Search
Calendar
March 2024
S M T W T F S
« Sep    
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
Your widget title
Archives

Posts Tagged ‘Android’

PostHeaderIcon Conférence Devoxx: Introduction aux Google Glass

640px-Image_GoogleGlass

J’ai eu la chance d’assister à l’édition 2014 de Devoxx FR.
La première conférence que j’ai suivie était “Introduction aux Google Glass”, par Alain Régnier (@AltoLabs, +AlainRegnier), dont voici un résumé:

Alain fait partie d’un programme, les Google Glass Explorers, c’est-à-dire les heureux élus qui ont pu se procurer des paires de lunettes Google Glass. Théoriquement, seuls les résidents nord-américains peuvent souscrire au programme ; néanmoins, l’estimation du nombre de Google Glass circulant en France oscille entre 30 et 50 paires.

A mi-chemin entre des lunettes Star Trek et des scouters de Dragon Ball, les Google Glass ressemblent à des lunettes classiques dont l’une des branche est plus épaisse et dont un verre est surmonté d’un prisme et d’une mini-webcam. Le petit bijou de technologie embarque, sous le capot, de nombreux capteurs et connecteurs: visuel, sonore, bluetooth, wifi, et même infrarouge.

Les Google Glass affichent par défaut des informations de quatre types: texte, image, vidéo et une version limitée d’HTML. Elles sont contrôlables de plusieurs façons: à la voix (en lançant le mot magique “OK Glass!”), via un trackpad, une application “web” MyGlassWeb ou enfin une appli Android MyGlassMobile.
En tant qu’outil de développement, un Android Screen Monitor (un simple client ADB) permet d’afficher sur l’écran du PC ce qui est visible par la personne portant les Google Glass: en d’autres termes, le flux de la webcam sur lequel est superposé l’affichage du prisme.
Concernant le développement proprement dit, trois méthodes sont disponibles:

  • Mirror API: les Glass communiquent avec un serveur hébergé par Google, qui redirige vers un serveur concret
  • GDK: il s’agit d’un kit de développement similaire à celui d’Android
  • WearScript: c’est une librairie, non-officielle, permettant de programmer les Glass en JavaScript

Alain a réalisé une démonstration d’utilisation des Glass. Avouons-le: c’est bluffant… En tant que développeur, les perspectives ouvertes par un tel objet connecté sont très enthousiasmantes! Le plus dur va encore être d’attendre que les Glass soient officiellement disponibles dans nos contrées européennes…

PostHeaderIcon Move AVD default location on Windows

Two days ago, I twitted this:

Windows I hate you “PANIC: Could not open AVD config file”

Indeed, I tried to run an AVD (Android Virtual Device) from IntelliJ IDEA, in order to test my Android application. So far, I always ran AVD from KUbuntu, but a specific need I had to run on Windows Seven. The emulator could not start, because it was searching the actual AVD img file in the default folder, eg C:\Documents and Settings\<yourLogin>\.android\avd on Windows XP. Unfortunately, the folder could not be retrieved (a story of French special characters, such as ‘é’, ‘è’, ‘ç’, etc.).
Therefore, the question is: on Windows, how to change AVD default location?

I tried many more or less tricky solutions, but the simplest is the following:

  • close IDEA and AVD Manager
  • create an environment variable ANDROID_SDK_HOME (keys Windows + Pause), pointing to your target folder, eg: D:\workarea\honeycomb-sdk
  • create a .android subfolder, eg: D:\workarea\honeycomb-sdk\.android
    • if Windows does not allow you to create a folder of which name starts with a dot, then create it through Cygwin’s mkdir.
  • startup IDEA

PostHeaderIcon Restore GingerBread on a Nexus S “bricked” by CyanoGen

Case

After rooting my Nexus S, I tried to flash the ROM, in order to replace the genuine GingerBread with a CyanoGen ehanced version. This worked pretty well, but for a amazing reason I do not know, I missed the so-called “GApps”: GMail, GMaps, etc., this way a Nexus S (or any other Android-driven mobile device) losing any interest. Then, it was the worst catastrophic epiphenomenon I might fear: the Nexus was “bricked”. Indeed, the splash screen, with the Android robot on a skate, did not stop from looping…

Brick, Block and Pitfall

I tried to restore CyanoGen, wipe the memory, etc., but nothing efficient. At last I decided to restore a genuine Gingerbread version.
Here is the puzzling block that stands on the road: a Nexus S does not contain an actual (I mean physical) SD memory card. The “virtual” SD card must be mounted via ADB. But ADB does not recognize the device, since the Nexus is “bricked”. The only access to the Nexus appears to be FastBoot… which does not recognize the /sdcard folder. And the circle is complete.

As you understand, the key is to be able to mount /sdcard, which is sufficient to copy a ROM, and then apply it as a regular update.

Fix

Here we assume you have a minimal knownledge on how to use ADB and FastBoot:

  • Download recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
  • Download GingerBread original ROM: da8206299fe6.signed-soju-ota-121341.da820629.zip
  • Switch on your Nexus in recovery mode (sound up and on/off buttons at the same time)
  • Select “recovery
  • Connect it to your PC
  • On the PC: fastboot boot ~/recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
  • Your phone reboots with a yellow on black console.
    • Select “mounts and storage” > “mount usb storage”
  • Now your PC detects the phone as a regular mass storage device.
    • Copy GingerBread ROM to /sdcard folder.
    • Rename it as update.zip (optionnal, easier for the next step)
  • On the PC: fastboot boot ~/recovery-clockwork-3.0.2.4-crespo.img
  • On the phone,
    • select the option “apply update
    • select update.zip
  • Restart the phone
  • If the phone freezes a long time, shut it down and switch it on again
  • Now the regular Nexus splash screen should be OK

PostHeaderIcon When ADB works but FastBoot does not…

I faced a very embarassing situation: trying to root my Nexus S, I had to unlock the device. My Android SDK was succesfully installed, the drivers too. The device was succesfully recognized by ADB… But fastboot devices failed to detect the device. From this point, it was impossible to unlock the device by launching fastboot oem unlock. I tried many basic solutions, but none worked.

At last, I found this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=875580

When ADB works but not FastBoot, the solution is to… install PdaNet. Amazing ; but efficient.

Many thanks to BigRick10 from XDA forums!

PostHeaderIcon How to emulate Android GingerBread on your PC?

This post describes how to install and play with a emulator of GingerBread (Android 2.3)  device on your desktop (or laptop) computer:

  • go to this page, download Android SDK related to your system.
  • unzip / install it, let’s say in $android-sdk-home
  • launch Android SDK Manager (with $android-sdk-home\SDK Manager.exe under Windows, $android-sdk-home/android on other systems)
  • on the left panel, select Available Packages, and select Android Repository packages you would like to install, and possibly other third party add-ons.
  • go to Virtual Devices >
    • New >
    • give a name, for instance “GingerBread” >
    • Target “Android 2.3.3…” >
    • SD Car Size: 2MiB >
    • leave other options >
    • Create AVD
  • wait a little…
  • still in Virtual Devices panel, select the AVD you have just created (called hereGingerBread) > Start
  • wait… a lot
  • enjoy!

EDIT: I could not resist and I have installed HoneyComb, too 😉