09
Oct
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Here's What's New In Android 4.1.2 At The Low Level [Developer Commit Logs]

Posted by in Development, Jelly Bean 4.1, News

As a developer, I absolutely love days like today. If the high-level "improves performance and stability and fixes bugs" changelog of Android 4.1.2 isn't good enough for you, how about we dive into the actual low-level source code commit logs Android engineers made into AOSP since 4.1.1_r1.1 (JRO03D) all the way through today's release 4.1.2_r1 (JZO54K). These commit logs are spread over probably 100+ repositories, so hunting for all of them manually would probably take you days. However, thanks to Al Sutton, you can check them out all in one place.

Be prepared for lots of code jargon and incomplete git commit messages, which probably won't mean much to most of you.

14
Apr
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[Updated] Alleged App Crash Log Points To A Mysterious 'takju' Variant Of Galaxy Nexus, Confirms Android JellyBean Codename

Posted by in Android OS, Galaxy Nexus, Jelly Bean 4.1, News, Rumors
Last Updated: April 24th, 2012

Update: The takju mystery is solved: it's the U.S. GSM Nexus that Google released this morning. It's pretty clear that this device will be one of the first, if not the very first, to see the Jelly Bean OTA update.

We deal with rumors and potential fakes on a daily basis, and I have to warn you right away - on a scale of unconfirmed to solid, the source of this post is leaning to the left.

Everything you're about to see can be easily spoofed, but the circumstances in which the evidence was allegedly obtained, combined with information I dug up in our web server log and the web make quite a compelling case.

04
Apr
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[Updated] DROID RAZR/MAXX Soak Test Set To Begin Tomorrow, But It's Not Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted by in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, RAZR / RAZR MAXX, Verizon Wireless
Last Updated: April 6th, 2012

Update: Looks like Motorola cancelled the soak test due to "deployment issues." Word has it that the update could still happen sometime next week.

Thanks, DW!

DROID RAZR and RAZR MAXX users excited for an Ice Cream Sandwich update by last week's Best Buy screenshot should brace themselves for some bad news – it looks like the aforementioned devices won't be getting Ice Cream Sandwich just yet after all.

According to a letter being sent out to members of Motorola's Feedback Network, the soak test slated to begin tomorrow simply brings an update to build number 6.12.181 with various enhancement and bug fixes.

03
Dec
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Carrier IQ Explains How Its Software Works, Implicitly Blames HTC For Insecure Log Files, Data Leak Exposed By Trevor Eckhart

Posted by in Android OS, AT&T, HTC, Motorola, News, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile

Amid the turmoil surrounding Carrier IQ, the company's VP of Marketing, Andrew Coward, has come forward in a series of interviews with a few clarifications.

For those not in the loop, the controversy around Carrier IQ is based on developer Trevor Eckhart's findings which indicated that Carrier IQ's software was indeed collecting a vast array of information, and his demonstration showing that said data could be read using a simple command – one that could be executed by any malicious app with access to logcat. This data includes location information, SMS messages, and key taps.

Before we dive into Coward's remarks on the issue of security (and why he says CIQ is not to be blamed for insecure logs), it's important to look at how CIQ actually functions on a device.

27
Apr
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ATRIX 4G OTA Update Change Log Shows HSUPA And Call Quality Fixes, Coming Soon

Posted by in Atrix 4G (Olympus), Motorola, News

ATRIX 4G users rejoice - HSUPA will soon be here, and without any sort of hacky flashing requiring root access. The official Motorola update page for the ATRIX 4G's latest OTA, 4.1.83, has appeared on Motorola's website today. Here's the change log "highlights" according to Moto:

Data Speed
Increased speed at which data can travel on the network.

Data Connection
Improvements to prevent interruptions to data connection.

Screen
Improvements to prevent screen from freezing.

Email
Improved ability for users to receive email notifications so you know when you have a new message. Also, improvements were made so that you are now able to use the same email login to access both MOTOBLUR™ and YouTube.

07
Apr
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Extreme Android Geekdom: Replace Your Boot Animation With Your Device's Actual Linux Boot Log

Posted by in Applications, Development, News, Videos

Most users will probably look at this unusual boot animation tweak and wonder why in the world anyone would do this, but developers and Linux lovers will nostalgically giggle and cheer. Rather than having boring pre-recorded boot animations, why not see the actual boot messages fly by, akin to booting a Linux machine?

Chainfire, one of xda's moderators, cooked up a boot animation replacement called live dmesg boot ani that does just that - now instead of your carrier's logo, you can see all kinds of geeky boot goodness your device has been secretly spitting out all along. The program requires root (there is no doubt that it would be impossible without it) and is available in the Market for $2.83 Update: the author emailed in to let us know he knocked the price down to $1.99.

15
Feb
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PSA: XFINITY App Exposes Your Comcast Username & Password In System Log

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

Before you panic, you should know that this isn't a huge deal, and Comcast is aware of the situation and has promised a fix "within a week or two." There, feel better? Good, because if you use the XFINITY app, any other app that has permission to read logs can read your Comcast username and password (aLogCat, for example).

The details, courtesy of aBSuRDiST, who discovered the issue:

My system log shows <userName>MYUSERNAME@comcast.net</userName> and <password>MYPASSWORD</password> on a line that starts with "D/HTTPManager". I read the log using aLogcat (app available in the market). Open aLogcat, press menu and filter for "password".