[Q] How to handle compatibility between android versions? - Design, Prototyping, UI, Graphics

I will be creating my first application and if I want it to be backwards compatible with Gingerbread (according to AndroidTapp Gingerbread is still widely used). If I choose to build against API level for Jelly Bean, would it be backwards compatible? Or do I need to choose an API level for Gingerbread?
How do you guys handle this?

Backward compatibility of apps is a given in today's Android ecosystem. With Gingerbread occupying 48% market share, developers are giving it their all to make apps compatible with it. Multiple libraries like ActionBaSherlock, NineOldANdroids and HoloEverywhere simplify this
Some things like Action Bar are not compatible with GB. But if you're building a basic app, just set targetSdk to 16 or whatever and minSdk to 8/9
To use newer things like the Action Bar on GB and earlier, you'll need the libraries mentioned earlier
Here's a guide on using the ActionBar on pre-honeycomb devices
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2321406
Sent from my Nexus⁴

QuantumFoam said:
Some things like Action Bar are not compatible with GB. But if you're building a basic app, just set targetSdk to 16 or whatever and minSdk to 8/9
To use newer things like the Action Bar on GB and earlier, you'll need libraries, such as Action Bar Sherlock, Nine Old Androids etc
Sent from my Nexus⁴
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google announced its own ActionBar compatibility library.
It will be available soon.
http://youtu.be/Jl3-lzlzOJI?t=2m38s

So help me understand something. What is the difference between target SDK and main SDK?

JGeZau said:
So help me understand something. What is the difference between target SDK and main SDK?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The target is used for compiling. If you want to use features introduced in API, let's say 11, your target needs to be at least 11.
The other one is the minSdk. It is the API level needed to run the app. If you set it to 8, people with Android 2.1 and lower versions, won't be able to install it.

So if I decide to choose API level 8 for the main sdk, would it be possible to later change it to, lets say, 7 or even 4. Same goes if I decide to choose 15, then later change it to 8?

JGeZau said:
So if I decide to choose API level 8 for the main sdk, would it be possible to later change it to, lets say, 7 or even 4. Same goes if I decide to choose 15, then later change it to 8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can.
Just one thing: It is minSdk, not mainSdk.

Ah lol. 'Min' makes more sense. Thank you
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Related

A good reason not to upgrade to the new Market in Froyo

Market filters:
When a user searches or browses in Android Market, the results are filtered, and some applications might not be visible. For example, if an application requires a trackball (as specified in the manifest file), then Android Market will not show the app on any device that does not have a trackball.
The manifest file and the device's hardware and features are only part of how applications are filtered — filtering also depends on the country and carrier, the presence or absence of a SIM card, and other factors.
Changes to the Android Market filters are independent of changes to the Android platform itself. This document will be updated periodically to reflect any changes that occur.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone have any idea what the market filters are checking against?
That's not really a good reason to do anything, let alone not using 2.2
dik23 said:
That's not really a good reason to do anything, let alone not using 2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not being able to get apps? Did you read the link? Doubtful. Uh sure. Have fun with vanilla 2.2 and 0.0 apps.
I'm sorry, did you read your own link? If you had scrolled down, it shows several examples of what can be filtered. The filters are implemented by the application developer themselves, and if they don't, they still show up in the market.
Besides, filtering by the application has been in Android since 2.0. Any application that deems a device incapable of running it (for example, a lack of a light sensor) can stop itself from running.
some kind of filter (the ones I've heard of so far are incompatible screen resolution, unverified builds, and protected apps) is already being applied to 2.1 in the AOSP build. I couldnt see Yelp, the Android Community and TMZ apps for whatever reason
cashless said:
Not being able to get apps? Did you read the link? Doubtful. Uh sure. Have fun with vanilla 2.2 and 0.0 apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yeah, how suspicious. French people couldn't possibly prefer apps in French and people with that new Dell pad thing probably still want SMS and contact apps.
Yeah
so you are saying not upgrade to 2.2 because marketplace will filter apps for our phone, but stick with 2.1 because it doesn't?
well genius, why don't you go and install http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.yelp.android on your phone and let us know how that 'no filtering' works out for you.
When I was running my Vougue we ran into this problem as well, its not a big deal at all. from what I remember it was checking about the build.prob and screen size that is setup in your startup. what I used to do was set my phone to my the specs for the G1, then install the apps after adjusting the density to fit everything on screen and then reboot using factory startup. it worked pretty well for most of the apps since many only blocked off whatever border the developer had.
heres the problem though but with the pace we are going it wont come up for a while, once we decide we have a rom stable enough to flash we lost the abilty to change the settings since WM is copletely gone and no haret was used. I switched over to the Touch Pro and we had the exact same problem which was solved in the EXACT way but we were not flashed still(TP2 still has a LOOOONG way to go sad to say), kept the touch pro 2 for only a few weeks before they replaced my Sprint Line TP with a Touch pro 2 due to all the TP1 problems and i'm still saddened by the slow progress. I am a developer myself and even an avid budsmoker and was still able to help out. now Refer has done a great job but from my understanding he is just doing most changes to the Android Filesystem, theirs a couple other guys working on the kernels which would be were all the hardware problems are going to be fixed from. no matter what build we use something in the kernel is either not right, or we dont have the driver in place for Android itself and since we have few Hardware level developers working on these things it seems to be low progress.

