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Android Screen Control Without Root

The ability to control the screen of my Android phone has been a major pain since I moved from Windows Mobile to Android quite some time ago.
The only solutions required root permissions. However there are scenarios where that is not an option such as in a corporate environment / providing remote support for a device that is not your own.
Android 2.1 onwards ( as far as I know) supports a API called MonkeyRunner that is to be used for application testing. Using this along with java sources provided by "The Android Open Source Project" I have put together a small application that will capture the screen and allow passing of click and key press events to the device.
It is highly limited to the extent that it allows only for touch events and keystrokes. It currently does not support drag events and typing of special characters but something is better than nothing
Have a look at some stuff I have put together.
http://piglings.blogspot.com/2011/08/android-screen-control-without-root.html
Cheers,
Vikram.

It's nice, but I can't really use it.
I have an HTC One X, but your tool doesn't fit the Android's screen on my laptop, so I can only control the top half of my Android.
Nice job though...

[Q] All things to all people

This is truly a general question! I have a new requirement to use a "mobile device" to connect a field laboratory device to a server. Since nothing has been developed, the whole world is open and I'm interested in what "those in the know" might suggest.
Based on input from a user interface, the mobi device must read a small amount of data (less tha 1KB) from the field laboratory device, transfer this to a server. The server will accept the data, save it in a database, and then crunch some numbers which will be returned to the mobile device for display to the user.
I titled this question as "all things to all people" in that the objective is to be able run this application on as many different devices as possible. It is not in our interest to require that the user have "just one more" mobile device.
With that background, what local communications is most widely used - Bluetooth, NFC, WiFi, USB, etc. (A simple serial port would suffice, but apparently that's no longer an acceptable standard!)
My presumption is that the application would be written in Java, but that may be naive. I also presume that the "server" is just a device on the internet, but not necessarily an HTTP application.
I'm open to suggestions...

If you're designing both the server and the laboratory device, USB, Bluetooth and wifi are all viable choices. If you have to interface to an existing device, the device will determine the interface.
If the device is to run on the user's choice of mobile device, you'll most likely have to write the mobile app in both Java (Android) and C++ (iOS).

[Q] Existing simple bluetooth data relay application?

I'm looking for Android Bluetooth / TCP/IP relay application.
-- Details --
I'm looking for RDP client which would be able to relay / bridge Bluetooth devices / peripherals to the RDP host (Windows server 2008 R2).
If there's no such RDP client, wehave a secondary option. Having separate background service which takes care of the data relaying part in background, and leaves the RDP connection / device display to foreground as completely separate process.
I've been planning developing such application. But if possible, I want to avoid re-inventing the wheel. Even if it sounds really simple, I'm sure there will be (too?) many problems before it works reliably.
I'm very curious to know, if such application already exists and where would I get it. I'm quite sure that someone has already made such an application. I just don't know where to look for it.
Additional bonus would come, if the application is quite easy to configure and if the sessions between RDP and this relay are easy to link and access on Windows server end.
As addition to the bluetooth relay, it would be nice to have a simple TCP/IP tunnel / bridge / relay feature in same packet. Allowing access to devices using TCP/IP without bluetooth using same app.
If it's true that such application doesn't exist. Would there be an market for such application if it's created? I could imagine I'm not the only person looking for such app.
I do have additional documentation & specification for there requirements, but I don't want to share it right here. I've been also discussion about this topic with a few Android Application developer companies, but as you might guess, this project won't be cheap. Therefore I'm looking for reasonably priced existing solution.
Here's simple use case sample. Customer is using industrial data collection solution where there are ten sensors attached to something being monitored which are then connected to tablet over bluetooth or wi-fi (TCP/IP). But the actual data processing / logging / control software is running on Windows server and can be accessed using RDP. Of course one solution would be using a full featured Windows laptop instead of that tablet, but we don't want to do that. So this expains what I'm looking for in more detail.
- Thank you
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KW: business, software development, android, thinclient, tablet, bluetooth, wifi, wlan, mobile
HTag: #android #peripheral #connectivity #remotedesktop #remotedesktopclient #softwaredevelopment #bluetooth #tablet #thinclient

