Related
So with many desktop email clients you can import the xml fike location of your google agenda...
Is there also a app that can do this without installing all kinds of google appcrap
Send with Slick2X
Hi peewster,
Not that I know of, at least not in terms of native Android capabilities.
I happened to stumble upon your ROM and installed it -- without flashing GAPPS, obviously -- and I couldn't get to my agenda. Funny thing was that a PIM/calendar app named Calengoo actually could connect on its own to my GCal account. I understand it woudl constitute an inferior solution, and it means yet another app installed, but I guess it's the only way I can think of at the moment.
Off-topic: LOL, joined at June, 5th, 2008 and managed to stay in the shadows for nearly three years. Second post. Ugh. I'm sicken myself. : )
Hi All
First post, had a look at the search and couldn't find an appropriate post already so here it goes:
I am so close to ordering the HTC One (Tmo) as a significant upgrade from a cruddy old BB Curve. Although the BB is anitquated, it does some things very well like email exchange (multiple accounts) and contacts, calendars etc.
Will I find the HTC to be as good in these aspects?
What about microsoft tools etc?
I have seen a slick 'portfolio' style app for iphone (yuck) to display projects on to potential clients etc - is there something similar for Android?
I heard the bluetooth is a weaker antennae - is this true?
Any particulalrly good features about HTC One that I can capitalize on as a business user?
I would like to use it as a hot spot for my next purchase (a tablet) - can I keep everything else stock and easily ensure FREE hotspot usage and avoid nasty TMo charges - if so where do I go to learn about that?
Finally - I am getting a tablet to go with it, again for a lot of business use (and a lot of personal use) but the tablet will be a BYOD so can be a bit more expqerimental with tweaking it with the goodies on this fourm - so what would be a better pairing - a Kindle Fire HD, or possibly the next Nexus - the specs for it sound amazing. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance
I'm a heavy business user but have only ever used Android as my main device. The company issues BB devices but I refused to take one & more and more other people I know I moving away from BB.
As a Business Device I find it very satisfactory. I have receive my Exchange Email on it and I have to say I quite like the Email app (I keep my personal email separate and receive that through the dedicated Gmail app).
Previously I had used Pure Calendar as a widget for quick access to my calendar as I seem to have more and more meetings and need to keep track of things. Since getting the HTC One I use mainly the dedicated HTC Calendar App which I find very good.
I don't really use Bluetooth significantly expect for in my car so can't really comment on any issues with it.
Working for a company with offices in many different locations, I also find the quick access to Dropbox and ease to share documents, CAD files, PDF's through it excellent.
As well as the HTC One, I also have a Galaxy Nexus 10 - this is an absolutely beast of a tablet. Again I have my Exchange Email on it, Dropbox for sharing files etc. I also have Quick Office Pro (Polaris is also good) for opening any Office documents. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by a 'Portfolio' App but when giving presentations I always load the PowerPoint onto my tablet as well so I can have a side-meeting if required with the presentation easy to flick through. As a frequent traveller also, the Nexus 10 is a great Multimedia device to just watch a movie or TV show while hanging around airports.
I would also say that the ability to easily 'drop' files onto either device using the traditional drag and drop method when connected to my desktop is a massive time saver. I find the iPhone absolutely terrible in this regard.
Hope this helps.
squire
Awesome feedback, thank you Squire!
The portfolio app is a very impressive way to demonstrate your past projects using slide show format, but on the home screen, it has your entire 'portfolio' arranged by project/industry or whatever you need so you can quickly go to that type of project depending on the type of client you bump in to/present to. I have to do a lot of business development as well as my day job so this is quite important but not a deal breaker for the phone. More likley I will have it on the tablet anyway.
The drag and drop of files between devices /PCs etc is absolutely critical for me too - I need it to be quick, easy and painless , which it is not on the IPhone/Pad to PC as you rightly say. I noticed that you also deal with CAD files means that base is covered, do you have a CAD viewer also? Is it an expensive app to get?
