Initial Release(Version 1.0):
Features:
--Open AudioVolumizer by holding the Search button(or camera button for G1 users).
--Optional Notification access, that allows for instant access from the Status Bar.
--Includes an Invisible icon for the status bar, in case you wanted to hide it
--Access to all streams on your phone. Music, Ringtone, Notification(if phone supports it correctly), Alarm, System, and In-Call streams.
--Quick mute buttons that flips through the possible options in the stream, next to every stream.
--Mute All, Unmute All options.
--Settings to turn on and off Vibration Ringtone and Notification Streams
--Special Application picker for G1 users when Camera button is held, allowing to set the default of the camera button(the camera or AudioVolumizer)
Filed under:
Update Info
So I wanted to quickly give some ideas of what is coming up next, as I do realize I have left my following in the dark.
ShuffleTone:
First off, we've made it to the 50,000 - 250,000 mark for both versions :D I want to say thanks to everyone who has helped make the product what it is now. I have personally come along way from the experience, and I am honored to have made something that you can all find to be useful
Next I want to apologize for the lack of updates. I am currently teaching at the University of Utah, managing a local amusement park, and been going to school full time(as well as been working on this side project...more on that later). I just haven't found the time; though that will hopefully change soon. I have some pretty radical changes that I want to implement, such as a more efficient save/load, an easier interface, a widget or two, and some fixings for the file browser. These are HUGE changes and may take a while, but I really want to get around to it.
** Update - Ok, so Back-End is done for the new app. Its way more efficient and should feel a lot more seamless. Front-End has not been finished but it has been started. UI development is not a speedy task, so the fact that I have school at full force right now and I am in the process of finding a new job, so time is scarce(as it always seems to be). I promise an epic release when it comes to that time though.
Lastly, I am taking ShuffleTone OLD off of the market. The downloads have pretty much stalled, and with the improvements that I am planning on the new one, it will be pretty pointless to keep. I'll throw up a link to the latest APK that you can download from outside the market if you wish.
**UPDATE - I re-added it back onto the market after several requests for it back. I guess it doesn't hurt to support both, but I hate seeing so many people own such a bad coding example lol.
Wallpaper Shuffle
I know that I had promised this a long time ago, and I still want to do it, but other projects have taken priority. I'm thinking that once I redeploy the newest version of ShuffleTone, I should be able to take the back end, and just change it a little to work with wallpapers instead of music.
** Update - I'm really starting to hate this backburner...its so disappointing to me to have to push things back but once again, life has gotten in the way of things again. I apologize about that and have been keeping it in mind while I tinker with the new ShuffleTone.
Absolutely Android RSS App
So this is the dirty little secret app that only my twitter followers knew about(bytheway, I only have 36 followers :( you should follow me at @DizWARE). I made it for my buddy Troy, and his website www.AbsolutelyAndroid.com. It allows you to keep up with the latest news articles from the website, with ease. Comes with 2 widgets, ability to change update frequencies, and the colors of read and unread articles. Nothing incredibly amazing but it works beautifully. The best part? Its completely open source, which means if you have a website that you want an RSS reader for, you can simply change the feed URL and the Absolutely Android images to ones that relate to your site, and it should work. You can fork the project from here: http://github.com/pencilo/Absolute-Android-RSS. Me and several other students from the University of Utah did this, and would appreciate the credit if you decide to use it. The app will be on the market tomorrow morning(7/15/10).
Playlist Streaming App
So this one was pitched today, so I thought I might give you guys a heads up that it was in the works. The U of U group that worked on the RSS reader has decided to work on an app that is capable of parsing data from a music playlist on the internet(like an m3u playlist). These playlists will have url pointers to songs that may or may not be scattered all over the internet. It will be open-source and will support as many playlist formats as we can. I'll update you all with more data as its available.
