Programming My Life

A few weeks ago, I started getting a recurring notification on my Droid Incredible telling me that ‘Application Space is low’.  After removing some apps and moving others to the SD card, the notification continued popping up.  I checked the amount of space available for each storage device in the phone (memory, internal storage, and SD card), and all three had plenty of space left.

After some searching, I found that before a factory reset (something I did not want to do), some other users had found clearing application cache could solve the problem. You can do this by clicking the notification (or if it isn’t currently up, going to Setting > Applications), sort by size, then go through the largest applications (likely Mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), click the name, then click, ‘Clear Data’.  After doing this for several of the largest apps (and moving apps to SD earlier), the notification has not returned for a few weeks now.

I wanted to post this in hopes that anyone else with this problem can solve it without a factory reset. Good luck!

In my previous post on Evernote, I discussed it’s value for simple note taking.

Since that post, Evernote has released a comprehensive update of their mobile application which is significantly improved.  The new interface changes it from a simple note taking app to a mobile version of the full app.  Admittedly, I am not a power user of this software, but I haven’t found anything that I can’t do on the mobile version that I do on the desktop. For taking, searching, and viewing your notes, the mobile app is now just as good for me as the full version.  In fact, for note taking at the Unite conference , I took notes on my phone for almost every session simply so I didn’t have to fire up my laptop each time.

One of the best functions of the mobile app is the ability to snap pictures with a smart phone and keeping it as a note (whole or part).  I like to write notes when I’m listening to a talk, but some slides just have too much code that I’d rather just see as a whole later.  Evernote’s mobile version has a button explicitly for this purpose.  I can take the picture, place it right in line with  the notes, and get right back to taking notes.

In addition to note taking, I have begun using Evernote for lists as well.  The two that I reference the most often are a list of games I want to play (AKA my backlog), as well as a list of links I want to read on various subjects.  The latter is incredibly helpful to me.  Without it, I tend to end up with a ridiculous number of tabs open and end up not reading some of the more in depth articles.  Now, I have a go to list of articles to read if I’m waiting around somewhere or if I actually make it through the open tabs on my computer at the time.

Additionally, I’ve been using Evernote to keep my notes on CS106B (update coming soon) all in one place.  I like this far more than a physical notebook as I just need to click through the notes, and I am able to add more notes (for example, the code on the website for that lecture) and reorganize after I’ve written them.

Finally, I plan to start using it to track my major electronics purchases so I don’t need to worry about where i placed receipts. I can simply take a picture of the receipt and search for it later.

If you haven’t started using it yet, you can find the desktop client here or use the QR code for the mobile app:

Any ways you’re using Evernote that I’m not?

I listen to roughly 1 hour of podcasts on a given day.   I do the majority of my listening on the move, so I need a player that I can carry with me.  For about the last year, the device I preferred was my iPod mini modified to hold a 32GB compact flash drive.  Recently, I realized my phone could serve this function, so I decided to look into apps that would allow me to keep podcasts up to date with the same amount (or less) work than I was doing with my iPod.  That is, anything more than plugging and unplugging my phone into my PC (after setting up the RSS feeds, of course) would be too much work.  I came up with Google Listen, doubleTwist, and winamp as possible contenders.

Google Listen

Listen has a great looking interface.  From the main menu, I can look at recently listened to podcasts, see popular searches (neither of which I use), view  all of my subscriptions and each episode from them whether I have downloaded them or not.  Finally, I can also view ‘My Listen Items’ which shows a queue that I can set up and ‘Fresh Items’.  I like fresh items because it shows each of the newest episodes from my subscriptions.  However, it only holds the latest item, so if a new episode of a given podcast pops up before you listened to the previous one, you are left with only the newest one in your fresh items list.  It also only holds the newest items from the last 7 days, so podcasts you don’t get around to disappear.  I don’t so much have a problem with these two features as I do with the fact that they aren’t customizable options.  Ideally, I would like to customize them per podcast so that for some podcasts, multiple episodes stick around and for more than 7 days because I don’t want to miss an episode.

