I find them and then I lose them.

I have tried out several applications on Google Play at various points. But I uninstall many of them because of random reasons. Just when I need some of the particular features in any one app, I forget what they were called. It's almost pathologic.

Thankfully, Google Play now has a section that remembers every single application you ever installed on your android devices. Check this out:

Now, I need to find something similar for the Chrome web store.

Just for fun I am cutting and pasting all my history here. Looks like I installed the entire market at some point. My list runs several pages long and I don't even have many of then still installed.

1Weather
ONELOUDER APPS
1Weather: Real-time global forecasts & alerts plus timely local weather tweet...
INSTALL

ASTRO File Manager / Browser
METAGO
ASTRO File Manager helps organize your pictures, music, videos and other file...
INSTALL

Adobe Flash Player 11
ADOBE SYSTEMS
Bring the FULL web to your device with Flash Player- videos, games, apps & m...
INSTALL

Advanced Clock Widget
ZOOPER INC
Small, configurable and battery friendly widget with digital clock and much m...
INSTALLED

Advanced English & Thesaurus
MOBILE SYSTEMS
The "Different" English Dictionary with more than 1.4 million words. This dic...
INSTALLED

All About Root
JOEYKRIM
Simple and educational app to define root, why gain root and how to check roo...
INSTALL

Amazon MP3
AMAZON.COM
The Amazon MP3 includes both the Amazon MP3 store and Amazon Cloud Player (US...
INSTALLED

Androidify
GOOGLE INC.
Get ready to make Android your own. Androidify yourself by customizing the li...
INSTALL

App Cleaner
JDRIOD
Easy uninstall multiple apps based on last use and the number of times used. ...
INSTALL

Barcode Scanner
ZXING TEAM
Scan barcodes on products then look up prices and reviews. You can also scan ...
INSTALL

BlogIt!
JOÃO CORREIA
BlogIt! Blogging with control! This is a blogger app. It supports: - Multip...
INSTALL

Blogger
GOOGLE INC.
Start blogging on the go with the official Blogger app! Experience the offici...
INSTALL

Blogger-droid
ANDERS HEDSTRÖM
Simple Blogger client. You can: -create/view/edit/delete blog posts -post c...
INSTALL

Boat Browser Mini
BOAT BROWSER
Boat Browser Mini is a fast,clean and ease of use android browser. Boat Brows...
INSTALL

Calorie Counter - MyFitnessPal
MYFITNESSPAL, LLC
Lose weight easily with MyFitnessPal, the best calorie counter for Android! L...
INSTALL

Calorie Counter by FatSecret
FATSECRET
A simple tool to find all the Calorie and Nutrition Facts for the foods you e...
INSTALL

CamScanner -Phone PDF Creator
INTSIG INFORMATION CO.,LTD
Turn phone to document scanner CamScanner is the greatest invention in 21th c...
INSTALLED

Chrome Beta
GOOGLE INC.
The speed and simplicity of Chrome, now on your Android phone and tablet. Bro...
INSTALLED

Color Flashlight
NOTES
Turn your phone into a Color flashlight. It helps find your way in the dark. ...
INSTALL

Compass
CATCH.COM
Android's leading compass, featuring location display and geo-tagged notes. F...
INSTALL

Dictionary.com
DICTIONARY.COM, LLC
Take Dictionary.com's trusted reference content wherever you go. ALERT: For a...
INSTALLED

Do it (Tomorrow)
ADYLITICA, INC.
Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? Do you love procrastinating?...
INSTALLED

Dolphin Browser® HD
DOLPHIN BROWSER
Dolphin Browser HD is the FASTEST, EASIEST and most FUN mobile Web browser Do...
INSTALL

DroidDia diagrams for Android
ALAREX-GROUP
Diagram painting at glance. DroidDia allows you to make flow charts, org cha...
INSTALL

ES File Explorer
ESTRONGS INC.
Featured File manager & App manager which can explore the phones & computers....
INSTALLED

