Database Info

Cyanogen shut down by Google

I cant believe this. Cyanogen just twittered this:
Sorry everyone, CyanogenMod in it's current state is done. I am violating Google's license by redistributing their applications.
More at: http://twitter.com/cyanogen
(Mods I know it should belong in General but the developer thread should know about it then the other ones. Forgive me)

You are taking it all wrong. He hasn't been shut down, wont be shut down, etc. Read the original statement. As long as you any apps that arent part of the source code repository you are not violating anything as far as google is concerned.
With a high-quality open platform in hand, we then returned to our goal of making our services available on users' phones. That's why we developed Android apps for many of our services like YouTube, Gmail, Google Voice, and so on. These apps are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals. Either way, these apps aren't open source, and that's why they aren't included in the Android source code repository. Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it's done with the best of intentions.
I hope that clears up some of the confusion around Google's apps for Android. We always love seeing novel uses of Android, including custom Android builds from developers who see a need. I look forward to seeing what comes next!
So lets please stop being chicken little and get on with the dev work. Not including certain apps is not going to make or break any rom as each user should be able to find the apps on their own.
The sky is not falling although my home did get flooded in atlanta last week.

Johnny Blaze said:
You are taking it all wrong. He hasn't been shut down, wont be shut down, etc. Read the original statement. As long as you any apps that arent part of the source code repository you are not violating anything as far as google is concerned.
With a high-quality open platform in hand, we then returned to our goal of making our services available on users' phones. That's why we developed Android apps for many of our services like YouTube, Gmail, Google Voice, and so on. These apps are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals. Either way, these apps aren't open source, and that's why they aren't included in the Android source code repository. Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it's done with the best of intentions.
I hope that clears up some of the confusion around Google's apps for Android. We always love seeing novel uses of Android, including custom Android builds from developers who see a need. I look forward to seeing what comes next!
So lets please stop being chicken little and get on with the dev work. Not including certain apps is not going to make or break any rom as each user should be able to find the apps on their own.
The sky is not falling although my home did get flooded in atlanta last week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are aware of that the phone relies on ALOT on framework and other files. Have you tried to delete any of the Google Apps? The phone doesnt work without them. Also, open source replacements arent going to be pulled out of the air magically. Its going to take ALOT of work.
Are you sad all your stuff was ruined?

Johnny Blaze said:
You are taking it all wrong. He hasn't been shut down, wont be shut down, etc. Read the original statement. As long as you any apps that arent part of the source code repository you are not violating anything as far as google is concerned.
With a high-quality open platform in hand, we then returned to our goal of making our services available on users' phones. That's why we developed Android apps for many of our services like YouTube, Gmail, Google Voice, and so on. These apps are Google's way of benefiting from Android in the same way that any other developer can, but the apps are not part of the Android platform itself. We make some of these apps available to users of any Android-powered device via Android Market, and others are pre-installed on some phones through business deals. Either way, these apps aren't open source, and that's why they aren't included in the Android source code repository. Unauthorized distribution of this software harms us just like it would any other business, even if it's done with the best of intentions.
I hope that clears up some of the confusion around Google's apps for Android. We always love seeing novel uses of Android, including custom Android builds from developers who see a need. I look forward to seeing what comes next!
So lets please stop being chicken little and get on with the dev work. Not including certain apps is not going to make or break any rom as each user should be able to find the apps on their own.
The sky is not falling although my home did get flooded in atlanta last week.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sure its not truly legal but i think its the way they have gone about it- and in the spirit of open source i fail to see how it affects them.....i thought their business plan was based on more people using the net, more people using their apps, and more people using google to search..... so surely he is creating more business for them?.....
I don't like where this is heading......

jealous
if i was google id be going mad too, seeing the new youtube and market on phones and its not supposed to be out yet.
maybe they will offer him a job

John Player said:
if i was google id be going mad too, seeing the new youtube and market on phones and its not supposed to be out yet.
maybe they will offer him a job
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree and I think those apps were the straw that broke the camels back...

