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Android tablet kiosk development
I am trying to develop a kiosk application on android.
I am facing two challenges.

Once the tablet getting off due to a battery drain. it is not turning on even after the battery reached 100% . is there a work around for this ? I have seen regarding editing some files in /system/init of Android after rooting. But I have not seen any file related to battery or charging. I am using 4.1 and higher

I am experiencing a problem of battery draining. as it continuously keep display on, battery drains gradually even if the charger is connected.

Has anybody came across similar problems and find any solutions ?
Is there android devices available which , power on automatically after connecting wall charger ?
Is there tablets that doesn't have battery and directly works from charger connection ?
Please provide your suggestions.
Update 1:

As I am using kiosk operation, I have to keep the screen on every time. I am not experiencing a quick battery drain, it drains slowly even if the charger connected , like 1 percentage in 6-8 minutes, so it lasts approximately 10 hours with charger connected. Then once it gets switched off, it needs to be powered on manually ( not power on after battery drain is a normal behavior, but is there a work around for this ?).
Actually I am not expecting the battery to get drained on a charger connected. is that a normal behavior ?
Can I do anything from the software to prevent it ?
When I analyzed most of the power is consumed by screen, then wifi, then comes the application. Both are switched on all the time.
Any advises on this ???
Update 2:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS" />
<uses-permission android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE" />
<permission android:name="in.aivknowtech.reviews.permission.C2D_MESSAGE"/>
 android:permission="android.permission.BIND_DEVICE_ADMIN"

Update 4

As my issue is considered. It is not an issue triggered by a particular event. I assume when connecting a charger android is loading the kernel and only showing a battery symbol, When we press on power button it boots up the kernel. Is there a way to bypass it ? Or is it depended on hardware or firmware ?
If it is dependent on android, Yes there is some hack we can do about it.
Else it might be not possible. :(
A similar discussion is here but no definite answer
android auto boot on external power

Sounds like your charger is too low-powered for the device, or the device is running some abnormally intensive task in the background.

@Huey, I have tested on two devices, both behaves similarly, is that because of the chargers are not made with enough current capacity  ? (are they made in charge only when the screen is switched off ?)

What's the current supplied by your charger. Since it's a tablet you'll probably need >= 1.5A ideally

Currently the supplied charger  (7" tab) 5V  and 1A usb charger.

@Huey,I am seeing a progress now. I connected a 2A charger instead of 1A. Now the battery is getting charged instead of slowly draining. Seems like this will be enough. I am doing further tests , will update you.

@Huey , I have switched off wifi and reduced screen brightness , now 1A charger also can charge it while using the application.

@aivknow tech
I did this on Samsung Galaxy Tab sm-t330nu
edit the lpm service entry in init.rc from
service lpm /system/bin/lpm
    class charger
    critical

to
service lpm /system/bin/reboot
    class charger
    critical

Result = from powered off state, plug in charger, battery icon displays briefly, then device reboots to normal operation.
to mod your device's service in your init.rc in the

on charger

section find that equivalent service.

Hi , I am not using custom kernel, I have updated the question to depict the scenario well. application is using hardly 10%-15% CPU max  and  most of the time it is not having any processing in the background.

@aivknow tech , hmm what permissions does you app have? is it running in foreground when the issue occurs? Is this issue originating from the device or from the device while running the application?

It is having admin policy permissions also.  please see the update given.

This is for locking the device when power is not connected. Yes my application runs all the time on the device. there is not other foreground application.

@aivknow tech, ok neat, so this is where my thought process is going continuing with suspend/resume issue and permissions
EDIT - see above, can't wrap thins right in comment...

Thanks for your your answers. I think daydream might not make much difference. please see more thoughts on the Edit.

@aivknow tech check my edit, if this is what you mean, start tab from powered off state by plugging in charger then try the above.

Great thank you boombutt74. I will try and update the result

Hi I was going through the documents related to it. I think you are pointing to the correct point. I would like to know few more points, I will need root permission to do this isn't it ? Also do I need the source of the ROM or just unpacking ram-disk will make the changes permanent ?

You would need to be root to pull your boot.img. You would also need to be root to write it back. The edit may be slightly different for your device but the approach should work exactly the same. You would be reassigning a service directly connect to battery charging from power-off state to run reboot command instead, effectively booting your tab to OS when you plug it in.

Yes Thanks moonbutt74, this gives a very clear idea regarding how I can achieve it. I had looked for it many places. Thank you again.


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What is ProwlerAgent?
Like the asker of this SO question, I'm receiving crash reports that mention something called ProwlerAgent.  Whatever ProwlerAgent is, it appears to have insinuated itself into my app's classpath:
java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.myapp.BootReceiver in loader dalvik.system.PathClassLoader@/system/framework/com.google.android.maps.jar:/system/app/ProwlerAgent234.apk:/data/app/com.myapp-1.apk
I'm not asking how to fix the crash.  I'm sure it's a problem with my app's manifest.  I'm just curious if anyone knows what ProwlerAgent is, because it seems suspicious.

Well prowleragant application is a norton symantec application. Haven't seen it myself and couldn't find a download link of it. This app was removed from market, and the word market suggests that it was an old application. But a part of norton it may be present in the norton antivirus for android, haven't decompiled it will do later, as soon as my pc gets in a working state. And yes you answered it correctly, and it's not a personal or other antivirus or sandbox agent. And and antivirus can implement it's structure to get activity data of the app, that suggests for the application to be checked for it's reputation, it's internet activity and data structure, so as to recognize a potential malware or a virus. Here check some links about it :
http://www.bestappsmarket.com/p/app?appId=961494&title=com-symantec-starmobile-prowler-sample
https://plus.google.com/+LitrikDeRoy/posts/cfsKZC1oCa4
https://github.com/codlab/cypherapp/issues/20

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


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What is "Android Night Mode", what triggers it, and what are the consequences?
I've just been reading in the tasker UserGuide on variables:

Night Mode
  %NIGHT
  The current Android Night Mode.
  One of on, off or auto.
  If auto, Android will decide whether it should be in Night Mode itself.

Which raised the question: What is "Android Night Mode"? Obviously it is something Android itself implements and decides on whether it is active or not (mode: auto), and that decision can be overruled (mode: on/off). But what exactly does that mean to the user? What triggers it (time? light conditions?), and what are the consequences (mute? dim?)?
I've done a Google search on the terms – but all that came up with were either apps to toggle "night mode", or apps having a "night theme".
I've checked our site for questions on "night mode", but found no complete answer to my question there. Some indicators, though:

How does Google Maps Navigation know you are in a tunnel when it switches to night mode? indicates light conditions might be part of the equation, and the consequences involve adjustments to screen brightness – but I'm not sure whether that's all to it.
Is there an easy way to switch render effects? suggests there's a specific setting for it at least with cyanogenmod: Options › Cyanogen › Interface offers "night mode" and "blue" for "rendering mode" (uh?) at least. But seeing the path, this one is obviously a CM specific thing.
all other questions just had the words "night" and "mode", but were not referencing "night mode" (e.g.: "I have airplane mode enabled at night").

Is there any complete answer to my question?

"Night Mode" is actually pretty intuitive as far as the name goes.
The OS basically attempts to estimate both sunrise and sunset, based on the current date and your latitude relative to the equator. It then determines that it is "night" if the current time falls either before sunrise or after sunset.
You can find the code for this in the base frameworks, specifically in the TwilightCalculator. There is an associated service that attempts to refresh this sunrise/sunset data in the background if you move around, called TwilightService.
In the latter file, you can also see what Android does in the event that it does not have an accurate location (I would assume this occurs if you turn off location access and such):
// In the case there is no location available (e.g. GPS fix or network location
// is not available yet), the longitude of the location is estimated using the timezone,
// latitude and accuracy are set to get a good average.

It later sets the latitude value to 0 for the calculation, which would be the equator.
It also tries to schedule updates so that they only run at day/night boundaries if you're not moving around much. For example, if it's the middle of the day and it's already calculated sunset,  it won't run again until after sunset has passed (and if it's nighttime, it will run after tomorrow's calculated sunrise).
The affects of entering "Night Mode" are entirely app dependent. There is an API that lets apps query this information if they so choose, as well as APIs to instruct the system as to which UI modes they will support. It has no real immediate impact on the system itself, though.

Thanks, eldarerathis! That was about what I already expected, but didn't find any proof for so far. As I never noticed any related "behavior": do you know of anything to "test" this? Is there e.g. a specific part of Android itself where it should be reflected, or did you notice any apps making use of this? What are possible/expected reactions (what should it be good for)? I mean, first thing coming to mind is display related stuff, but I'd guess that rather uses the ambient light sensor or the like to "kick in" (makes more sense to me at least).

I can't list definitively any apps that use this, aside from Tasker's ability to expose this to you (as you already have seen). One simple test would be to create a task that's based on the %NIGHT variable and try it in a dark room during the middle of the day. Throwing together an app to test it wouldn't be too hard, as well, because it's just a resource specifier (search this page for "notnight").

Also, Google Maps does appear to use this, at least outwardly. Whether or not it uses some other data/calculations on top of night mode is not entirely clear, but if you're using the navigation at nighttime it uses a dark theme (black background and such instead of white).

And that theming stuff is what I've wondered about. To me, it makes no sense binding that to "time", but rather to light conditions. So I was wondering what that night-mode stuff could be useful for. Currently it rather looks to me like "some fancy thing without real use" – so why would that be built into Android's core? For the Google Maps example I already mentioned the "tunnel"; passing such is not depending on daytime or night, so I take that rather as a theming thing using the same term, but not the same "feature".

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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ClockWorkMod Recovery supports three backup formats. What's the difference between them? Which should I choose?
I'm using ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.4.5.
One of ClockworkMod Recovery's features is that it lets me back up the data stored on my phone's built-in flash memory.  The "Choose default backup format" menu lets me choose from among three options:

tar
dup (dedupe)
tar + gzip

What's the difference between each of the three options?
Which option should I choose?
(Note:  Elsewhere on this site, there's a related discussion.  It speaks more about the dedupe format, but not the other two formats.)

