NookTouch App Recommendations - Nook Touch General

Now that you've rooted your NookTouch what do you install onto it?
I've been trying out loads of apps and I've found plenty that work well but also quite a few that make a lot of sense on an eink ereader.
First the ones that I personally find very useful and match the NookTouch well:
1) ReaditLater: Let's say you're browsing on your laptop while eating your breakfast in the morning. You don't have time to read it now so you click a button in Firefox or whatever and that marks the page. You then hit sync on the Nook and you can then read that webpage on the Nook at work in your lunchhour or whatever. I've only checked out ReaditLater and it doesn't always sync all images properly and css styles... is there any alternatives... perhaps opensource?
2) RSS Readers. Subscribe to Slashdot, sync while at home and then read it on the move. Can anyone get the ability to read the more interesting comments?
3) VNC Viewer. Eyes go squiffey after reading for hours on the ipad or computer? Setup a quick link to this.
4) MapDroyd. No GPS but having a map with a long battery life might be more useful than a mobile phone. MapDroyd isn't that great without pinch to zoom but it works.
5) Kindle. Being able to read .mobi is obviously pretty handy.
6) OperaMobile, connecting to a Caliber server. Caliber organises books really easily and it has a server function so you can connect to your library on your computer.
7) Dropbox. A really handy way to share and sync files to the Nook. Can act as a library but unlike the Opera & Caliber example it can sync rather than only viewing live.
8) There's more than ebooks. Check out VU Viewer for comics. Various better PDF viewers. Try putting work documents on it. Try putting guitar tab notation on it. Anyone know how do we view music notation?
Things that are pretty essential after rooting:
Startup Auditor. After installing a load of stuff things can startup at boot and drain your battery. This prevents that.
n Button tweak. There's a thread on here somewhere, it's almost essential. Either that or use buttonSaviour
Some things that work well but just as good on a mobile phone:
- WiFi Analyser. You can see wifi strength in realtime.
- calculator. Handy if you don't have a phone with you
- unit converter. Convert metres to feet.
- currency exchange app. If you take the Nook on holiday a currency app is handy.
- encrypt your passwords in a file.
- backup your mobile phone contacts
- ssh tunnel for open wifi networks where you need to check your bank balance
Hope you find this useful!
-j

Jago:
What apps are you unable to block with Startup Auditor?
Does Startup Auditor stay loaded (as an app or as a background process) after startup or do you have to kill it manually?
Thanks in advance,
Sebastian Armas
Avid reader, Spanish Interactive Fiction Author

As far as I can see StartupAuditor doesn't load on startup or stay resident so I presume it edits startup scripts.
You have 2 options for each thing you want to kill - kill it now and not allow it to start again now and block it from starting up on startup as well.

