Samsung Galaxy S5

[Adam]

A friend gave me his Samsung Galaxy S5 after he had it factory reset to erase his private data.
When I started it up, a login prompt popped up. Wasn't sure what to enter. Might have tried one of
my own email addresses. Didn't work. So I put the phone aside for some time. Battery drained.

After some months, I charged up the phone and, this time, no login prompt.

Any ideas what happened ? Just curious.

[Arlen Holder]

Without even a screenshot, we might never know.

Perhaps though, it was the "google account setup" prompt, which every
Android phone, to my knowledge, requests upon initial setup.

If you simply skip that, you don't need to set the phone OS to a google
account, and the phone works perfectly without it being set up to a Google
Account.

What doesn't work without setting the OS to a google account you can easily
replace with _better_ tools which you simply need to know which ones.

For example:
a. If you want Google Play, you simply use Aurora which is far better.
b. If you want Google Mail, you simply use a non-Google MUA (like K9mail).
c. If you want to subscribe to YouTube channels, NewPipe is better.
etc.

Hope this helps.

[Adam]

Thanks, that might be it (Google login prompt). Thought it might have been a security feature.

Battery seems to drain faster than I'd like. Best way to help slow it down ?

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:
> Adam wrote:

>> A friend gave me his Samsung Galaxy S5 after he had it factory
>> reset to erase his private data. When I started it up, a login
>> prompt popped up. Wasn't sure what to enter. Might have tried
>> one of my own email addresses. Didn't work. So I put the phone
>> aside for some time. Battery drained. After some months, I charged
>> up the phone and, this time, no login prompt. Any ideas what
>> happened ? Just curious.

> Without even a screenshot, we might never know. Perhaps though, it
> was the "google account setup" prompt, which every Android phone, to
> my knowledge, requests upon initial setup.

If it was the Google account setup why would the login
disappear after a battery discharge/recharge cycle?

> you don't need to set the phone OS to a google account, and the phone
> works perfectly without it being set up to a Google Account.

My cheapie $15 (Target discount rack) phone that I use as a shirt pocket
music player is Google account free. In fact it's not been online since
I bought it. And it came with Google Play Music already installed so no
need to even do a sideload of another inferior music player. How lucky
is that... ;)

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 07:20:25 -0800, Adam wrote:

> Thanks, that might be it (Google login prompt).
> Thought it might have been a security feature.

Just to explain a bit more, I haven't had a google account set up on
Android in years, and the phone works just fine (you can't do that with iOS
but you can with Android).

You can still have a "google account" mind you.
You just don't have to point the operating system to that account.

You can, for example, point any mail user agent (MUA) to any number of
Google Accounts, and those MUAs will work fine (e.g., K-9 Mail) as long as
the MUA is _not_ the Gmail app (which does funny stuff under the hood).

Likewise, you can pull all the APKs you wish off of Google Play as long as
you don't use Google Play (although you could use Google Play and sign in
and sign out as I don't think it pulls the dirty tricks the Gmail app does.

Instead of Google Play, you use Aurora (which is the exact same thing, only
better). Likewise instead of using the YouTube app to subscribe to
channels, you use NewPipe to subscribe, which, again, is the exact same
thing, only much better.

You don't need a login on YouTube unless you want to subscribe by the way,
so if you're happy watching advertisements, YouTube works just fine without
setting the operating system to a Google Account.

Even Google Maps works fine nowadays without setting it to a Google
Account, where for a time, it required a Google Account to save offline
maps (but I think they fixed that recently so you don't need it anymore).

> Battery seems to drain faster than I'd like.
> Best way to help slow it down ?

First thing I do is go to <http://tinyurl.com/comp-mobile-android>
Then I type in "battery drain" for the search term.

There are a bunch of hits, where I'll suggest this one first:
o What free Android app do you use to obtain moving graphs of fast charge current & voltage over time?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/xL6NxDnkzS4>
--
See also:
o AndroidPolice says the latest Google Play Services 18.3.82 has a battery drain problem
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/GlVJVAPIzjA>
o Request for a batter charge log application for logging charge current over time
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/I9wndn0CQZs>

[Adam]

On 11/08/2020 08:33 AM, 123456789 wrote:
> Arlen Holder wrote:
>> Adam wrote:
>
>>> A friend gave me his Samsung Galaxy S5 after he had it factory reset to erase his private data. When I started it up, a login prompt popped up. Wasn't sure what to enter. Might have tried
>>> one of my own email addresses. Didn't work. So I put the phone
>>> aside for some time. Battery drained. After some months, I charged
>>> up the phone and, this time, no login prompt. Any ideas what
>>> happened ? Just curious.
>
>> Without even a screenshot, we might never know. Perhaps though, it was the "google account setup" prompt, which every Android phone, to my knowledge, requests upon initial setup.
>
> If it was the Google account setup why would the login
> disappear after a battery discharge/recharge cycle?

No idea. But, it works like my other Samsung Galaxy phones now.
No login required.

>
>> you don't need to set the phone OS to a google account, and the phone
>> works perfectly without it being set up to a Google Account.
>
> My cheapie $15 (Target discount rack) phone that I use as a shirt pocket
> music player is Google account free. In fact it's not been online since
> I bought it. And it came with Google Play Music already installed so no
> need to even do a sideload of another inferior music player. How lucky
> is that... ;)

$15 music player. Not bad. :-)

[s|b]

On Sat, 7 Nov 2020 16:32:22 -0800, Adam wrote:

It's a Samsung, it works in mysterious ways. I had a
Samsung Galaxy S4 mini I9195I once, I can't count the amount of times I
wanted to throw it out the window... No more Samsungs for me!

--
s|b

[The Real Bev]

Are there any free Android mp3 players that offer the ability to move
back just a few seconds rather than to the previous tune/file?
Audiobook readers, although providing that function, seem to limit
themselves to actual purchased audiobooks.

--
Cheers, Bev
Politicians are stupid like cats are stupid.

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:

> Are there any free Android mp3 players that offer the ability to move
> back just a few seconds rather than to the previous tune/file?

The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring it up
in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the player screen.
The slider on that screen will allow you slide it back and forth to
advance or go back in the song the number of seconds you want (and shows
the amount in seconds just below the slider).

FWIW I purchased the paid version some years ago (IIRC it was $10, worth
every penny to avoid the ads IMO but of course YMMV) and though there
have been updates I always preferred my original copy. Fortunately the
apks came in 2 files, Maple and Maple unlock (for the paid version) so
it has been easy to put the my favored old version on my new devices as
they came along...

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:

> Are there any free Android mp3 players that offer the ability to move
> back just a few seconds rather than to the previous tune/file?

The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring it up
in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the player screen.
The slider on that screen will allow you slide it back and forth to
advance or go back in the song the number of seconds you want (and shows

the amount in text just below the slider).