Why doesn't Google just add the best features of all these ROMs into native Android?

Why doesn't Google just add the best features of all these ROMs into native Android?
It's so stupid that people have to root their phones in order to get these features. I understand that maybe Google doesn't want Android to seem overly complex, but have a Customization area all in a submenu that you can unlock buy sliding Customizations to ON.
Things like this (in order of necessary > bloat):
Global volume rocker as cursor movement keys (hope this baby is patented so Apple doesn't steal it!)
% battery icon
Brightness slider toggle + AOKP toggles!!!!
Screenshot on Power Menu
Volume panel
Custom targets on lockscreen ring
Custom notification LED colors >> this would really make the hardware unique from Apple and it's really handy, esp when you're in meetings / theaters / church / or any quiet time; the different color assignments are really useful! Even vibrate is now disruptive in meetings.
Weather on lockscreen
Show notification count
Custom colors for Nav Bar
I don't think that's so much that it would overwhelm the average user. Whenever a family member or friend sees our phones, they want me to root theirs and make it the same.
Maybe someone at Google can get this message and we can see this in 4.2? They could release it as a "Android Power Toys" add-on type marketing the way Microsoft did with Windows?
I'm sure there are a number of reasons. First many of these things can be done with third party apps. Google mainly keeps to things that have to be built into the os, or related to Google services.
They have incorporated some features like additional lock screen targets, some toggles on tablets, resizable widgets, ect. It sounds like themes may be coming in 4.2 too.
Another thing I've noticed is while these features are great, they do slow things down a bit, so they may not be beneficial to everyone.
I'm fine with getting these features from other sources of they can put out things like project butter and Google now.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.
Copywrite violations.
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and themers in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.
redwingfaninnc said:
I wonder if they are not included for the sake of simplifying the OS for the average user. It's a lot easier to get someone to just add a widget to add functionality than to explain to them how to enable weather on the lock screen or how to pick which pull-down toggles they want. A lot of those options are redundant because you can access them with widgets on the launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes sense, but honestly, how many Nexus owners do you know that fit into the "average user" category? I know 35 people who own a Nexus device, and only 3 of them aren't rooted. In general Android terms, you're probably 100% correct though...most "average users" would not know what to do with some of those changes, and many would consider them bloat. Geez, Google's even removed Maps from Gapps, because people thought it was bloatware, so they are sensitive to that issue.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Remoteconcern said:
A lot of what you listed up there I would term bloat, lots of unnecessary options for features I don't want.
Toggles are the exception, I'd love to see a really nice AOSP toggle implementation. I think most normal users would like that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, what prompted this post was the AOKP toggles, that's what people like the most when they see mine and my gf's phones.
Also, I agree that it's bloat. But, that's why they can release it in the Play Store as a "Power Toys for Android" add-on. It makes it easy for average users to get access to these features and they don't have to root and they don't have to play the milestone game waiting for a stable daily driver.
jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.
Neo3D said:
The launcher is a great idea too. I forgot to mention that. However, Nova launcher is easy for the average user to install. You don't even need to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, but most normal Android users simply run the out-of-the-box setup from day one, until the day they upgrade. If Google took the time to build a slightly better launcher, those of us who want extra customization (grid size, icon editing, etc) can have it, while those who run stock from day one, won't even notice the changes, because they'll never use them.
Looks like Google might be one step ahead of us.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/1...oject-roadrunner-updated-google-play-and-now/
"Customization Center"?
That would be sweet if it were true and included some of these awesome ideas that custom ROM devs have come up with.
That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
jordanishere said:
Copywrite violations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What copyright? If i remembered correctly all custom ROMs are open sourced, which means copyright doesn't apply.
Do correct me if i'm wrong.
jimmyco2008 said:
That's generally how it works, Google borrows from developers and OEMs' UIs.
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
...
@rbiter said:
This is it right here. Let the devs do the muscle and brain work and Google cherry picks what they think should be the next evolution of android.
The great thing about open source is that sharing is what it is all about. If you don't like sharing, then there are two other clubs to join. Both of which could be more awesome if they didn't take the mine all mine approach.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, all about the cherry picks.
Perfect example is SMS quick reply, I'd say that's a dead cert as the immediate reaction to JB notifications was fantastic but let me do even mooaaar!!!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
They can't just slap every option in the world in. You'd have a bloated mess. (That's part of why skins are so bad... feature overload).
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Most of those things can be do e from an app, maybe Google let's the door open to the free market and get devs to earn money making these addons.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.
I Am Marino said:
Besides, if Google took all the best features from our ROMs, nothing would hardly ever need updating in future versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I think its important to note that even if Google wanted to implement some of these features commonly found on custom ROMs that it'd take more than just one version of Android to bring them in.
jjhiza said:
I think an easy explanation may be, because the Nexus line is currently only two devices (including the N7). Nexus owners comprise a very small segment of the Android population, and Google develops the device with root users, ROM devs, and Turner's in mind...meaning, they know we're going to change our devices ourselves (which is part of the fun), so they may not find all of those changes necessary for the Nexus line.
As it pertains to Android in general, I think manufacturer skins (Touchwiz, Sense, Blur) would be the primary deterrent. Google would spend all that time, developing features, that manufacturers would either alter or delete entirely, meaning Google had wasted time and man-hours on developing those additions.
However, word on the street is that LG is getting the Nexus next, but that all manufacturers will also have the ability to make a Nexus device, provided they follow Google's guidelines. This means Nexus devices in the hands of more end users, and possibly, an increased impetus for Google to incorporate some of the features you mentioned. I think we'll see 4.2 and 5.0 implementing some massive changes to the system, in regards to customization and personalization.
Personally, I would like to see the launcher improved. There's no reason why Google couldn't spend a little more time, and create a customizable launcher, like Nova or Apex. That would be a massive improvement IMHO, and one that every user could benefit from. The current launcher is nice, but I know very few rooted users who actually prefer Launcher2 to either of the aforementioned launchers.
Sent from my SCH-I800 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh jjhiza. Havent seen one of your essays since the droid3 days aha
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[REQUEST] Multiwindows???