The formats

tar

This is essentially snapshots of all partitions each in single file with extension tar. If you make two backups of the same rom with little difference in user apps, two snapshots of tar files are created, consuming more data on your sdcard.

dup (dedupe)

This backup format backups up individual files in the partitions renamed uniquely depending on some hash algorithm. The major advantage of this is it takes up less space on sdcard. If you make two backups of the same rom with little difference in user apps, the second backup only contains changed files. And when you delete the first backup from recovery, the common files are never deleted, so you don't loose your second backup. But it creates many files on sdcard, thereby many indexes.

tar + gzip

It is same as the tar format with gzip compression applied to save some space on sdcard.
Which one should you choose?
Which one to use is upto your choice. I wouldn't recommend dup format as it takes considerable time during operations. But if you donot backup/restore frequently and concerned about the space on sdcard, u may use dup.

+1; thank you.  Hmm.  I'm backing up an almost-full 8 GB Android device onto a 32 GB MicroSD card.  I want to create backups every so often, and it would be nice to be able to store dozens of backups on one MicroSD card.  So I think I will use dedupe.  Still, I'll keep in mind that it's slow; maybe I'll start the backup at a time when I know I won't need to use the device for a while.

It's too bad that dedupe is slow.  On other platforms, incremental backups are faster than full backups.


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How do I fully back up an Xperia Z2 phone?
I'm thinking about moving onto a custom ROM, but I don't want to permanently lose any DRM keys. How do I go about fully backing up the contents of the phone before mucking around with it?

I don't know whether those DRM keys would be backed up, but this is the popular and seems to be the only choice to backup non-rooted devices: Full Backup of non-rooted devices

@Firelord that's helpful, but I don't think any of those methods can backup the partition that contains the DRM keys.

I figured it out eventually. It's not easy, because you need to get root before wiping anything (or unlocking the bootloader, which would wipe everything).

Download a copy of the old firmware, which you can find at the XDA forums. You will need to downgrade to this old firmware so that you can take advantage of an old root exploit (vulnerability). I used version 17.1.2.A.0.314 from the UK, but anything from 4.4.2 should work.
Obtain root and install a custom recovery so that we can use it upgrade the firmware. XZDualRecovery is popular. I used Z2-lockeddualrecovery2.8.21-RELEASE.installer.zip. This includes a root exploit so that it can install the recovery.
You can use the custom recovery (TWRP) to create a backup of the TA partition that includes the DRM keys.
Use the recovery to upgrade back to an up-to-date official firmware version. You need a pre-rooted firmware (PRF) zip file. The best place to look for one is on XDA's Xperia forums. Here's an example for version 23.4.A.1.232. Don't forget to clear the Dalvik cache.

This process does not require you to unlock the bootloader, so the DRM keys are never wiped.

To backup your phone, first you have to root it. Depends on your Android version, root method is different.
After you root your device, you can backup your DRM keys in TA partition with this app.
After you backup your TA partition, you are good to unlock BL. If you want to use your DRM keys again, relock BL and restore TA partition.
 (Unlocking BL delete ALL data on your device internal storage. Remeber to backup your data first)

Thanks for the overview. Can you elaborate on how to root, and how to unlock the bootloader?

What android version are you on?

23.4.A.0.546, Lollipop


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How can I tell if my installed Android version, not CPU, is a 64 bit or 32 bit one?
As long as a 64 bit CPU is supposed to execute 32 bit programs, it is sometimes hard to know which one do I have installed on my device.
There are programs that require this knowledge, like the Xposed Framework installer.
What could be considered the proper method, whether be it ADB, command-line or software?
I used to do on desktop Linux:
 sudo uname -a

Maybe there is some equivalent for Android?
Further data:

Some programs that should inform about this are not clear enoguh for me. This is a example of some AIDA64 report. Even when it shows 32 bit, is this info about the operating system? I would say it is just about the hardware:
(Click image to enlarge; my AIDA64 is in Spanish)

Question extended to this other

What device do you have?

See this page: https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2014/12/16/how-to-identify-the-image-is-32-bit-or-64-bit-user-space It says to see the property ro.product.cpu.abi and the related ro.product.cpu.abilist32 and ro.product.cpu.abilist64 in the output of getprop. I don't have a 64-bit device so I can't test few things. There is also a similar question on Quora here.

@New-To-IT , I have multiple Android devices. And, as a computer scientist, I use to work with several different models. Finding a generic method (or, at least, as generic as possible) would be preferred for me. Specifying a device would transform this question in "How can I guess if the installed Android version for my [Brand][Model][Number] is a 64 or 32 bit one?".

@Firelord : thanks for the link. It seems related to "current device", not "current installed Android version". Would it be the same?

When it comes to desktop, if you run a 32 bit kernel on a 64 bit machine, the kernel simply says the machine is a 32 bit. Things might have changed (I don't know the current scene) so that's as far as I can tell. May be others can provide a better input.

@Sopalajo de Arrierez Have you tried Antutu benchmark app? It displays the 32/64 bit information for all devices. ;)

@Lucky: I have tested AIDA64, and some others tools that report the 32/64 bit information, but none of them sets clear if they are talking about the operating system or the hardware. Added a capture screen to my original question to show.

Related, if not a dupe: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/36291/44325

@AndrewT. : I don't think that question to be a duplicate, as long as it is asked on 2012, when there were no 64-bit hardware for Android devices. It just ask if the Android (the existing then) operating system is a 32 or 64 bits softwarre.

I'm not really sure either if that's a dupe (that's why I didn't vote to close), but when I researched about this, I never encountered such term as Android OS 64-bit, compared to other OS like Windows (x64). All I found was that it only depends on the CPU architecture, and Android L is the first 64-bit OS. Unless that's what you meant, or I'm missing something about 64-bit OS vs CPU on Android, please enlighten me.

(con't) Other than that, I also never encountered download images for Android with specific bitness (32 or 64), unlike Windows or Linux OS (x86 vs x64).

Well, @AndrewT. maybe we should start another thread (or change this one) with the title "Is there a 64-bit Android version and a 32-bit one?". Another way to ask it: "Could a 64-bit hardware device run a 32-bit Android version?". Some times the problem is the question, more than the answer.

I think that's a good idea, since it seems it's easier to have misunderstanding between bitness in Android OS (using SoC) than other OSes (at least I was confused with this topic when researching). But don't change this question since it already has an answer. Either extend this, or post a new question and refer to this question.

Modified the original question to extend it to the new one, @AndrewT.

uname -m will display the architecture of the running kernel.  This is different than whatever your hardware may be capable of running.
Unfortunately, you have to know which architectures are 32-bit and which are 64-bit. But you can easily find this out.
For example, my m7 displays arm7l. A quick search confirms that this is a 32-bit architecture, meaning that my running kernel was compiled as a 32-bit executable.

But if you check usage of uname you get -m      The machine (hardware) type. https://i.sstatic.net/DTueH.png

It refers to the machine architecture that the kernel was compiled for. Try installing 32-bit Ubuntu on your 64-bit computer and you will get i686 or some other 32-bit architecture name from uname -m.

As Paul said, uname -m can be deceiving. Some relevant details here: Could a 64-bit hardware device run a 32-bit Android version?

authors: Роман Павленко

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Issues canceling downloads in Market
All of a sudden a few days ago, I went into the Market for the first time in ages to download a new app. It said the app would be downloaded, but when I went back several hours later, it had not downloaded. I looked in the Downloads section of the market, and there were about 6 updates trying to download (which I hadn't approved - I don't have automatic downloads set, just notification of new updates with manual download). I want to cancel these downloads, but it will not happen. I long-press on the app name and choose Cancel, but nothing happens. I've even rebooted the phone, but the unwanted downloads are still there, saying Starting Download - this is after 3 days.
I've seen this, this, and this, but none of them are exactly the same as my issue. The last two did have answers that I'd like to try - clearing the application data and cache for the market. Unfortunately, I don't see the Market as an app in my Manage Applications section. (I'm running CyanogenMod 5 on a rooted T-Mobile MyTouch G3.)
Is there any way I can access that application to clear the cache? Or any other way I can get the unwanted downloads to stop trying and go away?

I don't know how it works in CM but it has to be there somewhere.  It might be called "CM Market" or something.  Make sure you're not on a "Third-party Apps" tab or anything, since that won't list the first-party Market.

There is no Third-Party Apps tab that I can see; it's just a list of all apps.

You can clear the Market data from the command line like so:
rm -r /data/data/com.android.vending/*

OK, tried that in my terminal app; didn't work. The downloads are still there.

@EmmyS Hmm, strange. I would try ensuring that the Market app is not running, executing the command, and rebooting.  If that doesn't work I'm not sure what else to try.

This will certainly remove your market preferences, specifically any toggles for 'auto-download' that you have made. For me, I have a Droid 3 and all the pre-installed crapware has that on by default, so every time I clear market data, I have to toggle all those apps off. This might not be a big deal to Emmy, but it's something to keep in mind.

If the problem is limited to large apps, maybe the problem is the following:
http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/17824-google-maps-wont-install/page__p__175751#entry175751
The Market uses the same folder for cache as dalvik does, so you are limited to 5mb apps!

I'm not entirely sure they're all large apps, but I'll take a look at that. Thanks.

Did it solve your problem?

Sorry, it didn't. I ended up reinstalling CyanogenMod.


text:
What is the HTC account you sync on the One X?
I just got my HTC One X and was just going through the registration process of the HTC Account in the 'Accounts & Sync' settings, when someone asked me to show them something. Without thinking I pressed back and now when I try and register again, I'm told I can't as it exists.
I'd like to know, is there a matching web service for this which I can use to get my password back? What account is it? I had assumed it was for HTCSense.com but it doesn't seem to be.
Anyone have any idea's please? Otherwise I'll just have to try and login to it repeatedly which I'd like to avoid.

