Database Develop

Cydia-Like app

Hey everybody,
I was thinking about Cydia for the iPhone and thought..why doesn't android have that? So I was wondering if android does have something like that already or one that is in the making. If not then I was going to try and develop something similar. Only it will be one that is very, very basic. Here is how I planned it out.
1. Create an app that has a list of directories
-ROMS
-Scripts
-Apps (Ones such as swapper.apk etc. not ones from market)
* In the ROM's directory there will be a list for different phones
2. To transfer files an ftp server would be used ( I actually don't have one but was hoping someone would be able to offer an alternative or a server)
3. The app would then use the android browser to download the file and place it in the correct location ( updates would go in root of /sdcard or apps would be installed with the package manager)
Like I said I was thinking of something very basic..if this would be redundant then I'll just forget about it.
What does everyone else think?

wasnt there that SAM application? I wiped and never reinstalled it. i'm sure i can find the apk around here. also not the same but there is also a handango app.
Edit: ok did some quick searching... found the site: http://slideme.org/sam2 and http://slideme.org/sam... i hope that helps

That would have to be all custom... side note cydia uses debian binaries such as apt-get and dpkg which afaik is possible since you can install debian on your phone, and on the other hand android market uses a closed source xml.

Cydia is more than just a frontend for http/wget. It is a port of Debian APT. Iirc saurik did make some passing notes about possibly bringing APT to Android. However, from the lack of any implementation thus far, I can only surmise that he has either lost interest, doesn't feel Android needs an APT-based repository, or some mix of both.
You have to understand the main reason why Cydia is a very popular platform for iPhone. iPhone natively does not allow any outside app installation. Thus, Cydia provided a very good central repository for apps outside of Apple's app store system. Android, OTOH, was built from the ground up permitting the user to install apps from any source. Thus, there was never a burgeoning need to have a Cydia clone made because anyone could install apps from their own http server, from adb, from a sdcard, from a third party market.

Ah I should've done a little more research on cydia then. From what my friend told me he says that Cydia is just another appstore for the iPhone and that's it ( the android market is pretty open as opposed to the iPhone). That's the last time I listen to someone who bought an iPhone over an android phone.

thelamacmdr said:
Ah I should've done a little more research on cydia then. From what my friend told me he says that Cydia is just another appstore for the iPhone and that's it ( the android market is pretty open as opposed to the iPhone). That's the last time I listen to someone who bought an iPhone over an android phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest, your friend sounds like doesn't know alot about the debian package system. You should take a look. It's very interesting, and it shows how primitive M$ and crApple products have become (pardon my invectives). Linux really is on the cutting edge on these fronts, and the linux backbone is what makes android so powerful.

sha.goyjo said:
To be honest, your friend sounds like doesn't know alot about the debian package system. You should take a look. It's very interesting, and it shows how primitive M$ and crApple products have become (pardon my invectives). Linux really is on the cutting edge on these fronts, and the linux backbone is what makes android so powerful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup Debian has become the most used partition on my laptop but I keep Windows around just in case, also after researching about Cydia it sounds a lot like the Synaptics Package Manager ( correct me if I'm mistaken) and the Software Sources under Linux.

jashsu said:
You have to understand the main reason why Cydia is a very popular platform for iPhone. iPhone natively does not allow any outside app installation. Thus, Cydia provided a very good central repository for apps outside of Apple's app store system. Android, OTOH, was built from the ground up permitting the user to install apps from any source. Thus, there was never a burgeoning need to have a Cydia clone made because anyone could install apps from their own http server, from adb, from a sdcard, from a third party market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the whole understanding, never thought it as that way

A central app for downloading and publishing ROMs, recovery images, and the like (not apps) would be quite cool, though, and tethering applications are still disallowed from the Android Market (at least in the United States).

thelamacmdr said:
Synaptics Package Manager ( correct me if I'm mistaken) and the Software Sources under Linux.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Synaptics is more or less just a frontend for apt.
coolbho3000 said:
A central app for downloading and publishing ROMs, recovery images, and the like (not apps) would be quite cool, though, and tethering applications are still disallowed from the Android Market (at least in the United States).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No argument here. More options for users is always better (i'm talking to you, Apple Inc), especially when its a platform as elegant as Cydia.

There really is no need for anything like that on the g1 because the market is so free/open. As opposed to the app store which you have to go through a regulatory commission in order to get an app published.

the other part of the idea is good though, having rom selections that could just download update.zips to you phone. Also it would be cool to have scripts and other things you could download to that you cannot get in the market.

