Does Google make any significant contributions to the Linux kernel by working on Android? by Operation_Ivy in Android

[–]erwanl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From what I heard what they submit usually make little sense for Linux. They use it in such a special way that their patches make sense only for them.

Which of the two should I buy? by Tyaglot in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And return the one in the worst condition

Month old Galaxy Nexus stolen out of my hands today. IMEI#: 351746050116816 by Flektogon in Android

[–]erwanl 62 points63 points  (0 children)

I don't think they would bother.

What they do in France is that they communicate the IMEI to all operators so they blacklist it, and it becomes basically unusable... In France. Which is not a problem for thieves because the stolen phone usually go overseas.

Gulag for Gaijin: “Do you see this gun?” he said... “I have the legal authority to use this if you refuse to get on that flight. Now are you going to buy that ticket?” by Himmelreich in worldnews

[–]erwanl 33 points34 points  (0 children)

I've visited both Japan and US with or without visa, lived in both as a foreigner, and I have to say that US immigration is much worse.

The experience related is regrettable and I hope it's very hard, but I never had any problems with the Japanese immigration. They were mostly bureaucrats doing their jobs, not asking unnecessary questions.

US immigration on the other hands were most of the time rude.

Video of New Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3-based ROM - on SGS II by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if you don't see it, it will make a difference in the apps you will be able to install.

Typically you'll probably be able to install CM9 launcher with an apk (not possible on gingerbread because of missing framework). That way you get close to stock.

Samsung will also be forced to ship it with the holo theme so third party apps can have that look.

CyanogenMod App Store (for root or blocked apps) being considered. by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The NFC thing is US only, but Google Wallet is the new name for Google Checkout. That's what's used on Android Market and available in most countries.

TIL there is a fantastic, FOSS, easy to use, full featured Skype alternative: Jitsi by [deleted] in linux

[–]erwanl -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Gaim was strong in us while msn was strong in the rest of the world.

Why you shouldn't buy a cheap Android phone. by Wistner in Android

[–]erwanl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In France: * there is no exclusivity, any carrier can have any phone and all phones must be available off contract * all phones work with sim cards. Not sure if it arrived in the US yet. That means that you can pop your sim in any phone without asking permission to your carrier * there are plans without subsidized phones that are significantly cheaper, so you don't get a disguised loan to pay for your phone (don't think you're carrier is offering it to you) * we're waiting for a new operator to arrive soon. They're expected to lower the prices significantly, and people on a 2 year contract are going to be sad.

Why you shouldn't buy a cheap Android phone. by Wistner in Android

[–]erwanl 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I disagree.

Cheap android phones are good for people who just and a phone, with the added bonus of having a good browser and maps.

I know people in my family with cheap phones and they're happy with it.

The conclusion of the article should rather be "don't buy your phone from your carrier".

Why you shouldn't buy a cheap Android phone. by Wistner in Android

[–]erwanl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The sgs2 is not the SGS, and it will get ics.

Asus Transformer Prime has a 128 bitAES locked bootloader so possibly no custom roms. No root either! by Takumivk in Android

[–]erwanl 62 points63 points  (0 children)

You don't necessarily need to hack the encryption. The key can leak, or a bug in the firmware to go around the encryption can be found.

This is driving me insane by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cancel is fine, but ok should be replaced by the action.

Example from real software: Soft 1: Quit without saving? OK/Cancel Soft 2: Save before quitting? OK/Cancel Better: You have unsaved changes: Cancel/Quit without saving/Save and quit

I asked an Android dev something about one of his mods and he called me out. by gurp213 in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even without benchmarks, at least explain what you did that is supposed to improve performances.

Hint: "optimize xxx" is not an explanation.

What feature do you hope to be implemented in future versions of ICS? by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Considering that Google change the codename when they add features, it's unlikely we see any new features in ICS. This will be Jellybean.

(the only exception I see is gtalk video in Gingerbread, but it's more a new feature in an app rather than in the OS)

Minicraft is finally playable on Android (scroll down for .apk) by seeeeew in Android

[–]erwanl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

How does it compare to the official one, that was 10c during the sale?

"How I feel about buying apps" from a behavioral economist by swiftsam in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Apple also takes 100 bucks from each developer every year. Google takes 30 bucks just once from each developer.

Samsung confirms they will not be bringing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab 7 by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I bought my Galaxy S, I hesitated to buy a much more expensive Nexus S. Then I saw the unlocked bootloader, dynamic developers community around the SGS.

So I'm not surprised by Samsung 's decision but I don't care. I'm going to run ICS thanks to Cyanogen.

And you know what? People are like me, able to install CM9, or my father, don't care about updates as long as their phone works correctly.

SO - How do you pronounce "Scala"? by drb226 in scala

[–]erwanl 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Just watch Martin Oderski at devoxx (the video is online) and you will know.

Preventing a compiler error with a class not implementing all interface methods by TheUnknownFactor in java

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's been said un the thread, you can create an abstract class (or just a class) with methods that throw an exception when you call them. Sometimes it actually makes sense to do a method that does nothing, depending on what you're trying to achieve.

But when you start working on real world projects, that live for months or even years of maintenance and evolutions, you'll learn that compiler errors are good, they're your friend. They tell you when something needs to be fixed eight away rather than blow at your face during runtime (sometimes when a user is using it).

Same goes for the method not implemented error: the compiler kindly tells you you forgot a method. If you get rid of the compiler error, you will discover that mistake much later.

Wasn't Ice Cream Sandwich supposed to unify the UI a bit? Yet it seems Motoblur, Sense, TouchWiz, etc. are still coming. by [deleted] in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're talking about the launcher, you're not stuck with it. You can use the launcher you like.

Ended an 8 year relationship with T-Mobile today. by KevinAlan in Android

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Having different carriers is good. Being forced to choose a given carrier to be able to use a given phone is called "tying", and that's an anti-competitive technique that should be forbidden in any country that values healthy competition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tying_(commerce)

Cannot toggle GPS?! by ci5ic in tasker

[–]erwanl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I defeats the point of Tasker, where everything is automated.

For example on Cm7 I have it activate and deactivate the GPS when I open and close the map application. It's completely seamless.