iPhone 14 Pro vs. Galaxy S23 Ultra: Do I Regret Switching to Apple? - CNET

Excerpt from 

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/iphone-14-pro-vs-galaxy-s23-ultra-comparing-camera-battery-as-an-ex-android-user/

… there are advantages to having an iPhone that go beyond specs that'll likely keep me in the Apple ecosystem for a while. Features like Airdrop and iMessage have made the user experience more seamless. And I don't know if I could give up the iPhone's video quality for anything else.

How about you?

Type Vietnamese on Mobile Devices

I like iOS one thing: I can type Vietnamese in iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad quickly without install additional app. Android is not.

For Android version before 4.0, you must install a third party app to type Vietnamese. It's scary. Some apps ask for unnecessary permissions like reading your contact, your account info, your SMS message,... When I installed some trusted apps to type Vietnamese, as a precaution Android warning me for possible security breach like keys log. So I uninstalled them and used the built in Google Keyboard. Since it do not support any popular input method used by Vietnamese like Telex, VNI or VIQR, it's hard to use and slow. For example: To type letter 'ê', I can type ee (Telex type) as in iOS but for Android Google Keyboard, I must hold a letter e to see it displays other characters, select and drag letter 'ê' to an input text box.

I hope Google should catch up with Apple in support Vietnamese input. There are a lot of Vietnamese in the world using Android-based phones and tablets.

Failed to load libGL.so

Here is the solution for error message 'Failed to load libGL.so' when launch Android Virtual Device (AVD) from Android Studio 0.2 on Ubuntu 13.04 32 bit:

Install 'Free Implementation of the OpenGL API-GLX development files' (libgl1-mesa-dev) package from Ubuntu Software Center

or type this command at terminal
sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dev

Credit: http://learnedstuffs.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/fixing-ubuntu-error-failed-to-load-libgl-so/

Android Studio

On Google IO 2013, Google introduced Android Studio, based on IntelliJ IDEA, a new tool for Android developers. I liked it. Since it was a preview version, Google noted:

Caution: Android Studio is currently available as an early access preview. Several features are either incomplete or not yet implemented and you may encounter bugs. If you are not comfortable using an unfinished product, you may want to instead download (or continue to use) the ADT Bundle (Eclipse with the ADT Plugin).

As soon it posted on developer.android.com, I downloaded and installed on three platforms: Ubuntu 13.04, Mac OS/X Lion 10.7.5 and Windows Vista. On Ubuntu 13.04 with OpenJDK 1.7, I got this error message:

'tool.jar' is not in Android Studio class path. Please ensure JAVA_HOME points to JDK rather than JRE.

I have no problem using Eclipse Juno (4.2.2) for Android development on this machine. Ran android-studio/bin/studio.sh at a terminal, there was a warning:

WARNING: You are launching the IDE using OpenJDK Java runtime. ITS KNOWN TO HAVE PERFORMANCE AND GRAPHICS ISSUES! SWITCH TO THE ORACLE(SUN) JDK BEFORE REPORTING PROBLEMS!

Downloaded and switched to Oracle (Sun) JDK from OpenJDK on Ubuntu 13.04 according to Hendré's blog, problem solved.

On Mac OS/X with Java 1.6.0_45, I got Android Studio ran immediately without hicup. After I made a new simple project to test, I could not load any Android Virtual Device. To work around, I opened Android Virtual Device Manager from Eclipse Juno to load the Android Application launched from Android Studio.

On Windows Vista with JRE 7 installed only, Nothing running after executed Android Studio (c:\android-studio\studio,exe) application. Tried to replaced Oracle JRE 7 with Oracle JDK 7, no luck. Solution: Added environment variable JAVA_HOME with value "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_21) to system variables. Further reading:

• Getting Started with Android Studio. Need to read this page thoroughly to save time.
• IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio FAQ. This FAQ is good.

