Use Android Developper Tool (ADT) with a proxy

On my current job, I had to use ADT
Unfortunatly, they are very strict on Internet security and so use a proxy for any access.

ADT needs Internet access to download SDKs and images for the AVD manager.
You could define a proxy on the ADT preferences screen but how do define a login/password protected proxy ?
I tried http://<login>:<password>@<proxyadr>:<proxyport> with no success

Hopefully, after some googling, I found the perfect answer :

You had to edit androidtool.cfg in C:\Documents and Settings\YOU USER NAME\.android\ and edit 3 properties

http.proxyLogin=USER@PASSWORD
http.proxyPort=PORTNUMBER
http.proxyHost=PROXYHTTP

http.proxy should not be there, it's up to you to add it

 Thanks Florian !!

Not so easy to use Apache Flex 4.9 with Flash Builder

Edit : I changed the title since visitors seems to already read it and post comment to help me install Flex 4.9

Since it's still not clear if Adobe AIR and Apache Flex will evolve together or not, I previously said I won't use Apache Flex 4.9.

But, in the release note (can't find it anymore), I read it was possible to use Flash Player version as low as 10.2
I never understood why a new Flex SDK needed the last Flash Player version so it seems the Apache team finally fixed this non-sens...and give me a reason to install Flex SDK 4.9

I first tried to install Flash Builder 4.9 with the installer : FAIL => you need full rights to use it, which is rarely the case in big corporation.
So I followed the manual way but, since I don't see the point to install ant just to download and unzip files, I handled the dependencies myself.
It was the best choice since I simply used the file I already had on the 4.6 sdk folder, not waited for the  download of the 4.6 SDK archive.

But, I failed to add the SDK on Flash Builder...
adt.jar not found 

Great...the new SDK doesn't work on Flash Builder....
I wonder if it works on JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA since Apache team REALLY seems to like this IDE.
Sorry, but I can't work without my favorites Eclipse plugins, like Subclipse and some others...
How to use it without IDE ? Flash Builder ? FDT ? CLI ?

So, let ask google ! ... wait...there is an issue on Apache's JIRA !
In fact, the only thing to do is to call ide/flashbuilder/makeApacheFlexForFlashBuilder.bat !

Ok, it finally works...but why should I call makeApacheFlexForFlashBuilder.bat ?
From the realease note, it seems it's because they changed the folders architectures to something more useable ... well..not in Flash Builder it seems...

makeApacheFlexForFlashBuilder.bat also patch Apache Flex 4.9 with the last Adobe AIR SDK ... while only AIR 3.1 is officialy supported

Oh, and I finally discovered I had to download the source, install even more tools and compile the SDK myself to get 10.2 support
Edit : from comments below, it seems the README point me to the wrong direction, you haven't to recompile the SDK for 10.2 support

so, got 4.9 SDK on FB4.7 but I'm still using 4.6 SDK !

My Flash (Game) Builder 4.7 feedback

20 days ago, I finally installed Flash Builder 4.7
Since the new "features" come, apart for MacOSX users, from the new AIR / Flash player and the support for Scout, I asked myself if it was really needed.

Until you ask, here are some points about this release :

• FBuilder still not add mobile.swc by default when you create a mobile library
• FBuilder still make mistake when trying to open declaration of class existing in mobile and not mobile ("source not found")
• FBuilder is still unable to open declaration of mobile skin : "source not found for XXSkin in mobile.swc" even when mobile.swc's source attachment is valid
• Flash Builder is now sold like Flash Game Builder, following Adobe's stupid line about the future of Flash Player... (more on this on a later post)

But, 3 days ago, I discovered something... and not a minus one !

For a long time now, I'm not hitting F1 key anymore to avoid losing minutes when Adobe Community Help loads, updates, loads a wrong page and get closed to avoid "not enougth memory" back in Flash Builder...

I'm used to get Adobe LiveDocs opened on a Chrome window ...more useful and error/update proof.
I'm actually working for a client who is still using FlexBuilder 3 (yes, not auto indent nor import ordering...sadly).
In this realease, F1 key is working the way it needs to.
After a day fighting with a bug and, so, hitting a lot the F1 key, I get back to my other PC and launched FB4.7.
I don't know how, I don't know why but I hitted F1 key....and the embedded help just opened !
I took me some seconds to realize but YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS !

After all this time explaining how bad was this choice on every blog and forum I could, it came back !

Getting back to my chair, I thought :
Wow! Adobe recognized then made an error and finally fixed it !
Is it their new strategy ? What happened ?
Did they finally use their minds for something not marketshare related ?

Then I started dreaming :
Perhaps they'll change the horrible GUI of the Creative Suite on the next release !
Perhaps they'll say how HTML5 is pure crap and not "the future" !
Perhaps they'll start to have a useful communication campaign !
...yes...I was dreaming .... too much emotion....

So, yes, Flash Builder 4.7 need to be installed and used, just to get Adobe LiveDoc embedded !
It's a shame to pay 50$ just to get back a feature but it's easy to explain to the guy who guard the credit card : better productivity !

While talking to him, for the same reason, ask for a second screen and for Charles HTTP proxy (just 10 times better that this unuseful network monitor)

Faith came back !

Blackberry effort to get a store full for BB10 launch

This week end, I spent most of my 2 nights to port Dari AlefBe and Temporary Mail to BB10.