Its all crap no one not even google can stop someone developing a rom with copyrighted
material on the internet.there are many ways to cover this up without being traced
Anyway what's stopping a simple script downloading google apps onto the device on boot? Nothing as android as source is open

spyz88 said:
You are aware of that the phone relies on ALOT on framework and other files. Have you tried to delete any of the Google Apps? The phone doesnt work without them. Also, open source replacements arent going to be pulled out of the air magically. Its going to take ALOT of work.
Are you sad all your stuff was ruined?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The frameworks, etc and files needed to run the os are part of what you can get from the repository. I set up my mac to cook my own roms so I do know whats there and what isnt.
I bootcamped back into vista, loaded adb explorer and removed market, gmail, youtube, and maps. My phone does work without them. If you need gmail then yes there would be an issue but only reason i have gmail is that it was required for me to get my G1 when it came out. Try it for yourself. You will be a lot less functional but your phone will still work.
Besides Google is kinda in a shaky spot. Win mo although not great is established along with RIM os, and Iphone so Android is still in the growing stage and to attract the business users it has to have no hiccups or possible easy exploits so I do believe they will do a lot of barking but very little bite. Probably if Cyanogen wouldnt have made it on engadget, yahoo, msn probably wouldve been left alone.
There are still better things to do with the os. The real dev work is what cyanogen and others do with the kernel, memory management, etc not the apps included with the rom.

PROJECT:OpenAndroid
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=564263 We are attempting to as a community replace all of google's parts with opensourced programs developed and written ourselves. If you have any thoughts or suggestions please let us know.

The issue is that right now if you want to create a useful ROM you need to include the Market app at a minimum.
Sure Gmail is easy enough to replace, and Maps can be downloaded from the Market. But wait, you can't download it from the Market because you don't have a Market app.
So until there is an open source way to access the Market the ROM development community for Android pretty much hosed.

Hopefully this is not heading to where I think it is heading to... Or I might just jump on the next iPhone and say bye bye to Google.

Actually just a though. Just make a way to for the end user to back the google apps and then after a flash to reload them back on after install. That is not violating their stoopid terms then lol. And then for any updates just providing where you can get the updated stuff directly from google. Like where to get market 1.6 and so forth just right from google. Again no violating anything google. Defiantly a sad day for android. Since they don't let tethering , more then 3 home, not having file system access (like win mo), and no ads (adfree) lol, and many of the other great things with out root. If Google sees this thru I am going to go back to Apple iPhone and to hell with Android. Google will loose alot of users out of this I think.

Just write apps to tie you in with Hotmail / contacts / calendaring / outlook and leave GMail totally out of it.... Google will change their tune about the usage of 'their' apps. Because really they get the most from it by keeping you tied in to their online services.

Wow! I dont even know what to think. It must be a cold day in hell. I really hope that Cyanogen and the devs here @xda can come up with a way around this. And to think that Cyanogen was making some serious headway with the development of his Roms, website, and YouTube channel. I am more or less in shock right now. I have all the faith in the world that you guys will come through this still developing the best the Android community has to offer. Just be patient...
And seriously?...you would switch to Iphone? Who the #UCK wants one of those pieces of $H1T.
NOT ME!!

I highly doubt google would actually follow through and take legal action on something like this. It would be a bad business move all around. I would expect the C&D are more about pleasing manufactures and carriers more then google being worried about their own code, in which case who can blame them as they are at a point where they desperately need to attract these companies in order to ensure the future of android.

Just received a pretty interesting article via Twitter.
http://bit.ly/2NjYST
Not my article, and not necessarily my opinion, but it's a good read.

Arrgghh..google..
Bubye google apps..lets just forget them!
Modified android is much important then google apps itself!!
Google, you are very ridicoulous!! You make your app avaliable free for other system, but for your own system? Even now you make gmail support exchange..
I think i hate google as much as i hate apple..lol..

spyz88 said:
You are aware of that the phone relies on ALOT on framework and other files. Have you tried to delete any of the Google Apps? The phone doesnt work without them. Also, open source replacements arent going to be pulled out of the air magically. Its going to take ALOT of work.
Are you sad all your stuff was ruined?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I beg to differ. The phone works without the google apps. I know. Thats what I had when I first got my HTC Magic 32A. For some reason, HTC did not include ANY of Google's stuff in it.
So, no market, no gmail, no maps, no youtube. It was boring as hell. but i still can do pretty much all i needed to do on it (emails, txt and calls).
Just had to imap/pop3 sync gmail using the HTC email client. One thing I hated was the fact that I need to rely on SlideME for my apps. SlideMe(at the time) had very limited apps.