EZ Drop (File Sync)
NANCH
Send files between your android and PC! Easy, fast, and free! Transfer files ...
INSTALL

Easy Uninstaller
INFOLIFE LLC
Simplist & fastest uninstall tool for android. Easy & fastest uninstall tool ...
INSTALL

File Expert
GEEK SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY INC.
Powerful File Manager/WIFI File Transfer Web & FTP/App Manager - ALL in ONE A...
INSTALL

GNotes - Sync Note with Gmail
DATO
GNotes is a easy note taking app for android synchronize with GMail. GNotes i...
INSTALLED

GTasks: To Do List | Task List
DATO
Synchronize Your To Do Tasks | List with Google GTasks is a simple and effici...
INSTALLED

Google Goggles
GOOGLE INC.
Search the real world by taking a picture. Search by taking a picture. Goggle...
INSTALLED

Groupon - Daily Deals, Coupons
GROUPON, INC.
Unbeatable deals daily on the best stuff to do in cities across the world! Gr...
INSTALL

K-9 Mail
K-9 DOG WALKERS
K-9 is the best email client for Android. It's incredibly powerful and 100% f...
INSTALL

Local Sync
ONDŘEJ PŠENČÍK
Synchronizes Android 2.2 or greater with Microsoft Outlook 2007 or greater vi...
INSTALL

Lync 2010
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
IMPORTANT: Microsoft Lync 2010 for Android requires a Lync Server or Office36...
INSTALLED

Magic Doodle Free
NGUYEN TAN HON - HU YONG JIE
Painting lovers, practice your art with this awesome app. Drawing improves yo...
INSTALL

MailDroid
FLIPDOG SOLUTIONS, LLC
MailDroid is your IMAP Idle and POP3 email replacement for the default client...
INSTALLED

MobilityPLUS
AUDIOCODES
AudioCodes MobilityPLUS Solution for Microsoft Unified Communications (UC) pr...
INSTALL

Notes
YULI
Usage: taking notes (notepad) Features: encrypt notes, send notes by email/s...
INSTALL

Opera Mini web browser
OPERA SOFTWARE ASA
Opera's fastest mobile browser that can save you money on data. Totally free....
INSTALLED

Opera Mobile web browser
OPERA SOFTWARE ASA
The premium web experience for rich, interactive content on mobile devices. A...
INSTALLED

Period Tracker
GP INTERNATIONAL LLC
Period Trackerâ„¢, the easiest way to track your periods! Period Trackerâ„¢, the ...
INSTALLED

Plan B
LOOKOUT MOBILE SECURITY
Plan B is the 'find my phone' app that you download AFTER you lose your phone...
INSTALL

Pomodroido
ARTIFIX
time-boxing with a side of achievement Struggling with keeping focus, procras...
INSTALLED

Quick Thesaurus
NEXTPAGE
The most up to date Quick Thesaurus for your Android based gadget. All the de...
INSTALL

SMall ARTtools
DAY8 DESIGN
SMall ARTtools is a unique sketch,paint,draw application for mobile devices. ...
INSTALL

Scan to PDF Free
NYM COMPUTING
Turn phone to scanner! FULL FEATURED WITHOUT LIMITATION. NO WATERMARK NOR ADV...
INSTALLED

Sense Analog Glass Clock 4x2
FACTORY WIDGETS
Android Digital clock widget with Calendar, Time, System info,weather & forec...
INSTALL

ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner
SHOPSAVVY, INC.
The original barcode scanner for Android. Find the best online and local pric...
INSTALL

Siine Keyboard
SIINE LTD
New dynamic keyboard. Super-fast shortcuts to text fast and fun. Try it! Siin...
INSTALL

Simple Stop Watch!
KONI9KEN
LAP is a simple stopwatch that can measure time and historical views. Stop by...
INSTALL

Simple Stopwatch
CICADA
Simple Stopwatch. Volome Key .up key - stop (start), running (stop) .dow...
INSTALL

