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• avcodec_find_decoder for FFMpeg 2.1 is not working with Android

  18 mars 2014, par Fabien Henon

  I ported FFMpeg 2.1 to Android with NDK and I wrote a JNI function to initialize a video.

  Here is the code of this C function :

  JNIEXPORT int JNICALL Java_com_media_ffmpeg_FFMpeg_naInit(JNIEnv *pEnv, jobject pObj, jstring pfilename) {
  
      gVideoFileName = (char *) (*pEnv)->GetStringUTFChars(pEnv, pfilename, NULL);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "Init %s\n", gVideoFileName);
  
  
  
      avcodec_register_all();
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "avcodec_register_all\n");
  
  
  
      av_register_all();
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "av_register_all\n");
  
  
  
      VideoState *vs;
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "VideoState var\n");
  
  
  
      vs = malloc(sizeof (VideoState));
  
      memset(vs, 0, sizeof(VideoState));
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "malloc\n");
  
  
  
      gvs = vs;
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "VideoState\n");
  
  
  
      //open the video file
  
      avformat_open_input(&vs->pFormatCtx, gVideoFileName, NULL, NULL);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "open_input\n");
  
  
  
      //retrieve stream info
  
      avformat_find_stream_info(vs->pFormatCtx, NULL);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "find_stream_info\n");
  
  
  
      //find the video stream
  
      AVCodecContext *pcodecctx;
  
      //find the first video stream
  
      vs->videoStreamIdx = -1;
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "before loop\n");
  
  
  
      AVCodec *pcodec;
  
  
  
      vs->videoStreamIdx =  av_find_best_stream(vs->pFormatCtx, AVMEDIA_TYPE_VIDEO, -1, -1, &pcodec, 0);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "after loop. %d\n", vs->videoStreamIdx);
  
  
  
      //get the decoder from the video stream
  
      pcodecctx = vs->pFormatCtx->streams[vs->videoStreamIdx]->codec;
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "stream selected %d, %d\n", pcodecctx != NULL ? 1 : 0, pcodecctx->codec_id);
  
  
  
      pcodec = avcodec_find_decoder(pcodecctx->codec_id);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "find_decoder\n");
  
  
  
      //open the codec
  
      avcodec_open2(pcodecctx, pcodec, NULL);
  
      __android_log_print(ANDROID_LOG_INFO, TAG, "open2\n");
  
  
  
      return 0;
  
  }

  When I execute this function from my Java code the log find_decoder (after the call to the function avcodec_find_decoder) is never displayed.

  Everything is correct : pointers have correct values and pcodecctx->codec_id has a value equal to 28.
  But when avcodec_find_decoder there is nothing more, like a crash and I have no more log.

  Did I do something wrong when using and initializing FFMpeg ?

  PS : before that instead of a call to malloc, then memset I had a call to av_mallocz but I also had a crash at this point, and replacing this call by malloc and memset fixed the crash.

  EDIT

  I built FFMpeg using this script :

  #!/bin/bash
  
  NDK=/Users/me/android-ndk
  
  SYSROOT=$NDK/platforms/android-8/arch-arm/
  
  TOOLCHAIN=$NDK/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.6/prebuilt/darwin-x86_64
  
  function build_one
  
  {
  
  ./configure \
  
   --prefix=$PREFIX \
  
   --disable-shared \
  
   --enable-static \
  
   --disable-doc \
  
   --disable-ffmpeg \
  
   --disable-ffplay \
  
   --disable-ffprobe \
  
   --disable-ffserver \
  
   --disable-avdevice \
  
   --disable-doc \
  
   --disable-symver \
  
   --cross-prefix=$TOOLCHAIN/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- \
  