Install Android Development Tools on Ubuntu 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal)

1. First thing first. Make sure Java Development Kit (JDK) install. Go to Terminal and type 'Java -version' to check. You should see the following:
   java version "1.7.0_07"
   OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea7 2.3.2) (7u7-2.3.2a-1ubuntu1)
   OpenJDK Server VM (build 23.2-b09, mixed mode)
2. If Java Development Kit is not installed, you can install it from Ubuntu Software Center. Click on Ubuntu Software Center icon from left side bar and search for Java. Here, I selected 'OpenJava JDK 7 runtime'
3. Go to http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ to download Eclipse Classic 4.2.1 (Juno)
4. Go to your downloads folder and extract it. Move 'eclipse' folder to your home directory.
5. Launch Eclipse 4.2.1 (Juno) from 'eclipse' folder.
6. Install Android Developer Tools (ADT) plugin for Eclipse. Click on Help -> Install New Software and add the URL 'https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/' on the input text box next to 'Work with' and click the 'Add' button.
   
7. Download and install Android SDK from Eclipse 4.2.1. Click on Window -> Android SDK Manager. If Android SDK is not install, Eclipse will display a windows like this:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Otherwise, select the existing Android SDK and specify location if it already installed. 
8. Go to Windows -> AVD Manager to make at least one Android Virtual Device (AVD). Here is the screen shot for AVD using Galaxy Nexus skin.
   

References: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Java http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/installing-adt.html

How to restore the Package Explorer in Eclipse?

Click on Windows -> View -> Package Explorer to restore the Package Explorer view on Eclipse IDE.

Upgrade Eclipse IDE and Android SDK

Today, a new version of Eclipse IDE and Android released. Eclipse released Eclipse Juno 4.2. It has a special package for mobile developer. Google released Android 4.1 SDK, codename Jelly Bean. I'm going update my MacBook Pro with these new software.

1. Downloaded Eclipse Juno 4.2 for Mobile Developers, 142 MB.
2. Extracted it to Downloads folder.
3. Removed existing Eclipse (Indigo) folder from Application.
4. Moved new Eclipse folder from Downloads to Application
5. Started Eclipse and re-install Android Development Tools (ADT)
6. On Eclipse Juno 4.2 IDE, select Windows -> Android SDK Manager to update Android SDK Tools to rev. 20 and downloaded Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
7. Create new AVD for Android 4.1 from AVD Manager
8. Re-tested old projects to make sure they ran as expected.

Is Verizon Share Every Thing Plan Good?

Yesterday, Verizon wireless revealed a new plan to allow customers share a pool of data for up to 10 devices. Is the new plan better for a customer with five smartphones?

	Verizon: Current	Verizon: New	AT&T	T-Mobile Value
Monthly	$279.95	$250.00	$229.96	$124.98
2 Years	$6,718.80	$6,000.00	$5,519.04	$2,999.52
Activation Fee	$175.00	$175.00	$180.00	$175.00
Cell Phones	$999.95	$999.95	$999.95	$1,999.95
Est. Sales Tax	$232.50	$232.50	$213.12	$154.61
Total Cost	$8,126.25	$7,407.45	$6,912.11	$5,324.13
Compare with T-Mobile	$2,802.11	$2,083.31	$1,587.98	0

Notes:
Full retail price for Samsung Galaxy S III 4G 16GB at Verizon Wireless is $599.99, at AT&T Wireless is $549.99
Buy Google Galaxy Nexus $399 to use with T-Mobile Value Plan. Amazon Wireless sells Samsung Galaxy S III 4G Android Phone 16GB (GSM for AT&T and T-Mobile) for $649.99

Conclusion:The new Share Every Thing plan is cost less than the current plan for five smart phones. However, there is 1GB data to share between five devices. Both Verizon plans still more expensive than AT&T and T-Mobile.

