Develop Bugs

Android apk's for IT types

While there are plenty of useful threads out there pointing out various apps, I haven't found one that listed the kinds of apps that someone who works in IT like me might find useful, hence this thread.
Hopefully others can add.
1/
ABBY Business Card Reader - A nice app to take a picture of a business card, them import it into contacts. - It is NOT 100% accurate, it DOES require user input to make corrections, but even so, it is worth the money.
2/
Snap n go - a useful little app that requires a companion app on the PC - basically use a camera to take a pic of windows explorer and touch the file to import viw wi-fi
3/
Office suite - self explanatory
4/
Gingerbread keyboard - what it says, if you type much this is the best by far.
5/
QR droid - 2D barcodes, fabulously useful, learn to use these things, you will need to sooner or later.
6/
Electrodroid - paid version - absolutely brilliant for anyone who goes anywhere near computer or electronic hardware, does far too much for me to list here, from various connector pin-outs to resistor circuit calculations.
7/
MobileBiz Pro - paid version - create quotes and send invoices from your mobile, the complete mobile billing solution, one customer will pay for this truly excellent app.
8/
PC Monitor - paid version - companion to an app run as a service on a PC, stonking app, does just about everything you could require for monitoring and controlling remote computers via GSM, including running command line, booting users, controlling services, monitoring hardware, truly excellent app.
9/
WiFi File Explorer - paid version - file manipulation and exchange between phone and any computer with wi-fi, just open a browser window on the computer. Another superb app.
Just add a 16 gig SD card and fill it with useful apps and tools, magic, never worry about which USB stick hold what again.
10/
Wifi Analyser - does what it sounds like, very useful.
11/
RF Signal tracker - does what it sounds like but for phone / radio frequencies, very useful.
12/
SetCPU - paid app - brilliant for underclocking on demand, which prolongs battery life.
13/
Network mapper - the android version of cheops etc.
14/
SMS Backup + (Jan Berkel) - does what it says on the tin.
15/
Contact Analyser 2 - stops cruft building up with contacts.
16/
GTech Net Tools - another very useful TCP test app
17/
Network Info II - another useful network info tool
18/
Terminal Emulator - does what it says on the tin
19/
GPS Survey - very useful for outdoor wi-fi
20/
Google - Mail / Maps / Navigation / Buzz, very very useful.
21/
Titanium backup - self explanatory
All of the above turn my Galaxy S into a portable office complete with customer billing, plus a portable computer / wi-fi diagnostic toolbox

I would swap 14 for SMS Backup+. It backs up the call log as well and all automatically to your Gmail account.

Tehpriest said:
I would swap 14 for SMS Backup+. It backs up the call log as well and all automatically to your Gmail account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
quite right too, installed on my phone now.

Thank you! Very useful app!

Nice one !
Thanks for the mention of Electrodroid, it comes in very handy in the garage, even if it does now mean my phone gets covered in grease and oil now

FlanFlinger said:
Nice one !
Thanks for the mention of Electrodroid, it comes in very handy in the garage, even if it does now mean my phone gets covered in grease and oil now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you go near a car then Garage Buddy is also quite useful.
There are also some good android ODB interfaces if you have a more modern vehicle.

MyTunesExtractor - Free iTunes Playlist Extract and Converter! (Not Spam I made this)

