Progress is coming along a bit slower than expected, so I apologize for that. The Power Manager update is STILL waiting on the Google Play Services update, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I dunno. SoftGlow is now getting looked at, and Home Button has been rewritten to completion. NeoSynapse is still active but is for the moment taking a back seat to the neccessary rewrites and updates for the earlier applications. Hopefully expect to see the updated versions drop soon.
In other news, I recently removed the systemd-sysvcompat package from my Arch system. As a result, well, GRUB wasn't able to find my init. So after some panic, I learned that if you add
init='/usr/lib/systemd/systemd' to your kernel command line, GRUB will be able to init again like normal. This is because, atleast on Arch, to my understanding the init binary acts simply as a symlink to systemd. Who knew.
Anyways don't go digging around and pulling stuff out of base unless you're willing to freak out and put in the sweat to learn why stuff doesn't work the way it should sometimes.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
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Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Performance and Memory
Over the past couple days of programming I have looked at and debugged many of the ways that applications go about creating the interfaces which users interact with to get certain jobs done. Looking over code in Power Manager, I found a couple of instances where a contextual activity was leaked and held in code until the application was killed. This memory leak was minor, as the context only was able to point to one object, but the fact that it was arguably continually accessed would lead to large memory consumption in the future. Currently on my testing device, the Power Manager application reports that it uses 4.0 MB of RAM when the interface is not in the foreground. It uses 20 when in a foreground state. This is a large improvement from before where the application used a consistant 36 or so MB all the time. SoftGlow has undergone some code improvements to bring its background state down to a mere 2MB. Home Button is also down to only 3 MB background. Along with memory management improvements, code refactoring has led to perforamnce imprvements in almost all instances. The only time I would expect to not see improvement is when applications are being installed/uninstalled and you are trying to use the overlay. The uninstall process almost locks up all threads because of its massive use of resources when it comes to removing APKs from the system. So sorry if performance suffers if you try to use the overlay while uninstalling that 5GB game you just downloaded.
Still waiting on that GPS update to drop before I begin the process of uploading new packages.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
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Still waiting on that GPS update to drop before I begin the process of uploading new packages.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
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Saturday, August 16, 2014
Waiting
So the Power Manager update is basically done. There are a couple more small functionality things to re-implement, but essentially we're ready to go. What isn't ready to go yet though is Google Play Services. An updated version dropped a couple of days back (or so it reports) and will constantly pop up to remind the user that they should update their Play Services APK. Only there is no update available for Play Services at the moment. Because Power Manager (and frankly, all of my applications) use GPS to serve Ads to users (which is my main source of revenue and keeps me happy knowing people support me and my applications), it is of utmost importance that GPS is ready to go as well before the update goes live. The last thing a user would want to do is open the update and be unable to access any settings.
Speaking of settings, the reason why they are so important this update, is because I'm sorry. This update, 4.0.0, breaks backwards compatibility with older existing versions. It's that different. Yes I'm sorry, this means that every user will need to go through the application and reset his/her settings to what each person prefers using. However the increased speed and performance smoothing of the application will be well worth it I promise. Plenty of performance issues, small security implementations, and general usability issues have been fixed in the 4.0.0 update. I'm sorry its taken so long. Please be patient, as I'm only one person and can only work so fast.
SoftGlow will be receiving a revamp as well, it needs to be fixed for performance and other implementations. Home Button will be seeing minor patches as well (though likely not a large version bump like Power Manager or SoftGlow). And the new application, NeoSynapse, is being written with the changes in the Android ecosystem in mind. It is being engineered for security and performance in first class priority.
More announcements to come later, but for now its just a game of waiting.
I thank each and every one of you who uses any of my applications for being patient and understanding with me in this current busy time. I will make you all happy, I promise.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Speaking of settings, the reason why they are so important this update, is because I'm sorry. This update, 4.0.0, breaks backwards compatibility with older existing versions. It's that different. Yes I'm sorry, this means that every user will need to go through the application and reset his/her settings to what each person prefers using. However the increased speed and performance smoothing of the application will be well worth it I promise. Plenty of performance issues, small security implementations, and general usability issues have been fixed in the 4.0.0 update. I'm sorry its taken so long. Please be patient, as I'm only one person and can only work so fast.
SoftGlow will be receiving a revamp as well, it needs to be fixed for performance and other implementations. Home Button will be seeing minor patches as well (though likely not a large version bump like Power Manager or SoftGlow). And the new application, NeoSynapse, is being written with the changes in the Android ecosystem in mind. It is being engineered for security and performance in first class priority.