FWIW I purchased the paid version some years ago (IIRC it was $10, worth
every penny to avoid the ads IMO but of course YMMV) and though there
have been updates I always preferred my original copy. Fortunately the
apks came in 2 files, Maple and Maple unlock (for the paid version) so

it has been easy to put my favored old version on my new devices as
they came along...

[123456789]

Interesting but I screwed up when posting this. I accidentally hit reply
to SENDER AND newsgroup. It choked and said it wouldn't send it. But it
apparently did send it, thus when I resent it correctly (I thought) I
got doubles. Wonder if you got the email too...

[The Real Bev]

On 11/08/2020 01:34 PM, 123456789 wrote:
> Interesting but I screwed up when posting this. I accidentally hit reply
> to SENDER AND newsgroup. It choked and said it wouldn't send it. But it
> apparently did send it, thus when I resent it correctly (I thought) I
> got doubles. Wonder if you got the email too...

Nope, just saw the double post -- 4 minutes apart.

Here's MY weird: I can't reply to a post posted to 2 or more groups
because Thunderbird thinks it can't save a draft involving two (or more)
news SERVERS. Accordingly, I have to choose which group to respond to.
Annoying. TB38, but previous versions didn't do that -- and I don't
think TB38 did it either at least a year ago.

I blame Entropy.

> 123456789 wrote:
>> The Real Bev wrote:
>>
>>> Are there any free Android mp3 players that offer the ability to
>>> move back just a few seconds rather than to the previous
>>> tune/file?
>>
>> The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring it
>> up in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the player
>> screen. The slider on that screen will allow you slide it back and
>> forth to advance or go back in the song the number of seconds you
>> want (and shows the amount in text just below the slider).

Thanks, I'll give it a try. After installing several different
inadequate players I started looking for this as a feature, and
apparently nobody thinks it's worth mentioning :-(

>> FWIW I purchased the paid version some years ago (IIRC it was $10,
>> worth every penny to avoid the ads IMO but of course YMMV) and though
>> there have been updates I always preferred my original copy.
>> Fortunately the apks came in 2 files, Maple and Maple unlock (for the
>> paid version) so it has been easy to put my favored old version on my
>> new devices as they came along...

I got rid of all my apks at some point, and now regret it.


--
Cheers, Bev
=====================================================================
If violence isn't solving the problem, you're not using enough of it.

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 11:59:14 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> Are there any free Android mp3 players that offer the ability to move
> back just a few seconds rather than to the previous tune/file?

You'd think that's a basic feature, to skip forward/backward, wouldn't you?

I just tried the three audio players that I have for you and none allow
something that simple, which is hard to believe, but I couldn't find it.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/fRNg5hn0/audio01.jpg>

Worse, when I killed the program, they still played in the background!
o I gotta figure out how to kill background processes sans rebooting.

I then tried some of my video editors (which also play audio):
o <https://i.postimg.cc/XvN1Scvj/video01.jpg>

It seems "VLC" has a setting for "Jump to Time" which can be set to, oh,
say, 10 seconds, but I'm not sure how to jump once that time is set.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/kgTkXBHL/audio03.jpg>

Other than VLC, it seems (most?) audio editors don't have a five-second
jump like YouTube and NewPipe have when they're playing streaming audio.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/9fyRGjbN/audio02.jpg>

You'd think that's a basic feature, to skip forward/backward, wouldn't you?

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 14:24:20 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring it up
> in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the player screen.
> The slider on that screen will allow you slide it back and forth to
> advance or go back in the song the number of seconds you want (and shows
> the amount in text just below the slider).

I don't have that free Maple Player but the free AIMP player has something
which "might" be similar in that while the song is playing, you get a
waveform (which is kind of sort of like a slider, only two dimensional).

You can tap anywhere on that waveform, and the song will "jump" to that
point, as shown in this screenshot I just made for the OP just now:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/y88SzgCv/audio04.jpg>

Still, it's not the same thing as what we do inside of both YouTube and
NewPipe which is doubletap on the right to jump forward, oh, say, about 10
seconds, or doubletap on the left to jump backward the same amount of time.

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 23:19:56 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> Worse, when I killed the program, they still played in the background!
> o I gotta figure out how to kill background processes sans rebooting.

For those of you testing these audio apps, when you kill the app (by
swiping it away), it still runs in the background.

I think The Real Bev asked, in the past, how to _kill_ these background
running apps such as audio players playing the songs in the background:
o REALLY kill various apps
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/ScA7PlwKeYs>

And certainly I had asked the same question in the past myself:
o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/Did0Rd3mRmo>

Where I found three different ways (all of which are too many steps):
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg> Kill a running service
o <https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg> App info force stop
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg> Recent apps force stop

It turns out there are a whole bunch of ways to kill a background
running app (such as a music player still playing the song after we swipe
away the app) - but all take six, seven, or eight steps, unfortunately.

The most graceful appears to be to use the Developer Options GUI:
o How to kill Android apps and tasks running in the background
<https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/android-apps-background-kill/>

But it's still 7 steps!
o Android10:Settings > System > Advanced > Developer options >
Running services > {select running background process} > Stop
o <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>
Note: You have to have developer options turned on previously.
<https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg> Kill a running service
--
If you know of a graceful way to kill apps, non rooted, let us know.

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:

> Here's MY weird: I can't reply to a post posted to 2 or more groups
> because Thunderbird thinks it can't save a draft involving two (or
> more) news SERVERS. Accordingly, I have to choose which group to
> respond to. Annoying.

Yup. Replying to Arlen's multi-group posts can be taxing on the
reader... :-)

> TB38, but previous versions didn't do that -- and I don't think TB38
> did it either at least a year ago.

I've never noticed that problem in any of the TB versions I've tried in
Windows. The TB versions I've tried in this Chromebook's Windows
emulator are all missing some features but that's obviously the emulator.

I have noticed that sometimes aioe wouldn't accept an excessive number
of groups in a post, but I've just switched to eternal-september and it
went through ok...

> I blame Entropy.

In my case it's a cloud that always follows me around everywhere over my
head... ;)

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring
>> it up in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the
>> player screen. The slider on that screen will allow you slide it
>> back and forth to advance or go back in the song the number of
>> seconds you want (and shows the amount in text just below the
>> slider).

> I don't have that free Maple Player but the free AIMP player has
> something which "might" be similar in that while the song is playing,
> you get a waveform (which is kind of sort of like a slider, only two
> dimensional). You can tap anywhere on that waveform, and the song
> will "jump" to that point, as shown in this screenshot I just made

> for the OP just now:<https://i.postimg.cc/y88SzgCv/audio04.jpg>

In my Maple Player app you can either drag or single tap on the slider
bar to move to any location in the song.

> Still, it's not the same thing as what we do inside of both YouTube
> and NewPipe which is doubletap on the right to jump forward, oh, say,
> about 10 seconds, or doubletap on the left to jump backward the same
> amount of time.

