SkypeBoot 1.1.0g
A small update. Basically I left a couple of bugs in the last build. I thought I had fixed them but due to the laptop issues they had got reverted.
I also included an option to skip the internet check as the method used has a known issue with it (Its an android issue). I'll have a think and come up with a fix.
I'm planning a complete re-write of the app soon. I'm working on another project atm. But work will start soon.
Skype Boot 1.1.0e and Adverts
Skype Boot 1.1.0e Has been pushed to the market. This contains a few small bug fix's, moved the contact button to direct to a form on my website (Hopefully this will slow the 'Blank' email's i'm getting to that address) but also now contains ad's
At first I didn't want to add adverts to this app, I got a few requests for a donate button/link in my app as they wanted to say thanks. So in 1.1.0 I added one. Well its been over a week since I added the link and I received a grand total of ZERO donations. Well in order for me to keep my motivation to keep this app updated and add new features I need to justify my time in doing so.
I was out at the bar the other day and I was supporting some users with some issues via email and I get asked the question "Your putting a lot of time into this thing for other people, but what have you got out of it?" Well I got the warm fussy feeling inside but as my partner says. "Warm Fuzzy Feelings do not pay any bills" She has a point. So I took the long hard decision to add ad's to this version. I doubt I will get much but everything helps. I've got another 2 projects to get on with and keeping this app free and up to date with new features with nothing in return is very hard.
I started this app for my own personal use, but I'm getting feature requests from people but with nothing but that warm fuzzy feeling keeping me going and sadly, that feeling is weaning.
If you wish to discuss this, Well this post is open to comments.
EDIT: Cleared up some typos.
Skype Boot v1.1.0b Pushed to Market
I released v1.1.0 to solve issues with Skype being installed to the SD Card. It wasn't fully ready. I knew this but I wanted to get it out for as I knew it worked on most devices. The code didn't include the correct way to detect SD card app's but some code I made to support 2.1 devices. I got bug reports but with time restraints yesterday I couldn't get a fix out.
I was off to see Dave Gorman and sorry but I had been waiting 6 months for this Gig. I wasn't prepared to miss the gig.
I cleaned up the code and fixed the SD card issues and released v1.1.0a as a bug fix. Well I had a face palm moment. I typoed in the code and it was erroring when booting Skype of the phones internal memory. But thanks to the error reporting included in 1.1.0+ I was able to quickly find the bug, spot the typo and release 1.1.0b. Sorry for that. My bad.
Anyways. Any bugs that get reported I will fix as and when I get them.
SkypeBoot v1.1.0 now on the market.
I just pushed the lastest version of SkypeBoot to the market. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.crosseyejack.skype1
SkypeBoot Test version out to my testers.
Before I headed out for the evening last night I pushed my latest build out to the people who had contacted me with an interest in testing the new version. I've got to add a couple more things and tidy up the code but all being well and no major bugs showing up then I should be pushing out the new version via the market over the weekend. :-D
Dear Task List, I hate you…
Just finished tidying up the code for the current SkypeBoot build. I've been hacking away at it in the past few days here and there and left it messy. Well the Task list is back to 18 items :-s. TASK LIST, WHY U NO HAVE SMALLER NUMBER???
Right, time to get a coffee on the go and get cracking on these tasks. First on the list. Fix SD Card detection.
And away we go...
SkypeBoot v1.1 Progress
Just a quick post to say that things are coming along. A bit slower then I would like :-p but they are coming along. Guess that is what happens when you got a ton on your plate. Oh Well.
Ok so SkypeBoot v1.1 is coming on. I really should be calling it v2 because of all the changes. it feels like the only things that has been carried over from v1.0 is the main activity name and thats only stayed the same because I don't want to break any shortcuts to the app people have created.
I have a few testers on board who are helping a bucket. Hopefully I will be able to push them a final beta later this week and then depending on their feedback and any bugs found push it to the market it next week.
NOTE: these times are my own estimate. There are a million and one things that could put a spanner in the works, and I've found in the past that if a spanner can be thrown it normally does.
Skype Boot v1.1.0 and Internet permission
Skype Boot is my first publicly available Android application. I created it after Skype removed the option to sign into Skype when your Android device boots. Hence its name "Skype Boot". The application started off as a simple application that I used for my own usage, but I thought I would add the application to the Android market if anyone else needed it.
I thought the app would get a handful of installs at most but it grew much larger then I thought it would. After looking over the code and after I got a few feature requests, I decided to give it a overhaul. The current public version is v1.0.3 but i'm busy coding v1.1.0 which will include some feature requests and some tweaks.
v1.1.0 Will ask for the Internet permission. After a long thought I decided to add this permission for one simple reason. Error Reporting.
The basic Error Reporting tool in Android is OK but its not great. First Its ugly, It only really give you information if you know your way around programming for android. Second It relies on the end user pressing the report button before the error report is submitted. After a discussion with the interwebs and a few other Dev's I know in real life I came to the conclusion that we shouldn't be nagging the End User to submit error reports to make the app better. They just want an app that works, even if submitting these reports means a better app in the long run. Ofcause... I've added 2 options on how to control ACRA.
The first is an option to disable automatic error submission. Automatic error submission is a Toast pop up saying that Skype Boot has crashed and its collecting its error report information, Once its collected it uploads it and closes the app. If you disable this option when a crash accrues, The app will still give you a Toast pop up saying its crashed and collecting error data, but then you will get a status bar notification after the app closes. When you click this notification The app will ask if you wish to add any comments and give you a Cancel / OK option. Apon clicking OK the report is sent to me.
The second, simply disabled ACRA and falls back on the built in Android error reporting tool.
I will be building my own error reporting tool. But for the sake of knowing when to ship a app, I decided to use the readly available ACRA. This will help speed up v.1.1. Which will mean it gets in your hands quicker :-) Once I have v1.1 done and shipped I will continue work on my own Error Reporting tool, which will be added to Skype Boot and once I'm happy with it I'll remove ACRA (Most of the package size for Skype Boot atm is ACRA. Which isn't a bad thing. But my app is small enough atm to be dwarfed by the error tool. Depending on how long long it takes to get v1.1 ready, I might trim down ACRA to my own needs and use that slimmer version in Skype Boot - We will see.
I'll post more information soon. Work on v1.1 is on going but I hope to get something out in the wild very soon.
Skype Boot v1.1 In the works.
I'm working on a new version of Skype Boot. The main difference this version will have is the Internet Permission. The reason for this is because I'm putting in a better error reporting tool (ACRA). The tool will give you the option to automatically submit crash reports (Why nag you, the user about something that is not your fault?) but you can turn this off and manually submit the report if you so wish.
I want to be as open about this as I can, so if you have any worries feel free to contact me by e-mailing me (apps@crosseyejack.com) or leaving a comment.
Right back to coding :-)