Hey all,
I am not sure if this is the right place to post this or not, but being I have a captivate, I figured I would start here...
I wrote a small little application called MyTunesExtract.
Basically what it will do is read your itunes library file, create a list of all of your playlists and then let you extract those playlists to m3u files and folders to a locating of your choosing.
For example, you configure your Extract point to be E:\Music ( e:\ is the mount point for my phone)
I then select a playlist, and hit export. It will copy over all of the tracks (retaining directory structure) and build an m3u playlist that IS compatible with the Stock Samsung music player. I haven't tried any other players out yet.
Import things to note:
- This is a ROUGH RELEASE somewhere between beta and final.
- The itunes library is treated as READ-ONLY!!
- This app seriously lacks error handling, but should work pretty consistently once it's setup.
- Depending on how many people use it will determine my support plan. I currently and planning a v2 of this app that will be a complete re-write, done right with error handling and multi-output support at runtime, along with multi-playlist formats.
- This app is FREE and COMES WITH NO/ZERO/NONE Warranty.
- Donations are always welcomed and certainly appreciated.
- I will try to help people regardless of donations, but please remember this is a pet project for me and I can only work on this once my son is down to bed.
- I would keep itunes CLOSED when running this, just to prevent any possible hick-ups.
- This DOES work over network drives, my itunes library is on a different machine and I can give my library path as: \\machine\music\itunes\itunes library.xml
Installation!!!
- Very easy, open the MyTunesExtract.exe.config there are two paths there... the first one: defaultiTunesLibrary points to the location of your itunes library XML, I repeat, XML file, not the itl. The other one: defaultSyncFolder points to the output location for creating playlists and folders.
- There is no install process other than that. Just configure it and run the exe.
Notes
- I try to be a bit smart about playlist extracting, it will only copy files if it doesn't already see it in the output directory.
- Because of that the Files to Copy count is only files MISSING in the output folder. If your playlist has 20 songs, and 8 are already there, the Copy Count will be 12...
- I've tested this with the latest version of itunes.
I've attached 3 screenshots that show what it looks like.
Hope you guys get some use out of this!
Thanks and enjoy,
Rich

Excellent idea - the one thing stopping my daughter getting an android is iTunes.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Thanks, it was born out of the same scenario. My wife and I have a large iTunes library with tons of playlists, and I couldn't figure an easy way to get them out...
Tried DoubleTwist, Winamp and a couple others, nothing was simple, complete and fool-proof, (and free!).
Either way, if you use it, let me know! I would love some feedback.
Thanks,
Rich

This is a really nice idea and thanks for the effort in creating this. Is there any way to repackage this app for mac?

Hey, thanks for the feedback. The only mac I have is an Ipad, so I don't think I will be able to help you so much there. It's written in .Net 4, I don't think there is any compatibility layer you can run AFAIK. Maybe Boot camp?
Thanks,
Rich

Interest in "Opensource Sync" software

Hi all!
I have been wandering around the info we have, and even with SPST we get not much improvement since a while.
I'have been thinking on purchasing another unit (device) to try to keep on the testing, without messing up with QPST or NVitems this time. But as all you know, that would cost money (would rock if not!).
So, in short words, i would want to know what's the interest on an opensource sync/browse software (similar to zune but without playing features) as donationware to relief the device cost and time spent over it.
The above means the "Connected" label on the kin screen and way to upload/download files manually, since the kin supports libMTP operations and just needs that "label" and usb status to transfer. Not meaning a OS change to android/meego/[enter other OS here] or a hacking attempt. If it later allows some kind of recovery for bricks or improvement on the device OS changing attempts, it's welcome from me.
Just as notes of what i had previously to the brick phase:
- Current supported OS: linux (the experts here could know if the libs below work on windows through mingw32 or native compilation)
- Libraries used: lib-usb (headers), libmtp (with libmtp-tools) in command prompt / terminal.
- Kin set up in normal mode ("Kin" device in windows).
- Language C++ (OO code).
- Raw access to the Kin through usb bulk transfers (requires sudo / root privileges).
Also, alternatives on the purchasement would be thanked .

so from what i understand, this program would be capable of accessing music and pictures and things, but not system files? am i on the right track there?
as long as it has you think you can give it more functionality than zune has, i'm in full support and will gladly donate to the cause.
i would offer to help, but my programming experience is pretty limited, especially in C++. i'm reasonably competent in C#, but it doesn't sound like that's gonna be of much help.

slimeq said:
so from what i understand, this program would be capable of accessing music and pictures and things, but not system files? am i on the right track there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, totally right there. access what's called "Storage" at "My computer" on windows pc's, when you connect to the zune software having the registry hack (images of that can be seen in this forum).
slimeq said:
as long as it has you think you can give it more functionality than zune has, i'm in full support and will gladly donate to the cause.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in fact, there is no much more you can do, but the libmtp tools already let you format the storage and do the common operations, so the thing is triggering the right usb status to write.
slimeq said:
i would offer to help, but my programming experience is pretty limited, especially in C++. i'm reasonably competent in C#, but it doesn't sound like that's gonna be of much help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not right now, but the raw usb access can be wrapped as dll to call from c# where, of course, would be a lot easier to develop a gui. Actual code is pretty much abstract, so i call to "writeData(dataArray, length)" instead all the low level codes. But it has console mode only (not much to do hehe).
I may post what i have at the moment but as it just tests to talk to the kin... it's pretty lame hahaha.