Related

need google reader tips

hello all.
i would like your thoughts and tips on running on your xperia. more than %90 of my desktop webbrowsing is from reader. i read and skim through over 1200 items daily with 60 feeds
unfortunatly i havent managed to use the reader effectivly on my mobile device. i use opera mobile(wifi) + ucweb (bandwidth friendly). here are some of the problems that prevent me from using the reader
-using the mobile page www.google.com/reader/m is only good for toy phones and lacks too many features
-using rss hub is too bandwdth hungry and wastful (i read the contents of about %40 only)and does not sync with google reader which is too important
-using the iphone page www.google.com/reader/i on opera mobile is not nearly as good as the desktop experiance + bandwidth hungry with all the big pictures if you open the stories+ buggy when opening the stories
-using the iphone page on ucweb or operamini is too buggy cant even go to next page and cand even open items
anybody can help by providing me with your experiance and tips on what works best for you
it seems the only real way is for google to realease a dedicated app (bandwidth and finger friendly).
I'm actually working on a windows mobile google reader application/panel......
...you are right though, the mobile webpage does lack features and functionality of the desktop version.
Forgive me if I am mistaken but you are looking for an rss reader correct? (If not then please disregard all that follows)...
I use Newsbreak and its pretty decent... there are a couple of threads about (perhaps more on the wider board rather than just the x1 part) rss readers and so forth, they have a list of some pretty decent ones and it even lists their abilities and pros and cons etc... If I can find it I will post it... but that probably wont be till friday as I dont have a lot of time to search at the moment...
Shadowdh, google reader is RSS but i cant Sync with another client with it so i can pickup where i left from the desktop
emuneee, that is so cool. if possible, can you address my concerns especially the low bandwdith part (maybe just disable all pics and flash will be good enough) and an option to download all unread stories locally to the machine.
please keep us posted
Maybe you should try pRSS Reader. I think it syncs with Google Reader, you can view the posts offline with pictures, it can even download the full article (the link) if you specify it.
http://code.google.com/p/prssr/
Too bad it's discontinued.
darthmelk said:
Maybe you should try pRSS Reader. I think it syncs with Google Reader, you can view the posts offline with pictures, it can even download the full article (the link) if you specify it.
http://code.google.com/p/prssr/
Too bad it's discontinued.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this recommendation, using it now and does sync with my google reader account.
It is a shame that it's been discontinued, but it does seem to have as many features as other RSS readers out there.
Update on pRSSreader data usage
Just thought i'd give a warning to those wanting to use pRSSreader to sync with their Google Reader service.
This program uses a LOT of data!
I'm using SPB Wireless Monitor to watch how much data each program uses since i'm on a limited data plan. In about 8 hours of usage, the program used 9.4Mb of data.
This bad part was that this was without downloading the pics or whole articles for offline use. The program itself is great, but I would recommend scheduling it to update through WIFI and not automatically using GPRS.
i too am suffering greatly from out-of-the-plan accedantal extra data usage
is there a way to prevent certain app like prssreader to even use the GPRS/3G connection. there must be some kind of trick to do this
i just want to allaw ucweb(or opera mini) and activesync to have access to the 3g/edge cell data connection since they are effecient in data usage. other "wastful and expensive" apps like opera mobile , prss, should only be restricted to wifi
THE GRIZZ said:
i too am suffering greatly from out-of-the-plan accedantal extra data usage
is there a way to prevent certain app like prssreader to even use the GPRS/3G connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable auto updates in the program and only do manual updates when you have your wifi on. Wifi takes preference over an active 3G connection anyway.
You can also set it to auto update when docked to your pc so it uses your pc's internet connection, or set it to update at a certain time. This way if you have a profiles program (like GProfile), you can set the Wifi to turn on at a certain time to match this.
fxcoupeman83, what you are saying is exactly what i am doing but accedental mistakes happen (a lot in my case)
preventing apps from using the cell connection is the only clean way of solve the problem properly
There's a program called 'NoData' which you should get. It stops programs from accessing data connections. http://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-software/246171/new-free-utility-nodata
crabby
that thing blocks everything
i dont want to block email or ucweb
hi
i've just found this wonderful piece of software i was looking for a long long time, prssreader. it does exactly what i want : sync my google reader on mobile... what a pity that it is discontinued........
the data consumption is not really a problem for me as i've an unlimited 3g data plan, but it's sure less data would be better
what i'm looking for in a windows mobile rss reader is :
-bidirectionnal google reader sync (with read/unread/starred states)
-ability to download ALL the feed for offline reading
-ability to send feed via email (with internal mailer if possible)
-quick reading of feed header and quick toogle of read/unread state for articles you don't want to read
-send feed to social networks (twitter, facebook, etc...)
thanks for the future devs
ps: it seems pRSSreader is already doing most of my requests, except the last two ones though
jpmatrix972 said:
what i'm looking for in a windows mobile rss reader is :
-bidirectionnal google reader sync (with read/unread/starred states)
-ability to download ALL the feed for offline reading
-ability to send feed via email (with internal mailer if possible)
-quick reading of feed header and quick toogle of read/unread state for articles you don't want to read
-send feed to social networks (twitter, facebook, etc...)
thanks for the future devs
ps: it seems pRSSreader is already doing most of my requests, except the last two ones though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will take all of that into consideration...as well as the feature about only using Wifi to sync during development.
emuneee
when do we expect a beta version of your reader?
THE GRIZZ said:
emuneee
when do we expect a beta version of your reader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm shooting for the second half of April. I'm making good progress now.
thanks for the update. really looking forward for this. to me having a proper reader is more important than even a general browser
two questions:
-is it going to be finger friendly? especially for go ing to next item, starring and marking as unread
-can you view youtube videos though flash player?