No double tapping in Maple...

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 17:51:06 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

>> I don't have that free Maple Player but the free AIMP player has
>> something which "might" be similar in that while the song is playing,
>> you get a waveform (which is kind of sort of like a slider, only two
>> dimensional). You can tap anywhere on that waveform, and the song
>> will "jump" to that point, as shown in this screenshot I just made
>> for the OP just now:<https://i.postimg.cc/y88SzgCv/audio04.jpg>
>
> In my Maple Player app you can either drag or single tap on the slider
> bar to move to any location in the song.

As far as I could tell, all the audio players I tested work the same way:
o In my audio player test, you could single tap or drag on the "slider"

And that would certainly move to _any_ desired location of the song
<https://i.postimg.cc/XJHrP2f2/audio06.jpg>

But I don't think that's what was being asked for, was it?

What I "think" the OP wants is what we already have in both
o YouTube app (mine is set to "jump" 10 seconds upon doubletap)
o NewPipe app (mine is set to "jump" 10 seconds upon doubletap)

While you could always single tap or drag in both YouTube & NewPipe
o Where that would bring you to any location in the streaming play,

The doubletap to "jump" a set time period is very useful indeed!

Here is that "jump" setting (which is set to 10 seconds for both):
o <https://i.postimg.cc/J0LQ9nvF/audio05.jpg>

On both the YouTube & NewPipe app, a doubletap "jumps" 10 seconds
o Either forward or back depending on _where_ you doubletap

What's interesting is this works just fine in YouTube & NewPipe
o But I couldn't get that "doubletap to move 10 seconds" to work
in the audio players that I had tested.

The audio players I tested simply moved to exactly where you tapped.
o But they didn't "jump" a set 10-second distance when I doubletapped.

Weird. Seems to me to be a basic need of all audio players
o Not just NewPipe & YouTube
--
An audio player should exist that simply jumps forward/back 10 seconds.

[123456789]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 17:35:51 -0700, 123456789 <12...@12345.com> wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
> > Here's MY weird: I can't reply to a post posted to 2 or more
groups
> > because Thunderbird thinks it can't save a draft involving two
(or
> > more) news SERVERS. Accordingly, I have to choose which group to
> > respond to. Annoying.

Ignore my previous post on this. Even though you SHOUTED server my
brain said group. That cloud I was mentioning...

Anyway I'll use this opportunity to try a post with my new Fire HW8
tablet using Groundhog. And transmit...

[123456789]

Not sure why but Groundhog seems to mess up the quotes. Anyway just
wanted to try it once (promise)...

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 17:35:51 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> Yup. Replying to Arlen's multi-group posts can be taxing on the
> reader... :-)

Why do you play these infantile cowardly games 123456789?
o Why?

If Usenet is too complex for you to handle, then don't blame me.
o *All you do with your cowardly insults is prove me right about you*.

When you act like an adult, I _treat_ you like an adult.
o I expect you to act like an adult in your next response 123456789.

See if you're up to that task please.
--
My conversations on Usenet are a mirror of the intent of the poster.

[Arlen Holder]

On Sun, 08 Nov 2020 19:50:49 +0100, s|b wrote:

> It's a Samsung, it works in mysterious ways. I had a
> Samsung Galaxy S4 mini I9195I once, I can't count the amount of times I
> wanted to throw it out the window... No more Samsungs for me!

Regarding the "strange ways" of various Android devices...
o I found a simple way to kill background audio in a couple of steps!
<https://i.postimg.cc/2yz3rw2N/pskill05.jpg>

Most apps die gracefully when you hit the square button & sweep them away.
o And almost all apps will die when you expressly press its "exit" command
<https://i.postimg.cc/wTj3rw1h/pskill04.jpg>

Yet some still run (e.g., nav) or play (e.g., audio) in the background.
o Either because you can't exit - or you background it as shown above

That's nice when you _want_ navigation or audio playing in the background.
o But sometimes you want _kill_ those background apps (sans rebooting)

It turns out there are _plenty_ of ways to kill background apps, e.g.,
o Developer options <https://i.postimg.cc/JzrfLbpb/pskill01.jpg>
o App info <https://i.postimg.cc/sD3JTyf2/pskill02.jpg>
o Home button <https://i.postimg.cc/KYTLZscV/pskill03.jpg>
o Notification X <https://i.postimg.cc/mrnhQ8qH/audio08.jpg>
etc.

For more information, please see these related threads:

o REALLY kill various apps
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/ScA7PlwKeYs>

o What's a good way to kill jobs that persist in the background (without having to reboot)?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/Did0Rd3mRmo>

o Samsung Galaxy S5
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qTMDmHP9ToI>
--
Together we can find the simplest solutions to all issues we want to solve.

[Adam]

On 11/08/2020 03:30 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:

> On Sat, 7 Nov 2020 16:32:22 -0800, Adam wrote:
>
>> A friend gave me his Samsung Galaxy S5 after he had it factory reset to erase his private data.
>> When I started it up, a login prompt popped up. Wasn't sure what to enter. Might have tried one of
>> my own email addresses. Didn't work. So I put the phone aside for some time. Battery drained.
>>
>> After some months, I charged up the phone and, this time, no login prompt.
>>
>> Any ideas what happened ? Just curious.
>
> Without even a screenshot, we might never know.
>
> Perhaps though, it was the "google account setup" prompt, which every
> Android phone, to my knowledge, requests upon initial setup.
>
> If you simply skip that, you don't need to set the phone OS to a google
> account, and the phone works perfectly without it being set up to a Google
> Account.
>

Looks like it was "Google account setup" since I did see the email address flash by.
How to remove the email address from the phone OS ? Factory reset again ?

[123456789]

Arlen Holder wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> Yup. Replying to Arlen's multi-group posts can be taxing on the
>> reader... :-)

Guess you missed the smiley, huh.

> Why do you play these infantile cowardly games 123456789?

But of course what I said is true. You often multi-post in groups
that have nothing to do with the subject.

> If Usenet is too complex for you to handle, then don't blame me.

All I monitor on Usenet these days is this one Android group. Yet I
often see your cross-posted anti-Apple antics here. Why is that?

> When you act like an adult, I _treat_ you like an adult.

Kinda reminds me of the movie "A few good men" where the Jack Nicholson
character says "You can't handle the truth"... ;)

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 09:51:07 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> Guess you missed the smiley, huh.

I don't miss anything.
o And I didn't miss anything.

Your inability to handle your own Usenet reader has nothing to do with me.
o You can't always blame your innate stupidity on other people, 123456789.

You just can't.
o No matter how hard you try to blame others for your own utter ignorance.

>> Why do you play these infantile cowardly games 123456789?
>
> But of course what I said is true. You often multi-post in groups
> that have nothing to do with the subject.

