text:
how to link contact with facebook, gmail etc?
I am on cm7 & HTC Desire. Old HTC Sence was linking my contacts with Facebook, Gmail etc. It gave me good suggestions what could be linked or an easy way how to link a contact item with some other kind of account. The current contact manager has a 'join' feature which I am not sure if I can use for Facebook.
Are there any advanced contact managers?

You have to go to Edit contact, then press the Menu key, then select Join. This gives you the list of suggested contacts to join. Works for me between Google contacts and Facebook on Galaxy S + CyanogenMod 7.1.

If you're only looking to have your contacts' display images synced with their Facebook avatars, I recommend you take a look at the freeware SyncMyPix - it's a little unwieldy but tends to do the job.

You can use the Join feature to merge Facebook contacts as well.

how? :-) If I select join I would expect facebook, gmail etc accounts from the same person to be in some kind of list so I can select. And that's it. Like it was in Sence. I really do not know how to do it now...

They should be suggested, but only if your phone has a clear way of matching them (exact same name, same email, etc).  You should be able to click a contact, choose Join, then find and click the contact you want to join (even when it doesn't provide the short list of possibilities).

it doesn't tell you what kind of contact it is. It might be an old already non existing email address. Or how can I link the contact with facebook?

Hmm, mine has a little icon beside each contact's name that indicates where it's from.  But I'm not on CM7, so maybe it doesn't have that.


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How does my android phone load lower quality versions of pictures on the web?
Anyone else noticed this? Even when I use my tethered connection on a computer or on the phone its self, the phone loads lower quality versions of all jpegs (I think) you look at on the web.
I guess this is to save bandwidth? But how does it do it without getting the original picture first? Which would negate any benefit of course!

Are you using the default browser or Opera?  Opera uses Opera Turbo which uses an intermediate server to compress the content.  Or maybe it's just the lower colour depth on your screen that makes them look worse.  Which phone do you have?

samsung galaxy, it happens on the native android browser and firefox on my PC (when using tethered connection).  Its definately not colour depth, the jpegs have artifacts like they are compressed :)

It could be your provider. In the netherlands, t-mobile has an option (or at least had, I don't remember seeing it lately) to scale-down images in their proxy. As all your requests can go trough their "image" proxy at a click of a button (probably something to do with your APN, most likely server side even?)...
So it might not even have anything to do with Android..

It might be, but I don't remember if it was in my case, the Web 'n' Walk Accelerator
There's some google hits on that, though most of them semi-old. On this link some tips on how to fix it with that webnwalk stuff, probably not what you are looking for, but also some hints on how to send an "always reload" message to the proxy. Maybe that helps. Otherwise you might need to google some on tmobile and proxy/accelerator.

interesting, I am actually using T-Mobile, in London

Found some links to this, added one :)

O2 used to do this with pictures on my old work Blackberry. When it was tethered to a laptop all the pictures had "click to view high quality version" as a hover text. When we changed providers to Vodafone it stopped happening (even though I didn't even change phone). So definitely something the network does.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Can only access 2.2GB of internal storage from Windows
Anyone have any thoughts about this:
It seems to me that when the phone's internal storage is mounted using the Mass Storage mode, Windows only sees the first 2.2GB of space. If I try to format it using Windows, I only get an option to create a 2.2GB FAT32 partition. If I format using the Captivate's formatting tool, it creates a 13.03GB partition. Now the fun part:
The Captivate seems to be able to read/write from the whole 13GB partition fine. However, Windows seems to be only to access the first 2GB of that 13GB partition. While I can see all the files listed, trying to read from file that were created after the first 2GB returns an error, and trying to copy additional files from windows to the internal storage once the 2GB limit is reached results in an error.
Using Kies, I was able to copy files from the internal storage that were stored past the 2GB barrier.
Anyone have any thoughts about this?

This is a known issue with various Galaxy S models after upgrading to 2.2.  I don't think anyone's found the cause, but this fix should work (did for me on my Vibrant) and is relatively simple.  Make sure to do a backup first if you want, preferably using ClockworkMOD / Nandroid, because this will wipe out everything except your external SD card.  And make sure you have good drivers installed.

Download stock 2.2 firmware, such as from this XDA post for AT&T (first link) or this XDA post for Rogers (first link, "Odin Flashable").  Do not unzip it.
Download Odin (for Windows.  If you have no access to Windows, use Heimdall and modify steps 4+ accordingly).
Download the 512 PIT file.
Put your phone into download mode:

Take out the battery.
Attach the phone to your computer via USB.
Press and hold both volume buttons.  While holding:

Insert the battery.
Click the power button.
Wait for download mode to show up (yellow triangle with an android in it).

Start Odin.
Load the firmware .zip file into the PDA field of Odin.
Load the 512 PIT file into the PIT field of Odin.
Ensure "Re-partition" is checked.
Make sure Odin shows your device connected (Yellow box with text something like "0:[COM1]").  If not, disconnect the phone from USB and immediately re-connect.
Click Start.
Wait till Odin says it's done, then disconnect your phone.  Or if Odin shows an error, reboot your phone and start from step 4 again.  (Sometimes this just happens).

Thanks Matt. Forgot to put this in my original post. I'm running the official Froyo build on a Rogers Captivate (I896), non rooted. Do I have to root my phone to be able to apply your fix above?

Nope, no rooting required.  Odin is the tool Samsung uses internally for loading software on the devices; it works even on "bricked" phones.

Just wanted to say I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, but I did call Rogers tech support, and they acknowledged that this is a known issue, and their work around at this point is to used Kies to pull data on and off. Haven't tried with an external SD card yet to see if the issue is there as well.

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


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Mystery duplicated SIM contacts
I recently noticed that while searching for contacts I see the same SIM contacts repeated more than 20 times. In the settings for contacts it says I have 5795 contacts on the SIM card but it's almost all the same contacts repeated over and over again. If I delete one of those contacts every other with the same name is also removed.
I have a HTC Desire that runs Android 2.2. I synchronize contacts with Exchange, Google and Facebook but I don't see how that would affect the contacts on the SIM.
Any thoughts on why this happens and how I can fix it?

I never actually found the underlying problem but by deleting all contacts on the SIM I at least didn't have to scroll through hundreds of duplicates anymore.

Are the contacts also duplicated in your gmail address book?
If it is just on your SIM, it might be worth going into your carrier and getting a new SIM card. It is possible that the SIM card itself is corrupted somehow.

They weren't duplicated in any other place. I "solved" the problem by deleting all my contacts on the SIM.

Really? It's not nearly a solution but only a lousy workaround.

@Jonas: Well, if the problem went away and never came back, I would call it a "solution" even if you didn't find the underlying problem. That way if someone else has the same problem and googles for it, they'll see your "workaround" and know it might help them.

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


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How to add Android StackExchange RSS feed to HTC news reader app
I've been trying to add https://android.stackexchange.com/feeds to my RSS feeds in the News application on my HTC Desire Z. However it doesn't "find" any results. I just want to add this URL as it is instead of searching for it. Isn't this possible?

I was all set to add an answer along the lines of "it's really simple, you just...", and then realised I couldn't do it either! :)  I do have this site's RSS feed in my News app, but that's because I'm subscribed in Google Reader - maybe that's a workaround for you?  Interested to see if there is a 'proper' way though.

Glad that I'm not the only one. ;-) I tried the workaround, but whenever I access the Google Reader RSS feed it says "No Stories". :-(

did you have any luck fixing it?

@Daniel Unfortunately not...

I would recommend another way of fetching RSS feeds to your cell phone:

Synchronize News Reader to your Google Account (to read news from Google Reader - it should be available there)
From your 'big' computer add this URL (http://android.stackexchange.com/feeds) to your subscription in Google Reader.
You should see news from Android.SE in your News Reader after its next sync with Google Reader.

How do I link my News Reader App with my Google account?

Ok got it, it's by default linked... that worked, thank you!!

You may have already done all this but I will detail the steps I just took to add this to my HTC Evo.  It worked so maybe there is something different I'm doing.  First off I have never used the News app before.

Opened the News app
Deleted all default feeds
Clicked "Add Feed"
Clicked "Add from URL"
Entered in the URL you have above
Clicked "Done"
Feed Appeared with 30 unread.

Then to see if maybe you had typed the URL incorrectly on your device, I entered almost the exact same URL with one letter off and I got a warning that the feed was incorrect.  So since you didn't mention this I'm guessing thats not your issue.
If none of this helped - can you add any other feeds or its just the android.stackexchange feed that isn't working?

Tried it and there's no "Add from URL" button on my phone. After I click "Add Feed" there's a button "Search further" (in German) and then it says "Enter key word or feed URL for search". I did successfully add other URLs, but I think it only worked because they were found in the Google feed directory(?).

@werner5471 I wonder can you add other Stack Exchange sites? If so maybe when we are out of beta it will work.  I find it odd though that it would work on my HTC but not yours. Just a thought.

@werner5471 Not that I would expect it to change anything but have you tried this since we left beta?

I found a workaround for adding own URLs now, however it still doesn't work with Android Stackexchange. I opened the Android Stackexchange main page in the HTC's browser, then pushed the RSS button in the URL bar. Usually I can then add the given feed URL. However for Android Stackexchange it says "Wrong URL-format:/feeds" (in German).

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


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Best codec to use for RockPlayer?
What is the best codec should I use in convertion a movie from huge HD/BRay for watching it on Android's RockPlayer?
Also what are the optimal properties should I specify for better performance+quality? (bits-per-second, resolution, audio quality, etc...)

"Best" is rather subjective.

You will get the best results using the built-in media player/decoder (called "system player" in RockPlayer, iirc) because it supports hardware decoding. For a list of supported containers and codecs see here: http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html
I would recommend H264/AAC inside a MP4 container, like the website recommends, but with your device's native resolution (and a higher video bitrate, if necessary).
Though RockPlayer's ffmpeg decoder is able to play almost every media codec, the results will be quite poor (only software decoding).


