Android Application Full Screen

This happened twice already. And it was a headache to figure out. The documentation and numerous blogs mentions setting the FULLSCREEN flag on the window but it never worked.

Finally, I noticed I was missing the SDK version specification in the AndroidManifest.xml file. Out of sheer curiosity I added a minSDKVersion and a targetSDKVersion and BAM! Fullscreen on max.

I wish I could have figured this out at the recent Hackathon as well as saved the time spent figuring it out during my Information Retrieval final course project. But now I know...

Favorite 5 Android Apps 2011

My most used Android apps of 2011: Now most used of ALL TIME is hard to say. My app usage fluctuates through time. When I find a spiffy useful little app, I use it and believe in it like Gollum and his precious. I evangelize it until it annoys people. Of course, my infatuation peeks and my short attention span/MTV Generation mind kicks in and I go off to preach about other mind blowing apps.

But that precious app will always have a soft spot in my heart. Here are 5 of them from 2011

Path - What initially attracted me was its lightweight, full-featured interface. Elegant use of space so that everything revolves around you. I hope you download it so you can understand my next statement: the animation of adding a new post makes me smile. Tap the plus button, and a delightful fan animation pops open a list of post options. Post from song you are infatuated to if you are awake or asleep. It's all about the real real you. "Not another social network to update" I thought. But the premise of Path is to share with your closest of close people. My best friend and maybe one or two other best friends. And that's it. They care a bit more about the small things then my Facebook network ever will. Like that one song I am having a rainy day with. And I feel more comfortable and even more willing to post more personal things such as asking for advice on a tough decision.

Pulse - This was (unfortunatley) a recent discovery for me. This news aggregator shows me as much news as possible (from endless sources) in a very intuitive and extremely responsive interface. I give them props for being able to load from so many sources while letting me scroll through posts like a buttery champ. This is one I recommend for everyone who loves headline bombardments (Did I mention you can add your favorite sources including blogs like Engadget?). Discover news!

Tiny Tower - A game. Every sound is addicting: the background music, coins when a Bitizen buys my shoes, the elevator ding, constructing a new tower floor, stocking items in my stores, again the background music, the graphics (thats not a sound but it's dang sure addicting). Everything! I am not one who buys virtual currency with real world currency and probably never will be, but Tiny Tower get me anxious for their Bux. Building my tower takes ages!

Field Runners - Another game. Tower defense games have been a favorite of mine since Starcraft's Map Rule Battle.Net's multiplayer tower defense matches(uff). I love being tested by barely destroying the last enemy of a rush, barely making those extra coins to upgrade my laser and finally upgrading my laser and in the next rush knocking out those once immortal-ish enemies like flicking a fly across the room. The graphics and balance in Field Runners definitely had my tower defense fix going for a while.

Google+ : You may even be reading this post because of the Android Google+ app and so I am sure you have noticed how tight and solid it feels. It took Facebook many iterations to get a social app usable, feature packed and easy to use (although Facebook's recent update last week has made strides ). The luring feature of Google+ for me was in its first release. Uploading multiple photos. Soooo easy and a tool I so badly wanted (I don't think even the recent Facebook update has this fubctionality). Then it just kept getting better. The swiping between screens (a common practice that can be seen in other recent updates to Google apps like Music and Currents) is an interaction that should be highly encouraged. It's elegant and extremely intuitive. This app is a good example of all the best practices of an Android application and hopefully other developers can learn from it, including of course myself.

Today the Incredible was Released

As a Tech enthusiast and gadget aficionado, I would like to make my first post about how the Droid Incredible was released. There are many reasons why I wish contracts should get washed off to hell like VHS videos or HD DVDs and replaced by a more efficient arrangement where everyone is happy. But this will never happen. And I can't go on to say that I am "stuck with this stupid Original Droid" because I love this phone and it does everything. Except I can't brag about carrying a 1ghz processor in my pocket. Thats the only thing- I just want my processor to handle my rare moments where I am using my phone almost as an actual desktop. Times where I come home and instead of computing on my laptop, I do it on my device. Pop open Meebo and startup Facebook , AIM, and Windows live chat sessions while browsing the web and having a group chat in Talk. Last time I did this, my phone would freeze every 5 seconds. I don't need it to render 3d graphics to play Unreal Tournament. I just want it to keep up.

I guess I'll be happy with not multitasking on a multitasking enabled phone for now.