As a player, Listen does a reasonably good job, but some minor bugs keep it from being great.  First, I have problems with the fast forward and jump to a specific time functions.  This seems to happen only if I try this on a file that wasn’t fully downloaded when I began listening to it.  Even though the podcast shows as fully downloaded, if I use either function, it will jump back to the beginning of the file rendering those functions useless.  Another minor annoyance in time keeping is trying to listen to several podcasts without finishing them.  Listen seems to only be able to keep track of where I am in one podcast at a time.  Sometimes, it fails to even do that.  I have opened Listen expecting it to be in the middle of a podcast that I was just listening to, only to find that it is at the beginning of another podcast I have not yet begun listening to*.  Maybe it’s trying to tell me something?

When it comes to setting up your Listen subscriptions, I highly recommend simply doing it from your Google Reader account.  Searching from within the app on my phone to find subscriptions is awful.  I couldn’t find 4 out of the first 5 podcasts I searched for.  The easiest way to go about it is finding one podcast on the app (to get it to automatically set up the listen folder in Google Reader), then going to google reader on a PC and searching/adding the subscriptions to the ‘Listen Subscriptions’ folder.  If you are moving over from iTunes, you can right click the icon for a given podcast and copy its URL to Google Reader for easy transfer.  I actually was forced to do this for the ESPN Soccernet podcast as I couldn’t get its regular RSS feed to work.  A note on getting RSS feeds from websites:  make sure you check the RSS feed you add for audio embedded in the posts.  If it doesn’t have it, it isn’t the feed you want.

Listen allows for adequate customization when it comes to how and when the user downloads podcasts.  Two major concerns for phone users (depending on your phone and carrier) are battery life and data usage.  To address these, Listen has settings to only download on wifi and only download while charging.  If you have either of these set (or both), but you want to quickly download an episode on the go, Listen provides a pop up warning that allows you to go ahead and download over the air.

I’ve noticed another problem when trying to download over 3G and listening immediately (in addition to the time keeping issues mentioned above).  First, when a podcast encounters an error in downloading, it notifies me.  Great. But if I want to listen to that podcast I go through the following steps:

1.  Click listen

2.  Let it buffer, get error

3.  Click listen again, have it load

This happens nearly every time I try to download and listen to a podcast.  Clearly, there needs to be something in the code checking for enough of a buffer before the file starts playing.

Finally, the biggest problem I’ve had with Listen is podcasts randomly pausing and unpausing for <1 sec.  These sound like a CD skipping, but it doesn’t skip the time for which it is paused.  That is, if it ‘skips’ in the middle of someone saying ‘annoying’ I will hear annoy *pause* -ing.  This is incredibly frustrating when it occurs repeatedly, which it does.  So far, I have noticed it only seems to do this when I am walking around.  The pausing as opposed to an actual skip leads me to believe it is a problem with the software and not my headphones or some other hardware issue.  I have seen the pause problem occurs for other users as well.

Note:  After researching this, I have stopped carrying my phone in my pocket while listening and it seems to have alleviated the problem.

doubleTwist

doubleTwist is an iTunes clone for Android devices.  It has both an Android and PC client similar to the Mac/PC and iPod setup for iTunes.  Simply put, it is a great idea without enough functionality to warrant a recommendation.  Some of the issues I encountered in the short time I used it:

Has problems with devices that have internal storage as well as an SD card (i.e. my Droid Incredible).  The user has to ‘trick’ it into recognizing one over the other.

No ability to rearrange podcasts in alphabetical or any other sort order; they are ordered by when the subscription was added.

I had no problems syncing just the playlists I wanted (Podcasts + songs).  However, it does not show me how much memory those playlists will take up, only how much is currently free.  I had to go to iTunes and look up how much space each list took up and approximate.

Slllooooooooowwww loading up when I restart the PC client.  If you use doubleTwist, be sure to turn off ‘scan iTunes on startup’ to save some time (still slow sometimes with this off).

