I like free software. Particularly free useful software. That is what I find at Shareware on Sale which can be found here. I suppose you could search the web daily for new, free software, but why bother? Just sign up for the daily list. Download what you want, disregard the other.
I like free software for my phone too. So I signed up for Hungry for Apps available here. This site is run by the same people who do Shareware on Sale. I have picked up some neat free software for my Android devices.
I haven't had any issues with malware from the downloads at these sites. Give them a try.
Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label android. Show all posts
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
How I built my PC/Android Accessible Database for Butterflies and Moths
I am interested Butterflies and Moths. I like to learn about them. I like to photograph them. I wanted to keep a list of the butterflies and moths I have seen. I wanted to have access to this list on my computers and portable android devices. I began looking around for solutions. I began with Memento - for Android. While this works fine on Android, there is no PC interface. So my search continued. I looked at SailForms as well. It doesn't have a PC interface either. Finally, I settled on creating my own SQLite database and syncing across all my devices using FolderSync. The only downside is that there is no nice and pretty form based interface. But this is not a problem for me. Here's how I developed my database.
1) Create the butterfly/moth database.
a.There are numerous websites available which will give you lists of butterflies and moths in a particular area. I started with my county. I downloaded the list as a .csv file. Now I am ready to build the database.
b. I was already familiar with the excellent SQLite manager SQLite Expert Personal. This is my app of choice for SQLite table creation/data entry.
c. Unfortunately SQLite Expert Personal (free version) doesn't have an import from .cvs function.
d. I opened the downloaded .cvs file and added extra columns for the things I wanted like location, date sighted, notes, etc. See example below.
Common Name,Scientific Name,Family,Date Sighted,Location,Notes,Sighted
Silver-spotted Skipper,Epargyreus clarus,Hesperiidae Skippers,8/25/2013,"170 Ebenzer Rd., Greer, SC 29651",Butterfly Bush. Lots of them.,TRUE
2) Load the .csv file into the database.
a. I used SQLite Manager (Another free tool) to create the database. I named the databased "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite".
b. Then using SQLite Manager, I created a table ButterfliesMoths and added the columns: Common Name,Scientific Name,Family,Date
Sighted,Location,Notes,Sighted. Next I imported the .csv file into the database. Now my db has data!
3) Sync the database using Google Drive and FolderSync.
a. I created a "Database" folder in my Google Drive folder and put the "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite file into this folder.
b. Whenever I view\edit the db on a PC it will be from the Google Drive\Database folder.
c. For my phone and nexus, I loaded FolderSync from Google Play. FolderSync will sync files from Google Drive to particular files on your Android device. It's fairly straight forward to set up.
d. Lets say I create a folder named GoogleDriveDatabase on my phone for FolderSync to sync with Google Drive\Database. GoogleDriveDatabase on my phone will now have the latest version of "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite" FolderSync is bi-directional, so when I make changes to the database on my phone, the changes will be uploaded to Google Drive. This is fantastic.
4) View/Edit the database on Android devices.
a. Unfortunately, SQLite Expert is not available as an Android app. The best tool I have found for viewing and editing SQLite db's in Android is aSQLiteManager.
b. Using aSQLiteManager I can view and edit my db.
In the end, I have a cloud based db that can be viewed and edited on any PC or Android device. So whether I in the office, at home, or in the field I can make additions to my GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths database. I like that.
1) Create the butterfly/moth database.
a.There are numerous websites available which will give you lists of butterflies and moths in a particular area. I started with my county. I downloaded the list as a .csv file. Now I am ready to build the database.
b. I was already familiar with the excellent SQLite manager SQLite Expert Personal. This is my app of choice for SQLite table creation/data entry.
c. Unfortunately SQLite Expert Personal (free version) doesn't have an import from .cvs function.
d. I opened the downloaded .cvs file and added extra columns for the things I wanted like location, date sighted, notes, etc. See example below.