Does the HTC calendar app and contacts sycn with Outlook or will I have to migrate to a new system?
I think if these two things are seamlessy integrated into Outlook, I think I am going to take the plunge and place the order today.
Can you point me in the direction of that Portfolio app - it sounds interesting.
adams.an.android said:
I noticed that you also deal with CAD files means that base is covered, do you have a CAD viewer also? Is it an expensive app to get?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an official AutoDesk app called AutoCAD 360 which is free on Google Play.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.autodesk.autocadws
adams.an.android said:
Does the HTC calendar app and contacts sycn with Outlook or will I have to migrate to a new system?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Contacts & calendar sync perfectly with Exchange (i.e. Outlook). I essentially have 3 sets of contacts on my phone - current work contacts from Exchange, personal contacts from my private Gmail and old work contacts from what I call my "professional" Gmail (i.e. the one I don't mind telling people I work with about). I also have 5 different Calendars syncing - Exchange, 2 x Gmail, Tripit & another internet calendar which gives me local Religious holidays.
Just another note - in general I find editing Office files on the tablet very cumbersome. This goes for both Nexus 10 and iPad (my gf has one). What I find it most useful for is quickly accessing email attachments and commenting on them. You're certainly not going to be writing a Technical Report or Business Proposal on it.
These are generally the 'work-related' apps I use
AutoCAD 360
Box (similar to Dropbox)
Dropbox
File Station Tablet (best Windows Explorer like File Explorer for an Android Tablet)
Gmail
Google Keep (I'm not a great lover of Evernote; this is basically Google's version of it)
iSyncr for iTunes - PC (essential for syncing your iTunes Library to your Android device)
Maps (living in the Middle East, you often have to rely on Maps to find places rather than incomprehensible directions)
OfficeSuite Pro 7 (PDF & HD)
Sendspace (for 'public' sharing of large files to my Client)
Skype
Thumb Keyboard
Tripit (absolutely indispensable app to organise your traveling life)
Plus various news readers etc.....
Just figured out the thanks/karma thing so have given props - thank you for the info and the links. I will definitely load them up when my phone comes!
You seem to have extremely similar usage profile to me, several calendars, several address books, do a lot of business travel and receive a ton of attachments that you need to be able to call up on the fly.
Re the portfolio app: I haven't broken my 10 post limit yet however, if you add the http you should get to the following page
//ipadportfolioapp.com
I have seen it in action on the IPad only so far, but the splash page is cool - put your company logo as the backdrop, and your projects load up below that. The reviews of Android equivalents haven't been overly positive, but I haven't hunted down every single similar app yet - and still need to conduct my own test for my particular needs.
Hi everybody,
First I would like to say, that I have been trying to find an answer but I haven't succeeded yet. So I'm sorry if this has been answered already.
I've been using Android for quite some time now, and Google services even longer. Recently I've been looking at WP8 and especially the Nokia Lumia 925. I really want to try WP8 even though it doesn't play that well with Google services. I don't care too much about apps. All I want is nice phone with a solid OS and a great camera - and still be able to use my Google services.
So my question is; I know it's possible to sync your calendar and contacts with Google, atleast one way. But is it possible to create new contacts and new calendar events (within Google) from a Windows phone, and then later see them in your browser or on your Android tablet? Or is it a one way street
Many thanks for your help!
tdboisen said:
Hi everybody,
First I would like to say, that I have been trying to find an answer but I haven't succeeded yet. So I'm sorry if this has been answered already.
I've been using Android for quite some time now, and Google services even longer. Recently I've been looking at WP8 and especially the Nokia Lumia 925. I really want to try WP8 even though it doesn't play that well with Google services. I don't care too much about apps. All I want is nice phone with a solid OS and a great camera - and still be able to use my Google services.
So my question is; I know it's possible to sync your calendar and contacts with Google, atleast one way. But is it possible to create new contacts and new calendar events (within Google) from a Windows phone, and then later see them in your browser or on your Android tablet? Or is it a one way street
Many thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's possible to do that, you could simply choose where you want to create the new calendar event or contact (look at the attached pics)
sp4rt4n-i17 said:
Yes, it's possible to do that, you could simply choose where you want to create the new calendar event or contact (look at the attached pics)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Looking forward to my new Nokia phone.