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Delete APN on LG-P500
The LG-P500 does not allow to delete/disable MMS APN. The problem is that if I define my own APN, the original one, which cannot be deleted, is still used by messaging application...
Anybody knows how I can put there my own APN instead of the operator defined one?
BR
STeN

Did you try adding the messaging settings to the APN you created? You can add both webs as mms settings and then select that APN.


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State of VLC for Android / Media Player that plays AVI files
Does anyone know where the VLC developers are up to with VLC for Android. Is there a beta out, an APK somewhere?
I'm trying to play an AVI on my HTC Legend, to no avail. If VLC is not ready, does anyone know a media player which will play AVIs (is there more than one codec for AVI types?).
Thanks very much.

Rockplayer has decoders built-in and can play divX files. AVI files are containers - you should also find out what codec has been used for the video. Use a utility like GSpot Codec Information Appliance on your PC to check.
There's also yxPlayer but not too many satisfied users from what I hear although YMMV.

Thought that could be the case with the AVI file. Rockplayer worked a treat though. Thanks

I know this question has been answered already but if someone else comes looking for Android video players here is an article on MakeUseOf that lists 8 of the "best" video players for Android:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-mobile-video-players-android-phone/

Look for applications that use ffmpeg. It is something like an alternative set of codecs, and it handles quite a lot formats.
If I recall correctly, I used VitalPlayer once to play a Matroska file -- something which is not normally possible to do on my phone.
But it seems there are more programs that use this library.

There's been a beta for VLC out for a while. You can find out about it on the main Videolan site or on their Google Play site.
I'm not sure of how it will play on your Legend, though.

Have you tried Arcmedia? Maybe that will work.


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How can I tell the differences between a 3G, 3G LTE, and 4G phone?
I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask, but it looks like the Gadget StackExchange has been closed.
I've been doing research on mobile phones and looking at different Android devices and I'm a bit confused. Often times, the device advertises 'Speeds up to X Mbps', and lists the available networks (e.g. GSM, HSPA/WCDMA). However, as 3G LTE and 4G standards have been developing, phones are being released that are capable of even greater speeds.
How can I tell if a mobile is 3G LTE or 4G? Can a 3G LTE phone upgrade to 4G? (And for that matter, is there any difference between WiMAX and 4G at this point?)
Thanks!

First, WiMax and 4G are completely separate.  WiMax already has real-world implementation, whereas 4G does not; 4G is still in development.
Second, 3G LTE is also completely separate from 4G.  LTE also has real-world implementation.
A 3G LTE phone can only operate at 4G speeds if it has hardware capable of it.  The manufacturer will undoubtedly advertise this, so it shouldn't be hard to find out.  I know of no current phones that can do true 4G, which makes sense given that 4G doesn't really exist yet.  The same applies for "regular" 3G phones working at LTE speeds.  The Samsung Vibrant, for example, works on T-Mobile's "fake 4G" network with slightly improved speeds, but does not take full advantage of it.  The Vibrant 4G, however, does take full advantage of the higher speeds.
Currently, cell providers in the US and elsewhere are referring to various 3G technologies including LTE, HSPA+, etc. as "4G" when they are not actually 4G.  Examples of 4G networks in development are  LTE Advanced (based on 3G LTE) and WirelessMAN-Advanced (based on WiMax).
Speed requirements for 4G service set the peak download speed at 100 Mbit/s for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 Gbit/s for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).  3G LTE and WiMax do not meet these speed requirements.
The Wikipedia page on 4G is quite informative.

I think a 3G LTE phone might be able to use LTE Advanced. My understanding of LTE Advanced is that it's intended to be a software upgradeable expansion to the 3G LTE network (see here). It's possible you might not get full 4G speeds, but LTE Advanced is designed to be backwards compatible with 3G LTE. Not positive, though.

@eldarerathis That was what I intended to say.  Most of these new technogolies are intercompatible with their previous versions, but as you say that only means that the phone will work on the new network, not that it will work at full speed.

I was just about to comment on your answer - re-read it - then realized it was perfect :).


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Using OR logic in contexts for Tasker
Let's say I want to create a context where the SSID of a WiFi connection is either 'ABC' or 'XYZ'.
I can see where I am able to create 2 contexts, but it seems to enforce AND logic between the two, so in order words I must be in proximity to both 'ABC' and 'XYZ'.
How to make the context to be either, not both?

Specify SSID in the WiFi Connected context to be ABC/XYZ
This will activate the context if you connect to ABC or XYZ,
Reference: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/userguide/en/matching.html

solves this particular problem, but not what the question actually asked

Or probably you can use "Inverted" conditions to do an opposite task?, e.g.
If you want to run a task when WiFi is connected OR when the profile:A is inactive, you can instead setup contexts for "WiFi is disconnected" AND "Profile: A is active" both with "inverted" checkbox selected, and setup a task that does the opposite, if that is possible.
This basically works because of:
(A OR B) = NOT((NOT A) AND (NOT B))

This answer nice because it's more general. That is, it works with context types other than "Wifi Connected". For example, I wanted to create a profile to put my phone in silent mode whenever it's either docked or connected to my Pebble watch. The easiest way to do this was to make a "not connected to Pebble and not docked" profile that disables silent mode on enter, and enables silent mode on exit. DeMorgan's Laws FTW.

just posting my solution to this problem if anybody ever comes here:
create a profile for each condition in the or statement
on enter %Reasons += 1
on exit %Reasons -=1
create a profile with condition %Reasons>0 and the required enter and exit tasks
cheers!

You could make your action depend on a variable "%condition=true" and then make two different profiles:

profile a: set condition to "true"
profile b: set condition to "true"

your profile: if variable "condition"=true then ... and there goes your exit task
But would be nice if the authors would enhance tasker for that... :)

This method causes problems when the condition may be set true or false by both profile a and b at the same time.  For example, I wanted to turn bluetooth on when in a call or in Contacts app.  I set %BluetoothNeeded=1 in either case and clear when either case exits.  While I'm in a call the Contacts app becomes background and usually gets suspended to save memory, which clears %BluetoothNeeded so bluetooth turns off, cutting my bluetooth headset during the call.

You will need to make a single profile for each context and pair it to the action individually.

Hm, this means I won't really be able to have an exit task?

To support my bluetooth headset, my desire was to turn bluetooth on when I'm in the Contacts app OR in a call.  I could do it only while in a call but then I can't make sure my headset is connected before the other party picks up.
None of the solutions already posted would work.  Setting %BluetoothNeeded on when in Contacts or in call means that when a call starts, it sets %BlueToothNeeded on but then when Contacts becomes background to being in call, it sets %BlueToothNeeded off and bluetooth turns off.  Using the inverse operation, turn bluetooth off when NOT in Contacts AND NOT in call but turn bluetooth on as an exit task almost works, but apparently Tasker notices the brief period when Contacts loses foreground status and the call hasn't started yet and turns bluetooth off.
So here's what worked for me, based on this blog:

Create a Task called Dummy with an Action of Tasks > Wait > 1ms
Create a Profile called stateInCall with a condition of State > Phone > Call > Type: Any.  Link it to the Dummy task.
Create a Profile called stateInContacts with a condition of State > Application > Contacts.  Link it to the Dummy task.
Create a Profile called Bluetooth Needed with a condition of State > Variable > Variable Value.  Set Name to %PACTIVE, Op to Matches, and Value to *,stateInCall,*|*,stateInContacts,*.  According to the Tasker docs, %PACTIVE contains a comma-separated list of active Profiles where the list also begins and ends with a comma to make matching easier.  Link this Profile to a Task called Bluetooth On that turns bluetooth on using the Net > Bluetooth > Set: On Action.
Create a Task called Conditional Bluetooth Off with the following Actions:

Task > Wait > 10 seconds
Task > If > %PACTIVE doesn't match *,stateInCall,*|*,stateInContacts,*
Net > Bluetooth > Set: Off
Task > End If

Long press on the Bluetooth Needed Profile then choose Properties.  Uncheck Restore Settings.
Quick press the Bluetooth Needed Profile till the Bluetooth On Task appears below it, in the right column.  Long press Bluetooth On and choose Add Exit Task, then choose Conditional Bluetooth Off.

Conditional Bluetooth Off will wait 10 seconds before double checking that neither stateInCall nor stateInContacts are true, at which point it will turn bluetooth off.  Otherwise, it leaves bluetooth on and when both stateInCall and stateInContacts exit later, it will do its 10 second wait and check again.


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Wi-Fi tethering with HTC Magic
Will Wi-Fi tethering work in HTC Magic running Android 2.2?
I wonder also, is the 2.2 update for htc magic a official update or one of these custom ROMs?

Yes, you can do Wi-Fi tethering with the HTC Magic.  However, it might require a custom ROM.
All versions of the HTC Magic except for the Dream/G1 have gotten an official 2.2 update, as far as I am aware.  This includes the T-Mobile myTouch 3G and the Vodafone Magic.

Not all versions. I have a Google Ion phone (htc magic 32B) whose only available versions were Android 1.5 and 1.6 I think I will never buy again a "developer phone".


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Do I need an SD card to add apps to an Advent Amico Android Tablet?
The Advent Amico Android Tablet PC arrives without an SD card, and has 487Mb of internal ROM available.  Plenty for a few apps surely?
There is no Android marketplace or alternative marketplace app visible on the tablet to get new apps from.  The nearest thing is PK Manager.  That offers an option to install apks from a micro SD card.  It doesn't offer an option to install from internal ROM.
I can upload files to a limited area of the internal ROM using USB, with USB set for mass storage, using either Windows file explorer or 'Amico Transfer Companion'.  So far this doesn't appear to be very useful as besides not being able to install from this limited area, none of the pre-installed apps see the files I put there, even when configured to use internal ROM!  Putting apks in the top level of this directory does not install them.
I don't seem to be able to use the tablet for app development either, without an HD card.  I'd need to use the USB in ADB mode, (and on Win 7) I need a USB driver which does not appear to be available.  The support site, [http://support.thetechguys.com/amico][1] doesn't have any support and just says 'coming soon'.
So without an SD card is there no way to add new apps?  Is there some setting or method to do this that I'm overlooking?
EDIT:
I've now found that the USB uploaded files not appearing when viewed from the tablet was down to me looking for them with USB still connected.  Once the tablet is free floating again, not USB'ed to the PC, the tablet can see the files.

