[Q] Google Now Widget/Homescreen - General Questions and Answers

Ok so I did a lot of searching and have not been able to find anything for this... I found a couple of threads started by people asking if it is possible or if there is one that exists but those did not receive any real responses so I'm hoping that one of the amazing devs here can help please.
So what I'd like is a homescreen widget, or possibly a Live wallpaper, which shows the live cards from Google Now.
There are countless Google Now themed UCCW skins that people have put out. I don't want that.
I also found a way to create homescreen icons that LOOK like Google Now cards. But all those do is launch apps, they do not update with live information from Google Now.
I'm not sure why Google Now wasn't created with a widget. It just seems to make sense. It's kind of annoying that you have to open the app to get all this information, instead of having it right in front of your face on your homescreen where you can access other apps quickly as well. I mean the point of google now is to present you with information before you need it right? How is that possible if I can't get the info without opening the app.
So I'm hoping there is, if anything, some sort of work around here.
Maybe someone knows of a way to create a widget with desktop visualizer that will show the live Google now cards and update them.
I'm hoping for a scrollable widget that will be almost exactly like Google Now (i.e new cards will pop up as they do in the app, you can scroll up and down to view all of the cards you currently have, you can swipe to remove cards - (come to think of it you probably won't be able to swipe to remove cards, but maybe a double tap or something?))
It would probably be best if this widget did not include the google search bar and simply showed the google now cards.
I remember hearing about an app in the past that could overlay live wallpapers on each other. Is there a way to overlay an app into a live wall paper? so that you could see Google Now as your live wall paper, even if maybe you can't actually interact with it this way?
For now I'm going to try setting up something with tasker, so that google now will automatically open every morning when I turn off my alarm, and possibly at other points (maybe when a new card pops up or something). Something similar to this could probably be done with the smart actions app if people are interested in trying that out. But honestly I feel like this is not the best solution because I'd rather not have tasker running constantly, eating my RAM and therefore my battery.
So I don't know if the reason there is no widget already is because it simply is not possible. And if it's not possible could someone please explain why?
Also, so that I can try to work on this myself - can someone please help me by telling me which files Google now uses for getting and updating cards? (i.e. the file names I would see in Titanium or under Settings>Apps or in a file explorer where they would be located - I'm guessing somewhere in the /system/ folder) If I can access these I can play around with them and try some things out
TIA to all who reply...

Related

[Q] App to tell which apps are most used?

Great site, first post!
I would have found this on my own if it exists, but the nature of trying to find an app that lists your most used apps is difficult to search for.
I was wondering if there is an app out there that functions sort of like a folder on your home screen. One that automatically keeps up with your top 10/15/20 most used apps.
I'm trying to maintain a minimalist home screen and would like to find something like this. Ideally it would be just a single icon that pops up your "favorite" apps when touched. I realize I could of course create a folder for this purpose, but it would be great if there was some sort of automated app for it. Your most used apps likely fluctuate and I think this could be a valuable thing to have.
It could work like the recent apps hotkey. Maybe if there was a way to disable the recent apps from being cleared on a reboot, that would pretty much solve my issue.
Thanks for the help/advice in advance.
I have a Droid 1 for what its worth.

(req) task/process list widget

I can't imagine something like this doesn't exist but I've been searching the market and appbrain for one and I haven't found one yet. The idea is simply to see currently running apps (like the task manager) with the option to kill them from a widget on a desktop. Anyone know of one or even want to get rich making one? I would think plenty of people would find it useful.
Captivate//Serendipity//Swype
search for active apps. it does the same thing at what you want.
anyway, the link is here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=967686&highlight=samsung+active+apps
I appreciate the suggestion, but that's not quite what I'm looking for. I'm needing something that will show the active apps and "end" button in the widget itself instead of in a new window.
Captivate//Serendipity//Swype
I need exactly the same app, I have been looking tht for many hours and nothing
I've found plenty of widgets that launcha custom task manager but nothing like this...looks like Dual's gonna learn some java
Captivate//Serendipity//Swype