**Nope - This didn't happen. Sorry guys.
Random App Idea
So while I was in my office hours today, I was trying out a very weird anomaly that I found in the notifications class. Apparently you can put buttons inside a notification inside the notification. At this point, I thought of a great idea...what if we put something similar to the power control widget, inside the notification shade. Cool right? Well, after prying at it for wayyyy too long, I realized that there is no way for the system to recognize that these buttons should be treated as buttons. Instead, when you click it, it activates the notification behind it...no matter what click events you add into the button or the layout around it. Anyway, I was thinking, what if there was an app that launched an on-going notification, that when clicked will launch a dialog box that allows you to change these settings without leaving where you are at. If any of you have used QuickDesk, you would agree that power control access at any time is magnificent, but the double desktop thing slows everything down. This would keep it fast and be as accessible as QuickDesk(double pressing home).
** Update - Not as cool as the original idea, but AudioVolumizer was stemmed from this. Maybe I can expand it to be a lot more open like this was planned, but no promises.
ShuffleTone:
First off, we've made it to the 50,000 - 250,000 mark for both versions :D I want to say thanks to everyone who has helped make the product what it is now. I have personally come along way from the experience, and I am honored to have made something that you can all find to be useful
Next I want to apologize for the lack of updates. I am currently teaching at the University of Utah, managing a local amusement park, and been going to school full time(as well as been working on this side project...more on that later). I just haven't found the time; though that will hopefully change soon. I have some pretty radical changes that I want to implement, such as a more efficient save/load, an easier interface, a widget or two, and some fixings for the file browser. These are HUGE changes and may take a while, but I really want to get around to it.
** Update - Ok, so Back-End is done for the new app. Its way more efficient and should feel a lot more seamless. Front-End has not been finished but it has been started. UI development is not a speedy task, so the fact that I have school at full force right now and I am in the process of finding a new job, so time is scarce(as it always seems to be). I promise an epic release when it comes to that time though.
Lastly, I am taking ShuffleTone OLD off of the market. The downloads have pretty much stalled, and with the improvements that I am planning on the new one, it will be pretty pointless to keep. I'll throw up a link to the latest APK that you can download from outside the market if you wish.
**UPDATE - I re-added it back onto the market after several requests for it back. I guess it doesn't hurt to support both, but I hate seeing so many people own such a bad coding example lol.
Wallpaper Shuffle
I know that I had promised this a long time ago, and I still want to do it, but other projects have taken priority. I'm thinking that once I redeploy the newest version of ShuffleTone, I should be able to take the back end, and just change it a little to work with wallpapers instead of music.
** Update - I'm really starting to hate this backburner...its so disappointing to me to have to push things back but once again, life has gotten in the way of things again. I apologize about that and have been keeping it in mind while I tinker with the new ShuffleTone.
Absolutely Android RSS App
So this is the dirty little secret app that only my twitter followers knew about(bytheway, I only have 36 followers :( you should follow me at @DizWARE). I made it for my buddy Troy, and his website www.AbsolutelyAndroid.com. It allows you to keep up with the latest news articles from the website, with ease. Comes with 2 widgets, ability to change update frequencies, and the colors of read and unread articles. Nothing incredibly amazing but it works beautifully. The best part? Its completely open source, which means if you have a website that you want an RSS reader for, you can simply change the feed URL and the Absolutely Android images to ones that relate to your site, and it should work. You can fork the project from here: http://github.com/pencilo/Absolute-Android-RSS. Me and several other students from the University of Utah did this, and would appreciate the credit if you decide to use it. The app will be on the market tomorrow morning(7/15/10).
Playlist Streaming App
So this one was pitched today, so I thought I might give you guys a heads up that it was in the works. The U of U group that worked on the RSS reader has decided to work on an app that is capable of parsing data from a music playlist on the internet(like an m3u playlist). These playlists will have url pointers to songs that may or may not be scattered all over the internet. It will be open-source and will support as many playlist formats as we can. I'll update you all with more data as its available.
**Nope - This didn't happen. Sorry guys.
Random App Idea
So while I was in my office hours today, I was trying out a very weird anomaly that I found in the notifications class. Apparently you can put buttons inside a notification inside the notification. At this point, I thought of a great idea...what if we put something similar to the power control widget, inside the notification shade. Cool right? Well, after prying at it for wayyyy too long, I realized that there is no way for the system to recognize that these buttons should be treated as buttons. Instead, when you click it, it activates the notification behind it...no matter what click events you add into the button or the layout around it. Anyway, I was thinking, what if there was an app that launched an on-going notification, that when clicked will launch a dialog box that allows you to change these settings without leaving where you are at. If any of you have used QuickDesk, you would agree that power control access at any time is magnificent, but the double desktop thing slows everything down. This would keep it fast and be as accessible as QuickDesk(double pressing home).