Finally, I had a problem playing a particular podcast for no reason I could discern.

Winamp (5.59 Beta)

Similar to doubleTwist, this has some great features, but isn’t ready for use.  To be fair, this is a beta, and performs as such.

When you fire up the Android client for the first time, make sure to hit continue.  If you hit ‘home’ (like I did for the first several times I opened it) it will ‘whip the llamas ass’ every time you start up.  I encountered the following problems in trying to use it:

I can’t seem to send playlists to the phone or create playlists from the phone app.  I have to us the PC app ti send files to the phone then create playlists on my phone from the PC app.

I can’t figure out how to use phone storage as opposed to sd card.

After playing around with this program, there are just too many problems right now.  If they can integrate the features people are asking for, this could be what I want.

Conclusion

Currently, I am using Google Listen on my phone and iTunes on my PC when I listen at home.  My dream app would be itunes/ipod functionality for Android with wireless syncing at home.  Hopefully, Google, doubleTwist, Winamp, or someone else can come up with a competent software package to do this soon.

Have any of you found any other podcast programs with great features on Android?

*See comment below for ‘solution’

Recently, the Droid Incredible finally got the newest revision of the Android OS, 2.2, codename Froyo.  I couldn’t wait to receive the auto update from Verizon, so I found the update file on the web and manually ran the install.  I didn’t really like hearing about the update months ago and having little idea on when I would receive it even up to a couple weeks ago.

I can say now that it was worth the wait.

Google did an excellent job with added features like Chrome2phone (see below), and HTC took the opportunity to improve some of the features in its Sense overlay for Android.

Overall, my phone just feels faster now.  From swiping between home screens to web browsing, it seems like every action has been sped up.  I use Dolphin Browser HD for viewing websites and opening new tabs has been sped up so much that I didn’t realize they were opening at first.  I literally opened the same tab several times thinking something was wrong before noticing I had five identical tabs.  I was expecting opening a new tab to slow down my browser as it did before the update.  Now that there is no pause, I wasn’t sure if the tab had actually opened.  One of the biggest improvements in speed I have noticed is trying to ‘share’ a website.  Previously, when I would touch the ‘share this website’ button, I would have to wait anywhere from 2-5 seconds. Now, though, I am almost instantaneously allowed to choose how to share the article.  Combined with Android2Cloud*, I can send a site to my computer in about 2 seconds.  Previously, I would have to wait for the share graphic to load then type in my email address to send it to myself, which took about 10 seconds.

In addition to the improvements in speed, both HTC and Google have provided a significant number of new features.  Google’s Chrome2phone allows users to send websites from their desktop or laptop to their Android device.  I have noticed that to save the link, you have to open the link when it gets sent to the device.  It would be nice if the C2P app on my phone saved the last 5 or 10 links sent.  Another great feature Google has added is the ability to update all apps at once and the ability to auto-update applications.  One of the most publicized additions to Froyo is Flash.  After the initial novelty wore off, I was unable to find any great uses for Flash on my phone.  My first stop was Robot Unicorn Attack, but I was unable to find a way to bring up the keyboard to use solely for the game.  I haven’t found any pressing uses for flash in the few weeks I’ve had the update.

One improvement I’ve noticed from HTC is for the keyboard as well as other apps that have a landscape mode:  they can be in landscape in either direction on the phone.  Previously, landscape only worked when the phone was tilted toward the volume controls.  Now it works when tilted away from the volume controls as well.

In addition to flash, animated GIF images run now as well.  Before the update, I could see an image of the first frame of a GIF, but the animation would not run.

HTC fixed their photo album app as well.  Before the update, it would require me to select the album I wanted to display every time I took a picture.  Now, it seems to update by itself to the latest photo I’ve taken, which is great.  Kudos to HTC for taking the update opportunity to fix some of their bugs.