Looks like the phone is new and not setup much, so why don't you factory reset it? Or Deleting data from Account and Sync app or similar app might work.

I have rebooted my phone and when I tried again it let me register. The account is linked to htcsense.com which seems odd as there is a message there saying that it's closing down its services!


text:
Which downloadable launchers are based on the ICS stock launcher?
After upgrading to ICS, I'd like to use either the stock ICS launcher or an improved version based on it. What are my options?

We don't do lists like this, sorry.  Might be a good question for the chatroom, though.

Nova Launcher
Apex Launcher
Trebuchet (CM9's official launcher)

As far as I know, you must install all of these to /system (which requires root) in order to have widgets appear in the app drawer, and Trebuchet doesn't support being installed to /data at all.


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How to change the user in ES File Explorer
I use ES File Explorer on my Android phone (Lollipop).
When I connect to my NAS, it prompts me for a user name and password. I enter this, and I connect. However, I now need to connect as a different user.
I'm not prompted again for the user name/password, ES File Explorer and remembered these settings but, I can't find how to clear this.

Open ES File Explorer.  Head to cloud,  or FTP (Depending on which you are using,  and hold on the server.  An option along the bottom called "edit server"  will show up.  Click it, exit as necessary,  and press OK.


text:
Is there a way to force an app to remain running in the background no matter what?
On Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) the OS categorizes your app and each category has its own threshold in which the OS uses for determining which app to close first when it runs out of memory.
Has anyone of you been annoyed by, say you opened a timer to run in the background to measure the time elapsed of something, then you opened few more apps and got back to your timer just to see it was reset or closed? I mean, seriously, it is really excruciatingly annoying.
Is there a way to force an app to remain running in the background no matter what even when the OS runs out of memory?

That is a sign a bad code by the App. A user should never have to bother with this and Android provides means so that an App can save their state and restore it later on (since the early Android versions). You should send an bug report to the App developer.

The accepted answer turned out incorrect or outdated. The "App Settings" module for the Xposed app allows you to specify on a per app basis to keep apps from being killed or freed:
http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer
http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.mods.appsettings
Responsible care should of course be exercised when playing with apps changing such low level behaviour.

One should note, that this requires root and is the installation of a heavy Android OS modification.

Simple answer: No. Android always uses OOM (Out-Of-Memory) prioritizing to free unused memory. You can change the priorities of apps (at least until reboot) with some task managers but even then if the memory runs low, apps in the background start getting killed.
Think about this scenario: you've downloaded a badly coded app which runs on boot, causes a buffer overflow and hogs all your memory. Normally, this app is killed, but if it's set to stay open it effectively bricks your phone until reboot, and after that starts again, and again, etc.
Some timers use services with high priorities to avoid this problem, but if you launch enough high-performance, resource-hogging apps while the timer is in the background, it will eventually get killed.

Looks like that's it. I wonder if there's any exception to that rule, you know, system apps like phone, contacts, alarms, etc. I do hope google will provide an option in the future for users to "pin" any apps that the user has manually started. It doesn't have to be done on startup to prevent bricking the phone. Or perhaps they could at least let the system attempt to pin it for a while and if the system gets unresponsive, let the user close it.

If this ever happens, the least I'd expect is a new permission category for such apps. This would help people who value their battery life and system stability to avoid those apps. I would.

It doesn't need to be that way, IMO. Let the system do its old ways by default and in case the user intends one particular app to run in the background just at that particular moment when the need arises, just provide that option. It doesn't need to have another permission category since it is users' discretion to "pin" an app. I don't want an app to be permanently unstoppable once it runs. I just want an option to do this when there's a need just like what I have described in my question.

@dcow Yes, I'm familiar with buffer overflows. Since Android has dynamical memory allocation to it's sandboxes, a buffer overflow can go past the current memory boundaries and cause the sandbox to grow. Of course, due to Java's memory handling this was maybe a niche example, a better one would be an infinite loop in a LinkedList, which is not restricted to Integer.MAX_VALUE by it's structure and can be dynamically grown.

@dcow so are you saying a buffer overflow can't expand the dynamically allocated memory size, or that it's not the usual presentation? And the limit came from the internal structure of arrays and Vectors, which I happened to think of first in this case. Oh, and thanks for the link, I had never heard of Wikipedia! ;)

@onik correct: by definition, a buffer overflow cannot expand the allocated memory size. If it expands the allocated memory size, it is not a buffer overflow. You're thinking of an infinite loop, I think.

No. However, two methods to alleviate the problem come to mind but both of them can only be implemented by the developer: The first one is to display a notification, Android will give apps that do this a higher priority than others. The second one is to save the start time so when the timer gets eventually restarted, it won't be reset.

Running Apps without reason with Foreground priority (that's why the notification is needed) is considered bad practice. As is said before: Android provides a nice Api that even allows timers/counters that aren't affected by the OOM killer. There is a nice post by Dianne Hackborn about this topic

I don't doubt that there is such an API, but where in this question has this been mentioned before?

Also, there is obviously a reason to keep the app running if at all possible in this case, unlike the game example you posted.

No there is no reason to keep an App running just because of a timer. Just use onSaveInstanceState and onRestoreInstanceState to safe the App state, including the timer information. No need to run in Foreground. Even if it's a alarm you could use AlarmManager to make sure that it's executed later. The only reason where Foreground should be used is: 1. You have some actual foreground activity going on, like playing music or showing a video. 2. You want to keep a data connection open (e.g. IMAP IDLE (push)).

1st method :--If you make Sticky Thread in the program , yes you can forcefully keep your program on the run. However remember the user at advanced setting mode can stop background running apps.
However if you write a the sticky thread in a manner that it starts at any give event occured then this can be achieved.
2nd method : IF the user is non rooted android and u want to run an app on th background .
use SL4 script in the background form the app.
use a script that will do you background checks and programs and write the front end to show something else.
Eg: In most game engines this is in built. They connect to server s even though the user turned off the app. The reason the engine create multiple scripts in the phone which is randaomly checked at any particular events and that TRIGGER is used to run your app continously on th background of foreground.
***Sorry for the TYPO's .. spellchecker not available. Hope u achieve what u intended to get.

Welcome to Android Enthusiast, a Q&A site for Android end-users. As far as I can understand, the 2 methods you provided can only be done from the developer-side, i.e. those who have the source code of the app. Unfortunately, that might not be helpful for most of readers here because they are not developing an app. If this might be applicable for non-developer, consider [edit]ing the answer to make it clear on how to do these without touching the app's source code. Thanks.

There is sometimes an option to lock the app. This prevents killing or stopping of that application in the phone.
Lock option is not available in the OS itself, using some 3rd party apps like GO Task Manager, etc, can help.

OOM killing is done by the kernel and no app can prevent it or "lock" a process. The app you have linked to is a task killer that kills apps itself. The locking feature you are referring to will only prevent killing by the task killer.


text:
upgrade to lollipop 5.1 using twrp?
In a burst of energy in the past I installed twrp. But when I attempted to install 5.1 on my nexus 7 2012 by following the prompts, it dumped me into twrp with no information on how to proceed. Do I just hit the install button and find the update in my downloads folder and install that way?

Don't you need to be on stock recovery to install an OTA update?  I'm pretty sure you do

Yes, I think that's what the answerer was getting at. That's what I ended up doing, via NRT.

I tried to flash the rom manually but failed miserably (ran into this page).
I decided to use the Nexus Root Toolkit (download here) to go back to stock Android 5.1 (losing everything on the device of course). That worked like a charm and re-rooting it afterwards was simple enough Rooting guide for 5.1.1.
In the past whenever a new Android version came out I had to flash back to stock Android to get the update and then re-root it. I'm sure some people manage to update without erasing everything...


text:
How do I set the duration of a "calendar insert" in tasker
Declaring the starting time to be now seems to be easy in tasker. I just put 0 into the "In / For(Minutes)" field. However how do I define the length of the calendar event?

The In / For field actually serves both purposes. You can enter two numbers, delimited by a / such that:

The first number is the number of minutes from now when the event starts, and
The second number is the duration of the event

If you wanted to insert a one hour event starting "now", you would, for example, set the value of the field to 0 / 60.
This is summarized from the "Calendar Insert" entry in Tasker's Action documentation.


text:
How do I get Android 2.3 on my Verizon Droid 2?

Possible Duplicate:
When will my phone get the Android 2.3 update (Gingerbread)?
How do I root my device?

I have a Droid 2 with Verizon and the Android version is 2.2 (froyo).
I am looking to update to 2.3 (gingerbread) but when I go to the check for updates section it says it's up to date. How can I get 2.3? I have never rooted before but if that's what I have to do to get it then I will. Any resources that could point me in the right direction would be much appreciated.

This post is a good place to keep an eye ono to see if anyone's heard of an official version coming http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2695/when-will-my-phone-get-the-android-2-3-update-gingerbread

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1124744
It's not finalized, so make sure you read everything.

Answers that are little more than a link to an external site are no answer at all.


text:
HTC Desire: why not to root and install Froyo (no-porting)?
I've bought an HTC Desire a quite ago and, since now, works fine for me (except for this).
Now I'm waiting for Android 2.3, or 3.0, or whatever, and I'm thinking: is it possible to install the original Android ROM on my Desire instead of HTC porting?
This will make spare me a lot of time in waiting HTC porting.
My only doubt is if all functionality stay the same. (except for Sense and similar HTC proprietary software).

There are many ROMs available for the Desire based on stock Android / the open souce project. I currently run Cyanogen's ROM on my Desire, but I have also used OpenDesire and many others.
Take a look on the XDA forums.
There is no 'Official' stock ROM for the Desire, because no one is selling in without the HTC ROM, but OpenDesire is as close to the open source project as you are likely to get, where as Cyanogen's ROM is more feature packed!
You will of course need to root your phone to install custom ROMs. This is easily done on the Desire using Unrevoked.