So is including the market breaking the rules, if it is can someone setup a webpage alternative to download apps then just not include google stuff. Open street maps has better maps anyway so i use rmaps, google mail well plenty of email clients about. If we wait i am syre there will be alternative apps for the other google stuff.

Or, oh, I dunno, how about adding a default bookmark android-leak or something and let users download pirated apps? "To bypass the Google Market"? LOL... Basically Google wants us to know that including their apps for free (as in Cyanogen roms) is just like pirating apps, so we are the bad guys already anyway.
I really hope Google will not follow up with the C&D and further spread fear all around.
We are all Google's pawns by using Google apps, let them see our email, see our location, store our search preferences etc to "return better result for your searches" or really, target marketing. When we stop using Google apps (, and move our business to, gasp, Hotmail), they will like it better?
RotoRooted said:
And seriously?...you would switch to Iphone? Who the #UCK wants one of those pieces of $H1T.
NOT ME!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just saying I'm not happy with the news and I'm going to vote with my money when the next device comes along. I thought Google was the "good guy", but now I think Apple and Google both seem like they think they are the gods of the world anyway.

Personal assistant

So a while ago, I decided I would get into java, for the purpose of building a personal assistant/concierge type of app, but after a few days of learning, Siri was released - an app for the iPhone which does everything I was thinking of doing, and they stated that they had the goal of releasing for other OSs (Android, BB, WM) so I quickly abandoned that idea, my decision based on the fact that I, an amateur and a real novice, could not create an app that was nearly as robust, and that it would never be able to compete with theirs.
Well as some may have read recently, Siri was bought by Apple
http://www.businessinsider.com/appl...istant-app-as-war-with-google-heats-up-2010-4
And here is their page, which can probably explain what they do better than I can
http://siri.com/about/
This has got me thinking about it again, and was wondering what people would think about this sort of app, whether it would be worth my while trying again?
Would there be any call for this, and would there be any other devs willing to lend a hand to a noob?
My knowledge of Java is limited, but I am certainly willing to learn (preferably as I go).
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

There is a small company called google which kinda does the same thing.

Please enlighten me, in what way does Google provide a service which allows people to, in plain (spoken/colloquial) english find cinema times and book them, book restaurants, order taxis, find out about events happening in the local area and generally manage your life, all from one application, rather than sifting through lists of search results yourself? Sure anyone could go to the separate websites of all the aforementioned, but might it be easier to do it from one app?
I may be wrong, and if I am then I apologise, but I have not heard of a service like this from Google.

If you have used google voice search then you would already see that it does most part of it.
Also check google IO 2010 2nd day video.

Confessions of a Google junkie (or, Privacy? What privacy?)

the original link.....http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/confessions-of-a-google-junkie-or-privacy-what-privacy/3553
Summary: A lot has been made of Google’s new privacy policy and terms of use. I say bring it on.
There are very few aspects of my life that don’t somehow involve Google. My phone runs on Android, my favorite tablet just got an OTA update to Ice Cream Sandwich (!!!), I use Chrome across all of my computers, I develop AdWords campaigns, I use Analytics to develop metrics for the day job and dive into SEO, I handle many of the CBS Interactive Google webcasts, I use Google Docs almost exclusively for productivity, and my wife doesn’t know where I am half the time until she checks my Google Calendar (which, in fact, aggregate two other Google Calendars).
I’m increasingly turning to Google+ as my source of relevant information and opinions, a function previously reserved for Twitter, and I’ve even dispensed with bookmarks, instead using Google Sites to organize important pages and resources.
I live, eat, breathe, work, and play Google and there aren’t many people more aware of Google’s business model and the amount of data it collects than I. So is it just sheer stupidity and naiveté that has me utterly embracing the Google ecosystem and relatively unconcerned about newly announced privacy policies that have caused so much consternation this week? Before you jump down to the talkbacks to tell me how stupid I really am, read on for another couple paragraphs.
As Larry Dignan pointed out in his post about the new policies last night,
Google noted that it already has all that data, but it’s now integrating that information across products. It’s a change in how Google will use the data not what it collects. In other words, Google already knows more about you than your wife.
From my perspective, though, I can live with Google knowing a lot about me. It knows, for example, that I’ve recently developed an obsession with the electric guitar and have been researching inexpensive models that I might just be able to justify as a birthday present to myself. It doesn’t judge, it just shows me the best deals in display ads on the three models of guitar and 2 models of amps I’ve been reading about the most. My wife isn’t aware of this obsession and her take on it would be judgmental (God love her!): “When will you have time to play guitar? And we’re supposed to be saving money! And what’s wrong with your acoustic guitar?”
Taking this a step further, as Google’s new privacy policies and terms of use do, I should expect to start seeing guitar-related apps in my suggestions in the Google Market and the Chrome Marketplace. Guitarists on Google+ should start appearing in suggested people to add to my circles and Google Reader should offer to download Guitar Player Magazine feeds for me. And, more likely than not, I’ll start seeing more guitar-related ads as well.
Google’s goal, of course, is to sell advertising. That’s about 97% of their revenue. By pulling people like me into their increasingly unified ecosystem, they can demonstrate very high click-through rates to potential advertisers and charge a premium to reach highly targeted and yet incredibly vast audiences.