I would probably do it jsut for that but it will not be anywhere near as smooth as cydia nor will it run in the same manner

Sorry guys, I told a bunch of lies...because I had forgotten something very basic.
Cydia does NOT utilize *.deb packages like the debian apt system (the one synaptic uses). Cydia is a PORT repository (it holds ported programs, and other programs) designed for the BSD variant system that apple uses. As such, the systems are not compatible. IE cydia would not work on android and vice versa. Part of the problem with an apt based system on android is that it would have to deal with all the dependency issues inherent in typical linux software. To be honest, you'd have to design a completely new set of repositories, and that would be a LOT of work.
Although the current market system isn't quite as sweet as a full fledged debian package system, android isn't exactly a full fledged distro or anything. I think this is one that won't really work WELL until phones get beefier (IE to make it work well you'd need a BIG sd card and a snapdragon chip). You could get it working without those things, but the benefits just wouldn't be that great, because running programs that were small or didn't have a lot of dependencies negates the point of using a package manager.
I'm sorry for misspeaking, and I hope this clears things up.

well that's ok cause that's not what i was trying to do, this is only if I understood you correctly. I do not want port Cydia nor do I want to mimic exactly what it does. Cydia-like was the closest description I could come up with. Anyways, this idea is kind of redundant now that i saw this ( which I think has been up for a while)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=543082

[Q] Help for an App Developer

Hello XDA'rs,
I work for the developer Loud Crow Interactive Inc. and we build book apps for kids.
We've recently launched into the Android Market and are having trouble with our app being installed on rooted nook colors. The issues appear to be on the licensing side.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what this could be? Also, what does a rooted nook register as (device) on the Android Market place,
Thanks in advance,
Tom

What's the error, logcat ?, what's the app?
dude u gotta give some info if need a solution.
There could be a million things that could cause problems like that.

x2002dude said:
Hello XDA'rs,
I work for the developer Loud Crow Interactive Inc. and we build book apps for kids.
We've recently launched into the Android Market and are having trouble with our app being installed on rooted nook colors. The issues appear to be on the licensing side.
Does anyone have any thoughts on what this could be? Also, what does a rooted nook register as (device) on the Android Market place,
Thanks in advance,
Tom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are all waiting for an answer. I have an outstanding request in with Google that I have had to update several times as they seem to be dancing around the question. When and if I hear I will post a response.

The App is "The Going to Bed Book" or "PopOut! The Tale of Peter Rabbit" - Our users are getting a "Invalid License" error. We're going to root one of our nooks soon to do some testing, but until then we were thinking we might be able to get something from the forums. Both users who reported the issue were running CM7, which I also run on my HTC IS, and runs our apps fine. Thus we're thinking it could have something to do with the device ID running against the licenses?
As we set up restrictions by device, We were curious what a rooted NC running CM7 would show as in terms of a device on the Android Market place?
Thanks for the help guys, and thanks for the patience. I'm not the actual Android developer on the team. He's out of the office for the week,
Cheers,
Tom

I think he means he is having trouble getting the application to install from the market in general. I looked up the applications and the NC was not a supported device.
I don't want to pay the money to download it to my phone and sideload it (I'm at work anyways). I don't know much about applications and how devices are determined to be compatible other than maybe their permissions. However, these applications (there are two on the market), don't require anything other than SD access.

As we set up restrictions by device....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be part of some of this. I was not aware developers were setting restrictions by device. Is this new?

model name -NookColor
product name -encore
And there is really no way to find out the problem, without looking at the logcat.

patruns said:
That might be part of some of this. I was not aware developers were setting restrictions by device. Is this new?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this feature is available to every developer since a long time. but there are 600 or so devices so not a lot of people bother with it.

rigy73 said:
model name -NookColor
product name -encore
And there is really no way to find out the problem, without looking at the logcat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, questions to the market run against your account and the email info and log the following device details:
> IIILanguage: en
> IssueType: market_website
> Language: en
> android_app_name: Facebook
> android_os: gingerbread
> android_os_other:
> device_manufacturer: other
> device_manufacturer_other: Barnes & Noble
> hidden_country: US
> website_issue_select: grayed_device

device_manufacturer= bn
If u want to know more take a look at build.prop, people have uploaded it in netflix thread, which reminds me that a lot of users usually change their device and fake it to run different apps.

rigy73 said:
device_manufacturer= bn
If u want to know more take a look at build.prop, people have uploaded it in netflix thread, which reminds me that a lot of users usually change their device and fake it to run different apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those were direct quotes from what Google's filters picked up when I sent an email while logged in to the market.

Thanks guys, this will be a good start. If and when we resolve the issue I'll be sure to post an update with the details. I really wish Android Market supported promo codes; we'd love to be able to throw out some free copies for you guys to have a look at and test for these one off issues.
Thanks Again!

I assume if you sideload the .apk it will install fine?

Just want to contribute that I have the Going to Bed Book installed and running fine on my Nook. I am still running CM7 7.1RC, and have my build.prop spoofed for Netflix (no longer required, but I never changed it back and haven't flashed a new CM7 in a while). The only change I made in build.prop was setting the manufacturer to HTC.
The book runs great and is my son's new favorite app.

You may have an issue using get.DeviceID()... have one of your users use my IMEI generator and see if it fixes their problem. They can also spoof Manufacture, Device and Model with the newest version.
IMEI Generator Thread.