Hey folks,
after reading the Article on xda about using Android without google, i instantly fell in Love with the idea. I decided yesterday, that i'll take the plunge and give it a try.
First off, why?
For me, there are a couple of reasons. First of, i generally think, the less a company like google knows about me, the better. So keeping the Data on my phone away from google might help with that. If this experiment goes well i might stop using Google for Calendar and Contacts.
Second reason for me is Battery. The Google Framework and Play Services are always on the Top of my list of Battery consumption. I'd like to see how leaving these away might improve Battery life.
And third, i'm curious if it's possible. The reason i'm on xda is because i'm a tinkerer. So pushing the boundaries and trying new things is what i really like about Android. You have the choice to do whatever you want with your phone.
So, how do i go about it? Well, a bit of pre work needs to be done. First of, you might need a google Account to set things up. WhatsApp or Outlook are simply only available from the official Playstore. Since i start with my daily driver, all was set up already.
I use the 5.0.1 Variant of Nameless Rom. Debloated, Nova Launcher, rooted and stock apart from that. I might go CM later on, but i always find CM draining the Battery more then Stock Roms. We'll see.
What am i going to use instead of all the nice google things?
Play Store: F-Droid
I'll give F-Droid a try. it's obtainable as an apk, so if you only need apps that are available there, you won't need google at all. The Interface and search is not as nice as the Play Store, but the selection is really good, Installation of apps is hassle free (no manually downloading apks and installing them by hand) and it does check for updates daily.
Gmail:
I already moved away from gmail to outlook.com a few months ago. Not because MS is better in keeping your data private (actually they might be as they make money through selling software, not your data) but because i wanted to spread my info. Mail on outlook, contacts on google, Calendar on Strato... The Outlook app was already installed and set up, so no work to be done here.
Contacts:
Here it's getting a bit tricky. Google doesn't want you to move your contacts away form them. So there is no way to directly sync your google Contacts to your phone. As soon as you deactivate the play services, all you contacts will be gone.
For me, i used the Web Version of Google Contacts, exported them all to vcf and imported them to my phones storage. I'm not going to set up a personal sync for now. I'm fine with my contacts on my Phone only for now. I might end up going the OwnCloud route later on, but don't find it necessary currently.
Calendar:
my Calendar is already done through outlook and start (my webhoster). I installed Etar from F-Droid (a open source variant of googles calendar app). All my Calendars were already in on first launch (imported from the phones Accounts). No hassle, everything looks as always.
Chrome:
I've never been happy with chrome anyways. Loading pages is slow, scrolling is nowhere near smooth. I currently compare Firefox and Fenec. Both from F-Droid. Firefox will be discontinued on F-Droid soon as they implemented none OS proprietary add ons. Fenec is a OS alternative to Firefox compiled from Source without Proprietary add ons. Both work well but Fenec is a bit unstable as a daily driver for most people.
Camera is Focal now. Apart from being OS it's also much more capable than samsung camera. Plus easier to use. Whats not to like here?
After setting everything up, i went into the settings and disabled most google stuff (Play Store, Play Services, Calendar, Mail, Chrome). I'm still trying to find out what other Google Services i may disable without braking android. I'll keep this updated here.
I'm not completely done yet. I still use apps that are only available through the Playstore. Maybe you know alternatives, that i should check out:
WhatsApp. I don't see an alternative here. Moving to another service is not really an option. I tried Telegram and liked it, but a nice app is nothing when nobody uses it...
Ebay and Amazon. Both have a good mobile website which should work. But a standalone App is much easier and convenient to use.
Nova Launcher. It's simply the best. I haven't found a OS alternative that has anywhere near the features.
Tapatalk. Again, one App all Forums on hand. Simply the best app for that. Any XDA compatible OS alternatives to it?