Reading articles offline

Does anyone have any solid suggestion for this?
I used to use InstaFetch Lite which pulled articles from Instapaper however now it only pulls 10 articles (I have 700+ in there) and does not support folders. Instapaper itself has an app now however it is a paid app and I do not have a credit card (WHEN is google going to sell topup cards like apple does?? *sob*). I tried "Read Later" another instapaper app but it just hangs and does not sync properly.
I have used the export feature to export to various formats and read on the Nook. However the formatting is not good, you don't link to each article like you would from within the app, instead it's basically just a very big ebook.
So I thought I'd look at Pocket instead. The app is really well done and it's a solid product but it requires 2.2 and up. The Nook, at least mine, is 2.1 I think... is there another version of Android that I can put on here that will make Pocket app work?
Or does anyone have any other alternatives? Folders or tags and offline reading are what I need.
I was looking for something like this early - found nothing.
Will keep an eye on this thread tho...
Manual Install of Read It Later
Try searching on the internet for a "read it later" .apk file of the version before it became pocket, and install it manually. The older version is compatible, and runs fine on the nook.
- NewsRob, gReader, Instafetch and even syncing things like email only need intermittent connectivity so you can get your articles and then carry them elsewhere when offline. Need a better offline article sync app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1811873
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess evernote and a clipper firefox addon might do it but evernote screws with the battery so would need freeze & refreeze every time you want to use it...
any of these?
-Goodreads
-Mantano
-Speed Reader
-gReader
-Documents to Go (paid office docs app)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jago25_98 said:
I guess evernote and a clipper firefox addon might do it but evernote screws with the battery so would need freeze & refreeze every time you want to use it...
any of these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gReader works great! But it's a rss reader and I am wanting something for reading articles that I saved FROM gReader (or wherever) to read at another time. I follow 100+ sites in gReader, I'm not sure how I would save and organize articles for reading later. Open to ideas though!
The rest of your list are just eReader apps which is not what I was looking for but in the interest of complete info:
Mantano worked GREAT when I tried it. I was so excited! Then the next day it crashed and despite a reboot, and a reinstall I can't import books into it now without it crashing so it's useless.
Documents 2 Go I can't try because I don't have a damn credit card so I can't use paid apps.
Goodreads installed...and I signed up for an account...but I can't figure out how to read books I already have on sd card.
Speed Reader is...weird. It shows ONE word at a time lol
----
The folks at Pocket suggested this service to me which lets you create custom epub files from your pocket items:
http://reading2ebook.com/pocket/choose
It's not ideal, as you can't mark the articles read one by one but at least it is a workaround that works.
From there I read it in either the native Nook ereading app or Cool Reader which is (so far) a eReader app that not only works on the Nook but also allows a person to make notes, highlight, share, etc in an easier way than the Nook's native app.
-----
I would still LOVE a solution if anyone has one. I am trying to figure out the read it later apk stuff in the meantime...
Instapaper's "Send to Kindle" function; buying w/o credit card
(Interested lurker speaking. I don't have a NST, but a rooted Sony PRS-T1, which is similar, but running Android 2.2. Please take what I say with a grain of salt.)
If you have a version of the Kindle app for Android running on your ereader, you could try experimenting with Instapaper's "Send to Kindle" function.
Personally, I am quite happy with InstaFetch Pro. If your only problem with buying it is the lack of a credit card, you could try finding another market that accepts the kind of payment you have. They also appear to sell licenses via PayPal directly from instafetch.com.
Instapaper + Calibre + Dropsync = Bliss
There is a Calibre recipe for Instapaper that I use and it works very well. I have it set up to pull my instapaper articles into an Epub file and then have it stored on my dropbox. I bought DropSync Pro and manually sync my Nook Simple Touch with that dropbox.
To save on battery, I only manually sync with dropbox - I suppose a person could schedule it for every morning or something.
The only downside is that I have to manually delete articles form my Instapaper account - if I don't do this regularly I get confused whether or not I've read the article. I suppose I could find an instapaper app for the NST to do this from my device if I wanted to.
Also, Instapaper has a great "save to epub" that you can do manually... if you're not too excited about setting up a Calibre instance running 24/7 on a machine...
spedinfargo said:
[...] To save on battery, I only manually sync with dropbox - I suppose a person could schedule it for every morning or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use Tasker to turn on wifi and sync at specific times. Dropsync Pro provides a plugin that can be called by Tasker. I set up a timed event to trigger at 6:00 AM every day, turn on wifi and wait for a connection. If connected, it will keep wifi on for 2 minutes and launch Dropsync to sync changes. It works very well on my 2 NST devices, using only minimal power for wifi during the actual sync.
I also set Tasker to only turn on wifi when needed by specific apps.