Most HTC phones generally have very nice alternative ROMS, definitely worth a shot

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
If I root the device can I upgrade to Froyo without waiting for the operator's release?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S and am currently waiting indefinitely for the operator to pull its finger out and release its bloated edition of Froyo.
If I root the device using the instructions here, will that enable me to ugrade to Froyo over Kies or will I have to upgrade through some other method?

Not adding this as an answer, as I don't have the facts in front of me, but you don't need to root for this. Kies remembers what region and operator images you're phone is supposed to have in a registry key in Windows. As long as you have a Galaxy S I9000 that is compatible with that from another country, all you need to do is change the region code that Kies has saved on your PC.

Looking at your profile it looks like you're based in the UK? If so you should have no problem running the Samsung's European JPO release of the Galaxy S Froyo software that went out to unbranded UK Galaxy S's a few weeks ago. As this is an Official Samsung release there's no need to root to apply it, you just need to trick Samsung's software into installing it for you.
To start with I'll make the assumption that you have no problems running the Kies software, that it recognizes your phone when you plug it in, and that you get a "You are already running the latest release" message when you click the Firmware Upgrade link. (this is a big set of assumptions given the quality of Kies, if any of these aren't true, then you need to get Kies working properly before going further).
This post on Vodafone UK's Galaxy S forums lays out the steps Samsung Galaxy S - Froyo Update (Android 2.2) (reply 113). I'll summarise them below as Vodafone are about to upgrade their forums to new software, so I have no idea if the post will survive, or the link will still work in a week or two's time, credit to "ado28" for these instructions.

First of all you need to go into
  regedit and do some minor alterations
  to the registry.
Do not update Kies! If you do then I
  think this tweak won’t work! The Kies
  version I used was 1.5.0.10024_74 but
  I fooled it into thinking it was the
  latest version
Step by step guide

Back up everything you wish to keep, including Apps, phone numbers,
  Text messages etc because we're going
  to wipe your phone clean before we
  start!
Go to Settings – Privacy – FACTORY DATA RESET and click. Follow the
  prompts and then let it wipe your
  phone.
Now you have a bare naked phone again and can proceed onto the next
  step.
Open up Kies and leave running
Connect phone
Open Regedit by clicking on Start – Run – then type in regedit and press
  enter
Scroll down to Kies and look for “Localver” see pic
Change your Localver code to 1.5.3.10103.100
Now go to your Device DB folder and change your settings to these:

"SoftwareRevision"="I9000XXJF3/I9000OXAJF3/I9000XXJF3/I9000XXJF3"
  "ProductCode"="GT-I9000HKDXEU"
  "HIDSWVER"="I9000XXJF3/I9000OXAJF3/I9000XXJF3/I9000XXJF3"
  "DEVCONINFO"="" Delete the writing
  in this box and leave blank.

Now go back into Kies and click "Update firmware"

This will now allow everyone who has
  JPA on their handset with the product
  code XEE to be replaced with JPO and
  the product code XEU which is for the
  UK. Once you have successfully updated
  then allow the phone to boot up. Once
  booted up you will now need to go back
  into your settings and change your
  product code to XEU. To do this open
  your keypad and type in *#272*YOUR
  IMEI# and now you will be back to
  having a lovely wee choice of product
  codes to enter. Choose XEU and
  install. The phone will reboot and you
  will now officially be on JPO with the
  correct product code XEU!
Please note that by doing any update
  on your phone could cause it to brick
  itself. The guide I have written
  worked perfect for me however I can’t
  be held responsible if your phone
  bricks itself. To be safe always try
  the 3 button recovery method first
  before you update and also doing a
  factory reset first usually ensures a
  smooth installation of new firmware.

Extra note on Kies: as stated above, this doesn't work with the latest version of Kies. If you need an older version of Kies then this version should allow you to do this (according to XDA): Kies version 1.5.3.10093_82.
If you do end up uninstalling and reinstalling Kies and find that it doesn't detect your phone any more, then first thing to try is clicking the menu icon in the top-left corner of Kies and selecting the "install drivers" option.

Very thorough answer!

Thanks for your answer, GAThrawn. Now that I've rooted and run Titanium Backup I'm going to give this a go. holds breath

Kies didn't play nicely but I did find this tutorial from Goots at Samsung Galaxy S forums.
I'm now running Froyo.

To answer your original question: yes, almost all popular Android phones have community mods (CyanogenMod, Samdroid, etc) and many of them are writing drivers for Froyo for many popular phones.
Community mods are often able to release drivers and updates much faster than operators can since they are unbriddled by the red tapes and the internal politics of official releases.
Most community mods are rooted, although some may release unrooted version as well.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
What are the benefits of moving apps to the SD card?

Possible Duplicate:
Other than portability, are there any other advantages (or disadvantages) to storing apps on external storage?

I'm trying to decide if I should make the move.  I was hoping moving apps to the SD card would have them magically show up if the OS is wiped but from a little reading it looks like even apps on the SD card are unique to the OS they're installed on.  I'm not really seeing another good reason to move them.

The main benefit (I think of) would be to save space on the internal memory of the device.
That is also the main reason I have my apps in the SD card with my old Treo (with palms there was this option too, depending on the launcher you used).


text:
When will my phone get the Android 2.2 update (FroYo)?
Android 2.2 (FroYo, short for "Frozen Yogurt") was released over the Summer 2010, however not all of the devices that will get this update have received it yet. Each manufacturer and carrier needs to add their custom modifications before it can be officially released.
See also:

When will my phone get the Android 2.3 update (Gingerbread)?

I think the dates are better in the answer. not the question. Firstly it would make more sense in Q&A format. Secondly you can accept it and remove this question from "unanswered" list

@LouisRhys: So, what are you thinking? One answer per model? Seems too granular. How about one answer per manufacturer?

maybe just one answer for evertything is a good idea too?

In our discussion we settled on having the information in the question. Feel free to continue this discussion there.

How should we handle phones which offered by two or more vendors and have different update schedules? The Samsung Intercept (which was just added to the list below) is offered by Sprint and Virgin Mobile (A Sprint subsidiary), and each vendor has different update schedules. Sprint updated their Samsung Intercepts a few days ago, Virgin Mobile customers are still waiting.

If we have that information, include it. See the Samsung Galaxy S (International) entry for example.

Related: Why aren't the manufacturers updating the phone to the latest Android version when it's available?

This community wiki will list all of the known and rumored dates of upgrades for devices that shipped with a prior version of Android. If you have an update make sure to follow the format that's been established, and the following guidelines:

Keep phones in alphabetical order listing the manufacturer and model
Specify if the date is confirmed or rumored and link to the source
If there is an unofficial release, link to the site where it can be downloaded

If you don't have a high enough reputation score to edit the wiki (currently 100), leave your suggestion in a comment or answer and someone will update the list.
Phones
Acer Liquid E

Official: Nov. 19, 2010 (confirmed)

HTC Aria

Official:

Southeast Asia: Dec. 17,2010 (confirmed)

HTC Desire

Official:

(Cellular South) Mar. 18, 2011 (confirmed)
(U.S. Cellular) Feb. 8, 2011 (confirmed)
(Virgin Media) Nov. 11, 2010 (confirmed)
UK: (via HTC) Sep. 18, 2010 (confirmed)
Canada: (Telus) Oct. 25, 2010 (confirmed)

HTC G1

OTA: Never
Unofficial: (myTouch 3G port)

HTC Legend

Official: Europe Dec. 9, 2010 (confirmed)

HTC Magic

OTA: (Vodafone UK) 14 Dec 2010 (confirmed)

HTC myTouch 3G

Official: Jan. 12, 2011 (confirmed)

HTC myTouch Fender LE & myTouch 3G 3.5mm jack aka myTouch 3G 1.2

Official: Jan 25 2011 (confirmed)

HTC myTouch 3G Slide

OTA: planned, no date (confirmed)

HTC Wildfire

Official:

United Kingdom: Dec. 20, 2010 (confirmed)
Germany (T-Mobile): Dec. 21, 2010
rest of Europe: Week of Dec. 23, 2010 (confirmed)

LG Ally

Official:

Jan. 19, 2011 (source)

LG Apex

Official: Q1, 2011 (confirmed)

Motorola CHARM

Official: never (will remain at Android 2.1) (confirmed)

Motorola CLIQ XT

Official: never (will remain at Android 1.5) (confirmed)

Motorola Defy

Europe, Asia, Middle East: 2Q 2011 (source)

Motorola FLIPOUT

Official: never (will remain at Android 2.1) (confirmed)

Motorola i1 (PTT)

Official: never (will remain at Android 1.5) (confirmed)

Motorola Milestone

Europe: Mar. 15, 2011 (confirmed)
Asia, Middle East: 4Q 2010 - initial rollout (source)
Asia-Pacific, Canada, Latin America: 1Q 2011 (source)

Motorola Milestone XT720

Official:

Cincinnati Bell: Jul. 4, 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Acclaim

Official: Jan. 19, 2011, via download (confirmed)

Samsung Captivate

Official (via Kies):

(Canada - Rogers) Jan. 10, 2011 (confirmed)
(U.S. - AT&T) Feb. 24, 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Continuum

Official: Jan. 18, 2011 (rumored)

Samsung Epic 4G

Official: Feb. 22, 2011 (confirmed)
Unofficial: Nov. 7, 2010 (confirmed)

Samsung Fascinate

Official:

Canada: early 2011 (confirmed)
United States: Apr. 21, 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy 3 (I5800 / I5801)

Official some time in November/December 2010 (source)
Unofficial: Dec. 12, 2010 (instructions)
India: 14th April 2011

Samsung Galaxy 5 (I5500)

Official some time in November/December 2010 (source)

Belgium/Luxembourg: Apr. 2011 (hearsay)

Unofficial: Dec. 4, 2010 (instructions and download)

Samsung Galaxy A (Korea)

OTA: Nov. 15, 2010 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy S (International)

Official:

