Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Pirating Android Apps - What You Should Know

If you are reading this post then you likely have questions about getting free premium apps for your Android device. The first thing you need to know is that an app is essentially a javascript application, meaning it is very simple to decompile. This simplicity also makes it extremely easy for someone to ad a few simple lines of code that steal information from your device.

There really is know way to know exactly what may have changed, but know that someone had to change something in the code in order to circumvent DRM protections.

For these reasons I highly recommend that you do NOT attempt to pirate apps for your android device. You are putting not only your personal information at risk, but that of your contacts as well. You can almost guarantee yourself and your contacts a boatload of extra spam, as email addresses are most commonly the items stolen.

Just do a little extra searching for a free app, the ads typically use a very small amount of data, and are not too intrusive for the most part.

If you are using a tablet which does not have access to the market, try Getjar.com, as it has plenty of free options that are very simple to install.

Best SNES Emulator for Android Phones

There is a huge selection of emulator apps on the Android Market, many of which are not free.  This can make it difficult to determine which would be best for you.  You must also realize that in most cases there is likely to be an issue with certain games. Some will work better than others.

Many of the paid emulator apps will also have a free or lite version which only lacks certain features or may contain ads. Some of the features left out are the ability to save the game state, or use game genie/gameshark codes. This is a great way to try out an emulator before making a purchase.

If you are like me and are simply getting an emulator for the old school novelty, then paying for an app you might hardly ever use just isn't really an option, you should try out SNES A.D. by Appbrain. This is a 100% free app that includes all of the premium features.

Remember that you will still need to obtain ROMS, which is legal as long as you own a physical copy of the cartridge in its original form.  These can easily be found at Coolrom.com. 

SNES A.D. features
  • Game Genie and Gameshark codes
  • Touch Screen Support-Nice virtual, transparent on screen keypad which is easily customizable.
  • Hardware Mapping- Useful for customizing games to work well on your phones keyboard
  • Save Game State-This is like a super save, it does not just save your progress but saves the game exactly as is. This way you can always come back exactly where you left off. 
  • Uses only a small, simple ad in the settings screen
  • Sound plays better than most other SNES emulator apps, with very little crackle.
Enjoy your old school SNES emulator!





Monday, January 30, 2012

The Best Task Killer for Android

While there are many choices available in the Android Market, there is one that in my opinion outshines all the rest. Super Task Killer FREE by NQ Mobile (Netquin Mobile Inc.) seems to be the most efficient out of all which I have tested.  It includes a simple 1x1 widget which is easy to fit on you home screen, and kills apps with a simple tap, and will flash a notification screen giving you a report on the amount of memory available.

There are times that you may have to press the widget more than once to kill everything, but typically this is not nessacary.

As with all task killers, you can expect certain applications to restart automatically, as they are required for your android device to function normally.  This is best used after running several third party apps, such as StumbleUpon or a Craigslist browser since they will likely stay running in the background.



Android has SIRI like features, almost

With Apple's release of SIRI, there has been a tremendous increase in demand for a similar Android application. In response, a number of developers have begun trying to cash in on this latest trend. What most users seeking these apps fail to realize, is that android has a great many of these features built right in.

Voice Dialer
Android's voice dialer has the ability to open any app simply by saying open "application".  There are limitations to this feature, and the phone will not yet speak back to you. It will always followup with a prompt asking you to confirm the specified action, which leaves us lacking true "hands free" operation.

Voice Search by Google
Believe it or not, this feature can be used to send text messages, although it still requires a bit of on screen interaction to get it right.

You can activate the Voice Search and say send text "whatever message you want here" and it will open a slightly different messaging window with the text already entered. You still have to also either click on the proper field, or manually select a contact, but this is a start.
 

Intro

The purpose of this blog is to provide useful information suited for the average user. Many tech sites are created with the tech junkie in mind. This blog will take a more practical approach about what you can expect to get out of web technology.

As a tech user with over 20 years online experience, both professional and personal, there may be a lot of issues I can help you learn about. Stay tuned, and hopefully you will find something worthwhile within these pages.