I have it on my CM7 (7.0.3 to lazy to update, running off sd no changes to build.prop) Nook and it works fine. My daughter loves it.
Some of the pages are kind of hard to register a turn, and it always starts upsidedown then flips itself over. But both of those things are the same on my incredible 2 as well.
Sent from my ADR6350 using XDA App

Nokia n900 vs galaxy note(does note has those things i need)?

i have Nokia n900 and now i am also in seek of something new now! i think i should go for galaxy note.
i would get it if it has....
open ssh
app like smscon(control mobile via sms) (ie deleting files call a yourself, snap thief photo)
backup menu(keep rootfs and and installed software inulding OS)
evil alarm(an alarm which does not go off unless doing a task complete)
H-E-N
xterminal
emulatores(ie ps2.sega genesis)
vnc viwer
and root access and how is multitasking on galaxy note?
can anyone confirm for me?
you can google al the apps (since i am not allowed to post links here)

I would buy Nokia n900 if it has Android✘

Boy124 said:
I would buy Nokia n900 if it has Android✘
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then buy n900 because it has android with dual boot!!!

Why would I want meego / maemo as a second os? I already have android and Ubuntu on GNote.
Believe me its the best 'phone' available in the market.

Boy124 said:
Why would I want meego / maemo as a second os? I already have android and Ubuntu on GNote.
Believe me its the best 'phone' available in the market.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i started the thread to get answers of my questions , not to debate anyone kindly tell me if galaxy note has those types of apps? I must need them i would be a good member of this comunity when i get my GN.

nicholes said:
i started the thread to get answers of my questions , not to debate anyone kindly tell me if galaxy note has those types of apps? I must need them i would be a good member of this comunity when i get my GN.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your request is very modest. You're asking someone to spend hours trying to establish whether certain apps run on the Note (or Android) or not.
Go visit the Google Market and see for yourself. There's tens of thousands of apps there, covering everything under the sun.
GNote can be rooted, that I can tell you, our future good member.

nicholes said:
i have Nokia n900 and now i am also in seek of something new now! i think i should go for galaxy note.
i would get it if it has....
open ssh
app like smscon(control mobile via sms) (ie deleting files call a yourself, snap thief photo)
backup menu(keep rootfs and and installed software inulding OS)
evil alarm(an alarm which does not go off unless doing a task complete)
H-E-N
xterminal
emulatores(ie ps2.sega genesis)
vnc viwer
and root access and how is multitasking on galaxy note?
can anyone confirm for me?
you can google al the apps (since i am not allowed to post links here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i came from an n900 too, was a good swap.
you can use something like eset mobile security for your sms con stuff. more or less the same thing, can remote wipe, remote lock, remote GPS, etc. although samsungdive.com will give you similar control via a web browser.
no xterminal that i know of, so you cant run 'sudo gainroot' but there are other ways of gaining root. theres a one click root method.
theres another app called 'gotya!' where it snaps a photo of whoever is trying to unlock your device and then emails the photo to you.
backup stuff can be handed via clockworkmod on custom firmwares or via samsung kies software.
there are plenty of emulators on the android market/google play or whatever its called now.
multitasking on android isnt as efficient as on the n900. on the n900, you have that multitask button, which was pure awesome. on android, by default the nearest thing we have is if you press and hold the home key, you can see the last bunch of recent apps, it doesnt tell you if its running or not. there was a visual task switcher on the market that ran similar to the n900 multitask method, but it doesnt run on anything newer than froyo. the next best thing would be something like 'smart task switcher'.
dunno about the other stuff you've mentioned though.

Hi Nicholes,
openssh - yes, there are several free ssh client apps, but better terminal emulator pro (£2.49) gets best reviews. I haven't tried ssh on the note myself (yet!) - I used it on n900 at first but soon replaced with openvpn which met my needs better. I've setup openvpn on my note (requires root and a custom kernel with tun.ko) it runs very nicely.
smscon - partial: samsung offer their own free app for the note, see: http://v2.samsungdive.com/help/guideRemoteControlsClear.do and there are other smilar free apps - however I haven't seen one that offers linux shell command "passthrough" via SMS like the SMScon app does for n900. I used to use reverse ssh to be able to do full remote control of my n900 outwith any apps - it took a while to get that set up to maintain tunnels across wifi/3G changes, and once I had it working I never had cause to use it Anyway, a combination of one of the free remote location pps plus ssh should give you most of what you're used to.
backup menu - I never used it on n900, but if you root the note then you have titanium backup (for apps/data) and CWM (full /system image).
evil alarm - haven't looked, but guaranteed to be one in android market (or should I say "google play" as it's about to be rebranded).
HEN - yes, note has full usb on the go/host mode out of the box, so much easier and more reliable, plug & play
xterminal - yes. plenty of terminal emulators to choose from, I use "terminal emulator". It's not as nice as n900, lacking the h/w keyboard and it doesn't support tab key to autocomplete, but pretty usable.
emulators - gain, no idea but pretty sure there are loads
vnc viewer - yes, I use pocketcloud free - excellent VNC client. The free version only allows one saved connection but that is sufficient for me. THe screen size of the note makes this a far better remote access solution than the n900 (even though I loved presenceVNC, you cant beat some physical real estate for remote access work). There is also 2x client for RDP client access to windows boxes. This is free, has no limitations, and works excellently. Again, better than RDP client on n900 partly due to better/more intuitive mouse/keyboard support but also jsut screen size.
root access - yes, pretty easy to do although some newer firmwares are not directly rootable (need a downgrade->root-> upgrade). Drawbacks to being rooted I've come across: some apps (eg. skygo for UK access to sky TV) don't work with rooted phones unless you jump through hoops;
and how is multitasking on galaxy note? errr ... a bit of a dissapointment after n900! task switching is a bit cumbersome by comparison (though fine once you are used to it) but android tends to arbitrarily remove tasks from memory if you aren't using them which sucks. Also, if you are watching video it's not easy to concurrently do other stuff on android - as soon as you switch away from video, it auto-pauses. that said, the extra RAM makes up to an extent
I'd suggest you re-post this question over at TMO - there is a samsung galaxy note thread there which has been running for a while and there are several active n900/note users on it who know much more than me about android and I think you'll probably get more/better replies there. They are currently discussing an Android video player that allows you to run the video windowed or even minimised
EDIT - oh, just noticed that you've already posted there too ... you're way ahead of me!

