Android

It has been a very log time since I have updated this page. I am currently (2023-04) running a Moto G7plus (aka Revelry+ or lake). I love it simple yet feature packed design at a great price point. I actually have 2 of them so I can swap between them when testing out new ROMs. On it I run LineageOS currently 20 (based on Android version 13).

Key Apps

• F-Droid: This open source appstore is my goto app store is takes a little work, but with the privilege extension installed so it can install apps without asking it is a great substitute or augmentation for the Play Store.
  • https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.fdroid.fdroid.privileged.ota/
  • https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.fdroid.fdroid/
  • To get the extension to install I had to boot into my recovery. and make sure to Mount the system partition before running adb sideload
• Fennec F-Droid: a great Firefox based browser alternative to chrome/chromium domination.
• AnySoftKeyboard: the terminal keyboard variants are quite nice.
• CUPS printing
• DAVx5
• Fair Email
• QKSMS : SMS messaging app
• SchildiChat : Matrix client
• MultiPing
• Network Discovery
• Simple Search : A search bar I actually worked on a little.
• Termux: best shell environment on Android better than most dedicated SSH clients

Games and Hobbies

• Andor's Trail : a fun little RPG
• Anki Droid : flash cards great for brushing up on language skills or I used it to prepare for the Amateur Radio Exam.
• M.A.L.P. MPD music player client
• Minetest : Minecraft inspired better for PC, but still fun to play on the phone
• Puzzles
• Unciv: Open source Civilization game

Old Content

I'm a really big fan of android. I decided to compile here all of my findings with android.

I have a G1. I've since rooted it and am now running the cyanogen froyo rom CM6. It is great. I recommend it. I partially created this list to keep track of what I installed when I blow out configurations and reinstall. It should be kept reasonably up to date , and is a live document. I have divided the list of apps into categories such as requires root. I hope this is helpful.

I'm also have a Debian chroot running on my phone for improved shell access. I'm a firm believe in compcache and will probably add a swap partition back to my phone soon.

Top Apps

• Google Maps by Google Inc.
• Android-vnc-viewer
• Scientific Calculator by kreactive
• FBReader this plus all the EPUBs from project Gutenberg let's me read the classics
• Meebo is my favorite IM utility
• Mapdroyd lets you use pre-downloaded Open Street Maps data. For when your lost in the woods. It still can use GPS info as long as it can get satellite.
• Wikidroyd lets you use pre-downloaded Wikipedia databases. For when you need to research something away from data service.
• Countdown timer from everything android. It is simple, but does its job
• Connectbot is the best ssh and terminal client for android I use it constantly. It operates best if you put xterm-color in the /etc/terminfo/x/ directory and then export TERM=xterm-color (Note: I pulled this term info file from Debian's Arm build)
• Flashlight by Devesh useful when you need light, but otherwise tiny and simple.
• Textedit by Paul Mach is the best text editor for android unfortunately that isn't saying much, but it is good for taking quick notes to your SD card.
• Diceroller this is my app at some point this will be a link to the APK.
• Antennas this is a very interesting app for learning about the layout of the network near you.
• The Weather Channel App is great, but I'm not a big widget guy. And I prefer http://www.weather.gov/.

Top Apps requiring root

• android-wifi-tether (probably the best reason to root your phone, this may all change as froyo comes into light)
• SetCPU for Root Users by MichaelHuang
• I think the G1 needs swap to handle real multitasking. I just dd'd a swap file onto my SD card. Formatted it with mkswap. And then added a script that swapon the file at boot.
• Swapper2 has also gotten good reviews
• firerat over at the android forums deserves a shout out. I don't agree with some of his advice and the patch script seems a little heavy handed, but I have used it. The sdext command is the best.

Top games

• Jewels the bejewelled clone you know you love it
• Robodefense this kept me up a couple nights
• Frozen Bubble is a favourite of mine, but the controls are clunky on android
• Scummvm unfortunately I lost this when I went to froyo

Hopefully there will be more info here soon.