I multi post for two reasons one of which most people don't do:
a. I multi-post to groups which I feel are relevant
b. I also always strive to post to at least one dejagoogled group

>> If Usenet is too complex for you to handle, then don't blame me.
>
> All I monitor on Usenet these days is this one Android group. Yet I
> often see your cross-posted anti-Apple antics here. Why is that?

Point to a post of mine that you speak of.
o Inside you will most likely find that reference that links to why.

The fact you don't understand how, oh, say, a Google deal with Apple links
both of the players isn't my problem; it's your problem.

>> When you act like an adult, I _treat_ you like an adult.
>
> Kinda reminds me of the movie "A few good men" where the Jack Nicholson
> character says "You can't handle the truth"... ;)

The difference between you and me, is you act like a child.
o When you act like an adult, I'll treat you like an adult.

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 08:40:34 -0800, Adam wrote:

> Looks like it was "Google account setup" since I did see the email address flash by.
> How to remove the email address from the phone OS ? Factory reset again ?

Hi Adam,

You do NOT need to factory reset to remove an account from the Android OS.
o Just remove the Google Account from the OS by pressing [Remove Account].

On my phone, Moto G7, Android 10, Nova launcher, it's in:
o Android10:Settings > Accounts > {longpress select} > Remove Account

For you, it may be in a different location; but all you do is select the
account (usually it's a longpress) and then you just hit "Remove Account".

[Adam]

Thanks, I kept getting the "account action required" message about
the email address that was entered. So, I went to "Settings" and
searched for "account" and did a "Remove Account".

Now, I get a message complaining about
"Backup - Need to set the backup account".

It just goes in circles. :-)

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 12:18:35 -0800, Adam wrote:

> Thanks, I kept getting the "account action required" message about
> the email address that was entered. So, I went to "Settings" and
> searched for "account" and did a "Remove Account".
>
> Now, I get a message complaining about
> "Backup - Need to set the backup account".
>
> It just goes in circles. :-)

Hi Adam,

I don't get _any_ of that, but I can imagine that Google is desperate to
get you to give them all your data. :)

Note the distinction between having a Google Account and setting the phone
_to_ a Google Account. You can have a Google Account _without_ setting the
phone operating system to that account.

For example, if you want, you can have a Google Account for email, but just
not get your email on the Android phone using the Gmail App; you can use
_any_ other Mail User Agent (MUA) other than Gmail though, such as K9Mail.

For Google Maps, there's no reason to need to log in, although, as I
mentioned, for a while (about a year) the Google Maps app required you to
log into it in order to download offline maps (but I think they fixed that
when I moved to Android 10 a few months ago).

For the YouTube App, you can do almost everything without logging into an
account, as I recall, except subscribing. But, if you use the freeware
NewPipe replacement for the crappy YouTube app, you can not only
anonymously subscribe to a YouTube channel, but you'll never see any
advertisements if you use the NewPipe App instead of the YouTube app (in my
humble opinion, only morons use the YouTube App because NewPipe is just
about the best there is on this planet for freeware to replace it).

For Google Play, as I recall, you need to log in to download APKs, but then
you can log out, or, you can do what I do which is use the free Aurora
Store scraper, which pulls the EXACT SAME APKs off the Google Play Store,
only anonymously (and with a far greater choice of filters, e.g., you can
filter out Google apps, or payware, or adware, or even any apps that use
the Google Services Framework, etc.).

Unlike with iOS, there's nothing you can't do on an Android phone without a
Google Account set up in the phone, where I should know as I use the phone
a lot, and I do not have a Google Account set up in the phone.

There are freeware calendars (I use Simple Mobile Tools) and freeware SMS
apps (I use PulseSMS) so you're not beholden to Google Apps in the least as
far as I know. (We should probably create a thread of all the one-to-one
replacements for Google Apps.)

I do my backup using the PC where I have terabytes of disk space, so I'm
not sure how Google does backups. But I'm sure there is a setting to turn
"sync" off somewhere in the operating system settings. For example, in my
"Accounts" section, at the bottom is a "Automatically sync data" slider
which is turned off.

I also have in my settings for "System", a "Backup" slider, which, as you
can imagine, is set to off.

We probably should author an entire thread on all the steps necessary to
set up an unrooted Android phone to zero Google apps. Sigh.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/08/2020 04:51 PM, 123456789 wrote:
> Arlen Holder wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>>> The free Maple Player (with ads) has that capability. If you bring
>>> it up in the Play Store the left most illustration shows the
>>> player screen. The slider on that screen will allow you slide it
>>> back and forth to advance or go back in the song the number of
>>> seconds you want (and shows the amount in text just below the
>>> slider).
>
>> I don't have that free Maple Player but the free AIMP player has
>> something which "might" be similar in that while the song is playing,
>> you get a waveform (which is kind of sort of like a slider, only two
>> dimensional). You can tap anywhere on that waveform, and the song
>> will "jump" to that point, as shown in this screenshot I just made
>> for the OP just now:<https://i.postimg.cc/y88SzgCv/audio04.jpg>
>
> In my Maple Player app you can either drag or single tap on the slider
> bar to move to any location in the song.

I got it working. Found the thing I wanted to play, got it to play BUT
NO SOUND. ES File Explorer has no problem with emitting sound, nor do
the resident File Manager or FM radio app. I really want to use this
one because if its short-jump capability...

>> Still, it's not the same thing as what we do inside of both YouTube
>> and NewPipe which is doubletap on the right to jump forward, oh, say,
>> about 10 seconds, or doubletap on the left to jump backward the same
>> amount of time.
>
> No double tapping in Maple...

BUT if you just let it sit there not playing anything or doing anything
else it will run the battery down in a few hours. I found that out the
hard way, of course.

Every app should have a big X in the upper right corner. We're used to
that. We know what it does -- or at least what it's supposed to do. It
would be so HARD for them to give us those? Isn't that what they get
paid the big bucks for?

--
Cheers, Bev
"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of
entrusting a man like him with the presidency." -- Unknown

[The Real Bev]

On 11/08/2020 06:01 PM, 123456789 wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Nov 2020 17:35:51 -0700, 123456789 <12...@12345.com> wrote:
>> The Real Bev wrote:
>> > Here's MY weird: I can't reply to a post posted to 2 or more
> groups
>> > because Thunderbird thinks it can't save a draft involving two
> (or
>> > more) news SERVERS. Accordingly, I have to choose which group to
>> > respond to. Annoying.

Not possible to tell easily where the second and/or subsequent posts
originated. Long ago you could see the whole thread with Thunderbird,
but at some point that was no longer possible -- and even the attempt
sometimes hung TB. Anyway, it seems possible that the original
DIFFERENT server name stuck with the second post and continues to signal
its presence even though it's not where the response is sent first. If
that made any sense I'm amazed...

> Ignore my previous post on this. Even though you SHOUTED server my
> brain said group. That cloud I was mentioning...

If */bold italics/* worked I'd use those, but mostly those show up as
punctuation, which kind of spoils the effect.

