howdy, Jim!

Hello. How are you today ? Still depressed over HoneyComb ?

that post struck a nerve, apparently

Nope. Just chuckling.

I'm less depressed over HC specifically than I am the continually-climbing learning curve for newcomers

but that's probably not why you're here

How best to get a small image (320x320) or thereabouts, from the camera via Activities as opposed to direct usage of the camera ?

so...how can I help you today?

good question

I've seen people use ACTION_CAPTURE_IMAGE, or something like that, but I haven't used it personally

ah, ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE

on MediaStore

Frankly, I find the direct usage to be a pain. I am currently using the CAPTURE_IMAGE , like yous said.

it's a pain, but it's the only thing that gives you real control

You do a StartActivity and give it a callback.

So, I am guessing, you have no knowledge of how, correct ?

well, beyond posts like this: http://achorniy.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/h…

there are no extras for saying "I only want 320x320"

morning

you'd have to scale the resulting bitmap yourself to your desired size

based on whatever the camera and MediaStore gave you (image and thumbnail)

howdy, fitz

Do your books cover the scaling API ?

not presently

I will probably get into that in _Tuning Android Applications_ here in 2011

from what I've seen, it's not that hard

biggest challenge is that you can scale disk->disk

you have to scale disk->RAM

I'll move to the backgroundnow for a while and let fitz have a go.

OK...fitz, do you have a question?

I need to pass to API the user entered GMAIL info stored in setup of the phone - can I get access to that setting? does this request/question make sense? or should I restate

the question makes sense

the answer, AFAIK, is that data is unavailable to you

Ms. Hackborn just posted about that recently, though I forget exactly where

Hello

howdy, Mike R!

ok - so I will create a user enter screen - is there a list of what is available to us? maybe at android site - did I miss it?

I'm not sure what the scope of "what is available to us" you are seeking

I presume the user's Google accounts are available from AccountManager

but the passwords aren't

well the other day you stated you can not get to calendar now we can not get to settings - sounds like all we have access to is contacts

you can look at the android.provider package for that sort of stuff

contacts, call log, some alarm clock stuff

MediaStore, some settings

and that's about it

giving apps access to users Google passwords would be an unmitigated disaster

ok - do you have any idea in your travels - hearing about this opening up a bit more to us - especially for tablets, TV etc.

in terms of Google accounts specifically, Ft. Lauderdale would freeze over first

beyond that, I have no particular insights

Mike: do you have a question?

ya agreed on Google passwords - just thought because they use it for gmail and calendar and if we use it for Google access only they might see the light - wishful thinking eh!

yes a couple actually

My company go purchased by a larger company with more mobile apps. Looking to set up a more formal development/qa facility

I got a letter about that -- ummmm...congrats?

the question is: If we could buy 5 Android phones to test on, what would you recommend?

um

do you anticipate anything about the apps will be carrier-specific, such that you'd need the devices to be on different carriers?

we already have an original droid, so would be in addition to that. Nothing carrier specific (i think)

ok

I'd get 1-2 tablets and 3-4 phones

tablet choices would be Motorola XOOM once it ships (Honeycomb), Galaxy Tab second

phones...I'd aim for a mix of input types and perhaps screen sizes

for example, if you distribute to Europe/Asia a lot, I'd nab some QVGA/small-screen device, like a Sony Ericsson X10 mini or Motorola CHARM.

I'd consider a device with an always-available keyboard, like a Motorola CHARM or DROID PRO

beyond that, it's pretty much a crapshoot

ordinarily, I'd say get a Nexus One or Nexus S, since they should get Android updates faster

however, the Nexus One never got Gingerbread, and heaven only knows if/when it'll get an update past Froyo

so the "Googlephone for faster updates" theory has a big hole below the waterline

Nexus S is the unlocked phone you can buy from Google now?

Not sure if you can get it from Google -- I got mine from Best Buy

can be purchased unlocked?

I'm not aware that it is SIM-locked

however, it probably only does 3G on T-Mobile

just due to radio frequencies

I

er, I'm not aware of an AT&T model

let alone a CDMA flavor (Verizon, Sprint)

Jim: do you have another question?

Yes.

Back to the scaling.

Are you speaking of Bitmap.compress ?

no, I was thinking BitmapFactory.createBitmap

Ah.

Ok.

or BitmapFactory.decodeFile

Got it.

