Message Counter for Android

Development has been going on a simple Android application called "Message Counter".

How the Message application works on an Android phone will vary greatly based on the OS Version as well as any modification done by the manufacturer like HTC, Samsung etc.

So as the message details are stored on a device using SQLite and whose contents can be accessed programmatically, I decided to write up an app called MessageCounter. The first version was completed quite fast, but in order to support Android 2.3 and up, some sacrifices were made regarding the UI and performance.

Taking advantage of Fragments, ActionBar etc introduced in later versions of Android (3.0, Honeycomb), a new version was created re using code from the first version.

The V2 of Message Counter was completed in a matter of hours and improves on performance and UI. Below are the screenshots of the app. You can find an update to this post if and when the app is made available on Google Play Store.

There are plans of making the source code open source and will be hosted at GitHub. An update to this post will include the details.

Update 1 : The project is now available on GitHub at this address : https://github.com/midhunhk/message-counter. The source code is licensed under the Apache License Version 2.0

PNRStatusApp v3 (for Android)

And thus the long awaited major update to PNRStatusApp (for Android) is nearly here. In the midst of very hectic work schedule, with new features and a new look the version 3 is almost completed. However taking advantage of the latest APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) provided by the Android platform, this version is only supported from Android Honeycomb (3.0) and above. The old version supported from Android Froyo (2.2) and above.


The newest feature added is the ability to search the message inbox for messages from IRCTC regarding booked tickets and displaying detailed information. This part still requires some more tweaking on.

The Messages are displayed in a 'StackView' that lets the user scroll through the list of messages.

More information coming soon...

Designing the PNRStatusApp Promo Poster

In the following post, I will describe my designing experience for the Promo Poster for the PNRStatusApp.

Step One as always will be to make a drawing on paper, preferably with pencil, though I used a Pen here. The layout, elements, white spaces are all mentioned in a rough manner. It is important that the design does not look busy or over crowded. We would not be thinking about colors or font faces at this point. And I made this mockup for the promo.

 Next step is to fire up a graphics program, in my case I am comfortable with Adobe Fireworks. It is quite easy to learn and work with especially for doing designs like this and also for web developments.

You can digitize the drawing if you want and keep it in a background layer of the application as a reference or visually look at your drawing for reference.

Once you start with the digital tool, it's important that you choose and use few fonts and colors. The colors used for the promo poster here are taken from the application itself, a shade of blue. Limit the use of fonts, usually one for headings and another one for body. And that's pretty much that for this design :)

PNRStatus App 1.6

The next update to PNRStatusApp is here. Some minor changes in layout, UI elements and the addition of StatusHistory to keep track of all the statuses of a ticket that you have checked.

Redesigned Main State

Status Histories

You can access the download link at the end of this page.

Changelog :
PNR Status App 1.6 [Aug 2011]
- [CHANGED] PNRInfoRenderer Layout and UI.
- [ADDED] Button to copy the PnrNumber to the clipboard.
- [CHANGED] PNRInfo List not updated when a note is added / updated.
- [CHANGED] PNRNo is not editable in the PNRInfoRenderer.
- [ADDED] Each time a PNR Status is checked, it is stored in StatusHistory.
- [ADDED] Last successful Status is displayed on startup.
- [ADDED] StatusHistoryWindow lists all the StatusHistory of a PNRNumber.
- [FIXED] Bug while reading back StatusHistory items.
- [ADDED] Added option to clear StatusHistories.
- [ADDED] Info Message if More Info clicked without checking the PNRStatus.
- [ADDED] Style for PNRRow based on the last check.
- [FIXED] Bug of Booking status text also getting updated when the note is updated.
- [CHANGED] Removed the StatusBar.
- [FIXED] Bug in PNRNumber equals method.
- [FIXED] Bug in check for duplicate PNRNumber.
- [ADDED] Alert is shown if trying to add a PNRNumber that already exists.


Download from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?3miq5dfjzrwjuuq)

Triton Player 1.3 : Themes are here

Another major update for Triton Player is here. Version 1.3.5.0 is out with the main attraction being the ability of themes. Currently we have the default Orange theme and a new theme called Minty Green.

Triton Player with Theme Minty Green

Along with a string of minor enhancements and bug fixes, we have changed the settings panel for themes and language under a new tab called other. There is an improvement in start up speed also.

Change Theme

The change log for this release is :

 Triton Player 1.3 [June 2011]

 - [CHANGED] SettingsManager redefined.

 - [CHANGED] Events Reordered.

 - [ADDED] Remember last played track no and position when the player is closed.

 - [ADDED] Update InfoView when a Track is added or removed.

 - [CHANGED] Playlist Track no updated when a track is removed.

 - [OPTIMIZED] Saving settings on Application Exit.

 - [CHANGED] Shuffling doesn't restart from the beginning with a new track.

 - [DROPPED] Reordering the playlist acting weierd, reorderTrack() function still available

  inside PlaylistManager.

 - [CHANGED] Styling of application.

 - [CHANGED] Properly positioned Close and Minimize buttons.

 - [ADDED] Themes!

 - [ADDED] ThemeManager to manage Themes.

 - [CHANGED] Settings read in preinitialize and runtime style loaded 

  before application is loaded.

 - [CHANGED] UI Layout.

 - [ADDED] States and transitions for UI.

 - [OPTIMIZED] Code for Compact Mode toggle.

 - [CHANGED] UI on PlaylistView.

 - [OPTIMIZED] Improved Startup Speed.

 - [ISSUE] Minor flicker on startup if in Compact mode.