List of offline & low battery usage apps appropriate for the Nook Touch

I think a major advantage of the Nook is being able to go for 2 or 3 weeks on a single charge, if correctly setup after rooting. That however, relies on being offline as WiFi drains the battery so fast. I tend to keep the Nook for offline things because of this and use a phone for online things.
Most of the apps I have are related to reading and reference. However, I've found a few that don't need connectivity that often and so makes most sense on the nook rather than a phone.
Here's my list of apps in order of unusualness:
- Google Authenticator; doesn't need connectivity and without QRcodes you can configure it manually. Bit of a pain to do but it works.
- "Simply Do"; simpler to use than evernote. lighter and won't screw the battery
- Opera Mobile; can browse local files offline. Just use "/" as the address to get started. I save webpages in myfiles, bookmarl my files and then read it later. I find this simpler than "Read it later" or whatever the latest thing is
- Photos for reference; can be useful to be able to see your photos this way; battery lasts longer than on the mobile phone. Can have photos of reference docs this way. You can save a QRcode of a Bitcoin address or private key. Probably scope here for more possibilities
- KeePassDroid; keep your passwords here
- AGP encryption; it can actually encrypt local files with your PGP key or use a passphrase so this too can
- NewsRob, gReader, Instafetch and even syncing things like email only need intermittent connectivity so you can get your articles and then carry them elsewhere when offline. Need a better offline article sync app: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1811873
- Maps. I use MapDroyd with about 4gb of maps but it's a bit basic and only there in case my phone battery runs out. I wonder if there's a better alternative? Of course it's a bummer without GPS but that's how maps were in the old days right? edit: see Orux Maps
- "Calculations"; this app has a calulator but also remembers your unit conversion rates for you
Things I haven't yet tried:
- Dictionaries; which do you recommend?
- offline translation; I only know of dictionaries to look up individual words, nothing that works offline but can do sentances
Semi offline things:
- connect to a laptop VNC via USB networking to save screen power
edit:
Generally my focus here was offline apps or apps that don't need much syncing and so can save the battery the most. I figured games aren't essential so won't include. See rest of thread of these things.
Notes from replies ->
Reading & notes:
-Goodreads
-Mantano
-Instafetch
-Speed Reader
-Evernote (screws the battery but you can put a freeze & refreeze widget on your desktop with Titanium backup or App Quarantine)
-gReader
-Documents to Go (paid office docs app)
Syncing:
-DropSync
-k9mail
Photos:
-Quickpic
Maps:
-Orux Maps
Reference:
-Colordict (does translation and thesaurus)
jago25_98 said:
Things I haven't yet tried:
- Dictionaries; which do you recommend?
- offline translation; I only know of dictionaries to look up individual words, nothing that works offline but can do sentances
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try colordict, it really is useful and simple. And is compatible with many of 3rd party readers.
Yep, ColorDict is awesome.
I'm currently trying to optimize my rooted Nook (MinimalTouch) by disabling features that I don't use:
- I've started with a Barnes&Noble services. I've frozen them all (like ~10 of them). STR works perfect.
- Then I've frozen few Google apps - Talk, Calendar and Gmail. It happend that without them I can't use Search Market (downloading files not starting). Does anyone know which Google services I can remove in order to keep Market working?
It's really hard to keep track of what causes what in battery drain problems.