Outlook. A OS mail client which supports Outlook, Material Design and is easy to use? I've yet to come up with one...
Over all, the switch went really smooth. After getting F-Droid as a Playstore alternative i was able to do all this in 1 hour. I'll have to see how Batterylife works out. I feel it's better, but the numbers will tell after some days of use. I feel really good to have found a way around google so far. It's nice to rethink things you've been using for years. Even if you're not opting out of google completely, there might be a alternative to something you use, that you'd otherwise never consider.
Let me know what you think. You're alternatives to some proprietary apps. How do you feel about google being in all the parts of your mobile life? Is Android without google something you'd consider?
For further reading, here are the XDA Articles, that inspired me to start this journey:
Setting up Marshmallow without Google
The "Say Sayonara to Google" Series
Have a nice start into the week.
I'll keep my replacement Apps in this Post for Tracking what i've used and what my Pros and Cons are over time.
PlayStore: F-Droid
F-Droid is THE FOSS Android community. A good selection of Apps, easy install and Updates plus a community thats interested in whats happening behind the scenes of apps. Firefox for example will soon not be supported anymore because they now are using proprietary none FOSS compatible sources. For most, this attempt might not be the easy one (they never claim to want to go the easy route), but it sure is the most straight ahead if you want Open Source Apps that are tracked for what they do on your phone.
Outlook: K-9
I replaced Outlook with K-9 for now. It's not as polished or easy to use, but it works, is OS and Outlook was constantly connected without me being able to change that. I only need sync every 30 minutes and outlook doesn't have a setting for that. Lets see how K-9 works out, stability and battery wise...
Google Maps: OsmAnd
OsmAnd seems to be the alternative here. As a plus it allows offline sync of Maps. The Interface is nowhere near as intuitive as GMaps, i've found no traffic information until now and entering a address is a hassle. The Search feature and easy Adress Input has always been a strong point for GMaps. We'll see how the turn-by-turn Navigation Turns out. Also OsmAnd works with plugins, so maybe i'm missing some features here and there.
Facebook: Tinfoil
Tinfoil for Facebook seems to be the App of Choice. In the end it's the Mobile website displayed in an "App". On the Plus site, you don't need that horrifically annoying Messenger. Facebook chat just works from the App, which is great. Sadly, since its a webpage, Notifications are none existant. Since i'm debating leaving Facebook completely anyways it's not a problem for me. Less distraction during the day, which is always welcome nowadays...
Deezer: Tomahawk
When I thought about replacing my Deezer app I did not have high hopes since most streaming services use proprietary api's. I was impressed to find not only a Deezer alternative that's open source, but tomahawk does much more. It combines most streaming services plus some other online music services plus your local music.
One downside for me: you are not able to save Deezer music offline. Tomahawk itself is completely open source. If the Deezer plug in is OS as well I couldn't find out for sure...
Titanium Backup: Oandbackup
Oandbackup works much the same way Titanium does, but with some less options. If you want just a good Backup App, i prefer Oandbackup since it's much less cluttered and options are easier to find. It served me well when i last switched from TW to CM.
I didn't read your what i can only call a thesis on Ungooglying Android write-up, it's an effort that I implore and admire your courage. I too worry about the data that google has monopolised on, it's time we broke this and find alternative ways. I salute you sir in your endeavours.
I will drop by time to time to see how you're prodding along.
Regards
F
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I backp all my contacts using outlook. I still use playstore. I have also disabled as much of Samsung as I can, and im sure there is more I could disable of both. I want my phone set up the way I want it set up, not with what google and samsung say I should. Also use Nova
Sent from my SM-P900 using XDA Free mobile app
I added Tomahawk as a Deezer/Spotify OS alternative In Post #2
Gesendet von meinem SM-N910F mit Tapatalk
I've yet to find a good alternative to the play store personally.