   --target-os=linux \
  
   --arch=arm \
  
   --enable-cross-compile \
  
   --sysroot=$SYSROOT \
  
   --extra-cflags="-Os -fpic $ADDI_CFLAGS" \
  
   --extra-ldflags="$ADDI_LDFLAGS" \
  
   $ADDITIONAL_CONFIGURE_FLAG
  
  make clean
  
  make
  
  make install
  
  }
  
  CPU=arm
  
  PREFIX=$(pwd)/android/$CPU 
  
  ADDI_CFLAGS="-marm"
  
  build_one

  EDIT 2

  Here is the output for the configuration of the build of the library

  Configured with: --prefix=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr --with-gxx-include-dir=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.9.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1
  
  Configured with: --prefix=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr --with-gxx-include-dir=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.9.sdk/usr/include/c++/4.2.1
  
  install prefix            /Users/fabienhenon/android-ndk/sources/ffmpeg/android/arm
  
  source path               .
  
  C compiler                /Users/fabienhenon/android-ndk/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.6/prebuilt/darwin-x86_64/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-gcc
  
  C library                 bionic
  
  host C compiler           gcc
  
  host C library            
  
  ARCH                      arm (armv5te)
  
  big-endian                no
  
  runtime cpu detection     yes
  
  ARMv5TE enabled           yes
  
  ARMv6 enabled             yes
  
  ARMv6T2 enabled           yes
  
  VFP enabled               yes
  
  NEON enabled              yes
  
  THUMB enabled             no
  
  debug symbols             yes
  
  strip symbols             yes
  
  optimize for size         no
  
  optimizations             yes
  
  static                    yes
  
  shared                    no
  
  postprocessing support    no
  
  new filter support        yes
  
  network support           yes
  
  threading support         pthreads
  
  safe bitstream reader     yes
  
  SDL support               no
  
  opencl enabled            no
  
  libzvbi enabled           no
  
  texi2html enabled         no
  
  perl enabled              yes
  
  pod2man enabled           yes
  
  makeinfo enabled          yes
  
  
  
  External libraries:
  
  zlib
  
  
  
  Enabled decoders:
  
