Google Play Services gives control of Android back to Google

May 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Google Play Services

With API services outside of the core operating system, Google is taking back control of Android

We didn't get a new version of Android this year at Google I/O. You can read all the lamenting and gnashing of teeth over this across the web, so I'll spare you the play by play of how it was supposed to happen (a proverbial lock), but didn't.

Instead, I'll tell you a little bit about what we did get — a huge updated version of Google's service APIs, which turns out is much better.

Wait. Better? How can an app I never wanted that got magically pushed to my phone be better than a newer, higher number in my about phone screen? That's crazy talk, right?.

Turns out, that little app is a powerful beast. Read on.

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Android developers now banned from bypassing Google’s Play Store app updates

April 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Android app updates
Google on Friday changed one of its Play Store policies to prevent apps from being updated outside of its marketplace. The company states that “an app downloaded from Google Play may not modify, replace or update its own APK binary code using any method other than Google Play’s update mechanism.” The change comes shortly after Facebook tweaked its Android application to allow users to update it without using the normal Google Play update system. It could be a coincidence, however it would appear that Google is worried that other developers might have followed suit and would therefore become less dependent on its Play Store.
BGR

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Manjaro: A Convenient Way To Play With Arch Linux

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The Manjaro Linux distribution describes itself as a “user-friendly” version of the popular Arch Linux platform. Manjaro Linux still follows Arch in a rolling-release manner, but it’s designed to offer greater user-friendliness and accessbility, complete with an easy installation routine…
Phoronix

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Manjaro: A Convenient Way To Play With Arch Linux

April 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment

The Manjaro Linux distribution describes itself as a “user-friendly” version of the popular Arch Linux platform. Manjaro Linux still follows Arch in a rolling-release manner, but it’s designed to offer greater user-friendliness and accessbility, complete with an easy installation routine.
LXer Linux News

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Word Play Deluxe is released for Linux!

April 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

My Game Company has just released its 6th Linux game, Word Play Deluxe! This game may look elementary, but don’t be fooled – you’ll have to think quickly and play skillfully to master it! If you enjoy word searches, you’ll love this game!
LXer Linux News

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Facebook Home Suffering From Poor Google Play Reviews

April 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

When Facebook made the official announcement regarding their latest app called Facebook Home a lot of people were curious and interested in getting it on their devices. Last Friday the app was finally made available over at Google Play for US based Android users. Those who were able to test out the new app were generally disappointed with it though.

Facebook home

Out of the 3,710 reviews made by different individuals regarding the app 1,747 of gave it a one star rating. That’s the rating given by nearly half of those who reviewed the app. The other scores show that 660 gave it five stars, 347 gave it four stars, 415 gave it three stars and 541 gave it two stars.

So what are the people’s complaints about this app? Let’s check on some of the comments given by those who rate the app as one star.

  • User1 — Not an intuitive app. Made my phone so frustratingly complicated to use that I uninstalled after just four or five hours. Unless major changes are made including an easy way to get to my home screen I will not reinstall.
  • User 2 -Cool way to use facebook, but with no support for my other widgets, it limits my phone. If I wanted a single company to take over my homescreen appearance, I could use an iphone.
  • User 3 — It won’t let you launch the app without clearing your preference for a home screen, the app doesn’t have customizable shortcuts for the main screen, adding apps to the app screen is lame. Just getting to the phone app to make a call takes too many clicks. It’s a phone first people. Needs a lot of work. The app needs to help a phone be more functional and integrated, not take away from the flexibility that android provides.
  • User 4 — Tried this on my Samsung Galaxy S3 and it was fine for posting comments and liking things on Facebook, but other than that it’s worthless. Hides most of the default apps when you go to App tray, hard to find where to post a new status to FB from. Still requires the FB app so it will still add that additional battery drain. All in all, should have had more testing before release.

One factor that we can point out contributing to this frustration is that people may think that Facebook Home is just like any ordinary app when in fact it is a launcher. The company needs to better inform the public on what it really is

via google play

The Droid Guy

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Tapatalk HD updated in Play Store today

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Tapatalk HD main screen

Tablet owners that use Tapatalk have an update waiting for them in the Play Store today, bringing Tapatalk HD up to v1.2.0. The change log mentions a new camera and photo editor in the latest version, however I'm unable to verify that thanks to consistent force closes. Trying to attach a photo using the gallery or by taking a new one on my Nexus 7 always leads to Tapatalk HD cashing, forcing me to exit the app.

