text:
USB thethering netdns set
Im Trying to create network emulation using USB tethering on KK.
The problem is that I cant set net.dns to my host ip, and therefore any dns resolution is answered with Unknown Host.
I read that

$ setprop net.dns1 ip-address

Does not work in KK. So is there a way to work around that and set the netdns to be the ip-address of my usb network interface?
Thanks

You could see if this answer applies to your case.


text:
Why do I have two notifications when I get emails from gmail?
I don't understand why I get two notifications on my phone every time I get an email. Is my phone running emails from two different apps? It's HTC One Mini, running Android 4.4.2.

Screenshot (click for larger variant)

You are running two email applications.
From your screenshot the one with the big "N" is the Gmail appliction the other is from the HTC Email application, called email.
You can remove your account from either, or disable the whole application if that suits better.
To remove the account from HTC Email.

Press the "Application Menu" button at the bottom of your HTC device's screen.
Scroll to the "Email" icon, then tap it once to launch the program. If the application opens to the inbox of one of your accounts, press the "Back" button at the bottom of the phone to return to the "Accounts" menu.
Touch and hold your finger on the account that you want to delete until a pop-up window opens on the screen.
Touch the "Remove Account" option.
Tap the "OK" button to remove the account.

Alternatively (since this doesn't seem to work on this device in particular):

Go to Settings
Click Applications
Click Mail
Click Clear Data

As another alternative if the mail application is 'mail' rather than 'email' there is a remove account option in the settings.

To remove a Google account
Go to Settings > Accounts and sync > Your Google Account Name
You can either untick Gmail in the synch settings, OR click the button Remove Account to completely remove your Google account (which you may not want to do for obvious reasons).

There is only an icon called "Mail", but when I open it and press back, it only takes me to the Application menu. And when I press and hold the icon, it just tries to add it to my home screen, not remove the account.

O...k... I have it here, that's a bit weird. Is there ANY settings in the Mail app? You could go to Settings > Applications > Mail > Clear Data and that may do it also? I've updated the answer.

Ah yeah, I was able to delete the account through Settings. Cheers.

@LeoKing that's great, if this helps please consider accepting it and/or upvoting as it may help others. I'll add more on the settings now.

I know how SE works, I'm just sending myself an email to make sure it doesn't give me double notifications :).

Cool! Just habit sometimes to be honest, was lazy and didn't check your account. HOPEFULLY it actually works now! :)

Well pewp, so far I'm not receiving a single thing :P. I don't know how long it takes for a notification to arrive. When it does and it's working, I'll accept the answer :).

Hmm, makes sure that your Gmail account is set to synch in the settings under your Google account!

Interesting, I only got the email notifications when I opened up gmail. In any case, only one notf. Thanks!

Aw damn. Now I'm getting two notifications again.

@LeoKing is there some HTC specific synch setting somewhere maybe? You could try deleting the mail data, and disabling the app?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Connecting a Nexus 7 (2013) to a VGA projector
I would like to connect my Nexus 7 (2013)  to an external projector or monitor. I know that there is a SlimPort to HDMI adapter (I have it and it works when plugged through HDMI), however, projectors at my work still have VGA (and no HDMI) socket.
In addition to the SlimPort HDMI adapter by Analogix, I also bought an HDMI to VGA adapter. The problem is that the external displays do not display any content (the SlimPort to HDMI cable is working, though). I also saw a SlimPort to VGA adapter from Analogix, but apparently it did not work either.
Has anyone succeeded in connecting the Nexus 7 (2013) to a VGA display? Even with complicated or costly systems.
I was wondering if something like that could work:
http://www.miniinthebox.com/hd-video-hdmi-to-vga-scaler-converter-box-black_p296227.html
Thank you for your help!

If you have a laptop with USB ports that can also connect to the VGA projector, then you can use Droid@Screen (http://droid-at-screen.ribomation.com) to show the Nexus' display on the laptop and in turn, on the projector.
Depending on what you are doing, this might work while you figure out a more robust solution. I say this because the main downside is lag, so it's not a good solution if you are trying to project video or show off a new buttery interface.

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


text:
4G mobile data being used even when mobile data setting is off?
I have a Motorola Moto G, the 4G version, with the original ROM upgraded to the latest version (4.4.4 official from Motorola).
The first thing I did when I got it was the same I have done when I got my previous phone and every time I (re)installed a ROM on it: disable mobile data, so that I don't get charged by my carrier and instead use only my home wireless network.
Despite the above, I just noticed that I am being charged for several accesses to the network. Oddly enough, if I go to the data usage screen on the mobile, it says no data has been consumed since I bought it, which is what I would expect. Yet, my carrier says that in total, since I got the phone 20 days ago, it used a grand total of 1 (one) Megabyte in several very short communications.
When I called customer support, they told me that data traffic can still be consumed if I have the phone on 4G, even with the mobile data setting turned off. WTF?! I may be wrong but I find this pretty much impossible to believe. As far as I know, this is impossible - mobile data off means mobile data off; nothing will be transferred, not even in the background, am I right? Or is it possible for something to slip through somehow?
Even better, he told me this is the information they have from the manufacturers themselves, and that several people have been complaining about the same. First of all, I doubt the manufacturers would say something like that because I don't believe it's true. Second, I suspect that these are cases where people have both wifi and mobile data on, and when the phone goes to sleep, the wifi gets disconnected and the phone naturally starts using the mobile connection.
To top it off, the tech support guy told me that if I turned mobile data on, set the connection type to 3G and then turn mobile data off again, it would no longer behave like that. I was waiting for him to tell me that afterwards I'd have to press up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A...
He also mixed the concepts of 2G/3G/4G (cell network type) and "mobile internet", not realizing that the type of cellular network, and accessing the internet over that cellular network are completely different things, so I'm taking what he said with a huge grain of salt.
I've been searching for quite a bit now and the closest reference I find to a similar problem is in a post here but I don't have the GPS on (as stupid as it may sound, I didn't even know how to access the GPS on this phone until I saw that post and wanted to make sure it was off).
Besides a problem on the carrier side, does anyone have any idea about what might be causing this? Is it really possible for data to slip through while using 4G and having the mobile data setting off? If so, how, why, what does the cell network type has to do with it, and how do I stop it?

To be honest, it sounds like tech support simply had no idea what they were talking about, and this is an issue on your carrier's end. Given that, I don't know that there's really anything we could tell you that would be helpful. In my experience, data off == data off, and Android seems to think the same thing since you've noted that the phone does not show any data usage itself.

Yeah, that's what I think as well - that he has no clue about the issue. When he asked me "do you have 4G turned off?" I knew I was going to waste my time. I was hoping that someone here could confirm this for me. But in the meantime I'm also trying to contact Motorola's support to see what they say.

To prove him wrong: Go to Settings, and in "mobile networks" check what APNs are defined (if any). Try removing/disabling them all (if that's not possible, alter their configuration to render them "useless"). Once succeeded, wait a few days. Check their reports again. If they charged you for that time, you've got them: with no valid APN, it's impossible your device could have used mobile data.

My data is closed and I use 4G too. Same problem with LG G5 (not rooted) with Turkcell. Sometimes it appears randomly but most of the time it occurs when I move to the other site of the building (Wi-Fi might be still connected or not) or when I change a room.

Tech guy knows exactly what he is saying as that is whats happening. Thing is they shouldn't charge that!

This has been happening throughout the world and is caused by a technical feature of 4G LTE. Most people don't even notice it because of the small amount of data that's used off their data plan. This is what happens: every time your phone receives or makes a voice call, it automatically switches from 4G to 3G mode due to the fact that LTE is a data-only technology. When the voice call is ended, the phone switches back to 4G mode. You may have mobile data disabled and restricted and yet this switching back and forth from 4G to 3G uses small amounts of data each time. You can prevent this from happening by setting network mode as WCDMA/GSM. So it seems that tech support guy knew exactly what he was talking about after all.

Never heard of it before. I don't have a data plan, shouldn't it cost me money in such a case?

Never heard of that before but even if it is what was happening, the tech support guy didn't know about it. He may have hit close to home but this was definitely not his explanation and the other things he said clearly showed that he wasn't very knowledgeable about the subject.

I have VoLTE, and my phone doesn't switch to 3G pretty much ever.

Where did you get this information? Seems like a good explanation based on what I see happening in my cell phone. But still I see no other place talking about this. Is this still true in 2017?

This is true. I've experienced it in MTS Serbia. They charged me also, but I think this cant be charged as its the part of protocol. Year 2019 stock Pixel 3a.

I think that android is not rooted.
If you can, you should root it and install something like APNDroid .
Than it will be possible to block data usage completely.
At least I know one person with the same problem - data is off, but money goes to zero. (no data plan)

It's not, and yes, I intend to root it. I'm just holding off until I can upgrade to 5.0 or 5.1, so I don't have to do it twice.

@borfast I am interested in news about this experience. This means android's phone is not your, it belongs to Google.

@borfast have you upgraded your android yet?

I have but haven't rooted it yet, not enough time lately :\

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


text:
How to know if there is any way to access data from a stolen Galaxy S3, or Android phone in general, via automatic backup or any other way
I apologize in advance for my ignorance.  My Verizon Galaxy S3 went missing at a party.  I am hoping that at least some of the data (documents, media, contacts, texts, phone calls...) was backed up automatically at some point after the last time I manually transferred to my laptop.  As I am ridiculously busy, there were many apps that I was not yet acquainted with on my phone.  I am not even aware of what types of software is out there for this or whether or not my phone was equipped with any of it.
Does anyone know of any chance I can still access my data before I talk to Verizon and replace my phone?  Any and all insight is welcome.
Thanks in advance.