It may be just me, but I don't quite see the point in going through all the trouble to only get the same result.. A quick sync through Zune works and there's nothing more we could get out of it, is there?
But if it can possibly increase the chances of this thing being hacked, I'm in..
(I'd love to be able to get the text message logs to my computer, but ehh.)

First of all yes.
Second, you cannot "customize" what to sync. You sync what's OK for zune, and what you could add to the zune software. Zune software is not Kin specific but added as supported (limited) device.MTP protocol allows you to get what the device is capable of, i will paste it on a txt file, as it's kinda huge for "our" device. Not all is done on zune, like "firmware files" support (whatever they are).
Third, apart from macspace app for mac, there is no support for linux (even for the Zune hardware) to get synced.
Fourth, we dont know if enabling the usb status for the transfer you can get the explorer to write on the device (that's on the air).
And last, logs files, pinned-apps, etc should be on the storage but they are not accesible to us or could be on another partition. That's one of the questions we still have floating around.

johnkussack said:
Furthermore, if you try to make a lame hijacking test, renaming a mp3 to image or the opposite (like "image.mp3"), the Zune software detects it, before you sync, so outta luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i pulled this from a different thread, but it's more relevant here.
if the zune software automatically detects hijacks, would it be possible that the phone itself has no security in place to detect it? because if so, a third party file explorer could theoretically sync hijack-type files to the phone, no?

johnkussack said:
Not right now, but the raw usb access can be wrapped as dll to call from c# where, of course, would be a lot easier to develop a gui. Actual code is pretty much abstract, so i call to "writeData(dataArray, length)" instead all the low level codes. But it has console mode only (not much to do hehe).
I may post what i have at the moment but as it just tests to talk to the kin... it's pretty lame hahaha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you get the technical stuff up and running i'd gladly do some gui work.

slimeq said:
if the zune software automatically detects hijacks, would it be possible that the phone itself has no security in place to detect it? because if so, a third party file explorer could theoretically sync hijack-type files to the phone, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite sure of that affirmation. We dunno if uploading a file would work "as is" pasting or you need to go through a usb protocol (within MTP protocol) which says "it's a photo, and it's named image.jpg" and upload it accordingly.
The answer to that would be to get the thing working and testing.
As promised, i posted what lib MTP said about the kin two capabilities (before it became dead). It's a bit specific & technic, but it's more public information now .

Just to give more info on this topic (syncing software):
MTP specification:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From Kin MTP info (posted by me above):
3000: Undefined Type
da99: Unknown property UINT128 data type GET/SET
dc04: Object Size UINT64 data type READ ONLY
dab0: Unknown property UINT8 data type ANY 8BIT VALUE form GET/SET
da97: Unknown property UINT128 data type GET/SET
dc4f: Non Consumable UINT8 data type enumeration: 0, 1, GET/SET
dc07: Object File Name STRING data type GET/SET
dc02: Object Format UINT16 data type ANY 16BIT VALUE form READ ONLY
dc0b: Parent Object UINT32 data type ANY 32BIT VALUE form READ ONLY
dc01: Storage ID UINT32 data type ANY 32BIT VALUE form READ ONLY
dc41: Persistant Unique Object Identifier UINT128 data type READ ONLY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means that the MTP protocol (standard and in the kin) would allow us to write non zune files (mp3, image, playlists) on the storage, even if it has no use in the kin itself.
This means placing exe files too, even if we cannot run them anyway.
Of course, this doesnt happen in Zune or Kin Media Sync, even using MTP (or MTPz) because companies dont want you to write dirty things in the device, so they let you sync normal (multimedia) filetypes only.
I wonder what would happen if i could have some "read All files" code which doesnt filter non-multimedia files... !