You could try emailing them to yourself or downloading them from somewhere (Dropbox public link or a web host of some sort). On most (if not all?) devices you can just launch an .apk after it's been downloaded and it will open with the application installer.
You'd most likely also need to allow "Unknown Sources" for this to work, which should be found in the settings menu under Settings->Applications->Unknown sources.

Thanks.  Unknown Sources was enabled.  Once I'd disconnected the USB the uploaded .apk file became visible.  PK Manager only offered install from SD, but using IFileManager instead and looking under 'LocalDisk' clicking on the .apk installed it.  Problem solved.


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How can I unroot OG Droid Gingerbread to latest stock firmware
I want to unroot my Motorola Droid from CyanogenMod 7 RC (Gingerbread 2.3.3) to the latest version of stock Froyo.
I've been told there's some complications that can happen because of the new file system used (ext4 instead of yaffs).
Are there any instructions on the internet on how to do this? Reading all these unroot instructions are confusing. So many different ways and some don't seem to work.

I was going to post a complete answer, but this XDA thread has everything I was going to say and it would take me too long to reproduce it :P.  This post is basically a shortened version of the other, if you prefer that, but it seems you'd prefer more detail.

I essentially downloaded RSD Lite 4.9 and downloaded/flashed an SBF file from http://www.peteralfonso.com/p/downloads.html I had to use FRG22D not the latest since those are debug builds. After that my phone works fine.


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Sites to search android devices based on features?

Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find a comparison of Android devices?

I've been doing research on various android devices, but I am having a hard time finding a good site to search devices based on features.
What are some good sites to search for android phones based on features? Thus far, I know of DroidThing.com, but it seems out of date.


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What is the difference between odexed and deodexed ROMs?
What is the difference between odexed and deodexed ROMs? Which is the standard (stock) ROMs that ship use?

A .dex file is basically a compiled bytecode version of an app that has been built for the Dalvik VM which Android's apps run on. I believe it is short for Dalvik Executable, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering that correctly.
An .odex file is an Optimized .dex file (hence the 'o'), meaning that it has basically been pre-compiled for a specific platform. The advantage to this is that startup time is much faster since the VM doesn't have to perform any optimizing at startup/runtime. The disadvantages are 1) That it takes up some extra space and 2) An odexed app won't run properly if it's put onto another device, and it must have the associated .odex file to run at all.
ROMs are typically released in deodexed form because they can be themed and modified fairly easily, whereas theming/modifying an odexed ROM is basically impossible (at best things would crash like crazy). Some people also choose to release their ROMs in odexed versions for people who would prefer the performance gains.
Most of the stock ROMs I've seen are odexed, I assume because the carriers/manufacturers want the performance boost. They also don't have any kind of official theming methods, so they probably don't care if you can't change the colors of your status icons or your system text or whatnot. Plus they have the advantage of knowing what device they want their system to run on, so they can pre-compile the .odex files very easily, I imagine. As an added bonus, it makes it difficult to pull .apk files off of the device and share them with people.
Edit: Since I just realized that I was not very explicit about the difference here - an "odexed" ROM is one where the apps have been precompiled, and thus contain associated .odex files which are external to the .apk files. A "deodexed" ROM is one where data that would be optimized in the .odex files has been more or less merged back into the .apk files (meaning it is not optimized but basically platform agnostic), thus the .apk files are self-contained and there are no .odex files. This is usually just done with a deodexing utility, such as smali/baksmali.

The last edit, making things more explicit was very useful. +1

I personally wanted to know the answer to this a little while ago.  Here is what I came up with:
Odexed and Deodexed
A standard ROM is supposed to be odexed for release which provides smoother and faster loading of apps into memory.  Each .apk has a corresponding .odex.  When the application is used by either the system or the user, the .odex is used to start loading the app.  A ROM that is deodexed has only the .apk file.  When the application is called into memory from only pulling the data from it’s .apk, this takes longer due to not being optimized for easier retrieval from the system.
Common questions that I get asked way too often are:

Why do custom ROM’s deodexed?
Should I use a odexed or a deodexed ROM?

To answer these questions it comes down to one word, themability.  If you talk to anyone that themes ROM’s they will tell you that it’s extremely easier to theme a deodexed ROM.  Since we started using deodexed ROM’s, themers could now create themes to apply to a ROM rather than the tedious option to theme the ROM itself (release a custom ROM for a theme).  If you use a odexed ROM and try to apply themes, it will not work or only theme some visual aspects, which will give you a terrible user interface to experience.
Deodex Cons
I bet you are now wondering why… why is there even an option to download a custom ROM that is odexed?  The answer to that is speed.  Remember how I said that odexed files are optimized for easier retrieval?  Simply put… it’s optimized (like indexing a data table) so the system can open the .apk faster.
Deodex and zipalign
Everyone wanted the best of both worlds so quickly after the deodexed trend started to peak, these savvy ROM developers came up with a solution to zipalign at boot.  This optimizes each .apk on every reboot which then allows the system to access applications more efficiently and most importantly, faster.  Of course, the disadvantage is slightly slower boot times.
Summary
If you have a choice to download the custom ROM odexed or deodexed, I would just go with the deodex ROM.  You never know when you would want to try out a theme or do some modifications yourself and it’s nice to have easy options rather than flashing a whole new ROM.  With newer devices you may not even see a noticeable difference to zipalign on boot.  If your device is pretty slow and outdated, well then I would suggest to think about this a little harder.  I would bet some of you would prefer to get a nice minimal optimized (odexed) ROM for better performance and speed over customizing the user interface.
If you're new the subject you can find some common terms located on my original write-up here: http://codeversed.com/deodexed-vs-odexed-rom
Otherwise, the above shows you everything you need to know.  If I missed anything, please let me know :)

A .dex (dalvik executable) file is basically similar to Windows' .exe files (except in Dalvik VM's language, instead of compiled code). Basically, .odex (optimized dalvik executable) and deodex (de-optimized dalvik executable) relates to how resource files are handled in the applications. The .odex is a .dex file that have been optimized by the dexopt program: http://www.netmite.com/android/mydroid/dalvik/docs/dexopt.html
Advantage

odex is faster
it makes themeing easier

Disadvantage

deodex is slower on first startup
the .odex files makes theming harder

"Deodex" does not mean de-optimized .dex, it means to remove the .odex files (de-add the .odex files, in essence).  eldarerathis has it right.

Thanks for giving the critical piece of information of odexing being about resources! That said: The exe comparison is not great.


text:
Is it possible to run a screensaver on an Android device?
I want to run a screen saver when my phone is in sleep mode. Currently, if my phone says idle for a bit it fades to a black screen. Instead I want to display some images as screen saver. Is this possible?

This would be a great way to rapidly discharge your battery.  Do you want to be charging it all day?

"Screen saver" would be a real misnomer in this case.

I want to run a screen saver when phone is in sleep mode.

When the phone is in sleep mode, the screen is off.

When we stay idle some time a black screen comes.

This is built into Android.

At that time I want to display some images as screen saver.

I repeat, when the phone is in sleep mode, the screen is off.

Is this possible?

You cannot have the screen on and the device in sleep mode.

ICS (Android 4.0) includes the capability for "Screen Candy" that is special screens or animations that only present themselves when the phone is idle and plugged in or docked.  By default, this is a hidden (disabled in most stock roms, I'd wager) feature called "Android Dreams" but enabled in most custom roms (such as AOKP or Codename Android).
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/11/30/another-ics-easter-egg-weird-star-wars-like-light-speed-launcher-found-hidden-in-the-depths-of-ice-cream-sandwich/

A Screen Saver is meant to prevent image burn in on your monitors for when you leave the screen on for too long. Since Android phones automatically turn screens off after a certain (set) duration of non-use, then there is no need for a screen saver. (Tangent: there really isn't a need for screen saver on desktop monitors either, it's better power conservation wise to just let them automatically turn off after X period of time of non-use.)
But here is where Live Wallpapers come in play.  They give you something like a Screen Saver (oh! pretty animations/graphics!), but they are only in use when you are staring at your phone's home screen.  They still consume more battery than a static wallpaper, but some people prefer their phone to "look cool" than to save power. :)

Refer to Brandorf, "Screen Candy" is now officially named as "Daydream".
When Daydream is on, your tablet displays photos, colors, and more while it is charging or docked.
[Set up Daydream] : http://support.google.com/nexus/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2818748
Caution: Only for Android 4.2 and higher.

Look at your battery usage charts and you'll probably find that your display uses more of your battery than all other types of consumption by your phone combined.
Is this just for aesthetic purposes?  I think this would get annoying pretty fast unless you only keep your phone tethered, in which case, get a desktop :)


text:
Local Apache from Android via Connectify
I have the Apache web server running on my PC. I want to view pages on this server from my Android device which is connected to my PC via Connectify.
I believe this is possible because there's an Android app I'm using called Unified Remote and with this program I can manage the computer remotely. So this proves data communication between the PC and the Android device via Connectify is working.
This app connects to the PC using the IP address 192.168.2.1. When I try the same IP address from the Android browser, it gets stuck at loading for a really long time with no response.
How do I fix this problem?
By the way, I'm using Android 2.2 (it's CyanogenMod 6, but I believe the browser is stuck).
I stopped Apache and installed another webserver called Abyss Web Server and now it works. So the problem IS Apache-specific. Which settings of Apache can prevent my Android device working over this network?

Do you have any other machines on your network? Can you connect to your Apache server from any of them? Have you checked the firewall settings on your PC, port 80 is normally blocked by default.

I think this could  be a problem with your Apache configuration. Maybe the server isn't listening on the correct address? Check that the server is set to listen to all relevant IPs or all of them with a wildcard if necessary.

The related configuration is already Listen 80 so i think it already accepts requests from all IPs over port 80.