> Anyway I'll use this opportunity to try a post with my new Fire HW8
> tablet using Groundhog. And transmit...

Doing anything involving serious typing on a virtual keyboard is more
than I'm willing to put up with. BUT hubby has a new (used) tablet
coming that has what might be a reasonably large bluetooth keyboard, so
perhaps I can use that. I have a roll-up USB keyboard, but that's
undoubtedly buried under 50 old hard drives waiting to have their
magnets removed before sending them to the e-waste knackers.

--
Cheers, Bev
Warning: Objects in mirror appear smarter than they are.

[The Real Bev]

Arlen offers a wealth of useful advice absolutely gratis. I think he
might be excused for posting anti-Apple articles every once in a while
-- Biden doesn't require us to read anything yet, so we can just turn
the page or ignore the pixels if we're not interested. You know, like
we do to political speeches...

[David Taylor]

On 09/11/2020 00:35, 123456789 wrote:
[]

> Yup. Replying to Arlen's multi-group posts can be taxing on the
> reader...  :-)

Just use the killfile.

PLEASE!

--
Cheers,
David
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 22:04:44 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> Arlen offers a wealth of useful advice absolutely gratis. I think he
> might be excused for posting anti-Apple articles every once in a while

Just to be clear, I own plenty of iOS devices where what irks me isn't
Apple per se, nor even so much that Apple MARKETING is the finest on the
planet at bullshit.

What irks me most is how incredibly gullible the typical Apple owners are.
o Apple lovers basically don't own normal adult cognitive skills (IMHO)

Rest assured I ask Apple owners all the time, at gas stations, in the
grocery store, at the Costco line, waiting outside Trader Joe's, etc.,
_why_ they own Apple devices and I _always_ get the same MARKETING bullshit
from them.

It's like they don't own their own minds.
o All they can do is mindlessly parrot bullshit Apple MARKETING fed them.

"It's more secure"
"It just works"
"It's works better"

Note: I've been asking at the gas station for 30 or 40 years the person
next to me why they're putting "premium" in a Honda Civic and _they_ also
parrot exactly the bullshit MARKETING fed them (so it's not just Apple
owners who own the minds of infants).

Luckily, most Android owners don't seem to be as influenced by MARKETING
bullshit as the Apple owners are.

There.... I did it again.
o That's my "absolutely gratis useful advice!" for today!
:)
--
PS: I'm testing voice to text Android software as we speak, as per this:
o Recommended Speech-to-Text (STT) Windows freeware to transcribe a YouTube audio stream to text?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.comp.microsoft.windows/zzLfgMs0AKc>

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 9 Nov 2020 21:45:00 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> In my Maple Player app you can either drag or single tap on the slider
>> bar to move to any location in the song.
>
> I got it working. Found the thing I wanted to play, got it to play BUT
> NO SOUND. ES File Explorer has no problem with emitting sound, nor do
> the resident File Manager or FM radio app. I really want to use this
> one because if its short-jump capability...

For the record, I moments ago tried the Maple Player app on Android 10
o <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sqr5.android.player_jb>

Maple JB has a setting for "fast forward" "fast rewind"
o (which I set to 10 seconds as shown below):
<https://i.postimg.cc/KcdxChXH/audio09.jpg>

I played with it for a minute just now, which should be enough time...
o <sheepish> I don't know how to "activate" the fast forward action yet.

I'm sure it's there.... it's just not intuitive (to me) how to activate it!
o What's the finger press to make it fast forward & fast rewind 10 seconds?

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> The free Maple Player has that capability [a slider].

> I got it working. Found the thing I wanted to play, got it to play
> BUT NO SOUND.

I'm using an old version (2.7.1) so this may not apply to yours. In the
upper right corner of the player screen is a speaker icon. It takes you
to a 'Volume' screen. There are left, right, and main volume sliders.
Check for the obvious. At the bottom of that screen is an equalizer
button. That goes to the equalizer screen. Make sure all the equalizer
sliders are at least half way. These are likely not your problem but
worth checking anyway.

> ES File Explorer has no problem with emitting sound, nor do the
> resident File Manager or FM radio app.

So it's likely the app is causing the problem and not your device. You
might try the app on another device if you have one available. My
version has run on Androids 5 thru 10 on various devices and on both
real Android and Fire OS (Android) so the app doesn't seem to be all
that particular.

> BUT if you just let it sit there not playing anything or doing

> anything else it will run the battery down in a few hours. Every app

> should have a big X in the upper right corner.

When I'm listening to music and want to quit I just unplug the phones.
That automatically stops the player. With my player stopped the app
still sits in memory but uses negligible power. So I don't need to open
it again until its next use and so x would be wasted on me...

Couple more things to try:
Check the app reviews in the Play Store. Someone may have had the same
problem and posted a solution. Also you might Google your problem. More than
once somebody else had the same problem as I did and had a fix. Last,
write the author. They often try and help rather than get a bad review...

[123456789]

David Taylor wrote:

> Just use the killfile. PLEASE!

Done.

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> I'll use this opportunity to try a post with my new Fire HW8 tablet
>> using Groundhog. And transmit...

> Doing anything involving serious typing on a virtual keyboard is more
> than I'm willing to put up with.

Me too. But I wanted to try Groundhog on my new Android 9 tablet.
Unfortunately many of my old newsreaders have problems with the newer
versions of Android. And Groundhog screwed up the quotes in this test so
will be using it for reading only. In Android 10 Groundhog is a read
only newsreader, transmit was completely broken...

> BUT hubby has a new (used) tablet coming that has what might be a
> reasonably large bluetooth keyboard, so perhaps I can use that.

Give a Chromebook a try. They are cheap (or expensive if you want), have
a keyboard, run Android (some do Linux too), light (2lbs for mine), and
mine folds to a tablet though I never use it that way.

> I have a roll-up USB keyboard, but that's undoubtedly buried under 50
> old hard drives waiting to have their magnets removed before sending
> them to the e-waste knackers.

What do you do with the magnets?

[Chris Green]

123456789 <12...@12345.com> wrote:
>
> Give a Chromebook a try. They are cheap (or expensive if you want), have
> a keyboard, run Android (some do Linux too), light (2lbs for mine), and
> mine folds to a tablet though I never use it that way.
>

I thought that Chromebooks were locked down such that you can't get to
see the OS at all, so Linux/Android makes little odds. Don't they
just present you with a Chrome browser and that's it?

--
Chris Green
·

[wgreenhouse]

Recent chromebooks offer Android (marketed as "Google Play" apps) in a
container), and >= 2019 models also offer a Linux container (Debian
Buster these days).

Search models for "Google Play support" and "Crostini support",
respectively.

