Posts Tagged: ‘Android’

The Room Series (2020-05)

June 7, 2020 Posted by Tiny

Thoughts From a Clicker
by Tiny Ruisch

There is at least one good thing about being stuck at home to avoid COVID‑19.  I’m getting a chance to replay my all time favorite Android games.  Fireproof Games has released four installments of their popular “The Room” series.  It all started in September 2012 with the release of The Room, a physical puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game, inside a beautifully tactile 3D world.  It was followed with a sequel, The Room Two, in February 2014.  January 2016 gave us the release of The Room Three.  The Room: Old Sins was released in April 2018.  They have also created a Room VR which is a virtual reality game.  I wish I could afford the gear.

Fireproof Games describe themselves as “a team of 18 based in Guildford, UK and since 2012 we’ve been creating our own games.”  Many game companies churn out a lot of games that are mostly the same old thing with in‑app purchases to try and get your money.  Fireproof has a slightly higher price but delivers a quality game with no further cost.  The games are also available for Apple and Windows.  This mini‑review is for the Android environment.

In The Room, your task is to open a safe.  The safe is really a big box that changes as you solve the many puzzles, riddles, games and other baffling conundrums.  In the course of the game, you find a story unfolding about locating a strange machine.  I estimate that it took me about 20 hours to complete the game the first time.  I replayed it last year and got through a lot faster, even though I couldn’t remember a lot of the game play.

The Room Two picks up where the original game left off.  You have to recreate the steps of the scientist and complete a strange machine.  The first thing you notice is that the room is a lot larger and has several boxes.  There are a lot more puzzles and many of them are much more difficult.  I don’t think any of them were repeats from the first game.

The Room Three is more diabolical that the first two.  One of biggest differences is that the game “world” is much larger.  Instead of a single room, the game starts on a train.  As you start solving puzzles, you soon find a secret entrance to a room.  Once again, you find many puzzles, riddles, mazes, etc.  The difficultly level has increased again.  The machine you discovered in the previous games has put you in another world and you need to solve the game to return.

The Room:  Old Sins takes place in the attic of Waldegrave Manor.  You find an old doll house, which is a replica of the manor.  You have to find a missing engineer and his wife who are lost in the doll house.  There are many puzzles you have to solve to unlock the rooms in the dollhouse.

The games all have spectacular graphics, perplexing puzzles, eerie music and are very playable on a touch enabled tablet or phone.  If you have a device with a larger screen, they are even more playable.  I originally paid full price ($5.99) for each game.  Over the years, the price has been reduced:

The Room is $0.99, The Room Two is $1.99, The Room Three is $3.99 and The Room: Old Sins costs $4.99.  I can enthusiastically recommend all them.

Thanks for reading.

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Rooting An Old Tablet – Originally Published April 2020

April 18, 2020 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

One thing about Android products is that they are easily recyclable.  Years ago, whenever I’d buy a new Android phone or tablet, the first thing I would do is root it.  Rooting is the process of allowing users running the Android mobile operating system to attain privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems.  Because Android uses the Linux kernel, rooting an Android device gives similar access to administrative (superuser) permissions.  In layman’s terms, rooting gives you complete access to the file system.  You are able to add, delete and modify any files on your device.

Rooting can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.  If you change or delete the wrong file, you can “brick” your device and render it useless.  Rooting can also be dangerous if you know what you’re doing.  Sometimes, a moment of inattention and you’ve deleted the wrong file.

Years ago, the first thing I did to a new phone or tablet was root it.  I quit doing this when the devices came with hardly any bloatware.  I recently had to recall my old skills and do it again.

My wife exclusively uses a Samsung ten inch tablet for her online activities (which aren’t many).  She recently upgraded to the latest model and I gained control of her old one.  It is a Samsung Galaxy Tab E, about six years old, running Android 5.1 Lollipop.  My plans are to use it mostly for playing “The Room” games and watching videos.