I don't use google services on my Note 4. I use Here Maps and disabled Google Maps, I use Nine for Email, I've disabled contacts and calendar sync, I've disabled every google program like books, games, gmail (I have a google account linked to a generic outlook addy for G services), music, hangouts, G+, etc. I keep my contacts backed up on my own personal .com server via exchange along with the calendar. I also like the Samsung browser, so Chrome is disabled as well. Don't use Now, have all the google account settings set to not target me for advertising, not keep track of location, etc... All the regular privacy concerns taken care of there.
My battery life is about a !% loss every two hours in standby. I wish I could get it better. My old GSIII would lose 1% over an 8 hour time frame at night while I was asleep. The Note 4 loses about 4%.
Oddly, no matter how much I restrict my access to google services, the people section of the play store still links me to a ton of people I know. Some that I have not had contact with since High School. Very strange. The only thing I can think is people I do know have me in their contacts so it assumes I know these people correctly. The phone is obviously reading my phone number without me entering it into my google account. :shrug:
I look forward to reading how it goes for you. (I broke down and signed up for Google Music the other day out of curiosity, but I'll get some of my anonymity back when I cancel my google account and create a new one.)
Alright,
some Updates:
I switched to the official CM12 build yesterday. It seems to run fairly well. My Radio was not able to register in the Network once, but activating and deactivating flight mode fixed that. Reception seems to be better than on TW rom. Concerning Battery i see no major difference for now.
CM is Open Source. I'm not 100% sure that every preinstalled app is 100% open source. During the Weekend i'll review the code and do a build on my own, just to be sure. Also, theres a pure AOSP build coming, which i'll be testing.
This time i didn't even Install Gapps. I did not log in to cm accounts or anything. I installed F-Droid from my SD Card and went from there. One thing i'll have to keep in mind, is, that factory reset means loosing my contacts, so i'll have to do a backup the next time.
Also i switched from Titanium to Oandbackup. I works much the same way and served me well during the switch from TW to CM. For me the relevant options are much easier to find (Safe Backups to external SD...).
Since Battery endurance is one of my concerns, i do some changes to improve that:
- Since the N4 has an AMOLED Display, using Black Background and Dark Apps helps quite a bit. I'm using Dark Material Beta through CM Theme Engine. Its Black (i like solid Black, not Gray or something like that) and white and does theme quite a lot of Apps (WhatsApp as an important one).
- I deactivated AudioFX, All Live Backgrounds, Stock Browser, CM-Backgrounds, Calendar and NFC Tags
- for cLock (Lockscreen Clock) i deleted all permissions to access location and Data. It's been trying to update weather all the time, which you can't seem to disable
I'd really like a simple white Icon theme, but getting most themes for CM depends on the Play Store. There are not many good themes that are available outside of the Playstore... Any help here is appreciated :good:
bbeelzebub said:
...My battery life is about a !% loss every two hours in standby. I wish I could get it better. My old GSIII would lose 1% over an 8 hour time frame at night while I was asleep. The Note 4 loses about 4%...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Over the last night i lost 2% over 7.5 hours. With 4G, WiFi, BT, Mail Sync (once per hour). Quite good, but i think theres a bit in it. K-9 (Mail) and Whatsapp keep the Mobile Network active. K-9 does so relatively long although i should only Sync once per hour. I'll configure some kind of "Whatsapp do not disturde" over night, this should bring down Standby draw a bit...
domsch1988 said:
Over the last night i lost 2% over 7.5 hours. With 4G, WiFi, BT, Mail Sync (once per hour). Quite good, but i think theres a bit in it. K-9 (Mail) and Whatsapp keep the Mobile Network active. K-9 does so relatively long although i should only Sync once per hour. I'll configure some kind of "Whatsapp do not disturde" over night, this should bring down Standby draw a bit...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I leave 4G, WiFi, BT and Mail on all the time as well. It doesn't make any difference when I turn them off that I've noticed. I use ActiveSync for my email / calendars / contacts and it really is no difference from when I used to use google for the calendar / contacts and a pop 3 account. As long as I don't use the stock email app which kills the battery on exchange or Activesync.