Common Name,Scientific Name,Family,Date Sighted,Location,Notes,Sighted
Silver-spotted Skipper,Epargyreus clarus,Hesperiidae Skippers,8/25/2013,"170 Ebenzer Rd., Greer, SC 29651",Butterfly Bush. Lots of them.,TRUE
2) Load the .csv file into the database.
a. I used SQLite Manager (Another free tool) to create the database. I named the databased "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite".
b. Then using SQLite Manager, I created a table ButterfliesMoths and added the columns: Common Name,Scientific Name,Family,Date
Sighted,Location,Notes,Sighted. Next I imported the .csv file into the database. Now my db has data!
3) Sync the database using Google Drive and FolderSync.
a. I created a "Database" folder in my Google Drive folder and put the "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite file into this folder.
b. Whenever I view\edit the db on a PC it will be from the Google Drive\Database folder.
c. For my phone and nexus, I loaded FolderSync from Google Play. FolderSync will sync files from Google Drive to particular files on your Android device. It's fairly straight forward to set up.
d. Lets say I create a folder named GoogleDriveDatabase on my phone for FolderSync to sync with Google Drive\Database. GoogleDriveDatabase on my phone will now have the latest version of "GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths.sqlite" FolderSync is bi-directional, so when I make changes to the database on my phone, the changes will be uploaded to Google Drive. This is fantastic.
4) View/Edit the database on Android devices.
a. Unfortunately, SQLite Expert is not available as an Android app. The best tool I have found for viewing and editing SQLite db's in Android is aSQLiteManager.
b. Using aSQLiteManager I can view and edit my db.
In the end, I have a cloud based db that can be viewed and edited on any PC or Android device. So whether I in the office, at home, or in the field I can make additions to my GreenvilleSCButterfliesMoths database. I like that.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
TimerAndroid - Running apps at certain times
I have described my blog as mostly photography related and I think it is. Today I will discuss a cool android app call TimerAndroid. And it doesn't have much to do with photography.
Background: I wanted to be able to turn the bluetooth network on/off at certain times of the day automatically. I have voice sync in my auto, and I wanted to turn on bluetooth during my morning and evening rides to work. I wanted to do this automatically. I didn't want to leave the bluetooth option on all the time because of the battery drain.
I found the an app called TimerAndroid which will do just that. I am able to set the blue tooth function to come on at 6:00AM and off at 7:00AM. Then I also set it to come on at 4:00PM and go off at 5:00PM. And it works. Did I mention it is a free app? How cool is that?
It is relatively easy to program. You add an entry for a given time, and then choose on or off. So to have something on from 4:00 to 5:00 requires 2 entrys, one for on at 4:00 and another for off at 5:00. It works great.
Background: I wanted to be able to turn the bluetooth network on/off at certain times of the day automatically. I have voice sync in my auto, and I wanted to turn on bluetooth during my morning and evening rides to work. I wanted to do this automatically. I didn't want to leave the bluetooth option on all the time because of the battery drain.
I found the an app called TimerAndroid which will do just that. I am able to set the blue tooth function to come on at 6:00AM and off at 7:00AM. Then I also set it to come on at 4:00PM and go off at 5:00PM. And it works. Did I mention it is a free app? How cool is that?
It is relatively easy to program. You add an entry for a given time, and then choose on or off. So to have something on from 4:00 to 5:00 requires 2 entrys, one for on at 4:00 and another for off at 5:00. It works great.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Showing Photos on 7" Android Device
There are numerous sub $100 7" screen Android device out there. Even though I have a Kindle Fire, I wanted a real Android device so I bought a AGPtek (Android
4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) MID 7" TouchScreen Wi-Fi G-sensor Tablet 4GB
Built-In Storage With Expandable Micro SD Card Slot) device which I am quite happy with. I bought it mainly for email, videos, photos, and surfing the web. I wanted an app that would display my images as a slide show and after testing a few I settled on Fish Bowl Photo . You can display the images on your device in a grid fashion. Selecting an image will zoom the image to it max size for the device. They also have a slide show function. What I like about Fish Bowl is that it doesn't rotate the images during the slide show as some other apps do. Therefore you are not rotating the device for portrait or landscape. Sure - you give up some on the size of the displayed image, but it's a lot let arm movement. You can adjust the delay between images. There are no transitional effects, no fluff. Just a simple app that does a good job with your images.