How to fix run-time error: Could not find class 'winterwell.jtwitter.Twitter'

If you follow the Marakana Android Bootcamp Series 2012 Video Tutorials, you may get this run-time error when practice the sample application Yamba-1.

06-03 10:48:43.695: E/dalvikvm(274): Could not find class 'winterwell.jtwitter.Twitter', referenced from method com.marakana.yamba1.StatusActivity.onCreate
06-03 10:48:43.695: W/dalvikvm(274): VFY: unable to resolve new-instance 42 (Lwinterwell/jtwitter/Twitter;) in Lcom/marakana/yamba1/StatusActivity;
06-03 10:48:43.695: D/dalvikvm(274): VFY: replacing opcode 0x22 at 0x0045
06-03 10:48:43.695: D/dalvikvm(274): VFY: dead code 0x0047-0057 in Lcom/marakana/yamba1/StatusActivity;.onCreate (Landroid/os/Bundle;)V
06-03 10:48:43.955: D/dalvikvm(274): GC_EXTERNAL_ALLOC freed 794 objects / 58272 bytes in 127ms
06-03 10:48:44.184: D/AndroidRuntime(274): Shutting down VM
06-03 10:48:44.184: W/dalvikvm(274): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x4001d800)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274): java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: winterwell.jtwitter.Twitter
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at com.marakana.yamba1.StatusActivity.onCreate(StatusActivity.java:43)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2627)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2679)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.ActivityThread.access$2300(ActivityThread.java:125)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2033)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4627)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:868)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:626)
06-03 10:48:44.194: E/AndroidRuntime(274):     at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

Looked back into the Yamba-1 folder, jtwitter-yamba.jar was there.

Solution:
Make a new folder called libs under Yamba-1 and move this external libary inside sub-folder libs

Credit:
Sven Rau  http://marakana.com/forums/android/learning_android_book/689.html#p1790

Android Programming Tutorial Videos

I would like to share some great videos about Android development.

Androidology by Android Developers
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7C64411AF40DEA5&feature=plcp

Marakana: Android Bootcamp Series 2012 Video Tutorials
http://marakana.com/s/android_bootcamp_series_2012_video_tutorial,1017/index.html

Android Bootcamp Training by Marakana TechTV
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE953C0B85B50AB62&feature=plcp

Episodes of xtensivearts: Android Video Tutorials & Training
http://blip.tv/xtensivearts

TheNewBoston - Android Application Development by ChangingTheUnknown
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL34F010EEF9D45FB8

200 Videos Android Application Development
http://thenewboston.org/list.php?cat=6

mybringback Series: Android Basics
http://www.mybringback.com/series/android-basics/

mybringback Series: Android Basics
http://www.mybringback.com/series/android-finishing-touches/

How to Fix Error "The processing instruction target matching ... "

When I imported the example Android application FragmentsBasics into Eclipse IDE, I got this error message: "The processing instruction target matching "[xX][mM][lL]" is not allowed."
Solution:
Open the AndroidManifest.xml and other XML files to move this line
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
to the top. The first line of XML file cannot be the comment line.

Apple iPad 2 vs. Toshiba Thrive vs. Acer Iconia Tab vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. Motorola Xoom

There is no question that Apple iPad 2 is a leading table. Let compare it with other 16GB Wi-Fi tablets.