Android phone powered Desktop

Android devices are so powerful today, and the hardware is becoming so powerful that I don't think that the software is utilising that.
We already have much of the technology in devices of today to enable a desktop environment to be streamed from our phones.
Display output: Chromecast (wireless display), MHL (Wired display & charger), etc.
Input methods: Bluetooth Keyboard & mouse, Accelerometer (to emulate mouse input), etc.
UI: Separate Launcher for the desktop UI.
With Microsoft bringing Windows 10 later this year as one OS for both the Phone & Desktop, surely that will allow them to work better in sync with one another, but that will still require a separate desktop computer and phone to create this kind of experience.
But Google now has the chance to simply output a separate UI from the same device that can display a phone UI all at the same time.
If we look at past launches of major Android builds then this coming Google I/O would be the perfect time to announce something like this, since they say that they usually deliver one major build that focuses on UI, and then one that focuses on major feature integration.
And not only would this allow for us to take our desktop with us everywhere in our pocket and connect wirelessly to any compatible display but also it could enable people in poorer economies to buy one device which could give them better access to the internet with a portable display integrated into the device, and also they could connect to the larger displays to browse the web or work on office documents with apps such as 'Google Docs'.
This could really be useful for people who wish to use their device in the work place too.
With Android mobile now offering multiple user profiles on their phones, surely they could create one profile for work, with all of their work apps available in both their phone and desktop UI's, but also a personal profile with all of their media applications & games available when out of work.
The desktop tower may still be useful for a few years to enable support for legacy applications whilst we are waiting for those applications to be ported over to Android/Android Desktop, but that shouldn't take too long considering how quickly we are see'ing apps becoming available to Android offering the kind of services that many of us desire, and if the developers only need to create one application back end for both the Desktop mode & phone mode, then it will be much quicker to bring apps to market with a small bit of time required to make a UI which can be scaled between the phone & desktop mode well.
There are multiple projects trying to create this very experience, but if it was a major part of the Android OS then finally people will get the experience that many people are waiting for, you only have to look at the comments on the developer pages of these projects to see that many people want this kind of experience.
With 64-bit now supported in Android too there is less of a reason to hold back this kind of experience.

I agree totally. Is this the only thread on this subject? Was going to setup Chromecast for video and Bluetooth for keyboard, mouse and audio. Doing this on a Jiayu S3A which is very powerful. Would like one place to discuss what works and what doesn't. Launcher options also need to be discussed.