Your contacts and calendar (by default) will be stored with your gmail account.  Most likely when you activate another phone you'll immediately see this data if you activate the gmail (Gooble Play store) with the same account.


text:
Manage Emergency contacts remotely
I'm looking to manage multiple Android devices and put ICE Contacts on all of them. Unfortunately EMM/MDM solutions are prohibitively expensive, and all I've looked at don't actually do any contact management (that i can see).
I realize we could just setup a bunch of gmail accounts, and set the contacts that way, but most of the phones have Google contact sync turned off, and there would be quite a few accounts to login to.
We are using ActiveSync with them, but i've not been able to get ActiveSync to actually push Emergency contacts the right way. That may be the easiest solution if we can do that.
Are there any good inexpensive/free solutions to push out emergency contacts?
Alternatively is there a way to manage from a central location, sync settings for gmail accounts? So we wouldn't have to touch each phone directly.

So i figured this out, and it was deceptively simple. It seems to be an 'undocumented' feature that if you set up a category within outlook with the name of ICE, it will automatically (at least on samsung phones) set contacts tagged with that category into the ICE group on the phone.
I ended up writing a script that ensures whoever has outlook gets the category, and then contacts tagged with that category.


text:
Select which Dropbox account to synchronize with when camera upload is on
I installed Dropbox on my rooted Samsung Galaxy SIII that runs Android 4.1.2.
I have 2 Dropbox accounts, one personal, one Dropbox account for business. When turning on the camera upload, how can I choose which account to use? I would like to choose the Dropbox account for business ("MIT" in my case), not the "Personal" account as by default.
My 2 accounts:

Turning on the camera upload:

I don't see anything in the settings:


text:
How can my company logo appear on other people's phones when I call them or they call me?
When I have called some companies their logo or photo automatically appears on my phone as a contact. How can I do the same?

Are you using the new Kitkat dialler that uses Google Search?

@RossC The body of the questions are actually opposites: Incoming vs Outgoing call. Although the title of this question was sufficient for both cases.

Yeah I saw that, but it's really just how can I have a logo in the Dialler, without any further specifics to answer the thing. @JRacoon

Install Truecaller and add your contact image.
Alternatively, fill up your Google or Facebook profile with images. The Google Dialer/Contact software will pick up the image you had provided in your accounts.

If I use Truecaller, looks like the logo is shown to Truecaller users only? Or is there any setting that I miss?

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


text:
Get device's component information and health status
Is there any option provided by Android by which we can list down all the hardware and software component of smart phone? Also, we can check the health staus of all the hardware components. For example, battrey, wifi, camera etc. If the battrey is 50% charged then it should show the user about battrey current health. Its hould also tell if all other components are working fine or not, like wifi, bluetooth, RAM,ROM etc.
Is there any existing app for the same. If not then, what all things I need to know to build this app.

Well, there are a number of tools available over the store that can help you in detecting the health status, try using Z-Device Test available over the store.


text:
Bricked chinese android
Recently I edited build.prop of my Note 3 smn9006 clone with mtk6572 for enabling navigation bar, i.e qemu.hw.mainkeys=0 and restarted. Nothing happened.
Then again I tried to enable navigation bar with ro.show.navigationbar=0, restarted, and struck on boot logo.
When I wiped cache and data, boot logo gets inverted and still strucks on boot animation. When I tried to pull build.prop via adb side load it says error:closed.

My device is detected as 012345678ABCDEF sideload.
I do not have a Custom Recovery installed
Unfortunately, I neither have a backup of the unmodified build.prop

Did you make a backup of the file? Can you still boot into recovery mode?

i dont have the backupbut yes i can get to the screen where android logo comes with exclamation mark also when i type adb devices in cmd it detectes as 0123456789ABCDEF sideload

If you don't have the backup, that might leave you with the option to flash a ROM. Or, with some luck, to try reverting your changes via ADB.

will you please help me in that

Not sure I can (I don't know that device). But could you please [edit] your question to also include the Android version running, and whether you have a custom recovery installed? These facts are needed to chose the right approach.

i just hard bricked it,are their chances of recovery.my phone specs are galaxy note 3 smn9006,mtk6572 1.3 ghz dual core,jelly bean,256mb ram,500mb internal memory. i dont have custom recovery installed.

I've just [edit]ed the question for you and integrated the facts collected in the comments above. With no custom recovery, and no backup of the modified file, I'm afraid all that's left to you is to re-flash your device. Hopefully you can find a ROM on the manufacturers site. Alternatively, check Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? Installation instructions are usually found along the download. Sorry, but I'm afraid there's not more that I can do for you.


text:
Inverting screen colors on Nexus 5
On my old phone, Samsung Galaxy sII, there was an option to invert colors. Now I have a Nexus 5, and I don't see that option. Is there a way to invert colors on it? (i.e. have the screen show a negative image, black becomes white and white becomes black.)


text:
How to view a website containing Indic fonts in Android browser?
Recently, I tried viewing a website on my Android device. Some of the content of the website contains text in a specific Indic font. I noticed that the website is not displayed in the Android browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Opera, etcetera) as it is displayed on my PC. The intended font (Indic font) is replaced by another font, when viewed in any browser on my Android device.
As I have root access on my Android mobile, I moved the indicfont.ttf file (which I downloaded from the Internet) to the /system/fonts folder and restarted my phone. Now, I can view the website perfectly (but only on Firefox browser for Android).
I have the following questions to ask:

Can someone please explain all the steps involved in the process of displaying the Indic font by Firefox browser (in the particular scenario explained above)? The indicfont.ttf was placed in the /system/fonts directory.
Why does the previous solution only work on Firefox browser and not on other mobile browsers?

Most importantly, could you suggest a possible solution for non-rooted Android phones? It is okay even if it is a difficult solution to implement.
My device: (Android 4.4.4, Firefox 32.0.1)
EDIT:
There are many fonts for Sanskrit (Devanāgarī script) among which the following two are the ones in the scenario: Sanskrit2003 and Mangal.

These are some important facts that are derived from a good
source about Indic fonts available on this site.

From Android 4.0 on wards, Tamil and other few languages are supported through browser as said in Android 4.x API overview as
  seen below.
Support for Indic fonts (Devanagari, Bengali, and Tamil, including the complex character support needed for combining glyphs) in WebView and the built-in Browser.

My issue is that the default support given by the browsers display the Sanskrit text in Mangal font and not in Sanskrit2003 font (a superior font compared to Mangal ).

Source of the image
The whole issue is to let the android mobile browser display Sanskrit (which is intended to be displayed in Sanskrit2003 font) to be displayed in the intended font and not in Mangal (which is very less superior in comparison with Sanskrit2003 ).

Thanks.

Can you provide link so that I can verify it? Meanwhile you might get some info if you see this question (if not already).

@Narayanan You can verify through this link. Yes, I have already seen that question and found it very informative. In my problem, I am concerned about displaying Sanskrit in a specific font (the best available for Sanskrit indeed) in the browser of a phone. I haven't really thought of displaying it locally in the phone (in messages, etcetera).

The above said link is perfectly readable in my Nexus 5 running stock (but rooted) 4.4.4. I opened the link in Chrome browser both in my phone and in my computer running Windows 8.1 and I could not find any deviation in the way the characters are rendered. I can even notice that the web site you said does display the font of your choice (Sanskrit 2003).

@Narayanan I am sorry. I sent you the wrong link. It has Sanskrit2003 embedded in the web page. Unfortunately, I cannot provide the original link without the permission of the owner. I will search for another link meanwhile. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Here is the link which is to be tested. This link doesn't have Sanskrit2003 font as embedded, but the Sanskrit text is displayed in Sanskrit2003 if the font is available on the client device.

To answer the second part of your question first:
'Why does the previous solution only work on Firefox browser and not on other mobile browsers?'
You are using TTF file. This type of font file is supported by firefox , Safari and Chrome. The other browsers may not support it. For eg: IE supports EOT ; Opera supports SVG etc. But mostly all android browsers support TTF so that is strange.
In short check which type of font the browser supports.
'explain all the steps involved in the process of displaying the Indic font by Firefox browser'
In some scenarios, along with the web data, the web font is also embedded and sent to the browser which the browsers uses to display the data. In other scenarios, only web data is sent.The font used is not a web font (like in this case) In such cases the browsers searches for the font file within the system. If it finds it, it displays the data otherwise tries to display the data using some default font.

I am sure that the solution that was mentioned by me doesn't work on any browser other than Firefox. It certainly doesn't work on Chrome. Maybe other browsers need some settings to be changed. But then, that procedure is definitely not straight-forward. I am not an expert in Web Technologies, but I was told that the font I am referring to (Sanskrit2003) is not used as a web font as it takes too long for the page to load and for the font to be rendered (in case it were embedded). You mentioned "In such cases the browsers searches for the font file within the system ..."

Thank you for the explanation. But, I am looking for an in-depth explanation. Browsers apps do not have root privileges (even on rooted phones), whereas the font files are present in root directories!? Then how does the browser 'search' for the font file?

Can someone please explain all the steps involved in the process of displaying the Indic font by Firefox browser (in the particular scenario explained above)? The indicfont.ttf was placed in the /system/fonts directory.

If you have control over the website, I suggest you should add a @font-face rule to the site's CSS stylesheet. This will work on all browsers versions from the last ten years or so, including in basically all Android browsers (except Opera Mini). You can use services like fontsquirrel to convert a font file to a @font-face compatible font format that will work across different browsers. Note you may need to purchase a licence to be able to distribute certain fonts that are free for personal use, check the terms and conditions for the licence of the font or contact the author of the font if you're not sure.
If you do not have control over the website or if you don't want to go to l through the hassle of provisioning licence for the font, you can inject any CSS rule into websites using Stylish addon. You'll need a browser that is supported by Stylish like Firefox Mobile or Dolphin.
You do not need root to use @font-face in the browser nor to install Stylish. The page you linked to that mention rooting refer to replacing the system font, i.e. the font used for system UI.