If Connectify uses a virtual network adapter, is it always present with a valid IP or is it created when you start the hotspot? If it's the latter, try restarting Apache after Connectify is connected, so that Apache detects the new IP and listens to it. You can see the ports your pc listens by running netstat -an

Best thing to do would be to check your Apache logs and see if you are indeed getting a HTTP request from your phone. If you seeing entries as requests from the phone then it could be an issue with the Apache setup. If you aren't getting any log entries then most likely the issue is from the device's side.

i checked the apache logs like you advised, and there's no sign of an android device, just my desktop browser. So, if the issue is from device's side what can it be?

@keune If you would like to troubleshoot Android connectivity to the Apache specifically I would recommend to start Apache in the forground with this command: httpd -f <path to config file> and make sure it is listening the correct configuration file is selected. Test Apache from another machine on the same network, then if that works, in theory, it should work from your android device. You could also try different browsers on the Android (Dolphin for example).


text:
Different volume level for new email notification and new SMS notification?
I have lots of emails coming in all day. For this reason, my notification sounds level is low. But I need to be alarmed when I have a new SMS. Currently I don't always notice new SMS messages because they, too, have low volume level.
How would it be possible to have a different volume level for new email notification and new SMS notification?

One simple method would be to use a custom ringtone for SMS where the audio itself is louder.  You coould use a loud audio clip or edit one to be louder.

How would I extract existing notification sounds from Android to modify them in wave editor? I tried using USB connection to a computer but did't find Bubble, Rattlesnake etc in any of the folders.

That's probably a good candidate for a separate question.  I've never done it myself.

SMS Popup lets you set custom notification sounds, volumes, vibrates, LED flash and icon for popups, separately from the system notification settings.
Well worth installing, it's the first app I put on my phones, and  the first I recommend to others, really fixes a hole in the Android notifications.

Can't see volume adjustments in SMS Popup.

All of the more popular SMS replacement apps on Android - Handcent SMS, ChompSMS and GoSMS offer the ability to have custom ringtones. They also have customizable vibration patterns and you can also use custom notification icon colours and tones for a particular contact's SMS.
To adjust volume, however,  @Matthew's suggestion of different volume levels on ringtones is the easiest way to handle things.


text:
Substitute Win7 USB drivers for ADB mode
Under Mac OSX there is no need for a USB driver for ADB mode.  Under windows, apparently, there is.
I'd like to be able to adb shell to my android tablet from my Win7 PC.
This table gives a list of where to get USB drivers for Windows for different OEMs.  My Android Advent Amico tablet's manufacturer isn't listed in the list.  Is there a list of what can substitute for what somewhere?  How, in general, can one determine which one(s) would be best to try?
EDIT:
The tablet came with a utility called 'Advent Transfer Companion' for use in mass storage mode.  I've uploaded and installed that from the tablet, but it appears to be no more than a pretty way to write files to the tablet from PC - i.e. mass storage mode only, and no USB driver installed.

Did your tablet come with any PC software of its own (like for syncing, etc)? Usually that will include a USB driver & should be enough...

This says you should be able to use the "google drivers" after some minor tweaking. If your device came with any software for your PC, it will have the "official" drivers though, and I recommend using them.

You must have Android SDK installed before you can proceed. If
  you don’t have it already, proceed to
  our guide on what is ADB and how to
  install it. Make sure you download the
  Google USB Driver Package as well.
Open the google-usb_driver folder that you will find inside your Android
  SDK folder.
Open the android_winusb.inf file in notepad or any text editor to edit
  it.
Add these lines under [Google.NTx86] or [Google.NTamd64]
  depending on whether you are using 32
  bit or 64 bit Windows. If unsure, it
  is safe to add these under both these
  sections.

;NVIDIA Tegra
    %SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0955&PID_7000
    %CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0955&PID_7100&MI_01

Don’t edit or replace any other
  text that is already there; just add
  these new lines and save the file.

Open a command prompt window and enter this command:

echo 0x955 >> "%USERPROFILE%.android\adb_usb.ini"

You will also have to enable USB Debugging in Settings -> Applications -> Development.
edit I would try this first:
This site has the "official" drivers for the tablet. You will still have to enable USB debugging, as I mentioned above.

It's an Advent Amico.  Those 'official' drivers are for Advent Vega.  Whether or not that is the issue, they don't install.  Windows says "windows could not find driver software for your device", even though I point it at that (unpacked using 7-zip) folder.


text:
Can I use ADB without connecting over USB?
Is there a way to use adb directly via bluetooth instead of always via usb?
--
Thanks for the adb wireless solutions below, but I am looking for something that works well on hotel or public wifi. Bluetooth short-range might be the only way to go about it.

I rewrote this so as not to be a development question (off-topic).

Personally, I use ADBWireless with my G1 on CM5 because I had problems with the USB driver working correctly between my computer and my G1.  However, I had problems with this app in CM4 (to test against Android 1.6) on my G1.
Note, however, that it connect to the device via ADB via wifi, not Bluetooth.
You'll pull up a command line on your computer and type adb connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5555 (x's being your ip address of the phone over wifi). You'll have to run this in the platform-tools directory of your Android SDK, or you need to add your Android SDK platform-tools directory to your global PATH variable so you can run adb from anywhere.
Your phone will show up as its ip_address:port_number in the list of devices to push your application to, just as if it was plugged in directly via usb.

AFAIK, debugging over WiFi is not secure, because Android device doesn't authenticate host, so anyone can break into WiFi network and mess with your phone.

Non-Rooted Solution:

Enable USB-debugging in the developer setting and connect your phone to your computer via USB.
Run the adb command, adb tcpip 5555 (Make sure port 5555 is not blocked by any firewall programs)
To get your Wi-Fi IP address assigned to your device,
adb shell and then netcfg and run the adb command adb connect <IP_ADDRESS>.
For example, adb connect 192.168.1.133
Now you can disconnect the usb cable and run adb shell, adb install, or adb push commands via your Wi-Fi.
Inorder to switch back to USB mode and disable the Wireless mode, run the following adb command.
adb usb
You can also simply reboot your phone to switch back to the USB mode.

Rooted Solution:

Install WiFi ADB and run adb commands wirelessly if your phone is rooted.
This app requires Developer tools enabled and no need to use USB cable if you are rooted.

AFAIK, debugging over WiFi is not secure, because Android device doesn't authenticate host, so anyone can break into WiFi network and mess with your phone.

@SargeBorsch Check out this workaround if you are concerned about connecting you device and debugging via WiFi. http://stackoverflow.com/a/19485468/1793718

How do I connect my Android TV to my computer via USB? They have both female USB-A ports ;)

2020 Update: Android 11 enabled built in Wireless Debugging.
Here's the official announcement on the feature, and here's a handy guide on how to connect ADB without cables, without root.

I'm using Easy Remote and it works well on Android 2.3.7. You can find downloads and information on its website.

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


text:
How does su regulate app permissions?
I seen a lot of apps in the market that give superuser functionality to applications. However there is a pre-requisite of rooting your phone. I am curious how a rooted phone has those permissions already?
I've downloaded the source code and have managed to locate the su.c file that might invoke an application to change. But im still not sure. Can anyone give an insight on this?
Which actual files delegate permissions? Are all system apps given root permissions at startup?

setuid doesn't work on Android since version 4.3. So a privileged daemon is run on boot: How Magisk works?

Once upon a time, there is a walled city with a large, closed gate bound by magical lock that can only be opened with a magical sword. According to the cityfolk's traditions, anyone who brings the magic sword and unlocked the magical gate is destined to be the lord of the city.
One day, a young hero comes to the city, bringing with him the magical sword he took from the root of the Yggdrasil tree. He tapped the sword lightly on the door, and immediately the magical gate unlocked itself and peered open. The cityfolks cheered, and as per their tradition, they anointed the young hero as the city's lord.
As a city lord, there are many tasks he had to do, one of which is to ensure the security of his people, especially now that the gate is open and bandits and thieves may attempt to enter the city and rob the cityfolks' of their belongings.
To ensure the peaceful days of the cityfolks, the wise lord hired a trusted SU manager to guard the gate; dutifully, the SU manager enters the city, and he closed the gate behind him, and he put a lock that only he can open, then he creates a big door knob for strangers to knock the gate, a small hole on the door where he can peek outside and look at the strangers, then asks the city's lord whether or not to allow strangers in.
In eternity, the wise lord ruled the city for a long time and the cityfolks lives happily ever after.

This is great (no downvote), but a little too obtuse (no upvote).

I lol'ed at this

a good story with a happy ending.

@MatthewRead I'm pretty sure that is literally how it works; Android is actually made of little people. ;)

Which actual files delegate
  permissions?

There is typically a "superuser" application that is included in rooting processes.  This application is the gatekeeper/controller of which applications get root access.  Any time an application asks for root access, this application will pop up and ask you to either approve or deny the request.

Are all system apps given
  root permissions at startup?

As far as I know, everything must go through the "superuser" app.

Unless they exploit some other exploit to get root.  This, hopefully, is not a large threat to most users.

I've been hunting for an answer for this myself, and information has been really elusive. But between other answers and questions here, and reading the Superuser blog, I think I've been able to piece together how it works.
In a standard *Nix system, su checks if the user is authorized to become root (on some systems, everyone is; on others, they have to be a member of group wheel or something), prompts for the root password, and then grants root access.
On a rooted Android, what seems to be happening is that Superuser comes with a custom version of su that figures out what app invoked it, then checks the Superuser access database for whether or not that app is permitted to become root. If it is, then it makes the jump to root. If not, it spawns the authorization UI.

A developer has to call su within the application. once it calls that, and the user has granted permission to use su, then they run commands in the shell that has root permissions.
In a way, system apps have "special" permissions but not root like an app would get by calling su. They have the permissions that android grants system applications.

Unix based system have a special permission type called setuid which allows a file to be run by a non root user as if he is the root user.
In our particular case, su has the setuid permission and so it is being run as the root user.
Once invoked the su binary checks (with the SuperUser app) to see if it should grant the request for root to the requesting app, if the request is approved then it opens a shell as root, (which su can do since it itself runs as root because of the setuid permission that it has).

setuid doesn't work on Android since version 4.3: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/217949/218526.


text:
Is there a way to copy files directly between two Android devices on the same wifi network?
I now have a Samsung Galaxy S Android phone running Froyo 2.2.1 and an Archos 101 Android tablet - also running Froyo.
Both are 'connected' to the same home network via wifi.
Is there a method by which I can copy files directly between the two devices using Wifi?
Bluetooth is also an option, but since I want to copy a lot of thumbnail images, I think this is too slow.