Some of the problems can be intermittent.
I seen to have less (no?) problems since disabling most of the B&N stuff and never installing any Google stuff.
I also disabled all the unnecessary receivers in the stock Reader.
I had seen problems in the past where the touch panel did not turn off in sleep mode.
In android 2.1 it is required to have google talk working in order to make market work.
NookSimpleTouch/Tapatalk 2
domi.nos said:
In android 2.1 it is required to have google talk working in order to make market work.
NookSimpleTouch/Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Rafsen said:
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the colordict tip but its only a dictionary. can't do multiple words a t a time and have to click search on each word.
agreed that its best to avoid gapps if possible and find an alternative way to getting the .apks off market.
I didnt have much trouble with b and n apps? I disabled a few things but can't remember now. certainly phone.apk helped removing.
I'm with Renate here, I find that rooting and then sideloading the apps I want rather than having the market running seems to do my battery a lot of good.
Unlike Renate, I'm not able to simply write my own apps
I'm surprised that Amazon's appstore doesn't seem to be equally as much work for the battery as google's is, but it doesn't seem to be, even though many of the Amazon appstore-linked apps do check to be sure the appstore is available.
thank you guys alot. any recommendations for game
Rafsen said:
Thanks! Indeed problem was with GTalk.
BTW: Does your Tapatalk2 works correctly on Nook? I can browse catalog of recommended forums (post, login etc. works) but I can't find my own forums (which I'm sure they support tapatalk). Is this normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as a standard NST issue, it cannot search using default method. But I did it by setting Tapatalk on my phone, making a backup using titanium backup, or go backup, then just restore it on Nook. Searching is still a problem but it takes 3 minutes.
GT-I5700/Tapatalk 2
my apps
Evernote
Dropbox
Instafetch
K9 mail
Opera
Remote for iTunes
QuickPic
Mantano reader
Speed Reader
ezPDF Reader
IM+
Seesmic
DropSynch
Orux maps
Real Calc
Root explorer
mSecure
Goodreads
gReader Pro
airdroid
colordict
document to go
chess free
On my to do list for the Nook at the mo:
- finding lineart wallpapers that fit the screen... what is the screen res?
- finding a less animated launcher
- finding a way to share files without dismounting the sd card (checking out SwiFTP)
- an alterative to astro with working filenames (checking out estrong)
- wondering how to link a vncserver on windows to a separate desktop rather than simply sharing what is seen
jago25_98 said:
On my to do list for the Nook at the mo:
- finding lineart wallpapers that fit the screen... what is the screen res?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
600x800. Some grayscale images work very well (Ansel Adams photos, for example). Between Google image search and Deviant Art, you should find plenty of line art!
- finding a less animated launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use ADW EX with the animations turned down, but I rarely see my launcher, so it doesn't bother me much.
- finding a way to share files without dismounting the sd card (checking out SwiFTP)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SSH Droid works very well for both command line and SFTP access. I use it with WinSCP in SFTP mode.
- an alterative to astro with working filenames (checking out estrong)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ES File Explorer allows both root access, and direct access to networked (e.g. Dropbox) folders in the same interface, which is very handy. It suffers the "too colorful" experience on the NST that a lot of apps do, but it's definitely usable.