** Update - Not as cool as the original idea, but AudioVolumizer was stemmed from this. Maybe I can expand it to be a lot more open like this was planned, but no promises.
Donations!
Filed under:
Donate
I've officially added a donation link to the blog. You can now click the big DONATE button on the right to donate through your paypal. You are free and open to donate whatever amount you like, and can pay through your paypal account(bank account or debit/credit) or pay using just a debit/credit card without an account.
IMPORTANT: This is much simpler in an actual browser on your computer...if you are on your mobile, you may way want to hop on the nearest computer to perform the transaction.
Alright, here's the official mumbo jumbo:
-All donations go directly to me as "gifts". I withhold no responsibility on where the money goes once it reaches my pocket, but I guarantee that I will not spend the donation money on petty things, such as world domination, or wild fields hampering the lives of pet goats.
-No refunds after transaction has "Completed." Not because it's not possible, but because I don't actually know how to do it(nor do I want to learn).
-Donations to DizWARE are NOT tax write-offs. I will claim, at the end of the year, all income made through this system, but I really don't want to deal with the hassle of an audit from the IRS. The reason they are not write-offs is because they are "gifts", which is only tax-applicable if it is over a certain amount. Once again, donations to DizWARE are NOT tax write-offs, so please don't try it!
Donations are HIGHLY APPRECIATED, but you are not required to make them. I have made a promise to keep my current work free, and rapidly bring you the best software I personally can. I keep things free, functional, and professional for you guys...this is just a simply way for you to give back :)
IMPORTANT: This is much simpler in an actual browser on your computer...if you are on your mobile, you may way want to hop on the nearest computer to perform the transaction.
Alright, here's the official mumbo jumbo:
-All donations go directly to me as "gifts". I withhold no responsibility on where the money goes once it reaches my pocket, but I guarantee that I will not spend the donation money on petty things, such as world domination, or wild fields hampering the lives of pet goats.
-No refunds after transaction has "Completed." Not because it's not possible, but because I don't actually know how to do it(nor do I want to learn).
-Donations to DizWARE are NOT tax write-offs. I will claim, at the end of the year, all income made through this system, but I really don't want to deal with the hassle of an audit from the IRS. The reason they are not write-offs is because they are "gifts", which is only tax-applicable if it is over a certain amount. Once again, donations to DizWARE are NOT tax write-offs, so please don't try it!
Donations are HIGHLY APPRECIATED, but you are not required to make them. I have made a promise to keep my current work free, and rapidly bring you the best software I personally can. I keep things free, functional, and professional for you guys...this is just a simply way for you to give back :)
How to make your own ringtones; Guide for Android
Filed under:
Tutorial
This tutorial is designed to walk you through 2 easy routes of creating your own ringtones for your Android power device. Both are not hard, but the first walk-through is less technical then the second, but usually doesn't give you the professional and higher quality that the second setup would. Don't try anything that seems to be above your skill level...it could easily turn out to be harmful to your phone, and/or computer.
Less technical:
Hop on the Android Market and look up an app called Ringdroid. This app allows you to take your music library that already exists on your phone, and lets you select portions of songs and save those portions as seperate ringtones. When you load it up, it will present you with all your music...select the song you want and it will then present you with a wave form with a sized selection over it. Using the two handle bars provided, you are able to move that selection or make it bigger or smaller quite easily. You can preview the song with the music controls provided and when your done, just hit the save icon on the bottom and that's it. These ringtones save in /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones, which you can easily find using ShuffleTone, if you choose.
This video is a good tutorial on how to use the program(its pretty intuitive, I'm sure you don't really need it but just in case)
http://cnettv.cnet.com/ringdroid-google-android/9742-1_53-50004290.html
More technical:
This is my favorite way of doing it, because after set up its really easy and extremely accurate(the other one option sometimes moves the selection off by several seconds). Go onto www.download.com and search/download Audacity onto your computer. Audacity is a free audio editor with tons of effects and editing capabilities. Next you need to go this website: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3, to download the "LAME encoder". The LAME encoder allows the free software to encode MP3's which aren't natively part of the freeware distribution agreements required for freeware like Audacity. All the information on how to install it is within this page(makes it easy for you :D ).