_pigro_ said:
Hi Nicholes,
openssh - yes, there are several free ssh client apps, but better terminal emulator pro (£2.49) gets best reviews. I haven't tried ssh on the note myself (yet!) - I used it on n900 at first but soon replaced with openvpn which met my needs better. I've setup openvpn on my note (requires root and a custom kernel with tun.ko) it runs very nicely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not find (or manage to compile) openssh for Android. dropbear has much less features (both client and server), so if you use any specific feature that openssh has and dropbear does not have, you might have a problem. I wrote a simple bash script to parse openssh's .ssh/config file and run dropbear with the correct parameters, which gives me a client that behaves similarly to openssh client.
xterminal - yes. plenty of terminal emulators to choose from, I use "terminal emulator". It's not as nice as n900, lacking the h/w keyboard and it doesn't support tab key to autocomplete, but pretty usable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tab completion is not a function of the terminal emulator, but of the shell. The ash shell which is included in busybox in packages such as "terminal emulator" and "sshdroid" does support tab completion. It is not the default login shell, so you need to change the configuration, or run it manually.

nicholes said:
open ssh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not specifying whether you want an SSH client or server. But yes, there are plenty of both on the App Market.
app like smscon(control mobile via sms) (ie deleting files call a yourself, snap thief photo)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea.
backup menu(keep rootfs and and installed software inulding OS)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not by default, but you can install Clockworkmod (CWM) to take/restore backups.
evil alarm(an alarm which does not go off unless doing a task complete)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No idea.
H-E-N
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, USB OTG is supported. Drive Mount is an application that comes in handy.
xterminal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, there is no X.Org and as such no xterminal either. If you're looking for just a terminal emulator then there is one called Better Terminal Emulator Pro that is very good.
emulatores(ie ps2.sega genesis)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No PS2 emulator. Yongzh ( https://slideme.org/user/3168/applications/3168 *) has Genesis, NES, SNES etc.
vnc viwer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On app market, yes.
and root access
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you root it then yes.
and how is multitasking on galaxy note?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good enough. Less powerful than on N900 as it is limited by Dalvik itself, but anyways.
can anyone confirm for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did. Then again, you could have just googled all of these answers yourself.
---------- Post added at 03:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:46 PM ----------
nicholes said:
then buy n900 because it has android with dual boot!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NITdroid is not useable, it lacks way too many features on N900.

THANKS! for all the great and detailed information. this forum looks my future forum when i got my new GN

Good luck to you. I got you wrong, my bad. I thought you were gonna post how nokia/meego/maego was (?!) better than android. And welcome to the forum.

Boy124 said:
Good luck to you. I got you wrong, my bad. I thought you were gonna post how nokia/meego/maego was (?!) better than android. And welcome to the forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, as a Note owner i would have preferred maemo on my Note. Too bad they dropped it for sucky wp7
Sent from my superior GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

I did the swap and was obsessed with my n900. But the note is far far superior. Its not quite as 'nerdy' as the n900 in my opinion. But does everything I've asked of it. wait until you see the notes screen. Its blinding in comparison to the n900. You wont look back. Trust me. Providing you have some basic technical knowledge (which I assume you do coming from the Nokia) you will have no trouble rooting and playing with kernels. Etc. It seems to me that the devs for the note and for android in general provide more complete packages than I experienced on the n900. Kernels are optimized and roms have all the tweaks you would want applied. Where the n900 was more of a manual affair messing with the terminal (which I did love doing). I barely use the terminal now as most apps are very well written and have all the tweaks and features you need for customizing without the nitty gritty of line by line and scripts in the n900. Just my opinion though!
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA

_pigro_ said:
and how is multitasking on galaxy note? errr ... a bit of a dissapointment after n900! task switching is a bit cumbersome by comparison (though fine once you are used to it) but android tends to arbitrarily remove tasks from memory if you aren't using them which sucks. Also, if you are watching video it's not easy to concurrently do other stuff on android - as soon as you switch away from video, it auto-pauses. that said, the extra RAM makes up to an extent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also completely agree with the above.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA

While on this issue, is there a replacement for Mappero (maemo-mapper)? The features I miss in Google Maps compared to Mappero are:
On map tracking (including display of track length).
Display of route length/route distance remaining.
Precaching of maps by coordinates or along routes.
Saving of routes (for using without internet access.

You've got many answers on the app side of questions so i'll just say this. I too came from the n900 and i am very disappointed with the multitasking. I also completely agree with _pigro_.
There isnt much else im not happy with though. The size is phoenominal!
Do it you will be happy. Rooting and custom rom fun galore!