T-Mobile: 2nd week of Dec. 2010 (tentative) (source)
Europe: (O2) Nov. 15, 2010 (confirmed), (Vodafone) Nov. 15, 2010 (confirmed)
Korea: Nov. 15, 2010 (confirmed)
Middle East: Nov. 15, 2010
UK: (via Samsung Kies) Nov. 4, 2010 (confirmed)

Samsung Intercept

Official:

Sprint: Dec. 17, 2010 (confirmed)
Virgin Mobile: Mar. 25, 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Mesmerize

Official: Mar. 24, 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Moment

Official: never (confirmed by Sprint)
Unofficial:

Samsung Vibrant

Official:

(Canada) Dec.9, 2010 (confirmed) (rollout suspended 20 Dec 2010)
(U.S. T-Mobile) Jan. 21, 2011 (confirmed)

Unofficial: Nov. 9, 2010 (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Official: never (confirmed)

Tablets
Archos 28/32/43/70/101

Official: Nov. 30, 2010 (confirmed)

Dell Streak

Official:

unbranded/unlocked: Nov. 15, 2010  (confirmed)
AT&T: Jan. 12, 2011 (confirmed)
O2: Dec. 15, 2010 (confirmed)

ViewSonic ViewPad 10

Unofficial: Nov. 12, 2010 (source)

Other devices
Barnes & Noble Nook Color

Official: Apr. 20, 2011 (confirmed)
Unofficial: Dec. 6, 2010 (video)

This is not specific to Froyo, but this forum posts lists the rough dates for all Android versions for all Motorola models https://supportforums.motorola.com/community/manager/softwareupgrades


text:
Security risks of "Open Wi-Fi Networks"
How paranoid do I need to be about allowing my phone to connect to open/unencrypted WiFi hotspots?
I don't really care if other people see my data (email being received or sent, stock quotes, whatever).  I think all I really care about is whether they see my passwords (Gmail, Facebook, etc).
I understand I probably don't want to initiate a connection to a financial institution, and that I'm potentially subject to man-in-the-middle attacks even if my passwords aren't cleartext.
Please note that I am aware of this question and its answer, and it doesn't really answer my question because it's just about the data:
What Android sync'd data is encrypted?
If this question has already been asked and answered, please point me to it.  I searched with the built-in engine and Google and couldn't find it.

If you're concerned about twitter at all, I know that Touiteur has an option to always use an SSL connection, and it's one of the best clients anyways.  (Full disclosure: I have recently flopped between Touiteur and Tweetcaster due to small bugs in both)

Basically yes, you should be paranoid. I really wish there were a simple way to encrypt all the phone's traffic: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/2962/693

If you use the Android web browser to access any sites that you've logged into and that don't use an SSL encrypted page while you're browsing them, then you should be very paranoid.
Have a read up about the Firesheep add-on to Firefox, it uses the fact that on an open, unencrypted Wifi connection anyone can listen to anyone else who is connected's network traffic. It listens out for cookies that other people's laptops and phones send out while they're browsing, grabs those cookies and lets you use them to log into a vast list of websites as that person. It doesn't need to capture login names or passwords, so it doesn't matter if you're careful about not entering your password into anything over an open connection. All it needs is your cookie and then it can log someone else into your Facebook, or GMail, or Twitter, Amazon (they can even place One-Click orders on your behalf) etc. BoingBoing has slightly more on what this demonstrates about web security.
The scary thing is that Firesheep doesn't do anything magic. It just makes a process that anyone could do (listening to open WiFi traffic, and spotting the interesting bits) and makes it one-click easy.

Very very interesting.  I'd heard of Firesheep but didn't know what it did.
But I would imagine that the Firesheep cookies are typically session cookies.  Or even if they're not, most sites with some reasonable level of security make saved credentials expire periodically, say in 2 weeks.  I'm not really concerned about someone in a coffee shop posting some stupid Facebook status for me.  I'm concerned about hackers selling my accounts, which requires transferrable credentials with some level of durability.  Or am I missing something?

@Paul You're right that this only gives the attacker access to your session, if you're aware of this and not worried about Facebook spoofing then OK. However web mail is one thing you're missing. Temporary access to that is incredibly useful for an attacker. When you register for websites your logins are often emailed to you, that's very easy to search for in someone's email. Or an attacker can go to various sites and click the "Forgot password" button to get the password emailed to the account they can now access. For longer term access they can set up a rule that forwards all mail onto them.

Mmmm.  Thanks.  Security is so complex sometimes.  Still, the bar is now much higher for them.  Few sites with reasonable security are going to email them the actual password;  instead they will reset it, at which point I will see something is broken.  Also, I can see the forwarding rule.  I just want to be secure enough that people steal from somewhere else instead of hacking me.  It sounds to me like my usage is sufficient to meet that criterion, although I could be wrong.

After investigating the question I linked above, I found the following page (translating from Germain), where the authors determined that the majority of common Android apps they tested did not send passwords in the cleartext:
http://www.heise.de/mobil/artikel/Sicherheit-von-Apps-fuer-Android-und-iPhone-1103681.html?artikelseite=6
Turns out this isn't as helpful as GAThrawn's answer above;  I didn't understand the full ramifications of cookies.


text:
What special phone numbers can be used to display (hidden) info on Android phones?

Possible Duplicate:
Do you know other Android keypad commands ?

In another post someone mentioned the special phone number #*#4636#*# to list CPU specific information.
I would like to ask you to list such special phone numbers in this post.
Mind you, I am not looking for a list on a web page (I'm sure that such a list is available somewhere).
I am looking for special numbers you actually used yourself, so you can vouch for the fact that they actually work.
Please mention your phone, because I can imagine some of them are phone specific, no ?

See also this previous question Do you know other Android keypad commands? http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1468/do-you-know-other-android-keypad-commands

@GATHrawn: I searched the website for something like that, but obviously used the wrong search words :)  Nevertheless, I specifically ask for commands the writer has used. Not some sort of web site with a list of commands.

I'm running 2.1 Eclair on a Samsung Spica.
Well... the universal *#06# will display your IMEI - always a good idea to store this in a safe offline place in case your device is misplaced / stolen.
*#*#7780#*#*

will take you a screen where you can Factory Reset your device - you need to press an additional button to confirm or BACK to exit.

*#*#7594#*#*

will show you Shutdown App configuration - you can choose to have the device power off directly instead of showing the menu for Airplane Mode / Power Off etc. when you long-press the power button. There's also an option for keeping the LCD on during the duration of a call - also useful to some people!

*#*#197328640#*#*

shows a SERVICE MENU where different diagnostics can be carried out.

*#*#526#*#* OR *#*#528#*#*

takes you to a WLAN test screen where you can check Transmit (TX) and Receive (RX) capabilities - press MENU for options.

*#*#0*#*#*

LCD test

*#*#0842#*#*

Vibration test
Naturally, some of these may be specific to certain device models only.


text:
How can I free up more space on my Android (2.2 Froyo) phone?
I have already moved all the applications that allow it to the SD card. So what I am really looking for here are some tips like clearing internet cache or something like that. (I have an HTC Desire.)
Edit: In my case the top space hogs are:

Google Reader - 19.1 MB
Swype - 10.7 MB
Maps - 9.2 MB
Contacts Storage 8.9 MB
SliceIt - 8.2 MB
doubleTwist - 6.4 MB
Facebook for HTC Sense - 5.9 MB
Handcent SMS - 5.0 MB
Adobe Reader - 4.7 MB
Gmail - 4.2 MB

and there are many more after that (TweetDeck, Bloomberg, Angry Birds, Shazam, ...).
Now I know that I have a lot of apps but that's what I want from my smart phone and I don't really want to have to uninstall anything. I've also got a 16GB SD card which is over 50% empty so if only more of the apps would allow themselves to be moved to the SD.
EDIT 2: I found this question - How can I deal with "Low on space" messages on my HTC Incredible?  which deals with the same issue and the accepted answer there is very good.

Clearing caches will not really clear up space, it will just slow your page loading down until the cache is regenerated and fill up your memory again; and if there is not enough space to regenerate the cache, you will just experience the slow down. Anyway, the Desire has a half gigabyte of internal memory, it is roomy enough for almost anything you need after you moved applications to SD and your data should all be in SD as well, are you really sure you actually need more internal memory?

Closely related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2065/what-can-i-do-to-manage-my-phones-internal-storage

@Lie: That's what I hoped when I bought the desire and I wish it was true but in practice I find myself constantly running out of space and then being forced to uninstall apps that I think I could do without at that moment.

The latest incremental OTA update for froyo started to install apss to SD card if it supports it.

See here how Android calculates your personal space limit: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=4991#c145

I'm having a similar problem.
One that freed up a bit of space was moving the Dolphin Browser cache as well (within Dolphin go to Settings -> Cache to SD), of course this doesn't help if you're not using it!
In my case my top storage users* are:

Contacts Storage - 14MB
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 - 10.96MB
Maps - 9.94MB
Twitter - 4.66MB
Gmail - 4MB
Kindle - 3.8MB
HTC Sense - 3.7MB
Adobe Reader - 3.22MB
Dolphin Browser HD - 3.16MB
London Journey - 2.66MB

(followed by a couple of dozen other apps using 2MB or less)
It's worth noting that of that list, only 2 (Adobe Reader and Dolphin Browser) support Move to SD Card.
So the real answer is hoping that more app developers (including Google!) take this problem on board and allow Move to SD Card and optional usage of the SD card for caching.  And of course uninstalling apps you're not using.
One thing I can say from experience is don't clear your HTC Sense data since it'll reset your desktop layout!
In some cases I could free up a bit by clearing caches, but as Lie Ryan notes this is only a temporary measure.
*The storage usage was found with Settings -> Manage Applications -> "All" tab -> (menu) Sort By Size.

Thanks. Also check out the answer in the link in my second edit.