UPDATE
The solution I choose:
I managed to copy files using the ftp protocal , using swiFTP as ftp server on my Archos table, and using Ghost Commander on my Samsung phone.
If you want to try something similar: you might look at my comments to the accepted answer on my other question: question about a 550 error I received during my initial ftp testing in order to see what I had to do to make it running.

Now a days, in 2018, you can also use NFC.

There seems to be multiple options available. With a relevant internet search there is an application called Bump which shares files by simply bumping both devices together. I'm not sure if it does it over wifi if available or only does it over 3G.
There is another option where you can set up an ftp server on the device using an application called SwiFTP which is not being maintained anymore but the last update was June 2010. You can install this on one device and use ES File Explorer on the other device to compress and upload the file it using the FTP option.
A third option would be use Hoccer which probably uses their service as dropbox does, though I can't be 100% sure.
I'd personally recommend the ftp solution since that seems the most straight forward and you get to ensure that you have a direct connection.

I managed to install swiFTP on my Archos table, and using Droid commander on my phone, managed to copy files over and from. Thanks for the suggestion and pointing me to swiFTP.

I would suggest using DropBox.  The interface let's you upload or download files on an Android device.  Additionally you can manage the files from any computer with DropBox installed on it.  I've been a big fan of using DropBox on my Droid 1 :)

great suggestion, but wouldnt this be slower than bluetooth because it has to upload to dropbox first and then to the other android device? as far as im aware the LAN speed bonus only works with other PCs on the network.

Dropbox has a "LAN sync" feature but I don't know if the Android client uses it.

Ever tried to upload hundreds of small images using DropBox ? And even than, I want to 'drop' them into the same folder on the other device. At the moment I zipped the files, uploaded them to Dropbox ( since the file was 20 mb , this took some time ) and have to download them onto the other device. I just think there should be a better and easier way to do this kind of stuff ( e.g. like an ftp program under Windows ).

Edelcom, there is a Samba app that may work (as in i havent tried between phones, only between phone and pc) https://market.android.com/details?id=com.funkyfresh.samba

@jayrox true, it would have to "go to the cloud" first. @edelcom good point, I didn't realize you were doing so many files at once.  You could setup an ftp server on one device and then a ftp client on the other?

How about good old FTP?
There are a lot of ftp clients (some filemanagers support it, too) and also some server apps (e.g. SwiFTP).

WiFi Direct is supposed to allow device to device communication. It is a new standard that should be showing up on wifi device soon (not sure when manufacturers will be supporting this). Here is a list of devices that have been certified, not all phones. My guess is that when an app is released that takes advantage of this, there will be news on Engadget or some other place.

Thanks for the info, but it's not the connection a such which was the problem - both devices are connected to a home or business wi-fi netwerk. It was the program I could use to transfer the files ( as you can see in my edited question ).

ES file explorer. This app lets you send any size file over bluetooth, wifi(hotspot or local wifi) etc. Very easy to use, just connect both to same wifi hotspot, select the files to send
(OTHER PERSON(s) MUST HAVE ES FILE EXPLORER OPEN)
and press send, or share (the device share menu) and then select via LAN with the ES icon.
You can send file to multiple people at once

In 2021 you can do this from Google's "Files" app directly. It has simple "send" and "receive" buttons and sets up peer-to-peer WiFi temporarily and securely with zero configuration hassle.

Brilliant app this - Sharable. All others require internet and data costs - including Bump. Also there is no way you could transfer huge files (full length videos or high quality clips) via other apps. Cross Platform support is amazing. Android, ioS, Mac and PC all supported. Pretty fast as well.

You have posted the same answer in different questions. Are you affiliated with Shareable? Please note that you have to disclose any affiliation with the mentioned App as per our FAQ.


text:
Is there an easier way to update Swype?
I currently have the Swype beta installed on my EVO - not the pre-installed one that comes with the newer updates, the actual beta from their site. I noticed yesterday that if I launch the Swype Installer it will check for updates to itself, then download and install the new version for me. This is nice, since it is not distributed in the Market.
However, I can't seem to find the same functionality in Swype itself. The Installer doesn't check for updates to the actual keyboard, and it just greets me with the "Congrats! Swype is installed!" screen after launch (even after updating). The only way I can figure out to update Swype at this point is to:

Find out if there's a new version somehow (Google, Swype's website, etc)
Uninstall Swype
Reinstall Swype

Is there an easier way to do this? It seems odd that they have no update feature built in since they deliberately chose to distribute Swype outside of the Market, but if such a feature does exist I have no idea where it is.

The latest version of Swype beta (or at least the version before the most recent version) is a bit more self-sustained.
All I had to do when I updated was to go to the Swype installer app.  It had an update for itself.  After updating, it then presented an option for me to update Swype and stepped me through the process, including disabling, updating, and then re-enabling Swype.
Now the old way of updating Swyped used to be you had to uninstall the current version and it's installer, then re-install the installer, then re-install Swype.  It seems as if they have improved on this former method (that often had me raging because it wouldn't generate the license file correctly).

Hm, maybe mine will start doing this correctly now that I have the most recent version of both Swype and the installer. I was going from 2.17.xx to 2.29.xx. Thanks!


text:
How do I delete a file from my Xoom?
I downloaded a drawing app for my Xoom and it saves the pictures to the local device (called "SD Card" even though it is internal space).
How do I delete those files?  I can find them to attach to email, but they don't appear in my list of "downloads".
Do I need to get another app?  Is there nothing that comes with the Xoom that lets me manage those files?

You'll need a file manager, and just browse to the same path that you do when you attach to email.
If the Xoom doesn't have a file manager, I recommend Root Explorer.  If you don't have root you can try another, like Astro File Manager.

Matthew recommended some good apps (+1) and I wanted to also recommend ES File Explorer.  If any of the ones already mentioned don't work here is a search of the file explorer apps in the Android Market.  Once you find one you can install it straight from the market page.


text:
Disabled and need help answering HTC EVO shift with 2.2
I am a disabled guy in a wheelchair with an HTC EVO shift. I need help answering my phone without using my hands. My Motorola phones always had auto answering options but I need that for this super duper fancy expensive phone I just received. There must be more people out there that need the same thing!

I thought this was totally possible but for the life of me can't find anything that says it is.  I was sure I had seen that option somewhere but going through the settings on my EVO 4G (similar to the Shift) I can't find anything that says auto answer.  Same thing when I searching around online.
So it appears that there is no built-in way to set Auto-Answer
However, there are a few apps in the market which claim to provide this functionality (this is by no means all of them, just three from the first page of results):

AutoAnswer
NACM
Advanced Telephone

If you don't want to go the app route I also found these Blue Ant Bluethooth Headsets which supposedly allow you to answer the call by actually saying the word "answer".  This may be a better option than to always answering a call instead you can tell the headset when to answer or not.
Hope this helps

This phone runs an operating system called Android, and many features can be added by using external applications.
There´s one app calld AutoAnswer, that is very complete and free.
Here is the info about it:
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-everysoft-autoanswer-ApiA.aspx


text:
Easily tabbing to previous or next field
I'm new to the Android UI and I'm looking to see if there's something similar to iPhone's 'next' and 'previous' buttons you see when filling out a form. Currently I have to hit close keyboard then tap on the next field. I tested this in both an app and in the web browser.
Android version 2.1 on HTC Hero.

Some keyboards have a tab button that shows up when you are filling in a form.  For example the Android stock keyboard has this feature (at least in 2.2+).  Additionally you shouldn't have to close the keyboard to click the next field, unless you are zoomed in very close.

Someone removed my tags which indicated this, I'm on 2.1 (HTC hero) and don't see that feature. Any idea if it can be enabled?

You should be able to download and install the 2.2 keyboard on 2.1.  I'm sure there are other keyboards that work on 2.1 that have this, as well.

Try this link for the stock Gingerbread keyboard: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875202  This should give you contextual options like "Next", "Done" or "Go" when appropriate.


text:
Pasting text into Android emulator
I need to paste text into the Android emulator for testing. I'm running Android 1.6 on the emulator on Mac OS 10.6. Any idea if this is possible?

Also on Stack Overflow: Paste text on Android Emulator.

Not sure if it is possible as I do not work with or use an Android emulator. What you can do however is place the text you want to copy in a text file and push it to the emulator. Once there, open it and copy the contents that way.

If you're testing on >= 2.2 emulator, then you should be able to use chrometophone or foxtophone to send text into the clipboard.