How's that for multitasking on the note?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1532980
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

mfractal said:
How's that for multitasking on the note?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1532980
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure it is capable of running lots at the same time but the actual handling of multitasking on android is far inferior.
Dont get me wrong, i am impressed with android, but i expected better multitasking. I have also experienced closing of apps that i left running but most of the time its seems ok and i can get used to it as the note is impressive in every other way.
The n900 also gave live thumbnails of apps when switching which still impressed me for the two years after my contract ended that i kept the n900 for. Such a good phone for its time.

nicholes said:
i have Nokia n900 and now i am also in seek of something new now! i think i should go for galaxy note.
i would get it if it has....
open ssh
app like smscon(control mobile via sms) (ie deleting files call a yourself, snap thief photo)
backup menu(keep rootfs and and installed software inulding OS)
evil alarm(an alarm which does not go off unless doing a task complete)
H-E-N
xterminal
emulatores(ie ps2.sega genesis)
vnc viwer
and root access and how is multitasking on galaxy note?
can anyone confirm for me?
you can google al the apps (since i am not allowed to post links here)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had a N900 before i bought a SGS2 and now have both SGS2 and Note!
The answer to your questions:
Q: Open ssh?
A: Don't need this!
Q: app like smscon?
A: Use Avast Anti-Theft!
Q: backup menu?
A: CWM!
Q: evil alarm!
A: Lot's of apps that do that!
Q: H-e-n?
A: On The Go (OTG) USB is supported by all versions of Gingerbread and ICS! No extra app for that is needed!
Q: xterminal?
A: MANY, MANY,MANY terminals for free in Market lol
Q: emulatores?
A: PS1, N64, etc etc etc.. all available in Market!
Q: vnc viewer?
A: Yep this too.. and you can emulate Linux and Backtrack 5
Root access is available to all devices that i know and multitasking works like a charm
Go get it!!! It's worth it and believe me, i loved my N900 and i love my Note even more!
Everything you dream you could do on N900 you can do on Note and more!
MatanZ said:
While on this issue, is there a replacement for Mappero (maemo-mapper)? The features I miss in Google Maps compared to Mappero are:
On map tracking (including display of track length).
Display of route length/route distance remaining.
Precaching of maps by coordinates or along routes.
Saving of routes (for using without internet access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use sygic! Works like a charm on Note!

[Q] switching from android to windows phone

Looking at the Nokia 640 on metro PCs , what are you guys opinions on this phone?I had a Nokia 521 quiet awhile back but switched to android because of the lack of SD card use back then.

I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.

In my opinion windows phones are always better and safe than android phones. You can also read about technology public relations.

Play Apps?
GoodDayToDie said:
I can't speak to MetroPCS as a carrier, but the 640 is a great phone for its price. The biggest problem with it is the same problem every WP device will have - there aren't as many apps available for the platform as there are for Android and iOS (although there are a bunch nonetheless, and more every day) - but the phone itself is quite good unless you need high-end specs for some reason. The OS runs very smoothly on it. Also, it's upgradable to Windows 10 Mobile (yes, Microsoft changed the branding on their phone OS *again*...), so you've got a reasonably future-proof design and it'll even be able to run at least some Android apps in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M

Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will not enable android apps to run directly on the phone like in an emulator, they developed a tool so android developers can recompile their existing app code so it can be used in windows, see the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgajY4An1I

I'm really looking forward to making the switch from Android. I've always been a Windows PC enthusiast, and Windows 10 is shaping up nicely.
So, a phone to match will be nice. As for apps for phones, I hardly use any nowadays.

The biggest disadvantage of WP is the low market share of under 10% .
This means that most of the useful apps or games will not be available to WP.
But if as you say you dont use apps and you like the windows style you should go for it!

