E-reader apps for Android - Page 4

Lo Zeno · 09-28-2010, 09:42 AM

No, you've actually said how you thought it worked, twice, but anyway: I'm not saying that it could not have been made better, because it could. It is cumbersome, it can cause headaches, and it can cause more than a few problems (for example, if you receive a phone call while your MicroSD card is unmounted and your ringtone is an MP3 saved on your MicroSD, you have to fix ALL your ringtones once you re-mount your card).

But what I tried to do was not giving you excuses, but explaining how and why things works a certain way, and this just because once you know HOW things works, and WHY they do not do what you expect, you can find easier ways to patch them.
One example: once you know that you need a sort of network between devices to have something that looks like multiple access to a device, you know where to look for a solution, for example by opening the Android market and searching for "wifi file transfer" or "network file transfer" and finding this, or this, or this or this.

I mean, once you (I'm using the impersonal you, not you as in you kennic) understand the mechanics, you know where to look for a possible fix/patch.
And while the apps linked above aren't the same thing as an (impossible to do) double physical management of the SD, it's the next best thing (and just as easy as accessing an SD via a networked PC).

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 10:38 AM

Irrelevant. I know how it works. As I said I've been in this business long enough to hear most excuses and apologies for why something doesn't work correctly. I gave you examples of how it should work, how it DOES work on a PC.

The way it works is wrong.

There is no reason it should be that way and it does cause problems as you indicate.

boswd · 09-28-2010, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

BTW I've used my DroidX the last couple of mornings to read as I walk just before/after sunrise and it is wonderful for that! Reading Mark Murphy's - Android programming books with FBReader.

yeah out of all the phones out there Droid X offers the best as well as the other 4 to 4.3 inch screens. I have the Nook app it's pretty sweet. Couldn't do alot of long marathon reading on it but for short term reading the screen of the Droid X is pretty amazing.

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 02:44 PM

I did install the Kindle app and it's great as well.

RoboRay · 09-28-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

No. The point is that it is being done WRONG in the phone. In the example given I can access the SD card and modify files from both the pc where it is mounted and other pcs at the same time. ( I don't care how it is done or for explanations of why it doesn't work) Not the case when I connect the phone to my computer....suddenly the phone can't see the sd card!

If the windows situation were the same then the networked PCs couldn't see the windows "mounted" sd card. It's simply wrong.

No. The point is that you simply do not understand how the technology has to work. Saying it should work some other way is pointless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Irrelevant. I know how it works. As I said I've been in this business long enough to hear most excuses and apologies for why something doesn't work correctly. I gave you examples of how it should work, how it DOES work on a PC.

The way it works is wrong.

There is no reason it should be that way and it does cause problems as you indicate.

Imagine if your car, which must be driven only by the person "mounted" in the driver seat, suddenly began responding to direct commands from the "backseat driver" who wants to go somewhere else other than where you, as the "frontseat driver" want to go, and overriding your input?

That is how you are saying drives should work. It's clearly not how they should work. Your idea of how they should work would cause far worse problems than are caused by how they actually do work.

Note that you, as the car's driver, can listen to what the guy in the backseat says, and take him where he wants to go, but it's up to you, as the one and only one actual driver, to make those decisions and steer the car. That's your "networking" going on.

Are there shortcomings to how the technology works? Yes. Are they better than the alternatives? Yes.

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoboRay

No. The point is that you simply do not understand how the technology has to work. Saying it should work some other way is pointless.

....

That is how you are saying SD cards should work. It's clearly not how they should work. Your idea of how they should work would cause far worse problems than are caused by how they actually do work.

As I said I do understand exactly how it is working, I've probably been in this business since before you were born and have degrees in Electrical Engineer and Computer Science and am working in the field.

What I'm saying is that it is bad design and should not operate the way it does. And no it is not pointless. It's a problem, it's a bug, it's something that should work differently than it currently does. I don't give a rat's A4$ if that's the way it always has been, that doesn't make it right.

And no, working properly as I describe would not cause more problems. You are mistaken. I gave you an example of how an SD card works in a windows system. It should work the same way when I connect the phone via my usb cable. It has nothing to do with the fact that it's an SD card as you seem to think, it has to do with the way the operating system and the phone is managing it. It is a bad design.

RoboRay · 09-28-2010, 03:16 PM

When was I born? What degrees do I have? What field do I work in? You know nothing.

You can stick your head in the sand and pretend otherwise, but it's blatantly obvious that you do not actually understand the techonology you are discussing. You're like a child with his fingers stuck in his ears yelling "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

It's not a bug. It's not a problem. It's total lack of user comprehension, compounded by willful ignorance in refusing to listen to those trying to explain it to you.

wodin · 09-28-2010, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yeah the whole "mounted drive" thing and the way it is handled on Android/Linux drives me crazy since I got my DroidX.

If I plug an SD card into my Windows PC there is no contention. I can read/write it from the computer it is on or from a networked computer etc.

Not the case with the phone sd card.

Guess Android/Linux just doesn't like to share.

I understand how and why it works that way, I just think it could be implemented a little more seamlessly/intuitively.

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoboRay

When was I born? What degrees do I have? What field do I work in? You know nothing.

You can stick your head in the sand and pretend otherwise, but it's blatantly obvious that you do not actually understand the techonology you are discussing. You're like a child with his fingers stuck in his ears yelling "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!"

