Android-x86 developments and issues

Puppy related raves and general interest that doesn't fit anywhere else
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jpeps
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#16 Post by jpeps »

jpeps wrote:
rjbrewer wrote:Something to think about.


Cost of new 7 inch tablet with Android: 50+ dollars.
Also, comes with about a million apps, most of which are free. They include fairly sophisticated office suites, ftp client and server, encryption tools (one click..both files and directories), organizers (synced with cloud servers) including calendars, task managers, calculators, alarm clocks, timers, etc.., backup software (synced with cloud servers), music software...keyboards with sound modules, drum pads, etc, music notation software (some excellent free apps--multiple stanzas, mordants, triplets, etc...), art and drawing apps, camera apps and related software, image galleries, navigation apps, bar scanners, graphic editors, financial software, digital radio apps, ebook readers, numerous file managers that organize your content into types (documents, pictures, apps, etc), a zillion news feed apps, everything imaginable in texting, call blocking, etc., flashlights, weather apps and maps, voice to text, text to voice, voice commands, gmail, video conferencing, social networking, gaming, sophisticated language translators (realtime..voice in/voice out), educational software (you name it), specialty software (piano tuners, engineering tools, etc), bluetooth connectivity, etc, etc, etc. Devices are automatically synched with your PC and each other, automatic updates.

starhawk
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#17 Post by starhawk »

I've used Android x86, and it has some interface hurdles that will be hard for people -- like how when you right-click you go back a screen even tho what you wanted was to pull up a context menu like in Windblows or Puppy.

Not to mention that there aren't many laptops or netbooks with accelerometers, so if you want to play a game that requires such things you're out of luck unless you can get a USB model... meaning you're out of luck -- a quick search on eBay for "usb accelerometer android" pulled up all of zero results.

jpeps
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#18 Post by jpeps »

starhawk wrote:
Not to mention that there aren't many laptops or netbooks with accelerometers, so if you want to play a game that requires such things you're out of luck unless you can get a USB model.
There are a series of utube videos of presentations by Steve Jobs from 2008-2010 demoing graphic developments in the iphone; quite impressive and taken for granted by the user.

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nubc
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#19 Post by nubc »

Just like Linux Mint, every time I use Android-x86, my computer's clock is set ahead by 5 hours. I thought this happened because Mint is based in Europe, but I dunno. Nope, never had a smartphone, and feeling puny for the lack. On the other hand, Richard Stallman doesn't use a smartphone either, and I can understand his reason why. Someone told me today that very recently a Firefox Browser app was introduced to the Android arsenal.
Firefox Browser for Android @ GooglePlay (download/install)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... la.firefox

Firefox for Android (re-direct to googleplay for download/install)
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/fx/#mobile

Firefox for Android: supported devices/platforms
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/mobile/platforms/

Richard Stallman: We're heading for a total disaster (Aug 2012)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFMMXRoSxnA

jpeps
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#20 Post by jpeps »

nubc wrote:Someone told me today that very recently a Firefox Browser app was introduced to the Android arsenal.
No..it's been available for years, replete with a vast array of addons (adblock, etc) and search engines.

re Stallman: It's always a good idea to learn how to write your own apps, like he did. That gives you pretty good control. Android has great development tools, but most people are more than happy to give over their freedom for convenience.

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L18L
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Android-x86

#21 Post by L18L »

nubc wrote:... my computer's clock is set ahead by 5 hours.
I have been adjusting my system for timezone Europe/Berlin.
(... and keyboard layout for de)

Preferences > System > Date & Time :wink:

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L18L
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Android-x86

#22 Post by L18L »

starhawk wrote:I've used Android x86, and it has some interface hurdles that will be hard for people -- like how when you right-click you go back a screen even tho what you wanted was to pull up a context menu like in Windblows or Puppy.
I don't know what version you have been using but in 4.3 recent version for all kinds of x86:

right click toggles zoom in - zoom out

back to last page is ESC key or left icon at bottom line.

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nubc
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#23 Post by nubc »

With Linux Mint, run as live CD or installed as dual boot with another Linux or Windows, the BIOS clock gets set ahead by 5 hours, so that when I reboot to another OS, the clock is wrong, despite having reset the clock multiple times when running Mint. Same thing happened with Android run as live CD. After using Android, when I start up the installed OS, the clock is ahead by 5 hours, even when I set the time correctly in Android setup.