  aac         bmp         iac
  
  aac_latm        bmv_audio       idcin
  
  aasc            bmv_video       idf
  
  ac3         brender_pix     iff_byterun1
  
  adpcm_4xm       c93         iff_ilbm
  
  adpcm_adx       cavs            imc
  
  adpcm_afc       cdgraphics      indeo2
  
  adpcm_ct        cdxl            indeo3
  
  adpcm_dtk       cinepak         indeo4
  
  adpcm_ea        cljr            indeo5
  
  adpcm_ea_maxis_xa   cllc            interplay_dpcm
  
  adpcm_ea_r1     comfortnoise        interplay_video
  
  adpcm_ea_r2     cook            jacosub
  
  adpcm_ea_r3     cpia            jpeg2000
  
  adpcm_ea_xas        cscd            jpegls
  
  adpcm_g722      cyuv            jv
  
  adpcm_g726      dca         kgv1
  
  adpcm_g726le        dfa         kmvc
  
  adpcm_ima_amv       dirac           lagarith
  
  adpcm_ima_apc       dnxhd           loco
  
  adpcm_ima_dk3       dpx         mace3
  
  adpcm_ima_dk4       dsicinaudio     mace6
  
  adpcm_ima_ea_eacs   dsicinvideo     mdec
  
  adpcm_ima_ea_sead   dvbsub          metasound
  
  adpcm_ima_iss       dvdsub          microdvd
  
  adpcm_ima_oki       dvvideo         mimic
  
  adpcm_ima_qt        dxa         mjpeg
  
  adpcm_ima_rad       dxtory          mjpegb
  
  adpcm_ima_smjpeg    eac3            mlp
  
  adpcm_ima_wav       eacmv           mmvideo
  
  adpcm_ima_ws        eamad           motionpixels
  
  adpcm_ms        eatgq           movtext
  
  adpcm_sbpro_2       eatgv           mp1
  
  adpcm_sbpro_3       eatqi           mp1float
  
  adpcm_sbpro_4       eightbps        mp2
  
  adpcm_swf       eightsvx_exp        mp2float
  
  adpcm_thp       eightsvx_fib        mp3
  
  adpcm_xa        escape124       mp3adu
  
  adpcm_yamaha        escape130       mp3adufloat
  
  aic         evrc            mp3float
  
  alac            exr         mp3on4
  
  als         ffv1            mp3on4float
  
  amrnb           ffvhuff         mpc7
  
  amrwb           ffwavesynth     mpc8
  
  amv         flac            mpeg1video
  
  anm         flashsv         mpeg2video
  
  ansi            flashsv2        mpeg4
  
  ape         flic            mpegvideo
  
  ass         flv         mpl2
  
  asv1            fourxm          msa1
  
  asv2            fraps           msmpeg4v1
  
  atrac1          frwu            msmpeg4v2
  
  atrac3          g2m         msmpeg4v3
  
  aura            g723_1          msrle
  
  aura2           g729            mss1
  
  avrn            gif         mss2
  
  avrp            gsm         msvideo1
  
  avs         gsm_ms          mszh
  
  avui            h261            mts2
  
  ayuv            h263            mvc1
  
  bethsoftvid     h263i           mvc2
  
  bfi         h263p           mxpeg
  
  bink            h264            nellymoser
  
  binkaudio_dct       hevc            nuv
  
  binkaudio_rdft      hnm4_video      paf_audio
  
  bintext         huffyuv         paf_video
  
  pam         realtext        v308
  
  pbm         rl2         v408
  
  pcm_alaw        roq         v410
  
  pcm_bluray      roq_dpcm        vb
  
  pcm_dvd         rpza            vble
  
  pcm_f32be       rv10            vc1
  
  pcm_f32le       rv20            vc1image
  
  pcm_f64be       rv30            vcr1
  
  pcm_f64le       rv40            vima
  
  pcm_lxf         s302m           vmdaudio
  
  pcm_mulaw       sami            vmdvideo
  
  pcm_s16be       sanm            vmnc
  
  pcm_s16be_planar    sgi         vorbis
  
  pcm_s16le       sgirle          vp3
  
  pcm_s16le_planar    shorten         vp5
  
  pcm_s24be       sipr            vp6
  
  pcm_s24daud     smackaud        vp6a
  
  pcm_s24le       smacker         vp6f
  
  pcm_s24le_planar    smc         vp8
  
  pcm_s32be       smvjpeg         vp9
  
  pcm_s32le       snow            vplayer
  
  pcm_s32le_planar    sol_dpcm        vqa
  
  pcm_s8          sonic           wavpack
  
  pcm_s8_planar       sp5x            webp
  
  pcm_u16be       srt         webvtt
  
  pcm_u16le       ssa         wmalossless
  
  pcm_u24be       subrip          wmapro
  
  pcm_u24le       subviewer       wmav1
  
  pcm_u32be       subviewer1      wmav2
  
  pcm_u32le       sunrast         wmavoice
  
  pcm_u8          svq1            wmv1
  
  pcm_zork        svq3            wmv2
  
  pcx         tak         wmv3
  
  pgm         targa           wmv3image
  
  pgmyuv          targa_y216      wnv1
  
  pgssub          text            ws_snd1
  
  pictor          theora          xan_dpcm
  
  pjs         thp         xan_wc3
  
  png         tiertexseqvideo     xan_wc4
  
  ppm         tiff            xbin
  
  prores          tmv         xbm
  
  prores_lgpl     truehd          xface
  
  ptx         truemotion1     xl
  
  qcelp           truemotion2     xsub
  
  qdm2            truespeech      xwd
  
  qdraw           tscc            y41p
  
  qpeg            tscc2           yop
  
  qtrle           tta         yuv4
  
  r10k            twinvq          zero12v
  
  r210            txd         zerocodec
  
  ra_144          ulti            zlib
  
  ra_288          utvideo         zmbv
  
  ralf            v210
  
  rawvideo        v210x
  
  
  