As it was mentioned in one of my previous comments, I was told that the font Sanskrit2003 is not used as a web font as it takes too long for the page to load and for the font to be rendered. The other option that you mentioned (Stylish) looks promising. I will look into it. Thank you.


text:
on the fly view of download pdf
Can I set up my Android tablet to display downloads on the fly as in  a windows machine.  I am thinking mainly of pdf file links although XL files would also be useful.
Rob Thirlby


text:
How install python interpreter on an android device
I cant download the  http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/ because in my country is block this URL. Where can I install the python app for android

Check out QPython - Python for Android. This appears to be an IDE and Python script runner for Android.

I use a android tablet in cuba, i cant download the app from my device I need a link direct from my computer


text:
How to re-install updates to Google system apps?
I have Android 4.2.2 on my phone. A few weeks ago Google Play was acting weird and would not install updates to some of the apps. I tried lots of things but nothings worked. Eventually I uninstalled the updates of Google Play Store (back to 3.10.10) and Google Play Services (to 1.0.15), thinking even if it didn't help I could reinstall the updates later. I was asked "Do you want to uninstall all updates to this android system app?" each time and I continued. Turned out it actually worked and I could install those apps that I could not install before. I decided to leave them as old versions since they seemed to work better.
Fast forward a few weeks, now there are some apps that give me errors when Google Play tries to update them. So I want to update Google Play Store and Google Play Services back to the original (and newer) version but I can't figure out how. Any suggestions as to how I can do this? Thank you.

I'm assuming your phone isn't rooted. If you know exactly what build/version you're after then do a quick Google search for 'Google Play Services XXX.apk' and manually install the later version over the top of your current one, and the same for the next one. They are available on aptoide, blackmart and other alternate stores.
If you get any packages error, or system error, I would suggest just do a reformat and reinstall all your content- it's generally quicker than scowering the net for the cause behind the issue.

Thanks. Mine is rooted, but how do I figure which version I should get?

@ceilingcat In this instance, determine your current version and search the listing available. I'm sure a simple search for Google Play Services will give you a list and change log. If you're having difficulty knowing what version you're on, just use an app extractor and extract your version.


text:
Boot Android Virtual Device into recovery mode
I am trying to install the Google Applications packages on an Android virtual device (emulator), and one of the steps requires me to be in recovery mode.
I tried adb reboot recovery, adb reboot bootloader, adb shell reboot recovery, etc. All of these commands print no output, and hang indefinitely while the emulator shows no response. (Side note: adb devices shows emulator-5554, as expected.)
I noted that issuing a shutdown command through the UI also hangs indefinitely, so I'm thinking maybe rebooting is simply not an option for the emulator. Is there a different way that I can boot an Android virtual device into recovery mode?

An AVD may not even have a recovery mode. Recovery isn't a different way of booting the Android OS (like, say, Safe Mode in Windows); it's a whole separate partition with its own (minimal) OS, independent of the regular Android system. On a real device, the bootloader decides which partition to boot from (normal system or recovery), but an AVD has a different way of booting.

related https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5442562/how-to-reboot-the-emulator-into-recovery-mode

If your goal is to install Google Apps in the emulator, then you need to follow a completely different proceedure then the one telling you to reboot into recovery. Truth is, the emulators do not have a recovery partition, so there's no such thing as recovery mode for an emulator.
I can suggest a couple of options:

Search for procedures that are specific to the problem of getting Google Apps running in the emulator. I've done it before, but I can tell you it's a pain and there's no generic way to explain it without knowing the specifics of your setup (i.e., SDK version, x86 vs. ARM, etc.). Even then, it may not be possible.
If there's not a compelling reason forcing you to use the emulators, consider trying a virtual machine solution like Genymotion instead of the emulator. VMs are way faster than the SDK emulators and for most there are clear procedures available for installing Google Apps. Genymotion in particular has instructions for doing so. Genymotion also integrates with Android Studio/Eclipse and supports the debug bridge (adb). See genymotion.com to download.

Marking as answer. I've since found a workaround for my specific issue, but I appreciate the info for future reference.


text:
Creating USB connector cable using female-female adapter
In order to connect a pen drive to One M8, I tried using a female-female USB adapter with one end connected to my phone via the provided USB cable and a pen drive inserted into the other end.. however this didn't work*.
Can anyone pls provide me the reason for this? Thanks in advance. :)

after referring to Google I came to know that OTG cable is required.. but why is my setup not working like an OTG cable?

Also, this setup doesn't work for Galaxy Tab 2 too!

In USB, one device acts as the host, and others as peripherals. USB-on-the-go sockets and cables use particular pins wired together to let each device know which rôle it should play. Your home-made cable didn't have this, so the phone was trying to act as a peripheral, not a host. If you'd learned about USB-OTG before trying to make your own cable, and shorted together the correct pins on the host end of the cable, it would have worked fine.


text:
App continues to consume battery long after its closed
I use tunein radio app in the morning.  After my use, I close it via exit button, and don't use it for rest of the day.
But hours after the use, I have observed it draining over 10% of my battery. I have tried options like force stop, and even reboot - but issue still persists. Notifications for this app are turned off. No other alarms / reminders set.
I'm on kitkat 4.4.4 / CyanogenMod 11s

is the Application use any Service?

As Brasil suggested you freeze, and defrost it. Also you can remove it from startup list to avoid slow bootup and auto starts.

One more way-
Install AIO Toolbox, its a nice tool, freely available. From there remove the app from startup/boot list. Use your radio app only when you need. Also you have to clean up your memory on regular interval for refreshing RAM.
Update:
Not sure but might be a help.
Download JRummy Rom Toolbox and from there goto StartUp Manager. From there You can see the threads opened by the radio app. Disable all threads. I am not sure , If free version of the app has feature as I am using paid version, downloaded from BlackMart.

While your answer doesn't completely address my question, i found AIO toolbox very helpful. Its well designed, efficient, and versatile. Thanks heaps! ( Just one caution - while cleaning memory, we should uncheck 'process' clean up to avoid losing account data. )

Ending the application by "closing it" may kill the process, but it may have several services running. I'm on my phone, so I cannot add the references, but having multiple apps in memory isn't that bad- I don't think it really effects the life of your battery.
In this instance, if you think (or know) that a particular application is being a pain, I would suggest you first download the application "Watchdog". This gives detailed information about applications, and then let's you kill them when they become too consuming. Watchdog is very good for analysing the running services. If you do find your application is misbehaving, then you have a problem.
If Watchdog does not mark the application as misbehaving, then we may need to dig deeper. If possible, try to run tasker with an automated script to kill the services of this application, which should in turn kill all instances. Whether this is what you want, or is safe, is another question.
One thing to take into consideration is did the application consume so much when your phone was not rooted? Perhaps SU has removed the restrictions the application once had..

So the native android battery usage indicator is not very reliable?

@pat_nafs No, that's not what I mean. I'm saying whilst you're killing the instance/process, there are always services running. The 10% usage may be because Tune In has a streaming services or update that's continually polling the server/app for you. Think of it like a custom launcher- go launcher. When you double tap home, you do not get an option to kill Go Launcher- but it's there. This is because applications have services that run in the background doing tasks.

Thanks for your answer and classifications. I will download watchdog and update here. By the way, my device is one plus one, running on CyanogenMod by default.

Awesome. If you have continual problems, please upload some screenshots of the battery statistics so we can review them. You may want to review the CyanogemMod webpage for possible issues..

I downloaded watchdog and I've been using it for 4 days now but it did not raise any flags for this app automatically (while running or in the background. It did however, raise flag for the guardian app.)
While the application was still consuming 5% battery as per the indicator, I decided to go for the kill option in watchdog.
I did this both for the app and services. I checked battery indicator again in 10 mins. It was still consuming the same amount. Thankfully, I found the alternate solution that I am posting below.

Use Greenify for hibernating your tunein radio,this works fine for most apps.
If it not works properly,  need to freeze the app using ROM toolbox and then defrost when needed.
I am using this method mainly for Facebook,truecaller,google play services which consumes more battery usage.

I found the following delete option in the battery usage status tool:

Note that it is different from REFRESH button. I clicked on it and bam! Here are the new usage stats:

As it can be seen, this button basically killed on other apps except essential android services. (Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is CM11 specific feature. I would like to know more about exactly what it does and if it is reasonably safe to do it daily. Will google /check CM website / forums and update here)

See mu updated answer....

I second Basil Then's suggestion to use Greenify. It's meant for exactly this kind of situation, and it's really easy to use. It does require root, but you already have that since you're on CyanogenMod.
Another option that's already built into CyanogenMod that might help is a feature called App Ops that was briefly part of stock Android but removed. This feature is still part of CyanogenMod, and you can access it by going to Settings → Privacy → Privacy Guard. From there you can scroll down to TuneIn (or any other app) and long-press it to control specific permissions. There are a few that will directly affect battery life, such as Keep awake and Wake up.
One other option that's also built into CyanogenMod: go to Settings → Developer options (enable Developer options first if you don't see it) then scroll all the way to the bottom and check Kill app back button. Now when you're done using TuneIn you can long-press the back button and it should kill it.
Since each app is different (some run as a service, some wake up the phone repeatedly, some keep it awake), you may need to try more than one of these options, and it might even be a combination of them that ends up doing what you want.

authors: ساط الساطورة


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Can I pull data off of a Moto 360 (smart watch) using ADB?
I am a complete beginner to the world of Android, but I am also an intrepid forensics examiner. I have been given the opportunity to conduct research into pulling data from certain wearables, namely Android watches. A colleague of mine suggested I examine the Moto 360 smart watch, but my initial research into the methods of conducting that examination has fallen flat.
I come to you enthusiasts with some very basic questions.

Can ADB (or another tool) extract valuable data from this specific smart watch? If so,       how?
If there are no available data extraction techniques at this time, should I shift my focus to another wearable?