What we know about microsoft windows 10

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Fizzip.com
Microsoft has released a new Technical Preview build of Windows 10 at this year’s Build developer conference. Although not all the new Windows 10 features that were announced at Build are available in this Insider Preview release, users will find improvements to Continuum, Cortana and more.
There’s a lot of visual changes on the surface with build 10074, with improvements to the general user experience. The translucent Aero Glass from Windows 7 is making a reappearance on Windows 10, and Microsoft is also adding support for high DPI displays as well.
Multitasking
There are notable improvements to multitasking and switching tasks between tablet and desktop views for users with two-in-one hybrids or tablets. The update makes Continuum more intuitive to tablet users.
“When you close an application in Tablet mode, we take you back to the Start screen instead of the desktop as you would expect when using a tablet,” Microsoft said of the change in a blog post. “You will see general polish on snapping, and the shared divider between two snapped windows now let’s you adjust the size.”
For multitaskers, Snap Assist now supports the ability to close apps.
Cortana
Cortana is now more integrated into the Windows experience on build 10074. You can now start to search for an app within the Start menu, and Cortana will take over. Cortana’s interface has also been revamped.
“The new Windows split view control has been added to Cortana’s left rail, offering quick access to key Cortana functionality like the Notebook, Reminders or Feedback on how Cortana’s doing,” Microsoft said, “This split view control helps anchor Cortana to the rest of the Windows UI and provides navigation consistent with many other Windows first party applications.”
Cortana can also now return results to more types of queries now. You can check for the flight status, perform mathematical calculations, convert units, ask Cortana to tell you a joke, find out the time in a different time zone, lookup definitions, check the weather and stocks, define words and also get tech help.
More updates
The new release also brings with it new updates to the Xbox, Music and Video apps inside Windows 10. The Windows Store Beta app, which is formerly a gay tile, is now a blue tile.
“Apps you purchased on a PC running Windows 8.1 will now show up in the Store Beta on Windows 10 as owned (and vice-versa),” Microsoft said as it is expanding its Store Beta more markets.
Windows Store
The update also adds new system sounds to Windows 10. Additionally, on the Lock screen, Microsoft is adding new learning experiences so Insiders can get the most out of their Technical Preview experience.
“This ranges from tips and tricks on the Lock screen, to helping users discover high quality apps through Start, the Lock screen and Cortana,” Microsft said.
The new Windows 10 build 10074 is now available through Windows Update.
Microsoft brings Android, iOS apps to Windows 10
Company says that it’s “building bridges” to developers on other platforms.
Things have sure changed since 2007.
Aurich Lawson
SAN FRANCISCO—Microsoft announced a four-pronged effort to bring developers and their apps to Windows at its build conference today. One of these prongs—a way for Web developers to present their sites as apps—was already announced at Mobile World Congress earlier in the year.
The second prong is logical but not altogether surprising. In Windows 10, developers will be able to specially prepare existing Windows apps, whether Win32, .NET WinForms, .NET WPF, or any other Windows development technology, and sell them through the Windows Store. Unlike the “traditional” Windows application installation experience, these apps will be guaranteed to install, update, and uninstall cleanly—one of the important things that Store apps do to ensure that users feel confident trying apps out and removing them if they don’t like them. Behind the scenes, virtualization technology will be used to provide this isolation and robustness.
Islandwood and Astoria
The next two prongs are the more surprising: Microsoft is going after Android and iOS developers. With Project Islandwood, iOS developers will be able to take their iOS apps and build them for Windows. Microsoft has developed an Objective C toolchain and middleware layer that provide the operating system APIs that iOS apps expect. A select group of third parties have been using the Islandwood tools already, with King’s Candy Crush Saga for Windows Phone being one of the first apps built this way. King’s developers had to change only a “few percent” of the code in order to fully port it to Windows Phone.
For Android, there is Project Astoria. Rumors of Android apps on Windows have been floating around for some time, and in Windows 10 Microsoft is delivering on those rumors. Astoria will allow Android apps to run in Windows. Specifically, Windows Mobile (and yes, that’s now officially the name for Windows on phones and sub-8 inch tablets) will include an Android runtime layer that’ll let them run existing Android apps (both Java and C++) unmodified. Unlike Islandwood, which will require developers themselves to recompile their software to bring it to Windows, Astoria will in principle work with any old APK, without requiring the developer to do anything but publish the app in the store—as long as the APK sticks to the APIs that Astoria will provide.
As we’ve written before, there are two aspects to Android: there is the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) that’s a mix of GPL and BSD-licensed open source code that anyone can take and fork, and there’s Google Mobile Services (GMS), an ever expanding closed-source set of applications and APIs that Google develops. Applications that need GMS, for example for its geolocation capabilities or its in-app purchasing, will not run on a plain AOSP platform. They’ll need GMS.
When we spoke to Microsoft about Astoria, the company would not tell us what proportion of the AOSP and GMS APIs would be supported, but it did confirm that it wouldn’t be 100 percent; there will be APIs that Astoria does not provide, and accordingly, APKs that use those APIs will not run.
On the flip side, Astoria will offer some integration points with Windows so that Android devs can, with minor alterations, support features like Cortana in their apps.
The broader theme of Microsoft’s work is to make Windows 10 the platform for developers. It will give them one app platform that spans phone, tablet, PC, hybrid, and console, and thanks to the free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users, it should be much less fragmented than Windows in the past. The company has the incredibly ambitious goal of having 1 billion users on the Windows 10 family within 2-3 years of launch.
The underlying strategy behind the four bridges is to allow developers to use the code they already have. Microsoft’s intent isn’t to make a BlackBerry 10-style capitulation, where the answer to the app gap is “just use Android apps instead.” Rather, the hope is that developers will still make Windows apps; they’ll just be Windows apps that happen to share a ton of code with iOS or Android apps.
Goodbye Internet Explorer, hey Microsoft EdgeWHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MICROSOFT WINDOWS 10
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