it will be possible a porting of samsung multiwindows for the nexus 4?
Possibly, though I'm pretty sure that MultiWindow requires hooks in Touchwiz, so you would need a Touchwiz based ROM on 4.2 for it to work.
I'd love this on the N4 aswell. But it might need as said before a touchwiz rom or maybe CM11?
a rom with touchwiz wil be ok for me
There probably won't be a fully functioning Touchwiz ROM for our phone.. There are plenty of "floating" apps that offer similar functionality.
Sent from my Full Android on Grouper using Tapatalk 2
Doesn't paranoid android have this feature? And I remember a rom for the hp touch pad had this thing called cornerstone which allowed for multiple apps to be displayed at once
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
neer2005 said:
Doesn't paranoid android have this feature? And I remember a rom for the hp touch pad had this thing called cornerstone which allowed for multiple apps to be displayed at once
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google basically asked cornerstone to stop development of that app I think. I read that somewhere. Not sure where though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
See post below.
kcls said:
Google basically asked cornerstone to stop development of that app I think. I read that somewhere. Not sure where though.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk²
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is some helpful info
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/cornerstone-dev
Basically what it looks like was Cyanogenmod was going to include Onskreen Cornerstone in their CM10 builds but Google are trying to stop it in a somewhat threatening maner.
See this post for more information
CM10 said:
Steve Kondik
Join group to reply
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Feb 15
We (the CM team) have been experimenting with Cornerstone on our
tablet builds. There are a few things to iron out, but for the most
part it's working pretty well. What is causing me some concern, is a
response to a re-share on Google+ by Dianne Hackborn, an engineer at
Google working on the Android platform. She raises some pretty valid
concerns (probably threatening to ban us from the Market if we include
it was a bit far over the line, though). I was wondering if someone
from Onskreen would care to comment?
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100275307499530023476/posts/ViCME1bb8F6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google said:
Dianne Hackborn
15 Feb 2012
+56
Okay, let me please please beg you not to do this. I can guarantee you this introduces all kinds of application compatibility issues. We work really hard to give our developers a consistent environment where their apps will operate correctly across all the devices Market runs on, not being impacted by negative reviews from bad devices that they should not have to deal specially with.
If you start making your own distributions of Android behaving in such fundamentally different ways, I suspect we are going to need to start doing things to prevent you from impacting our app ecosystem. I'm not sure what, but I could imagine things such as restricting how users can interact with Market apps on these devices (not allowing reviews or such).
We have let a lot of things in this area slide -- for example to be allowed to include Market on your device you are supposed to fully pass CTS. However, if you start really diverging from the core Android platform (I would argue this takes you well into the realm of a fork rather than a customization) then some deep issues are going to come up about how we handle these custom builds.
We have been putting a lot of thought and work for a number of years into how to let Android applications run on increasingly diverse and dynamic screens. Doing this correctly, without impacting our app developers in a negative way, is a really challenging problem. I also think it is something that needs to be done at the mainline platform level, not as a customization, because doing it right is going to require new well defined interfaces with applications for them to interact with it, possibly starting with just a facility they need to use to opt in to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cornerstone dev said:
onhsnm
Feb 15
Steve,
Thanks for reaching out. We have heard variations on this theme for
some time, so it appears that it is time for us to respond.
We very much appreciate the amount of work that the Android team has
done to address the complexity of supporting applications on the
variety of screen sizes that "real" Android runs on. The Onskreen team
has spent an immense amount of time to continue that effort while
creating the Cornerstone experience.
As far as responding to Diane's comments directly, it’s a bit
difficult because there are no specific concerns mentioned. Her
contention appears to be that changes were made to the Android
Framework at all, not with anything specific with Cornerstone. We'd be
happy to have a conversation with them about anything specifically
they feel negatively impacts apps. We have more work to do on the
product so there are definitely items on our todo list to continue to
improve, but the first release clearly stays within the realm of an
Android optimization (most definitely not a fork) and outside of bugs,
does not break Android apps.
One of our goals was to support Android applications unchanged without
introducing Cornerstone specific APIs or modifications that
applications must conform to. As Diane said, there are some great
things we could have done by introducing multi-tasking specific
interfaces and manifest declarations, but we did not so Cornerstone
did not fragment from Android as it exists today. After all that is
what the app developers have targeted for their apps. Throughout the
code, you will find a number of architectural decisions to ensure apps
run without fragmentation (Ex: setting correct Configurations, not
running multiple instances, etc...); as well as feature decisions to
ensure the same (Ex: ability to turn Cornerstone off, removing the
ability to swap so that apps weren't forced to deal with changing
screen size, etc...)
Threats to rescind Market access are a bit much, we prefer to stick to
specifics and open a dialogue. We are happy to discuss specific
concerns and we expect that once the Google team has had a chance to
dig into the code, we will hear some. We also expect that dialogue to
make Cornerstone better for everyone, one of the reasons we open
sourced the code to start with.
hansmeet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Q] Why is my phone cooler than my tablet?