SQLite - I have seen posts about limitations on size to 1024 and then others say there is no limitation - so is there? Also I need daily this dB to me removed and then replaced - I assume this is doable yes with killing app etc? Is it safe to assume we should load DB on SD card? most phones now come with SD cards at least 16MB? I know some basic questions.... still learning ....

me = be - sorry early morning

1024...what? MB? GB? TB?

TB would be nice :)

1MB

it can be much bigger than 1MB

storage space on the device will be a problem first

regarding remove/replace, that sounds scary, but so long as all SQLiteDatabase/SQLiteOpenHelper objects are closed, you can delete the file

databases generally are not on external storage, though they can be, albeit without SQLiteOpenHelper support

external storage is fraught with problems (e.g., unavailable if the user has it mounted as a drive on a host PC) and therefore not great for databases, when avoidable

the 1MB limit you may have seen is on an individual resource/asset packaged in an APK file

ok - in your book you mentioned another authors book - this other book does it get into how to do dB replacements etc? work it's weight in paper?

You are thinking of _The Definitive Guide to SQLite_

it wouldn't have anything on database replacements, as that's not a SQLite concept -- that's a fitz concept

mostly, that book is good if you are using SQLite from several languages, as it covers various bindings

to look at it another way, I haven't used it in two years

Mike: do you have another question?

yes

ok thanks

Got a call from a headhunter looking for a Android developer in Jersey. not for me, but she asked if I could bring up on any mailing lists.

is there a mailing list / forum where such a thing might be appropriate?

she should use existing resources for those: LinkedIn, Craigslist, etc.

lots of job listings there

I don't know of any Android-specific job board site

though I've dropped hints the size of boulders that somebody should go create one

sounds good. I know the BNR mailing lists occasionally have postings, but there is no android list on BNR

Jim: another question?

Suppose when you buy my app, you get some free tokens with your purchase, and then over time, you use them up, and so you use the new in-app billing to buy some more, and I want to make sure you can't hack and get some free tokens, where and how should I store the the token counter of the number of tokens you currently own ?

on your server

go to meet up - find local chapter they always talk about job offers etc.

there is no truly secure spot on the device -- users with rooted phones can get at pretty much anything

So should I use the user-id / password scenario ?

Make them register ?

that's a possibility

if you are using LVL, whatever unique ID you are using for it might suffice

I haven't thought about an implementation of this sort of thing much

Is there another possibility ? What is LVL ?

License Verification Library

Ah.

Ok.

DOne for the moment.

fitz: do you have another question?

Mike R. here is a local one I go to http://www.android-android.net/events/1485…

Mike departed

2700+ members

any questions from anyone?

Still thinking of my token problem. If the phone is out of network touch (which will be the case sometimes, at least in my world), do I sync with the server from time to time ? Or maybe as they use them up ?

not from me - I am going to work on the Fitz concept :)

Jim: something like that

LVL does the same sort of thing for credential checking

so you might keep an unofficial token count on-device, comparing it when possible to the official count online

biggest issue there is if somebody figures out how to zero out the number of tokens used offline

at the end of the day, hacking tokens is not that different from ordinary piracy

my attitude has always been: put up enough barriers to make it a bit painful, then don't worry about it

Mark - found this article on how to do SQLite replacements so I am off to investigate - thanks see you next time - have a good day all - http://www.reigndesign.com/blog/using-your…

see ya!

How much slower is edge compared to 3g ? I wonder if I should compress more if on edge since I have to upload the image to a server.

well, I'd compress in either case

Any way to calculate this ?

The time to upload, I mean.

calculate speed? not really, short of doing test uploads

bear in mind that "unlimited" data is a US concept, somewhat fictional

elsewhere, it's metered -- pay by the MB

How to determine the current speed ?

App id US only.

App is US only.

upload something, measure how long it took, divide the two

Yuck. No API to see if edge or 3g ?

oh, well, you can determine that via ConnectivityManager

I just took a quick look.

I see WiMax, which I guess is 3g.

no, WiMax is 4G

TYPE_MOBILE is 3G/EDGE

you'd have to try to decipher those subtypes

I don't know what SUPL is, for example

I am beginning to share your depression...

Oh well.

I am out of here.

Thanks very much for keeping office hours.

sure!

I use it sometimes and it is invaluable.

glad to be useful!

Really sets you apart from other authors.

bye

see ya!