--typed on a Chromebook in Emacs in Termux in Chrome OS's Android container :)

[123456789]

wgreenhouse wrote:
> Chris Green writes:

I suppose I could also add that Chromebooks can also run Windows apps.
Well some anyway. It's touch and go depending on the app. I'm posting
this with my Chromebook using a Windows app (SeaMonkey), which runs in a
Windows emulator (CrossOver beta). I got Crossover in the Play Store but
I don't see it there now. I turned off the Play Store auto-update since
the beta was supposed to be temporary. So far, so good...

[Arlen Holder]

On Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:17:43 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> I suppose I could also add that Chromebooks can also run Windows apps.
> Well some anyway. It's touch and go depending on the app. I'm posting
> this with my Chromebook using a Windows app (SeaMonkey), which runs in a
> Windows emulator (CrossOver beta). I got Crossover in the Play Store but
> I don't see it there now. I turned off the Play Store auto-update since
> the beta was supposed to be temporary. So far, so good...

I first looked at Chromebooks seemingly years ago, and never looked again.
o What does a Chromebook do that a similarly cheap Windows laptop doesn't?

Is there any advantage to a Chromebook over a cheap Windows laptop?
o For example, Windows easily runs Android apps (under emulation).

The most basic question to ask, when functionality is key, is:
Q: What does a Chromebook do that a similarly priced Win10 laptop doesn't?

Just like when I ask the same question of iOS versus Android, only people
who own both would really be able to separate the MARKETING BS from facts.
--
I realize I probably should be asking this in the Windows newsgroup.
o What does a Chromebook do that a similarly cheap Windows laptop doesn't?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.comp.microsoft.windows/ePg6FfXbiDI>

[Chris Green]

Coo, that makes a Chromebook rather useful. I'm a Linux command line
junkie anyway so having just a terminal window isn't particularly
limiting.

A couple of questions (is there a better place to ask?):-

I assume the Linux terminal does have internet access, i.e. I can
ssh to somewhere.

Can one open more than one terminal window?

--
Chris Green
·

[Frank Slootweg]

wgreenhouse <wgree...@tilde.club> wrote:
[...]

> --typed on a Chromebook in Emacs in Termux in Chrome OS's Android container :)

Impressive! One level more - and both 'older' and 'newer' - than my
setup (tin 'under' Cygwin on Windows). :-)

[wgreenhouse]

Arlen Holder <arlen_...@newmachines.com> writes:

> On Tue, 10 Nov 2020 10:17:43 -0700, 123456789 wrote:
>
>> I suppose I could also add that Chromebooks can also run Windows apps.
>> Well some anyway. It's touch and go depending on the app. I'm posting
>> this with my Chromebook using a Windows app (SeaMonkey), which runs in a
>> Windows emulator (CrossOver beta). I got Crossover in the Play Store but
>> I don't see it there now. I turned off the Play Store auto-update since
>> the beta was supposed to be temporary. So far, so good...
>
> I first looked at Chromebooks seemingly years ago, and never looked again.
> o What does a Chromebook do that a similarly cheap Windows laptop doesn't?

I've owned endless cheap Windows laptops (traditionally I use
hand-me-down systems), so I think I would highlight three things:

- Well-thought-out filesystem security model made of off-the-shelf Linux
components[1], protecting users from each other as well as laptop
thieves, and including a "powerwash" (secure wipe/factory reset)
feature

- Doesn't ever die to an update (the rootfs is read-only and is updated
in an A/B fashion, with fallback to the old version if the system is
unresponsive following update)

- All Chromebooks run Coreboot, which is a free/open source BIOS, making
it easier to install [non-Chrome OS] Linux distros than is typical on
cheap laptops.


Footnotes:
[1] https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chromiumos-design-docs/protecting-cached-user-data

[wgreenhouse]

Chris Green <c...@isbd.net> writes:

> Coo, that makes a Chromebook rather useful. I'm a Linux command line
> junkie anyway so having just a terminal window isn't particularly
> limiting.
>
> A couple of questions (is there a better place to ask?):-
>
> I assume the Linux terminal does have internet access, i.e. I can
> ssh to somewhere.

Yes, of course.

> Can one open more than one terminal window?

Yes. I'm using Termux, which lets you have multiple sessions (which act
like tabs in the app) within the Android app. I can also SSH in to that
same environment (for example using Secure Shell Chrome app) and have
multiple such windows open, or mount it on SSHFS, etc.

My device is not one of those that supports Crostini (Debian container)
but those devices have their own terminal emulator implementation (as a
Chrome tab) and can also display X clients as windows through Xwayland.

[Adam]

Yeah, bug off Google. Leave me and my phone alone. :-)

[Frank Slootweg]

Adam <adam@no_thanks.com> wrote:
[...]

> Thanks, I kept getting the "account action required" message about
> the email address that was entered. So, I went to "Settings" and
> searched for "account" and did a "Remove Account".
>
> Now, I get a message complaining about
> "Backup - Need to set the backup account".
>
> It just goes in circles. :-)

You probably still have 'Back up my data' enabled, so it will ask for
an account.

I didn't see if you mentioned an Android version, but it's probably
something like:

Settings -> Backup & reset -> untick 'Back up my data'

[The Real Bev]

On 11/09/2020 10:19 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:

> Note: I've been asking at the gas station for 30 or 40 years the person
> next to me why they're putting "premium" in a Honda Civic and _they_ also
> parrot exactly the bullshit MARKETING fed them (so it's not just Apple
> owners who own the minds of infants).

A couple of times a year my mom would treat her cars to a tank of ethyl.
She figured it couldn't hurt, might help, and didn't cost all that
much. Even her last car, the POS '88 Eldorado, an ungrateful bastard if
there ever was one.


--
Cheers, Bev
"If you expect to score points by whining, join a European soccer team."
--Demotivators poster

[The Real Bev]

On 11/09/2020 11:14 PM, 123456789 wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>>> The free Maple Player has that capability [a slider].
>
>> I got it working. Found the thing I wanted to play, got it to play
>> BUT NO SOUND.
>
> I'm using an old version (2.7.1) so this may not apply to yours. In the
> upper right corner of the player screen is a speaker icon. It takes you
> to a 'Volume' screen. There are left, right, and main volume sliders.
> Check for the obvious. At the bottom of that screen is an equalizer
> button. That goes to the equalizer screen. Make sure all the equalizer
> sliders are at least half way. These are likely not your problem but
> worth checking anyway.

All full on :-(

>> ES File Explorer has no problem with emitting sound, nor do the
>> resident File Manager or FM radio app.

Moreover, and this may be the real cause of the problem, I just noticed
that IT WON'T PLAY. Went to the website. Not covered in the FAQ/docs
and no 'contact us' link. Too bad.

> So it's likely the app is causing the problem and not your device. You
> might try the app on another device if you have one available. My
> version has run on Androids 5 thru 10 on various devices and on both
> real Android and Fire OS (Android) so the app doesn't seem to be all
> that particular.