Yup, this is the bane of my existence right now, to the point that i'm considering ditching my Desire in favour of a Samsung Galaxy S (or Google Nexus-S) with 16gb internal storage. Having to remove apps every few days is just rubbish.
I've done a bit of playing around today, and found my biggest issue is contacts storage.. here's my findings:
Original:
 - Google: 1662 contacts
 - Facebook: 344 friends
 Space Used:  17.64mb
Cleared data for Contacts Storage App
Remove Facebook Contacts Sync, and resync:
 - Google: 1662 contacts
 - Facebook: n/a
 Space Used:  7.12mb
Add Facebook Contacts Sync and resync:
 - Google: 1662 contacts
 - Facebook: 344
 Space Used: 15.21mb
So really didn't help much.. It seems most of the data space is used by Facebook, probablky because of the photos, which is a feature i really like so dont really want to stop syncing Facebook.
I think I need to go through my google contacts and archive any I don’t need… reduce them down to a few hundred and see how that goes.  I'll report back how I went with that once I've had a chance to do it, but really it seems there's only 7mb of usage there so not sure its worth the effort.
WHY oh WHY can't we selectively sync groups from google… that's just rubbish that you can't.  C'mon google - they're all your systems, surely y ou can figure this one out and make our lives so much easier!!??
Oh, I also did the "Uninstall Updates" for the Adobe Flash 10 app to free up 10mb of space . Flash still works fine.. Maybe not the latest version, but really I don’t need it if its going to hog 10mb of precious space!

I also like having the Facebook pictures automatically linked to my Google contacts so it would be nice to keep this feature. Can't they just put those on the SD card? It seems like it's somewhat peripheral and thus could be moved to the SD card but I don't know how the API and development details work. I hope Google and HTC pay attention to this and fix this up.

Some apps, like Touchdown, store huge amounts of data in internal memory by default.
Often, they offer some option inside the app to save their data on SD card.

If it's internal storage you need I would suggest rooting and getting rid of stock apps you don't need. But if it's internet memory you need I would suggest rooting anyways and installing advanced task killer and turning autokill on. If you still want more memory... lower the security level to low. Even though it kinda has to refresh everything it frees up a lot. That's why I'm still happy with my old motorola cliq. Hope this helps :)

It is quite obvious that the OP was talking about internal storage space.


text:
How to install the application in SDcard (android phone)?

Possible Duplicate:
How to install APK files on SDCARD.

I would like to install the .apk file into the SD card. Can I do this? If yes then how could I able to perform this in my HTC hero android phone?

Possible duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3436/how-to-install-apk-files-on-sdcard

This can "officially" only be done if you are running android-2.2-froyo and you set the app to install on the sdcard.
If you are not running android-2.2-froyo then the only way to do it is with some "hackery", which involves partitioning your sdcard, symbolic links and some other things. There are some custom ROMs that would have this built in
The non-froyo methods also involve having your phone rooted.

Officially, the app also needs to support install to SD card.  Widgets and live backgrounds should never be installed to the SD card.


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What's involved in manually updating my Nexus One?
If I wanted to manually update my Nexus One, say to Gingerbread, what's involved in the process?
I'm familiar with this question, Manually Updating your OS?, but unsure if the answer applies to the Nexus One. Do I need to root my phone in order to update it?

There currently is no official update for the N1 to Gingerbread yet.
However, you could root your phone and install CyanogenMod 7 (nightly, it hasn't hit release candidate yet) to get Gingerbread on your phone.  From what I've heard, the nightlies have been pretty stable for the N1.
More details on the CM wiki here.
Basic steps include:

Root your phone
Install ROM Manager
Flash ClockWork Recovery
MAKE A NANDROID BACKUP OF YOUR PHONE
Flash CM7

Note: rooting your phone will void your warranty.  For more info about rooting, see here and here.

Thanks for the information, what if there was an official update, what would be involved in updating the phone?

@James If/when there is an official update, then as long as you haven't manually installed a custom ROM like this, then your phone will automatically download the update shortly after it's released, and then show a message asking if you want to update now.

@James as GAThrawn said, you'll receive an OTA update from Google/carrier if you are running stock Android

It's going to vary a bit by device and OS version.
I did find this however, which is specifically for updating the Nexus One to Android 2.3.3 (which is out officially).

Sick of waiting for your Nexus One to get the OTA update to Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread? It’s your lucky day, as you can now manually install the update to your phone without anymore waiting!

Download the Nexus One update from this link here.

Rename the file to update.zip (If your OS hides file extensions by default, rename the file to update to avoid it being renamed to update.zip.zip)

Connect your Nexus One to your computer and transfer the file to the root of the microSD card (inside no folders)

Power down the Nexus One. Now reboot it by holding the Power and Volume Down at the same time.

You should now see a screen with Androids on skateboards. Using the Volume keys, navigate to Recovery and press Power.

The recovery screen will only show a triangle with an exclamation point in it. To get to the recovery menu press Power and Volume Up at the same time. (It can be a bit tricky sometimes, so keep trying if it doesn’t work the first time)

Using the trackball, scroll down and select “Apply sdcard:update.zip.” to start the update.

Once the update has completed, reboot your Nexus One.

You’ve successfully updated to Android 2.3.3. Have fun!

Says e-signature verification failed :\

Sorry, I can't provide any further guidance. (I don't have a Nexus.) You should check with the source.


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MIUI ROM English Version for Samsung Galaxy S
MIUI ROM is available in Chinese for Samsung Galaxy S. (There is an english site as well, but it doesn't list Galaxy S) After the install, according to the docs, I get this on the screen:

(source: miui.com)
Will I be able to change the language to English and continue to use the phone without any chinese interaction or should I use a custom mod?

Which "Samsung Galaxy S" exactly?

I think I got it. http://miui.us

The base MIUI is quite closed source and opaque (there was some brouhaha on XDA about it) I'm sure. There are several spin-offs and/or AOSP merges in different languages on XDA.
These are specific links to current MIUI ROMs (current as at 29 Aug 2011)

I9000: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118682
SGS2: http://www.galnetmiui.co.uk

However, I'd suggest you monitor the relevant device forum at XDA and see what's out there. Versions change, ROMs come and go, threads are closed/new ones opened etc so the two links above may not be reliable over time
I have a HTC Desire: there were half a dozen MIUI ROMs for this a few months ago. YMMV of course
Edit:
Note also that ROM developers are leaving XDA because of the noise and stupid users. Hence the galtnet MIUI link (which I got from XDA). So you may find less info than you expect on XDA
You said MIUI but I can recommend Oxygen for the SGS2 (I use this on my Desire)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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How do I get quick access to common text snippets?
When filling out an online shopping form the other day via my browser, it sucked that I needed to manually type my email address, street address, postal code, etc.  Even credit card number (though I realize there are security implications there).
Is there a way to store commonly used snippets of text somewhere for quick and easy cut & paste?  Perhaps something integrated via a soft keyboard and key combos?
This relates a bit to Share (through share menu) directly to own email address, but I want my email address to be accessible from any application.

possible duplicate of Quickly input frequent used phrase by choose-and-paste

It does sound like both your initial question and your example of how you'd like to use it sound exactly the same (but worded slightly differently) as that previous question http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3117/quickly-input-frequent-used-phrase-by-choose-and-paste

The questions are very similar but looking for a solution to enter an email address vs a solution to enter all form data including secure data like a credit card number is a distinction that I think is sufficiently different to warrant a separate question.

I would put it into the keyboard's user dictionary.
There are a few clipboard/snippet manager application, you might be interested if you need to store longer texts:

Clipper
Text Snippet Lite IME

Clipper seems like a nice solution.

For quick access to your email address I agree with Lie Ryan, entering it into your user dictionary will bring it up as an auto suggestion as you type, however I wouldn't do this for more sensitive information.
For a more secure and even faster method I'd recommend using Dolphin Browser HD with the LastPass plugin.  LastPass lets you securely save user login and password info, as well as different profiles with addresses and credit card numbers.  With this setup you can fill out a whole form with one click.  If you don't use Dolphin browser you can accomplish the same thing with the auto-fill bookmarklets that LastPass offers.

You might be interested in my answer on this question
Application to switch among multiple running applications
Additionally, Smart Keyboard Pro does text macros.


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Some questions regarding apps on a rooted Nook Color
This is basically a follow-up to my previous question regarding the Nook Color. While my first question was regarding some of the specifics of the root process, I also have two questions about installing apps on a NC after obtaining root:

The tech specs seem to indicate that the NC has 8 GB of internal memory. Approximately how much of this would be available to me after rooting for apps and data? I'm willing to repartition if this is possible/necessary.
Is it generally safe to assume that apps from the Market will work on a NC after it's rooted and the Market and so forth have been installed, or are there some gotchas associated with this? (Assume for the sake of this question that I'm talking about a 2.3 or earlier ROM, not a ripped-from-the-SDK 3.0 one)

Below is the output of "df -h -a" command on my Nook Color running CyanogenMod 7.0 ROM (2.3.3) which gives you a break-down of the mounted partitions:
Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   244.2M     44.0K    244.2M   0% /dev
devpts                       0         0         0   0% /dev/pts
proc                         0         0         0   0% /proc
sysfs                        0         0         0   0% /sys
tmpfs                   244.2M         0    244.2M   0% /mnt/asec
tmpfs                   244.2M         0    244.2M   0% /mnt/obb
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2     69.5M    107.0K     69.4M   0% /rom
/dev/block/mmcblk0p5    440.5M    142.8M    275.0M  34% /system
/dev/block/mmcblk0p6    941.9M    347.7M    594.2M  37% /data
/dev/block/mmcblk0p7    341.8M     39.3M    284.9M  12% /cache
/sys/kernel/debug            0         0         0   0% /sys/kernel/debug
/dev/block/vold/179:17    7.5G      5.7G      1.8G  76% /mnt/sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:17    7.5G      5.7G      1.8G  76% /mnt/secure/asec
tmpfs                        0         0         0   0% /mnt/sdcard/.android_secure
/dev/block/vold/179:8     5.0G     57.0M      4.9G   1% /mnt/emmc

Out of 8 Gigabytes of internal memory ~500 MB is reserved for the ROM itself (/rom and /system), ~1.5 GB is for app storage (/data and /cache), 5 GB is for data storage (/mnt/emmc) and another ~500MB reserved for other miscellaneous Android operations.  You can also see my 8GB SD Card mounted on /mnt/sdcard.
Keep in mind that these partitions can be (and usually are) remapped based on the needs of a given ROM.
In terms of your question regarding apps from the Market, there are some limitations that mostly depend on the type and version of the ROM you are planning to run.  The biggest concern the screen resolution and LCD density.  Several apps, including the Market itself (Vending.apk) are quite picky about how well (or even if) they will work properly.  Most common side-effect is apps displaying in a tiny window instead of properly scaling.  Most can be fixed by disabling Compatibility Mode in Spare Parts, but some (e.g. Google Reader) will only function with a certain LCD density that could be in conflict with other apps.
Keep in mind that most of the custom ROMs for Nook Color are works in progress, so expect to see better compatibility with all apps going forward.  Also, if rumors of Froyo (2.2) update for the official Nook Color firmware are true, we could see better performance once the official display/video/audio/etc. driver upgrades are rolled into custom ROMs.