Thank you very much in advance!

Have you tried this: http://blog.timmattison.com/archives/2014/07/16/common-android-wear-tasks-for-developers/


text:
How to reduce the quality of streaming on Galaxy S4
I recently upgraded from Galaxy S1 (Android 2.3.5) to S4 (SGH-I337M with Android 4.4.2)
The thing is before I couldn't have the Chrome browser because was not compatible and my YouTube app played videos just in HQ.
But now my S4 plays streaming in HD (720p). I set the option to see videos in HD (YouTube) only on WI-FI but even though I did this, my data plan is being devoured.
When I see streaming from pages in Chrome, they are also spending my data plan.
I know this thanks to the data usage application in android (Apps > Settings > Data usage) and match exactly with my internet provider consumption plan.
How can I do to reduce the streaming quality in general on my S4 in order to reduce the consumption of my data plan.
I tried to ask the same thing in google but mostly all the pages advice to do the opposite, I mean... how to increase the video quality on android.
It doesn't bother me to see videos in HQ like before.
Thanks.


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S5 Phone and SD Card Encryption: Do I need to enter in password twice?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5. If I encrypt the phone and the SD card, presumably with the same PIN/password, do I need to enter in the PIN two times to access the SD card?
I see that encrypting the phone and SD card are two separate processes, but does that mean that I will need to decrypt the phone and the SD card separately every time I use an app or file that's on the SD card?

No. I have that setup and you don't need to enter the password two times. Also when encrypting, android (at least my 4.2.2) does not let you use different passwords for Device and SD card.
One downside of having the phone encrypted is that Android forces you to use the encryption password in the screen lock. After encrypting the phone, you can't use pattern unlock. This has been reported two years ago.

Thanks. What I really want to do is use a PIN, but from what I've read I have to use a password that's at least six characters, including one digit if I want to encrypt my S5.

Encrypting using a 4 digit password wouldn't provide any real security against a brute force (or even manual force) attack. I have a good password for the disk and SD card, and a PIN for the SIM card. The only time I have to enter both passwords is when I turn on the cellphone (first encryption, then PIN for the SIM card). The PIN for the SIM card is useless, that's why I save the contacts and messages on the device.


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Change MTP/PTP for a Galaxy S4 w/ a Broken Screen
I'm trying to do a complete backup of all data on my Samsung Galaxy S4 before I send it in for repairs.
Even though the screen is completely black and does not work (very little touch abilities), I have the Galaxy Smart Dock, which lets me output the screen via HDMI and control the phone with a mouse.
I removed the lock screen, installed Kies, then connected the phone to my computer.
Unfortunately, at one point, my phone switched from MTP to PTP, and now I cannot switch back to MTP (which Kies requires).
Everything online says to just connect the phone to the computer and swipe down to select the connection mode - I cannot do that because the screen is broken.
I also do not see any "three dot" option in Settings / Storage to change the USB Computer Connection.
Is there an option I'm missing? Am I SOL?
Again, I have full control of my device through the media dock, I just do not have that control when the phone is connected (via USB) to my computer.

Having the same problem described here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/421018-change-galaxy-s4-mtp-mode-broken-screen.html

If your phone is like mine, this option does not exist in any of the Settings menus.  First, connect your phone to your PC via the USB cable.  (If it is already attached, remove and reattach).  Watch your Notifications bar at the top of your screen and you will see a USB symbol appear.  Pull down the Notifications and viola, there is the option to change it back to MTP.

I am unable to do that because my screen and digitizer are both broken.
I have control of the phone through the media dock (using the HDMI out and a mouse), but to connect the phone to the computer, I have to disconnect the phone from the media dock, which means no more device control.

i know you have probably fixed this by now but if not try typing *#0808# into your phone this will bring up a menu where you can select mtp

Change the cable.
I had a noname cable and did not worked, it only charged and the phone was not available as storage. After replacing cable with a trusted one (BB or Samsung i tried) it worked.

try typing the following into your Samsung phone to get access to a hidden USB connection menu
*#0808#

Can you expand on this answer a tiny bit to explain what access codes are and how someone can check them?

this is actually working answer.

I am sure this is to late for you but hopefully will help someone else out.
Some launchers for example Nova have 'actions' that you can add as shortcuts by long pressing your homescreen. One of these actions is 'expand notifications'. Now you can simply select this icon to pull down the notifications.
This can be useful for using the phone with gloves too when pulling down the notifications can be annoying.

Thanks for the suggestion, but my problem isn't opening the settings menu, it's the fact that my digitizer is broken, so even if it were a button, I wouldn't be able to access it when the phone is connected to the computer.

This solution should work.
First, for Michael, note that the OP bought a Smart Dock. That will be crucial for you. It is not free, but the price you pay will benefit you in other ways:

purchase a Samsung Smart Dock. I've seen them on Amazon for around $60
mount your phone in the Smart Dock

Now you have:

external HDMI connection for the screen
power for charging your phone
Several USB ports for PC connection and more

All simultaneously.
It's the only connection I've seen that does screen + USB at the same time. Other cables sometimes claim it but I've never had one that worked properly.
Now, once you have the Smart Dock, you're ready to go.
Note: the OP already had a Smart Dock but could not get it to switch to MTP mode. That sounds mighty strange! As soon as you plug the phone into your PC with a valid data cable you should see it recognize the USB connection.
If you don't, one of two things is wrong in my experience:

Have you installed the Samsung Kies 3 app on your PC, and have you updated the driver? (That's an option in "Tools") If not, the PC likely will not recognize the phone, and the phone will not know it is connected to a PC.
Are you certain you have a good data-USB cable? A charging-only cable will not work. (Most micro USB cables are fine, although an old one may have a bad pin you would not notice except for this problem.)

Check the USB connector on the phone. I had a lot of trouble connecting my GS4 (it would charge but not be recognized by the PC) until I found out there was a LOT of pocket lint down inside the connector area. I cleaned it out gently with a toothpick and after that it hooked right up to the PC. I think the USB cable connector wasn't getting completely inserted.


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For an android virtual device emulator which target should i target it to? (Image included)

It says that the CPU,ABI system image isn't available for this target, but there is only one target and thats the one that is already selected. What do i do? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Run the android sdk manager and download the image because you only have the device definitions and the SDK and  not the system images  so download them from there

wait, it still doesn't work, i don't care what device it works on. Can you tell me what exactly im supposed to download?

in the sdk manager download the image of the api you are working on if you are using KitKat(API 19 ) download the api 19 system images , SDK manager groupe them for you together so it will be easy to do that

when i make a new android application on eclipse, is the API im working with the mimimum required SDK, target SDK, or the compile with option in the new application window? I set all of them to API 20, and installed all the API 20 system images, but it in the AVD manager, it still gives me the same error. What do i do?

put them to api 19 , API 20 us the android wear smartwatch , and everything will work , and accept my answer

what should I put in the compile with option? It only has API 20


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Is it safe to use launchers?
I am new to android OS.I recently purchased nexus 5 and came to know about several launchers.They are just mind blowing experience.But one of my friends suggested me not to use launchers as they override native os or something like that.
My question is that is it really safe to use launchers? I don't want to make any harm to phone OS or anything.
Does it clear all data and clean up everything when I uninstall it?
Kindly provide me knowledge of launchers and what are the disadvantages of using it.
Thanks

Launchers are pretty much safe. Just look at the app permissions before installing. I recommend Solo Launcher from my side. It's my favourite ;)

As with any app:  look at the permissions it requests and think about whether the app legitimately needs those permissions.  There's nothing inherently unsafe about using a custom launcher, but if it requests permissions that shouldn't be needed just to display a home screen, it may have hidden malicious functionality.  (Or it may use them for legitimate purposes:  for example, some popular launchers request permission to "directly call phone numbers" so that they can provide the ability to put direct-dial icons on your home screen.)
To see the permissions of an app you've already installed, go to Settings -> Apps, find the app, and scroll down to the bottom of its info page.  You can also see an app's permissions in the Play store before you install it:  scroll down to the bottom of the app's page in the Play store and tap on "Permission details".
Note that a launcher app will (naturally) know which other apps you launch with it.  That's generally not a problem, but if the launcher app has Internet permission, it could potentially send information about which apps you use to a third party, which would be a privacy violation.
When you uninstall an app, any data stored with the app itself is removed; this generally includes things like customization settings.  But if the app has "modify USB storage" permission, it may have also created files in your phone's shared storage area — the files you see when you plug the phone into your computer with a USB cable.  Those aren't deleted when you uninstall an app, but you can delete them yourself, either with a USB connection or a file-manager app on the phone itself.
A custom launcher doesn't "override the native OS" in any unsafe way.  It's really just a normal app that happens to respond to the phone's Home button.

In short, yes, most launchers are not harmful. They are just a skin to your phone and does not clear any of your personal data when you uninstall it. I recommend you look at Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher, Solo Launcher, or any other popular launcher. Good luck with your new Nexus!

I was always kindof worried about those launchers getting my info and using for malicious purposes. I guess it is one layer more of apps getting that info, but shouldn't be worse than, for example, spotify having it, right?

Launchers are not much different from any other app in this concern – so you should deal with them like with other apps. While one argument has already been mentioned multiple times here, let me sum up the basics in short:

check permissions as recommended already.
check votes (how many people have rated the app), downloads (how many have installed it), and ratings (how well is the app received). If inexperienced, try avoiding apps with no or only few downloads/votes until you get a feeling for it.
check reasonable comments (i.e. skip the one-worders like "good", "bad", "like" etc, and concentrate on those coming with real details)
try searching for reviews
when looking for an app, app listings on "trusted sites" can be helpful. I run such a site myself, where you can find ratings, votes, permissions incl. explanations, and links to reviews etc. listed along each app, so you might wish to check there.
Avoid "downloading" apps from sites you don't know, better stick to safe markets.