More announcements to come later, but for now its just a game of waiting.
I thank each and every one of you who uses any of my applications for being patient and understanding with me in this current busy time. I will make you all happy, I promise.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 11, 2014
For Realz.
I just rewrote Power Manager.
Like all of it.
Why? Why you ask? Why would I announce it complete and ready for release last week and then go about rewriting it? Because oh my memory leaks thats why. A large portion of the application was leaking a bad context which I basically built the entire application on. Now this wasn't too big of a deal if you exit the application through the back button, but for those of you who just press the Home button, Power Manager leaked endlessly. Never enough to run out, but hey. Only quality stuff here. I also used the rewrite to redesigned the manager and now it is able to save state through process kills. What used to happen is while your phone was turned off, if Android decided to kill the process, when you turned your phone back on, all of the radios would be stuck off. With the new method of storage, I am happy to say that Power Manager will still turn your device radios back on, even if you turn the screen off, kill all of the radios, lose device power, and turn the phone back on 2 days later. It should also be faster and more quickly responsive, and should consume less memory while running.
In the coming days I plan to do a reqrite of SoftGlow as well since that it a smaller and hopefully better laid out application. Progress may appear slow, but it is steady.
About Android L. For those who have downloaded the preview, I do not plan to support L while it is in preview. My main focus is on stability and performance in my applications, features and visual glitter come second to me. L will be supported rest assured, but only once its images leave preview and can be declared Stable.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Like all of it.
Why? Why you ask? Why would I announce it complete and ready for release last week and then go about rewriting it? Because oh my memory leaks thats why. A large portion of the application was leaking a bad context which I basically built the entire application on. Now this wasn't too big of a deal if you exit the application through the back button, but for those of you who just press the Home button, Power Manager leaked endlessly. Never enough to run out, but hey. Only quality stuff here. I also used the rewrite to redesigned the manager and now it is able to save state through process kills. What used to happen is while your phone was turned off, if Android decided to kill the process, when you turned your phone back on, all of the radios would be stuck off. With the new method of storage, I am happy to say that Power Manager will still turn your device radios back on, even if you turn the screen off, kill all of the radios, lose device power, and turn the phone back on 2 days later. It should also be faster and more quickly responsive, and should consume less memory while running.
In the coming days I plan to do a reqrite of SoftGlow as well since that it a smaller and hopefully better laid out application. Progress may appear slow, but it is steady.
About Android L. For those who have downloaded the preview, I do not plan to support L while it is in preview. My main focus is on stability and performance in my applications, features and visual glitter come second to me. L will be supported rest assured, but only once its images leave preview and can be declared Stable.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Monday, August 4, 2014
Upgrading Things and Things being Upgraded
Power Manager is updated and ready to go, all I need to do is create new Images and Icons to go with the new WHITE theme.
But that's hard and it takes a long time shmang.
But I'll do it.
I'll do it for you guys.
All like 7 of you who actually see this content. Woohoo You!!
SoftGlow has been updated for performance fixes and a safer, less intrusive scope. Home Button has been updated, and all of these changes reflect the new hope for compatability with Android L. The Android L update will drop once the image is no longer declared a developer preview, but rather a stable, working image.
The new launcher project is different from conventional Android launchers, as it hopes to be, and takes inspiration from the old launcher for Linux based environments called Synapse. Synapse is a piece of software that I use on a very regular basis. It runs to launch all of my programs as soon as I log in. Its cool. Hopefully this app will be cool too.
More updates in later days. Updates updates.
UPDATES.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
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Monday, July 28, 2014
SoftGlow Updates! oh. And other things too.
SoftGlow received a visual update as well as a tiny functionality change today. The visual update has improved the layout of the application, and it splits the functionality from one simple list to various pages which are dedicated to different types of options or customization. SoftGlow is performing smoother as a result of this, and the ability to hide the notification has also been added.
A new project, with no real working name has been added into the list of potential workings. I look to have it being a persistent launcher which does not get in the way of the user, and allows any application to be launcher from anywhere using the same kind of mechanism which runs Power Manager's overlay. this will allow more useability to switch between open applications, or even launch new instances of applications, even from inside full screen games or high priority applications. A debugging build has already been created as a proof of concept using the same underlying engine as Power Manager, and I will say that the idea is working very smoothly. I look forward to working more on this idea over the coming weeks, however personal vacation and other issues may slow the potential development for a couple of days.
