Database Develop

App request with bounty

slightly edited double posting from CDMA development (tangent from a conversation in there)
If you've used webOS you'll know what I'm asking for here. If you haven't used webOS there are plenty of videos on youtube to look at to get the general idea of how it multitasks which is where it excells.
Open a web browser, press menu>bookmarks and look, finger scrollable preview windows of webpages, now in your head replace that with preview windows of currently running processes... add the ability to swipe + drag a process down to bring to foreground or up to kill that particular process. Very fluid, very easy, very natural.
Very intuitive idea and well executed in webOS. I would love to see a general port of this function added to android in form of an app or possibly a homescreen replacement, most ideal would be replace the worthless "add to homescreen button" on the senceUI dock, as longpress on the homescreen is another way to do exactly the same thing. Shade out your homescreen and put these previews over the top of your homescreen, drag in a direction as mentioned above, or hit the "add to homescreen button" agian to return to your homescreen.
I will make a bounty of $50 USD (a fair amount IMO) to anyone who makes it exactly as I describe... guaranteed to be a killer app and in no way infringing on webOS patents, as it's only replicating a function provided inside webOS similar to their "synergy" that android has copied almost bit for bit in idea.
also after all designing and beta testing is complete ... you put it out on the market you will be getting even more money, pm me if interested and details on the bounty I am offering. (I don't ever check this side of the forum so be sure to PM)
will be paying with paypal, so please have an account before responding.

I think there is already an app out there very similar to what you described
Can't remember what it's called though.
all its missing is the "previews" i think

Lennyuk said:
I think there is already an app out there very similar to what you described
Can't remember what it's called though.
all its missing is the "previews" i think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
taskOS, I'm aware of it... the previews and the drag to foreground is what I'm wanting, and a little better way of starting it

johnsongrantr said:
taskOS, I'm aware of it... the previews and the drag to foreground is what I'm wanting, and a little better way of starting it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would imagine (though admit, I don't *know* definitively) that application previews wouldn't be possible without support from the application itself.
The reason I say this is because Android applications are essentially "sandboxed", and all inter-application communication is via "intents". Therefore, I believe that it is probable that in order to display a preview running apps, those apps would need to be coded with an "intent" to supply that preview.
As I said before though, I don't know with 100% certainty, but I'm sure if I'm wrong someone will chime in!
Regards,
Dave

i see sort of what you're saying. Bookmarks in the web browser save thumbnails of the webpages bookmarked to your sd card, but like you said it's not inter-app.
Each app would probally have to supply that thumbnail, or try and make an additoinal app that creates thumbnails when an app is in a foreground for x amount of seconds would proablly be needed, and reading the taskOS thread it sounds like it's probally not supported by the sdk. Something to look into... my offer still remains if a solution is found for this and is implemented, he's the closest example and it sounds like it's his goal as well so he will probally get the pot if he implements this and a few other things.
also find a way to twist that into senceUI as mentioned as a "root only" update.zip version to remove the explicit need for a hardware button

App
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?

Wow that looks cool

deejay300 said:
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, thats actually what I'm looking for... guess I'll look into it thanks
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/android-software/
winmo version
http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/

foxmeister said:
I would imagine (though admit, I don't *know* definitively) that application previews wouldn't be possible without support from the application itself.
The reason I say this is because Android applications are essentially "sandboxed", and all inter-application communication is via "intents". Therefore, I believe that it is probable that in order to display a preview running apps, those apps would need to be coded with an "intent" to supply that preview.
As I said before though, I don't know with 100% certainty, but I'm sure if I'm wrong someone will chime in!
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my idea would be to take a screenshot of the device every time you push the home button, then use this screenshot for the task. remember how the iphone does the animations when closing tasks?

deejay300 said:
phandroid[dot com]/2010/02/18/spb-mobile-shell-5-0-coming-to-android/
Something like the top video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I can tell from the video, that's more like a preview of live widgets rather than running apps which is going to be possible since widgets are by definition live on home screens.
Regards,
Dave

kendong2 said:
my idea would be to take a screenshot of the device every time you push the home button, then use this screenshot for the task. remember how the iphone does the animations when closing tasks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would probably work - the issue though (for me anyway) is that the screenshot wouldn't show the current status of the app, but the status just prior to shifting anyway.
If I'm running say Spotify, I'd want my live preview to show what I'm currently playing, not what I was playing when I put the app into the background. If it couldn't do that, I'm no better off with the screenshot than I am with a simple Spotify icon,
Regards,
Dave

Changing an embedded link?