What a pain, I know... same thing on Windows, Linux, etc. too I think...
My solution... (after a little bit of preliminary set up, but after that it's very fast to use every time after that for the most part) - Really wish I didn't have to do all this setup in the first place and "it just worked" like the iPhone/iPad iOS simulator does with this kind of stuff, but (grumble, grumble...)
I run the free version of the Abyss web server (starts up in about 1 second on a fast computer) on my Mac.  I'm usually running it anyway as a test server and if it's not running, like I said its starts up in about a split second and it has extremely low overhead on CPU, memory, etc. - It's also nice that you can see that it's running in your Dock so you notice to shut it off when you don't need it.
BTW, I you can also do this with the built-in Apache web server (sudo apachectl start, etc.), MAMP, etc. but I don't do that with this for a variety of my own reasons.
Anyway, within the Abyss server (inside the root htdocs directory) I keep a basic html file called "clip.html" with the proper head tags, etc. so it can display via web browsers.
I then keep the "clip.html" file open in a text editor like BBEdit and paste whatever text I want to transfer to the AVD into the "clip.html" file's body area.
I can then pull up the "clip.html" file on the AVD through my local IP address (because currently the AVD doesn't work with the "localhost" address... sigh).  For example while my iOS Simulator iPhone is perfectly happy with localhost:8000/htdocs/clip.html , for Android's AVD's I have to instead quickly check to see which local DHCP IP address my computer is assigned to by my router and use that instead (CowTip: find it with Terminal: ipconfig getifaddr en1). If you move around a lot with a laptop and it changes a lot, it might be good to use a different method with an external web server with a domain name and user/pass or use some other advanced techniques I won't get into here)
Anyway, aside from all that stuff, for example, this works where I'm located right now with my Abyss web server up and running:
192.168.0.69:8000/htdocs/clip.html
I then type that URL into the Android AVD's browser URL window, go to it and save it as a bookmark for future use.  As you probably already know, you'll need to config the AVD so it works with your keyboard to type it in.
From now on (as long as my internal IP address doesn't change with my location), I just click on that bookmark and there's all the text that I've pasted into the body of the "clip.html" file.  If the text changes, I refresh the AVD's browser and there it is.  I can of course select it and copy the text within the AVD at this point. It even works with really old Android platforms as well (if they can access an URL with the browser, it'll work!).
CowTiP: If I'm testing websites or various local URLs with the AVD's browser, etc. I can of course also add html links into the "clip.html" file that I can simply click on within the AVD's browser and go to their locations.  (Not as cool, easy and quick as simply dragging an URL's favicon from your Safari browser to the iOS simulator's iPhone, etc. but that's the beauty of using Apple's stuff, isn't it?)
CowTip #2: Be sure and make the text size in the "clip.html" file large for mobile.  Just do that in the CSS style in the head code of the "clip.html" file.
CowTip #3: If you change locations, be sure and update your IP address in the URL and AVM's bookmark.
I have some other proprietary methods that automate many steps above with custom scripts I wrote, but I have to charge for my time to customize it for some else's setup, sorry.  But, even without the scripts, everything above works great overall.
Hopefully, some day Android will make their emulator as good as Apple makes the iOS simulator in this regard.  There's other ways to do this, but I like this way the best because of its compatibility with older Android Platforms and the ability to click links, etc.
Disclaimer: I'm not responsible if you don't know how to protect your server from getting hacked, etc. with proper configuration/firewall/etc. and if your computer explodes, etc.
Regards,
Cowicide
P.S. If someone knows a better way, please share!
P.S.S. I should note you can also do this with Google Drive and set up a document, but then you're sharing your data with a third party and if they get hacked (so does your data).  And there's chrometophone, but then again, you're sharing the data in the cloud with a third party with that as well.  If you work with sensitive data such as classified government/corporate stuff, etc. you should use my method since all the data stays on your machine.  I work with sensitive data, so I can't use those easier methods except at times when I'm working on things that aren't involving sensitive data.

If you are connected to the internet and regularly need to paste text into emulator, then one nice way would be to create a Dropbox account. Link it to a dropbox folder on your Mac. Install dropbox on your emulator and link it to your account.
Thereafter, make any text you want, put it in a text file and paste it into your dropbox folder on your Mac. Then all devices linked to your dropbox account get synced automatically. Open dropbox on your emulator and retrieve the text file.

Or you can just email the text to yourself in gmail or something and pick it up from there.

The emulator doesn't come with Google apps, so that wouldn't help. And given how slow the emulator is, it would be quicker to retype almost any length of text.


text:
How can I diagnose this problem: Can't flash ROM to my Samsung Fascinate
When I boot into recovery all the text moves so fast I can't read what's happening, then it just boots normally without the new ROM.  Is there any log I can review to find out what is happening?
Here's a little background on what I'm doing:
I started with a stock Samsung Fascinate fresh from a factory reset.  I rooted it using this method.  I installed ROM Manager from the Market then I installed Clockworkmod with this method.  Finally I tried to install jt1134's Super Clearn 0.9 (DJ05) from ROM Manager.  It downloads the ROM offers me the option to backup my current ROM (which I decline because it's already backed up) and the option to wipe cache and data which I choose then hit OK.  From here it boots into Recovery and then the text scrolls up the screen so fast I can't see whats happening, then it boots into the regular stock ROM which would suggest the ROM installation failed.  One other note, ClockworkMod recovery appears to work except when I manually boot into it and choose "reboot" it hangs on the clockworkmod icon.

It sounds very much like the recovery is borked.  I recommend using Odin to re-flash recovery (or even the entire ROM if you can get ahold of an Odin-flashable version).  Here's a recent guide from XDA.

Perfect. It took a little before I warmed up to Odin but it's a pretty good way to load things onto the phone.  Thanks.

Great.  Odin has definitely saved me many times.


text:
How can I fix notification vibration?
When I receive calls and alarms go off, the phone vibrates.
However it won't vibrate for any notifications.
Changing the vibrate setting from vibrate always or vibrate only when in silent mode has no
effect.
Does anyone know what can cause this and how to fix it?
Is there a separate hidden setting for notification vibrations?
For what it is worth I'm running a HTC Magic with a custom 2.3-Gingerbread ROM installed.
This definitely used to work. Not sure what I did to break it though.

Update: I've got it working again by playing with the settings.
Under Settings->Sound settings->Volume 'Use incoming call volume for notifications' was ticked.
When I un-ticked this setting the notification vibration began to work again. This seems really strange to me and if anyone could help me understand what is going on it would be much appreciated.

Update 2: Installed an app called AudioManager. It has separate vibrate checkboxes for alerts and ringer. Using this helped too. Not 100% but it seems to indicate separate settings that are not exposed through the regular settings interface.

Did this work before and stopped, or have you never had vibration working?  What phone do you have?  Are you using a custom ROM (and if so, which)?

I've updated the question to include this info.

The AudioManager suggestion was awesome -- I had the exact same issue and this also solved it for me. You should add it as the accepted answer to this question.

@Miquel Ok. Done!

Install an app called AudioManager. It has separate vibrate checkboxes for alerts and ringer. Setting the checkbox for alerts fixed the issue for me.

Is there an open-source app that has the same functionality?

You can have app-specific notification settings.  Have you gone into the settings of the offending apps to see whether they're set to vibrate on notifications?

Thanks but I have. GMail, Mail, Calendar, Messaging, all set up to vibrate but no vibration.

OK, I've asked some questions up above to help us troubleshoot further.

Hmm.  Well a factory reset should fix it but hopefully we can find something easier.

Even better ... get new phone! (Have to convince my wife first)


text:
How can I fix the GPS on my Samsung Galaxy S?
As has been well documented, the Galaxy S phones have terrible GPS functionality.  It works for a minority, but it is slow/inaccurate for some and for others it just doesn't work at all.  How can I fix this?

Four ways: Upgrading the software, fixing the hardware, resetting the GPS settings/data, and using "fake" GPS.

Upgrading the Software

Samsung definitely released some bad GPS firmware, which does not help things.  Fortunately, good code is included in all of the recent 2.2 updates.  If you can, upgrade your software to 2.2.  It has many advantages besides just the GPS!
You can also try flashing 2.3 GPS code (see this XDA thread).  Apparently it's the best yet, and should work with any ROM.
Summary: Gingerbread great, Froyo good, Eclair bad.
Note: A minority of users have worse GPS performance after upgrading to Froyo.  If you have the very latest Froyo update and this is true for you, I believe you can fix it by continuing with the other steps below (or the 2.3 GPS code above).  You probably have bad GPS data and settings left over from Eclair, or perhaps it's just that your phone has been "cold started" and the GPS needs to collect some information about the nearby satellites first.

Fixing the Hardware

This might void your warranty, though if done properly it should be undetectable.
A major problem for many users is, yes, a hardware problem -- but not a GPS chip issue as some have claimed.  I was reluctant to accept this myself, but after trying everything else I finally resorted to this fix, and it worked!  The hardware has apparently been fixed in newer device versions, so if you bought your phone after October 2010 I recommend trying the other steps before doing this.  But the good news is that it's easy to do.  There's a detailed guide on XDA; here is the quick version:

Take off the back cover; remove the battery, SIM, and SD card.
Remove the 7 small screws in the back of the device, and carefully pry off the backing plastic.
You'll see 4 gold-ish contacts sticking out, approximately at each corner of the device.  You'll notice that the backing plastic has 4 flat contacts on it, which are supposed to touch the ones on the device.  (See the guide for details).
Slightly bend the contacts on the device upwards (a millimeter or so should be good, don't overdo it) so that they will contact the backing plate, like they were intended to.  You might want to insert something like a small folded piece of paper under the contact, so that it doesn't bend back down.
Put everything back together, and continue with the next section.

Fixing the Hardware (2nd option)

This really voids your warranty, but seems like the best possible technical fix so far.

Problem is caused by bad gnd conductivity between mainboard and antenna. It is conduced by conductivity rubber. This kind of rubber was used for old nokia 8210 for connect display to mainboard. It was the mayor fault for nokia 8210.

There are 2 different methods which both require soldering skill but are said to significantly improve the GPS signal. Read more, see photos and a step by step guide on XDA.
Reset the GPS Data and Settings

Start up the phone, shut off GPS, and install GPSRestore (alternate non-Market link) and Captivate SGS Tools (don't worry, for our purposes it works for all SGS models).
Open the SGS Tools and, from the Secret Codes menu, go into GPS-Test and settings (LBSTestMode).
Hit Delete GPS Data.
Run GPSRestore.  I suggest running it with GPS off first, letting step 2 fail, then going outside, turning GPS on and running it again.  It may take 5+ minutes while your phone searches for satellites and figures out where it is.  This "cold start" should prep your phone with good data, and future locks should be much quicker.
Once the test is done, you should be good to go!

I recommend only trying the following if your GPS is still slow or doesn't work after trying everything else; in most situations the default server is fine.

Go into SUPL/CP Settings (in LBSTestMode as above) and change Server to supl.google.com (port 7276).
Install GPSTest, go outside, turn on your GPS, and open the app.  Wait for a lock; again, this might take some time.

