AndroidApps

AudioVolumizer - Release Notes

2010-08-23T08:03:00.001-07:00

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)

2010-07-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Donations!

2010-01-17T18:17:00.000-08:00

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 :)

How to make your own ringtones; Guide for Android

2010-01-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

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!

ShuffleTone FAQ

2010-01-07T10:27:00.000-08:00

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

Release Notes

2009-07-10T01:58:00.000-07:00

Release Notes
Version 2.0.1
Fixed:
-Fixed the freezing issue that was showing up in the play button. I was using the wrong type of time handler that caused basically sent a message every nanosecond which froze the phone.

-Put a bandage on a looping issue with .ogg files...still unresolved but this will work for now. I can't find where this is even documented as an issue but it is definitely there.

-Looking into an issue with the riingtone \stopping\ that several of you have reported. I think I know what it is, but I haven't had time to work on it yet because of school and my teaching job...I'm still trying to get organized :)

I have some time tomorrow night so hopefully that will be up tomorrow :)

-Official Version: 2.0
Yay!! ShuffleTone 2.0 is officially 1 week old, and I am ripping off its BETA signiture! It has come along way in this one week, thanks to everyone who has spent the time to email me with the problems they have, and with their suggestions...you guys are the reason that everything has moved so fast and have made a much better product out of what I had original posted, Thanks!

New:
-Donations. I've added a way to for you guys to give back without me forcing fees down peoples throats. Click MENU and Donate, and you will be brought to a page that explains the donation. Read it(as you always should with documents like these),
press the big Donate button on the right to donate.
-Added a way to sort by duration. Now you can sort your list in the file browser by how long the song is. It'll make it easier to grab those small sound bytes that are scattered all over your card :)

-Version 1.93beta
-Fixed:
--Reworked play/stop button. Let me know if there is still that tiny bug that stops the ringtone early.
--Reworked the early ringtone stopping for texts. Added the function for time based shuffles as well.
--Made an effort to fix the on/off saving funtion.
--Fixed a problem with outdated lists after deleting a number of files. The fix runs if you open and resave the current list, or if you are loading a list from backup(Doesn't fix missing files, just incorrect file IDs)
--Fixed the wording on the Save & Load buttons. Now says Backup & Restore

New:
--Added a dialog in the file browser that warns user that there are selectedfiles that aren't currently in view. Gives user option to remove those files or to keep them. Now it should feel a lot easier to add a bunch of files from multiple filters to one list.

-Version 1.92beta
--Added stop function in file browser
--Added a way to stop a text tone after specified amount of time
--Bug fixes

-Version 1.91.3beta
--Bug fixes

-Version 1.91.2beta
--Bug fixes

-Version 1.91beta

--DRM Support
--Internal tone support
--Some major bug fixes

-Version 1.9beta - Code has been completely reworked. This is basically a whole new app.
--New UI
--New Shuffle System
--New File Browser
--New Saving and Loading Playlists
--New Automatic Sd card backup

---ENJOY :)

-Version 1.5.2 Bug fix

-Version 1.5.1 MIDI format now supported.

-Version 1.5 New swiping feature allows you to switch from ShuffleTone and TextTone Shuffle in one quick flick.

-Version 1.4.3 - 1.4.5 Bunch of TextTone Shuffle fixes(I made a bunch of mistakes when I rehauled everything), but no new features.

-Version 1.4.2 Fix for one of the underestimated ShuffleTone feature, hourly shuffle
So I completely rehauled the hourly feature(because after adding TextTone, it stopped working) and fixed everything I could find.
-It now resets the timers when you install updates
-It now resets at startup CORRECTLY
-It now works for both ShuffleTone and TextTone, even at seperate times
I am now officially using this feature for my TextTone, and love it this way sooo much better. So hopefully it will see in increase in use, now that it works :)
AND, with the timer reset at update installs, I added a release not dialog that gives a summary of what I changed for that update...It only pops up when you install a new version, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal.
Also, I added a better Blacklisting test which should help catch your blacklisted numbers.

-Version 1.4.1 SPEED FIX!!! You guys will like this
Bug fix with the new blacklist feature...It was force closing if you responded to the text too quick.
Speed fix...I'm no longer trying to lag the phone as an attempt to match your notification...just increased some timers which hold if the ringtone isn't playing yet(Trust me, this is making a world of difference in speed)

-Version 1.4.0 Request and you shall receive!
Contact Blacklist!!! You can now add a contact to the blacklist which will prevent TextTone Shuffle from playing the ringtone on a specific contact...allowing you to add personalize your ringtones for that contact, using Handcent or Chomp :) Hopefully this should make everyone who asked for it smile.
I also changed a bunch of language to be a little more understanding...Hopefully you guys like it better :)

-Version 1.3.7 Fixed a bug in the browser
When going to Ringtone Bank would only show the Internal Ringtones...no good haha.

-Version 1.3.6 Attempt to address several issues
No guarantees here, because I haven't experienced any of these personally. Email me if these problems still occur.
--Notification showing up, even if you don't have the option checked
--Force close when system tries to play song
--Notifications not clearing if you stop the ringtone to early
--Ringtone Bank crash when no SD card is inserted.
Once again, if you still experience any of these problems or any others, email me...I am always quick to respond and I do my best to find you a solution.

