Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts

Monday, July 11, 2011

A Loser's Whining

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Losers are always losers. When they fail, they simply pull out stupid stuns to attempt to even up the game. Little do they know of the word "INNOVATION". Apple did well innovating the iPhone in the beginning but when Google's Android showed them that they can beat Apple, Apple whine about and pull patent threats at manufacturers like HTC. They lost their innovation along time ago and could only cry about with patent battles.

If you see a competitor doing better, find a way to beat the competitor's products like a real man.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Oracle's Patents Invalidated

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It's interesting to note that the USPTO had to invalidate so many patent claims (24 of them) from Oracle. Why wasn't the patent application rejected before being approved ? If the patent vetting processes were carefully controlled, USPTO would not need to invalidate so many patents and the dispute between Oracle and Google may not have had any ground to begin with in the first place.

How efficient is the USPTO's patent vetting process, now we have seen some light of our own.

For Google, it would be great news that the 24 patent claims hold no grounds anymore as the USPTO invalidated all 24 of them.

Oracle would definitely be very upset and may try it's best to blow things up and make things worse as Oracle lost all 24 patent claims in one go and which corporation would sit back and allow all 24 patent claims it is using in a patent dispute lawsuit to be invalidated ?

The battle between Google and Oracle would be more heated and interesting to watch and for now, Google have the definite advantage on it's side.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Android Insecurity

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It's not surprising that any platform have vulnerabilities. The more famous a platform is, the more scrutinized and the more vulnerabilities it has. The problem is not with the open source nature of Android which enables the vulnerabilities as malicious developers could easily get their hands on Android's source codes and write malicious applications.


The problem has many complications in my opinion. Firstly, there is no known incentive for hunting bugs like what Google Chrome browser has. Despite the sandboxing and permissions that Android have, people simply don't even know anything about permissions and they simply agree to allow all required permissions for the app they wanted to install regardless of the consequences. Google needs to make the permissions much simpler for lay people.


We have no idea about the actual working situation when a piece of application is submitted for review before uploading to the Market Place but from the current situations, there are tainted applications that have made it pass to the point it gets uploaded onto the Market Place successfully and pass inspections by Google.


The fragmentation of the Android Market Place is another huge problem. Other Market Places may have less stringent to no checks on the applications and some Market Places may not be safe at all and have other unknown motives. Google need to address this issue by releasing an official API to access it's Market Place, set known standards for checking of applications and to approve each Market Place as being standard compliant to it's standards. Releasing a Google Market Place API would appease the user's frustration of not being able to write applications to access the Market Place for other device platforms and therefore, may slow down the amount of new and inexperienced (and even potentially dangerous) Market Places from appearing.


There are many more problems, known or unknown. The above are some well known problems that I have touched on.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sickening Powers that Be

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Click on the "Comments" button at the right side of that Google Support discussion and read it.

Didn't Google talk about openness and open source ? What is all these lock down going on onto rooted devices ? Maybe it's an error or bug ? Or maybe there's something really wrong about the "openness" Google sees and something we misinterpreted ?

Friday, April 22, 2011

Keypair Keyboard

I have recently been frustrated with the small keys a soft keyboard presents itself on iPhone, Android ... BlackBerry's incredibly tiny keypad ... and all the really small key keyboard.

Here, I would present a keyboard I designed called the Keypair Keyboard. It works like the old school cell / mobile phone keypad where you have to hit a key a couple of times to permutate the letters to the ones you wanted. Keypair is different as it has only 2 permutations per key... thus saving you the hassle of multiple permutations. It also have the ability of a full keyboard by allowing you to Cap Lock it on.

If you have additional keys you want, it has multiple soft keypads where you could interchange by sliding or swapping the keypads in between.

The general dimension of the keypads are 6 blocks of key columns and 4 rows. An additional dictionary-enabled word/phrase prediction can be added to the top of the keypad.


These concepts are thought and made by me and no one else helped me. I simply get inspired to create them.

The Keypair Keyboard is a non-patentable, free-for-all, public domain innovation and anyone who wants can use it as long as they don't patent it (thus inhibiting others from using this keyboard).

The concept of Keypair Keyboard is to have a larger and fewer keys so that users would not mis-type their letters. It supports many keypads so you can switch between keypads. For example, one keypad would handle the alphabets of "A" to "Z", while the other keypad would handle "0" to "9" and some basic common symbols". The other keypad would handle the rest of the less commonly used symbols. It should allow users to add keypads and symbols programmatically or through some ways of user interaction.