They need to give me something in return
For me to buy into this, they need to give me something in return. Something to make all things Google really sticky. Like a wide array of free tools from Google Docs to Google Music to Google Voice. And cheap tools that I buy for my business like Google Apps and AdWords. Their new policies are designed to be more transparent, but also to pave the way for these tools to talk to each other better, making them even stickier through a unified experience and more relevant services.
Back to the wife comparison that Larry brought up. My wife knows that every Friday night is pizza night in our house. So does Google, since every Friday around 4:30 I pull out my Android and use Google Voice Search to find the number of whatever pizza joint we decide to patronize that week. Fine. Google, however, can actually do something more useful with that information than my wife can (”Where should I order pizza, sweetheart?” “Wherever, just not that place down the road. Or that other place. And make sure they’re having a deal!”).
Come Friday morning, the ads I see on Gmail or Google search should start being pretty pizza-heavy: Dominos, Papa Johns, and a place or two that has an active Google Offer. As I’m driving home that evening, the GPS on my phone should set off an alert when I drive past a well-reviewed pizza place (assuming I’ve set location-based preferences to alert me to destinations with at least four-star average reviews). And the minute I type a P in my mobile browser, Google Instant should leap into action and display nearby pizza places and a news story about a new place to get pizza in the next town.
We’re not quite there yet, but this is the sort of integration and experience that Google is covering in its new policies and terms of use. I know that my privacy red flags should probably be going off. Google has gigabytes of information about me and is using that information to help its advertisers sell products. That’s bad, right?
Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web
And yet, I don’t think it is. Many of the same techies who cry foul over these new policies have also been pushing for the development of the semantic web to make it easier to find what we actually need in the trillions of web pages floating around the Internet. Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web. When our search engines know what we actually mean, when data on the web automagically becomes information we can use easily and quickly, we’ve arrived.
And the semantic web can’t exist without “the web” (whatever that is) knowing a lot about us. It takes data for a computer to understand our needs and process natural language efficiently. Some of those data will necessarily be fairly personal.
Now, if I start getting spam from pizza places or calls on my Google Voice number from Dominos because Google has sold my contact information and preferences to advertisers, we have a problem and I’ll be waving my privacy flag as high as anyone else. However, when I opt in by opening a Google account and staying logged in as I surf the web, I’m not only consenting to the collection and aggregation of data about me, I’m asking that it be done so that the web and related tools can be more useful to me. This sort of data mining lets me work faster, play easier, and find the best pizza in a 20-mile radius.
For its part, Google needs to remain the trusted broker of these data. No, I don’t like the idea that our government could brand me a terrorist and seize these gigabytes of data under the Patriot Act. The alternative, though, is an ever-growing morass of web sites and tools that I get to dig through manually.
And, by the way, even if I’m not logged in to my Google account as I’m doing it, my ISP knows the sites I’ve visited, too, and could just as easily (if not more so) be compelled to turn over this information to the real Big Brother in all of this.
Far more trust in Google than the Feds
Honestly, I have far more trust in Google than I do in the Feds. Google is motivated by money: they need my trust to keep collecting those data to keep making it easier for me to buy things from Google’s paying advertisers. If that trust is broken by inappropriate sharing of data, then my eyeballs go elsewhere and so do the advertisers who target me via AdWords and AdSense. Our government has no such financial motivation. Money talks.
The fact that the speech recognition on my phone kicks ass because I use Google Voice all the time and it’s learned how I talk might be a little creepy, but it’s far more important that I can do a Google search or send a text while I’m driving without taking my eyes off the road.
Welcome to 2012, folks. The semantic web has arrived. Use it well and let’s keep Google’s new policies in perspective. And Google? Don’t be evil. I have a lot of colleagues who will be pointing, laughing, and saying I told you so if you ever are.

