1. In Eclipse, goto File -> Export

2. Select Runnable JAR file click next

3. Enter the export destination and click Package required libraries into generated JAR

4. Click Finish

If you are using JMF you’ll need to include jmf.jar and jmf.properties in the same directory as the executable jar. If you have installed JMF you should be able to find these in the JMF libs directory. [In windows c:/Program Files/JMF2.1.1e/lib].

If all else fails you can get debug information by running “adb logcat” in a command prompt. You can also filter the results, for example, “adb logcat UserTag:D *:S” just shows debug messages with the UserTag.

Android development tools (install in this order)

1. Java Development Kit
2. Android SDK
   (Note: After installing add the location to your PATH system variable.)
3. Classic Eclipse (v3.5)
4. ADT Plugin for Eclipse
   This plugin is installed within Eclipse.
   Goto Help->Install New Software.
   Then add https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/ to the “Location” field. After clicking “Ok” to the popup you should see “Developer Tools” added to the list. Check it and click next. Follow through until the Finish. Make sure you restart Eclipse.

Getting something quickly up and running on the emulator

First you need to create a new Android Virtual Device (AVD):

1. Goto Window->Android SDK and AVD Manager
2. Click “New” at the side to create an AVD
3. Enter a name for the AVD (remove all spaces)
4. Select a target Android version (most devices these days are running either v2.1+ or v1.6)
5. Enter in the size of the SD card (I usually just put 500MiB)
6. Then click “Create AVD”
7. You can now start up your enumerator by clicking start or it will be run automatically once the Project’s Build Target is set.
   

Running the sample helloworld application:

1. Create a new project using the existing helloworld sample source from the Android SDK directory.
2. File -> New -> Project
3. Select Android Project
4. Create project from existing source selecting the location of the sample HelloWorld application
   For example:
   C:\android-sdk-windows\platforms\android-4\samples\HelloActivity
   (Note: I’m using Android 1.6 (API Level 4) hence the android-4 directory)
5. Click “Finish”
6. Now goto Run -> Run (or press ctrl F11) to compile and run the project
7. The emulator will take a while to load but after a while you’ll see the Android UI then the Hello World app pop up.
   Note: After you make some changes you normally don’t need to restart the emulator every time, you can simply run again and it will re-install the app. Depending on what you have changed however you may need to uninstall your application first from the settings.

   For more information see the Android Development website: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

Around a month ago I was given a rough functional spec and a render of a product. I was given the job to design the UIs for the device and the desktop software. First task which was required within the week (being Tuesday already) was to specify what buttons were required and what would be displayed on the small LCD.

I began by sitting down with the people involved with the project to get up to speed as fast as possible with the product along with who it was targeted towards and any competitor products they liked. After reviewing all the material and playing with similar other products, I started sketching a few ideas for the UI trying to limit the number of modes, keeping the functionality clean and simple, and the key functions as accessible as possible. Eventually I come up with a design that everyone liked. The design was then sent off to become the first prototype. As I was pressed for time I had skipped the quick mockup stage. A mistake I will not be forgetting soon, a few hours would have saved a few weeks in development.

One month later I received the prototype. It worked great until I switched it into the second mode which made me naturally change my grip and made the left/right arrows become up/down which did not make sense in the UI. In addition because the device is designed to hold in one hand, users with slightly smaller hands found it difficult to reach the top quick keys with their thumb. There were also a few other small issues.

I’m sure a cardboard mockup would have identified pretty much all of these mistakes leaving us to focus on the next round of improvements with the prototype. Don’t make the same mistake as I did, take the time to do a quick mockup and pass it around a few colleagues and friends.

I recommend organising your bookmarks first, then backing them up before installing the plug in. The easiest way to backup in most browsers is to export to an html file.

Anyways, the easiest way to enable them is to install the following Firefox addon.

The other way is to install the MacOSX theme but the theme doesn’t look that good so I prefer to use the addon. I did try the latest MacOSX theme but it didn’t have the icons.