Helpful links:

our security tag and its tag-wiki
Are the apps safe? How can I make my Android more secure?
What do the permissions that applications require mean? (more detailed list here)
Android Markets: How safe are alternative sources?
How safe is it to use Aptoide?

You can use launcher in your phone,no problem with that. Before installing the check its permissions and you also need to trust that application. There are many good launchers in play store like google now,apex,nova..etc
You want to know that running 2 or more launchers can also heat up your phones ram,sometimes causes hanging .Nexus 5 has a good native launcher.

Since when does "running 2 or more apps" heat up RAM?

Yes launchers are safe. But not all. Recently my Kaspersky detected trojan in CLauncher. Personally I am in love with Nova, light and flawless. Even it supported by almost all IConPacks too.BTW, Nexus 5 has already overhauled KK launcher . So , I dont think you need any launcher. But if you are willing to install one, I would suggest either EZLauncher or Nova.

yes ! you don't need to be wory m8. according to my experience most of the launchers are pretty safe so far although most of them try to make us to install their related apps but it depends if you want to go with them or not basically launchers are made to give a better look to OS whenever you want to install a launcher you just need to give a look at its details,ratings,reviews and description as well and I recomend you a few best launchers like Hola Laucher,CM Launcher,solo Launcher,aprex launcher .


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System images do not show up in SDK Manager
When I try to create a new AVD, I get the error that there is no system image available. A quick search on the internet tells me that I should download it via the SDK manager, but no system images are showing up in the list.
As well, I get an error that it cannot fetch information from two .xml files. Does this have anything to do with the system images?

There may be the proxy problem. Go to the option under tools and enter the Http proxy and port no.

as he is able to access other xml files within the sdk manager this is most liekly not his problem.

This answer did resolve the same problem on my computer. The "Http proxy" setting in Android Studio was set as "Auto-detect proxy settings". I have changed this setting to "Manual proxy configuration" and entered "Host name" and "Port number". After that the list of system images has been successfully loaded.


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CyanogenMod and Privacy
This question is a follow up to:
What information does stock Android send to Google by default, and how do I opt-out?
and
Disable Location History in Android
I did a factory reset and flashed Cyanogen Mod 11 on my phone. I love the ROM and am using it without any Google Applications. I didn't even add a Google Account. For apps, I am using a third party app to download apk and installing them manually on my Android smartphone. My questions:

In Location for Cyanogen Mod, it provides three options - only GPS, only Mobile Tower / Wifi, both GPS and Mobile/Wifi. I know that in stock Android ROM, Google location history sends data about my whereabouts to Google. Will this happen in Cyanogen Mod too? Since I did not add any google account or google app, I'm guessing this is unlikely. I want your advice.
If I use Wi-Fi, does Google know about my Wi-fi, its adapter id, blah blah..?
Does Google know about any other info if I use this ROM?

As you may have noticed, I am quite paranoid. But I do not want to give away anything to Google.
PS: Before flashing CM, I used google account and play on same phone on previous ROM. And the device was added to Google Play.

Good question. I'll look into CM now to see. Would using an alternative platform be an option, Android is quite tied into Google (for obvious reasons) and if you wanted to avoid them maybe a Windows device or an iPhone or similar would suit whenever you are upgrading your phone? It's a slightly sad state that if you use one of these devices you are selling your privacy. Google make money from advertising and building databases of information about each user to target this advertising. So do MS, Apple and MANY others. "If a service doesn't charge you, you are the product"

Unfortuantely, I cannot switch my android phone now. So, I am stuck with Android. Also, I can access the Android APK's on the internet without using Google play, thus having the advantage of large base of apps.

CyanogenMod is not focussing on user privacy, FOSS or google-less ROMs. See the FSFE Wiki for some info on proprietary parts of CyanogenMod. You may want to take a look on OmniROM as they put a focus on privacy and security - without being to paranoid.
You mentioned that you're using your phone without any Google Applications. I assume that there are no Google Applications installed on your phone - if you install CM without their Installer (flashing zip from recovery), you can skip installing the so called GAPPS. If you install CM with the official installer, you won nothing: Google already re-associated your device by comparing the unique wi-fi mac address, it doesn't matter (from perspective of privacy) if you re-add your account on-device or not.
I'll answer your questions above, assuming that you did not have a single google application installed:

Locating with Wi-Fi/Mobile network on Android KitKat is done using Google Play Services. If it's not installed you can tick or untick this locating feature - it won't do anything.
When using Wi-Fi, the first thing Android does after connecting is to contact google by doing a basic http request to http://google.com/generate_204. This is to measure if the wi-fi is using a captive portal. This request does not contain sensitive information, but you may want disable it anyway.
Beside that, no tracking or scanning comes with the source of Android which is used by CyanogenMod.
Yes they do. As mentioned on the FSFE Wiki, CM uses Google Analytics for tracking their usage on every device by default. This behaviour is opt-out, so you can disable it. If you do not trust this option (the underlying code is not completely open sourced), it's possible to remove Google Analytics using freecyngn.

I flashed the CM 11 mod using recovery (no gapps). But before that, I accesssed Google play with my Google Account on stock rom. So, Google has linked my phone in Google play.

So, if I connect to wifi now, my ip will be logged by Google everytime I connect to wifi. Correct? Will flashing freecyngn avoid this? 3. Other than flashing freecyngn, is there anything I can do to stay completely anonymous to Google?

Yes your unique device ids like IMEI/MEID/ESN and MAC-addresses are stored on googles servers, which will google allow to link them down to you. However, usually they will not be able to retrieve those data. - 2. Your IP might be logged, but there is no id provided with this request, so googles servers will only see "there is an android phone on IP X.X.X.X", which is not really worth saving it :) - 3. If you go with freecyngn and without gapps and with no additional apps (or only FOSS ones), there is no google "tracking" (i don't count 2. as tracking) on your phone


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Are iOS apps faster than android apps since android apps are interpreted?
Android apps are interpreted rather than compiled. Does this make them slower than iOS apps at runtime?

It's not a good question because Android apps aren't interpreted, just as the correct answer actually points out.

Note that some major corporations -- IBM included -- are writing major applications in Java these days. Given a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, which is a standard part of a modern Java VM, performance really is comparable with any other high-level language. Java has not been only "an interpreted language" for many years.

JIT compilers aren't tied to the concept of a JVM at all. There are JVMs that don't use JIT compilers, even commercial ones. Some variations of IBM's JVM don't enable JIT by default, instead defaulting to AOT compilation. Also, small note, "major applications in Java these days" was probably a bit more apt a decade and a half ago (IBM was adding to Java before 1997)

The question is somewhat misleading.  A "native" iOS app is written in Objective-C (or Swift) and compiled, whereas a "standard" Android app is written in Java and compiled to bytecode. See @DanHulme's answer.  But it's possible to write apps for either platform in HTML & JavaScript using e.g. PhoneGap/Cordova.  An HTML app is usually perceived to run more slowly than a native app on the same platform.  So if a similar app for the "other" platform seems slower perhaps it's because it was created using different technology.

Java isn't interpreted on Android. Android apps are compiled to bytecode by the developer. Bytecode is a compact representation of the program: smaller than the source code written by the programmer, but still not directly executable by the CPU. Some optimizations, such as dead code removal, can be made at this stage.
When you load the app on a device, the Dalvik JVM compiles the bytecode to native executable code, just as it's about to run. This is just-in-time compilation. It causes a brief slow-down while the program waits to be compiled, but after that there's no performance overhead, because the code has been compiled to native executable code.
There are some performance advantages to doing it this way instead of compiling up-front on the developer's computer. The app can be compiled for the particular CPU on the phone, taking advantage of its hardware features and using its performance characteristics. For example, it can use hardware floating-point operations if the CPU supports it. In addition, a clever JIT compiler (admittedly, Dalvik is not quite this clever) can monitor the way the program runs, and perform optimizations based on the way the program is used in real use. It might recompile the code with better branch hinting once it has seen which options are turned on and off in your environment, on your phone. An up-front compiler doesn't have this information to use.
Dalvik uses the Dalvik cache and other techniques to mitigate the drawbacks of JIT compilation. The new JVM for Android L and later, ART, replaces the JIT entirely with an ahead-of-time compiler. This compiles the bytecode to native executable code when the app is installed, to get most of the advantages of JIT without the delay loading the app.
Don't forget that Android apps don't entirely consist of Java. Developers have the NDK to write all or part of their apps in C or C++, for performance-critical parts of the app, especially for games. Special-purpose interfaces like OpenGL and Renderscript let programmers take advantage of special hardware like the GPU and SIMD coprocessor for some kinds of computation.
So really, there's no simple answer to your question. Using JIT instead of up-front compilation makes some things faster, some things slower. It's just one part of the overall performance of the OS.

Not much different from the tired old ".NET/Java vs. C++ performance" debate on PC, really. It's apples and oranges.

Just a small note: The Dalvik JVM does not compiles the bytecode to native executable as it's about to run. Davlik start by interpreting the bytecode. It then compiles it if it see the same piece of code being run many times(That is typical code in a loop, or part of a method called many times).

@Dan Hulme sooo virtual machines dont necessarily interpret bytecode? They can compile it?

@ArmonSafai Quite so.

@DanHulme okay well thank you for the response

@MTilsted: That's kind of true, but it caches almost everything, so what you're talking about would likely only happen the very first time you run an app.

Pretty sure the current Dalvik vm is a trace jit compiler which don't cache any compiled files for re-use next time the app is started. I have at least newer seen that feature mentioned for dalvik. Got any source?