[Q] Nook Simple Touch disable screensaver & full screen browser

Hi,
First of all, thanks for great set of resources! I was rooted an up and running with market in no time.
I am planning to use the Nook as a home automation controller, where the interface is presented through a webpage. For that, I am going to have it mounted and constantly powered-up.
So, my question is - how can I disable screensaver to have the Nook show the browser 24/7?
Also, is there any simple way to show contexts of the browser window without the navigation buttons? (If not, no worries - I can put something together quickly in PhoneGap or similar).
Thanks!
Bumping for interest - has OP/anyone found a solution to this? I'm going to have a tinker with the sys files in the next few days to see if I can manipulate those, will post any positive results.
I'm looking for always-on functionality as part of a live bus timetable / weather station project I'm 75% through.
For those interested, I'm running a simple PHP server pulling data from London's TFL API and the UK MetOffice's Datapoint API and displaying the page in Dolphin.
julianfox said:
Bumping for interest - has OP/anyone found a solution to this? I'm going to have a tinker with the sys files in the next few days to see if I can manipulate those, will post any positive results.
I'm looking for always-on functionality as part of a live bus timetable / weather station project I'm 75% through.
For those interested, I'm running a simple PHP server pulling data from London's TFL API and the UK MetOffice's Datapoint API and displaying the page in Dolphin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29113425 (found by googling "nook screensaver disable sqlite3").
julianfox said:
Bumping for interest - has OP/anyone found a solution to this? I'm going to have a tinker with the sys files in the next few days to see if I can manipulate those, will post any positive results.
I'm looking for always-on functionality as part of a live bus timetable / weather station project I'm 75% through.
For those interested, I'm running a simple PHP server pulling data from London's TFL API and the UK MetOffice's Datapoint API and displaying the page in Dolphin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I am quite interested in your project and was wondering how you got on with this.
Basically I am looking to have a calendar + weather page up constantly on in my rooted Nook Simple Touch. I have managed to get rid of the screensaver but it still goes into sleep mode after a while. Also would like to get some direction on how I could do my own PHP based page because most of the calendar apps out there dont seem to report weather
Jayyzee said:
Hi, I am quite interested in your project and was wondering how you got on with this.
Basically I am looking to have a calendar + weather page up constantly on in my rooted Nook Simple Touch. I have managed to get rid of the screensaver but it still goes into sleep mode after a while. Also would like to get some direction on how I could do my own PHP based page because most of the calendar apps out there dont seem to report weather
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I implemented the server side part of this weather app
http://www.mpetroff.net/archives/2012/09/14/kindle-weather-display/
also made the following changes
http://www.shatteredhaven.com/2012/11/1347365-kindle-weather-display.html
Getting the image on the nook is a different story. I tried using crond to wget or curl the image from the server to the screensaver folder so I could have other info graphics rotated throughout the day. I was unable to get the image via wget and unable to get cron working. Any suggestions... (besides having a browser open 247)
here is another example
http://origami.phys.rpi.edu/~jimenc/public/pjs/weather_kindle/server2/weather.php
Refresh?
larryflynt said:
Getting the image on the nook is a different story. I tried using crond to wget or curl the image from the server to the screensaver folder so I could have other info graphics rotated throughout the day. I was unable to get the image via wget and unable to get cron working. Any suggestions... (besides having a browser open 247)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, kudos for the progress so far.
I take it you couldn't just use another device to FTP the file to the nook every so often?
I was hoping to do a very similar thing with my spare NST but unfortunately my coding skills are not up to that level. You mention that you were trying to populate the screensaver folder with the image to be displayed, would there be any way to automatically make the NST wake up every few hours to refresh this image (assuming you can get the image there in the first place)?
I think that the better way to do this all is to write an app.
The app could use either an ImageView or a WebView.
You could easily make this work directly without a proxy or a server.
You wouldn't have to play around with screen timeout/wakeup,
This is going to be hard wired powered?
Renate NST said:
I think that the better way to do this all is to write an app.
