Mirror Android screen to PC

Big things come in small packages. This is the exact case with VNC Server. After searching a lot of ways to show my Android screen on PC, I found this to be the only app that worked.

Additionally you will need a VNC viewer app on PC or do it via a browser. Real VNC is a good option.

You can connect via wifi (hotspot from own mobile works) or USB (slow)

The UI is horrible but you can ignore it. One problem is that it might disable your phone keyboard. If so, ho to keyboard selection setting, you'll find a hardware keyboard switch. Turn that off.

Download VNC Server

Waking up device and turning screen on : Android code

For waking a device and turning screen on, you've the following options:

Use PowerManager Wakelock technique.
Or
Use WindowManager LayoutParams Flags.

For going with first option,

problem is the wakelock constructor takes two flags with a OR operator. One level, another Flag.

PowerManager pm = (PowerManager)
getSystemService
(Context.POWER_SERVICE);
wl = pm.newWakeLock
(PowerManager.SCREEN_BRIGHT_
WAKE_LOCK|
PowerManager.ACQUIRE_CAUSES_
WAKEUP, "bbbb");
wl.acquire();

Here, nothing's wrong but , SCREEN_BRIGHT_
WAKE_LOCK and other flags have been deprecated and there's no Level flag that could work with ACQUIRE_CAUSES_
WAKEUP.

It's a good thing since wakelock usage is discouraged.

Second option

FLAG_TURN_SCREEN_ON

LayoutParams Flags are the recommended way, but there's a catch that those flags, once set, work only during a window is created.

That means, you've to set them in your onCreate method before anything else., otherwise they won't work reliably.

So, that invalidates the scope of any condition checking before setting the flags, which could be handled by an extra Activity in control flow. ;) I'll leave it up to here.

Open Sourcing my Symbian and Harmattan apps : Shareboard S3 version

Since I'm not able to actively maintain and update my apps for Symbian and Harmattan, I've decided I'd be making them open source one by one.

To begin with, today I give you full source code of Shareboard Symbian 3 version.

https://github.com/anandbibek/shareboard_symbian

Let me know if you face any problems in building it, if you do. I hope I haven't missed any files while committing.
And in case you carry over my project, or implement it somewhere else, please drop me a mail, or a comment anywhere just that I know. That'd give me immense pleasure knowing my code still lives on.

It's quite an emotional moment to bid final goodbyes to Symbian this way.. This codes contain hours of my effort of my initial coding days... those humid evenings of summer after college and chilling mornings, when learning Qt and trying out the apps on my C7 ran a chill down the spine.

Thank you Symbian for making me what I'm known as today. For showing me where I had to go in life and for being there when I needed the inspiration after a depressing phase in life.


Here I end the most emotional 'open-sourcing' blog post of history, with a assurance that I'd try to keep this app working and push fixes in case serious bugs pop up. Just let me know.

Thank you symbian fans.

Update for Blob Symbian and Meego Harmattan version

Blogger API has recently been moved to https and that was causing an error "302 Moved Temporarily" in Blob app for all platforms.

So here's the quick fixes and updated installation files.

Harmmatan
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0lcqxz9uz99h2rn/blogger_2.6.0_armel.deb

Symbian (self signed)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3vkb9ca44vh5lzu/Blogger_2_6_0_selfSigned.sis

Enjoy and report bugs via mails or comments or via Twitter @Anand_Bibek

Shareboard Symbian/Harmattan Update

Been a long time since I last posted here. So, hello everyone.
As you know Nokia Store no longer accepts updates to apps since January 1st 2014.

And coincidently, Shareboard, both Symbian and Harmattan version stopped working soon after due to Twitter SSL enforcing restriction.

The updated bug fixed Harmattan version has been uploaded to openrepos.net , a community maintained repository.

The Symbian version, is available as a standalone sis file from my dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com/s/8xu7mquduf21atv/shareboardsymbian.sis

I will try to keep the app updated and working as long as possible, but no promises since Nokia is dropping support so fast.

Cheers to Nokia's false promises and incompetence