The main problem here is Dalvik is being though of as a "normal" JVM. Between being register-based, as opposed to stack based like HotSpot (because of the nature of ARM  processors vs those HotSpot was targeting [such as IA32]), it's use of Zygote, and the concept of odex files (i.e. the whole idea of not [more or less] going straight from class file to class loader), treating Dalvik as a normal JVM is bound to lead to some misconceptions. Especially since many of the details of the HotSpot implementation have are often mistakenly associated with JVMs in general (like it's JIT compiler).

In fact, Dalvik isn't actually called a JVM by Google (albeit related to other factors as well)

As a bit of an add-on, ART will soon be replacing Dalvik as the Android runtime. A major change is no JIT compiling which, ultimately, has seen huge speed ups and battery life improvements. https://source.android.com/devices/tech/dalvik/art.html

Since this is a broad question, here's a broad answer.
"Are iOS apps faster than android apps since android apps are interpreted?"
First off iOS apps are not "faster than" android apps.
Secondly, regarding the issue "Android apps are Interpreted." This is something you'd say about computing, like "15 years ago": as you can see from the discussion above, the situation is much more complicated today; entirely new technologies have come to the fore. The concept "compiled is faster than interpreted!" was relevant comparing, you know, perl to machine code 20 years ago; things have moved on so much that issue can not be really clearly applied to "iOS V Android" today.
Thirdly, there are other issues in mobile programming that totally swamp such considerations. Just one example on the ground, mobile programmers knock themselves out over handling large scrolling lists of images, lazy loading, and similar issues. How the two OSs, and the various popular libraries, handles these critical issues often swamps other issues.
Fourthly, just one more overwhelming issue on mobiles is the issues of the graphics chipset and the various complicated relationships of that to software, OpenGL, and so on. For example, Apple is coming out with a system they calL "Metal" in relation to these problems, and Android is coming out with their own "thingy" in this field. These issues around the graphics pipeline are tremendously important to how apps "feel" in your hand.
The very short answer to your question is "compiled V. interpreted" is basically an out-of-date discussion point you know?
(Also, I don't particularly find a Note3 "slower" than an iPhone. Also, some of this is pure artefact - there does exist inexpensive Android phones: there simply aren't low performance iPhones made, so some people may have incorrect ideas from this.)

Short answer:
Android only executes native machine codes and not VM bytecodes.

Codes are compiled to byte-code by software developer (apk files)

During app installation, the phone byte-codes are converted to native machine codes for a specific CPU. This leads to longer installation and larger execution files but faster runs.

Because interpreted apps does not means that they are always slow. Sometimes they are more powerful and dynamic as compared to compiled one. As all codes in compiled app are compiled once & output is kept in form of libraries or executables, while in interprated language, once can randomly change the sequence of execution.
So i can say, it depends of developer to developer and there way of programming.
However, Java (Android's programming language) is not interpreted but is JIT compiled. That means that Android programs compile just before you run them, giving reasonably similar performance to iOS' Objective C.
More recently, Android's ART framework pre-compiles the apps, so they are run in the same way as iOS apps. In other words, the next version of Android will presumably be just as fast as iOS.
Update
Programming languages generally fall into one of two categories: Compiled or Interpreted. With a compiled language, code you enter is reduced to a set of machine-specific instructions before being saved as an executable file. With interpreted languages, the code is saved in the same format that you entered. Compiled programs generally run faster than interpreted ones because interpreted programs must be reduced to machine instructions at runtime. However, with an interpreted language you can do things that cannot be done in a compiled language. For example, interpreted programs can modify themselves by adding or changing functions at runtime. It is also usually easier to develop applications in an interpreted environment because you don't have to recompile your application each time you want to test a small section.

what do you mean "once can randomly change the sequence of execution? And how are they more powerful and dynamic? Also im not saying that theyre slow, just that they are slower, even slightly.

I get how there are benefits to an interpreted languages, but its still slower right?

Yes its slower in compilation and all those, but in performance , hardly we can notice. Yes,but by using tools you can track the slowness.

This isn't entirely true. It's misleading to say that not having to recompile is an advantage, since you still need to build an APK file and deploy it to the test device. Google didn't decide to use Java: Android was already Java-based before Google bought it. APK files don't contain the code "in the same format that [the programmer] entered."

Microsoft .NET is compiled down to IL code which is also interpreted just like java is compiled down to bytecode.

A lot of information in this answer really isn't relevant or technically correct. I'd honestly suggest this answer be totally revised for technical accuracy.

Java is generally not an interpreted language, unless you're dealing with an unusual JVM implementation. JIT compilation is not the same thing as an interpreter, so most of this answer is honestly pretty irrelevant in the context of Android's performance since it uses JIT.

It's incorrect to say that compiled language cannot modify itself. It's the semantic of the language that can make reliably self modifying code easy or hard, but compiled code can modify itself just as well as interpreted, when you know what you're doing.


text:
ParanoidAndroid can't make bluetooth call
I recently installed ParanoidAndroid onto my Note 2, and since then I can't make bluetooth calls from my car.  It worked before with the stock ROM, so I know it's the phone that's the problem.  It syncs fine and music plays, just the calls that are the problem.  If I make a call, it goes through but both sides just hear loud white noise.  After a bit of experimentation I found that I am actually hearing myself and the car noises through the speakers, not the other person.  I tried disable all the DSP options in case they were causing but it doesn't make a difference.  It there something obvous I've missed, or is it actually a bug?  If so, how would I go about debugging it?

I had exactly this problem "actually hearing myself and the car noises through the speakers, not the other person" - ie feedback.
This is with "stable" Paranoid Android release 4.45 on Galaxy Note 2 N7100
I upgraded to beta 4.6 beta 5 - problem is gone now. Hurray! Thanks!

This certainly sounds like a bug in the ROM. In the first instance you should report it to the system integrator (the person who ported the ROM for that device).
Debugging and developing device drivers is not for the faint-hearted, and it's well beyond the scope of this site!

This issue seems to be in cyanogenmod for some time. See this bugdescription.
A fix for MTK-compatible phones was posted here

Could you add some more information to your answer? Like what the bug description is, and a description of the fix. It is fine to link somewhere else, but a person should be able to actually get the answer to the problem here, not just be linked somewhere else. The main reason is links tend to disappear over time. If those links are dead in the future, your answer tells people nothing.


text:
Can I mod my phone with bootloader locked?
I have a Motorola Defy ('jordan') that I have just recently rooted. I would like to add a mod to it though as it is running on Android froyo still but my bootloader is locked so i'm not very sure how to go about this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If you are not sure about anything... goto XDA forums.It has everything

If your bootloader is locked, and if there isn't an unlock available, you are probably stuck on your current android version/ROM. Root alone doesn't let you update the kernel.

Even if the Defy's bootloader is locked, you can still root it and install custom roms. It's with the help of a software called 2ndInit.
As mentioned in the comment, you can search in the xda forums to get the details. You can start here by rooting and then install any custom rom. :)


text:
Unable to charge my device
I connected my device to the laptop through the U.S.B cable and tried to charge but it's not charging the device.Although it is connecting the device normally for data transfer but it's not charging the device as it used to.
The device is not getting charged even through the Wall socket provided by the Manufacturer.Now what can i do to get it charged back to normal.
Device:Samsung Galaxy trend(GT-S7392)
Android:4.1.2 Jelly bean

Sounds more like a hardware problem/failure! Check all the hardware devices again.

I simply turned OFF the device, disconnected the battery from the mains and waited for 2-5 minutes (placed the battery separate from the device).
Later cleaned the terminals with a soft cloth ,placed the battery inside and connected the socket .
Started charging the device i power off mode itself for some time and later when i switched on the device it was successfully charging the device.
Lucky it was removable battery.(else had to go for a genuine service center and deposit the device for some time )


text:
Wifi Connection Problem
I am staying in hostel where i get WiFi facility.Using netcut application some are blocking the net connection.I can use internet in laptop using netcut defender but i am unable access  in my phone.I am using asus zenfone 5.
Is there any way to protect from blocking.

I found this in Play Store. See if it works - NetCut Root.
Comment if worked.


text:
Install ROM to save android samsung galaxy mini GT-S5570
I rooted this device about a year ago and attempted to install a rom however as I failed to find that much information on how to do it I ended up going into the stock recovery mode and attempting to install a zip file I had downloaded. I did this by choosing "apply update from sdcard".
Obviously this is completely wrong and my phone is now always stuck in a bootloop. It also seems I have filled up the entire memory of bogus files as when I tested to install a file through recovery mode I get the error "No space left on device".
My question is if there is any way I can install some ROM(or anything) so that I can use this phone again. It seems I can't do this through the phone as I don't have a custom recovery so if I can do anything from my mac that would be great.
I have also tried using heimdall-one-click to unbrick however it could not identify my device.

Can you boot into fastboot mode?

When I follow instructions for fastboot mode white text appears on my screen it does however not show android logo as the tutorial I followed said it would.

What does the text say?

First it says something like lcd_backlight_ctrl start. It mentions something about re-check normal boot and a little kernel.

authors: รัญชนา พุ่มแก้ว


text:
Why are apk files are kept in system folder?
Isn't an apk files just an archive which is unpacked when you install a package? So, why should it be kept then?

APK files aren't unpacked when you install the app. The APK file is the only copy of the executable code and static assets belonging to the app. Deleting the APK file would delete the app.
Unpacking the APK files would just take up more storage and take longer to access when you run the app.

They're in /data/data/applicationPackageName. For example /data/data/com.facebook.android but you have to be root.
Oops I'm sorry I thought you were asking where. I'm in the app and can't find the option to delete my answer. Please dismiss it.


text:
Why doesn't Android store the packages as binaries like on other Linux distros?
On Ubuntu, it doesn't store apps as deb files it stores them as plain compiled code. Why doesn't Android do that instead of using Jit and cache? Wouldn't it be more efficient to just compile it completely like on Ubuntu?