Nice article.
I think the key for Google's continued success is to keep the advertising passive, suggestions when you're searching etc. aren't in your face but they work.
You see a lot of people complaining that they've been searching for something online and then all of the adverts on the websites they visit contain something pertaining to that, and they grumble that it's annoying. Personally, I'd much rather see an advert to something that's relevant to me rather than a cluttered webpage of irrelevant information.
By targeting adverts and increasing their relevance to the individual, they are far more likely to be successful. This means that the revenue per advert is going to improve and websites aren't going to need to cover their website in adverts (at the cost of the user experience) to make it profitable.
Plus given the huge amount of free stuff that google gives you, it's a bit rich for somebody to complain that they're trying to get something back off you.

I too would much rather see things directly targeted towards me then just random ads. And everyone is up in arms about google recording what you do. Well i think of it this way, i'm fine with them getting to know me and my behavior and what i do, as long as they keep providing FREE products for me.

Ahh the good old "If they are going to screw me without consent, I would much rather they knew my name, stroked my hair and whispered sweet nothings into my ear while they did it."
I prefer to treat my online habbits like the strange neighbour a few doors down. Say "hi" in passing, and realise that while they probrobly know more than I would want them to from when I've invited them over for coffee and from peeking in my windows as they walk past, know that I don't actually have to put up with their $#!+ if they become too creepy.
Thats why its important there are alternitives and competition, and that we as consumers don't put our eggs all in one basket and be prepared to protest or move on if they stretch the friendship too far.
I know privacy is impossible in this day and age but that doent mean you have to lie back and take it. "because you know it means well and it does give you nice gifts once in a while"
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.

hungry81 said:
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the author am reliant on Google these days. I'd be happy to look at alternatives. Granted they work on the platforms I needs them to, Android 2.X and 3.2, Linux+chrome, windows XP + chrome, and windows 7 + firefox or chrome. The linux requirement cuts out a lot of things, iTunes/iCloud for example.
Have any suggestions who/where i could go for:
Music
Docs
G+
Gmail
Needs a slick webUI, and the searching ability of gmail
Calendar
I need delegation and the ability for my wife to add me to events and share calendars.
Reader
works on all my devices, and syncs between them
I would very much like my phone to know when I leave work. Now i could do this with some sort of timer, but I end up working somewhat flexible hours, and have a leaving time of anywhere within an hour and a half. I would like it to know that since I now have "buy bread, milk, and eggs" on my to-do list (thanks hun!), that it needs to remind me of that on the way home. Even better if it can just direct me to a store with a deal on one or all of those things.
I like that the first hit in Google I get for cookies is the wikipedia page for http cookies and the second is to pythons cookielib module. Where as I bet my grandmother gets, chocolate chip cookies. The ability for Google search to know that I have a particular artist in my collection, and show me the bind's page near the top of the results without me having to add "band" to my search terms.
Anyways, if and when Google starts selling my data to 3rd parties, I'll export my data and move. Google makes it fairly painless to do that.

Google Latitude (is no more) :(

Hi all.
I could not find any mention of this in the forums although I suspect many of you already know that Google Latitude will soon be retired (next month I believe)
In fact the current version/update of Maps is missing the Latitude feature.
This is a shame as I used this App more than anything else. It was a great way to let my family/friends know where I was. It was so handy to keep my mum a little more calm as she could see where i was while i was out riding the motorbike.
Does anyone know of any other Apps that offer real-time background location sharing (that does not require the B-party to install an app)?
Google+ does offer location sharing but from what I can see it simply makes a new post each time you check in somewhere. This is not what i want.
Cheers
Heath

Well, you get some you lose some, and in Google's case, whenever an app becomes less used, they will decide to close shop and move to other projects. That's how Google mobilize their project teams, and trust me, Google has A LOT on projects in mind. Who knows, in the future, Google+ might just join the ranks of Wave & Latitude as fallen heroes ...