There are several Nougat ROMs (Operating Systems) that I could download and install.  Instead I opted for installing TWRP (TeamWin Recovery Project).  This app allows you to install new operating systems, freeze files so they cannot be used by the OS or delete files.  One of the best features is that you can uninstall any application from your android device.

Although I could update to Android 6 or 7, I decided not to.  For my uses, Android 5 is more than adequate.  I may change my mind if I ever want to download an app that requires it.  Instead, I deleted all of the Samsung programs.  I also deleted many Google apps, such as Maps, Gmail, Cloud Print, etc.

This ended up being a good project while being stuck at home during the COVID-19 scare.  The result is that I now have a six year old tablet that boots fast and runs smoothly.  Additionally, I got the chance to hone some old skills that I haven’t used for a while.  Although it wasn’t as easy as “riding a bicycle”, it was fun finding out that I could still do it.

Thanks for reading.

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Categories: Whatchamacallit

Rbdigital Reading App – Originally Published February 2020

February 16, 2020 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

There are several Android programs that aren’t very good, but I use them anyway.  This is usually because there just aren’t any good alternatives.  Let me give you an few example.

I’ve always been an avid reader and frequent user of the public library.  To check out ebooks and magazines, I am forced to use the Rbdigital app.  I can describe the program with one word: “terrible”.  I quit using the app for audio books and ebooks.  The Hoopla Digital app is supported by the library and is much better.  I do most of my book reading with FBReader (Favorite Book Reader) and Google Play Books.  I have found plenty of great reading within my budget of zero dollars.

I like to go to the Rbdigital website the first of every month and check out new magazines.  There are usually 25‑30.  Then I open the app on my phone and download them to my SD card.  Many times the Rbdigital app just fails to open. I have to go to Android settings and force stop and then restart.  If there isn’t an internet connection, the app often will not allow me to view more than two checked out magazines.  It doesn’t do this all of the time, but enough to be frustrating.  (Once is enough.)  I haven’t found any reasons why sometimes it needs a connection and sometimes it doesn’t.

At least I know I’m not the only frustrated loser.  Although the app has a 4.3 rating for almost 17,000 reviews, there are many comments from other users with the same problem(s).

Thanks for reading.

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Sudoku Free by A1 Factory – Originally Published December 2019

December 8, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

I was looking through my list of Android app reviews when I noticed that I had installed one on September 27, 2012 and had never written about it.  This was mildly surprising since it is a game that I play nearly every day.  Needless to say, it is one of my favorites.

When I searched the Google Play Store for this article, I found hundreds of Sudoku apps.   A sudoku puzzle is a grid of nine by nine squares or cells, that have been subdivided into nine sub−grids or “regions” of three by three cells.  The objective of sudoku is to enter a digit from 1 through 9 in each cell, so that each row and column contains each digit once.
Sudoku Free by A1 Factory Limited has the following features.

• 1500 puzzles five difficulty levels.
• Smooth interface and graphics.
• Statistics tracking, including fastest times, average times and completion % for each level.
• Optional hints and board aids.
• Two sets of Sudoku board art and fonts.
• Two different modes for notes input.
• Supports undo.

The game has an easy to use interface.  Screenshot 01 shows the opening display of the program.  It is a completed game.  The black numbers were the starting given numbers of the game.  The blue numbers have been filled in by the player.

Screenshot  02 shows that I have completed puzzle 80 on difficulty level 4.  It took me 16 minutes and 20 seconds.  The arrows on the side of the grid allow you to advance to the next puzzles or return to previous puzzles.  There is also a button to replay the puzzle.

In Screenshot 03, I’ve advanced to puzzle 81 and am ready to hit the play key.  Screenshot 04 shows the opening grid after I’ve started the game.  In the Screenshot 05, I’ve entered the digits 1 and 5 in the upper left block of the lower left grid.  These are the two possible numbers that could fit in this space.  I’ve also entered the number 9 to demonstrate an incorrect entry.  To correct it, I could either hit the 9 button or the Undo key.  Screenshot 06 shows the game options selectable by the player.