  Enabled encoders:
  
  a64multi        ljpeg           prores
  
  a64multi5       mjpeg           prores_aw
  
  aac         movtext         prores_ks
  
  ac3         mp2         qtrle
  
  ac3_fixed       mp2fixed        r10k
  
  adpcm_adx       mpeg1video      r210
  
  adpcm_g722      mpeg2video      ra_144
  
  adpcm_g726      mpeg4           rawvideo
  
  adpcm_ima_qt        msmpeg4v2       roq
  
  adpcm_ima_wav       msmpeg4v3       roq_dpcm
  
  adpcm_ms        msvideo1        rv10
  
  adpcm_swf       nellymoser      rv20
  
  adpcm_yamaha        pam         s302m
  
  alac            pbm         sgi
  
  amv         pcm_alaw        snow
  
  ass         pcm_f32be       sonic
  
  asv1            pcm_f32le       sonic_ls
  
  asv2            pcm_f64be       srt
  
  avrp            pcm_f64le       ssa
  
  avui            pcm_mulaw       subrip
  
  ayuv            pcm_s16be       sunrast
  
  bmp         pcm_s16be_planar    svq1
  
  cljr            pcm_s16le       targa
  
  comfortnoise        pcm_s16le_planar    tiff
  
  dca         pcm_s24be       tta
  
  dnxhd           pcm_s24daud     utvideo
  
  dpx         pcm_s24le       v210
  
  dvbsub          pcm_s24le_planar    v308
  
  dvdsub          pcm_s32be       v408
  
  dvvideo         pcm_s32le       v410
  
  eac3            pcm_s32le_planar    vorbis
  
  ffv1            pcm_s8          wavpack
  
  ffvhuff         pcm_s8_planar       wmav1
  
  flac            pcm_u16be       wmav2
  
  flashsv         pcm_u16le       wmv1
  
  flashsv2        pcm_u24be       wmv2
  
  flv         pcm_u24le       xbm
  
  g723_1          pcm_u32be       xface
  
  gif         pcm_u32le       xsub
  
  h261            pcm_u8          xwd
  
  h263            pcx         y41p
  
  h263p           pgm         yuv4
  
  huffyuv         pgmyuv          zlib
  
  jpeg2000        png         zmbv
  
  jpegls          ppm
  
  
  
  Enabled hwaccels:
  
  
  
  Enabled parsers:
  
  aac         dvd_nav         mpegvideo
  
  aac_latm        dvdsub          png
  
  ac3         flac            pnm
  
  adx         gsm         rv30
  
  bmp         h261            rv40
  
  cavsvideo       h263            tak
  
  cook            h264            vc1
  
  dca         hevc            vorbis
  
  dirac           mjpeg           vp3
  
  dnxhd           mlp         vp8
  
  dpx         mpeg4video      vp9
  
  dvbsub          mpegaudio
  
  
  
  Enabled demuxers:
  