Below are the two images and I would explain them and their workings.

The above variant of Keypair Keyboard is the "Swipe" variant. What "Swipe" meant is that, to change between different keypads, the users swipe left and right of the current keypad to get access to the next keypad.

The above Swipe variant of Keypair is in the Alphabet keypad. You can see a huge downward pointing arrow on the lowest left of the keypad. The downward pointing arrow is to indicate that the current letters of the alphabet are in capitals and the user could use the downward pointing arrow to down-case it to lower case letters.
The left and right or forward and backward letter selection allow users to select the previous or next possible letter to edit or change. A dictionary-supported word prediction utility is supported to predict words users may want to use.

An example to use any variant of the Keypair Keyboard - type "query". For typing the word "query", I have to tap on the "Q/W" - once, "G/U" - twice, "E/R" - once, wait for a while, then proceed with "E/R" - twice, "T/Y" - twice.

This above is the next variant Keypair Keyboard called the "Plain" keyboard. It does not support swiping actions to change keyboard so it is "plain". You would notice that there is a key on the lowest left side that have two arrows pointing at opposite directions. This key is used to switch between keyboards. This picture contains an error where the Caps lock key is being replaced by the Tabs key.

These concepts are thought and made by me and no one else helped me. I simply get inspired to create them.

The Keypair Keyboard is a non-patentable, free-for-all, public domain innovation and anyone who wants can use it as long as they don't patent it (thus inhibiting others from using this keyboard).

Please respect my creations and in doubts, contact me via my email in my profile.

Friday, March 25, 2011

How much do I trust android's openness

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Despite all the justification Andy Rubins can make about keeping Honeycomb's source codes under wraps (if the article is true), or even in the future or past, I don't really see how open Android is. I have been hoping Android would release the Market's SDK and allow those who do not have Market Place  apps to at least have an API so users could officially connect into Market Place without the risk of third party apps libraries and cloned market places.

Although Android's source codes are open to the public via their public git repository, it's not like the Linux kernel or other open source projects where other parties could simply hop in and join in the development and contribute patches and suggestions.

Most developers could only face the truth of the "take it or leave it" scenario.

I am sure patience are wearing thin for the Android platform and for Google for being open and outright honest about their practises.

For Apple and Microsoft, both of you, don't bother laughing at Google's Android. Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Phone 7 OS is actually so much more close sourced and I would rather term them "Iron Curtain" then Android's "walled garden".

The terms of using the whole or any part of this article post is to properly cite and reference it, and you can use it.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Android with Secure Hashing

As we know, Android have a good amount of trouble with malwares and the primary reason is that the apps are taken from the unofficial marketplaces instead of Android's Marketplace.

Google should seek to quickly release it's protocols for accessing the official marketplace and make an app that anyone can download and install the official marketplace app. An example is the Android version of the Archos tablets where there is no access to official Android Marketplace but some other marketplaces.

Google should also see to provide SHA 256 and SHA 512 hash signatures for every application and provide a hashing tool that would show the users if their application's hash signatures matches.

Google should also consolidate and look over all Android marketplaces and may need to move in the direction like Apple's Appstore to establish a central final authority but Google should be like a benevolent dictator. This would solve most of the headaches of becoming splintered and allowing bogus apps or apps that have been deliberately modified from the original and pass off as a copy of the real app, to harm others, be nearly impossible with the use of a central authority.

Hosting hacking competitions and more open research and discussion that can be conveniently accessed by the general public would allow better discovery of bugs and exploits. 

By following Linux kernel development's footstep which actively exposes it's development in real time and allowing the community a piece of the pie to research and contribute would really enhance Android. 

The Android development team within Google would not be enough. Tapping into the power of community development and listening to the community would proof to be the wisest decisions.

In the end, Android's malware exploits are mostly caused by Google's own undoing for the above I have stated and partly caused by malicious minded people who are out to make a quick bug and harm others, not regarding the privacy and safety of others.


Saturday, December 4, 2010

Archos + Android is a disaster

I have just got myself Archos 7 inch variant of it's internet tablet and now I utterly regret for getting it. It's because of many factors I would explain below ... that's why hype are hype... hype are false truth !

Bad factors:
  • No official Android marketplace - Archos fault (using it's appslib market instead)
  • Because there's no Android marketplace - therefore no access to 'market://' protocol and you couldn't get standard marketplace stuff like...
    • ADOBE FLASH PLAYER 10.1
      • And therefore:
        • NO FLASH !!! - no killer apps
        • BLAME - ARCHOS
  • Android/Google does not provide a standalone marketplace installation to remedy the problem and has been an outstanding major problem in Android.
Some may claim that my views are petty but it's a big thing. People want the millions of apps on Android marketplace, not Appslib.