On the downside, my battery seems to drain a bit faster.  I would like to note that I don’t browse many (if any) flash heavy sites.  I also have flash set to only load when I touch the flash frame, so I don’t think flash is the cause.  My battery still lasts through the day, and I could be wrong, but after some consideration, it seems to drain a bit faster on average.  If anything, I definitely don’t notice an increase in battery life, which I was hoping for with the new software.

Finally, Google updated the Google Voice app shortly after Froyo released.  I thought this would speed up the app and fix some problems I’ve had with it.  Notably, it keeps a stack of every text you respond to.  If you are responding to multiple friends and enter the program from the notifications bar, you can end up with a stack of many texts so that when you try to use the ‘back’ button to get out of the app, you end up tracing through that entire stack.  I was hoping the update would alleviate this problem.  Not only did the update not fix this problem, the application now seems less responsive overall.  Several times I’ve tried to access the app, it has taken several seconds to load, which I haven’t noticed with any other app.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with the Froyo update.  The minor problems I’ve had are more than made up for by the improvements and additions.  Now I just can’t wait to here about Gingerbread.

*Android2Cloud is a new app that is the reverse of Google’s Cloud to Device messaging API.  While the official Chrome2phone app sends sites from the web to your Android device, Android2Cloud performs the opposite task.  I find myself sending long articles to my PC far more often than I find myself sending websites to my phone.

As I promised too long ago, I will begin reviewing some productivity software that I have begun using.

Evernote is a program available on nearly every platform (including mobile platforms) and on the web.  Users can make small notes and organize them either in a downloaded app (which will sync to the cloud for uniformity across all versions) or directly on the website.  Notes can consist of websites (in part or in their entirety) through plug-ins for Firefox and Chrome, pictures, and text.

One of the primary benefits of Evernote is the ability to sync notes across all platforms.  This is what makes cloud computing fantastic.  At one point, I was having trouble opening Evernote in Windows 7.  Thanks to the synced online version of the program, I was able to view all of my previous notes and add anything I needed.  Eventually, the program started back up and I haven’t had problems since.  Had this been an offline application, I would have had to resort to other methods on note taking while I found a solution.  But with the Evernote website to complement the downloadable program, I am able to make and view notes if the program acts up, or if I am at a computer without the program.

While there are plenty of ways to use Evernote, I use it mostly to keep my notes organized no matter where I may be.  One of my primary problems with note taking is that I tend to have notes scattered in several locations and media types (home vs. office, digital vs pen and paper, etc.).  This is particularly problematic because I work from home (or while traveling) and not having my notes leaves me trying to remember where I left off.  Additionally, sometimes I need to stay at the office and would prefer to do work on a personal project after working a full day.  Here I am left with the same problem.  Evernote helps solve these problems by keeping my notes all in one place.  I was previously trying to use Google Docs for this purpose, but I find Evernote more conducive to note taking and now use Google Docs for larger documents.

Recently, my boss gave me a paper to proofread just before lunch. I went to my office and put notes in Evernote as I read. About halfway through I went back to the conference room, hit sync and finished taking notes there.  Before using Evernote, I would have had to use a USB memory stick or emailed the file to myself.  With Evernote, I only had to hit the sync button.

I have the Android app for Evernote on my phone, but I haven’t used it much since I first got it.  The only complaints I have with the mobile version is that in order to see all of your notes, you have to search the empty string.  That is, hit the search button with nothing in the search bar.  This isn’t a negative per se, but I only figured it out by trying every option possible.  It would have been nice if that was explained when the program started for the first time.  Also, none of the notes are in their respective notebooks as they are in the online and desktop versions.  These are minor problems, though for an app that is primarily designed to simply take notes on the go.  It serves as a good sidekick to the desktop app.

I’ve been using Evernote for quite a few months now, but I still use it primarily for taking simple, text-based notes.   For this purpose, it has been a great help in providing a single repository for my notes for everything from work to personal projects.  I’ll be sure to post a follow up if I delve into the extra features.