If you like to play Sudoku, I can highly recommend you download and try Sudoku Free from the Google Play Store. It is ad supported, but I can honestly not tell you if they are obtrusive.  After playing a game or two I purchased Sudoku for $1.99.  That was more that seven years ago.

Thanks for reading.

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Cryptogram for Android – Originally Published October 2019

October 6, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

Android phones and tablets are the perfect size for playing some of my favorite games.  Most of the time, it is some type of a word game.  In the past, I’ve reviewed Wordiest, 7 Little Words, Monkey Wrench, Crossword Puzzle Free and many others.  I’ve recently found another word game that I’ve played daily since I installed it.

Cryptogram for Android is a puzzle where a sentence or phrase has been encoded by substituting the actual letters of the sentence with different letters.  The challenge of the puzzle is to decode the sentence to reveal the original English sentence.  The cipher used to encrypt the text is a simple substitution of letters and is easy enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand.  The solution to each puzzle is a message by one of hundreds of different poets, preachers and prophets.  There are thousands of puzzles to solve.

The features of the game as listed in the Play Store are:
• Hundreds and hundreds of hand-picked puzzles without any religious or political bias;
• It works completely offline, so you can enjoy some brain teasers while traveling;
• Compare statistics about how well you’re doing with friends;
• Keep track of which puzzles you’ve solved already and revisit them;
• Get help by revealing letters or showing hints.

The game is easy to play.  As you progress in the game, the puzzles get harder.  The quote topic and author name can often give you clues to what some of the words might be.  You can get hints by revealing letters.  As I write this article, the Play Store has 14,209 reviews with an average rating of 4.6.  The puzzle author is very responsive to reviews.

                                                     

Did I mention the best feature?  Cryptogram for Android is completely free and has no ads.  There is a donate button in the settings menu.  You can download Cryptogram from the Google Play Store.  If you like word puzzles, I highly recommend this one.

Thanks for reading.

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Medical ID – Originally Published August 2019

July 22, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

People that know me can tell you I wear a necklace with an unusual ornament.  It’s a nearly indestructible flash drive with my important medical data.  My theory is that if something happens to me, medical responders will read the tag and have access to my critical information.  I’ve recently installed an application on my Android phone that could also save my life.

Medical ID allows creation of a medical profile that is accessible from the lock screen of your phone.  In case of emergency, the app enables quick access to vital information such as your allergies, blood type, medical contacts, etc.  These could be essential to attending first responders, medics or medical staff that need to take action.

Features of the application are:
• Quick access to medical data from your lock screen.
• Nearby hospitals localization.

 

After installing the app you are asked to fill out profile data.  Copy and Paste works great, if like me, you have an extensive list of medications.  The app adds a widget to your device’s lock screen (screenshot 1).

If anyone double taps the widget, a window opens with your information (screenshot 2).  The window is scrollable and contains only information that you designate in the app settings.

                  

 

 

Medical ID is free (with advertising).  There is also a premium version ($6.99) which adds the following features:

• Customizable lock screen widgets
• Multiple SMS alerts
• Unlimited profiles
• Data backup and restoration
• Frequent updates

Thanks for reading.

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Android Threats? – Originally Published April 2019

April 28, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

I think it is about time we have another Android malware scare.  Lately, I’ve noticed that many of the tech blogs I read are starting to get a little dull.  There have been many articles on what the best cell phone case is, why you should clean your screen with spit, which camera is better and various other mundane tripe.

If the bad guys would only write some new software that threatens to steal all of our private information, the bogs could get back to writing useful articles about how we can all stay safe.  Maybe reviewers will start emphasizing phones security and updating procedures and less to telling us which has the best camera.  Wouldn’t it be nice to start seeing more stories on which apps are bogus?

Actually, most of these fears are unnecessary since many malware reports are theoretical.  Your equipment would be compromised only if you downloaded a certain app on Tuesday between noon and four when it is raining.

Even though most Android threats are often click bait, I’d still like to see more of them.  After all, the presidential election is getting closer.  I’d much rather read lies about Android than politics.

Thanks for reading.