Using "Fake" GPS

Even the best GPS doesn't lock on instantly.  You can use "assisted GPS", or aGPS, to help get a rough fix quickly while you wait for the more accurate GPS to get a lock; this only works when you have internet access, since it uses your IP address to locate you.  Go into your device's GPS settings (Settings -> Location and security) and make sure Use wireless networks and Use sensor aiding are both checked.  Use GPS satellites should, of course, be checked also.
Note: This might make things worse in situations where the phone relies on the inaccurate aGPS more than the "real" GPS.  Experiment with and without it.

And that's it!  I hope this guide works for you and you enjoy your newly functional GPS.

Hola! Excellent answer!

There is a simple guide of the hardware fix on xda-developers, which doesn't require you to remove any screws. It worked surprisingly well on my Galaxy S.
The trick is to increase the pressure of the GPS antenna connector by placing a small stripe of tape above the connector. The guide on XDA has some nice pictures and instructions, definitely worth reading.

I have several bluetooth-GPS adapters that I use with all of my devices when I need a superb signal because a specialiced receiver is almost always superior to a smartphone's internal GPS (due to integration constraints).
See a more generic question/answer here: What can I do when my GPS doesn't work (or if my tablet doesn't have GPS)?


text:
How to download files from the Web in the Android Browser?
After trying for a long while to figure it out, I still cannot convince my Android browser to save the file from a web link. If the link is a picture, holding over it and pressing "Save As" saves the picture, not the file it links to. My Android device has no multitouch (is this required to tell to browser to download?), and simply clicking on a download link takes me nowhere. Can anyone help me?

wouldn't clicking on the image automatically bring up a prompt for downloading the file?

@user71767 in my experience you just need to click the link and it should download.  Could you give us an example web site of what you are trying to accomplish.

You said "saves the picture, not the file it links to" as if those were two separate actions.  But they seem to me to be two different ways of saying the same thing.  So perhaps you need to clarify your question.

Firefox cannot save the files too

Nowadays the built-in Android browser has been replaced by Chrome, which does this perfectly well.  You can long-press and save virtually any image or link, and even videos from a number of sites that couldn't be easily done on the desktop.
Answer below for older devices:
The Android browser by default can only download files that the Android system "recognizes" (i.e., there has to be a program registered to handle that file type).  It's a stupid restriction in my opinion, but you can install Download Crutch to overcome this limitation (it registers itself for every filetype).
If you're referring to images that link to something else and you want to save the something else, long-press on the image and choose "Save Link As" or similar.

not working in Firefox

"the built-in Android browser has been replaced by Chrome": just to check, Chrome is not available on vanilla AOSP build, is it?

Personally I usually just click the link of the file and it downloads.
As for the image: try long pressing but instead of choosing "Save As" look for "Copy link URL" or "Open in New Window" or something similar to those two menu options.  "Copy link URL" should copy the URL of the file to your clipboard, then you can paste that link in the address bar and hit "Go" and it should download your file.  "Open in New Window" should essentially do the same thing (i'm just trying to give you as many options as I can to try). If you click on the link it may not take you anywhere but to a blank page while the file downloads.
So to check your download list:
 You may have already tried this but to see if the file was downloaded you can open your browser, open the menu, then select "More", you should see "Downloads".  This is where your downloaded files list is.
Another way you could check is to look in the "downloads" folder on your sdcard (/sdcard/downloads/) using ES File Explorer or some other file explorer.
If this is not a solution let me know and give an example of what you are trying to accomplish and I'll try to figure it out.

I've struggled with this same issue, though in my case I wanted to save a Text file (.txt) that I had open in the Chrome browser on Android 4.4.x (Kit Kat). After reading this and other questions posted I realised that neither Chrome, the Google applications, nor the standard Android tools would allow me to simply save a Text file from a URL.
To save a Text file from a URL to the file storage on my Android device I used the File Explorer application ES File Explorer. Within ES File Explorer there's a Download Manager that allows you to download any file from a given URL to the file storage on your device.

What Android OS version are you running?  And what kind of file does the image link to?
On 2.3.4 the browser offers me "Save link" and "Save image" as two options when I click on an image that is a link (e.g. on the image link to the Main Page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_browser)
But in earlier versions of Android it was different.  E.g. in 1.5, I just see "Save image" and "View image", so there is no direct way in the default browser to save the web page which the image links to.
As Matthew notes, the file type can also matter.  On my 2.3.4 phone it asked me if I wanted to save a file for which there was no handler.  E.g. for an xml file it said "The content is not supported on the phone.  No application can be found to open this file.  Do you still want to download it?"
For earlier phones and some kinds of files you may need to install an app which can handle the file.  "Download Crutch" is no longer in the market, but there seem to be others that would be suitable.


text:
The video file cannot be played
I have new android tablet (Archos 7) and lot of video files are not playable. The program ends with message "The video file cannot be played". The file type is avi, which is normally playble (I played many other videos). The videos which are not playble in tablet, are playble on my laptop (with Ubuntu). Is it possible to make the videos playble on tablet?
E.g. to convert them with ffmpeg to another form which will be playble, or is there some repair mechanism in Android?
I tried another player Act 1 Video Player, but that didn't help.
thank you for help

There are a number of factors that determine if a video will play on Android:

It has to be the correct codec - See this list
It has to either be small enough to download entirely before playing or be encoded in a form that allows streaming.

Chances are the problem you are seeing is that the codec the videos are encoded in isn't supported, so yes, re-encoding with ffmpeg or mencoder or something similar into one of the supported video codecs may well work.
To enable streaming, if you first encode it as an MP4 file then pass it through something like MP4Box it will tag it for streaming so yuo can play longer video clips on Android.

Both of the videos that can't be played have this line in "ffmpeg -i file.avi" output[NULL @ 0x97c4d40]Invalid and inefficient vfw-avi packed B frames detected ... which ffmpeg command would you use to convert it to the right format?

@xralf Try something like ffmpeg -i file.avi -vcodec h263 -acodec aac -f mpg output.mpg.  The error means your files were originally encoded poorly, and ffmpeg needs to "force" the conversion.  If you have further issues, you should create a second question (on SuperUser probably) about encoding your files, you can leave out the Android details since you got them from here :)

Thank you, I continue here http://superuser.com/questions/257962/ffmpeg-inefficient-vfw-avi-packed-b-frames

You can find a video player that uses ffmpeg itself to play on Android. Examples were given in answers to this question: State of VLC for Android / Media Player that plays AVI files

+1 As that question says, Rockplayer (http://rockplayer.com/ or in the Market at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.redirectin.rockplayer.android.unified.lite) plays a lot more formats than the built-in player - I've never had it fail me yet with videos from fairly random sources.

I just saw this article today and thought it would be helpful here.  It lists 8 of the best video players for Android according to MakeUseOf.com.  liori's answer is also a good one.


text:
Problem with device pairing
I have problem in connecting android with a device. In froyo android 2.2 when I connect android with device it shows me pairing dialogue box and I successfully pair it. When i update my device from android 2.2 to  android 2.3 i.e. ginger bread pairing dialogue box is not showing. I am using Bluetooth chat example of android.
Your help will be really appreciated.

What device are you using? Is it an 'official' gingerbread release or have you installed it yourself?

I am using nexus one. yes it is official ginderbread release

Exact same issue here. With froyo on my device I could pair my BT hands free car kit just fine. Now with gingerbread 2.3.3 the pairing/PIN dialogue doesn't appear and I can't pair my device. The car kit is a Parrot built in device in a Peugeot 207cc.
boba

On Inspire 4G and LG P500 there aren't such problem. But they are also bases on 2.3 android. If PIN=0000, devices such as handset is connected automatically. You need only to select it in BT menu of Android phone.

Following similar Q&A might prove helpful: Help pairing bluetooth headset/microphone with Samsung Galaxy Tab & Skype? / Motorola Milestone Android - Bluetooth Issue - Paired but not connected


text:
How can I do a factory reset on a MyTouch 3G Slide?
I have a MyTouch 3G Slide w/ Android 2.2 and am having issues with the text messaging freezing up. I am trying to do a factory reset and looked under settings, sd card memory and security for the factory reset option and didn't see it. How do you reset the phone?
I tried these instructions but couldn't get that screen to come up... is there another way?

Turn the power off. If your HTC myTouch 3G Slide is frozen, pull the battery out and reinsert it
Hold the Volume Down button
Press and release the Power button
You are now presented with a menu that allows for Fastbook, Recovery, Clear Storage, and Simlock
Select Clear Storage by pressing the Volume Down button
Press and release the Power button
Now simply confirm your decision: Volume Up for YES and Volume Down for NO

To do a factory reset, you should be able to go to Settings -> Privacy and hit Factory data reset.
Alternatively though, to just clear the SMS data you should go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and find the SMS app ("Messaging" or similar) and clear the data for it.  There may also be something like "Messaging Storage" that you need to clear.
If you really need to boot into recovery, I would try the following:

Hold power and volume down until the phone reboots or turns on
Hold the power button for two more seconds, then release it (if the phone reboots again, you held it too long)
Keep holding volume down until recovery mode appears


text:
How can I fix the slow freezing text messaging app on my MyTouch 3G Slide?
I have a MyTouch 3G Slide w/ Android 2.2 and am having issues with the text messaging freezing up all the time and running incredibly slow. If I try to delete all the texts, the messaging application will continue to show the circular thinking pattern for over an hour and never delete all the texts. I ended up having to delete 3 texts at a time and waiting 5 minutes each time.... It's really frustrating... I have tried handcent sms and have the same issues with it
1) Is there a fix for slow/freezing text messaging other than factory reset?
2) Is there an app that deletes text messages over 2 weeks old?
3) Is there a better text messaging app than the onboard android messaging application for android 2.1 with better reliability, ease of use, and speed?

Handcent SMS is the most oft-recommended SMS replacement app on this site, so it's probably good to try.  If you have no issues with it, then I would assume it's just a buggy SMS app that you have and not a deeper problem.
If you don't mind losing all your messages you could try going to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications, finding the SMS app ("Messaging" or similar), and clearing the data for it. There may also be something like "Messaging Storage" that you need to clear.
I don't know of any app that will improve performance of the existing app, and replacing a messaging app can be tricky.  I'd recommend a custom ROM that has had some of these bugs worked out.  This XDA topic has a good overview of ROMs for your device.