A new project, with no real working name has been added into the list of potential workings. I look to have it being a persistent launcher which does not get in the way of the user, and allows any application to be launcher from anywhere using the same kind of mechanism which runs Power Manager's overlay. this will allow more useability to switch between open applications, or even launch new instances of applications, even from inside full screen games or high priority applications. A debugging build has already been created as a proof of concept using the same underlying engine as Power Manager, and I will say that the idea is working very smoothly. I look forward to working more on this idea over the coming weeks, however personal vacation and other issues may slow the potential development for a couple of days.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Video?
Lots of progress has been made on Power Manager and I'm thinking of posting a small video to show the new features. Is that cool? Awesome. See you in a couple of days.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Oh Android
You would think that because developers make applications for Android, that the ecosystem would be standardized enough so that if I cast a seqeunce of Characters into a String, and it doesn't throw an error in plain Java that Android will be fine too. And it is. Except when you're device implementation of casting from CharSequences to Strings sometimes crosses through an Android SpannableString interface. In which case you can't cast that to a String. So you get bugs, and crashes. And one poor soul on a Galaxy S3 build who has this problem who just can't for the life of hi/her open the Radio interface to set settings. Because Android bugs out in an area that it works fine for almost everyone else. Why Android.
Hopefully the bug has been fixed up so that the interface I've designed can be used by the people suffering from a casting error on my part. Hopefully Android will slowly but surely become more standardized so that a SDK distributed to all developers will be expected to work on one, and work on all devices. Also a null ointer has been addressed in the overlay which should hopefully fix the problems for those people encountering bugs in there.
Hope. Just a fool's hope.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Hopefully the bug has been fixed up so that the interface I've designed can be used by the people suffering from a casting error on my part. Hopefully Android will slowly but surely become more standardized so that a SDK distributed to all developers will be expected to work on one, and work on all devices. Also a null ointer has been addressed in the overlay which should hopefully fix the problems for those people encountering bugs in there.
Hope. Just a fool's hope.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Friday, July 25, 2014
Here's whats up.
Well the temperature where I live.
Also a couple of stocks are doing okay.
But mainly, whenever the device boots up, the performance of the overlay for the first couple seconds is ABYSMAL. Now unfortunately, I can't do all that much about this. The device is booting so naturally priority is placed on getting processes started, not necessarily performance. However, I did make some changes in offloading the heavy logic process for where the current touch is, and what button (if any) it is touching, to a background async task and I will say, the performance has improved over all. Visually it may still feel the same, but the over all response of the overlay is now smoother. I've also pushed the actual Power Manager functionality to a background thread which in theory should reduce the time needed to resume the device from sleep, which is a problem that commonly has plagued the application.
I've also worked on improving the response time for SoftGlow and its startup, as well as the performance of the overlay once you call it online. This is because instead of process all of the heavy loading on the UI thread, I've pushed it to the background so that the only result you see, is the result you care about: your device becoming tinted with a nice mellow glow.
Also, game loops. They're being programmed too. Maybe. Can't say. Shouldn't say. Just said.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
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Also a couple of stocks are doing okay.
But mainly, whenever the device boots up, the performance of the overlay for the first couple seconds is ABYSMAL. Now unfortunately, I can't do all that much about this. The device is booting so naturally priority is placed on getting processes started, not necessarily performance. However, I did make some changes in offloading the heavy logic process for where the current touch is, and what button (if any) it is touching, to a background async task and I will say, the performance has improved over all. Visually it may still feel the same, but the over all response of the overlay is now smoother. I've also pushed the actual Power Manager functionality to a background thread which in theory should reduce the time needed to resume the device from sleep, which is a problem that commonly has plagued the application.
I've also worked on improving the response time for SoftGlow and its startup, as well as the performance of the overlay once you call it online. This is because instead of process all of the heavy loading on the UI thread, I've pushed it to the background so that the only result you see, is the result you care about: your device becoming tinted with a nice mellow glow.
Also, game loops. They're being programmed too. Maybe. Can't say. Shouldn't say. Just said.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Really big battery
Users using the newest Power Manager update may notice that there is a gigantic battery in the overlay which stops them from using the overlay features. This is because I am bad and forget to test against small screen devices. For now, please disable the battery percentage display if you encounter this issue. Many apologies in advance, the bug has already been fixed upstream and I look forward to releasing the fix along with the other related performance updates.
Keep following pyamsoft for updates and announcements about the newest applications!
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
==
Like what I do?
Send me an email at: pyam.soft@gmail.com
Or find me online at: http://pyamsoft-official.blogspot.com/
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