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don570
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#24 Post by don570 »

I wrote a page explaining how I used a CD with PLOP installed on it
to launch Android-x86

http://mail.murga-projects.com/puppy/vi ... 8568bb0aeb

I got an older version of Android HERE
android-x86-2.3-RC1-asus_laptop.iso worked on my IBM desktop

___________

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nubc
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#25 Post by nubc »

article: The Best Android Antivirus Apps, by Max Eddy
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425153,00.asp

oldaolgeezer
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Android-x86 developments and issues

#26 Post by oldaolgeezer »

nubc, don570 and L18L:

After reading your posts about Android-x86 for PC's, I thought I'd give it a brief try on my Dell Optiplex GX520 (512 megabyte memory) desktop.

I selected the android-x86-4.2-20130228.iso and burned that iso onto a CD.

I booted it as a "live CD" with no hard disk installation (like Puppy pfix=ram).

I was impressed with the amount of work the developers have done. The graphic GUI looked just like the Android that runs on my Kindle Fire 1st generation (TI4430 cpu) and my TRIO Stealth Pro (A13 cpu).

I tried: the browser, Maps, Notes, News and Weather, Calendar, Clock and Settings. They seemed to work during my quick test!

(There are some rough edges. But I would encourage other Puppy users to try to dip a toe in Android waters with their desktops!)

For example, I couldn't seem to "wake up" from a screen timeout. There may be a magic key combination, but the ctrl+alt+del keys immediately rebooted my desktop!

(rjbrewer: I did get a chance to drag the circle to the right! )

And nubc, I can see what you suggest about "displacing Windows when XP reaches its EOL this coming April 8, 2014." There is a certain comfort for users in having the same "look and feel" on their new Android tablets and their old PC desktop.

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nubc
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#27 Post by nubc »

full installation basics: eeePC 900 MHz Celeron, 4 GB hdd, 512 MB ram, 8 GB SD card. ISO = Android-x86 4.0 r1 eeepc. Expected size of installation 332 MB, ncurses partition editor, grub bootloader. Suggest you remove SD card and other removable drives for the installation. Once Android installed, I installed Firefox for Android from mozilla site. Mozilla says FF4A will be installed soon. Helps a lot to have a USB optical mouse connected. Camera works :)

Problem (bug?): After the machine sleeps a while, I have to wake it up by pressing the power button. I recover the first screen but it's dim and the lock symbol is immobile, that is, it can't be moved via the touchpad. Things do respond to a mouse, however, and after unlocking, I can proceed as normal with touchpad control.

EDIT: Oops, FF4A does not connect to the internet, even though the resident browser does connect. I managed to recover (unlock Android) after the computer goes to sleep by pressing a keyboard button. There's a little button beside the right-hand Alt key, it has the image of a text page with cursor. Press this button [the Menu key] and the screen brightens so the lock can be undone. What is the function of this special key? It seems to restore the last instance of the browser.
Last edited by nubc on Mon 04 Nov 2013, 11:39, edited 12 times in total.

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rjbrewer
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Re: Android-x86 developments and issues

#28 Post by rjbrewer »

oldaolgeezer wrote:nubc, don570 and L18L:

After reading your posts about Android-x86 for PC's, I thought I'd give it a brief try on my Dell Optiplex GX520 (512 megabyte memory) desktop.

I selected the android-x86-4.2-20130228.iso and burned that iso onto a CD.
Just received an Optiplex gx520 today; will try Android on it.

Haven't been able to get wireless working with it on my laptops;
any tips?

Inspiron 700m, Pent.M 1.6Ghz, 1Gb ram.
Msi Wind U100, N270 1.6>2.0Ghz, 1.5Gb ram.
Eeepc 8g 701, 900Mhz, 1Gb ram.
Full installs

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nubc
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#29 Post by nubc »

I'm really eager to see how this unit might be used to recover a non-booting tablet, which doesn't respond to usual techniques, like the reset button.