My experience switching over
I picked up a 640 on T-Mobile the other day as a new "daily driver" - my S4 went swimming once upon a time and reception was never quite the same after that, and I've been thinking about app development and the possible advantages of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond - particularly if MS manages to be successful going forward with Windows Phone. I'm sure I won't have anything available by the time Windows 10 Mobile comes out, so I'm not sure how that's going to work out in the end - perhaps Android development would be a better choice after all? But my experience with the phone overall hasn't been bad so far, particularly not for $100.
The one thing that I hate about the phone is that I can't put it on WiFi at home - something about the WiFi config puts it into a boot loop when it tries to kick in the voice over WiFi piece. Seems like it's similar to the "no iOS zone" problem that turned up for Apple back in April, except that since (relatively) nobody is using Windows Phone nobody really cares. The "fix" recommended is "reset your router to factory defaults" which might be an issue since I'm running OpenWRT..... I'm thinking about putting the Windows 10 preview on so this may go away - even if it's only due to lack of support for T-Mobile's WiFi calling. At least I have LTE coverage in most of my house and an "unlimited" data plan.
The main thing I'm really missing is browser choice - I REALLY miss having Firefox and Dolphin, because I do a lot of long-form reading in my browser and the readability view in FF is much more usable. LastPass in Dolphin is also nice to have, though it never worked for me in Firefox. I'm also missing the addon ecosystems of both browsers. Surfy is at least a nice addition, but browsers on WP seem to be at least 2-3 years behind what's on Android. Both IE and Surfy "feel" kind of like the built-in browser in Gingerbread (2.3) or maybe in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) before Google started pushing Chrome as the default browser. Having relatively weak browser(s) is a problem because with the lack of apps at least I can use mobile websites..... when they don't simply crash out the IE tab/window/whatever since it's not a tabbed or windowed interface.
I'm also hoping that Pocket Casts will work correctly for me after their next update (currently it hangs if I turn on sync to pull in my podcasts, then dies on app startup), but I'll survive for a while. I'm also feeling the lack of good ebook readers, I've been spoiled by Cool Reader and Moon+ Reader Pro on the Android side.
The only things besides browsers that I'm really missing:
Things tied in with Google's ecosystem - I use Google Voice for my voicemail, I've been using Location History for a long time to help me track when I arrive at and leave customer locations, and there's a group of us that uses Google Hangouts for group chat. I can get Voice notifications in email with the transcriptions then listen to the messages via URL. The Location History bit I may be able to replace with Phone Tracker, but I'm not sure what to do about Hangouts yet.
Replacement keyboards! I've been a big Swiftkey user for years and would love to have it back even without the voice recognition link (which launches Google's service). I hate having to do 4-6 extra keystrokes to enter passwords because of the switches to get to numbers/punctuation and extended punctuation (via the numbers page). There are places where Hacker's Keyboard (a much more full keyboard nice for terminal emulations) was also nice to have.
A GOOD text editor (e.g. DroidEdit which has syntax highlighting, etc.) or really even an adequate text editor. Maybe a mediocre one? Please? I've seen mention of Code Editor but was unimpressed by the "Free" version (first thing it does is throw you to the store page for the paid version, free version can't even see the "advanced" editor that's the only reason to actually consider it). The only other option that at least looks good in screenshots ("HTML+JS+CSS IDE") hasn't been updated since 2013 and has a total of 3 reviews - and the two with text are both 1-star.
CallTrack (which adds all of my phone calls to my Google Calendar, tagged appropriately and with start and end times) and SMS Backup (which uploads my sent/received SMS to GMail, tagged appropriately). CallTrack is great for going back and "Who did I talk to that day?" and SMS Backup is great for tracking down things received in old messages. I WILL be working on finding replacements for these.
And a few less-important things that I can either do without or still need to find replacements for:
My auto mileage/service tracking app - if there's something comparable to aCar then I haven't seen it yet.
OpenVPN, though the VPN service I use allows IPSEC as well so I'll need to set that up.
Lyft, though I've not actually needed to use it. I know Uber's on there, I just like what I know of Lyft better (and there's one area where my wife may need it that's on the edge of the areas for both but Lyft covers it and Uber doesn't).
KeePass - I believe I saw one implementation in the Store, but I'd want to check into the background of it given the number of scam apps I've come across.

@fencepost: Good list of stuff, there. I don't really have a good solution to much of it - I mean, Microsoft has alternatives to a lot of Google's stuff, but they are mutually incompatible so everybody you hang out with would need to switch too - but those are some good problems to list. The problem with WiFi calling is probably a T-Mobile bug, sadly; I don't have it myself but WiFi Calling on WP8.x isn't really as good as it could be. My biggest personal complaint with WiFi is that the OS is too damn desperate to stay on (unusably weak) WiFi signals even when it has cellular data; if I'm actively using my phone when I leave the apartment (for example, checking a bus schedule) it's faster to manually disable WiFi than to rely on the phone to notice that the WiFi signal is much too weak to use and fail over to cellular. Ideally I'd be able to tell the phone to use cellular by *default* and only use WiFi for stuff that it can't get ont he WAN (LAN servers, etc.), but the OS wasn't really designed to provide an optimal experience for people with unlimited data plans.
The custom keyboard thing may be fixable soon - at least, I really hope so - but for now it is indeed a problem. WP8.1 has the best *built-in* keyboard of the three leading mobile OSes, IMO, but it's not better than all the Android options.
As for a text editor, I generally avoid writing anything longer than notes or minor document edits (or emails, but usually only plain text) on the phone, so I haven't really looked. You might be able to use SSH or Remote Desktop, though; there's a number of decent apps for each (including a MS-authored one for RDP) and with unlimited data they should work. You may even find them more useful than a local editor. It might be worth setting up a Remote App server (so you'd *just* get an editor, rather than a whole desktop) for this.
OpenVPN *should* be possible to port, but it needs a driver (TUN/TAP) and MS would need to approve or provide that even more than they would need to approve a new VPN app (which I think requires a capability not normally available to third-party devs). I'm tempted to say that they really *should* allow it, but I'm also painfully aware that OpenVPN on Windows (and, possibly, other platforms) is sort of crap. I can usually beat it into submission on a machine where I have admin, but on a phone it could simply just sit there being unusable until the phone gets rebooted or something.
WP8 in general seems to have a lower risk of scam apps than Android, but it's definitely a good idea to look into any password keeper utility's trustworthiness.
EDIT: As for browsers, as far as I know there's not actually any rule against third-party browsers. Opera Mini does exist for WP8, which is cool, but so far as I know nobody has ported a Gecko or WebKit/Blink-based browser. Ideally, somebody should fix this, although getting them to work within WP8's application model might mean rebuilding a lot of the browser as well as just porting the rendering engine.