The app could use either an ImageView or a WebView.
You could easily make this work directly without a proxy or a server.
You wouldn't have to play around with screen timeout/wakeup,
This is going to be hard wired powered?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The more I think about this, the nook simple touch might have to be charging.
I've done something very similar with my nook showing a custom weather listing in a fullscreen Dolphin browser. Though I have a problem with it not running for more than a day or so before the browser stops refreshing anymore. Have you experienced this? I'm currently looking into some way to kill/restart the browser on schedule perhaps.
Also, how did you get the browser in landscape mode? I can't find that anywhere.
neonpolaris said:
Also, how did you get the browser in landscape mode? I can't find that anywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use this to set the orientation: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mah.screenrotationlock
OB
Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Tapatalk 2
Another way to set orientation is if you have an application that only does landscape.
Switch to the landscape app, home out of that, go to the application that does both.
It should stay in landscape mode.
I have an assortment of apps, some portrait only, some landscape only, some both orientations.
By jumping briefly to a landscape only or portrait only app you can set the orientation for subsequent apps.
Thanks for the help guys!
I've got a web server running on my NAS serving a custom page for me. The browser launches fullscreen on boot up via some auto start app. After 5 min, the page redirects to an all black page for a second, then an all white page for a second (to clean up the display), then back to the original page with any new information on it.
This works well except for two issues.
1. On boot up, there's no way to avoid the first lock screen. After unlocked, it doesn't come back, but it's always there on startup. This wouldn't really be an issue except...
2. The browser stops loading the page after a while. I can hit refresh and it goes through the motions, but the page isn't updated. It can take a couple of days for this to happen. Restarting the nook solves this. I confirmed that the page is still served normally to other devices (not a web server problem). I would just have the device auto restart at 3am or something, but then the lock screen would always be there.
Do you guys have any ideas about how to correct this or at least work around it?
I can't even try other browsers because this is the only one I've found that displays full screen.
Any updates on this?
I wonder if there's a way to have a cron job kill and relaunch the browser every once in a while to get past the freezing issue you'd mentioned. Or just have the cron job kill the browser every once in a while and relaunch it, pointed at a new information display page.
Even better would be if there was way to bypass the need for a web browser and interact directly with the e-ink screen buffer as can be done on rooted kindle devices. (I can't post a link, but google search "Tools Eink Framebuffer Update Trigger" to find the kindle framebuffer commands)
Yeah, I worked directly with the screen output on my kobo, which worked well, but it was more of a pain to make changes. That might be because I'm more familiar with php and css than python and screen blit-ing. Having android to work with makes it much easier to expand functionality by just downloading an app and using my fingers, instead compiling software and ssh-ing in for everything.
Speaking of which, it looks like my problem is solved. I installed tasker and set it to kill the browser at 3am and start the browser at 3:01am. Thanks all.
What about google play apps for weather? Most of the apps I have used so far have had contrast issues since they are designed for color screens. Does anybody know of good apps that display the current weather info and forcast data in an eink friendly color scheme?
As far as the going to sleep issue, the apk listed in the second comment here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/general/fridge-calendar-t3057759
worked without issue for me, so that problem has mostly been solved.
Try this: electricsign app
Apologies for the resurrection, but for those looking for a digital low power / e-ink info display this might just do it.
This app will do the trick if a static jpg of a web page updated at an interval will do (set to output a jpeg in the custom screensaver folder on rooted nook)
Electricsign android app: (search electricsign on the play store - I can't post a URL here yet).
Leave the WiFi on and set the screensaver timeout.
The source code is on github also (google.it ).
I can never find the app because I always think it's called electricsheep.
Hope this helps someone...or me in the future.
Hi future me, the app is called electricsign, not electricsheep. You'll thank me next time you forget. From your past self bored at a ceildh BC your gf doesn't want to dance.
electricsign looks like the ticket!