There are a few Samsung apps that I can't disable that I would like to. (I'm on a non rootable US model), I think I'll take the time tomorrow and see if I can use debloater to shut them down. Now that I think about it, there were less Samsung things running all the time on my old phone and I'm sure that makes a slight difference.
You can download Whats App from their site without going through Google since its attached to your phone number.
https://www.whatsapp.com/android/
...There is no way Focal is more capable than the Samsung Camera app. How do you figure this?
jetbruceli said:
You can download Whats App from their site without going through Google since its attached to your phone number.
https://www.whatsapp.com/android/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wouldn't use whatsapp at all considering they are owned by facebook and every message you send is being tracked. Telegram is the better option.
Toss3 said:
Wouldn't use whatsapp at all considering they are owned by facebook and every message you send is being tracked. Telegram is the better option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the dumbest reason to not use Whats App. It was bought to protect FB from losing ground. Telegram has all your messages on a server to where as Whats app is peer to peer. There is no reason to worry about big Facebook looking at your every message. Also, i would rather have FB, Google or MS looking at my stuff than some unknown company.
---------- Post added at 10:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 AM ----------
freeza said:
...There is no way Focal is more capable than the Samsung Camera app. How do you figure this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont get that either, also stock camera doenst need google play services to be used.
jetbruceli said:
That is the dumbest reason to not use Whats App. It was bought to protect FB from losing ground. Telegram has all your messages on a server to where as Whats app is peer to peer. There is no reason to worry about big Facebook looking at your every message. Also, i would rather have FB, Google or MS looking at my stuff than some unknown company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Telegram does not save your messages on a server when you use private chats. They are also encrypted.
Oh and: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-ranked-worst-for-users-data-privacy-in-internet-snooping-report-10328539.html http://time.com/3928503/whatsapp-privacy-watchdog/
This shows how "secure" WhatsApp really is: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33152898
Toss3 said:
Telegram does not save your messages on a server when you use private chats. They are also encrypted.
Oh and: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/whatsapp-ranked-worst-for-users-data-privacy-in-internet-snooping-report-10328539.html http://time.com/3928503/whatsapp-privacy-watchdog/
This shows how "secure" WhatsApp really is: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33152898
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sure there are security holes in everything we use but it doesnt change the fact that Whats App is better for most people. This isnt a whats app vs telegram thread and also, I am not sure if you can install telegram on its own without google or other app stores like you can with whats app
5-31-21 I've ceased development on this app because I think there is a better alternative. See post #7.
*updated to version 1.3, adding error trap for discontinued or blank feeds*
It's been awhile since the demise of the last working version of Genie Widget (aka Google News and Weather) but not so long since the big G retooled news.google.com so that our browsers can no longer deal with it and also put the kibosh on the Google News RSS feeds. Sigh.
I have a work-around
Google News 1.3 for the NST/G exploits the "alerts" that Google offers on news topics. These alerts can be optioned in the form of RSS feeds. My app downloads the HTML source for the feed, picks out all the good stuff and trashes all the rest, then builds up a local HTML document which is easily displayed by our browsers (I highly recommend Opera Mobile for ease of scrolling and general all-around function). You can build up your own topics, change your mind, mix them about, read that one more story you didn't get to the first time around, etc. I'm not saying that your browser will negotiate every target link. Some newspaper sites have just become too much. That was true even when Genie Widget was still working. But updating Opera Mobile for TLS 1.2 solves much of that. See this post for details.. The beauty of this app is in the simplicity. It's entirely browser-based once the feeds are downloaded, so you're not going back and forth between the app and your browser (like the current Google News app.......). Designed for both portrait and landscape.
Requirements
1. Android 2.1 has a security issue with opening local HTML files. In order for Google News to work properly you need to address that. Included in the zip below is a tiny app, android-open-in-browser-0.0.4-4-debug. Install that. It's not my app but I have used it for years and wish I could credit the originator.
2. This is a Tasker-generated app. If you already have one of my other Tasker-generated apps or have previously installed GApps, you don't need the two Google maps library files included in the zip and can delete them. If you do need them, copy the two files into the locations shown below:
/system/etc/permissions/com.google.android.maps.xml
/system/framework/com.google.android.maps.jar
Set permissions for both files to rw-r--r-- and reboot. Without these files resident, the app will not install.