Metalbuddhist said:
Where are these claims about Android apps to WP coming from? Isn't it still a rumour?
I can't seem to find any official substanciated news about this...
As I understand it MS currently have two problems regarding the app-gap;
1) if they open WP to Play-apps, then they risk losing interest from dev's to continue making apps specifically to WP, making WP more or less another version of Android.
2) making dev's keen on making apps for a third platform, which isn't futureproof yet (even tho it's been around for long enough). This "solution" will make WP it's own and keep MS in the mobilemarket as an real and actual alternative to the established platforms.
What is sure and what are rumours?
M
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.

Let ms make a toolkit for the android devs
A toolkit to one click port it to MS ecosystem
Then the threshold to port it would be lower and a real mony maker for the devs
Sent from my C6603 using XDA Free mobile app

NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want Android apps as such, but Android and IOS devs in the wp game.
I've had a lot of Apple and Andy devices the last eight years and have grown to like the variety of developers and want they put out for us.
WP is a good ecosystem, but the app gap is way bigger than I expected. There are just to many everyday apps I had on my other phones, which I cannot get in WP (yet).
I feel like I've walked into a grossery store and most of the shelfes are empty... I have to buy my oj and milk in another store, simply because MS can't get those dev's on board.
...And that's just a crying shame.

The 640 has a baked in WiFi calling feature rather than a separate app like almost every other Lumia device. I think it may be the only Lumia to have Wi-Fi calling baked into the SIM settings rather than running as a separate app.
Be careful if you are using any Google apps with it - Google is scared of Windows phone and they are doing everything they can to prevent app development. Any app they have taken over will never see another Windows phone release, and they are kind of crazy about it. For example Microsoft made their own YouTube app because Google wouldn't ,Google forced them to take it down. Now the YouTube app on the WP is just a link to YouTube - not because no one wants to make one for WP, but because Google won't let anyone make one.
---------- Post added at 08:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
I should add though - I have the 640 and it's awesome, extremely fast, well built, solid screen, expandable SD card slot, decent cameras for a phone and an ok flash. It's also neat the way the apps tie together with your windows 10 computer

NightOrchid said:
I read an article on Flipboard some while ago that MS had ditched it because of Lack of security in Open-source and it wouldnt work directly from the file system.. only if they sideloaded Android apps. Why do we want android apps anyway.. It removes the love of WP. MS need to invest more money in their WP store to entice new devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried both Windows as well as Android Phone but everyone will agree that Android is anytime the best coz of features or benefits it has to offer. I used to be a Windows Mobile fan but now I love Android.
I would not switch to Windows again for now atleast

General Questions about updating Tab S2 ROM

treat me like an idiot if these are obvious..
I want to put Samsung stock nougat on my rooted SM-T810, and I have some general questions. if all this info is gathered somewhere else, please point me there. maybe I used bad search terms?
1) for US, I use the XNZ country code, correct?
if there's an update thread already, consider this an apology for wasting your time. please stop reading now and point me to it. otherwise:
2) Use Odin 3.12, correct?
3) Can I just use twrp to update?
4) will I lose root?
5) if yes to above, could you please point me to a rooting guide (SM T810)
6) other than the ROM itself, what do I need?

yeah - so i'm an idiot. I see the 'no questions' posting now. guess I jumped the gun

Is your current s2 Tab working smoothly? If so, why risking an update?

why not? I like to play around and keep current. Besides, IMHO, Android s**** as an OS, still unable to do things Windows was doing in the early 90s. I keep hoping someday it will grow up... I know Android and Windows have different purposes, but until I can network at the OS rather than app level (built in), and until it is fully 'self-contained' and doesn't require a PC for changing OS versions (w/o 3rd party apps), etc., I'm going to consider it 'not ready for prime time'. Just my opinion.

"Keep it current" what does this mean?
You do realize that the lastest software versions often come with the most current bugs and issues at hand.
If you need to network, install Kali Linux, I'd suggest.

'keep it current' = keep all apps and the os to the most recent version possible
bugs: yeah, but it also comes with the latest features
Linux: on the tablet? there's a version? but that's sort of beside the point - Android lacks a functionality that's been in every other OS on the planet since at least the early 90s. it may be by intent, but it still ain't there, and it would sure make my life easier if I could map a drive from my nas and have it's contents available to all apps: music player, movie player, ebook reader. for work, I've used it to process data in the field using Octave. Getting the data on and off is always a pain - better if I could map a share and go from there.
not trying to argue - you asked, i'm elaborating. too much, maybe.