There are really two different issues here. Your question about "compiled code" is dealt with by another of today's questions. This is completely separate from whether an app is unpacked from its package file. Don't forget that Ubuntu (and other Linux distros) can have apps written in Java and shipped as JAR files, as well as native executables, and Android apps can include native code as well as Java. In both cases, the binary itself is a small part of the package: the images and other data (known as assets) used by the app are far larger.
It's mainly for historical reasons that applications on GNU/Linux have to be unpacked into separate files. This is much less efficient than keeping the package file itself, since the separate files take up more storage space and are thus slower to load. But because of the way GNU/Linux software is developed, and the way different tools work together, it's much more convenient to keep doing it the same way.
As Android is a new OS (with a Linux-based kernel), it's not limited by its history in the same way as Ubuntu. The init system, and the framework with which apps are written, are set up to support running from the APK file itself, while keeping it read-only. As well as the storage advantages above, it also makes it easier to keep apps protected and isolated from each other, because each app is a single file in read-only storage. There's no need for complicated setup scripts to make sure the correct files are overwritten or replaced in upgrades, and the intent system makes it unnecessary for packages to overwrite or replace each other as with Debian's update-alternatives script.


text:
Reachability feature like in iPhone 6
I've got Nexus 4 and not big enough hands to be able to fully control my phone with one hand. I've seen an amazing feature on iPhone 6 called "Reachability mode" (when home button is double tapped, whole UI shifts down to a thumb's reach).
Is there an Android app creating similar reachability mode? I don't have my phone rooted but I can do so.
For all the trolls: please don't write me 'buy an iPhone' not even Samsung, that's not the answer to this question.
Thank you very much!

I can't find any like this yet, I'm sure someone will emulate it though as it might be a useful feature. It would probably need to be a full launcher, or at least something with access to do this to any window. It may not be something immediately feasible without root initially... I guess wait and see.

Actually, here is a research paper doing it on android before Apple implemented it, but better ;-)
Go to minute 1:05
Backpat: improving one-handed touchscreen operati…: http://youtu.be/6obUW7uhWOk
Not that the platform matters, though. It's a usability feature for a form factor after all.

Is it possible to get this or something similar somewhere?

You can do it with Xposed with One-Hand Mode module Premium (1$). I use it with tasker, so that a short shake activates the One-Hand mode toggle, and moves the screen 700 pixels down.


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Move Apps from Internal to SD--Android 4.1.2, LGE Optimus F3
For those who don't know, the Optimus F3 has only, like, 2gb of internal space. And because Google's Nexus phones don't have SD card slots for some really weird reason, they decided to just pull the function from Android entirely for a few versions. This includes 4.1.2, the version on my phone.
I have gone through the trouble of rooting my phone and downloading numerous programs to help me hack into this hunk of junk, but I can't for the life of me figure out what to do.
And yes, I have tried App2SD's linking thing, and it doesn't work.
I am 99% sure that you can simply move apps from internal to external storage using the SDK and/or command line or something like that, but I have NO idea how and I've looked all over and found nothing that can really help much.
Could someone PLEASE be so kind as to help this poor guy out and actually be able to use that 8gb SD card I got just for this reason? I have struggled and finally gotten Eclipse working, but have NO idea what to do with it, or if I need it at all. Just please, I'm begging you, HELP!!
EDIT: Before you say "just do it from the Storage options", look at this:

Click for full resolution

If your problem is solved, please post an answer so the question shows up as answered. Adding "fixed" to the title is OK on a forum, but doesn't help on this site.


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Battery Percentage is not working after flashing Xperia E Dual with Nexboost ROM
I have flashed my Xperia E Dual with Nexboost ROM. After flashing my mobile below functionalities (a far I have identified till now) are not working:

Battery Percentage Status Bar (Always showing 100%)
FM Radio (Not installed)
Live Wallpaper (Not Supported)
Gallery (Some options are force closing this Gallery app)

Are there any solution to fix these issues?

You must have read about the bugs listed on that page before flashing the ROM. The bugs listed are -

Battery percentage is weird at times (goes up and down). Battery life is ok, though. There seems to be a problem with the Poseidon Kernel causing this. Hope @UltraGamerHD will fix it sometime in the future.
A lot of people ask about the stock Xperia Themes. Well, they don't work. I already changed .pngs files in various apks causing the themes to no longer work.
Some apps force closes at times (Whatsapps, Gmail, Browser,etc..). Clearing the apps data, they'll work again.

They did not mention anything about FM Radio.
So the main point is you should wait until they release their next ROM (or) flash another ROM better than this.

Could you please suggest any better rom for xperia e dusl with less bugs and can fix above points?

Sorry @chanchal1987, I don't know much about these customized ROMs. But I hear a lot about CyanogenMod recently, because it is more actively developed than others. Check if its available for you device but remember NO CUSTOMIZED ROM IS PERFECT.


text:
Best way to transfer photos from Android 4.4.4 to Windows 7
I just upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy s5 running android 4.4.4. On my old phone running gingerbread, I was able to use the USB Mass Storage Device (MSD) feature to browse, delete, and copy photos (to a Windows 7 PC) very quickly since that phone basically acted as a standard USB drive.
On the Galaxy s5, it uses MTP, and trying to perform these same functions is painfully slow. I have over 1,000 photos on the phone, and it takes several minutes for them to be all listed in the DCIM/Camera folder. And even longer for thumbnails to appear. Nothing appears to be cached for quick access.
Considering that MSD is no longer available, and MTP is excruciatingly slow, is there a better way to handle accessing photos on the phone and transferring them to a PC? I would prefer to avoid cloud services/features.

I have updated the answer to suit your needs, you might want to take a look at it and either accept the answer as valid or let me know why it won't work

I know it's been a while since I asked this, but I think I finally came up with a decent solution that doens't involve the cloud, doesn't involve waiting eons for images to load via USB, and doesn't involve taking the phone apart to get at the SD card.
I created a file share on a computer, and installed ES File Explorer app on the phone. Using ES File Explorer, I access the file share, then go back to the home screen.
Then, in the android gallery, I select the photos I want to move to the computer, tap the "share" icon, and select the "ES save to" option. Then, go to the root direction, select the computer's name/IP, log in, select the appropriate folder on the computer, then tap "select" to upload the photos.

1) Use Air Droid Copy to comp, copy to phone [too long]
2) Switch on dropbox lan sync and transfer the photos by installing dropbox on your new phone too.
Both the methods will be a bit slow, but at least you can start the process and let things be taken care of.
[EDIT]
OP did not want cloud solutions, you can try out Dukto
No intermediate required :) There you go

Both appear to be cloud-based solutions, which I would prefer to avoid. I don't want to upload my photos anywhere but my PC because of bandwidth limitations and privacy concerns.

Edited my answer to include Dukto, non cloud solution :)

I must say, Dukto looks promising

I  have the same problems and many more with 4.4.4.
I found the fastest way to transfer pics and files is with a free app from Google Play that is called  SEND ANYWHERE. It works a whole lot better than anything else I've tried.
I sure do miss being able to just plug in the OTG to my Moto G XT1034 2298 and a flash drive to dump most any file I wanted into the flash drive. It was so very quick and easy. One of my biggest regrets was the moment I "upgraded" to the Android 4.4.4.

As my own solution does not work for you on Windows (my windows are just for light and fresh air), I can only give you a pointer to some apps I didn't try myself.
On my server, you will find a list of apps to Remotely manage media and files. I'm no big cloud fan either, so in most of my lists I explicitely marked "cloud stuff" as such (so you can avoid it). None of the apps listed behind the link should use the cloud; they rather use your local WiFi network.
Scrolling to the end of that page, you will also find some "cable based" solutions, utilizing ADB – just in case you have no WiFi available.
As we always say to provide more than a link only (in case the page behind it dies – which I hope will not happen that soon to mine), let me name two of the solutions explicitly: WebSharing is pretty popular, and DavDrive should be a decent solution as well.
Feel free to follow up the other links there for more information – it might well be you find something you'd like more, as it provides additional features (e.g. full remote device management ;)

Total Commander for android with LAN (Windows shares) works the best for me..
You can access the whole disk structure of your pc from the phone, copy move delete, if you just login via the phone.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! You might want to include a link to the Application and how to set it up to make your answer even better :)

None of the above worked for me. Android 4.4.4 on kid's older phone, needed the videos for his school project. Finally got the files over by sending as attachments via gmail.


text:
Can you identify this 'N' app running in the status bar?
This 'N' thing in the status bar is new and I don't know which app it is. I've looked in the applications list but can't find anything unusual. I think it also changed the wallpaper without asking.
Does anyone recognize it?
Here it is close up:

And in the context of the screen:

It can't be a normal app. The icons on the right are from the OS, not user apps.

You really need to identify the device and the version of Android.

I don't know for sure, but could it be a variation of the NFC status icon?

The phone does have NFC (Xolo X900), will look into this.