  aac         hevc            pcm_s32le
  
  ac3         hls         pcm_s8
  
  act         hnm         pcm_u16be
  
  adf         ico         pcm_u16le
  
  adp         idcin           pcm_u24be
  
  adx         idf         pcm_u24le
  
  aea         iff         pcm_u32be
  
  afc         ilbc            pcm_u32le
  
  aiff            image2          pcm_u8
  
  amr         image2pipe      pjs
  
  anm         ingenient       pmp
  
  apc         ipmovie         pva
  
  ape         ircam           pvf
  
  aqtitle         iss         qcp
  
  asf         iv8         r3d
  
  ass         ivf         rawvideo
  
  ast         jacosub         realtext
  
  au          jv          redspark
  
  avi         latm            rl2
  
  avr         lmlm4           rm
  
  avs         loas            roq
  
  bethsoftvid     lvf         rpl
  
  bfi         lxf         rsd
  
  bink            m4v         rso
  
  bintext         matroska        rtp
  
  bit         mgsts           rtsp
  
  bmv         microdvd        sami
  
  boa         mjpeg           sap
  
  brstm           mlp         sbg
  
  c93         mm          sdp
  
  caf         mmf         segafilm
  
  cavsvideo       mov         shorten
  
  cdg         mp3         siff
  
  cdxl            mpc         smacker
  
  concat          mpc8            smjpeg
  
  data            mpegps          smush
  
  daud            mpegts          sol
  
  dfa         mpegtsraw       sox
  
  dirac           mpegvideo       spdif
  
  dnxhd           mpl2            srt
  
  dsicin          mpsub           str
  
  dts         msnwc_tcp       subviewer
  
  dtshd           mtv         subviewer1
  
  dv          mv          swf
  
  dxa         mvi         tak
  
  ea          mxf         tedcaptions
  
  ea_cdata        mxg         thp
  
  eac3            nc          tiertexseq
  
  epaf            nistsphere      tmv
  
  ffm         nsv         truehd
  
  ffmetadata      nut         tta
  
  filmstrip       nuv         tty
  
  flac            ogg         txd
  
  flic            oma         vc1
  
  flv         paf         vc1t
  
  fourxm          pcm_alaw        vivo
  
  frm         pcm_f32be       vmd
  
  g722            pcm_f32le       vobsub
  
  g723_1          pcm_f64be       voc
  
  g729            pcm_f64le       vplayer
  
  gif         pcm_mulaw       vqf
  
  gsm         pcm_s16be       w64
  
  gxf         pcm_s16le       wav
  
  h261            pcm_s24be       wc3
  
  h263            pcm_s24le       webvtt
  
  h264            pcm_s32be       wsaud
  
  wsvqa           xa          xwma
  
  wtv         xbin            yop
  
  wv          xmv         yuv4mpegpipe
  
  
  
  Enabled muxers:
  
  a64         image2pipe      pcm_s24be
  
  ac3         ipod            pcm_s24le
  
  adts            ircam           pcm_s32be
  
  adx         ismv            pcm_s32le
  
  aiff            ivf         pcm_s8
  
  amr         jacosub         pcm_u16be
  
  asf         latm            pcm_u16le
  
  asf_stream      m4v         pcm_u24be
  
  ass         matroska        pcm_u24le
  
  ast         matroska_audio      pcm_u32be
  
  au          md5         pcm_u32le
  
  avi         microdvd        pcm_u8
  
  avm2            mjpeg           psp
  
  bit         mkvtimestamp_v2     rawvideo
  
  caf         mlp         rm
  
  cavsvideo       mmf         roq
  
  crc         mov         rso
  
  data            mp2         rtp
  
  daud            mp3         rtsp
  
  dirac           mp4         sap
  
  dnxhd           mpeg1system     segment
  
  dts         mpeg1vcd        smjpeg
  
  dv          mpeg1video      smoothstreaming
  
  eac3            mpeg2dvd        sox
  
  f4v         mpeg2svcd       spdif
  
  ffm         mpeg2video      speex
  
  ffmetadata      mpeg2vob        srt
  
  filmstrip       mpegts          stream_segment
  
  flac            mpjpeg          swf
  
  flv         mxf         tee
  
  framecrc        mxf_d10         tg2
  
  framemd5        null            tgp
  
  g722            nut         truehd
  
  g723_1          ogg         vc1
  
  gif         oma         vc1t
  
  gxf         opus            voc
  
  h261            pcm_alaw        w64
  
  h263            pcm_f32be       wav
  
  h264            pcm_f32le       webm
  
  hds         pcm_f64be       webvtt
  
  hls         pcm_f64le       wtv
  
  ico         pcm_mulaw       wv
  
  ilbc            pcm_s16be       yuv4mpegpipe
  
  image2          pcm_s16le
  
  
  
  Enabled protocols:
  
  cache           hls         rtmpt
  
  concat          http            rtp
  
  crypto          httpproxy       srtp
  
  data            md5         tcp
  
  ffrtmphttp      mmsh            udp
  
  file            mmst            unix
  
  ftp         pipe
  
  gopher          rtmp
  
  
  