Checking apps and features in Android-x87 4.0 r1 eeepc:
1. Terminal emulation works, df, free
2. Cannot mount SD card from Settings > Storage > Mount SD Card
3. Camera works
4. Used Puppy to erase 8-GB SD card, then formatted to ext3, in the hope that the SD card would extend the small hdd (4 GB), BUT can't mount the SD card through Settings app. I guess I could try to mount the card through terminal, then look at it in Open Manager. Oops, the SD card shows up in Open Manager, AND it still has Android directories on it from a previous failed install. Grr, I deleted this partition, and formatted, why are these folders present?
5. Interesting: Superuser app
6. Fn+PgUp and Fn+PgDn move from one page of Apps to the next or back to the preceding page (Fn + up/down arrow keys)
7. As mentioned above, on the eeePC 701 keyboard, beside the right-hand Alt key is a button (image of text page with cursor) that is useful for unlocking netbook after waking up from sleep [Use the Menu key to unlock the screen.]
http://www.android-x86.org/documents/ho ... up-machine
Last edited by nubc on Mon 04 Nov 2013, 11:38, edited 2 times in total.

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nubc
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#30 Post by nubc »

Before I installed Android-x86 on the solid state internal drive of this eeePC 701, it had Windows XP Pro on it. The internal drive is 4 GB, and Windows hardly fit on it, and Win XP w SP3 did not fit. The internal drive is too small for Windows XP. Now that the eeePC has Android full-installed to this 4GB flash drive, I find I need Windows to do some basic computing. It seems that certain flash procedures require Windows be used to unzip and run certain executables. I need to put Windows back on this eeePC. Here is my query: While I cannot disable the internal 4-GB flash drive, I can remove it from the Boot Order list. Would it be possible to install Windows XP to a 8-GB SD card, without Windows even seeing the internal drive, so that I can boot to Android with the SD card removed, and boot to the SD card when it's inserted and the BIOS boot order is set to ignore the internal drive? Would Windows accept such a situation, or would it protest the alien OS on the internal drive and complain, or perhaps it might try to bootload from the internal drive? Is it possible to dual-boot Windows and Android in this manner?

EDIT: Choke--Windows doesn't support two NTFS partitions on one drive. I don't know why I didn't think to use Bart PE for this.
Last edited by nubc on Tue 15 Oct 2013, 20:35, edited 2 times in total.

cthisbear
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#31 Post by cthisbear »

" The internal drive is 4 GB, and Windows hardly fit on it, and Win XP
w SP3 did not fit."

Ah! these are the moments when typing up >> Windows Tiny7 Rev01.

Based on: Windows 7 Ultimate..cd size install.

and Tiny XP >> 99 mbs installed..by >> eXPerience

may have given you some joy.

Ahem!!! from what I have heard.

Chris.

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nubc
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#32 Post by nubc »

I tried the Calendar widget, and it placed itself on the Home page, and I tried vainly to remove it. Tried to force stop it from Settings, no joy. Finally asked around, and learned the trick, so typical of Google coders, convoluted and non-intuitive. You left click the icon and hold, until the word "Remove" appears, then drag the icon to the word, and release. This might make sense to a Mac user, but I am totally ignorant about Macs.
Last edited by nubc on Wed 16 Oct 2013, 15:38, edited 1 time in total.

jpeps
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#33 Post by jpeps »

nubc wrote:I tried the Calender widget, and it placed itself on the Home page, and I tried vainly to remove it. Tried to force stop it from Settings, no joy. Finally asked around, and learned the trick, so typical of Google coders, convoluted and non-intuitive. You left click the icon and hold, until the word "Remove" appears, then drag the icon to the word, and release. This might make sense to a Mac user, but I am totally ignorant about Macs.
:) Don't forget, you're replicating a touch pad. It's standard procedure to hold an icon for an option menu to appear. Don't blame the tools.

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nubc
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#34 Post by nubc »

Android must be made for young people, I can't read the small print, even when I change the font to Large in Settings. I find myself constantly using a magnifying glass just to read text. Does the resident browser have an easily accessed setting like Seamonkey's (View > Zoom)? Would be nice to change font size from the browser, what the browser displays, and be able to quicky restore previous size. Oh, I see: tapping the page (touchpad) makes it larger or smaller. Alternately, two taps to make the page incrementally larger, then two taps to make it incrementally smaller.

I started the camera in a dark room, and the pointer (touchpad) froze. After a minute or so, I finally turned the light on, and then the eeePC spontaneously rebooted. The camera is apparently motion-activated and lack of motion (pitch black) causes a general freeze. I was trying to put the camera on an illuminated computer screen in the dark room.
Last edited by nubc on Fri 18 Oct 2013, 13:31, edited 2 times in total.

jpeps
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#35 Post by jpeps »

nubc wrote:Android must be made for young people, I can't read the small print, even when I change the font to Large in Settings
Android uses pinch functions on the touchpad to zoom. That's probably not working yet on your linux adaptation.

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