The Android device sticky thread...

[Steve A.]

Although the Android OS is essentially a custom version of Unix/Linux*** the devices' interface and options are quite different hence this sticky thread.
• Please click on Reply with Quote or otherwise identify a specific post to which you are referring. Thanks!
Let the games begin!

Steve Ahola
Moderator

P.S. If I can ever figure out how to use my powers as Super Moderator I would like to replace these sticky computer/device threads with actual subforums, with the main forum devoted to Linux and renamed accordingly.

*** EDIT: Google used the basic Linux kernal when creating Android.

[Steve A.]

For the past few years I've been spending maybe 6 hours a day using one of my tablets running Android 4.3 or 4.4 but perhaps only 2 hours a week on my PC. So if you have any questions or problems with the Android OS please post it to this thread. (I have one tablet running Android 5.1 but find that 4.3 makes the best use of an older tablet's resources.)

Steve Ahola
Moderator

[big_teee]

Please tell us more about andriod, I don't have anything that runs it, but would like to know more.
I saw a free PC version on DistroWatch.
DistroWatch.com: Android-x86
I loaded it on a USB stick, but couldn't get my wifi to work so I scrapped it.
T

[Steve A.]

Please tell us more about andriod, I don't have anything that runs it, but would like to know more.

Android is kinda like Bizarro Linux because while Linux tries to be compatible with all PCs each Android vendor customizes their own version which will not run on other brands so its hard to develop an app that runs on all devices equally well.

If you can "root"*** your device your best option is to install Cyanogen Mod (if a version has been written for your device.) My first tablet was a Nook Color e-reader for which the user hacker community figured out how to "jailbreak" and install CM7. I moved up from that to the Nook Tablet and the Nook HD and HD+ (8" and 12")... all real bargains because B&N made little or no profit on them, hoping to make that on the back end selling eBooks, a strategy that worked well for Amazon, especially when they diversified into music and videos.

I moved on to the Hisense Sero 7 Pro originally sold by Walmart but refurbished ones appeared on the secondary market and Dolores Park (DoPa) a developer on the XDA "hacker" user group came out with some custom ROMs for it that pretty much made it an improved version of the Nexus 7 (2013 model). One big improvement is that the Sero 7 has a micro SD slot to allow you to increase on-board storage from 8GB to 40GB; it also has a mini-HDMI jack to feed your modern TV or monitor.

I had picked up a Samsung Tab 4 7.0 (T-230NU) from Frys on a super sale about 18 months ago which in running Android 4.4 prevents 3rd party apps from writing to the external microSD card (allegedly to prevent malicious apps from causing damage but actually a big gimme to the vendors since it prevented most users from buying the less expensive 8GB models and adding external cards to boost actual capacity to 16GB, 24GB or 40GB.) Yes, the external cards are not quite as fast as internal memory but when your RAM gets too low you are up shit creek.

The Samsung eventually became my main tablet because of one really cool feature: an expanded clipboard acessible from the on-screen keyboard which holds 20 items, 10 of which can be locked for permanent access like keyboard macros. I never did root it which would have allowed me to delete the bogus bloatware and write to the external SD card, thus significantly increasing its RAM for running apps.

Steve Ahola

P.S. The big advantages of Android tablets over PCs are portability and cost. You can get a half-way decent tablet for under $100 and can use it anywhere you have wifi.

*** Rooting an Android gives you access to first level folders which are otherwise blocked (you can see them but the files are protected.) Bloatware apps that you can't uninstall are located in these first level folders (and their corresponding subfolders.)

Yes, you can really screw up a rooted device but assuming that you have a decent recovery module also installed you can also do a full backup to restore everything unless you are completely "bricked".

[Steve A.]

MUST HAVE Android apps (at least for me):

#1. Ultimate Rotation Control. If you have ever tried to use your tablet lying on your back in bed you may have had problems with the screen orientation jumping around if you rotate it. Most devices give you the choice to switch from a static orientation to Auto Rotate but that is it.
• I tried several free apps but URS smokes them all. They give you a free 7 day trial to evaluate the app per Google Gmail account. After that you need to buy it for something like $6 but it will run on all devices registered under the same Gmail account so I've installed it on maybe 12 tablets (I lost count! )

http://www.fame-it.net/rotate

#2. Evernote. If a website ever swallowed a post you were composing here at MEF or elsewhere (like FB!) you need Evernote (EN). If you are "replying with quote" here you can copy and paste the contents of the MEF text box into EN where you can edit it all you want with virtually complete undo capabilities before you copy and paste it back into the MEF text box.
• After saving your post you see some glaring typos. No worries, mate, just make the corrections in your existing EN document and copy and paste back into the MEF text box. Done, done and done!