Tablet	Apple iPad 2	Toshiba Thrive	Acer Iconia Tab A500	Samsung Galaxy Tab	Motorola Xoom Family Edition
Operating System (OS)	Apple iOS 4, 5	Google Android 3.1, 3.2	Google Android 3.1	Google Android 3.1	Google Android 3.1
Screen Size	9.7-inch	10.1-inch	10.1-inch	10.1-inch	10.1-inch
Screen Resolution	1024x768	1280x800	1280x800	1280x800	1280x800
Processor	1GHz dual-core Apple A5	1GHz Dual-core	1GHz Dual-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2	1GHz Dual-core NVIDIA® Tegra™ 2	1GHz Dual core
Memory (RAM)	512MB	1GB DDR2	1GB DDR2	1GB	1GB
Storage (ROM)	16/32/64 GB	8/16/32 GB	8/16/32 GB	16 or 32 GB	16GB
Expandable memory	None	Full-size SD Card slot. Up to 128GB SDXC	microSD, microSDHC	None	Up to 32 GB microSD card
Back Camera	1MP. Video recording, HD (720p)	5MP with auto-focus, 720p video capture	5MP with auto focus and single LED flash	3MP auto-focus camera with LED flash. HD(720p) Video recording	5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash. 720p video capture
Front Camera	0.3MP VGA	2MP	2MP	2MP	1.3MP
Microphone	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes
HDMI	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
USB	No	Mini USB 2.0 port, Full-size USB 2.0 port	1 USB 2.0	No	Micro USB
Wi-Fi	802.11a/b/g/n	802.11b/g/n	802.11b/g/n	802.11 a/b/g/n Dual-band (2.4GHz, 5GHz)	802.11b/g/n
Battery	10 hrs	11 hrs	8 hrs	9 hrs	10 hrs
Weight	1.33 lbs	1.60 lbs	1.69 lbs	1.25 lbs	1.43 lbs
Flash support		Yes		Yes	Yes
Price	$500/$600/$700	$380/$400/$480	$350/$450/$500	$500/$600	$400

Upgrade to Eclipse Indigo (3.7) from Eclipse Helios (3.6) on Ubuntu 11.04

I'm using Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers to develop Android applications on Ubuntu Linux 11.04. The latest version Eclipse in Ubuntu Software Center is Galileo (3.5). To install or upgrade new version of Eclipse IDE:
1. Download 64-bit Linux package from Eclipse.org. Please select the approriate version for your machine: Mac OS, MS Windows, 32-bit, 64-bit.
2. Extract the downloaded zip file: eclipse-jee-indigo-linux-gtk-x86_64.tar.gz
3. Rename Eclipse folder in my home directory to Eclipse-Helios
4. Move the Eclipse folder from Downloads directory to home folder.
5. Re-install ADT Plugin for Eclipse Indigo (3.7)
6. After Eclipse restart, check, and enjoy new version Eclipse

Getting Start with Android

Repost from old blog (Nov. 5, 2009) with some updates.

On the eve of the launch of Motorola Droid by Verizon Wireless, I started working on Android. I picked Android because its huge potential market. Second, I can utilized my current tools to develop mobile apps without spending more money. With this current economy, I need to save for the rainning days. I can use my existing Windows system to develop an Android app. On the other hand, I need to spend thousand dollar more to purchase a MacBook for iPhone development.

System Requirements (http://developer.android.com/sdk/requirements.html) need to install in order
1. First thing first, download and install JavaTM Platform, Standard Edition Development Kit (JDKTM) if it's not exist in your system. For Ubuntu Linux, using Ubuntu Software Center to install and configure Sun Java(TM) Development Kit 6 sun-java6-jdk package.
2. Download and extract Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers to your root (C:\) in Microsoft Windows or your home folder in Linux. For Ubuntu Linux, the current version in Software Center is not up to date and you may forgot to install other required development plug-ins like eclipse-pde, eclipse-jdt in addition to Eclipse Integrated Development Environment, so just download the latest version from Eclipse.org site and extract to your home folder.
3. Download and extract Android SDK to your root (C:\) in Microsoft Windows or your home folder in Linux.
Optional:
For Microsoft Windows, update system variables path=%path%;C:\android-sdk-windows\tools if necessary according to http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html
4. Download and configure ADT Plugin for Eclipse per instructions at http://developer.android.com/sdk/eclipse-adt.html#preparing
5. Adding SDK Components

Finally, working with the first simple sample project: "Hello, World" http://developer.android.com/guide/tutorials/hello-world.html