3. Create a folder in the root directory of your sdcard: Google News (exactly as shown)
4. Install the app itself, Google News.1.apk
How to use
Before you run the app you need to select some news categories, set up the feeds, get the URLs, blah-blah-blah. All of this is covered in the PDF included with the zip. It may seem a little annoying at the start, but it goes quickly once you get started and it's not like you have to do it every time you use the app. You're just setting up your news topics, just as if you were using the current Google News (either the app or the web version). Once you have your topics and URLs and have edited the included text file google_rss_feeds.txt, copy that into the Google News folder of your sdcard.
Note: recently (June 2019) the big G has not been very consistent with the RSS feeds. Some days they are "empty" but come back the next day with lots of stories. Some feed topics simply "die" and a minor change in the topic will resurrect them (change "World" to "World news", as an example). Version 1.3 includes a trap for these eventualities so that the app should not crash, even if your first feed comes up empty. To inspect/edit your feeds, point your browser (on your PC) to your Google Alerts page. If you are signed in this will be found among the options on the Google home page, in the upper right corner where the "apps" grid is shown.
Now you're good to go. Start the app, make sure you're connected to WiFi. There are only three buttons on the app screen. The first one, "Fetch the news" does just that. You will see a little toast that the first news category is being prepared. Once that is done, you will be taken to the browser and that page will open. Meanwhile the remaining pages are being downloaded and reconstructed in the background.
The news page is very simple. I tried to aim for readability over all other considerations (this is the reason the news items are in bold black, even though they are the external links). I have my Opera Mobile set to 100% page zoom. It looks good to me, but you could probably get away with 75%. External websites are another matter. At the title bar left is a drop-down menu button that gives you access to your other news topics. Since no fixed navbar schemes work under Android 2.1, there is a duplicate drop-up menu bar at the end of the page. The use of NoRefresh, or to a lesser extent FastMode, is a plus.
Edit: you cannot use this app with Opera Mini. It lacks the ability to open local HTML files.
The second option on the opening screen, "Read old news" sounds a bit daft, but I just thought maybe someone might have been looking at the topic pages, saw something that interested them and then got interrupted. So this option opens the first local file in the browser again and you can navigate from there. Strictly speaking, WiFi is not needed to browse the local files once they have been created, but it is needed to pursue any stories.
The third option simply dismisses the app screen.
Whew! So this is new...and I think I exterminated all the bugs, but I did not try other browsers. I'm open to suggestions and would appreciate feedback.
Google alert change? No option for RSS alerts anymore...
First off, thanks so much for putting the time and effort into this app. I would love to have a more "future-proof" news reader solution for my NST. Sadly however, in typical Google fashion of constantly dropping/messing with feature support, it seems that there is no longer an option to deliver Google alerts to RSS feeds (only email addresses). If I'm reading this thread and your PDF correctly, I'm worried that this may break the app. In any case I'm stuck on page 3 of your setup PDF since I can't figure out how to get the RSS alert string from Google anymore. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
v619284 said:
First off, thanks so much for putting the time and effort into this app. I would love to have a more "future-proof" news reader solution for my NST. Sadly however, in typical Google fashion of constantly dropping/messing with feature support, it seems that there is no longer an option to deliver Google alerts to RSS feeds (only email addresses). If I'm reading this thread and your PDF correctly, I'm worried that this may break the app. In any case I'm stuck on page 3 of your setup PDF since I can't figure out how to get the RSS alert string from Google anymore. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm away from home right now but my copy of the app is working so the RSS feeds must still exist. I'll have to sit down with my instructions in front of the computer and see what mischief they've done. Thanks for letting me know.
v619284 said:
If I'm reading this thread and your PDF correctly, I'm worried that this may break the app. In any case I'm stuck on page 3 of your setup PDF since I can't figure out how to get the RSS alert string from Google anymore. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I've run through the instructions sitting at my PC. Everything is correct although Firefox no longer wants to open the RSS feed page as anything other than an xml "text" file. That just means the image on page 4 needs updating.