So it was NFC :)


text:
Cannot revive Galaxy Note 2: Kies says "This device version cannot be updated"
I have had a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (GT-N7100GSMH) for almost 2 years now. Never rooted it, was always installing all recommended OS upgrades. After the latest one, the phone started rebooting itself randomly now and then. I was going to take a look into it but never had time. A few days ago, during such reboot, it got stuck at the logo screen (white Samsung Galaxy text). I've read it was called bootloop and, following info on the web, tried to wipe the cache. Having entered the recovery mode (Power Up + Home + Power), I received multiple messages E:cannot mount xxx (file or directory not found), with xxx being /system, /cache etc. I still tried to wipe the cache, it seemingly did so, and then displayed the same set of error messages. Then I tried the factory reset, again some activity and the same screen with all the error messages. This is what it shows exactly after the dead Android with red exclamation triangle:
E:failed to mount /efs (No such file or directory)
E:failed to mount /system (No such file or directory)

# Manual mode #
-- Appling Multi-CSC...

E:failed to mount /system (No such file or directory)
E:Can't mount /system (No such file or directory)
E:failed to mount /cache (No such file or directory)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_recovery
E:failed to mount /data (No such file or directory)
E:Can't mount /data/log/recovery_log.txt
E:failed to mount /system (No such file or directory)
E:failed to mount /cache (No such file or directory)
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
(a few more such errors)

Android system recovery <3e>
KOT49H.N7100XXUFNE1

Volume up/down to move highlight; power button to select
(here goes the blue menu)

Then I went the Kies way: Installed Kies (not Kies 3) on Windows 7, went into download mode (Power Down + Home + Power), and tried Tools/Firmware Upgrade and Initialization. Kies accepted the model and serial numbers, downloaded something, showed the window with the instructions and check boxes and then, after hitting Start upgrade, told me "This device version cannot be updated". I then went to Tools/Emergency firmware recovery, and received an empty list of devices that require recovery. This is what the phone shows in the download mode:
ODIN MODE
PRODUCT NAME: GT-N7100
CURRENT BINARY: Samsung Official
SYSTEM STATUS: Official
KNOX WARRANTY VOID: 0
RP SWREV: A2

Finally, I tried Kies 3, with the same lack of success. Additionally, it was saying that I was using the wrong Kies version.
I don't know if it's important, but my phone was encrypted (company policy).
Is there anything useful you can guess from the above and recommend me doing before sending it to Samsung for a probably rather costly diagnostics/service?

I have eventually brought the phone to the service, and they diagnosed problems with the motherboard. It turned out these phones have a 2-year warranty, so they sent it to Samsung for repair for free. Nicely, it "died" just one month before the end of warranty, so it was a good luck.


text:
History of installed/uninstalled apps
I don't know if there is already a thread about this particular issue, but if so forgive me. I would like to know how can I see the date when I installed and uninstalled a certain app some time ago (provided that I deleted it from Google Play history, so I can't go that way). I've been doing some research and logcat appears everywhere, but I don't see how can it solve my problem. Thanks in advance for your help.

See Where can I find out when I installed an app?

Logcat won't be much help here, as it only lasts back a limited time (it uses a ring buffer with a fixed size, so older entries get overwritten with new ones). Instead, better focus on the package manager:
adb shell "pm list packages -u -3"

gives you a list of all apps you have installed (the -3 restricts it to apps that didn't come pre-installed – essentially meaning "3rd party"), including those you've already uninstalled (-u). The returned list looks like this:
package:com.ceco.gm2.gravitybox
package:com.mohammadag.xposedpreferenceinjector

This still doesn't give you the details you wanted, so lets bring in some help from Firelord's answer here:
First, we need to cut of the leading package:, so we modify our command to pm list packages -u -3 | awk -F: '{print $NF}':
com.ceco.gm2.gravitybox
com.mohammadag.xposedpreferenceinjector

Already better. Now Firelord kicks in mentioning the dumpsys command for details, which we integrate in what we have so far:
for pkg in $(pm list packages -u -3 | awk -F: '{print $NF}'); do
    dumpsys package $pkg
done

That should give you full details for each app, including their install date (firstInstallTime), last update (lastUpdateTime) and, hopefully also the uninstall-time – unfortunately, on the device I've tested this right now, uninstalled apps didn't turn up despite of the -u parameter, which might be a device-specific issue (as the pm documentation clearly describes it such).
To give you the same thing as a one-liner which also should work on Windows:
adb shell "for pkg in \$(pm list packages -u -3 | awk -F: '{print \$NF}'); do dumpsys package \$pkg; done"

+1. I actually had the same approach in my mind but I rather posted a comment since that -u in pm didn't yield anything good to me.

@Firelord OK, so it's not just me. Maybe it's a deprecated parameter no longer used since Android x.y. As usually, documentation is a rare thing with those.

You can use this command on Linux:
adb shell logcat | grep install for install app see in logcat
adb shell logcat | grep uninstall for uninstall app see in logcat
Otherwise In windows you can use Cygwin. You can download from here

Is there anything equivalent for Windows?

@jabadejat Grep is available for Windows, but not packaged by default.  It should also be part of Busybox for Android, so that you could do the grep-ing on your device rather than your PC.

Since the log is stored in a circular buffer, so that old entries get overwritten typically within a day, this doesn't seem like it would help find the date of installing an app.

How to obtain the size of Logcat: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/6321555/what-is-the-size-limit-for-logcat

On Windows: adb shell "logcat | grep install". Note the quotes: this tells adb shell to run the whole thing on Android – where it finds the logcat command as well as grep. But the point is: limited use. This way you might see what happened in the last few minutes – but for sure not a couple of days back.

PS: I've just done a test-uninstall. Your command didn't yield that. What worked: adb shell "logcat -v time | grep -i uninstall". Note the -i for case insensitive grep (the log has it as "Uninstall"), plus the -v time parameter (OP wanted to see when that happened, not only that it happened :)


text:
Google Play downloads app to wrong tablet
I bought my daughter an Android tablet and tried to download Angry Birds onto it.  It showed the message that app would be downloaded shortly, but it never did.  A little while later, I logged onto my tablet only to find it installed on MY tablet.  I thought maybe I had accidentally picked up the wrong tablet as they do look similar, so I tried it again.  Sure enough, go to google play on her tablet and it downloads the app onto mine.  How do I fix this?

Are using the Google Play app on your daughters tablet? Or on a PC?

Are you using the web interface to Google Play instead of the Play Store app?

Yes, using Web Interface

Are you logged into the right account?

@AlE. yes, I'm logged into the right account.

If you are using the web interface (going to the Play store on your computer), there is an option to choose which device to download it to.
After you hit the green install button a window pops up. There will be a rectangle on top that has a list of permissions that the app requires. Underneath that is a drop down box that allows you to choose which device (out of all the devices connected to your account) to install the app to.
If you have the same model tablet as your daughter it may take some experimenting to figure out which is which. You can rename the devices (to make it easier to know which one you want to download to) by going to settings (the gear looking icon on the top right side).
Edit:
  If you do not see both tablets in the drop down or under the settings menu you
need to check the tablets themselves to make sure they are both connected to the
same Google account. This is located in different places on different tablets,
but you can usually find it in the tablets settings under accounts.

Update:
try this link:
http://androidforums.com/google/625570-can-you-sideload-google-play-app.html
it explains how to side load the Google Play store. Here is a summary:

"Download the matching .apk off the web onto your computer. (google
  search it, use sources like XDA instead of 4shared or other sources
  that could have viruses)
Mount your phone as hard drive (when you plug in the USB cable to your
  phone should give you the choice between charge only or mount as hard
  drive). Put the .apk onto the SD Card where you can find it.
Download a file manager off of Getjar, anything will work.
Then go to settings>apps>allow external sources. Assuming your device
  allows it, this will let you install non market/getjar apps. It might
  be disabled already, thats OK.
Find the file and tap on it. It'll show a list of permissions, or
  things that the play store can do on your phone (like access the
  internet, save files onto your phone, etc). just hit okay, or install.
After that it should install for you, and you'll be able to find play
  store in your app drawer like any other app.
Here's a link to the play store. Download the unmodded version.
  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1582422"

Tried to do this, but new tablet is not showing in the list, only the old one

Did you create a Google account on the new tablet? Have you tried launching the Google Play Store app on it, connect to the Playstore, and download/install an app from it that way?

How do I install the google play store app if I can't install any apps?

@Kevin You said that you and your daughter have identical tablets. If she has the app installed, then so do you. Even if I misunderstood and you have different tablets, most tablets come with the google play store app pre-installed. It's not a matter of installing it, it's a matter of launching the app and connecting your account. What tablet do you have (make and model please)?

@Lazer they are not identical.  And her's does not have google play installed.  This is the tablet:http://www.hhgregg.com/klu-by-curtis-7-4gb-android-4-1-touchscreen-tablet/item/LT7035

@Kevin, I changed my answer to include instructions on how to add the Google Play store to your daughters tablet.


text:
Android 4.2 Quick switch between SMS/call/contacts
I just changed my phone to an Android 4.2.
I was under 2.2 before.
It takes me quite some time to get confortable with the newest interfaces.
Out of it, I completely miss the possibility to quickly swipe a contact or a text message to call him immediately as shown on those pictures:

How can I achieve something similar on Android 4.2? I mean quickly jump from calling to texting to contact easily?
Until now, it takes me 3 taps to call from text messages, can't achieve to send sms from call log, and since contacts are not filtered in People App ("Show only contacts with phone number" - Filter missing in Android 4) it takes a while to find people from contacts.

What phone do you have? Is it skinned (Samsung Touchwiz, HTC Sense, ...etc)? The pictures look like Samsung Touchwiz interface, did you upgrade the phone to a new version or is this a new phone?

That's a feature on Samsung's dialler, I don't know if any other ones do it, but there are lots of free diallers on the Play Store, worth a look. I assume you installed a non-touchwiz ROM?

I have a Fairphone http://www.fairphone.com/ now (got a new phone). I think the best option I have is to click on the contact picture now, as described in this post: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/29269/how-do-i-add-a-phone-number-to-contacts-from-the-text-message-app
Still 2 clicks but better than nothing!


text:
MTP usb driver failed
I upgraded my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 GT-i8160. Everything went smoothly during the upgrade, but when it's almost finished, it got disconnected from the PC for no reason. When it reconnected again, it says that the MTP USB driver failed.
I can't connect my USB cable to the PC no matter which port I insert it in. Now my phone won't open.

I had tried tons of proposed solution and it seem doesn't work for my Samsung Note 3. However i finally solve without installing/uninstalling anything.
Problem Solved as following;
1) Reboot phone to Recovery Mode.
2) Wipe Cache Partition.
3) Restart phone and connect to PC.
Bum!!! Window successfully installed your MTP driver.