I've been getting into Android development recently, and while the development environment includes an emulator, it's not quite as efficient as using the real thing. Until now, I've been building a run configuration which creates an external APK, then I've transferred that to my HTC Dream and used Linda Manager to install it.
What I'm testing now is the USB ADB interface. I saw this being used in a Google developer video, and it looks rather cool, although it was tricky to install.
These are the steps I used:
1) Inside the Eclipse environment, go to the Window/Android SDK menu option. Select Available Packages, and download the USB Driver Package, revision 3.
2) Go into Control panel, select your Android phone driver (or detect it new if not already done), and select the file android_winusb.inf (which on my system lives in the path C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\android-sdk_r04-windows\android-sdk-windows\usb_driver). Install that, and reboot Windows. (I'm also going to test this with OSX when I change to a Macbook Pro next month for development.)
3) Ensure you have set android:debuggable="true" in the Manifest.xml of your application.
4) In the Settings/Applications/Development menu of your Android phone, set USB debugging to true.
5) Now in Eclipse, when choosing your Run Configuration, your Device Chooser should now have a new entry, assuming your phone is plugged in via a USB cable.
The result of this is that ADB can now directly update and run new applications on the fly on your own phone!
24 January 2010
16 January 2010
Spanish, Gender and Computers
Something a little lighthearted for this bleak Saturday morning...
A Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval;
and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem;
and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
The women won...
A Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.'
A student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?'
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval;
and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ('el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem;
and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
The women won...
06 January 2010
Thoughts on airport security
After traveling to the USA this week, and seeing the security measures first hand, I am concerned that they remain largely ineffective, and mostly constitute window-dressing. It's as if someone said: "We have to do something." And then they did something, or anything which might help.
In my view, a sophisticated and determined attacker can easily bypass the current measures, even with the new backscatter scanners. This article in the UK's Independent newspaper suggest some serious issues with the technology, and question whether it is really fit for purpose.
A basic knowledge of the technology suggests that such systems are interested only in detecting explosive material with relatively high density. Since thin cloth (such as clothing) is transparent, then the obvious response by attackers will be to create thin layers of some suitable material, impregnate it with PETN, then stitch it into clothing. The bomber then simply needs to remove the item of clothing (for example, a turban or sari), and wrap it into a very tight bundle to increase density.
Remember, we don't need much more than 80 grams to disrupt structural integrity, according to some tests.
What about the detonator? Well, it should be recalled that many laptop batteries have been recalled by the manufacturer for their tendency to spontaneously ignite. I would think that an ingenious terrorist might find a way to rig a laptop battery to function as some form of detonator -- even while powering a laptop sufficiently to show that it works if TSA screeners become suspicious. Of course, laptops themselves have lots of places where high-density materials might be stored internally.
There isn't really an easy answer here. I suspect the TSA has many good people working on this, and are doing the best they can. However, I tend to agree with the cynical view that only two things have significantly improved airplane security in the past ten years: locks on cabin doors, and a recognition by passengers that they may well need to take matters into their own hands if a situation arises -- as one brave Dutchman did on Christmas day in the skies near Detroit.
In my view, a sophisticated and determined attacker can easily bypass the current measures, even with the new backscatter scanners. This article in the UK's Independent newspaper suggest some serious issues with the technology, and question whether it is really fit for purpose.
A basic knowledge of the technology suggests that such systems are interested only in detecting explosive material with relatively high density. Since thin cloth (such as clothing) is transparent, then the obvious response by attackers will be to create thin layers of some suitable material, impregnate it with PETN, then stitch it into clothing. The bomber then simply needs to remove the item of clothing (for example, a turban or sari), and wrap it into a very tight bundle to increase density.
Remember, we don't need much more than 80 grams to disrupt structural integrity, according to some tests.
What about the detonator? Well, it should be recalled that many laptop batteries have been recalled by the manufacturer for their tendency to spontaneously ignite. I would think that an ingenious terrorist might find a way to rig a laptop battery to function as some form of detonator -- even while powering a laptop sufficiently to show that it works if TSA screeners become suspicious. Of course, laptops themselves have lots of places where high-density materials might be stored internally.
There isn't really an easy answer here. I suspect the TSA has many good people working on this, and are doing the best they can. However, I tend to agree with the cynical view that only two things have significantly improved airplane security in the past ten years: locks on cabin doors, and a recognition by passengers that they may well need to take matters into their own hands if a situation arises -- as one brave Dutchman did on Christmas day in the skies near Detroit.
03 January 2010
Journeys
I began my journey to St. Louis at 5 a.m. this morning. All went smoothly, despite long queues at Vienna's Schwechat Airport. The sunrise over a sea of cloud was beautiful. I'm now waiting for my next flight.
I am taking photos, and will be blogging regularly on this trip. I will be in St. Louis for two months, where I will be teaching a couple of courses at Webster University -- Telecommunications and Mathematics for Computer Science. I'm also working on some software ideas, which I'd love to see implemented on the Android environment.
Here's a poem by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, which has long been a favourite of mine:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I am taking photos, and will be blogging regularly on this trip. I will be in St. Louis for two months, where I will be teaching a couple of courses at Webster University -- Telecommunications and Mathematics for Computer Science. I'm also working on some software ideas, which I'd love to see implemented on the Android environment.
Here's a poem by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, which has long been a favourite of mine:
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
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