Apologies for not articulating this correctly or if this is posted in the wrong area.
Sometimes I will initiate an action that results in the device telling me that I need to use Amazon's way or forget about it. An obvious example is trying to rate an app from Google Play and being forced to the proprietary market. A more obscure example is found when trying to replace the stock keyboard. In my head, the software is somewhere saying “take this path instead.“ Probably more complex, but I am easily lost on metaphors.
In this simple analogy would the link (location on the device of the program, URL, etc) even be recognizable, I.e. have a modicum of rhyme or reason like HTML does without extensive knowledge of programming? I ask because I have a lot to catch up on and am hoping this is a little more complex a question than something in the FAQs.
The last time I studied programming, it was on an Apple IIc and everything started “5 home"
Cheers
Sent from my KFHD using xda-developers app

Need some help with Google Play description

Hi everyone
I've written my first app, ClearFocus, and I'm about to publish it in the PlayStore.
I've written a description for it, but I'm not really good at this kind of things, so I'd like some comment and suggestion.
Here it is:
ClearFocus is a time-management app which helps you being more productive. Are you tired of wasting your time on distractions instead of focusing on what really matters? ClearFocus is for you!
Based on The Pomodoro Technique©, it alternates working sessions with small breaks. This will let you concentrate more easily and get things done. No more distractions, focus on what’s important.
ClearFocus sports an elegant interface designed not to get in your way. It’s as easy to use as possible: tap once and start working.
Not everyone has the same needs: for this reason ClearFocus comes with the right set of settings, so that you can customize it to best fit you.
Pomodoro™ and Pomodoro Technique® are registered trademarks of Francesco Cirillo. This app is not affiliated with Francesco Cirillo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To see it in action, here's a screenshot of how it'd appear in the PlayStore:
What d'you think?

IMHO, I might change the fourth paragraph to read something along the lines of: to keep your focus on your tasks, ClearFocus comes with customizable settings that you can set to fit your style.
The right set of settings, and not everyone has the same needs, didn't seem to fit the rest of the flow.
Sent from somewhere, using TapaTalk, on my Note 3.

gollums said:
IMHO, I might change the fourth paragraph to read something along the lines of: to keep your focus on your tasks, ClearFocus comes with customizable settings that you can set to fit your style.
The right set of settings, and not everyone has the same needs, didn't seem to fit the rest of the flow.
Sent from somewhere, using TapaTalk, on my Note 3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot, the fourht paragraph was the one that convinced me the least.

Crossword Puzzles

Edit: Sorry, I had to remove this app when it was brought to my attention recently and I found it was NOT the appI had thought it was :-( It does NOT display properly on the NST/G. Still looking for the one I remember and if I find it I will update this post.
I stumbled across a brief reference to this app buried in another thread from long ago and thought I'd bring it back into the light. Market apps for crossword puzzles seldom work well on the NST, many of them having issues with partially disappearing keyboards.
The app attached below is actually from the Nook Color! It installs and runs just fine on the NST (probably NSTG as well). It has a nice, clean UI--with a custom keyboard that doesn't disappear. Puzzles can be selected by difficulty level.
The drawback: there seems to be no way to get more puzzles. But for casual use, it's great--and the price is right

This app appears to work on the Glowlight Plus also. However, it seems to be pixel mapped, so it appears very small on the higher resolution screen.

are there any services that generate hints?

Great idea! I will gladly support any effort to port/fork/customize/make such app better.

On my Glow3...

Renate said:
On my Glow3...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've actually learned a few things since my original post (shocking!). Just a cursory inspection of the apk file reveals the stored puzzles in res/raw. There appear to be 100 of them and they are actually in a known format (.puz)!
I've not tried adding anything yet (it's probably not that simple), but here is a site with lots of information about obtaining .puz files for use in Across Lite (a puzzle creating and solving platform): https://communicrossings.com/crosswords-sources-web-sites
Maybe I'll pursue this. I do actually have a very old Crossword app that works well across all my devices and can download new puzzles daily from a variety of sources. I don't even recall where I got it but it has clearly been "modified" in some fashion by someone. Most features work on the NST except for updating the list of puzzle sources. For some reason this fails on the NST although it works on other devices. Probably an SSL issue. But as there are quite a few sources in the "old" list, it's fine for the NST where I don't generally spend a lot of time doing puzzles. But it's there when I need a break from reading or just idle entertainment waiting in a doctor's office, etc.
Edit: I lied. There are actually 189 puzzles (easy, medium, hard, themeless).