SketchBook Mobile Express
AUTODESK INC.
Autodesk SketchBook® Mobile Express is a professional-grade paint and drawing...
INSTALL

Sketcher Lite
WARGOTH
Check out Sketcher PRO for undo/redo, pan/zoom and more features! Now only $0...
INSTALL

Smart Compass
SMART TOOLS CO.
Smart Compass is easy and accurate with the camera view. Smart Compass is the...
INSTALL

Stopwatch
KAYOWA.COM
Time your activities with simplicity. Features: Stop Watch timer. Lap Record...
INSTALL

Tiny Compass
NIKOLAY ANANIEV
Incredibly simple, yet very useful compass application Incredibly simple, yet...
INSTALLED

Tiny Flashlight + LED
NIKOLAY ANANIEV
Brightest. Fastest. Simplest. Your own Tiny Flashlight. Incredibly simple and...
INSTALLED

TouchDown for Smartphones
NITRODESK, INC.
TouchDown syncs emails, contacts, calendar and tasks on your Android 2.x devi...
INSTALL

Twitter
TWITTER, INC.
Official Twitter app for Android. Follow your interests: instant updates from...
INSTALLED

Voice+ (Google Voice callback)
SZILÁRD KOVÁCS
Google Voice callback. The Voice+ catches all outgoing calls and uses Google ...
INSTALL

Volume Control +
COFFEEBREAK APPS
Volume Control Plus Volume Control+ is a volume control app that support cha...
INSTALL

Volume+ FREE
MELTUS

• A Cyanogen Mod 7 or MIUI ROM is HIGHLY recommended. Running this a...

INSTALL

WebSharingLite File/Media Sync
NEXTAPP, INC.
Transfer files to your device using Wi-Fi and your web browser. WebSharing le...
INSTALLED

Webster's Thesaurus TR
MOBILE SYSTEMS
Webster's English thesaurus with thousands of synonym entries and examples. T...
INSTALL

Whiteboard
HENRYHUANG
Whiteboard is a power tool to help people sketch on phones, demonstrate your...
INSTALL

Wifi File Transfer
ANTOSDR
Wifi File Transfer is an application which allow you send and recive files vi...
INSTALLED

Wifi Syncr
APPRICOO
Wifi Syncr - syncs made easy! Wifi Syncr syncs your Windows shares to your An...
INSTALL

Wireless File Transfer
MOTSHA
Wifi File Transfer allows you to transfer files between your android phone an...
INSTALLED

Woo: Sketch - beta
THE WOO
Layered picture editing comes to android. An application to bridge the gap be...
INSTALL

X-Link
FUN2CODE
Zero Setup File Transfer The aim of X-Link is to make the copying of files be...
INSTALL

XWind Downloader
JASONWONG
Useful download and manage tool,support ftp server,pretty and powerful Downlo...
INSTALL

estrip.org blog publisher
PAUL VISCO
Allows you to publish to your journal on Buffalo, New York's original bloggin...
INSTALLED

ezPDF Reader
UNIDOCS INC.
Audio & Video Multimedia PDF Reader Annotate, Listen, and Fill out PDF Form e...
INSTALLED

ezPDF Reader Cloud Plugin
UNIDOCS INC.
Cloud Plugin for ezPDF Reader (Paid App) This plugin app is a companion for ...
INSTALLED

A few posts back, I found an application called EZ drop (File Sync) for easily transferring files between my android devices and my linux laptop. While I struggled to set up servers, this application worked very easily and fast.

However, (e:Paul) brought up some misgivings about why EZ drop (File Sync) needed an external site to make this transfer. I echoed these questions in an edit to my earlier blog.

Well, I can tell that (e:strip) is being picked up by google because I received a message directly from the developer of EZ drop (File Sync)! I think it is worth reading through his responses:

---

Responses from the EZ drop (File Sync) developer, David

---

Hey tinypliny!