Ah yes. Google Wave. Thanks for the flashback. We had some fun on that.
I thought it was a very useful tool.
Does make me wonder what they have in mind to replace Latitude.
But i cannot help wondering why they shelved it. I imagine it would have been a pretty worry-free app. All the meta-data is basically contained in Google Maps so its not like it would have been too much hassle.
I cannot help but wonder if it were n00bs complaining about Privacy issues (after not understanding how it works)
No?

petrofsky77 said:
Well, you get some you lose some, and in Google's case, whenever an app becomes less used, they will decide to close shop and move to other projects. That's how Google mobilize their project teams, and trust me, Google has A LOT on projects in mind. Who knows, in the future, Google+ might just join the ranks of Wave & Latitude as fallen heroes ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google did not close Latitude because of lack of use. They did it to force its users to Google+. They did similar thing with Picasa - made it part of Google+ - it used to be a great program but now it is much less fun.
I too am very disappointed that Latitude has been discontinued in an effort to troll people into Google+ and am beginning to dislike Google's policies more and more and trust them less and less.
I am going to jump on the first decent Ubuntu or Firefox phone that comes along and say goodbye to android.

Oh great... I was looking for it. First Google Reader, now Latitude.

I was heart broken too...i was the fan of google maps because of latitude...lets see what google has to offer...google+ is no fun...every time i have to check in to show my location..time consuming and no fun.
Sent from my Micromax A110 using xda app-developers app

[APP] FlowReader - Save this awesome RSS reader

This is a long shot, but I since the demise of Google Reader (which this app supported) the developer has decided to no longer continue the development of this app. A tragedy; I think we as a community should try and sway him to continue it instead, adding new back ends, both Feedly and TOR (TheOldReader) support would be great. I would love to continue using this app, as it is probably the best RSS reader I have encountered on Android. It is my hope that we can either convince him to continue the project or allow someone else to (any volunteers ?).
Flow Reader gives you an easy way to be on par with your RSS/Google Reader feeds on the go. It was built to provide a minimalist and seamless experience for offline browsing, while delivering additional features not found in similar apps.
Some of the main features include:
- A sleek and fast user interface;
- Offline item content and state caching;
- Multiple simultaneous downloads for fast content synchronization;
- Content filters that automatically mark as read the items you're not interested in;
- Sort items by state (latest/unread/starred) or author;
- Smart algorithms that remove ads and other undesirable content from items;
- No ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Developer posted this statement in the most recent app update:
As you sure know by now, Google has discontinued the Reader service, so this app is no longer functional.
Although I am very happy with the (unexpected) success of this app, I've decided to no longer update Flow Reader. This is due to several reasons: a) I built this app "for fun" and to my very specific RSS reading needs. Although I very happy to see that a lot of other people enjoyed it, I was in no way ready for attention it received (due to multiple technical and logistic reasons); b)This app was essentially just a prototype turned into a final product. The Code is very messy right now and it's becoming harder and harder to make any further changes, let alone any major ones (like background updates). c) The app is *very* tied to Google Reader backend, which means that giving proper support to another service would require a very significant amount of effort.
I am very thankful to all my users (especially the ones who donated and gave feedback!), but I hope you can understand the reasons behind this decision - continuing to work on this app would require a major rewrite and too much time trying to (once again) and make the pieces all fit with "spit and glue".
If you are interested in any future app I might develop, you can be notified about it by sending me an e-mail using the button below. You will know beforehand of any project I might be working on (and maybe even receive an alpha/beta version of it?).
Thank you again - and hopefully this won't be the end
The Developer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those who have used the app please voice your support to continue the project as I have emailed the developer the link to this thread.

