The Big Android Browser Test

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There have been a couple of things on the net about various browsers, I’m sure, but certainly nothing comprehensive that I have found. Like wise, over @XDA in the Transformer forums at least, things tend to get muddled up after awhile from all the commentary.

So I thought I would install a shit load of browsers and do some testing! My test procedures can be found here.

It will take a while to do in my off hours and I doubt I’m going to get much done today, stuck home with the parental unit sick, so, I’m pretty much on butler call all day :-/. I’d rather be getting work done, like debugging yesterdays crap near interrupt free.

The trouble with ice cream

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I brought some Eddy’s ice cream while we were waiting at the pharmacy, because it was the early Grand brand that had Neapolitan. When I opened it this morning, I couldn’t help but notice there was only like 15% Strawberry, 1/3 Chocolate, and the rest was vanilla!

On the up side, it is very decent ice cream:).

Thoughts on Android Game architecture revisited

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A while back, I blogged some thoughts on game architecture for Android. In the time since, I’ve looked a bit at the Light Weight Java Game Library (LWJGL) and Maven, and am developing a bit of an interest in just how much one could push shader programs to maintain performance.

I’d rather like a Maven setup, and something that will support both PC systems and Android, and it seems that Maven even has an Android plugin :-). That got me to thinking about source tree architecture and the notion of sharing a library between a PC / Android game setup and how that might fit into a source tree. Then it hit me! Break it up into separate sub modules, and create a master project for each. Nice, easy, and simple. Also has a perk that it should work with any decent version control system, not just Git.

Hehehe.

The Farthest Staar

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The will to greatness clouds the mind
consumes the senses veils the signs
we each are meant to recognize
Redeeming graces cast aside
enduring oceans new-found promise
that the end will never come

We live in times when all seems lost
But time will come when we’ll look back
upon ourselves and on our feelings
Embrace the void even closer still
Erase your doubts as you surrender everything

We possess the power
If this should start to fall apart
To mend divides to change the world
To reach the farthest star
If we should stay silent
If fear should win our hearts
Our life will have long diminished
Before it reaches the farthest star

Wide awake in a world that sleeps
Enduring thoughts Enduring scenes
The knowledge of what is yet to come
From a time when all seems lost
From a dead man to a world
without restraint unafraid and free

We possess the power
If this should start to fall apart
To mend divides to change the world
To reach the farthest star
If we should stay silent
If fear should win our hearts
Our life will have long diminished
Before it reaches the farthest star

If we fall and break
All the tears in the world
Cannot make us whole again

We possess the power
If this should start to fall apart
To mend divides/ to change the world
To reach the farthest star
If we should stay silent
If fear should win our hearts
Our life will have long diminished
Before it reaches the farthest star

The Farthest Star—VNV Nation.

Are companies like Facebook Internet cowards?

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Some people in this country, still concerned over the whole SOPA/PIRA bit seem to have been mild in their  blackouts, and it makes me wonder, if they are against the bills are they cowards then?

Sites such as Amazon, Dropbox, and TwitPic have added bumper stickers to their U.S. site, Flickr is supposed to be extending users the option of blacking out pictures but has otherwise chickened out on striking. Google is operational but blacked out their doodle, in proper Google fashion, so they’re still doing something.

Then, there’s a few that are apparently not concerned enough in the the Internet that keeps them viable in business, to risk even that little a public display – Facebook, eBay (and thus PayPal), and Twitter for example.

One could argue that businesses shouldn’t take part in such things or politics at all, and that’s reasonable enough IMHO, except when the freedom of the Internet is a huge part of their business. Then it’s your head in the same noose that all of us are. If Facebook and Twitter are as big as it is reported and they care about this, they surely could have joined the effort…the amount of  suicides and ensuring bad press is obvious enough reason to not go on strike but come on at least a bloody bumper sticker! They make profit off part of the Internet, and provide service that can help people change the world and in Facebooks case probably make higher profits than we can dream of while they are at it. Yet if they have so little back bone over something like SOPA and PIRA now, what would they do if a bill came down the pike, that would mandate everyone censoring free speech off the internet? Write a memo saying we don’t like that implementation and count the cash as long as they still make profit out of the deal? Cowards!

I believe that if people fifty years ago were like Facebook is today: people of dark skin would still be getting forced to the back of buses in this country, and nearly two hundred and forty years ago… there would be no United States of America today.

Companies like Facebook, eBay, and Twitter need to grow some bigger balls.

How to make your own buttonhook cheap

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When working a while back on my private tactics compendium, I summised that we probably call the Button-hook technique after the use of a real buttonhook. Well, my new work shirts are a pain in the ass to button at the collar, so on the way to the office this morning, I thought about how to make one. Yes I’m cheap and I like solving problems here and there lol.

Unfold a paper clip like so:

And you have yourself a buttonhook for like a penny versus $5-$15 out of a store!

Plus if you push the little end closed, you have an ear clip just like my father would make. Those are the most awesome way to clean ear wax out of your ears—qtips are no good.

Playing with linpack and power save modes on my prime

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This is what I’m getting with basically just a few web pages open in Opera:

  • Performance mode: up to 90-125 MFLOPS. Usually in the one hundred and teens.
  • Balanced mode: averaging around 75-115 MFLOPS. Most often between 90-110.
  • Power Save mode: averaging around 50~70 MFLOPS.
Every test was in multithreaded. The first anandtech review of the Prime has a good stack of stuff in it, I’m just fiddling around out of curiosity, not profiling :-).On the TF101 which has no power save settings in the stock ROM, and I believe my notes are recorded here.