@MatthewRead, I have tried Handcent SMS and have the same issues with it. I heard that Handcent is buggier than the onboard froyo messaging application and is not recommended by a T-Mobile Tech Support Rep.

Everyone at T-Mobile is clueless.  But if Handcent has the same issues for you then I'm guessing it's a system problem.  Try a factory reset as per the other question.

@MatthewRead, How is clearing the SMS data via Manage applications Messaging" and "Messaging Storage" not a good answer to this question if you can't delete your texts from the application itself?

@Brian It doesn't answer these questions: "Is there an app that deletes text messages over 2 weeks old, a better text message app, or a fix for this issue?"  However if you don't mind deleting all messages, I've amended this answer to include the option of clearing the data.

@MatthewRead, it answers the "fix for this issue" question.  I reworded the questions so that they are clearer. Are there any apps to improve messaging performance?

OK, cool.  Updated my answer again.

Do you think it's worth upgrading to the G2 to fix performance issues?

I know this is late, but I have the same kind of phone, and came across the same problem. Honestly, if you have that many messages and still want to delete them, the best way to do so is to set the screen fade out to never, plug it into the charger, and delete the messages while you're sleeping. By the time you wake up the loading circle will be gone, along with all the messages you deleted. Hope this helps!

Late reply, but I just experienced the same thing and used a different approach to fix this problem which may work for others.  I'm not sure what caused this issue--never really looked at my Texting settings before.  But below is what worked for me when restarting, and deleting data did nothing for me.
I went to Running Applications, found the Texting application (mine was Multi-touch keyboard), selected it, went to settings, changed the input method to "Swype", then closed out.  This stopped the keyboard from locking whenever I went to input txt into any application.


text:
Android 2.1 - MyTouch Slide 3G - Tips to Fixing Slow Phone & Poor Battery Life

Possible Duplicate:
What can I do to increase battery life on my Android phone?

What are the best applications or best practices for fixing slow operating phones and poor battery life on Android 2.2?
I use task killer but it doesn't seem to help that much. I wish there was an automatic task killer that would automatically prevent letting useless applications run in the background. I'm tired of doing a factory restore on my phone every month after it slows down to a screeching halt. Do you think it's worth upgrading to the G2 or does the G2 have the same problems?

You should not be using a task killer.

@AlEverett, What should I use?

Nothing. You don't need a task killer. See, for instance, this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/9/do-i-really-need-to-install-a-task-manager


text:
Optimus V music player starts playing unexpectedly, solution?
I have an Optimus V, and I have the default music widget on the desktop. Recently it started playing unexpectedly after I paused it. It could be in the middle of the night and more frequently during the day. Because of this I have to turn it off during the night. Any advice on how to keep the music player from playing unexpectedly.

Also see http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/6095/media-player-starts-playing-when-i-unplug-headphones and http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4940/random-music-playback-winamp-cubed.  Hopefully between these three questions, one of the answers will work for you.

Thanks, of all the posts you refer I think the last is the most relevant. It recommends installing headset block, I'll be trying that. adam

i am happy to report the problem has disappeared by itself.

@AdamSO Please either provide this as answer and mark it accepted or delete this question.


text:
Markdown note taking with Dropbox sync
How do I do all of the following with my Android phone?

Read markdown-formatted notes stored in my Dropbox folder
Show it as HTML in Android
Optional editing from the phone

FWIW, the iPhone already has an app that does this.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts.  Please see this question about app recommendations and its accepted answer, and modify your question accordingly to meet the guidelines in our FAQ.

@Matthew - Thanks. Which guideline in the FAQ is not met by the question in its current form?

@sridhar_ratnakumar Here's another discussion of shopping recommendations that you might find helpful: http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/questions/164/shopping-recommendations Both discussions ought to help you understand the difference between a problem solving question and a request for shopping advice.

Rephrased the question to meet the guideline.

You can see the answer here https://android.stackexchange.com/a/208186/131553

Seeing as both Epistle and its successor Draft are both no longer maintained and can no longer sync with Dropbox, this app simply called "Notes" seems be the closest alternative to them.

I upvoted but essentially, the app does not support Markdown!


text:
How do I create a calendar event that repeats every other week?
How do I create a calendar event that repeats every other week?
I'm using the default calendar app on the Droid X and the Xoom and I can't make an every other week appointment.   I can do this on the website without trouble.
The only options are every week and I don't see where I can say every (2) weeks.

The current calendar app from google now supports custom repeat appointments where you can specify repeat every 2 weeks.


text:
Adb push does not work
When I run the command
adb push file.txt /flash/Data

it writes this error message
failed to copy 'file.txt' to '/flash/Data': Read-only file system

I tried to solve it according to this page
http://android-tricks.blogspot.com/2009/01/mount-filesystem-read-write.html but with no success.
Could you navigate me and solve the problem? thank you

What device are you using?  I'm not familiar with the /flash folder.

my device is Archos 7. In OI File Manager I can see the flash folder. But folder is not important, I can copy it to another folder (but I don't have SD card)

OK.  As Bryan asked in his answer, what are you trying to accomplish?  Just store files?

I have problem with copying files (I asked another question about it), so I tried to solve it with adb push.

You have to have root access to mount the drive as that article is describing (calling su == becoming root).
What are you trying to accomplish? Can you push the file to the sdcard instead (if your device has one)?

I have problem with copying files (I asked another question about it), so I tried to solve it with adb push.

You normally have to be rooted to change how the filesystem is mounted.

I'd like to preserve warranty.

Then you should use an SD card or something to put files on, you can't write indescriminately to the system or data partitions without root.

We can use interntal flash.

You can attempt writing to /data/local/tmp/ as it is writable even by normal users.


text:
Copying files to tablet with Android
When I copy file.pdf to my tablet with the command (in Linux - Ubuntu)
cp file.pdf /media/Archos_7/Data via USB cable and then disconnect USB and look to the Data directory, file.pdf has size 0 B, or the file is not there (e.g. file.epub). I don't know what is wrong. I copied a few *.pdf and *.avi files successfully.
Do you know where is the problem?

Now, I copied three files - file.avi, file.pdf and file.epub to the Archos_7/Video folder. file.avi is copied OK, file.pdf is copied but has size 0 B, file.epub is not there.

Does your device auto-mount its storage to the PC when connected?  On most devices you need to pull down the notification bar and click the USB notification to mount.  You should dismount the same way, after dismounting in Linux, before unplugging the device.
And, how much free space do you have?

Now the device is mounted twice (according to cat /etc/mtab) /dev/sdc /media/ARCHOS\0407 vfat rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal,uid=1000,umask=0077,shortname=winnt,utf8 0 0
/dev/sdd /media/ARCHOS\0407_ vfat rw,nosuid,nodev,uhelper=hal,uid=1000,umask=0077,shortname=winnt,utf8 0 0

In Internal flash storage I have 2 GB and in Internal device storage I have 414 MB Available space

It was needed to umount.


text:
Picasa (in gallery) not linked. Can't open picasa folders. How do I fix it?
I'm trying to open my picasa folders in the android gallery. When I press the Picasa button, I get this message:

your google account is not linked to Picasa Web Albums. Please add another Google account

I found this link from xda.
It starts with "can't find the app", and "can't sync" (problems I don't have) but then someone starts about the "not linked" problems. The tips I found where about removing accounts (for youtube, for htc sense, etc), but that didn't help.
I found a link to
Why can't I Sync Picasa Web Albums? , but this is not the same question. The sync option is in the accounts menu, but I can't seem to get picasa in the gallery.
I can upload (via gallery -> share) to picasa. I can also make new directories etc. I just can't see my picasa in the gallery
specs:

HTC Desire Z
"standard" htc software: android 2.2.1 with HTC sense (1.82.405.1)
HTC hub has "sync" enabled
my Google account has the picasa-sync enabled

Does anyone have a clue about how to fix this?

Ok, not a real final answer, but this is what happened. I had another problem with the gallery, described here: Not all images showing up in gallery
In following all the advice there I have

Removed data from "gallery" application in menu->settings->applications
Removed the .thumbnails directory from /DCIM
Removed data from gallery app again.
Shut down the phone and removed the battery.

I don't know if that fixed the showing-up problem, but now all of a sudden I can actually see my picasa folders..

This is a bit of a stab in the dark from stuff I've read, but here goes...
I believe that the uploading is done through the generic Android/Google/Picasa features but HTC have their own gallery app that relies on an additional plugin to display Picasa Web Albums.
Go to the HTC Hub app, settings -> sync and make sure you have the sync option checked for HTC Hub. If you don't have the latest version of the Picasa plugin then you should get a notification to download it, which might fix your issue.
If you do already have the latest plugin then double check under the Accounts settings that your Google account is set to sync with Picasa and that there isn't an additional sync option somewhere for the plugin itself.

Thanks for the answer! I'll add the information to the question. I do have HTC Hub sync enabled, and my google account does have the sync options. There is no additional sync option. So no sollution I'm affraid :(

I had the same problem after having updated my incredible S to Gingerbread.
I do not know if it was some kind of luck, but the following fixed the problem:

uninstall the picasa plugin (go to HTC Hub/plugins)
parameters/applications/manage/Gallery -> force the gallery application to stop.
Go back to HTC Hub/plugins and install again the Picasa plugin.
parameters/accounts and sync/ your google account/ enable the picasa update, and update now.
wait until the end of the update, then go back to the gallery, the picasa plugin should now have linked your picasa account with your google account!

Hope this will work for you too!
Flolagale.

The HTC Hub suggestion put me in the right direction. I enabled the plugin when I was not using Picasa Web. Since Google+ I do, but the plugin said my google account was not linked to picasa web. Uninstalling and reinstalling did the trick.

Go online and download the .apk for Gallery for 2.1 and install. Make sure you have nonmarket apps checked (under Settings -> Applications -> Development). After install go back and sync all Google accounts. You will have two galleries but the new one will be able to sync with picasa. Open it and you should see all your picasa stuff. It worked for me with HTC Wildfire.