From here its down hill, open up the music file you want by pressing File->Open. This will load up a wave form for you, which is then selectable and playable from anywhere within the song. Use your cursor to find your starting point and then click and drag to your ending point. You can then listen to what you have using the music controls, and modify your length, as you feel necessary. Once you have your ringtone selected, you can either go to File->Export Selected if you are done making that ringtone, or you can go to Edit->Trim, which will cut everything else out, and then go to Tracks->Align and Move Cursor->With Zero to align your track and make any modifications like effects from the effects menu(fade-in and fade-out will make it sound professional). Once you get to the export screen, click save and name your file and put it on you phone where ever you choose. You can then go to that location with my app, if you choose.
If you aren't tech saavy I would just stick with the first choice because it is soo easy to do, but if you want more professional sounding tones, the second way is much better. Let me know if you have anymore questions at all...I would be more than willing to help out. Good Luck!
Less technical:
Hop on the Android Market and look up an app called Ringdroid. This app allows you to take your music library that already exists on your phone, and lets you select portions of songs and save those portions as seperate ringtones. When you load it up, it will present you with all your music...select the song you want and it will then present you with a wave form with a sized selection over it. Using the two handle bars provided, you are able to move that selection or make it bigger or smaller quite easily. You can preview the song with the music controls provided and when your done, just hit the save icon on the bottom and that's it. These ringtones save in /sdcard/media/audio/ringtones, which you can easily find using ShuffleTone, if you choose.
This video is a good tutorial on how to use the program(its pretty intuitive, I'm sure you don't really need it but just in case)
http://cnettv.cnet.com/ringdroid-google-android/9742-1_53-50004290.html
More technical:
This is my favorite way of doing it, because after set up its really easy and extremely accurate(the other one option sometimes moves the selection off by several seconds). Go onto www.download.com and search/download Audacity onto your computer. Audacity is a free audio editor with tons of effects and editing capabilities. Next you need to go this website: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=install&item=lame-mp3, to download the "LAME encoder". The LAME encoder allows the free software to encode MP3's which aren't natively part of the freeware distribution agreements required for freeware like Audacity. All the information on how to install it is within this page(makes it easy for you :D ).
From here its down hill, open up the music file you want by pressing File->Open. This will load up a wave form for you, which is then selectable and playable from anywhere within the song. Use your cursor to find your starting point and then click and drag to your ending point. You can then listen to what you have using the music controls, and modify your length, as you feel necessary. Once you have your ringtone selected, you can either go to File->Export Selected if you are done making that ringtone, or you can go to Edit->Trim, which will cut everything else out, and then go to Tracks->Align and Move Cursor->With Zero to align your track and make any modifications like effects from the effects menu(fade-in and fade-out will make it sound professional). Once you get to the export screen, click save and name your file and put it on you phone where ever you choose. You can then go to that location with my app, if you choose.
If you aren't tech saavy I would just stick with the first choice because it is soo easy to do, but if you want more professional sounding tones, the second way is much better. Let me know if you have anymore questions at all...I would be more than willing to help out. Good Luck!
ShuffleTone FAQ
Filed under:
FAQ,
ShuffleTone
Quick answers to some of the more common questions I get :)
How do I set up my ringtones?
For 3.0:
1) Open the application, ShuffleTone
2) Click turn on ShuffleTone; A dialog will appear with 2 options
3) Select either or both options to apply ringtone shuffling to them
4) Click Pick out tones
5) Scroll through the list of ringtones, selecting the ones you like.
--a) Remember, if you have a lot of ringtones, there is a ton of useful features in the Sort Options tray.
----1) You can choose to sort the list however you would like for easy finding of specific ringtones
----2) You can add filters to remove options that you would not like showing up in the list. You can apply as many filters as you would like
--b) Click the ringtone to hear it play.
----1) The ringtone will show up in the top right corner. You can click there to stop it, or to replay it.