Last week, I decided to jump on board the Android bus and bought the HTC Droid Incredible. I haven’t had it long enough to give a full review, but I’d like to give a review of my first experiences with my own smart phone (I have played with other smart phones, but having one all the time for a few days is a different experience than playing with one even for an extended period).

Technically, my first smart phone was the LG Vu. I returned it within the 30 day return period because 1. I couldn’t justify the extra expense of the data plan 2. The internet and phone in general were sluggish and 3. The apps that currently make smart phones much more enticing were nearly nonexistent. The Vu was mostly just a touchscreen version of the LG Shine (which is the phone I ended up going with).

The Incredible’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor along with the relative maturity of the Android App Marketplace take care of the latter two concerns. I have not yet felt as though the phone was slow to do anything. Snapping through the home screens and getting into apps are a breeze thanks to the processor. So far, most of the apps seem interesting, but I haven’t had reasons to use them naturally. I’ve opened them up and looked around, but I haven’t wanted movie times because I was going to a movie or looked for a specific youtube video using the app for example. I’ll get around to discussing those things when I’ve had a better chance to interact with those apps organically.

What I have had much more interaction with thus far are the widgets. These alone have nearly justified my purchase. The home screen widget from HTC gives me a large display of the time and the weather, which I would hardly ever check before I had this phone. I also have a habit of not checking my Google Calendar nearly as much as I’d like to remember important dates and events. I have been checking it more often now that it is more easily accessible, and I think I will be using my it more often now that I don’t have to go out of my way to see it.

The Scoreboard widget has also helped me out already. Friday night I had a bit of time to kill before leaving to meet some friends, and the widget reminded me that a hockey game was on that I wanted to see. Without that, I would have likely forgot and done something else. It is a quick and convenient place to check when my favorite teams are playing next.  It also send notifications for score updates for my favorite teams.

Also, during dinner Friday night I was able to use the internet to come up with some trivia my friends and I were debating (did you know John Milius directed Conan?).

The Facebook widget hasn’t really done much to change how I view Facebook. It scrolls through some of the most recent status updates, but if I really want to check Facebook, I will always open the full app to scroll faster.  The same goes for Twitter.

Another big upside to having a smart phone with a data plan is being able to take advantage of Google Voice.  One way to justify the extra expense of the data plan is using Google Voice to manage text messages.  While you can’t send to multiple recipients or send MMS messages, all regular texts are free and get sent to the Google Voice app.  The only difference between checking a regular text and one through Google Voice is which button you click to open the message.  Depending how much you pay for texts each month, this alone could justify the price of the data plan.  Additionally, I can’t stand that carriers see fit to charge for texts with a data plan.  There is nothing special about the data in a text.  It is simply a packet of data of predefined size that your wireless carrier charges you a special rate for because they can.  There are other advantages to Google Voice, but sticking it to the man is the one that matters most to me.

So while I am still getting used to having a phone capable of all this (as well as getting used to a touchscreen keyboard), I can’t see myself going back to a ‘dumbphone’.  I’ll get into any problems I run into with the phone in a post in the near future, but for now, I can’t come up with anything negative about this phone: it’s just too incredible.

Despite being a big fan of AOL Instant Messenger for years, I closed the application recently for what could be the final time.  I realized that there were only about 3 people that I talk to regularly on AIM as opposed to Gchat and signed into AIM on Gchat instead of running a separate application.

One of my primary frustrations with AIM is the lack of spell check. Perhaps they have cleared this up in a more recent version, but I can’t remember the last time AIM prompted me to update.  I also had problems with IMs continually flashing as if they were new while I was responding to them.  However, even if the program were flawless, I can’t imagine needing to use it much longer.

Although the functionality of AIM is still alive and well, many of its functions have been spread out over newer services.  Profiles and away messages have been usurped by social networking services like Facebook and Twitter.  I can share links and information on these services as well.  If I need to have a quick chat with someone SMS allows me to reach them even if they aren’t on a computer.

I decided to move away from AIM because of a few problems I had with the software, but this has just made me realize how much communication is changing with so many avenues for getting in touch now.