Why did I choose to not sleep much this week end ? Because I took part to Blackberry's Android-a-thon and All port-a-thon.

This 2 events have one and only goal : fill Blackberry store (BB App World) before launch of BB10.
They so bought 15000 app at 100$ .
Some people released 20 apps and more on 2 days. I don't know what's the overall quality of all these app, we'll see how many of them RIM really approve.

And it seems, it's not enought : RIM announced a Last Chance Port-A-Thon for this week end. I'll personally try to port Poulpytris and Penguinoid this week so they'll be ready for saturday.

The only thing bugging me is I don't know the habits of a typical BB user : ready to pay for an app (like on iphone) or looking for free apps only, ads based or in-app purchase based (like on android).
So I tried the 2 methods : Dari AlefBe is still ads based while Temporary Mail is a 1$ app.

Got my windows phone 8 dev fees refund

I received yesterday the 91% refund of my windows phone 8 dev fees.
While I was afraid to receive it in 2013, Microsoft was not so slow on this one.
I still don't understand why I didn't pay 8$ only, without the need for a refund. Perhaps to select who can register..?
Or to avoid to handle different price for different people ?

Anyway, it's now time to make my vmware image of Windows 8.
I hope VS and the emulator will support it.

SmartTV, NetTV and others...

On a previous post, I talked about Global User eXperience (GUX) on phone, tablet, pc ....and TV.
In fact, I have almost no experience on TV so I thought it was the time for some research.

We all heard about GoogleTV and AppleTV but in fact, companies like Samsung, LG and others already made some unique connected TV back in 2009.

According Wikipedia, connected TV is now commonly called smart TV (like for smart phone?).
What I also learnt is that a smart TV could be smart by 2 ways : internal or external.
Internal means a TV with wifi/LAN and UI (Samsung TV, LG TV...)
External means a box of any kind with HDMI and Wifi/LAN (GoogleTV, AppleTV, Samsung BluRay player, LG BluRay player,...)

I first thought external box was crap. We almost all have a DSL/cable box which already do what a smartTV box could do.


I then looked for what is important for us : how develop (and monetize this development) for smartTV ? And this is where the nightmare began.

There is almost no standard.
Philips (NetTV), LG, Sharp and some others works together to try to define a standard but they only found Html5 !
Apart the way I dislike (hate ?) webapps, I was unable to find informations of what is really supported (which video tag for example, the more important tag for a TV no ?).
Samsung gives a little more information : 2011 Tv support css2, 2012 support css3.
Great ... But js engine isn't the same on all tv and...what are the exact devices of 2011 and ones of 2012 ?!
In phones, we had the same problem and the only way to solve it was (and still is) throught user-agent.
What about smartTV ?!

In 2010, 2011 and 2012, Adobe made a lot of fuzz in MAX about their works with Samsung and LG.
Today, some TV supports Flash in browser, Flash (lite) standalone SWF and/or AIR for TV. Which ones ? Which versions ? It's almost impossible to get the informations.
Samsung and LG talk about Flash and AIR on their dev doc but it's almost impossible to know the exact support (version, api, ...) of a specific device.
A side note about AIR, if you ever find informations about native extension, on device side, so from manufacters...send me mail ! While there is full part on the LiveDocs and a doc full of details about native extension development for TV (for linux), nothing on Samsung nor LG side, while they are premium partners.

Then comes the OS. This time, they all agreed to use Linux 2.6....but which distro, which drivers, which options ?
Don't dream, you won't be able to make TVLinux.
What about the UI ? Proprietary.
Some use Android, but 3.x only and it is so bad on TV than LG is moving to webOS (yes, the dead OS of HP)

The only positive point is the eco system : stores are ready and packagind/delivery process are in place. Everything is ready to make money.

So, is it a good thing to develop for smartTV ?
Well, in fact, I should had started by the beginning : what are the customers ? Are they ready to view in-app ads or pay for a TV app ?
Everywhere on the net, smartTV is seen as... crap !
Buggy UI, UX from middle age, too expensive... Consumers prefers their laptop or PS3 to (not so) smart TV.

After all I read, while I was about to buy a Samsung smartTV and a LG bluray player, I'm now looking to device like the mk42.

So, to summarize :
No standard
No useable system info
No more service than a cheaper device you already had (dsl box, ps3, laptop...)
Good dedicated store
No consumers

You should urgently...wait !
...or take the bus for an undefined destination : success or fail

Can't set javadoc of Android Dependencies libraries

If you add a jar in libs folder, it's automatically add in the Android Dependencies.
Great no ? nothing else to do !

 Ok, now try to add javadoc and source attachment like usual...
Project Properties > Java Build Path > Libraries then Android Dependencies > mylib.jar ....
errr... wait a minute...non modifiable
WTF ?!
you can't set doc and source of an auto linked library.

After some googling/stackoverflowing I finally found the answer

To summarize, you should add a mylib.jar.properties file
In this file write 2 lines :

src=<path to mylib-sources.jar>
doc=<path to mylib-javadoc.jar>

Hint : don't forget to close / reopen the project to update Android Dependencies

For Temporary Mail, my libs folder is now

and so Android Dependencies is now filled

It's still non modifiable but I don't care : I have my source and doc while debugging !

Another hour lost trying to do something basic.