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Smart Tools – Originally Published February 2019

February 3, 2019 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

This month I’m going to do a different type of review.  By different, I mean a review is for a paid application.  Before you say a bad word and click away from the web page or throw your newsletter in the trash, the paid part is only for a compilation of applications.  The individual programs can be downloaded separately from Smart Tools co. in the Google Play Store.  I’ve included a link for the free individual version of each tool.

Smart Tools® is a complete package of six individual apps (sets).  There are a total of fifteen tools.  There is a Pro version for each set that combines each application in the group.  I’ve included the current prices for the Pro version of each group.  The breakdown of each set is as follows:

Set 1: Length, Angle, Level, Thread; Smart Ruler Pro $1.50
Set 2: Distance, Height, Width, Area; Smart Measure Pro $1.50
Set 3: Compass, Metal Detector, GPS; Smart Compass Pro $1.99
Set 4: Sound Level Meter, Vibrometer; Sound Meter Pro $1.50
Set 5: Flashlight, Magnifier, Mirror; Smart Light Pro $1.50
Set 6: Unit Converter; Unit Converter Pro $1.99

For reasons of article length, I’m not going to do an in depth review of each app.  They all seem to be fairly accurate.  All of the apps are easy to use and have FAQs.  Many of them have an on‑line tutorial.  Most have high Play Store user rating.

The app that I personally use the most is the Magnifier.  My eyes are getting old and I find that I have to use it quite often.  It uses your phones camera to focus which might sometimes take a few seconds.  One of the nice features is that you can take a screen shot of what you have magnified.

I also often open the Sound Level Meter.  Usually it is when I am talking with someone and they mention that it is noisy.  It is kind of fun to be able to tell them how many decibels the sound level actually is.  Then I can tell them it is as loud as a subway train, busy street, rock music and more.  You can also record the sound.  I guess this might be useful if you’re calling the police to complain about your neighbors loud party.

Smart Tools ($2.99) can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.  Each individual app can be downloaded for free with the provided links.  I promise no more reviews of this type. Just putting so many links in the newsletter is a PITA.
Thanks for reading.

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Reviewing My Game Reviews – Originally Published December 2018

December 8, 2018 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

I was trying to decide on a subject for this month’s column by doing what I often do.  Almost always, I review previous columns and see if there might be a good follow up article.  I noticed that I have done quite a few game reviews.  This month, I thought I would recap them.  I hope you enjoy my reviews and that you might give one of the games a try.  All of the games except The Room Series are free from the Google Play Store.  Many have upgrade options to remove advertising, buy upgrades, etc.  In each application, I’ve included the month of my original review in case you want to reread it in the club newsletter or on my website.  I’ve also included the Play Store rating (as of this review date)