My name is David and I'm the developer of EZ Drop. I noticed your comments on the app and wanted to give you some answers to your questions. :) I made this app just to help people transfer files devices more easily so people wouldn't have to set up servers, etc. The dropbox app was requesting so many permissions I thought something more light-weight would be appreciated.

I have heard feedback about security-concerns and have taken it to heart. Since the file transfer was being done over plain HTTP, and have since added an SSL certificate to the site (you can click "secure" at the bottom to access it). SSL transport encryption will also be added to the app soon.

I had said in (e:tinypliny,56229): "it's also somewhat non-transparent"

And the EZ drop developer replied to this:

I will put up an "about" page that describes exactly how the file transfer is done so that people can understand what's going on under-the-hood. Basically, you temporarily upload your file to me, then I send it to your device. Whether you are sending from your android-to-PC or PC-to-android, the process is the same.

"Why do you need to go to an external site ez.dropper.co and get a code? "

The code is the secret key that links your computer and the android device. Alternatively, you would have to log in with a username/password. It's just a simple way for the server to know which device to send the file to.

"What other data does this application collect from your android device?"

I don't collect any information about your android device or your computer, I kept the required permissions in the app to a minimum exactly for this purpose. The only permissions required are internet access and SD card storage, just enough to let you transfer the files. Files that are transferred are deleted within 24 hours. I've also put up a "privacy" page regarding this.

Thank you for trying out the app and posting your comments. Your feedback goes a long way!

Thank you, EZ drop David, for stopping by my blog and then taking the time to send me a detailed message!.

---

Well, I don't see any reason why such level of honesty and earnestness should be doubted! And I have to admit that EZ drop made my life easy when I was really struggling with the Apache set up (I am sure I was missing some configuration details but I didn't have the time or experience to troubleshoot.)

An additional advantage of EZ drop (File Sync) is that unlike other methods, it actually makes it easy to share files with people outside your wireless loop or LAN network, by sharing the PIN/code. You can share files with people say, across the globe. That's pretty nifty. With this responsive a developer, I have no doubt improvements to EZ drop will be fair and fast.

You really don't need the ridiculous USB wire or deal with the fact that the transformer (TF101) simply refuses to mount without fuss on either Linux or windows. It prompts you to install some Asus sync utility that I absolutely don't want to. Turns out there are even more ways to share files between your Asus transformer and your linux laptop.

I found WebSharing Lite File/Media Sync a while back

After installing the WebSharing Lite File/Media Sync, you just connect your android device to your wireless network, start the application and press start. It gives you an IP and port address. Something like: 10.0.0.6:2112/ It also gives you an "owner's password" - a random alphanumeric string.

You use your browser on your laptop to browse to this address. If you want file edit access, you input the password at the prompt. And that's it. You can upload or download files - as fast as your wireless modem is able to allow - in my case 54 MB/s.

This is even simpler than the earlier methods and seems to be secure since there is no external access and everything is limited to the internal loop behind your wireless router.

Now that this is sorted, wonder what the next mountain will be... rooting or maybe nothing because that's all I use the tablet for, reading and more reading. Rooting holds its charm but I am not entirely clear what benefits I will get from rooting the tablet right now.

(e:Paul)'s comments can sometimes act like insidious little nanoparticles that eat away at your trust of non-transparent pieces of software like only nanoparticles can. And if you didn't know already, the (e:Paul)-nanoparticular frequency is especially persuasive.

So I hunted around again to find an alternative solution and found this brilliant extension to the solution I found earlier for transferring files from android to linux. Turns out it can work both ways and quite securely here:


The method uses the inherent capacity of the android device (in my case, Nexus One, Nexus S and Asus TF101) to act as a wireless hotspot and be an FTP server over this self-generated wireless. Any laptop can connect to this android-device generated wireless and access all the files on the android device -or just swap files back and forth. So it's like a private wireless party! You don't need to have an internet or 3G/4G/LTE phone-data connection.