This is the only one I NEED it to work on. I want it to study Italian
while I do my 2-mile walk. Or at least listen to the radio. The sound
on the Pixel 2 is really poor, but it's fine with earphones.

>> BUT if you just let it sit there not playing anything or doing
>> anything else it will run the battery down in a few hours. Every app
>> should have a big X in the upper right corner.
>
> When I'm listening to music and want to quit I just unplug the phones.
> That automatically stops the player. With my player stopped the app
> still sits in memory but uses negligible power. So I don't need to open
> it again until its next use and so x would be wasted on me...

Unplugged the phones, turned them off, plugged them back into the
charger. I left it on (not playing anything) because I planned to come
back and tweak with it some more. I didn't :-(

> Couple more things to try:
> Check the app reviews in the Play Store. Someone may have had the same
> problem and posted a solution. Also you might Google your problem. More than
> once somebody else had the same problem as I did and had a fix. Last,
> write the author. They often try and help rather than get a bad review...

Yeah. The Russian author of EBookDroid is REALLY good about customer
service. He either tells you how to do what you need to do OR he tweaks
the program to make it work better based on my request. I asked if he
took PayPal. He couldn't, buying the paid-for version was all we could
do. Absolute best reader for .pdfs with equations on big tablets.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/10/2020 08:03 AM, 123456789 wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>>> I'll use this opportunity to try a post with my new Fire HW8 tablet
>>> using Groundhog. And transmit...
>
>> Doing anything involving serious typing on a virtual keyboard is more
>> than I'm willing to put up with.
>
> Me too. But I wanted to try Groundhog on my new Android 9 tablet.
> Unfortunately many of my old newsreaders have problems with the newer
> versions of Android. And Groundhog screwed up the quotes in this test so
> will be using it for reading only. In Android 10 Groundhog is a read
> only newsreader, transmit was completely broken...
>
>> BUT hubby has a new (used) tablet coming that has what might be a
>> reasonably large bluetooth keyboard, so perhaps I can use that.
>
> Give a Chromebook a try. They are cheap (or expensive if you want), have
> a keyboard, run Android (some do Linux too), light (2lbs for mine), and
> mine folds to a tablet though I never use it that way.

I borrowed one to use to Zoom. It's OK. I have a decent Dell laptop
with a touchscreen and win10 that I hardly ever use.

>> I have a roll-up USB keyboard, but that's undoubtedly buried under 50
>> old hard drives waiting to have their magnets removed before sending
>> them to the e-waste knackers.
>
> What do you do with the magnets?

Put them on the refrigerator, of course. Once you've got it
disassembled that far (you need a really tiny torx driver for the last
screws) you might as well sand off some of the data on the disk itself.
They're pretty damn cool as coasters except for the hole in the middle.

They're really strong magnets. Just good to have.

--
Cheers, Bev
That's my opinion. Ought to be yours.

[The Real Bev]

I gave up and deleted it. Installed the Rocket (free) player, which
seems to do FF and rewind with a long press, finds stuff easily and
stays where you left it when you turn it off -- essential for
audiobooks. It seems to use a lot of battery, but perhaps that's the
screen rather than the sound...

Si, Signore, io capisco l'Inglese!


--
Cheers, Bev
"This software is as user-friendly as a cornered rat!"

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> On 11/10/2020 08:03 AM, 123456789 wrote:

>> Give a Chromebook a try. They are cheap (or expensive if you
>> want), have a keyboard, run Android (some do Linux too), light
>> (2lbs for mine), and mine folds to a tablet though I never use it
>> that way.

> I borrowed one to use to Zoom. It's OK. I have a decent Dell
> laptop with a touchscreen and win10 that I hardly ever use.

I busted my W10 laptop awhile back and have been shopping for a new one.
I found 3 (on 3 separate trips) I liked at Best Buy and they were all
out of stock. They said the virus has caused a run on laptops. But so far
this old Chromebook has saved me. It's got almost 2 years
left until it dies (Google calls it end of life) so there's no hurry...

Maybe I spoke too soon on the hurry. When I went to post this I noticed
the Chromebook WiFi had quit. Had to reboot and re-sign in (a PITA:
email, password, 2FA) to get the WiFi to work again. Who knows why...

>> What do you do with the [old hard drive] magnets?

> Put them on the refrigerator, of course.

Of course. Why didn't I think of that...

> They're really strong magnets. Just good to have.

I got two magnets out of some headphones. They're strong enough that I
can put them on the top and bottom of my hand and they'll stay put.
Impresses the grandkids. Hope I don't get hand cancer...

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

> I want it to study Italian while I do my 2-mile walk. Or at least
> listen to the radio.

Interesting. I also walk near 2 miles a day (45m at 2.5mph) while
watching videos (treadmill). I'm currently on my 3rd time through the
Breaking Bad series. Highbrow stuff...

>> When I'm listening to music and want to quit I just unplug the
>> phones. That automatically stops the player.

> Unplugged the phones, turned them off, plugged them back into the
> charger.

Charger? That may be the difference. I use wired phones.

>> write the author. They often try and help rather than get a bad
>> review...

> Yeah. The Russian author of EBookDroid is REALLY good about customer
> service. He either tells you how to do what you need to do OR he
> tweaks the program to make it work better based on my request. I
> asked if he took PayPal. He couldn't, buying the paid-for version
> was all we could do. Absolute best reader for .pdfs with equations
> on big tablets.

These days I buy my ebooks through either Amazon (Kindle app) or Google
(Play Books app) and they have my CC on file. Years ago I used to pirate
ebooks from the Usenet ebook groups but since then a son-in-law has
become an author trying to make a buck and so I got religion...

Sorry you couldn't get the music app working...

[The Real Bev]

On 11/11/2020 10:48 PM, 123456789 wrote:

>>> What do you do with the [old hard drive] magnets?
>
>> Put them on the refrigerator, of course.
>
> Of course. Why didn't I think of that...
>
>> They're really strong magnets. Just good to have.
>
> I got two magnets out of some headphones. They're strong enough that I
> can put them on the top and bottom of my hand and they'll stay put.
> Impresses the grandkids. Hope I don't get hand cancer...

Old woofers have nice magnets. Big enough to sweep over the floor
looking for that 0-80 screw you just dropped.

My mom had a magnetic ladybug. You put the big magnet under the table
and moved the bug around. The little kids loved it, but it eventually
got lost. Real shame.

--
Cheers, Bev
There's something wrong with my keyboard.
Whenever I type x I get x.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/11/2020 10:49 PM, 123456789 wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>> I want it to study Italian while I do my 2-mile walk. Or at least
>> listen to the radio.
>
> Interesting. I also walk near 2 miles a day (45m at 2.5mph) while
> watching videos (treadmill). I'm currently on my 3rd time through the
> Breaking Bad series. Highbrow stuff...

I do REAL walking. I don't have enough discipline to walk that far when
I can stop after one or two minutes. Back when I was working I would
walk 4 miles before work (2 miles up into the hills and 2 miles back).
It was nice at 5-6am. I should try that again, but not that early.