nmyshkin said:
I've actually learned a few things since my original post (shocking!). Just a cursory inspection of the apk file reveals the stored puzzles in res/raw. There appear to be 100 of them and they are actually in a known format (.puz)!
I've not tried adding anything yet (it's probably not that simple), but here is a site with lots of information about obtaining .puz files for use in Across Lite (a puzzle creating and solving platform): https://communicrossings.com/crosswords-sources-web-sites
Maybe I'll pursue this. I do actually have a very old Crossword app that works well across all my devices and can download new puzzles daily from a variety of sources. I don't even recall where I got it but it has clearly been "modified" in some fashion by someone. Most features work on the NST except for updating the list of puzzle sources. For some reason this fails on the NST although it works on other devices. Probably an SSL issue. But as there are quite a few sources in the "old" list, it's fine for the NST where I don't generally spend a lot of time doing puzzles. But it's there when I need a break from reading or just idle entertainment waiting in a doctor's office, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the crossword app that works across all of your devices same as the one attached to the first post of this thread? You have my support in doing this man. We think similar in approaching the problem. I would also have started from the file type and then go further. I need to look up that platform and attached link. Say if you need any help with this. I need to check crosswords in my language and is there any available site to download them. It might be futile effort for NST without keyboard change. As for SSL problem it starts to be such pain in the a$$ that someone is going to lose patience and find the way to solve it by programming or find the way to obfuscate it through NST as dashboard and any newer phone as server for example. That was also one of the approaches I proposed for missing GPS. Now I rarely need GPS on NST however making it better in terms of book and newspaper device I am all for it.

SJT75 said:
Is the crossword app that works across all of your devices same as the one attached to the first post of this thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that app of questionable origin is different.
SJT75 said:
You have my support in doing this man. We think similar in approaching the problem. I would also have started from the file type and then go further. I need to look up that platform and attached link. Say if you need any help with this. I need to check crosswords in my language and is there any available site to download them. It might be futile effort for NST without keyboard change. As for SSL problem it starts to be such pain in the a$$ that someone is going to lose patience and find the way to solve it by programming or find the way to obfuscate it through NST as dashboard and any newer phone as server for example. That was also one of the approaches I proposed for missing GPS. Now I rarely need GPS on NST however making it better in terms of book and newspaper device I am all for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started to look at this and got a couple of surprises. First, on initialization the app creates one binary file in the data folder. That's all. So any puzzle substitution/updating would have to be done by taking the app apart and then putting it back together with apktool. Not very convenient, but I suppose if you did a good number of puzzles at once it might be worthwhile.
However the real surprise was looking at the app running. It's nothing like I remember! So I'm not sure what I'm looking at now. Maybe I've got yet another crossword app among my files. Better download from the earlier post and see... Although the package does say com.encore.crossword. But the short of it is that the app I was looking at is a no-go on the NST. The puzzles are half-hidden behind the keyboard and no amount of persuasion in either word or gesture (rude or not) will convince the puzzle to scroll up.
Edit: nope, it's the same app I posted earlier in this thread so long ago. It seems impossible but there it is. I wouldn't have posted it if I had seen how it was bolluxed up on the NST. I have no explanation.

Huh. Your 15 x 15 looks better than mine.
I did a once over trying to fix the app.
I chopped down the keyboard a bunch.
Still, the whole layout is a mess.

Renate said:
Huh. Your 15 x 15 looks better than mine.
I did a once over trying to fix the app.
I chopped down the keyboard a bunch.
Still, the whole layout is a mess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I did a little fiddling but could not convince it to show the entire grid as accessible along with the keyboard. It really must be coded just for the Nook Color/Tablet display.
I am baffled as to its appearance. I am getting older, but its nothing at all like I remember. I never would have posted if it had looked that way when I first tried it. But its definitely an app from the Nook Color, that much is evident from the package name. Just a mystery.