 - [CHANGED] Language tab from SettingsPanel renamed to Other.

 - [ADDED] Option to chnage the theme from Settings Panel.

 - [REMOVED] Playlist Reorder codes.

 

 Triton Player 1.3 [July 2011]

 - [CHANGED] SelectionColor of playlist item updated when the theme is changed.

 - [CHANGED] Localization text for themes.

 - [CHANGED] SettingsPanel layout.

 - [CHANGED] Current theme and locale are pre-selected in SettingsPanel.

 - [CHANGED] Tracks added in Shuffled Mode are added to the original collection at the end.

 - [FIXED] Fixed minor null exceptions introduced with new features.

 - [CHANGED] Minimize To Tray is false by default.

 - [CHANGED] Fix for total time calculation in PlaylistView.

Download Triton Player 1.3 here (http://www.mediafire.com/?a7b3m6o7c2kah5e) [914kb]

Cryptx 6

Finally, the most awaited Adobe AIR based development project is about to get released. The latest version of CryptX will be 6 superceding the HTA and C++ based 5.1 Beta. Yes, the last version never broke from the Beta label. It was made as a Proof Of Concept that such an encryption decryption utility could be made, after encryption algorithm security problems from CryptX 4.

CryptX 6 like its predecessor will be using 128 bit AES encryption. Check out some of the features of CryptX 6.

• 128-bit AES Encryption.
• Password used for encryption is not stored in the encrypted file.
• Completely written using Action Script 3 and uses as3crypto library.
• Intuitive UI.
• Desktop integration with Encrypted file.
• Using Green Threads for multitasking support in AS3.
• Improved performance from previous versions.
• Logging Platform support.

Please note that the CryptX 6 does not support file formats from previous versions.

More info to follow

PNTStatusAPP 1.5

Most people who travel by train in India might have to come across the problem of checking ticket PNR status. Up until now you have to log in to irctc site to check the current status or type the pnrnumber to some other service to keep tabs on that. This is made easier using the PNRStatusApp, developed in Adobe AIR and using the PNRStatus service from ixigo.com. This non commercial dsktop application can store PNR numbers, check them in real time (provided you have an internet connection) and give you details status.

Wait theres more, the Reservation Reminders section helps you to plan ahead and make note of the day on which the advanced reservation begins (90 days).

So dont wait up and check out this app if you think its useful to you.

Download the 1.5 Version from here (http://www.mediafire.com/?h7nbea6wz3g79)

Changes in TritonPlayer

We will have a look at the list of changes in Triton Player 1.1

Localization

Did you know that Triton Player supports German Language in addition to the default English? More localization strings have been added in this version. There was a bug that initially the default language was coming as null. It has been fixed.

Changes based on User Review

Some changes have been implemented from user responses. This includes the playing from the beginning if you switch to shuffle mode being changed to start playing only if any song is already playing. "Hide to tray" when minimized can now be controlled using the settings screen. This is an issue reported in Win 7 versions. By default "Hide to tray" is disabled.

UI Enhancements

On the UI end, we start displaying the File Loaded progress bar as soon as the user has selected a folder rather than once the first file was completed loading. This change should make the users seem the application is more responsive. Some minor UI tweaks also.

Performance Related

Some changes are in the internal workings for performance and following standards etc. This includes using an Item Renderer to display the playlist instead of manually creating.

Attempted Features

Reordering the playlist was partially implemented, but the track numbers were not updating properly. So that feature is still not implemented.

Whats in store

A feature that should be available on most normal players would be a "seek bar". If you noticed that the seek bar on TritonPlayer is not working , well we are working on it. Also lookout for themes in the future releases.

Project Status

The following lists the status of my recent projects. A few of them are active as in features being added on and stuff, couple of them have been scrapped and a few ideas are in the pipeline :)

Adobe AIR Based Projects

Active Projects :

TritonPlayer (Mp3 player project) (v 1.1)
PNRStatusApp (PNR Status & Reservation Reminder) (v 1.4)
TimerApp (Basic Timer Application) (v 1.0)

Planned Projects

CryptX 6 (Encryption / Decryption Utility)
TheBrowser (HTML browser based in AIR, uses WebKit for rendering)

Scrapped Projects

ScreenGarbber (Take screen shot of desktop) (reused code into PNRStatusApp)
ReservationDateCalculator (Calculate date for advanced reservation) (implemented functionality in PNRStatusApp)
FlvPlayer (FlvPlayer) (Better apps already available)

Other Projects

Simple FFMPEG UI (UI for FFMPEG media converter) (v 0.6)

FMA (Flexible Messaging Area)

    An FMA (Flexible Messaging Area) is a Flash banner or an image that is displayed on the Home page of a site for higlighting a product or event, or just to give the visitors a brief overview of the main aim of the site.

   Most sites use a full flash banner that runs the full width of the displayed area of the home page of the site. Some developers cleverly design a JPEG or PNG image to convey the message as well.

   A proper definition of FMA is given by Tony Lopez who worked for Macromedia. Check out what he has to say about FMA.

Tony Lopez: FMA is a term that predates me here at Macromedia. It stands for the Flexible Messaging Area, and it's the section within the Flash portion of the home page where we do important "high impact" messaging. Think of it as an end-cap in a store. It's a display that we hope you'll spend some time looking at, and eventually acting on. We try to tell a simple story here. Sometimes it's about a new product, other times it might be about an event, or a promotion that we are running. We always try to tell this story in a manner that is clear, elegant and engaging. Hopefully we strive to provide some design inspiration, but it's always function over form.

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/articles/fma_interview.html