FEB 2014 (4.6) – Wordiest is a Scrabble like word game where you try to beat 100 other players by making two words out of fourteen tiles.  I still have this game on my phone and play it several times a week.
APR2014 (4.7) – 7 Little Words is a game that Tom recommended I try.  Thanks a lot Tom!  You’ve cost me more than $20 for puzzle packs I’ve purchased.  Each puzzle consists of seven clues for seven different words.  There are twenty letter combinations for you to put together that fit the clues.  I play this game every day.
JUL2014 (4.1) – Red Herring is a word game where you try to fit words into categories.  I thought it was a fun game, but not very challenging.  After playing the fifty free games, I uninstalled the app.
MAR2015 (4.1) – Trainyard Express is a puzzle solving game where you have to get your trains from their departure points into the correct station by drawing track on a square of grids.  The only real problem with the game is that the advertising is pretty intrusive.  I long ago purchased the ad free version for $1.99.  The paid version is renamed Trainyard and has a 4.8 user rating on the Play Store.
AUG2015 (4.2) – Shikaku is a game where the objective is to place rectangles (boxes) all over the screen such that each box contains a single number and has an area equal to that number.  I forgot all about this game, so I must have thought it wasn’t that great.  Now that I’m looking at it again, I may download and play it again.
MAR2016 (4.9) – The Room, The Room Two, The Room Three and The Room: Old Sins all have high ratings on Google Play.  They are all larger games that combine many different types of puzzles that the player must solve.  I keep them installed on my tablet.  When I finish the series, I start over again.  Just to be completely honest, I fudged a little on the Play Store ratings.  The Room was only a 4.8 rating.
MAY2016 (4.7) – Monkey Wrench is a word search game where you have to find the words to fit various categories.  The game is OK, but can get a little repetitive.  I still keep it on my phone just to play the free daily games.
DEC2017 4.5) – Block! Hexa Puzzle is a game where you have to fit small block pieces nicely into a given shape.  I really like this game because it gets more challenging to more you play.  Even so, I haven’t played the game for a while.  When I downloaded it to my new phone, I had to start playing from the beginning.
OCT2018 (4.6) – Crossword Puzzle Free is a nicely laid out puzzle game that is easy to play.  This has become one of my favorite games.  I’ve played it enough that I know which of the many puzzle authors to avoid.  There are a lot of crossword games on the Play Store.  I haven’t looked at any of them since I installed this game.
I also looked back on my app history and realized that there are a lot of games (and other programs) I’ve installed over the years.  Some I still use on a daily basis and others have become obsolete.  There might be a future article on these.
Thanks for reading.

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Crossword Puzzle Free – Originally Published October 2018

October 7, 2018 Posted by Tiny

From the Dark Side
by Tiny Ruisch

I’ve got a new game on my phone that has been taking up almost all of my idle moments.  Crossword Puzzles Free by Redstone Games is an easy to play game.  The features extolled by the author include:
– Smart Look Up: get word suggestions when you have trouble with difficult clues.
– Hints: reveal letters, words or the entire puzzle in case you get stuck.
– Smart Step: skip filled cells when navigating through the puzzle.
– Show Errors: highlight wrong letters.
– Clear Errors: easily remove all incorrect letters.
– Offline Mode: puzzles available even when you don’t have an Internet connection.
– Polished User Interface: easy and modern way to navigate through the puzzle cells and clues.

Opening the game gives you a choice of 108 puzzle packs to play.  Packs are rated as either easy, medium, hard or very had to play.  Each pack has ten puzzles for a total of 1080 puzzles.  Each week, some of the puzzles are changed out.  If you are a prolific player, you can also purchase puzzle packs.  New puzzles are added on a weekly basis and it appears that an equal number of older puzzles are removed.  There are several different puzzle authors which gives you a variation on the types of clues.  I suspect that puzzles might be recycled.  That shouldn’t make a difference.  I haven’t seen any repeats in my play.

The game is easy to play.  The open screen allows you to select a puzzle pack by author and ease of play.  After you select a pack, a new screen opens listing ten puzzles by title.  All puzzle are a 15×15 grid.  The puzzle shows in the top part of the screen, the clues in the middle and the keyboard on the bottom.  Entering letters automatically advances the cursor to the next block.  The backspace key at the bottom right deletes letters.  Correct letters don’t get erased.  The left and right arrow keys select the next/previous clue.  The magnifying glass above the keyboard opens the hint screen.  The icon to the right opens the error screen.

              

The options menu is straight forward and is truly self explanatory.  The two items of note is the “Look Up” which will give you suggestions for an answer.  The “OneLook” key to its right lets you select the source for the Look Up.  Choices are the OneLook dictionary, the Crossword Tracker dictionary, Google and the OneAcross dictionary.  Remember, the suggestions, may or may not be the correct answer(s).

I do have two small quibbles with the program.  I guess it could be more a fuss with the puzzle author instead of the app.  Sometimes the clues are repetitive which might make it seem like you are doing a puzzle that you have already completed.  The other problem is that sometimes the clues are a real stretch.  There have been a few times that I have just hit the show answer button.

The game is free with mostly unobtrusive advertisements.  You can pay $4.99 to remove them.  Download the game from the Google Play Store.  Give it a try.  You might like it.

Thanks for reading.

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