• I also do extensive "clipping" from various sources on the web, a habit that goes back to me clipping articles from newspapers and magazines when I was a kid. For some reason it works better with an aPad than a PC. I can select some text or all text and then click on Copy or Share. If the latter I can then Share the text with Evernote for editing. With Select All there will usually be a lot of unwanted crap to delete but being just text there are shortcuts to speed up the process.

https://evernote.com/?var=c

#3. SwiftKey on-screen keyboard. While not needed with my Samsung Tab 4 7.0 I use it on my other tablets since Google really screwed the pooch with their own on-screen keyboard starting with Android 4.0.
• One really cool trick is the 3 bar menu icon in the upper left corner of the keyboard which brings a menu pallette which allows you to, among other options, resize the vertical height of the keyboard to match the text entry window which can be obscured by a on-screen keyboard that is too high.

https://swiftkey.com/en

That's it for now...

Steve Ahola

[Steve A.]

Darned tunnel vision... I am so focused on what I do with my Android tablets that I forgot to mention the whole point of the operating system: its a very customized version of Linux adapted to the strengths and limitations of mobile devices with most user input based on the highly advanced art of fingerpainting...

Steve Ahola

[nickb]

I jut got a Samsung Tab 4 running KitKat (Andriod 4.4).

There is much I like but the following are things I'd like to improve:

(1) New security feature in 4.4 prevent you from writing to the external SD card. The only solution is to root it. Now I've done that and added custom ROMS on an older Viewsonic tablet but I feel pretty uneasy about doing ti to something that is almost new.
(2) Half the interanl SD card is filled with Samsung bloatware. Again rooting..
(3) There's a bug when using the standard email app in landscape mode in that the width of the folder pane grow until you can no longer see any emails.

[Steve A.]

I just got a Samsung Tab 4 running KitKat (Andriod 4.4).
There is much I like but the following are things I'd like to improve:
(1) New security feature in 4.4 prevent you from writing to the external SD card. The only solution is to root it. Now I've done that and added custom ROMS on an older Viewsonic tablet but I feel pretty uneasy about doing it to something that is almost new.

I feel the same about my 18 month old Tab 4 7.0.

(2) Half the internal SD card is filled with Samsung bloatware. Again rooting..

I've been using ES File Explorer version 3.2.3.1 (see link below) to collect and zip up my data files hogging the internal SD card and then copy them to Dropbox and delete the original and zip files to free up space on my Tab 4 7.0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/snhw14wkbs...2.3.1.apk?dl=0

(3) There's a bug when using the standard email app in landscape mode in that the width of the folder pane grow until you can no longer see any emails.

I still haven't figured out all of those damned icons but do you mean when the display of the current email gets so big that you can't read the list of emails in the left pane? I click on the left arrow next to my email address to return to the normal two-pane display.







I'll post rooting instructions here whenever I figure it out, Nick. BTW post the model and build number from About Device. Mine is...
SM-T230NU
KOT49H.T230NUUEU0AOD1

Steve Ahola

[nickb]

SM-T230
KOT49H.T230XXU0A0D2

Seems I'm one build on from you.
ES File explorer was the first app I added to it. I have a 1G NAS Raid that I keep EVERYHING on and it makes access to that a breeze.

What I mean is you have the folder pane on the left and the email list pane on the right. Then anytime you touch the screen the left older list pane widens until you can no longer see the email pane at all.






The only workaround is to use it in portrait mode.

I have rooting instructions for this tab but I'd want someone else to test them before I brick it .

I have a 64GB ext SD card plugged in and it's insane that I can't manage the data on it. Dropbox or any cloud solution doesn't fly for me as it's dependant on connectivity and has security issues.

[Steve A.]

SM-T230
KOT49H.T230XXU0A0D2

Check yer email!

Steve Ahola

[big_teee]

Here's a link on Distro Watch for a new Android Download.
Development Release: Android-x86 6.0 RC1 (DistroWatch.com News)
T

[Steve A.]

The ads on my Android tablet are getting to be a REAL pain in the butt! I'm running Chrome which is great for some sites (it remembers passwords and settings) but for browsing articles on the open internet it does not block the ads very well, often making it impossible to read the content (especially the streaming video ads which I hear as well as see!)

So I just now installed Opera Mini beta and tested a few pages... it works great!

Download Opera Mini for Android | Phone, Tablet | Opera

Steve Ahola

[The Dude]

If you're rooted, this one is the best. It's free. Get it.

AdAway

[The Dude]

A few handy free apps for musicians:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...hordfree&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=org.cohortor.gstrings&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...freemium&hl=en

[Steve A.]

A few handy free apps for musicians:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...hordfree&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=org.cohortor.gstrings&hl=en

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...freemium&hl=en

I've been using Pitch Lab Pro for a few years now. There is a free Lite version, too, but I like how once you pay for a license through the Google Play Store you can install it on any Android device using the same Gmail address.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...musician.tuner

Steve Ahola