Archive for September, 2010

Osplay 1.0.6… Er… 1.0.7

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

I released Osplay 1.0.6 1.0.7 today. 1.0.6 had a problem on some systems with upgrading the database which was fixed by 1.0.7. This most notably can accept the VIEW Intent, so audiobooks/podcasts can be opened from other applications in Osplay. I threw in album art as well as a bunch of miscellaneous bugfixes. Still $5 on the Android Market.

Osplay 1.0.3

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

I just posted Osplay 1.0.3. In addition to the corrections mentioned in the previous post, it is enhanced by pausing playback when headphones are unplugged (which can be disabled in preferences) supporting media button controls (such as those found on Bluetooth headphones). You can configure the media buttons in any way you like, so, for example, if your headphones have only next track and previous track buttons, you can change them to be rewind/fast-forward. I wasn’t able to find a way to cause the buttons to do something different when held down the way that the main Activity allows you to hold fast-forward and rewind, which was a bit disappointing.

This corrects a bug with Android licensing, which I hope is sufficiently liberal that it does not interfere with anyone who gets Osplay from the Android Market. If they do, e-mail me from the app and I will relax them further.

Osplay: What’s Next

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

I have been listening to feedback from the first users of Osplay. This is my current todo list.

Fix bug with very large files and related problem with deleted files
Catch Intent for opening audio
Get forums running
Pause on headphone disconnect
Bluetooth headset controls
Rearrange buttons in landscape mode
Trial version
Show album art
ID3 tagged browsing
Subscribing to Podcasts

Further Details

Fix Bug With Very Large Files and Related Force Close Problem with Deleted Files

I received a bug report this morning that a 7-hour file reached the 3:30 mark while sped up 1.5x, then the display said more time had elapsed than there was in the file. The book also stopped. Removing the file resulted in force close on open.

If you reach this bug: The force close is most likely due to Osplay trying to restore a track that isn’t there any more. Using home screen->Settings->Applications->Osplay->Clear Data button will cause the program to be able to open again, but will lose any saved bookmarks or history. I am looking into adding a “Reset Loaded Track” button on the Applications screen that will just lose the currently loaded track, which would help in this case.

Update:
As of 2010-08-01 13:43 CDT, I’ve released Osplay v1.0.2 that should resolve this bug (which actually had to do with sample rates). However, should you get force close problems on open, I have added a Manage Space option that lets you reset the open track. To use it:
Go the Android home screen.
Press Menu->Settings->Applications->Manage Applications->Osplay
Press Manage Space
Press Clear Last Loaded Track Set

Catch Intent for Opening Audio

Osplay is currently a self-contained application. It should be added to the “Complete action using” for audio files. This should cause Beyondpod to be able to be used to manage podcasts and Osplay to be able to play them. This is proving way more difficult than I feared, specifically with regard to SecurityException caused by opening an MP3 from Gmail. I also need to radically rework how the database is going, so I’m getting a few other things done first just because they’re faster.

Get Forums Running

Aocate needs an official place for support/feedback and the like. There are limited options at the moment: This blog, Twitter, and Send Feedback link is Osplay. phpBB is currently giving a Dreamhost-related error and Dreamhost’s support indicates they’re having other technical errors.
The forums are up. Here’s Osplay, and Practice Makes Perfect.

Pause on Headphone Disconnect

Pretty self-explanatory, though Preferences needs an option to turn this off. I also think the G1, the device I’m using to test, doesn’t support this at all.

Bluetooth Headset Controls

I have not implemented anything that listens for controls from a Bluetooth headset. This one is going to be tricky since I don’t have a Bluetooth headset. It’s further made difficult by the fact that android.bluetooth wasn’t added until Android 2.0, which means I can’t support this and Android 1.5/1.6 users.

As of 2010-08-02 11:55 CDT, I’ve sent out a test version to one of the users who was asking for this feature. It looks like android.bluetooth isn’t needed after all.

Rearrange Buttons in Landscape Mode

The buttons in landscape mode are too small. Some of them will need to be cut out entirely since there isn’t a lot of space there.

Trial Version

Pretty self-explanatory, though I’m not sure what limitations to put on a demo version. It’s a political, social, and technical problem.

Show Album Art

I personally don’t believe this is super-useful, but @amp68 on Twitter asked for it so I’ll at least give it some thought.

ID3 Tagged Browsing

Another from @amp68, but it might not be particularly feasible: Practically speaking I’m limited to what Android MediaStore exposes, which is a subset of the ID3 tags. I’ll need a lot more details on what this means: You can already filter by album, artist and title, but clearly that isn’t meeting his needs.
To my understanding, the objective here is to be able to play an entire album that contains a single audiobook easily. This means being able to browse albums. Artists may also be useful: It could be kind of cool to play an entire author’s collection in one go. As a stopgap measure, what can be done is go into the Music app, either Album or Artist, long-click that album or artist, and select Add to Playlist. Create a new playlist, then play that in Osplay. It’s more steps than it should be, but it can be done.

Subscribing to Podcasts

This is at the bottom because there are already podcast subscribers for Android. I’m going to see if catching the Intent for opening audio is sufficient, and if so drop this entirely.