Google Now Widget/Homescreen

Ok so I did a lot of searching and have not been able to find anything for this... I found a couple of threads started by people asking if it is possible or if there is one that exists but those did not receive any real responses so I'm hoping that one of the amazing devs here can help please. I'm debating making a thread in the general Android Development forum so that maybe I'll reach a wider audience.
So what I'd like is a homescreen widget, or possibly a Live wallpaper, which shows the live cards from Google Now.
There are countless Google Now themed UCCW skins that people have put out. I don't want that.
I also found a way to create homescreen icons that LOOK like Google Now cards. But all those do is launch apps, they do not update with live information from Google Now.
I'm not sure why Google Now wasn't created with a widget. It just seems to make sense. It's kind of annoying that you have to open the app to get all this information, instead of having it right in front of your face on your homescreen where you can access other apps quickly as well. I mean the point of google now is to present you with information before you need it right? How is that possible if I can't get the info without opening the app.
So I'm hoping there is, if anything, some sort of work around here.
Maybe someone knows of a way to create a widget with desktop visualizer that will show the live Google now cards and update them.
I'm hoping for a scrollable widget that will be almost exactly like Google Now (i.e new cards will pop up as they do in the app, you can scroll up and down to view all of the cards you currently have, you can swipe to remove cards - (come to think of it you probably won't be able to swipe to remove cards, but maybe a double tap or something?))
It would probably be best if this widget did not include the google search bar and simply showed the google now cards.
I remember hearing about an app in the past that could overlay live wallpapers on each other. Is there a way to overlay an app into a live wall paper? so that you could see Google Now as your live wall paper, even if maybe you can't actually interact with it this way?
For now I'm going to try setting up something with tasker, so that google now will automatically open every morning when I turn off my alarm, and possibly at other points (maybe when a new card pops up or something). Something similar to this could probably be done with the smart actions app if people are interested in trying that out. But honestly I feel like this is not the best solution because I'd rather not have tasker running constantly, eating my RAM and therefore my battery.
So I don't know if the reason there is no widget already is because it simply is not possible. And if it's not possible could someone please explain why?
Also, so that I can try to work on this myself - can someone please help me by telling me which files Google now uses for getting and updating cards? (i.e. the file names I would see in Titanium or under Settings>Apps or in a file explorer where they would be located - I'm guessing somewhere in the /system/ folder) If I can access these I can play around with them and try some things out
TIA to all who reply...
Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<
EdwardN said:
Given that Google Now is a bit of a battery drain already, I'd imagine that having it constantly running and updating cards would use even more. The cards ARE available in the pulldown menu, aren't they? I haven't used it in a while... Still on ICS until Moto+Rogers updates the OS sometime in Q1 '13 now. >.<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a Razr Maxx HD because I don't want to worry about battery drain. It's been something holding me back with every other phone I ever owned. I hear that the regular Razr HD gets pretty amazing battery life as well. I'm not looking for reasons why I wouldn't want this. I'm looking for reasons why it would not be possible or a way to make it possible.
Sorry to hear about Rogers...
But if you are rooted you should be able to install Google Now for ICS
This might work http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1983337
And I just found this http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-news/232046-gnow-handlebars-easy-solution-google-now-ics.html
I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.
dhigby said:
I am looking for the same thing as you but maybe we need to be writing to the Google dev team instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S
dhigby said:
I also discovered that pressing the home button and swiping up brings up Google Now. That is good enough for me, and I can live without the widget.
Sent from my HTC One S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. It works from any app and it only takes a second to load.

Windows Store needs work

I hope MS is going to implement automatic updating of apps from the windows store like Android does. What a pain to have to update apps manually - Every time I go to the store I have 3-4 apps that need updating.
I think the Windows Store needs alot of work - Its not easy to find stuff (Searches are not very effective), and the layout is horrible.
Just saying . . . .
Agreed! then only thing I hate about t Microsoft's new OS is the constant scrolling to the right.... it's painful to mind and body.
guitar1969 said:
I hope MS is going to implement automatic updating of apps from the windows store like Android does. What a pain to have to update apps manually - Every time I go to the store I have 3-4 apps that need updating.
I think the Windows Store needs alot of work - Its not easy to find stuff (Searches are not very effective), and the layout is horrible.
Just saying . . . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iOS doesn't have automatic updates either, android is the only one really ahead of its time with this feature, hopefully microsoft implement it, maybe along side windows updates.
I don't really find the layout that horrible though, I find the layout is very consistent with the rest of the os which is just fine.
I don't see the issue with searches either, I search, it works as expected, if you are finding that some apps are not showing up with certain search terms it may actually be the developer not entering enough detail to show up in the search (missing keywords, bad descriptions, etc.)
Automatic updating doesnt work for everyone tho, some apps when updated are broken etc so the option to do it as and when you want is a bonus.
As far as work goes, MS should take a leaf out of the "Play Store" book, especially when it comes to searching for apps from the same people, perhaps change it so where it says who wrote an app you can tap on that bit and it shows you all the apps by that person/company, that'd be a big one for me..
lilstevie said:
iOS doesn't have automatic updates either, android is the only one really ahead of its time with this feature, hopefully microsoft implement it, maybe along side windows updates.
I don't really find the layout that horrible though, I find the layout is very consistent with the rest of the os which is just fine.
I don't see the issue with searches either, I search, it works as expected, if you are finding that some apps are not showing up with certain search terms it may actually be the developer not entering enough detail to show up in the search (missing keywords, bad descriptions, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the search is not intuitive, like Play Store and iTunes. You need to be very specific to get the hits you want. There is an article that discusses this. you would think with Bing techology they would be able to improve it. But you are correct in that it may be the developer's fault with keywords.
Also, on the Start Screen, I want to have the ability to group apps into folders, as I have a ton of apps , and scrolling takes for ever, even with pinching the size down first.