Why is my phone cooler than my Kindle Fire tablet? I don't mean hardware. My phone has obviously better hardware than the Kindle. What I mean is why do apps behave differently, in fact better, on my phone than on my KF?
As an example, the Kindle Reader app on my phone shows a book browser within the app when I search for books. On the KF when I want to browse books, the app opens up Amazon's web site in a browser (not the nicest of interfaces for a small screen).
Another example is the Dolphin browser. On my phone, pressing the back button (on this web site for example) actually goes to the previous page whereas on the KF I have to press the back button at least twice and often more in order to get to the previous page; sometimes I have to time it just right, too.
There are a lot of little things like those examples that make my phone cooler in spite of its significantly smaller screen.
In case it matters, I have CM10.1 Android 4.2.2 on the KF and the phone has stock Google Android 4.2.2 that came with the phone. All the apps are presumably the same, having been download from the Play Store.
Can anyone explain this difference? Thanks.
pfederighi said:
Why is my phone cooler than my Kindle Fire tablet? I don't mean hardware. My phone has obviously better hardware than the Kindle. What I mean is why do apps behave differently, in fact better, on my phone than on my KF?
As an example, the Kindle Reader app on my phone shows a book browser within the app when I search for books. On the KF when I want to browse books, the app opens up Amazon's web site in a browser (not the nicest of interfaces for a small screen).
Another example is the Dolphin browser. On my phone, pressing the back button (on this web site for example) actually goes to the previous page whereas on the KF I have to press the back button at least twice and often more in order to get to the previous page; sometimes I have to time it just right, too.
There are a lot of little things like those examples that make my phone cooler in spite of its significantly smaller screen.
In case it matters, I have CM10.1 Android 4.2.2 on the KF and the phone has stock Google Android 4.2.2 that came with the phone. All the apps are presumably the same, having been download from the Play Store.
Can anyone explain this difference? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone's hardware was designed with 4.2.2 in mind and the Kindle was designed for a forked rendition of GB.
Guitarman2010 said:
The phone's hardware was designed with 4.2.2 in mind and the Kindle was designed for a forked rendition of GB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then perhaps I do not understand what Android is. I was under the impression it was an OS with a defined API such that it would look (theming aside) and behave the same on different hardware (with obvious exceptions like not having bluetooth functionality on KF). Your statement would indicate that it is very heavily hardware dependent and that somehow app developers take into account the plethora of different hardware platforms and choose to behave in different manners on different devices. If this is the case, then it's an illogically designed system.
pfederighi said:
Then perhaps I do not understand what Android is. I was under the impression it was an OS with a defined API such that it would look (theming aside) and behave the same on different hardware (with obvious exceptions like not having bluetooth functionality on KF). Your statement would indicate that it is very heavily hardware dependent and that somehow app developers take into account the plethora of different hardware platforms and choose to behave in different manners on different devices. If this is the case, then it's an illogically designed system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running 4.2.2 on a system that was meant for GB results in some things not working right....
pfederighi said:
Why is my phone cooler than my Kindle Fire tablet?
...
Another example is the Dolphin browser. On my phone, pressing the back button (on this web site for example) actually goes to the previous page whereas on the KF I have to press the back button at least twice and often more in order to get to the previous page; sometimes I have to time it just right, too.
...
Can anyone explain this difference? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The browser thing I think can be explained. If you are zoomed in on a page, if you press the back button, it will zoom out to the whole page. The second tap of the back button takes you back to the previous page.
Does this help / make sense?
sent from The Muffinator (it's a kindle fire running cm10.1)
using Tapatalk 4 beta, and loving it!
jma9454 said:
The browser thing I think can be explained. If you are zoomed in on a page, if you press the back button, it will zoom out to the whole page. The second tap of the back button takes you back to the previous page.
Does this help / make sense?
sent from The Muffinator (it's a kindle fire running cm10.1)
using Tapatalk 4 beta, and loving it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would make sense if it was the same behavior on my phone. Thanks, though.
pfederighi said:
Then perhaps I do not understand what Android is. I was under the impression it was an OS with a defined API such that it would look (theming aside) and behave the same on different hardware (with obvious exceptions like not having bluetooth functionality on KF). Your statement would indicate that it is very heavily hardware dependent and that somehow app developers take into account the plethora of different hardware platforms and choose to behave in different manners on different devices. If this is the case, then it's an illogically designed system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pfederighi said:
That would make sense if it was the same behavior on my phone. Thanks, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're missing the point. The Kindle Fire was never made to run apps from the Google app store, and Google Play apps are rarely made for a modified Kindle Fire, running JB, and a custom kernel made from the ground up. Android is versatile, but it's not perfect. There are many apps that work well on some devices but not others. Looking at the reviews of any app in the Play store should be enough to convince you of that.
Guitarman2010 said:
Running 4.2.2 on a system that was meant for GB results in some things not working right....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? Does the Android code really have such code as:
if (running_on_older_hardware)
{
make_all_apps_less_cool(); // because we only like newer hardware, even if it's possible for the older hardware to function
}
What little I know of OS design is that if you want your OS to be used aon a wide variety of hardware (which seems to be the design goal of Google in their relentless pursuit of world domination), the API should be as hardware independent as possible and that all hardware access should be done through the API. The very fact that (most) apps are written in Java and compiled to bytecode dictate that they have to use the API. Is the functionality difference because there is some sort of proprietary ROM that Android and certain apps know about that doesn't exist on the KF? And this ROM makes apps behave cooler?
Is it a memory issue? Does 4.2.2 expect to have a different memory/segmentation model? Or a different cache model? Or simply ungodly amounts more memory?
The only runtime software difference I could tell between my phone and my KF is that the per app memory limit on the KF is set to 256 MB whereas on the phone it is 512 MB.
Are there dynamic libraries/frameworks/apks on my phone that are not included in stock/CM10.1 4.2.2 that most apps are aware of and use? Can I copy them to the KF?
Thanks.
pfederighi said:
Why? Does the Android code really have such code as:
if (running_on_older_hardware)
{
make_all_apps_less_cool(); // because we only like newer hardware, even if it's possible for the older hardware to function
}
What little I know of OS design is that if you want your OS to be used aon a wide variety of hardware (which seems to be the design goal of Google in their relentless pursuit of world domination), the API should be as hardware independent as possible and that all hardware access should be done through the API. The very fact that (most) apps are written in Java and compiled to bytecode dictate that they have to use the API. Is the functionality difference because there is some sort of proprietary ROM that Android and certain apps know about that doesn't exist on the KF? And this ROM makes apps behave cooler?
Is it a memory issue? Does 4.2.2 expect to have a different memory/segmentation model? Or a different cache model? Or simply ungodly amounts more memory?
The only runtime software difference I could tell between my phone and my KF is that the per app memory limit on the KF is set to 256 MB whereas on the phone it is 512 MB.
Are there dynamic libraries/frameworks/apks on my phone that are not included in stock/CM10.1 4.2.2 that most apps are aware of and use? Can I copy them to the KF?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Proper communication between the API and the hardware is still dependent on the kernel. Considering your phone's kernel was likely produced by a team of paid programmers and the KF's 3.0.x kernel was made by maybe a small handful of people with most of the work done by one man, for FREE, I'm sure there is plenty of possibility for something not working as efficiently as it could.
soupmagnet said:
Proper communication between the API and the hardware is still dependent on the kernel. Considering your phone's kernel was likely produced by a team of paid programmers and the KF's 3.0.x kernel was made by maybe a small handful of people with most of the work done by one man, for FREE, I'm sure there is plenty of possibility for something not working as efficiently as it could.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And I truly do appreciate the hard work of the many hackers who put together kernels, boot loaders, recovery programs, apps, etc. I hope someday to join their ranks.
I was under the impression that there was a stock kernel as well as a stock OS and that the only real difference from one system to another was the boot procedure and the selection of drivers (with stubs or emulation for missing hardware/features). I take it that then this not the case.