  Enabled filters:
  
  aconvert        colorchannelmixer   null
  
  adelay          compand         nullsink
  
  aecho           concat          nullsrc
  
  aeval           copy            overlay
  
  aevalsrc        crop            pad
  
  afade           curves          pan
  
  aformat         dctdnoiz        perms
  
  ainterleave     decimate        pixdesctest
  
  allpass         deshake         psnr
  
  alphaextract        drawbox         removelogo
  
  alphamerge      drawgrid        replaygain
  
  amerge          earwax          rgbtestsrc
  
  amix            edgedetect      rotate
  
  amovie          elbg            scale
  
  anull           equalizer       select
  
  anullsink       extractplanes       sendcmd
  
  anullsrc        fade            separatefields
  
  apad            field           setdar
  
  aperms          fieldmatch      setfield
  
  aphaser         fieldorder      setpts
  
  aresample       format          setsar
  
  aselect         fps         settb
  
  asendcmd        framestep       showinfo
  
  asetnsamples        gradfun         showspectrum
  
  asetpts         haldclut        showwaves
  
  asetrate        haldclutsrc     silencedetect
  
  asettb          hflip           sine
  
  ashowinfo       highpass        smptebars
  
  asplit          histogram       smptehdbars
  
  astats          hue         split
  
  astreamsync     idet            swapuv
  
  atempo          il          telecine
  
  atrim           interleave      testsrc
  
  avectorscope        join            thumbnail
  
  bandpass        life            tile
  
  bandreject      lowpass         transpose
  
  bass            lut         treble
  
  bbox            lut3d           trim
  
  biquad          lutrgb          unsharp
  
  blackdetect     lutyuv          vflip
  
  blend           mandelbrot      vignette
  
  cellauto        mergeplanes     volume
  
  channelmap      movie           volumedetect
  
  channelsplit        negate          w3fdif
  
  color           noformat
  
  colorbalance        noise
  
  
  
  Enabled bsfs:
  
  aac_adtstoasc       imx_dump_header     mp3_header_decompress
  
  chomp           mjpeg2jpeg      noise
  
  dump_extradata      mjpega_dump_header  remove_extradata
  
  h264_mp4toannexb    mov2textsub     text2movsub
  
  
  
  Enabled indevs:
  
  dv1394          lavfi
  
  fbdev           v4l2
  
  
  
  Enabled outdevs:
  
  fbdev           v4l2
  
  
  
  License: LGPL version 2.1 or later

• when all filter are applied with extreme value

  13 novembre 2013, par user2361120

  when I applied three filter(such as bass treble,equalizer) of ffmpeg simultaneously with extreme value .i am unable to hear song from both speaker of headphone.

  please suggest me any solution .I already wasted three week on it

• Fun With Tablets And Amazon’s App Store

  24 décembre 2011, par Multimedia Mike — General, amazon, android, app store, cyanogenmod, ios, smurfs, tablet

  I bought an Android tablet a few months ago. It is less expensive than the best tablets but no where near the bottom end of the market. I think it’s pretty good. However, one downside is that it’s not “certified” to use Google’s official marketplace. That would seem to be somewhat limiting, however…

  Enter Amazon’s Android App Store
  Amazon got into the business of selling Android Apps some time ago. I started experimenting with this on a Nexus One phone that Google gave me. When I installed the App Store on the Android tablet and logged in, I was pleasantly surprised to see all of my Amazon apps ready for downloading onto the tablet.

  So I have an App Store for use with this Android tablet.

  Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because I managed to screw up this tablet in an unusual and humorous manner. You might be wondering if an app downloaded from the Amazon App Store requires the App Store to be present in order to run. The answer is : Oh yeah ! It works like this :

  
  
  

  This means that if — perhaps out of curiosity, for example — you login to the Amazon App Store, download an app, install it, and then subsequently log out of the App Store or uninstall it altogether, the downloaded app will decline to run until you log back into the store.