Hi...few queries about mate 9, ML00 128gb , 6 gb ram

I read a few threads here..the following are my queries...
hi all. im a new user of a huawei handset and a bit confused with few things..
1- notification sounds for telegram/whatsapp are inconsistent...sometimes i hear the notifications other times they dont sound off..the other important point is, my messages dont appear until i open the app (or click on it to open)....( there a few threads on this issue here and it seems like the problem has not been solved as i tried some of the offered solutions but didnt work)...
2- in the app drawer mode, how can i get the google voice command widget (ok google) on the screen? the widget disappeared when i went to the app drawer mode and it was not available in the widgets section.
3- there is an app called notepad which is huawei based i assume but its mainly for reminders. is there another app by huawei dedicated for taking notes which synchronizes with outlook??
4- does the app store close when downloading a large file? it happened to me everytime with certain large apps. anyone experienced the same? maybe a bug.
5- a HTC related question as someone may have tried it. is it possible to install the APK for blinkfeed on the mate 9? i tried but didnt work...anyone tried it with any success?
6. the final question i have... how do you get to see message notifications on your lock screen like on HTC phones for example??!! Is a similar function available ala HTC??!!
in general, the phone is very good. it has some nifty gestures which are actually handy and can be great in reducing time needed for doing things like the double knuckle action for screen freeze. also, the split screen and cut. very useful. didnt even know about it until i bought it!!!
as opposed to samsung gimmicks those are useful on the mate 9.
i ordered the Chinese version as i wanted 128gb + 6 gb ram.
thanks and advance.
> 5- a HTC related question as someone may have tried it. is it possible to install the APK for blinkfeed on the mate 9? i tried but didnt work...anyone tried it with any success?
I think theres an HTC launcher floating around. Have you checked apkmirror.com?
For Blinkfeed you'd need HTC Sense's framework. I found this, https://forum.xda-developers.com/an...blinkfeed-plugins-devices-08-03-2015-t3049438
Edit: It's post #2
Thanks for the HTC tip. Will try it afterwards
I found a solution to my second query. I deleted and reinstalled google now and somehow both google widgets appeared so its all good now.
However, the two with my highest concerns are queries 1 & 4.
I installed the apk for blinkfeed but the one for the social media were not available from mega!!
How do i actually use the sense/blinkfeed now i installed it??
App Store crash when downloading a large file
This is due to you didn't turn on storage access for google play store.
I don't know why the default permission for storage was off, but apparently if you turn that back on, it will fix the app store crash bug.
Sal_Al said:
I read a few threads here..the following are my queries...
hi all. im a new user of a huawei handset and a bit confused with few things..
1- notification sounds for telegram/whatsapp are inconsistent...sometimes i hear the notifications other times they dont sound off..the other important point is, my messages dont appear until i open the app (or click on it to open)....( there a few threads on this issue here and it seems like the problem has not been solved as i tried some of the offered solutions but didnt work)...
2- in the app drawer mode, how can i get the google voice command widget (ok google) on the screen? the widget disappeared when i went to the app drawer mode and it was not available in the widgets section.
3- there is an app called notepad which is huawei based i assume but its mainly for reminders. is there another app by huawei dedicated for taking notes which synchronizes with outlook??
4- does the app store close when downloading a large file? it happened to me everytime with certain large apps. anyone experienced the same? maybe a bug.
5- a HTC related question as someone may have tried it. is it possible to install the APK for blinkfeed on the mate 9? i tried but didnt work...anyone tried it with any success?
6. the final question i have... how do you get to see message notifications on your lock screen like on HTC phones for example??!! Is a similar function available ala HTC??!!
in general, the phone is very good. it has some nifty gestures which are actually handy and can be great in reducing time needed for doing things like the double knuckle action for screen freeze. also, the split screen and cut. very useful. didnt even know about it until i bought it!!!
as opposed to samsung gimmicks those are useful on the mate 9.
i ordered the Chinese version as i wanted 128gb + 6 gb ram.
thanks and advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ba703863 said:
This is due to you didn't turn on storage access for google play store.
I don't know why the default permission for storage was off, but apparently if you turn that back on, it will fix the app store crash bug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I forgot to update the above post. I have done that and it was fixed.
Also the OK Google thing seems to be working after tweakings in the permissions etc.
I couldn't get the HTC blink feed to work. It seems like I have it but I don't know where to go to activate it!!
The big problem seems to be the notifications.

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