project has been tweaking Google Android to use the gcc 4.7 toolchain.
Bits of Android now go much faster than the version of Android Google 4.0 Google currently offers through the AOSP (Android Open Source Project).
It is not certain if Google will look at the project at all, let alone bring in any of the changes, but some third party developers are reported to be taking advantage of Linaro's optimisations.
According to Reddit, the CyanogenMod custom ROM team has started incorporating Linaro's tweaks, and a Galaxy Nexus developer is compiling his own build of Linaro Android 4.0.
Early reports are that it goes like the clappers. This will be good news because Android 4.0 was quite fast when used on good hardware.
Where Android needs to pull its socks up is on the slower CPUs and it is not clear if the Linaro changes will help these yet. Armdevices.net has video showing the differences between the Android 4.0 and the Open Saucy souped up new comer.


Read more: Android is about to speed up, Gonzales! - Linaro makes phones go like the clappers | TechEye

iOS 6 seems to be the same old shit as before, advertising silly details nobody cares or use

google has created a programming language for you butters - so now you can actually create that sql injection rather than just talking about it

google-blockly - A visual programming language - Google Project Hosting

Originally Posted by Butterfly

iOS 6 seems to be the same old shit as before, advertising silly details nobody cares or use

Even Windows Phone 7.5 has bettered it, how embarrasing.

Originally Posted by baldrick

sql injection

not sure what you are referring to, probably got me confused with someone else

Originally Posted by Butterfly

probably got me confused with someone else

only one person here has talked about making an sql injection script in perl - you

Are you sure he wasn't talking about meat injection with a bloke called Paul?

Look, it's a fix for the audio latency issues that have been plaguing Android devices for a long time. While I'm sure the canned responses of "Who cares" and make-believe of "I don't have that problem" are forthcoming, here's the fix.

Reduce Audio Latency On Your Nexus S And GSM Galaxy Nexus With This Mod | Redmond Pie

Although Android is the most commonly used mobile ecosystem on the market, it’s not without its fair share of caveats. Aside from the scores of malware outbreaks plaguing Google’s mobile OS, there’s also the long-standing issue of audio latency.

"Big deal!" I hear you exclaim, and while audio latency may not be too much of an issue for the overwhelming majority, those using the likes of Skype, or the increasingly-popular mobile instrument and music production apps available, will notice just how significant it can turn out to be. Tapping the virtual drum, for example, and waiting for a split-second for the sound to be played from your device’s speaker, adversely affects the experience, and given said apps can often be priced into the tens of dollars, it’s simply not on.



The issue has snowballed, and since the problem has been prevalent through many versions of Android yet still not resolved, it’s now become the proverbial elephant in the room. It was discussed at last year’s I/O, and Google Android chiefs had hoped something could be done to amend the issue in Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0), but the complexity of the issue has meant it still remains unresolved.

Still, whenever there’s a problem, there are usually plenty of modders and devs on hand, attempting to fix the problem in an unofficial yet extremely convenient manner. Okay, so this isn’t exactly what we would regard as an outright fix, but for those rocking a Nexus S or a GSM Galaxy Nexus, it’s the next best thing.



One little mod, created by a couple of intuitive folk over at XDA Developers, improves the audio latency existent on aforementioned device. It’s a re-jig of each device’s respective audio libraries, although the Nexus S mod has had more hours put into it, thus performs much better, than that of the Galaxy Nexus. Still, it’s encouraging work, and if you own either device, then check out the thread links below and see if you can improve that annoying audio lag by modifying those files within your device’s audio libraries.

Please note, it doesn’t work for every ROM or kernel, so please check your compatibility before going in head-first.

Originally Posted by baldrick

Originally Posted by Butterfly

probably got me confused with someone else

only one person here has talked about making an sql injection script in perl - you

maybe if you could provide a link to that post to see in what context it was referring to,

regardless, what the fuck is that even relevant in this thread ? too many downloads in your head ?

Got me a nice Galaxy S3 today.
Quite an improvement over my 2 year old Spica.
It was waiting for the blue version, but decided I didn't want to wait any longer, so settled on the white.

Originally Posted by TizMe

so settled on the white.

gay !!!

Android apps that use power control APIs are often 'battery killers'

If there's one thing Purdue University researchers can't stand, it's an inefficient Android app. They've already revealed how some titles burn huge amounts of energy just by running ads (e.g., Angry Birds uses 63 percent of its resources for flogging stuff rather than flinging stuff), and now they've confirmed something else that has long been suspected: many offerings on Google Play also contain serious "energy bugs." Specifically, these are apps that use Android's power control or wakelock APIs to prevent a phone going into sleep mode. The majority of developers use wakelocks properly, but around a quarter make mistakes in how they juggle different APIs, which can cause a fully-charged phone to drain "in as little as five hours." Out of 187 wakelock-exploiting apps tested, 42 contained errors -- although the academics stopped short of naming and shaming. There's a chance they'll list the culprits when they present their paper next week, which will also propose an automatic method for detecting the glitches. Will that be another app?

Purdue Newsroom - 'No-sleep energy bugs' drain smartphone batteries

Originally Posted by TizMe

not what the colour of the case is.

dunno mate - butters is our resident gay expert here on TD

BF is correct on this.

White case phones (& tablets) are very *very* gay.

Originally Posted by Gerbil

BF is correct on this.

White case phones (& tablets) are very *very* gay.

they are for women and poof,

just got a red over this by our resident gay biker, Mr Earl

Earl is ok to be gay and a biker, nobody is judging you, but stop acting like a raving queen when called on it

Originally Posted by Butterfly

Originally Posted by Gerbil

BF is correct on this.

White case phones (& tablets) are very *very* gay.

they are for women and poof,

just got a red over this by our resident gay biker, Mr Earl

Earl is ok to be gay and a biker, nobody is judging you, but stop acting like a raving queen when called on it

I am constantly confused how and why butterfly, being gayer than gay himself, uses the term "gay" in a derogatory fashion against others. Not only that, but he appears to be missing the point that, in order for an insult to be effective, the one hurling the insult requires to have credibility - which butterfly lacks.

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

Not if you're a doctor.

Seriously bigoted core group of trolls on this forum.

There you go, Daffy has a white iPad and iPhone and thus is a confirmed uphill gardener.

I bet he sits in pubs showing them to everyone until they're bored to tears.

Android is good. Period.

My life has changed for the better since I got an Android device...

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Android is good. Period.

My life has changed for the better since I got an Android device...

Which is what it's all about - glad you're enjoying your smartPhone.