  Here’s the thing– I wanted to provide a minimal level of security for my Android tablet. At the very least, I wished to lock the Amazon App Store itself since Amazon is famously (and, let’s face it, understandably) reluctant to deliberately add any friction to their shopping processes. I.e., without any external protection app, the App Store app would allow anyone to purchase any app using my tablet.

  So I purchased App Protector Pro from the Amazon App Store and it worked quite well. By default, it also password protects against modifying any system settings as well as installing new apps.

  So, here’s where I screwed up : App Protector Pro was doing its faithful duty and I uninstalled the Amazon App Store as an experiment. Suddenly, no apps obtained from the App Store would work unless I reinstalled the App Store. Okay, fair enough, except for one thing– App Protector Pro wouldn’t run without the App Store. Well, it did, it started to, tried to, but then exited. So I couldn’t re-install the App Store :

  
  
  Oops
  

  I eventually learned how to perform a factory reset of the unit which solved the problem. And, as indicated earlier, all of my apps were available for me to re-download.

  Modding, Cyanogen-style
  Open source aficionados will likely point out that there are alternate firmware options which allow me to take control of my Android tablet in a free and open manner. Among these options is CyanogenMod. After I got stuck in the situation described above, I thought I would have to resort to such an option.

  On the plus side, researching alternative firmware options is what taught me to boot the device into a recovery mode and ultimately restore to a factory default setting. But if you’ll allow me to indulge in a mini-rant regarding accessibility of open source software : I was more than a little frustrated in trying to understand what CyanogenMod could possibly offer me. Their homepage says it’s “an aftermarket firmware”. I’m not entirely sure what that means or how it can benefit me. Fortunately, they have a full feature list linked from the front page. They are, in order : Lockscreen gestures, phone goggles, OpenVPN, incognito mode, themes support, and DSP equalizer. I can’t say that any of those really add any value for me. I’d love to know if CyanogenMod supports Google Android Market and various other Google apps (such as maps and GMail). That’s a question that I can’t seem to find the answer to.

  The themes feature opens another old wound for me. Back around 1999 when I was first getting into Linux in a serious way, I remember that themes were a big theme at the Linux User Groups I would attend. I also remember lots are online articles at the time that emphasized how highly customizable the Linux desktop was in comparison to Windows 9x. I was bothered for 2 reasons : First, I thought there were more pressing problems that needed to be addressed in Linux ; and second, none of these customization options seemed particularly straightforward ; many apparently required hours of compiling and tinkering.

  Small digression. Anyway, back to CyanogenMod, I was glad to see that they prominently display a button in order to “View Video Tour”. Ah, internet video has us so spoiled these days. I was eager to see this aftermarket firmware in action to see what it could do for me. However, the link leads to… a forum post ? The thread seems to discuss how it would be a cool idea if the community could put together a video tour. At this point, the investigation just seems bizarre. It feels like a bunch of kids doing their best to do things the grown-up way.

  Okay, sorry, rant over. I try to stay positive these days. I’m sure the CyanogenMod folks are doing great, fun, and interesting work on their project. The problems they choose to solve might lack mainstream appeal, however.

  Free iPad
  Ultimately, I recently unloaded the little Android tablet because, well… when a free iPad comes your way, lower spec tablets feel a little silly to keep around. Yeah, it’s great to play around with. Though here’s one unsettling thing I noticed about Apple’s App Store. While browsing for worthwhile games to indulge in, I noticed that they had a section for “Top Grossing Games”. This was a separate list from the “Top Apps” charts. I found the list weird for 2 reasons : 1) Why do I care which games are raking in the most cash ? How does this communicate value to me, personally ? Seriously, why would I base a purchasing decision around which vendor has earned the most money ?

  Anyway, let’s move on to reason #2 this was scary : Most of the games in this list had a price of FREE. One of them was that Capcom Smurfs game that stirred up controversy some months ago because of kids making unsupervised in-app purchases of virtual smurfberries. I tend to think that a top-grossing, free to play game is probably one that heavily encourages in-app purchases. Strange how this emerging trend actually encourages me to seek out games from the “top paid” list vs. “top free”.