Android Launcher keeps restarting

When your phone runs out of RAM, automatically stops one or more applications that are currently running, making use of the newly gained resources for currently running apps.

The problem here is that my mid end phone stops the Home app, aka Launcher. I’ve used several launchers like Launcher Pro, Nemo, ADW (?) and others, and having the same problem. So I found that I can prevent the home app from being stopped by locking it in memory. You can do that (if you have a custom ROM installed) by going to Settings –> CyanogenMod Settings –> Performance , then select Lock home in memory.

 

Thanks to Google and XDA forums for this fix.

Standard ROMs should not have this problem.

Reading books on today’s touchscreen devices

First of all, nothing beats reading a physical book.

But some books are hard to find, therefore I must use the power of Google and get my book in digital format. Then I have to use my smartphone to read it.

I use Moon+ Reader and I find this app the best one (so far) for reading. It’s very complex and yet very easy to use. Text is highly customizable and page turning is smooth.

Screenshots:

Now read!	Some books I have imported
Statistics about your reading. Unfortunately, if Moon+ Reader is running while phone is charging, app still records data. I don’t read that much.	Same statistics

You need to buy the full version of Moon+ Reader to record data about your reading habits. But , given the fact that I screwed my statistics just by keeping the screen on while charging, I think free version should bee just fine.

I have also used Aldiko Book Reader and ePub Reader. First one was good, but not as good as Moon+ and the second one was bad and often turns like 5 pages at a time for no reason.

Youtube mobile–play videos on other devices

As of latest version (2.5.16), youtube’s official mobile app gives you the opportunity to play any video on any Youtube capable device . You just need to be logged in to Youtube on your mobile and on  your TV or PC or whatever.

If your devices are paired, you should see the remote play icon on your mobile app. Press it and the video will start playing on the other device. In less words this is a Youtube remote.

Go to youtube.com/leanback and click on that play remotely icon to pair your devices.

Also, with this latest update, videos won’t play in HQ on my mobile phone. I did select “play HQ when available” in the settings menu, but nothing happened. maybe it’s me, maybe it’s Jewtube

Android Game Boy Emulators

I don't usually play games on my phone, but when i do, i play Game Boy games. I still can't belive i lost 19 hours of my life with a Pokemon game.

 This is Pokemon Gold and you can play it with a free emulator found in Android Market: Gameboy Color A.D.  . It's very easy to use and does not need any aditional files to run (like bios, crack, etc.

This screenshot  is from Final Fantasy VI for Game Boy Advance. I didn't played it too much , but it can't be bad, i like most of the FF titles. This one needs another emulator, like GameBoid and a bios file. I don't remember where i got this file but it must be easy, like Google search easy.



You can find games for these emulators all over the internet but i preffer http://www.freeroms.com/ .
If you feel like playing something else besides Angry Birds, try these classics, you wont regret.

Total Commander for Android

For a better use of your Android phone , you really need a good  File Manager. I've tried several (OI, Astro, etc) but i think Total Commander is the best one there is.

As you see above, you can work with 2 panels. For example, chose one file from the right panel and then copy to the  left one. This way you can almost organize your Directory List or even sort files correctly.

I said almost because every Android app creates a folder in your SD card for some reason. I hate that.
You can download this app from this page

Something about Android battery life

I use Windows on my personal PC & netbook , Linux at my work-PC and Android runs on my mobile phone. So, form now on i will provide some tips about all those platforms. Period.

The number one problem with smartphones in our days is the battery life. These new devices have large touch screens that consume most of your battery and you need to recharge them very often, sometimes more than once a day.
Here are some tips for battery saving:
- Keep your screen on low brightness or select the auto brightness mode. This will save some battery.
- Any applications that's installed on your phone "eats" battery. And by any i mean EVERY application. So think twice before installing some wonder app that helps your battery life. At its best, this app will not drain your battery faster.
For example, i had like 2-3 apps that kept launching themselves even if i closed them. So we have 2 apps running in pasive service mode. I installed some app manager that constantly scans for running services and allows me to kill those who i desire. That results  in one permanently active service that helps me kill the passive ones. That makes no sense to me regarding battery saving.
- Use 2G instead of 3G networks.
- Uninstall System apps that you don't use (Gtalk, maybe email, some HTC or SAMSUNG apps that no one uses, etc) You can do that by using Root Uninstaller, which works only on rooted phones.
Finally, for experienced users, you may want to try some custom ROMs. I'm using the lastest version of GingerDX and this is how my battery life looks:

More to come soon!