(Flow Reader dev here)
Right, here's what's going on:
Personally, I'm not very happy with any of the current readers on the Play Store, so the idea of building the next iteration of Flow Reader is one that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the time that I would need to keep developing it any further. I now have a full time job and not much patience to keep working on the app on my spare time.
The thing is, I have several unique ideas that I believe would greatly improve the experience of Flow Reader. Actually, some of these already graduated from just ideas, as some prototyping is already done and working. I also think there is a decent amount of money that could be made from them, so I'm not very willing to just leave them out in the open.
The fact is, though, it is very unlikely that I'll ever finish this new version of the app that I'm building. I can see two options right now:
OPTION 1 - The cooperation route:
- I will pair with another developer (or a small group of developers). Bear in mind that the code is reasonably complex, so i'd rather work with someone that feels confortable around code.
- The code of Flow Reader will remain closed, but shared with the people that want to be part of this project;
- I will take care of the things that I believe to be my greatest strength: UIX and prototyping. But I will always be open to suggestions on these areas.
- The profit of the app will be split 25% (for me) and 75% (for the other developer(s)).
OPTION 2 - The free route:
- I open up the code of Flow Reader under the condition that it will forever remain open-source and free (under an attribution, no derivatives and no commercial use licence).
- I will no longer will have any direct input or cooperation on the app.
Also, I honestly think it would be better to start the app from scratch. The code is a complete mess right now so trying to build more features upon it would just be less efficient. Still, some techniques and code used in Flow Reader could be reused to save some time.

Choices
I have been a user of Flow Reader for some time and was really sad when it stopped working and that the dev stated that there was no longer going to be updates to continue after the demise of Google Reader.
That said, I totally agree that it should be continued into the post-Google Reader era of RSS news. I originally created a post on Reddit in which I stated that for the continuality of Flow one idea would be to open source the code on a git site to allow others to progress his work further.
Understandably this poses the risk of Flow Reader loosing it's (work)Flow. All that time and effort the dev put in to creating a stunning, and above all easily functional, UIX could well be lost. On the other hand the simplicity of this RSS reader coupled with its parallel article downloading feature would live on and enrich many an Android RSS fans.
So here I am on XDA, stating my opinions for the two options presented.
For the Closed Sourced Approach:
The idea of sharing the workload will mean that whoever is chosen to work on Flow Reader will most likely have a great deal of knowledge to input in to this project. It also means that the UIX will not change without considerable thought first. This I applaud.
The fact that the developer says that the proceeds of the app will be divvied up indicates to a paid app, further indicating to (hopefully) a group of developers with the incentive to push great work "out the door".
For the Open Sourced Approach:
The hands of many a developer could make this app into something even better than it already is....
...or it could ruin it with out the guidance of the one who had the vision in the beginning.
Usually in the open source community when there is a bug and/or a missing feature, if someone with the appropriate know how can fix it, it shall be done.
A question, then, to WildMoves. Would those who have donated need to pay again once it arrives back on the play store? That is if you are going to make it a paid for only app?
Either way, with the way that Flow Reader handles feeds I honestly have never, and believe never shall, discover one better. To which I would like to say that no matter which direction the dev goes, I will support and give as much feedback as I can.
Again, great work mate and keep on coding,
Skinna a.k.a Skinnx86

Skinna said:
I originally created a post on Reddit in which I stated that for the continuality of Flow one idea would be to open source the code on a git site to allow others to progress his work further.
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Yes, when I posted my answer I was still trying to develop the next iteration of Flow Reader. I built a prototype to test several ideas before I came to the realization that I couldn't build the full app the way I wanted to in a feasible amount of time and still... well... live. :\ So I am now receptive to offset most of the workload to a developer or group of developers (hence the 25/75 profit split).
Skinna said:
A question, then, to WildMoves. Would those who have donated need to pay again once it arrives back on the play store? That is if you are going to make it a paid for only app?
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Click to collapse
I have the email addresses of everyone who donated, so I could probably create a mailing list to deliver full versions of the (paid) app outside the Play Store. Assuming that I would have the approval from the other developers, it would be a good sign of gratitude to those who donated, IMO.

Reasonable Thoughts
Well a man has to live. To spend your free time developing and building something you would expect some payback of some sort. But thank you for remembering us early adaptors. I know I for one will be thankful, I can but imagine others will be too.
As much as I was appreciative of the beta's being sent to us, but in case you did not hear, Facebook updated some peoples app out side of the play store. Now Google have banned out-of-market beta testing. I believe that sending an apk to install initially will work and should update through the play store correctly.