I like this method infinitely more. And I am betting (e:Paul) would approve. :)

So the steps (these are for my reference just in case the original link above vanishes for some reason):

On your android device:

• Go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Tethering & Portable hotspot

• Turn on the portable Wi-Fi hotspot.

• Configure this Wi-Fi hotspot (Give it a wacky name and a secure password - it's going to be visible to your building mates, why not send them a message?) If you want them to share your enthusiasm for dry PDFs or perhaps dodgy videos, you can even make it open and unsecure.

• Install the Wifi FTP transfer application I talked about in (e:tinypliny,56176) and turn it on.

• Now go to you linux machine, connect to the wifi spot generated by the android device

• Pull up a console. Type

Route

Something like this will come up:


At this point, my laptop and android device were not connected to the internet; just to each other. So the 192.168.43.0 is the IP of my laptop and the 192.168.43.1 is the gateway of the Wifi spot generated by the transformer (or any android device).

• Open up Nautilus > File > connect to server > type in the address of the server as 192.168.43.1 (the gateway) and the port (2121 in that wifi app on my android device). Input the password and username that you set up for the Wifi FTP service on the android device

• et voila. The android device turns up as just another folder on your laptop. You can transfer files between your asus transformer (or any android device) and laptop just like you would between any two folder.

If I can do this, you can too. Say yes to transparency. Say no to frustrations of the USB not mounting on linux (or windows) for the asus transformer without complicated methods that may or may not work.

This is an easier method than setting up own server and hoping that it would work well but as (e:Paul) pointed out in the comments, it's also somewhat non-transparent. Why do you need to go to an external site ez.dropper.co and get a code? What other data does this application collect from your android device? The answers are floating in the wind and possibly in the developer's mind.

---

et voila EDIT

---

The developers frank and informative responses to these answers
are in (e:tinypliny,56245)

---

Here's how to use EZ Drop (File Sync) to share files between your linux laptop and android device:

Install EZ Drop (File Sync) from Google Play here:

on your android device.

Go to ez.dropper.co/ to get your code (from your linux desktop browser).

Fire up the now installed EZ Drop (File Sync) in your android device.

Input the code from ez.dropper.co/ in your android device.

An interface to transfer files appears in your browser at ez.dropper.co/ after you input the code in your android device.

You can drag and drop the files you want to share there.

The files you share get saved in the download folder in your android device.

Navigate to those files using ES Explorer - another awesome application from the Google Play Store.

That's it. No more struggles with FTP/HTTP servers on this linux machine and bemoaning that the ASUS transformer does not mount as a USB. It doesn't matter anymore.I found another method after some searching that also works very well. More in the next post: (e:tinypliny,56232)

UPDATE: Those who are stumped at this method should preferably read about a waaaay easier method to share files between the Asus transformer TF101 (or any android device) and the desktop at (e:tinypliny,56229) or (e:tinypliny,56241) (e:tinypliny,56232) or choose to struggle some more with uncertain results (on Fedora 16) by clicking on the comment bubble below. Your choice!

---
Setting up a server on linux and having your other devices access it is a supposedly simple thing but I am having a hard time with it.

Objective: To access one of my folders on my linux laptop from my android devices (specifically a tablet, which I use to read pdfs)

What I have done: Started an apache server on my laptop.

How?
Like so:

Check if httpd exists on the system

• rpm -q httpd

Switch to /var/www/html directory

• cd /var/www/html

Crease a symbolic link to the directory I want to share
So here I am linking to ~/pdfs and naming it pdfs

• ln -s ~/pdfs pdfs

Switch to root user

• Su

Enable, start and check the apache server

• systemctl enable httpd.service
• systemctl start httpd.service
• systemctl status httpd.service

Now if I go to localhosts/pdfs or 127.0.0.1/pdfs with any browser on my laptop, I can see the directory on my server.