6) Click Back & Save in the top left corner
7) Verify that you want to save it to the list you original selected or uncheck both to discard any changes
For Texts:
8) Open up your text messaging app(Messenger, Handcent, Go SMS, etc) and press MENU
9) Click Prefrences
10) Go to the area where it says Notification Settings. Click Change Ringtone
11) Select Default and press OK
12) You should now be done
For calls:
8) You are done...No additional work needs to be done
For 2.0:
1) Open the application, ShuffleTone
2) Swipe left or right, depending on the feature you want to use(ShuffleTone or TextTone Shuffle)
3) Click the on button at the very top of the page
4) Click Choose ringtones
5) Scroll through the list of ringtones, selecting the ones you like.
--a) Remember, if you have a lot of ringtones, there is a ton of useful features in the Sort Options tray.
----1) You can choose to sort the list however you would like for easy finding of specific ringtones
----2) You can add filters to remove options that you would not like showing up in the list.
--b) Press the play button to listen to the ringtone. Press stop to stop it.
6) Slide 'Slide to Accept' drawer, and click OK.
For Texts:
7) Open up your text messaging app(Messenger, Handcent, Go SMS, etc) and press MENU
8) Click Prefrences
9) Go to the area where it says Notification Settings. Click Change Ringtone
10) Select Default and press OK
11) You should now be done
For calls:
7) You are done...No additional work needs to be done
ShuffleTone is working just fine for calls, but doesn't seem to work for texts. What's going on?
When your phone receives a text message(or MMS), it sends out a message to the entire system, saying "A text message has been received". 3rd party developers, as well as Google and other 1st party developers, are capable of listening for this message and reacting to it, such as notifying you that the message has been received. Since the market for 3rd party text messaging app's has become so competitive, the developers have started to employ shady tactics to make sure they are the first to receive this message and then tells the phone to stop broadcasting it to other applications. Since my app also listens for this message, these applications prevent my phone from receiving the message it needs to work properly. ShuffleTone 3.0 fixes this issue, but it will still be prominent if you use the older 2.0 version.
ShuffleTone doesn't seem to play my text tone...What's going on?
You may have forgotten to change your messaging notification sound. You need to go
to your messaging app(Messenger, Handcent SMS, Go SMS Pro, etc) and press MENU->Settings(or Preferences). From here, scroll down to 'Notification Settings' and click 'Change Ringtone.' This should take you to the ringtone picker...Change the ringtone to 'Default.'
For some reason, I am hearing my text ringtone even though I'm not receiving a text
This is simply because the new system uses the default notification, which means any app that uses the default notification will play that ringtone. Before you write this off as a problem, there is a lot of benefits from this system. First off, its fast...way fast. The old ShuffleTone produced a lot of lag, had a terrible time with syncing, and managed a watch for how long to play and when it needs to force stop...All of this is gone with this new system, which means it will automatically play exactly when expected, and will stop when expected(even when you roll down the notification bar).
What about emails? Do you have anything for that?
I have done research on emails, and regret to inform that 'catching' emails isn't possible in the API(due to security reasons). With this new system, you can set up some easy work arounds, however. Go into your email app, and change your ringtone to 'Default', just like your messaging app. Now your email app will always match the current Text Tone, which will shuffle based on your shuffle parameters.
I have personal contact ringtones for calls and/or texts. Will ShuffleTone override these?
No. ShuffleTone only sets the Default Call and Notification ringtone...all personal ringtones will be left intact :) Also, I want to point out that sometimes when you are receiving a phone call from a contact that does have a personal ringtone, you will hear the Default ringtone when your phone is having a hard time refreshing its providers. Its nasty little memory problems that Android runs into, but 99% of the time, this won't be a problem.
I'm sure more questions will come, and I will keep this FAQ up-to-date. If you don't see your question on here, be sure to email me at tydiz936@gmail.com or visit me on Twitter
How do I set up my ringtones?
For 3.0:
1) Open the application, ShuffleTone
2) Click turn on ShuffleTone; A dialog will appear with 2 options
3) Select either or both options to apply ringtone shuffling to them
4) Click Pick out tones
5) Scroll through the list of ringtones, selecting the ones you like.
--a) Remember, if you have a lot of ringtones, there is a ton of useful features in the Sort Options tray.