[Q] Parental Control

So I want to buy my 9 year old son a Nexus 7 after seeing how he uses my computer for his project research, school math challenges, etc. I also see the value of buying him appropriate books on Amazon as he has a requirement to read at least 20 minutes a day. Furthermore I also noticed how he takes our mobile devices, takes photos and experiments with various filters (to a point the mother uses one of his creation as her profile picture). That is the innocent and good side of things ....
I however cannot see any build in parental control functionality in Android that will assist me in keeping it as clean as possible in terms of content visibility on the Play Store, Internet browsing and managing time.
What are my options? I am willing to pay extra if needed if there is something a parent has used successfully.
I think you can create for him a limited profile, but being that I'm not sure, my youngest is 17
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
z0phi3l said:
I think you can create for him a limited profile, but being that I'm not sure, my youngest is 17
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cannot seem to find anything in that regard - this is very sad. I was hoping I can give him a Android based device but there seem to be no parental control function on Android (never mind anything build in). I keep on snooping around ...
One of the problems I also cannot seem to find anything is because I am using CM11 on my Samsung S3 which does not have the multi-user functionality (not to be confused with profiles).
http://asia.cnet.com/how-to-set-up-parental-controls-for-android-62222756.htm basically sums it up. So in other words I have to stay stock with 4.3 > otherwise I loose out.
There are Users or Profiles or something like that in Kit Kat. I don't have my tablet with me so I can't direct you how to do it. But yes you can make one for "Son's Name" and he can only access specific apps.
Cares said:
There are Users or Profiles or something like that in Kit Kat. I don't have my tablet with me so I can't direct you how to do it. But yes you can make one for "Son's Name" and he can only access specific apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I buy the Nexus 7 will I be able to upgrade to a official build of 4.4 or do I have to grab a custom ROM?
1-0-1 said:
If I buy the Nexus 7 will I be able to upgrade to a official build of 4.4 or do I have to grab a custom ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Should be no problem getting the OTA at this point.

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