Hey John, I had noticed that installing Songbird (for Windows, as it includes native MTP support), it's able to read a LOT of information about the phone, more than I've seen the Zune software do. The only problem comes when I try to read or write files to the phone, that Songbird is getting some unexpected response and simply fails or crashes during the process.
Also, when it's connected to the Kin, Zune is unable to access the phone.
Since I'm still new to MTP, are you aware of why simple data retrieval would work, but file I/O would be a problem?

klamation said:
Hey John, I had noticed that installing Songbird (for Windows, as it includes native MTP support), it's able to read a LOT of information about the phone, more than I've seen the Zune software do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get the file i attached on the 1st post. Has the info provided by the libraries used by songbird (probably same as mines on linux).
Of course, MTP was designed to get public properties from the phone, just when they are standard (name, manufactured, battery state, ....)
For that thing, you dont even need to initiate a mtp session, i think, but for some specific commands you must do.
I'm far from an expert on MTP, just read what i got in the specification (and some sites), and it's a easy yet effective way to communicate with a device.
From what i have seen, mtp session and communications go in a half-duplex mode (walkie-talkie way to do) where only one host (PC) talks to a device(Kin) one at a time.
I guess that also applies to applications using the kin MTP. just one, the other awaits till the mtp session ends. And that's why songbird may be blocking access to it.
That could explain why we can't see files in explorer with zune open or that weird random things we got using registry hacks.
Anyway, it's just a matter of time till we write a lame image/file to the device.

Huge bug in BackgroundTransferService

Just found a huge and very annoying bug in WP7 BackgroundTransferService (it's a task for background file transfers, downloads or uploads).
If you create and add BackgroundTransferRequest, but cancel and dispose it shortly, during download process (i.e. download not finished yet), or even uninstall application (sic!), the OS does NOT release the reserved space (equal of the total file size, doesn't really matter how much data you've already downloaded!) The only way to avoid that problem is to wait until transfer completion. But if your app will be uninstalled during non-completed transfer, you're (i.e. user) out of luck
I did some investigation with interop-unlocked phone. Actual files are stored in \My Documents\Zune\PimentoCache\Lib\<numberic subfolders>; on interop-unlocked phone you may easily delete unwanted "space eaters" (in my case, files are .mp4 video files with real huge sizes, from 250 to 800 MB) but on regular dev-unlocked device you have no choice than do a hard reset - as I supposed to do with my Lumia 900
So, my note to WP7 developers: use these "BuggyTransferService" with care, you can easy damage the user's phone. I believe that bug is the main source of some rare complains about "I've magically lost phone storage free space". And shame on Microsoft to ruin the perfect "sandbox" concept by buggy and untested API!
P.S. As for me (personally) the most annoying thing is: because of "super-duper-STUPID" protection, I can't cleanup my Lumia 900 (and MS didn't provide any tool for that!) and should (damn!) do a hard reset, and reinstall whole stuff For the first time I start thinking, I've chosen a wrong platform to live and work with...

sensboston said:
Just found a huge and very annoying bug in WP7 BackgroundTransferService (it's a task for background file transfers, downloads or uploads).
If you create and add BackgroundTransferRequest, but cancel and dispose it shortly, during download process (i.e. download not finished yet), or even uninstall application (sic!), the OS does NOT release the reserved space (equal of the total file size, doesn't really matter how much data you've already downloaded!) The only way to avoid that problem is to wait until transfer completion. But if your app will be uninstalled during non-completed transfer, you're (i.e. user) out of luck
I did some investigation with interop-unlocked phone. Actual files are stored in \My Documents\Zune\PimentoCache\Lib\<numberic subfolders>; on interop-unlocked phone you may easily delete unwanted "space eaters" (in my case, files are .mp4 video files with real huge sizes, from 250 to 800 MB) but on regular dev-unlocked device you have no choice than do a hard reset - as I supposed to do with my Lumia 900
So, my note to WP7 developers: use these "BuggyTransferService" with care, you can easy damage the user's phone. I believe that bug is the main source of some rare complains about "I've magically lost phone storage free space". And shame on Microsoft to ruin the perfect "sandbox" concept by buggy and untested API!
P.S. As for me (personally) the most annoying thing is: because of "super-duper-STUPID" protection, I can't cleanup my Lumia 900 (and MS didn't provide any tool for that!) and should (damn!) do a hard reset, and reinstall whole stuff For the first time I start thinking, I've chosen a wrong platform to live and work with...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm what about subsequent reboots? I know that I've done what you've just stated above multiple times in testing BGTransferService, yet I see no files within those multiple folders. Maybe syncing the phone helps clear the cache? I don't know.