A vast majority of it. My device says I have up to 5gb of internal storage that I can use. Additionally you can throw in an SD card.
In my experience about 98% of the apps on the Market will work on your rooted (stock) Nook Color.  If you flash CyanogenMod 7 or similar, then they all should work.  If you remain with stock, there are some minor quirky issues because there are a few things missing from the OS.  For example, trying to create a "shortcut" will cause a Force Close.


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Color Scheme with Vim on Android?
I am trying to get a "solarized dark" colorscheme to work with Vim on android. Vim itself runs, and the plugin itself runs, but the colorscheme comes out wrong. I am using jackpal.androidterm app (usually the first one you see if you search 'terminal' on google play). I have tried exporting nearly every terminal type, both through the app and throught a script and I have the app's colorscheme set to "solarized dark", however, the backround doesn't display properly.
Here are the Screenshots for it.
Due to limitations on new users, I pasted them in OneDrive. (They were packed in a document due to an odd bug when uploading with Dolphin.)
Also, It is worth noting that solarized "works" on the Android Terminal when TERM=xterm-256color. However, the limited solarized colorset has too little contrast and is just plain ugly. In addition, both systems have the same plugins and .vimrc:
(~/.vimrc)
syntax on
set number
set ruler

set nocompatible              " be iMproved, required
filetype off                  " required

 " set the runtime path to include Vundle and initialize
 set rtp+=~/.vim/bundle/Vundle.vim
call vundle#begin()
" alternatively, pass a path where Vundle should install plugins
call vundle#begin('~/some/path/here')

" let Vundle manage Vundle, required
 Plugin 'gmarik/Vundle.vim'

 Plugin 'altercation/vim-colors-solarized'
 Plugin 'bronson/vim-trailing-whitespace'

 " Unite
 " "   depend on vimproc
 " "   ------------- VERY IMPORTANT ------------
 " "   you have to go to .vim/plugin/vimproc.vim and do a ./make
 " "   -----------------------------------------
 Plugin 'Shougo/vimproc.vim'
 Plugin 'Shougo/unite.vim'

 Plugin 'rking/ag.vim'
 Plugin 'airblade/vim-gitgutter'
 Plugin 'tpope/vim-fugitive'
 Plugin 'junegunn/vim-easy-align'
 " All of your Plugins must be added before the following line
 call vundle#end()            " required
 " filetype plugin indent on    " required
 " To ignore plugin indent changes, instead use:
 filetype plugin on
 " "
 " " Brief help
 " " :PluginList       - lists configured plugins
 " " :PluginInstall    - installs plugins; append `!` to update or just
 " :PluginUpdate
 " " :PluginSearch foo - searches for foo; append `!` to refresh local cache
 " " :PluginClean      - confirms removal of unused plugins; append `!` to
 " auto-approve removal
 " "
 " " see :h vundle for more details or wiki for FAQ
 " " Put your non-Plugin stuff after this line

 " -- solarized personal conf
 set background=dark
 try
     colorscheme solarized
     catch
 endtry

 " Highlight 80th column
 if (exists('+colorcolumn'))
     set colorcolumn=80
         highlight ColorColumn ctermbg=9
 endif

 " bindings for unite--------------------------------------------------

 let g:unite_source_history_yank_enable = 1
 try
   let g:unite_source_rec_async_command='ag --nocolor --nogroup -g ""'
   call unite#filters#matcher_default#use(['matcher_fuzzy'])
 catch
 endtry
 " search a file in the filetree
 nnoremap <space><space> :split<cr> :<C-u>Unite -start-insert file_rec/async<cr>
 " reset not it is <C-l> normally
 :nnoremap <space>r <Plug>(unite_restart)

 " Bindings for Ag ------------------------------------------------------------
 " --- type ° to search the word in all files in the current dir
 nmap ° :Ag <c-r>=expand("<cword>")<cr><cr>
 nnoremap <space>/ :Ag

 " Easy align interactive--------------------------------------------------
 vnoremap <silent> <Enter> :EasyAlign<cr>

As per the screenshot of the desired color scheme, I can confirm that you can have such color scheme in Android. This is a rather indirect way but works fairly well.
Rather than using a terminal emulator I'm using an SSH client having color schemes. Three useful apps I found are JuiceSSH, Serverauditor and Reflection for Unix. I tested the first two apps.
Why SSH client you may ask? Because I stumbled across one of them and this question struck me as well. Anyhow, we need to host a simple and easy SSH server on your Android device.
I prefer Servers Ultimate Pro(paid) but you may use SSH Server(free) too. Both offered by same developer, though feel free to use any server app that can setup SSH server.
Instructions

Open any of these server apps and make an SSH server with credentials. It's extremely easy so no instructions are required here. However, you may take a look at this answer(Method #3) for basic know-how.
A thing to note that free version will make your server available on all network interfaces (including cellular network) which one won't prefer for some reasons. That's why I use the paid version as it can limit it to 127.0.0.1 or Wi-Fi easily.
Install and launch JuiceSSH and enter SSH server details:

Addresss: 127.0.0.1 (Only for Pro app, for free app the IP will be listed)
Identity → New → type Username and Password you created in step 1.
Port: you entered in step 1.

Save it.
Tap the new entry in connections and select Accept to accept server fingerprints.
Solarized dark is available under its Settings → Theme/Colors.
A look of this app in the said theme:

(Click image to see larger variant.)
If you want more options in color scheme then try Serverauditor(Solarized default) app. Its options are straightforward, but it did not work in my device on 127.0.0.1 (no error, just blank toast).
You may try it running on said address; could be device specific problem on my side. Otherwise, either use the cellular IP or if you're connected to Wifi/hotspot then use that one.
A look of Serverauditor in Solarized dark theme:

(Click image to see larger variant.)

About JuiceSSH

The all in one terminal client for Android including SSH, Local Shell, Mosh and Telnet support.
Features:

Full colour terminal / ssh client
Popup keyboard with all those normally hard to find characters
Use the volume keys to quickly change font size
External keyboard support
Local Android terminal support
Dark, Light, 80's hacker, Molokai, Solarized Dark and Solarized Light terminal color themes
  ...

About Serverauditor

Serverauditor is the most innovative SSH client ever designed for a mobile device. With Serverauditor you can easily manage UNIX/Linux servers from your Android device on the go.

XTerm, VT100 and vanilla terminal types support
SSH key and password authentication
Built-in RSA/DSA key generator
Multiple SSH connections to the same host
Bluetooth keyboard support
Associate volume button or shaking gesture with actions, e.g Ctrl-Z or session closing
8 awesome color schemes and adjustable font size
Automatic UNIX/Linux OS recognition, e.g Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, Mac OS X etc
  ...

Perhaps all of this can be avoided if only we can have a Terminal app with color schemes. Do let me know, otherwise this solution should be enough. :)

That is a confirmed solution to the problem. However, this terminal emulator I am trying to use does support colorschemes and it gets pretty close. Android Terminal Emulator

I would love to find a way to use it with that, since I really like the keybindings of that terminal emulator.

@deathbyfreezeray I just posted as an alternative since I felt there should be one. However, if you do happen to complete your solution then do post it as an answer, otherwise, you may accept/upvote this answer if you think it suffices.

I will update if I find anything but for now thanks, sadly I am too low reputation to upvote...


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What is Flash ClockworkMod Recovery?

Possible Duplicate:
What is ClockworkMOD Recovery and what is it for?

I'm trying to use the Rom Manager to partition my SD card (so I can increase the storage size for my apps, since it natively installs to the first available partition which is known as "internal" and the rest of the sd card is "sd"), however, it asks me to install the ClockworkMod Recovery first. If I choose to install, will this install to the emmc or the sd card? I remember reading somewhere that installing ClockworkMod will void the Nook's warranty.

ClockworkMod Recovery is an custom recovery for Android phones, which is installed on the recovery partition on the internal memory.
AFAIK flashing CWM doesn't void the warranty, but rooting does.

Flashing voids your warranty.

While this doesn't answer the text of the question, it answers the title... no reason to downvote it...

Since you can't flash a recovery without rooting first (AFAIK), this seems… borderline recursive :)

rooting doesn't necessarily void your warranty. I've un-rooted and returned a device back to the manufacturer (Samsung) for repair and was fixed without complaint or charge

@Michael No, that just means Samsung couldn't tell you had rooted and thus didn't realize you had voided your warranty.  Jemus42, you certainly can flash without root on some devices :)

"Flash" is a verb, meaning to write to flash memory or to any kind of ROM.  The verb is most often used in connection with firmware.
CWM normally it overwrites the default recovery, but I believe it can go on the SD card when dual-booting ROMs, which might be the case for the Nook since I don't believe you overwrite the original firmware.  As you noted, it will void your warranty if installed device-side.