Thankfully the new sub-forum search seems to be working without a hitch. It's now possible to search for keywords in sub-forum threads, search by thread title only, and search by author. The search results can be displayed as either threads or posts, depending on what you're looking for.

"New Jelly Bean Notifications style" is also listed as a new feature, however this must be purely aesthetic since notifications are not expandable in Jelly Bean.

Hit the Play Store link at the top to get the update. I hope my force close problems are isolated. Anyone else having better luck? Sound off in the comments.


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Superuser Android App Now Live At Play Store

March 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

A new root access management app has just been released over at Google Play which is developed by Koushik Dutta, the same person responsible for bringing to us apps such as Carbon ROM Manager and ClockworkMod custom recovery. What sets this app apart from other root access management apps is that it is completely open source.

superuser

Dutta in an explanation as to why he made the app open source said that any root access management app should be open for independent security analysis and that closed source apps is not security. Superuser has the distinction of being AOSP buildable so that developers can easily integrate it in their custom ROMs.

Superuser can now be downloaded over at Google Play for free. You will need a device running on at least Android 2.2 and a storage space of 1.5 MB.

This app is an alternative to the closed source SuperSu and comes with a variety of features which are listed below.

  • Multiuser support
  • Open Source
  • Pin protection
  • Manifest permission support
  • Per app configuration
  • FREE
  • Request timeout
  • Logging
  • Notifications
  • Proper Tablet UX

Because this app is open source anyone can examine and scrutinize the source code for any vulnerability. This improves the overall security of the Android platform since it can easily be reported to the developer and get fixed.

Koush has listed several reasons as to why you should be using this app. Some of the most popular reasons is that it’s free, it’s open source, it can easily be updated, and can handle multiusers properly.

Superuser is already merged with CyanogenMod and is included in the nightlies starting today.

The Droid Guy

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UK pricing for Google Play gift cards appears, actual cards still M.I.A.

March 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Android Central

The Google Play gift card saga continues to roll for eager potential UK based customers, with this latest information appearing on the Google Play support pages. There's no telling at the moment just how long this information has been there, but what it confirms is the amounts we'll — eventually — be able to purchase. And it isn't in anyway a surprise. 

It seems that the UK price structure will follow an almost identical numerical scheme to the U.S. cards, with £10, £25 and £50 cards to be available. No £15 one, but that's not a disaster. 

Considering the first signs of a UK launch were seen back in December, the fact we're yet to see these on UK shelves is still somewhat frustrating. Missing the holiday shopping period could be seen as something of a fail on Google's part, but at this point we'll take them when we can get them. 

via Redmond Pie


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Free to Play MMORPG Champions of Regnum comes to Linux

March 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Following the recent release of the real-time strategy game Wargame: European Escalation for Linux, a new Linux MMORPG, Champions of Regnum, has been released on Steam by the publisher NGD Studios.
LXer Linux News

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Google Play Books updated; Now available in India and ‘over 90′ issues fixed

February 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Google Play Books

Google tossed out an update to Google Play Books this evening, making it a whole lot better by fixing "over 90" issues, allowing users in India to be able to install and use the app, and finally tossing in some UI improvements. While they don't go into any detail about the 90 issues that were addressed they do tell us that they added a drop-down menu in the library to filter books by type, and now place names are identified on the current page when the controls are up and showing. Of course, support for India and the growing smart phone user base there is huge, and long overdue.

What wasn't addressed is the lack of the ability to import your own DRM-free books. Until that happens this is one I'll hide in my app drawer, no matter how great the app is. Hit Google Play to update or click the Google Play link above.

Thanks, Anshi!


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Foursquare for Business hits Google Play, manage your locations from your Android device

February 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Android Central

Until now, business owners utilizing Foursquare have been required to manage their locations via the Foursquare website. Now though, Foursquare for Business has hit the Google Play Store, providing the opportunity to manage those locations on the go. 

From within, business owners can post photo updates, share updates via Facebook and Twitter, view recent checkins at their locations, learn more about their customers and drive new business by way of Foursquare specials. It's a very specific app with a specific purpose, but it's great news that Foursquare has realized the power of being able to access your business specific information on the go. Further more, it looks to have been extremely well done, so if you're a business owner on Foursquare, hit the Play Store link at the top to grab yourselves a copy. 


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