Reboot doesn't help. If you saw many empty folders, it means your transfers successfully completed and downloaded files are in your app's isf (it's a normal situation).
Try to:
- start a few transfers (AFAIR limit is 2 simultaneous transfers)
- remove and dispose transfers
Code:
BackgroundTransferService.Remove(transferToRemove);
transferToRemove.Dispose();
or just uninstall app.
You'll see "lost" files in these folders. Try to download huge files (like in my case - video recordings) to be sure they will not complete soon.

sensboston said:
Reboot doesn't help. If you saw many empty folders, it means your transfers successfully completed and downloaded files are in your app's isf (it's a normal situation).
Try to:
- start a few transfers (AFAIR limit is 2 simultaneous transfers)
- remove and dispose transfers
Code:
BackgroundTransferService.Remove(transferToRemove);
transferToRemove.Dispose();
or just uninstall app.
You'll see "lost" files in these folders. Try to download huge files (like in my case - video recordings) to be sure they will not complete soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh so basically you have that switch enabled that allows you to download over 10 MB (or whatever that limit is). That may be the issue then with that switch and the API.

Of course I do (transferRequest.TransferPreferences = TransferPreferences.None; ) but it's a default value. Actually Background Transfers API is very useful for the large files: you shouldn't care about power loss/battery drain/connectivity loss - the whole idea is a brilliant (and I like it). But implementation is kinda buggy And MS-side support is awful. The official from MS just confirmed what "bug is well known and will be fixed" but that's all - I did a damn hard reset and spent lot of time to reinstall stuff (also lost my game progress/sms/etc. and so on 'cause MS+NOKIA are really care not for bugs but for "protection") At least they may send me a provisioning file packed in .cab, to clean-up the mess. But... seems it sounds like a "project" for MS

Outdoor lovers - Alpine Quest (Topo maps) sideloads beautifully (Guide inside)

So, being an outdoor guy, i love getting to play with technology and the outdoors, but sadly, the Android Wear platform is still lacking a bit. For yits and giggles though, i decided to try a program called Alpine Quest (which for those who dont know, is an app that can load topo and other maps from various sources, and of course, show you where you are on them). It took a bit of manual work, but surprisingly, works REALLY well. For anyone like me who wants to have standalone topo maps on their watch, here are some simple instructions to get it set (to do this, you will need either your companion phone, or another android device):
1) Install Alpine Quest (AQ) on your phone/tablet/etc
2) Install AQ on your watch (following one of many sideloading tutorials or tools), but don't run yet (don't worry, wont break things if you do)
3) Open AQ on your main device, and download offline maps of your choice (keep in mind the limited storage on the watch, so don't go crazy with the tiles...)
4) Once everything is downloaded, using a file explorer, locate the "alpinequest" folder on your phone (commonly on the root of your internal "sdcard"), and zip it up (the whole thing, not just bits and pieces)
5) Copy the data zip to the computer that you used to sideload with on the watch
6) Push this zip (again, suggest using one of the available AW tools) to phone (again, root of "sdcard" storage is perfect)
7) Using a file explorer on the watch (ES works great, but take your pick), extract the zip to the root (should wind up with an alpinequest folder just like you had on your phone).
8) Open AQ on the watch!
The steps look bad, but they really aren't Basically, since AQ on the watch cant directly connect to the internet (right now), you have to use your phone to do the heavy lifting, and put the results on the watch. Once you have the maps, the app works perfectly-
- You can use the watch GPS for exact location (hopefully you got maps for where you are/plan to be)
- You can zoom/navigate/etc just like on a full size device (in fact, i would recommend learning on the phone just to get an idea).
I am sure most will pan this as stupid or overkill, but i love knowing that little by little, my watch is jsut as useful as a real outdoor backup to my phone, and that it can do so much. Hopefully, this guide helps other outdoor nerds like me.

Where can I find AW tools?
THX

hi
could you elaborate a few points
link for side loading tutorial
link for aw tools (what is aw tools?)
thanks

HOW do you get the maps to your watch???
Instructions are missing far to many points... You also keep refering to PHONE and NOT WATCH!!!!!

Hi,
do you know someone capable of modifying the organization of the keys on the screen of an application.
I tested the alpinequest app on stratos 3 the display of traces and IGN maps works. But to save your track the record button and in the bottom right corner so in the rounded corners of the watch suddenly inaccessible ....
otherwise the application will be perfect for realizing the topo .. thank you for helping me