Argh, sometimes technology just makes me sick!

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Recently, I updated my journal about the repairs I tried on Sunday, well yesterday I started breaking in a TF201 and working on the epoxy trick. No luck but hey, ICS is really freaking awesome and my Prime is solid, even if I still prefer the TF101’s build.

Now today, I just threw my hands up. I was jugging things getting data transferred and the like, well, I accidentally added an icon on my TF101’s home screen and instinctively tried to remove it with my finger, before I could realize which tablet I was touching. Guess what? I got the long tap event in ADWLauncher Ex but couldn’t drag it. I got the bloody touch event in the dead area of the screen, where haven’t been able to get touch invents without using the docks touch pad! But no dragging or sliding stuff would work and the touch events would only work every few taps…than suddenly the mother fucking thing just started to work PERFECTLY until it crashed toggling the screen. Now it works perfectly.

I guess maybe whatever component got jarred just a smidge loose to cause that, must have somehow got pressed back in without me trying to do it manually, well, trying successfully, since I couldn’t get it open again… :-/. All I know is that sometimes technology makes me fucking sick!!!

*kicks the air* I’m really glad it works (for now) but I hate it when stuff like this happens o/.

My summery of Android versions

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  • 1.0.
    • September of 2008.
  • 1.1.
    • February of 2009.
    • General software refinements, which I’ll usually omit below.
  • 1.5 Cupcake.
    • April of 2009.
    • Third party (custom) keyboards are now possible.
    • We got widgets!
    • Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP profiles (think stereo).
  • 1.6 Donut.
    • September 2009.
    • Voice I/O.
      • Voice input (Speach to Text).
      • Multi-lingual voice output (Text to Speech)
    • Apps can make their data available to search results.
    • Better support for gestures.
  • 2.0 – 2.1 Eclair.
    • 2.0 in October of 2009, 2.0.1 in December of 2009, and 2.1 in January of 2010.
    • Support for multiple accounts in sync.
    • Exchange account support for email.
    • Camera app sucks much less.
  • 2.2 – 2.2.3 Froyo.
    • 2.2 in May of 2010, 2.2.1 and 2.2. in January of 2011, 2.2.3 in November of 2011.
    • Dalvik VM gains Just In Time (JIT) compilation.
    • Exchange support becomes USEFUL.
    • USB and WiFi tethering. (Use your phone as a bridge between your laptop and your data plan.)
    • Now have the option to DISABLE mobile data.
    • Apps can now be installed to external memory (e.g. MicroSD card).
  • 2.3 – 2.3.7 Gingerbread.
    • 2.3 in December of 2010, 2.3.3 in February of 2011, 2.3.4 in ???, 2.5 in July of 2011, 2.3.6 in September of 2011, and 2.3.7 in ???.
    • Native support for SIP VoIP.
    • Selecting text to cut/copy/paste actually works.
    • Text input cursor can now be precisely positioned.
    • Ext4 replaces YAFFS(2) as standard file system.
    • Native support for more sensors; gyroscopes, barometers, etc.
    • NFC support.
  • 3.0 – 3.2.2 Honeycomb
    • 3.0 in February of 2011, 3.1 in May of 2011, 3.2 in July of 2011, 3.2.1 in September of 2011, 3.2.2 in August of 2011.
    • Notification bar moved from top of screen to bottom corner.
    • On screen software buttons (back, home, multi-task, menu, …) and the action bar.
    • View of recent apps can be snap shots (multi-task button) or existing icon view (long press physical home button).
    • Browser UI becomes more like Google Chrome.
    • Browser can now sync bookmarks with Google Chrome.
    • Apps are now commonly multi-pane, e.g. message list and message body on one screen.
    • More hardware acceleration.
    • Support for multi-core CPUs.
    • Encrypting user data.
    • USB devices now work as expected, e.g. flash drives, game pads.
    • Proper support for Bluetooth keyboards, gamepads, etc.
    • Stock launcher now allows widgets to be resized.
    • WiFi performance can be maintained when screen is off (WiFi locking).
    • Apps designed for small screens can be zoomed or stretched to fit.
      • this Android 2.2 feature is a really good thing and makes many reviewer’s complaints about Honeycomb less of a big deal for normal people.
    • Screenshots (or was this just a TF101 thang?).
      • Previously required a custom ROM like Cyanogen Mod.
    • Pasting integrated with 2.3.x selection UI.
  • 4.0.1 – Ice Cream Sandwich.
    • 4.0.1 in October of 2011, 4.0.2 in November of 2011, 4.0.3 in December of 2011.
    • Small screens get traditional (1.0-2.3.x) UI, large screens get tablet style (3.x) UI from Honeycomb.
    • On screen software buttons (from 3.x) now work on phones.
    • Stock launcher catches up to common features of custom launchers.
    • Access apps from lock screen.
      • Previously required custom ROM/UI (e.g. Sense; Cyanogen Mod).
    • Unlock your phone by taking a picture of your face.
    • New Roboto font.
    • Can now monitor data usage without requiring third party apps (or custom ROMs).
    • Camera app sucks less.
    • Basic photo-editing.
    • Much stronger NFC integration, alternative to Bluetooth data transfer.
    • Yet more work on hardware acceleration.
    • WiFi Direct, a form of Ad-hoc WiFi networking and bridging.