It's not a bug. It's not a problem. It's total lack of user comprehension, compounded by willful ignorance in refusing to listen to those trying to explain it to you.

I probably should report this post, but I'm not going to.

As I said in the beginning (as an aside to the actual topic of this thread) that fact that it manages the SD Card as is does is just plain wrong in my opinion. I've provided examples of other systems handling it better. I'll stand by that.

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wodin

I understand how and why it works that way, I just think it could be implemented a little more seamlessly/intuitively.

Yes, I understand, but am just not happy with it. It's a bad design. As someone mentioned if you get a call while usb has the sd card mounted it can totally screw up your ring-tones etc.

RoboRay · 09-28-2010, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

I've provided examples of other systems handling it better. I'll stand by that.

No, you have not. That you actually think you have demonstrates your lack of understanding, and underscores your unwillingness to listen to those who are trying in good faith to help you understand.

The examples you have provided are of computer networks. A USB cable is not a computer network, no matter how much you think it should be.

Report away! I've said nothing innapropriate. I don't think anyone else reading this thread will disagree with my statement that you are indulging in willful ignorance. Such a statement is not insulting... It's simply sad that it has to be said.

wodin · 09-28-2010, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoboRay

The examples you have provided are of computer networks. A USB cable is not a computer network, no matter how much you think it should be.

No, but properly implemented it could be; and should be. The cludgy interface that we have now only illustrates a lack of desire to make it so.

What’s wrong with leaving the card mounted on the phone, and the PC talking to the phone to request reads and writes when the phone determines that it’s safe to do so? Just like networks do now!

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wodin

No, but properly implemented it could be; and should be. The cludgy interface that we have now only illustrates a lack of desire to make it so.

What’s wrong with leaving the card mounted on the phone, and the PC talking to the phone to request reads and writes when the phone determines that it’s safe to do so? Just like networks do now!

Exactly. The way it works now actually causes problems from what I see -- from simply being annoying at the lowest level, to actually changing your configuration (if you receive a call while connected and using sdcard stored ringtones).

kennyc · 09-28-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoboRay

No, you have not. That you actually think you have demonstrates your lack of understanding, and underscores your unwillingness to listen to those who are trying in good faith to help you understand.
..

As I've said and explained. I understand exactly the technology involved, I simply disagree with the implementation.

RoboRay · 09-28-2010, 05:39 PM

Then go ahead and implement it the way you feel it should be, since you know so much more about this subject than the people who are actually designing and building the devices, and you've probably worked in this field longer than they've all been alive, too.

Good luck with that. Be sure to keep us informed with status updates as you go.

09-28-2010, 03:16 PM	#52
RoboRay Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 270 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: NookColor (CM7); OLPC XO (Ubuntu 8.10); HTC Thunderbolt (CM7)	When was I born? What degrees do I have? What field do I work in? You know nothing. You can stick your head in the sand and pretend otherwise, but it's blatantly obvious that you do not actually understand the techonology you are discussing. You're like a child with his fingers stuck in his ears yelling "I can't hear you! I can't hear you!" It's not a bug. It's not a problem. It's total lack of user comprehension, compounded by willful ignorance in refusing to listen to those trying to explain it to you. Last edited by RoboRay; 09-28-2010 at 03:18 PM.

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09-28-2010, 09:42 AM	#46
Lo Zeno Addict Posts: 202 Karma: 4379 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Italy Device: Hanlin V3 (with lBook firmware & OpenInkPot)	No, you've actually said how you thought it worked, twice, but anyway: I'm not saying that it could not have been made better, because it could. It is cumbersome, it can cause headaches, and it can cause more than a few problems (for example, if you receive a phone call while your MicroSD card is unmounted and your ringtone is an MP3 saved on your MicroSD, you have to fix ALL your ringtones once you re-mount your card). But what I tried to do was not giving you excuses, but explaining how and why things works a certain way, and this just because once you know HOW things works, and WHY they do not do what you expect, you can find easier ways to patch them. One example: once you know that you need a sort of network between devices to have something that looks like multiple access to a device, you know where to look for a solution, for example by opening the Android market and searching for "wifi file transfer" or "network file transfer" and finding this, or this, or this or this. I mean, once you (I'm using the impersonal you, not you as in you kennic) understand the mechanics, you know where to look for a possible fix/patch. And while the apps linked above aren't the same thing as an (impossible to do) double physical management of the SD, it's the next best thing (and just as easy as accessing an SD via a networked PC).

09-28-2010, 10:38 AM	#47
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Irrelevant. I know how it works. As I said I've been in this business long enough to hear most excuses and apologies for why something doesn't work correctly. I gave you examples of how it should work, how it DOES work on a PC. The way it works is wrong. There is no reason it should be that way and it does cause problems as you indicate.

09-28-2010, 02:44 PM	#49
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	I did install the Kindle app and it's great as well.

09-28-2010, 05:39 PM	#60
RoboRay Zealot Posts: 132 Karma: 270 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: NookColor (CM7); OLPC XO (Ubuntu 8.10); HTC Thunderbolt (CM7)	Then go ahead and implement it the way you feel it should be, since you know so much more about this subject than the people who are actually designing and building the devices, and you've probably worked in this field longer than they've all been alive, too. Good luck with that. Be sure to keep us informed with status updates as you go.