----1) You can choose to sort the list however you would like for easy finding of specific ringtones
----2) You can add filters to remove options that you would not like showing up in the list. You can apply as many filters as you would like
--b) Click the ringtone to hear it play.
----1) The ringtone will show up in the top right corner. You can click there to stop it, or to replay it.
6) Click Back & Save in the top left corner
7) Verify that you want to save it to the list you original selected or uncheck both to discard any changes
For Texts:
8) Open up your text messaging app(Messenger, Handcent, Go SMS, etc) and press MENU
9) Click Prefrences
10) Go to the area where it says Notification Settings. Click Change Ringtone
11) Select Default and press OK
12) You should now be done
For calls:
8) You are done...No additional work needs to be done
For 2.0:
1) Open the application, ShuffleTone
2) Swipe left or right, depending on the feature you want to use(ShuffleTone or TextTone Shuffle)
3) Click the on button at the very top of the page
4) Click Choose ringtones
5) Scroll through the list of ringtones, selecting the ones you like.
--a) Remember, if you have a lot of ringtones, there is a ton of useful features in the Sort Options tray.
----1) You can choose to sort the list however you would like for easy finding of specific ringtones
----2) You can add filters to remove options that you would not like showing up in the list.
--b) Press the play button to listen to the ringtone. Press stop to stop it.
6) Slide 'Slide to Accept' drawer, and click OK.
For Texts:
7) Open up your text messaging app(Messenger, Handcent, Go SMS, etc) and press MENU
8) Click Prefrences
9) Go to the area where it says Notification Settings. Click Change Ringtone
10) Select Default and press OK
11) You should now be done
For calls:
7) You are done...No additional work needs to be done
ShuffleTone is working just fine for calls, but doesn't seem to work for texts. What's going on?
When your phone receives a text message(or MMS), it sends out a message to the entire system, saying "A text message has been received". 3rd party developers, as well as Google and other 1st party developers, are capable of listening for this message and reacting to it, such as notifying you that the message has been received. Since the market for 3rd party text messaging app's has become so competitive, the developers have started to employ shady tactics to make sure they are the first to receive this message and then tells the phone to stop broadcasting it to other applications. Since my app also listens for this message, these applications prevent my phone from receiving the message it needs to work properly. ShuffleTone 3.0 fixes this issue, but it will still be prominent if you use the older 2.0 version.
ShuffleTone doesn't seem to play my text tone...What's going on?
You may have forgotten to change your messaging notification sound. You need to go
to your messaging app(Messenger, Handcent SMS, Go SMS Pro, etc) and press MENU->Settings(or Preferences). From here, scroll down to 'Notification Settings' and click 'Change Ringtone.' This should take you to the ringtone picker...Change the ringtone to 'Default.'
For some reason, I am hearing my text ringtone even though I'm not receiving a text
This is simply because the new system uses the default notification, which means any app that uses the default notification will play that ringtone. Before you write this off as a problem, there is a lot of benefits from this system. First off, its fast...way fast. The old ShuffleTone produced a lot of lag, had a terrible time with syncing, and managed a watch for how long to play and when it needs to force stop...All of this is gone with this new system, which means it will automatically play exactly when expected, and will stop when expected(even when you roll down the notification bar).
What about emails? Do you have anything for that?
I have done research on emails, and regret to inform that 'catching' emails isn't possible in the API(due to security reasons). With this new system, you can set up some easy work arounds, however. Go into your email app, and change your ringtone to 'Default', just like your messaging app. Now your email app will always match the current Text Tone, which will shuffle based on your shuffle parameters.
I have personal contact ringtones for calls and/or texts. Will ShuffleTone override these?
No. ShuffleTone only sets the Default Call and Notification ringtone...all personal ringtones will be left intact :) Also, I want to point out that sometimes when you are receiving a phone call from a contact that does have a personal ringtone, you will hear the Default ringtone when your phone is having a hard time refreshing its providers. Its nasty little memory problems that Android runs into, but 99% of the time, this won't be a problem.
I'm sure more questions will come, and I will keep this FAQ up-to-date. If you don't see your question on here, be sure to email me at tydiz936@gmail.com or visit me on Twitter