Keep all apps and the os to the most recent version possible. But what for?
Why trying desperately to fix a working car?
Updates eat storage and in most cases performance. Worse, introduce new bugs and so on.
I do not get this: update mania. Sure, it certainly assures that the Superclass can easily spy on every single user but besides that.. it makes no sense IMO.
Certainly, Android is Linux based after all. So yes, you could root your Tab and install Linux.
Drive access. That's already possible. You can connect an external SSD drive or HD drive via USB. Or NAS,
http://www.techrepublic.com/google-...o-help-you-connect-to-network-storage/?espv=1
I feel you. No arguing here either, just trying to understand your viewpoint.

just want a fully functional 'computer' where I can access files without having to use one app to copy the files over from the nas and another to use them. step one is the OS's responsibility, IMO. want access to network drives and otg drives to be identical to access I get on the internal memory.
and if you really want to get me going, start up on selinux, the "god i'm so afraid to go outside" solution. yeah - let's punish everyone because that guy over there is being bad. and lack of automatic root access? these are children's toys? unfortunately, my favorite ebook reader is only on android. as is the best music player I've found.
fun discussion, but I gotta get some work done

Msamp said:
just want a fully functional 'computer' where I can access files without having to use one app to copy the files over from the nas and another to use them. step one is the OS's responsibility, IMO. want access to network drives and otg drives to be identical to access I get on the internal memory.
and if you really want to get me going, start up on selinux, the "god i'm so afraid to go outside" solution. yeah - let's punish everyone because that guy over there is being bad. and lack of automatic root access? these are children's toys? unfortunately, my favorite ebook reader is only on android. as is the best music player I've found.
fun discussion, but I gotta get some work done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you are not really understanding the role smartphones and tablets play in the computing world. They are more communications terminals designed to be usable without mice and keyboards rather than stand alone computers. Your recurring references to what computers could do in 1990 is a little off. All you had (at most) was windows 3.0. That did not include networking out of the box, but relied on device-specific drivers and utilities (i.e. Novell) to access a thin-net ethernet coax cable or IBM token ring network. If you want to get online, be prepared to use a serial terminal and a But I digress...
Android is not Windows. It is a cut down and specialized version Linux. Linux/Android is not a single monolithic OS like Windows. It does not do SMB out of the box, but needs a Samba client to do SMB to your windows-ish NAS. It does not try to be all things to all people, but rather gives you the basics and lets you, Joe User, add on the things to make it do what you want. In short they don't bloat it down with stuff only 10% of users will want to use.
To access your NAS, there are Samba (SMB) and ftp clients that let you do it. In fact I have a couple Android streamer boxes on my TVs around the house. They connect directly to my NAS video libraries and pull movies and other videos directly from there using a variety of protocols. Do I need to do that on my phone? No, but hey, I can install KODI on that phone and do just that. I can also put KODI on my windows box and do the same thing. But if I want to disconnect, I can copy these movies to my Tablet/Phone and play them any time I want off line. This is all things I would challenge you to do using Windows 3.0 in 1990 (don't even think of doing full touch screen support with Windows 3.x).
But well, if you really want your phone or tablet to work like Windows, you should run Windows on it

not '1990' - 'early nineties'. big difference. Win 3.1 (or WFW?) had an add-on, but still OS level tcp/ip stack
paragraph 2: I don't count real networking as an option. I should be able to access my ebooks on my nas usung ebookdroid, not have to move trhem to the tab using ESfilemanager THEN read them. I have a HUGE library of pdfs, movies, music, more than will fit on my 128 gig sd card (or a 256 g card for that matter), and i'd like access to the WHOLE THING from any appropriate app I choose. all the smb apps suck green worms, by the way.
I don't want to have to install a freakin client - it should be part of the os. imho, of course

btw: this discussion has become pointless. I have my preferences, you have yours. that's the way it should be. and as far as their 'role' goes: give them a bigger one - they're capable.
'bye

I totally understand your gripe. And I do wholeheartedly agree there should be a *root* toggle in the **Developer Option**.
But here is the thing, how are greedy conglomerates, and the gov puppets, supposed to spy on each and every single citizen if they just uninstall all spyware?
Moreover, most consumers are just too *untechy* and they would probably lose all their bank account, credit card and online shopping data to third parties and eventually blame the OEM. I smell lawsuits of the retard.
Auto updates are there for a reason. Control.
For instance, Samsung's new high-tech TVs record audio 24/7. Same for all these assistant devices.. Amazon Echo, Google Home etc. Seriously, 1984 isn't that far away anymore.

Msamp said:
treat me like an idiot if these are obvious..
I want to put Samsung stock nougat on my rooted SM-T810, and I have some general questions. if all this info is gathered somewhere else, please point me there. maybe I used bad search terms?
1) for US, I use the XNZ country code, correct?
if there's an update thread already, consider this an apology for wasting your time. please stop reading now and point me to it. otherwise:
2) Use Odin 3.12, correct?
3) Can I just use twrp to update?
4) will I lose root?
5) if yes to above, could you please point me to a rooting guide (SM T810)
6) other than the ROM itself, what do I need?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Odin AND the rom... i think you will lose root but you can always go back in twrp to install supersu.
I did something similar, i used Samsung Smart Switch to do an emergency reset on mine and it installed the latest firmware (nougat).
That will unroot and remove twrp.
I wouldn't (and didn't) reflash TWRP and root because you lose OTA updates, and right now there's some bugs in Nougat that , for me, were fixed in an OTA update. But once you flash with Smart Switch, you could always re-install TWRP and root again if you want.
Don't mind Niii4, he ranted about the same things in my thread and to others too...