Which cloud/sync app? (Nook battery/wakelocks)

Been a long time since I posted here.
I don't use my Nook as much as I I could or I think I should. I think the main reason is that I haven't been using apps which sync across devices for fear of ruining the very good battery life.
What are some good apps which integrate with say Chrome? What things have you found useful? Do you toggle WiFi on and off? If so do you then need to hit sync or does that partial wakelock reciever for detecting that WiFi is on and off do that for you? Or will this app keep trying to sync even when there is no wifi?
I think if I start using something like ReaditLater again (tap button in chrome, sync and then read on Nook)... I'll probably use it more.
Also, pulling apps off Google Play and installing the apk was better for battery but I can't get the apk extractor websites to work anymore. Did anyone have a workaround for that?
One more thing, I have been using the latest Cyanogenmod and I notice it comes with PrivacyGuard. Now, the interersting thing about that is that PrivacyGuard now has options to block autostart, keep device awake and wake up device. So this could be useful to put in a ROM, or something like it, bearing in mind the nice battery life we get. Or, maybe have 2 modes - one with everything disabled for hikes, and another for use at home where a charger is handy and the auto sync is more useful.
Apologies, didn't search well enough:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1898358
(adbsync)
Yeah, Renate NST's adbsync program is definitely going to be your best (and really only) option that fits your description.
Thinking about it, there's probably more efficient ways to do it.
For example, Evernote, Unified Remote Full, Wiki Encyclopedia Offline. I don't think Pocket (formerly ReaditLater works anymore very unfortunately... that was my favorite thing)
But of course, getting these things working on the older Android now could be difficult. How do I get the apks from play these days now the various website extractors don't work?
And ways to automate adbsync. For example, have it as a schedule in the background along with adb connect to your Nook. But remember to give the Nook a static IP on the WiFi by assigning via MAC on the router.
If you save pages as .pdf and automate the sync that's good but browsing pages as pdf isn't great.
edit to avoid bump:
You can use it as a 2nd monitor.
Windows:
http://superuser.com/questions/62051/is-there-a-way-to-fake-a-dual-second-monitor
(then use VNC to access. My thread has a howto for install) (MaxiVista probably works to if you're prepared to pay or steal)
Also possible on other platforms. The key phrase to use when searching is "Extend desktop"
I don't know why I didn't think of this before but you can access Evernote through the web interface. Probably similar for OneNote too.
A browser I heard is good, possible better than Opera now is NakedBrowser and the apk is available from the authors website.
I found a way to get the apk is to find an old phone to install too and then use an apk extractor app. A desktop extractor would still be better
Edit again;
I'm still not using it like I feel I should. I think this is because it's just not as Easy to pick up and read. The problem with advanced is that I have to wake up the nook, turn on WiFi and then hit my sync script on the desktop. Because of this I only use it if I have a lot to read, like a full book. I envisioned using it for just reading lengthier forum posts and white papers.
A start I think is to disable the screen saver.
Next will be to put enabling WiFi and keep awake while charging, and then disable after a period if the user fails to cancel and it's unplugged.
If you know how to do either of these things please let me know.
edit avoid bump:
I can't install the tasker apk unfortunately... and they're not giving out licenses anymore without Play. Is there an similar alternative is now my search..
Would be really good to enable and disable adb wireless and wifi when plugged in.
Actually there's a fix for tasker asking for a .jar. So it should be possible tonautomate connecting to WiFi and adb WiFi. Just a matter of getting tasker license or something else. AutomateIT won't run.
jago25_98 said:
I'm still not using it like I feel I should. I think this is because it's just not as Easy to pick up and read. The problem with advanced is that I have to wake up the nook, turn on WiFi and then hit my sync script on the desktop. Because of this I only use it if I have a lot to read, like a full book. I envisioned using it for just reading lengthier forum posts and white papers.
A start I think is to disable the screen saver.
Next will be to put enabling WiFi and keep awake while charging, and then disable after a period if the user fails to cancel and it's unplugged.
If you know how to do either of these things please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Nook is currently out of commission, but I know at one point I had Pocket running (while it was still called ReadItLater), so there might be an old apk floating around that works. Alternatively, you can setup Wallabag, which is the same thing but run on your own server. Between that and a feed reader, I had thousands of articles to pick from whenever I picked up my Nook. It was quite a delight.
Also, there are a couple of wifi saving tools that can be found in F-Droid. If I recall, I used one called Battery Fu to have my Nook connect, force a sync, then disconnect once every few hours. It worked quite well.
thanks FbYAx
I looked up wallabag but when I try to install every version back to 1.6 I get the message 'older SDK'. I guess you had an older version... but I don't know how far back i have to go.
i will have to start archiving and hosting apks that work
edit to try to be a bit more helpful for people who might be trying to do this same:
get android version (mine is 2.1. i think that is normal (kitkat)):
Code:
adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release
change sdk apk version to see if it was developed without using newer sdk stuff (force it):
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/...on-and-targetsdkversion-specified-both-in-and

Categories

Resources