The question is how do I see the wretched directory from a browser on my android tablet in the same wireless network?! The IP address of the wired connection on the linux laptop is: 10.0.0.4 and the server is at port 80

So technically the address 10.0.0.4:80 should work, correct? But it is not!!

Do I need to fiddle with my Apache configuration files?
/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Stumped for now.
---

So many reasons to love android and linux, and this beats them all! I was hunting around for a USB cable to transfer some snaps to my computer today and I found this instead. (This FTP application also helps transfers in the opposite direction: from linux to Asus transformer TF101 or any android device. See: (e:tinypliny,56232))

Motsha Wireless File transfer
(fork of swiftp)

It's so simple, it's amaaaaaazing!

Once you install the app.

1. Go to Setup
2. Input a username and password
3. check accept connections from wifi
4. check accept connections from net proxy
5. check keep phone awake (full cpu speed)
6. Tap Save
7. Tap Start
8. The wifi url will appear

On your linux:

• Open a console
• create a directory: mkdir somedirectorywhereyouwantthefiles
• and from that directory, do:

wget -m --user=username --password=password ftp: // 10.0.0.7:2121/sdcard/DCIM/Camera/

where username and password are the ones you set in Step 2
and the ftp address is the address that appears in Step 8.

Transfer speed: 54MB/s (the max on my router). No more hunting for USB cords!!! I know I keep whining about linux but once you step to linux windows seems infernal and complete paleolithic.

For a LOOOOONG boot-up time. Seriously, I could put the kettle on and have it reach a boil, or be halfway on my way to my office by the time the login screen comes up.

systemd-analyze blame
61002ms sm-client.service
60146ms sendmail.service
24223ms iscsi.service
17281ms udev-settle.service
4148ms fedora-loadmodules.service
4050ms systemd-vconsole-setup.service
2578ms fedora-readonly.service
2556ms media.mount
2513ms dev-mqueue.mount
2492ms dev-hugepages.mount
2472ms sys-kernel-security.mount
2471ms udev-trigger.service
2452ms sys-kernel-debug.mount
1426ms systemd-remount-api-vfs.service
1419ms remount-rootfs.service
1163ms systemd-readahead-replay.service
992ms udev.service
975ms fedora-storage-init.service
820ms fedora-storage-init-late.service
775ms systemd-sysctl.service
709ms NetworkManager.service
555ms avahi-daemon.service
535ms rsyslog.service
531ms chronyd.service
531ms sys-kernel-config.mount
412ms systemd-logind.service
390ms ip6tables.service
386ms mcelog.service
384ms console-kit-log-system-start.service
381ms sshd-keygen.service
374ms iptables.service
374ms abrt-vmcore.service
364ms auditd.service
363ms irqbalance.service
326ms dbus.service
325ms abrt-ccpp.service
324ms boot.mount
296ms livesys.service
295ms home.mount
281ms netfs.service
266ms iscsid.service
234ms systemd-readahead-collect.service
172ms mdmonitor-takeover.service
154ms systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service
81ms lvm2-monitor.service
76ms fcoe.service
47ms fedora-wait-storage.service
44ms sandbox.service
39ms systemd-user-sessions.service
31ms console-kit-daemon.service
29ms livesys-late.service
6ms accounts-daemon.service
2ms rtkit-daemon.service
0ms sys-fs-fuse-connections.mount

Why on earth does the sendmail service need to run? I don't even run a mail server.

followed by
locate x
(e:Paul)'s magic trick is incredibly useful. I just have to burn this into my brain as well. find is indeed incredibly and painfully slow and completely non-specific. Got any other tricks that will transform my i-life? :)

I need to burn this into my mind:

Ctrl-D

After I make some unfortunate mistake at the prompt, bash patiently waits for my next move... when I really just want to get back to the home prompt and start all over again. Ctrl-D curtly tells it not to wait anymore and it exits with:

> bash: unexpected EOF while looking for matching `''
bash: syntax error: unexpected end of file