From little bit I have read about this ancient version of Android what nmyshkin reported about behavior of the application led me to believe that is developed as NDK app. I believe it is easier to make new app starting from scratch if you gathered enough knowledge about that crosswords file type and if download sources are not behind paywall. I would start with calculating size of standard on screen keyboard and then put rest of the screen for use by the crossword. It might be little small that way although but if field input is letter sized from some regular NST font I believe it can be squeezed. Other option might be that you do not make keyboard input at all but select input square and then use gesture in input field resembling writing. You would also need erase button. Then you would have more space for crossword but had to program input interface for the app. IIRC Opera does support gestures so maybe you could get the idea how to make that interface there.

Since the thread contain nonworking app can we consider it as place for discussion about either rigging that one or finding or developing new one for NST?
You already mentioned modified keyboard so I guess changing crossword layout is not out of question too. I didn't check .puz file type so obviously I have no idea about it but I did skim little through the site nmyshkin posted here. There are also other options there so it might be good to consider them also. Firstly using browser with JS woodoo. I do not know much about that but I have gained an impression you have previously make some good stuff using similar approach. Second option is using .PDF file type for puzzles. It might work considering that NST have some limited PDF reflow ability. Maybe that can allow us to adjust crossword layout? Problem is that it seems like it is slightly abandoned file format for puzzles although it was possible to have even interactive ones in that format. Can"t say what the term interactive means. Hint, letter reveals or something else. If it means connection to a server on net that will most likely be to big bite for old NST in the future.
Just a stray thought inside puzzle letters shown are real letter font used on NST or pictures generated in app?

Looked little about crossword file format. It seems that .puz is albeit old and easier to view/change using tools as simple as Notepad somehow proprietary. On the other hand it is claimed that .jpz is more versatile but even if it is so it seems to be some hybrid between Java and XML.There is also third format .ipuz that is completely free but as I understand it is originally for Mac which I do not have. Now if I delve into this what is the opinion of others? Consider it as a poll. 1, 2 or 3?

The New York Times apparently uses .puz
I'd give that some weight.
NYT links to this download: https://www.litsoft.com/across/alite/download/index.html
That file format seems to be (mostly) documented here: https://code.google.com/archive/p/puz/wikis/FileFormat.wiki
It could be edited by hand but there are binary parts and checksums.
Edit: Well, I take that all back. NYT (just yesterday!) stated that they are dropping .puz format.
NYT Games No Longer Available on Across Lite as of Aug. 10 (Published 2021)
Starting next week, we will no longer provide downloadable .puz files.
www.nytimes.com

I understand that up until now adoption by influential publisher (which regularly paid to owner of file format for software and rights to use) kept .puz in game. Format is simple and already have been reverse engineered by others which irked rights owner to the point of threatening with lawsuits left and right. They should have invested more in development of format and software instead. Second format .jpz is supposedly better but had so far lagged in adoption on the market.

Ha, ha!
Cross words over New York Times puzzle change
The US-based publication is cutting third party support for its popular crossword puzzles.
www.bbc.com

Well I can anticipate two things. First its a good time to start torrent search for old crosswords files archives. Second is that I believe we can find alternative sources on the link nmyshkin posted earlier. Still that doesn't resolve dilemma which file type is a way to go. Based on previous statement Rennate made on other topic I presume she would like .ipuz as open and free standard.

Just a link to share. If someone need old crosswords it appears someone already had made a database. link

[CLOSED](delete)

(delete)

Kodijack said:
I took a good search and haven't found a single app that is just like a screensaver, desktop or a clock. 99% of apps are music and navigation.
Hard to believe no one thought of a generic "desktop"-app with widgets or whatever. Especially with coolwalk it could be really nice.
But maybe you guys know something like this and my searching just sucked?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... I can't understand what you wrote and what you are looking for, although I've been using android for 12 years. Even if it involves AA.
Please could you expand your description?

Now I understand your message as a regret that there is no revolution in the field of development of Head Units.
I don't think that will happen soon. Development will evolve.
The priority when driving is the safety of all users of the road and its surroundings.
I think that the plan for the development of the head unit is written out in stages, which require the achievement of so much development of protection measures while driving that the driver's inattention and distraction cannot be the cause of anyone's danger.
Currently, head units are deliberately poor in functions so that they can be simple to use and not distract the driver from his primary task: safe driving.
I think fiddling with the phone and projecting an image onto the head unit screen or vice versa, and focusing attention on widgets and other bits and pieces that phones have, can only be safe if passengers do it.

Google only allows certain apps on Android Auto.
Normally navigation, communication and music apps.
It's just a question if Google allows a clock app. I'm pretty sure that there were already people with this idea.