As far as page 3, everything is currently exactly as shown. Just to be sure, you have to be signed in to Google on your browser before you do any of this. Then when you get to the screen depicted on page 3 you need to change the "Deliver to" option to RSS feed. But even before that, it's important not to get sucked into the email alert business back on page 2. Do NOT click on "Create Alert" there, only on "Show options". That's how you get to the screen I show on page 3.
When you finally get to click on the little RSS symbol shown on the lower half of page 3, you (at least on Firefox) may end up at a page of xml code, or perhaps your browser may show a news feed page. Regardless, the URL shown for the page is the same and it's what you need to copy, just as described on page 4.
Let me know if you are still having issues with this.
v619284 said:
First off, thanks so much for putting the time and effort into this app. I would love to have a more "future-proof" news reader solution for my NST. Sadly however, in typical Google fashion of constantly dropping/messing with feature support, it seems that there is no longer an option to deliver Google alerts to RSS feeds (only email addresses). If I'm reading this thread and your PDF correctly, I'm worried that this may break the app. In any case I'm stuck on page 3 of your setup PDF since I can't figure out how to get the RSS alert string from Google anymore. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
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Click to collapse
So a few days after I wrote my last post, the app stopped working for me. It just hangs on "Preparing......News"
Google has apparently changed the format of their RSS xml file. Right in the middle of something else at the moment, but I will get it fixed.
Nope, nix that. After fooling around with the app and an xml file from the Big G, I find nothing out of place and it seems the app is now working again
They're just messing with us.
Edit: Indeed they are. Today I caught another malfunction but this time looked at the Tasker routines for an error. Google is sending out (at least today) RSS feeds with empty content fields. That messes up my app. So I wrote an error trap for that. Updated in first post. Have to watch the big G like a hawk....
v619284 said:
If I'm reading this thread and your PDF correctly, I'm worried that this may break the app. In any case I'm stuck on page 3 of your setup PDF since I can't figure out how to get the RSS alert string from Google anymore. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whilst looking around for a solution to a different issue, I came across this: https://medium.com/@cassandragraft/...tion-not-appearing-heres-the-fix-bf842ca32b88
It appears to address the issue you describe. I never encountered the issue, but obviously some people have.
The Big G is making me very angry lately. Even version 1.2 with a new error trap is crashing. I'm finding that some of my feeds are "empty". The skeleton of the RSS file is there but there is no content populating the file. A category as ordinary as "world" is simply blank. This is new and very annoying. Just a change of topic to "world news" brings up a list of stories longer than your arm. I encountered this before with "science" and fixed it with a slight change in name, so I should have seen this coming. It's a nasty game Google seems to be playing....
Anyway, if the app crashes on the first topic it leaves an overlay artifact behind when you exit. To remove this, go to the App Manager and force stop the app. I will work on a fix which will alert you to the effect that the feed appears dead but allow the app to complete the download of whatever is still working and exit properly.
Grr....
Edit: App updated to v1.3 in first post. I hope that solves the problems. For now.
As I mentioned in my edit of the first post, I think my app is exhibiting creakiness already owing to Opera Mobile's increasing difficulty negotiating many websites.
I have an alternative to suggest, however, that is totally browser based. It seems to work "OK" with Opera Mobile although text display is a bit small with a default zoom of 100%. In Opera Mini, however, it shines, especially with NoRefresh.
Thanks to XDA member @SJT75 , I found out about a list of text-only news sites. One of them is a text version of Google News! The list is at: https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/
While the Google News option does not allow for custom categories (hey, there's an app for that!), it does cover all the usual suspects. Even better, all of the links lead to text-only versions of the sources. Occasionally you go to a page and find it could not be fetched by whatever mechanism the author is using, but pages (even those error ones) include a link to the original source
Also notable on the list are the NPR and CNN sites. Both work well.