Update 12 July 2012: There was an app on my 'droid device that I hadn't paid attention to called 2160P which is a photo app which does a good job of displaying photos, slide shows and editing. I think I may like it better than Fish Bowl Photo. However, I could not find it at the Google Play store or on the internet. If you are familiar with it - leave a comment.
Update 12 July 2012: There was an app on my 'droid device that I hadn't paid attention to called 2160P which is a photo app which does a good job of displaying photos, slide shows and editing. I think I may like it better than Fish Bowl Photo. However, I could not find it at the Google Play store or on the internet. If you are familiar with it - leave a comment.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Plant Names for Photographers
If you like to photograph and tag wildflowers, vines, trees in the US there is an excellent source for finding the scientific name of plants. This database is provided on the web by the USDA at Plant Database. I like to use this to add scientific names to the plant photos I take.
I have taken this a step further and add this database (with some filtering) to my Android phone. I imported it into memento . Memento is an app that lets you create databases and add/view data. I was able to import the plants id data into memento. Now I can search by common name or scientific name for plants from my phone.
I have taken this a step further and add this database (with some filtering) to my Android phone. I imported it into memento . Memento is an app that lets you create databases and add/view data. I was able to import the plants id data into memento. Now I can search by common name or scientific name for plants from my phone.
Monday, January 9, 2012
My Kindle Fire Review - Part 1
I received a Kindle Fire as a Christmas present. I have been using it for about 3 weeks now. Here are my impressions so far.
The Fire is heavy. It is constructed with very clean lines. All joints were tightly fit. Only one button for power. There is a USB connection for charging the battery and transferring data. There is also a ear phone jack. Battery life is good. I also received a cover. This cover can be made into a stand for watching movies and videos.
The Fire runs Amazon’s version of the Android operating system. I do not like the bookshelf view of icons and the way you choose apps or books. I would prefer icons for getting around but for now, this is not available.
Once a book is loaded, I find the reading experience very good with Kindle formatted books (mobi). Only books downloaded from Amazon are shown on your bookshelves, others are shown in the document shelves. I have downloaded pdf books and viewed satisfactorily on the Fire, although the page size may exceed the screen. I have also downloaded books from the Gutenberg Project and read on the Fire with success.
The Fire comes with 8 gigabyte memory, not all of which is available for books. This is not really a limitation, because you can store your books and music on the Amazon cloud if you desire.
Surfing the web is ok. Somewhat slow at times. But usable.
The built in email client works well with any pop3 or imap account.
In Part 2 I will discuss how I use the video and photo apps for my photography.
The Fire is heavy. It is constructed with very clean lines. All joints were tightly fit. Only one button for power. There is a USB connection for charging the battery and transferring data. There is also a ear phone jack. Battery life is good. I also received a cover. This cover can be made into a stand for watching movies and videos.
The Fire runs Amazon’s version of the Android operating system. I do not like the bookshelf view of icons and the way you choose apps or books. I would prefer icons for getting around but for now, this is not available.
Once a book is loaded, I find the reading experience very good with Kindle formatted books (mobi). Only books downloaded from Amazon are shown on your bookshelves, others are shown in the document shelves. I have downloaded pdf books and viewed satisfactorily on the Fire, although the page size may exceed the screen. I have also downloaded books from the Gutenberg Project and read on the Fire with success.
The Fire comes with 8 gigabyte memory, not all of which is available for books. This is not really a limitation, because you can store your books and music on the Amazon cloud if you desire.
Surfing the web is ok. Somewhat slow at times. But usable.
The built in email client works well with any pop3 or imap account.
In Part 2 I will discuss how I use the video and photo apps for my photography.
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