If Apple wants to quote or anyone wants to quote from this article... they MUST present the entire article (and in that way they are allowed to present) or else if anyone wants to quote any part without the whole of this article... is considered a VIOLATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS and COPYRIGHTS. Please credit 'Thothtech / Thotheolh' for this article too or it would be considered a VIOLATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS and COPYRIGHTS.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Why Netflix should be shunned

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In my opinion, the open source and supporters of Free software (as defined by FSF) should shun Netflix. Android and it's parent (Google) who supports the open source movement should steer very clear from those who promote DRMs like Netflix. It would actually be better if Netflix is never created on Linux based handsets like Android as it supports DRM, not the goal or in-line of the goals of Free software like Linux.


The Linux OS, which is an open source Free software, has been 'raped' and non-Free stuff have found it's way into Linux. This should not have been the case but it is now the case... a very sad case indeed.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Corrupted Evil Oracle

We have all known that nothing goes well when Oracle literally 'eats up' Sun. Most of us who were pretty much happier with Sun have seen our predictions come true ... which is when Oracle takes over, we are in for HELL. It's literal and it's real.


Firstly, Oracle kills off innovative Sun initiated projects, refuses to support OpenSolaris, puts a price tag on MS Office plugin for ODF format (making people pay to use ODF format on MS Office) and now Oracle attacks Google because of the Dalvik VM for Android (Read: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/08/oracle-sues-google-over-use-of-java-in-android-sdk.ars) . 


Isn't Oracle gonna promote the use of Java rather then hinder it's growth ?


Good thing James Gosling quit and escape this evil menacing company called Oracle when Oracle decides to eat up Sun.


Everything when really bad when Oracle ate Sun up. Ouch and it hurts !!!


MySQL database's future is even more unstable because of these hurtful moves Oracle have done.


Oracle's moves have once again further reduced developers confidence that Oracle could take over Sun's legacy and protect us, but Oracle is doing the opposite, reducing our confidence and 'attacking' us.


I, as a Java developer, felt that this step Oracle has done to take on the Dalvik VM is one of the fatal blows to my confidence of Oracle. I am pretty convinced all these years of Sun's legacy would be lost forever by Oracle's sins.


Oracle only cares for itself rather then the communities of developers.


I think it's a little late for Sun to regret handing over their front door keys and trust that Oracle would continue to be nice and not evil. Oracle have betrayed these sacred trusts and ruined the good name Sun once built.


SHAME ON YOU ORACLE.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Evil Softwares: Droid X

I would kick off a new commentary called Evil Softwares where softwares that are 'EVIL' and restricts the 'FREEDOM' would be listed and given a bad 'dressing down' here.


The first victim we have here is... 'Droid X' by Motorola. 


Read: 
I don't remember Android being released as a closed source software. Android is released as GPL v2 and Apache v2.0 license ! Now what gives Motorola the rights to remove the freedom of user's mod-ing ? 


At most it's the lost of warranty but if Motorola is going to 'self-destruct' mods besides users losing warranties for mod-ing, then why bother use Android, which is a 'FREE' (as in FSF definition of freedom) software. Go use Win 7 mobile or something non-FREE if you want to lock people down so much.


Isn't that simply the misusing of the name of Android ? Android's reputation of 'FREE' HAS BEEN STAINED BY MOTOROLA.

so hated...

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Google's 2 OSes

Google have made two different OSes so far. One of them is the infamous Android and the other is the still in development Chrome OS. Both OSes are based on Linux.


Why don't Google reuse the already well-liked and infamous Android OS and modify it for desktop and netbook usage rather then reinventing the wheel, spawning the Chrome OS ? If Google really wanted Android OS to have the Chrome browser-like feel which Chrome OS is using, they could simply write some sort of layer over Android like what other Android mods have done (customizing their Android mods).


By choosing just Android to work with and having a desktop / netbook Chrome-like feel mod, all they need to do is focus on one single OS and that's all they need. 


Splitting attention between two OSes can sap a lot of resources and attention. Logically speaking, Chrome OS would have a high possibility of being discarded sooner or later because the amount of attention and resource being sapped from maintaining two OSes is quite a lot, even for a huge company like Google.


Google, please think twice. It's not late to give up on Chrome OS and create a mod for Android to run a Chrome-like desktop/netbook OS.