I'm pretty new to this. I've followed this guide: forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1000957 - I probably won't void the warranty since I'm installing it to the SD, if I choose to install via the rom manager. Right?


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Default Music Player randomly playing while headphones are plugged in
This is INCREDIBLY annoying. While listening to music, the headphone will somehow trigger an unplug event (the connection is loose and very bad apparently). The default player will start to play, and sometimes it will just keep playing and pausing rapidly. Sometimes, Pandora will also constantly play and pause music. This is so frustrating it makes me just want to smash my phone to pieces for the junk it is. What can be done? I have used this answer here, but it doesn't fix the problem while playing music.
The only way I can hope to currently listen to music on my phone is to make sure the connection from the headphone (any headphone) isn't disturbed. My phone basically doesn't play music well at all any more which means no more Pandora/internet radio.
What can/should I do? I am using a Droid X with the latest update 2.3.3. I believe this problem has been happening for a while. I bought the phone in October and it worked without this kind of problem for about 2-4 months.
Am I the only one with this bug?

I understand your frustration, but please make this less of a rant and more of a question.

Can you please say what kin of phone

How long have you had your phone? One common cause of intermittent headphone connections like this can just be that after carrying your phone around in your pocket for months, it has picked up "pocket fluff" in the headphone socket. At first this just squashes down out of the way when your headphones are plugged in, but after a while so much builds up that it stops the headphones plugging in fully and making a secure connection.
Removing this fluff can be as simple as just pulling it out with a straightened paper clip (be careful when you stick it in there). This is what I found by in my headphone socket a little while ago with a paper clip.

There are also some slightly more complicated ways to give the socket a good clean.
This fluff problem is far more common with smart phones, than with stand-alone MP3 players or old-fashioned walkman-type devices, as you'd commonly leave the headphones permanently plugged into those older single-purpose devices, whereas people usually leave the headphone socket empty on general purpose smart phones most of the time, and slip them in and out of fluff and lint filled (and generating) trouser pockets.

Interesting, wouldn't have thought of this. +1

@BryanDenny neither did I until an iPhone using friend mentioned to me a few weeks ago that he'd had this problem and was amazed at how much compacted fluff had built up in there, of course after hearing that I had to see how much was in my phone! It fixed my problem with Listen podcasts randomly cutting out as I walked around.

@ GAThawn you are the MAN. there was a GIANT piece of lint in there. I had to manipulate it a few times before finding it but like you said, I could see into there and notice it wasn't all metal/shiny for the male plug to conduct to. I'll accept if this fixes the problem.

@GAThawn unfortunately the issue still remains. The problem is that the "default music player" keeps turning on while I'm already listening to other music and if the device is moved enough.. It seems to be less crazy though when it happens.


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Disable smileys in SMS

Possible Duplicate:
Is there any way to change the emoticons in the standard android sms app?

I find graphical emoticons (smileys) seriously distracting. How do I disable them?
My device is a rooted HTC Desire running CyanogenMod 7.10 RC, but I don't think that'll limit the applicability of the answers.

I think "disable" can sort of be equated to "change to text", and the answers in that question actually talk about disabling them. The summary is "no" on the stock app, and you can track this ticket on the Android issue tracker regarding it.

@eldarerathis - hmm, while it IS true that Handcent allows you to do this, it is a truly awful looking SMS app (and that's even after customisation). If you answer with your second comment, that'll have to do I suppose.


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Where are attachments stored when sending text messages
Where are the attached images to text messages stored on Froyo 2.2.1 ( Samsung Galaxy S , if that should make a difference ) ?
I am asking following problems I have now when sending texts with images attached : I can't send a picture attachment together with a text message.
--- UPDATE ---
I have found the solution to the problem mentioned. Please look at the answer of my other question if you have the same problem.

I'm not sure what you're asking.  Your attachments are stored in the location where they existed before you attached them.  It's possible they might be copied somewhere, but how do you know they are? And how is it relevant?

@Matthew Read: Are you sure ? When a picture is taken to be attached to a message, it reports that the attachment is too large and that the picture is to be resized. I can imagine that at that time the attachment is created/copied into another location than the original message. I might be wrong, of course.

Well it might be stored in memory temporarily, but you're right that it might be cached. I'm still just wondering how the cache location is relevant to your problem?

@Matthew Read: the picture taken is a .jpg file. But, as explained in my other question, when I view the attached image, it behaves as a movie of 5 seconds. I was just wondering whether some sort of transformation had taken place, and therefore I could view the attached file in another folder (maybe seeing that it now as a .mov file or something). I really am looking for a solution, here,it's annoying not being able to send a picture message.

That, i believe, is the media viewer for the Galaxy S. It treats every image sent in an MMS as a "video" for some reason. Another reason why I dislike touchwiz...

Seems that no special folder is used to store attachments - strange since I am definitely saw the message 'picture too large - compressing' when trying to send an image via MMS.
I would have expected this to be saved somewhere.
I will accept my own answer here, unless someone else can give some valuable information.


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How to check if GPS is working (Android 2.1, Samsung Galaxy-5)?

Possible Duplicate:
Easiest way for testing the internal GPS

My new Samsung Galaxy i5500 (or Galaxy 5 or whatever other name they confuse us with) (android 2.1) has a build-in GPS. However, I somehow think it is not working correctly or at all. Whenever I use Google Maps (in open air) and select 'My Location' the GPS icon appears in the top bar but keeps blinking (I waited several minutes), and it seems my location is only determined using wifi or mobile network wizardry.
Can I somehow easily check if the build-in GPS is working correctly? Is there some page that shows the longitude/latitude location it has received from the GPS?
(BTW: turning on the GPS in the power bar, or in the settings page, does work, but still leaves me puzzled if the GPS actually works)

I don't think this is a duplicate; there's a Galaxy-specific GPS testing mode.

Indeed, there is - the aptly named GPS Test app ought to help you.
The more popular GPS Status & Toolbox is also similar and will display your current lat/long co-ordinates and also a compass. Both are currently freeware.


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When is the Nexus S Android 2.3.3 update coming to the UK

Possible Duplicate:
When will my phone get the Android 2.3 update (Gingerbread)?

I have a UK Nexus S and it is still on 2.3.2. It's been a month since this update began being pushed out in the US, but so far I've seen nothing. Have any UK users received it, and is there any news on its UK roll-out?

Offficial OTA updates can take their own sweet time getting to your phone, since they're dependent on not just how Google is rolling down the updstes but on operator arrangements as well. The simplest andquickst way of getting an update is to download the signed OTA update from Google and manually update your phone. XDA forums is typically a good place to find links to those updates - that is also how I downloaded my the 2.3.3 update to my NexusOne, sitting in India. Waiting for an OTA update, I would probably have been among the last people in the world to get it :)
Here is a simple way of manually updating your phone:
- Download the update and rename the file update.zip
- Connect your phone to your PC/Mac and copy that file to your microSD card.
- Power down your Nexus S. Then press ‘power’ and hold the volume button. You’ll see a screen appear with three Androids.
- Using the volume buttons, select ‘Bootloader’ and then press ‘Power’ to select.
- On the next screen, select ‘Recovery’.
- The phone will reboot. You’ll see a triangle with and Android robot and an exclamation point.
- Press the volume up button and the power button at the same time.
- Using the volume buttons, select “Apply sdcard: update.zip”.
- Reboot to get 2.3.3


text:
HTC Desire Z Stock ROM

Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Does anybody know how I can find HTC Gingerbread Stock ROM? I've just found an old Froyo (2.2) ROM through google search.
Thanks! :)

Your best bet when looking for ROMs is to search the XDA subforum for your device.  Stock 2.3.3 is linked in one of the first few posts there, and I'm sure they'll have instructions if you need them as well.


text:
How can I stop my phone from thinking it's connected to a computer?
I plugged my phone into my TV's USB port hoping to play video from my phone on the TV. This was not successful. It's been about 4 days since I disconnected from the TV and it still thinks it's connected.
I have turned the phone off and on, it may go away for a little while but keeps coming back. The top left status bar will have 2 arrows spinning in a cirle and when I drag downwards to see my notifications I see this:

MTP service status:
Connected to computer

Any ideas?
My phone is an HTC Incredible 2 running Android 2.3.3.

I would give a check under Manage Applications and running services. See if there's an "MTP Service" or HTC media sync or something like that running, find it, and hit "clear data" and then force stop. But obviously, if there's no such service, this wouldn't be a very good answer!

@DavidAP When I go there I see something called Accounts & sync and it has the same icon as the spinning arrows I am seeing in the status bar. However when I open it Clear data and Force stop are both disabled. The only option enabled is Move to SD card.

I solved this by plugging in my phone to a computer and choosing Charge Only.  It was using CPU and draining my battery until I fixed it.

As a worst case solution, you could try factory resetting your phone.
You might also attempt to connect your phone to a PC and enable USB transfer, then eject your phone to see if this clears the issue.

When you say you turned your phone off and on, did you actually shut it down (hold down power button to get the menu), or just press the power button to turn the screen off? I would expect a shutdown and restart to clear this problem.


text:
NTLM authorization proxy on Android
Is it possible to run NTLM authorization proxy on Android? It is written in Python, and should provide proxy compatibility.
See also this question:
How to set HTTP proxy and proxy authentication credentials in wifi?

This is an awfully open-ended question. This isn't a discussion forum. How will you choose the one, best answer? Please see the FAQ and rephrase this into a question that could have a single correct answer.

I've made the changes.

Not an answer to your question exactly, but it solves the main issue. I have coded a solution for this, you can download the apk on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1083284. It uses a cntlm binary to process the authentication.

You can find a non-root NTLM proxy here: http://humanos.uci.cu/2015/03/humancode-llega-la-version-3-9-de-ucintlm/ The site is in spanish but the app works for english too. I'm the developer of this app.

I made it to upload it to google play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uci.ucintlm