-Version 1.3.5 Don't miss those MMS notifications anymore...they are now integrated in
--Also, the BETA tag was removed off of TextTone Shuffle. After very positive reviews, and some really good personal experience with it, I really think its safe to say its ready for primetime :)

-Version 1.3.4 AHHH too many updates today :(
I'll wait till after work to put this up so you guys don't feel like I'm molesting you or anything...Basically, if you get more than one text, there will be a crossover of the tones. Also, there is a 5 second guaranteed play time that I feel is too long, it used to be 2 seconds and I think I'll just go back to that.
-Update: Alright, so I was out a little bit longer than expected but the update is up..I used it the whole time I was at work and had 0 problems...hopefully this iteration will be a success story :)

-Version 1.3.3 Moved code for priority
Some of you might have noticed that if you were doing something on your phone, the ringtone would be interupted.
Hopefully with this update, that will happen a lot less because I moved all the code into a service, which has a much higher priority than regular code that it was running. (I have my fingers crossed that this will work better...so far so good :) )

-Version 1.3.2 Bunch of small updates to TextTone Shuffle
--Sms ringtones only go off if your phone is in idle(not ringing or in a phone call)
--Sms tones stop when you are receiving a phone call
--Ability to not cap your SMS ringtones if you don't want to(The cap still exists but if you set it to 0 it won't stop your song at all)
--A little better aligning with 3rd party notifications
--Premature endings of notifications have hopefully been fixed :)

-Version 1.3.1 I'm sorry about this update
It was seriously a one character difference but it kept TextTone Shuffle from working at all :S It works now, and I'm looking for feedback...help me pull it out of beta :D

-Version 1.3.0 TextTone Shuffle...You're welcome!
The BETA version of ShuffleTone for text(conveniently named TextTone Shuffle) is as finished as its going to get with only me testing it(I can only ask so many people to text me, and I look ridiculous texting myself). Please, feedback is a must here, seeing that I have already ran into a couple currently unhandleable problems with it recently(See: Known Issues). For the most part, it is looking really good...I know you guys are going to like being able to change how long your ringtone plays after each message and definitely going to dig not changing EVERY text that comes in.

-Version 1.2.5 No more list jumping while using Check/Uncheck
I found a really efficient way to use my old method and my new method of checking all items. Also, ringtone count update bug is fixed

BTW Friday July 3rd is the 1 week anniversary of ShuffleTone. In that one week, I have received over 2300 downloads and almost 50 comments with a 4.5/5 star rating...not too shabby for a first app :) Thanks for all your help and support. Its been an amazing experience working with a lot of you...implementing all your suggestions has made worlds of changes in the application, and has made my summer break just a little more productive than what I usually am :D

-Version 1.2.4 More speed, less memory chomping.
I wasn't going to release this today but due to the free time I had after some cancellation of plans, I had a little bit of time to actually make some big changes
--The first change was a simple change in the way the phone refrences your music when using the Ringtone Bank. Before the update, if you were using some songs from the ringtone bank but not all of them, the memory usage would be the same as if you saved all of them. Now it is proportional to the number of songs you pick.
--The next update was something I've been trying to fix since the beginning and has only gotten worse with the Ringtone Bank, but is finally here...Faster(almost instant) checking and unchecking of all ringtones in the current list or directory. Before, even with small lists it took a inexcusable amount of time to accomplish. The only problem now is that it approximates where you were before you performed the action, so it might move your location, one or two tones above the one you were looking at

-Version 1.2.3 Stupid update for a stupid mistake
Fixed profile saving for when you save/load a profile from one of the 3 different types of banks. It wouldn't point you to the right bank if you were loading it up

-Version 1.2.2 View all your music...Yay??
So I'm sorry that this looks nasty right now...I updated it to this as kind of a reaction test and also as just a starting point for being able to sort the music and stuff...it should look a lot better, hopefully within a week or so.

-Version 1.2.1 Small Browser Fix
In my last version, I accidentally removed the code that puts the previous folder in view when you press back...it also centers it which I feel looks better. Also, during my experience, the back button doesn't always exit the app on the main activity...I had code that I thought would take care of this(because when other peoples apps do this it drives me nuts) but it wasn't working so I tried something else...hopefully it fixes it but maybe its just an android thing :S

-Version 1.2.0 Replaced Internal Memory browsing with the ability to pick between all ringtones on the phone...All internal memory features were retained if you are using it(either with a profile or currently using it as your default list), but access to just internal memory was taken out(I'll probably add it in in a small update but it just depends on what the reaction is)

Version 1.1.0 - Internal memory browsing
-Due to several requests and a couple bug reports, I decided throw access to the internal memory, just to find out that it ignores DRM ringtones. So if you bought your ringtones from a 3rd party vendor, there is a chance that you might not be able to use them. I've tried finding a work around on this but I had no luck, using a very helpful customer figure out where they were and what not. But no matter what we did, the ringtones would not show up as registered in the system. I appologize to anyone who may have struggled with the application because of this, and I will continue some research on the subject but without DRM ringtones of my own, its slightly more difficult to test, so we'll see what happens.

Version 1.0.2 - Bunch of browser tweaks;
-Support for .ogg
-File browser opens faster. The reason for the lag was, the list view had to be all loaded to allow check/uncheck to work...this now happens when you either check or uncheck which is still unfortunate but I think its better for now. I will continue to work on this though.
-Adds a "/" to the front of all directories to make them easier to spot(They also get pulled to the top)
-Hitting back now puts the directory you were just in, in the current view instead of putting you at the top of the folder(Its kind of hard to explain...just try it :D)

Version 1.0.1 - Memory leak clogged
-If you had a playlist saved and you tried to delete it, it would remove from the list but all the data that is referred from that gets lost in space(I'm sorry to those who did this prior to the update...if there is a problem I can help get that data clear)

Version 1.0 - We're on the market
-ShuffleTone is uploaded onto the market

ShuffleTone - Known issues and fixes

2009-07-09T11:37:00.000-07:00

For version 2.0.1 and up

Problems that have been emailed to me so far, and are being addressed:

--There are still issues, but since I scrapped most of the old code, I am thinking none will apply at the moment. This will be updated once 2.1 comes out