Lifting weights was equally boring; I started out with 45 minutes
3x/week on various machines and ultimately cut that down to 15 minutes
-- 7-10 reps each on smaller number of machines -- with no apparent
decrease in strength. And then came The Plague. Those stretchy bands
are NO substitute, especially when it's so easy to stop.

>>> When I'm listening to music and want to quit I just unplug the
>>> phones. That automatically stops the player.
>
>> Unplugged the phones, turned them off, plugged them back into the
>> charger.
>
> Charger? That may be the difference. I use wired phones.

The Pixel2 has no phone jack, so I have to use an adapter with wired
phones. I have one, but I remember how big a nuisance the wires are...

>>> write the author. They often try and help rather than get a bad
>>> review...

I decided it was easier to switch. When I'm the only one complaining
about something really basic I figure it's just ME!

>> Yeah. The Russian author of EBookDroid is REALLY good about customer
>> service. He either tells you how to do what you need to do OR he
>> tweaks the program to make it work better based on my request. I
>> asked if he took PayPal. He couldn't, buying the paid-for version
>> was all we could do. Absolute best reader for .pdfs with equations
>> on big tablets.

Repeated just to give the guy some free advertising. Hubby likes to
read technical books, and you need to make special efforts to see
equations on a tablet.

> These days I buy my ebooks through either Amazon (Kindle app) or Google
> (Play Books app) and they have my CC on file. Years ago I used to pirate
> ebooks from the Usenet ebook groups but since then a son-in-law has
> become an author trying to make a buck and so I got religion...

Steinbeck is dead and his heirs are fighting over the remains. The
library loans e-books, but the format sucks badly and isn't really
configurable.

> Sorry you couldn't get the music app working...

Rocket works fine.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2020 23:48:41 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

> I busted my W10 laptop awhile back and have been shopping for a new one.
> I found 3 (on 3 separate trips) I liked at Best Buy and they were all
> out of stock.

<OT>
I picked up a handful of the these 8GB RAM HP 14-inch Windows 10 S Home
laptops for $250 each a while back (some kids were heading off to college
where I'm the family electronic gifter).
<https://www.costco.com/hp-14%22-laptop---10th-gen-intel-core-i3-1005g1---1080p.product.100568642.html>
o 10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor at 1.2GHz
o 8GB Memory, 256GB SSD
o Microsoft Windows 10 in S Mode
o Backlit Keyboard (this is useful for college kids in a dorm room)
o HD Audio with Stereo Speakers
o 802.11ac (2x2) Wireless + Bluetooth 5.0
o Costco Item 1420139, HP Model 14-dq1043cl

Wow. The price went up though.
o On the Windows ng, people noted Covid PC prices have about doubled.

Nonetheless, it's what I would consider a "cheap laptop" that is perfectly
serviceable, and which I would use as a Chromebook comparison laptop.

You save about $50 (in general) when it's Windows 10S, which, if you don't
know, is almost instantly converted, for free, to Windows 10 Home.

The nice thing about "Windows 10 S", for me, is that it saves fifty bucks!
</OT>

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:28:02 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> I gave up and deleted it. Installed the Rocket (free) player, which
> seems to do FF and rewind with a long press, finds stuff easily and
> stays where you left it when you turn it off -- essential for
> audiobooks. It seems to use a lot of battery, but perhaps that's the
> screen rather than the sound...

Hi The Real Bev,

I love testing software, but lately, my Android is just happy.
o I haven't _needed_ to test much lately, sadly to say.

I was surprised that not all players had the "jump 10 seconds"
o Even now, 123456789 hasn't said _how_ to "jump 10 seconds"

Which is odd, because he _claimed_ the Maple player could do that
o And even odder since the "settings" have that setting

So it _must_ be there, somewhere, if we only knew where.

Nonetheless, moving forward, I'll check out this "rocket" player
o Since I usually test most of the software suggested on this ng

Whenever we discuss apps, we should post the URL since a lot look alike
o Rocket Music Player, by JRT Studio Music Players
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.AnotherMusicPlayer>
--
Aurora Store is acting up, so I'll pick it up later. :)
"Failed to build Google API"

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:11:34 -0000 (UTC), Arlen Holder wrote:

> I was surprised that not all players had the "jump 10 seconds"
> o Even now, 123456789 hasn't said _how_ to "jump 10 seconds"
>
> Which is odd, because he _claimed_ the Maple player could do that
> o And even odder since the "settings" have that setting

BTW, given 123456789 isn't saying _how_ he jumps forward/back in Maple
o If anyone else has that Maple music player - can _you_ get it to jump?

How?
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KcdxChXH/audio09.jpg>

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 07:44:08 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> Old woofers have nice magnets. Big enough to sweep over the floor
> looking for that 0-80 screw you just dropped.

<OT>
They're fragile (ask me how I know), those big black ring magnets.

What I love are old silvered rectangular hard drive magnets.

They're just as fragile but they're glued solidly to metal half rings.
</OT>
--
I take everything apart before throwing it away (and even then).

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2020 23:49:03 -0700, 123456789 wrote:

>> I want it to study Italian while I do my 2-mile walk. Or at least
>> listen to the radio.
>
> Interesting. I also walk near 2 miles a day (45m at 2.5mph) while
> watching videos (treadmill). I'm currently on my 3rd time through the
> Breaking Bad series. Highbrow stuff...

I found a great free pedometer app on Android after testing all of them!

o Do you use a pedometer app that is free, no login, no ads, & no reporting back to the home ship?
<https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.mobile.android/fUdyQkxxRow>

> Sorry you couldn't get the music app working...

Personally, I agree with 123456789 that there _must_ be a way to make that
Maple player skip forward 10 seconds, but whatever it is nobody yet has
posted how (to my knowledge) to make it use its own settings to do so.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/KcdxChXH/audio09.jpg>

[Adam]

On 11/11/2020 03:12 AM, Frank Slootweg wrote:
> Settings -> Backup & reset -> untick 'Back up my data'

How do I remove whatever data was backed up ? Where is the data ?

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> I also walk near 2 miles a day (45m at 2.5mph) while watching
>> videos (treadmill).

> I do REAL walking.

Here in the desert, outside summer walking can be dangerous because of
the heat.

>> I use wired phones.

> The Pixel2 has no phone jack, so I have to use an adapter with wired
> phones.

Yep. Phone jacks are being retired on more and more devices these days.

> I have one, but I remember how big a nuisance the wires are...

I tried Bluetooth phones but I couldn't get the volume I wanted (old
ringing ears) and also I disliked the hassle of another charger. It's
definitely a YMMV thing...

[Arlen Holder]

Hi Adam,

That's a _great_ question that _all_ of us Android owners "should" know.
o I don't know how, but I just opened this thread to _get_ that answer!

o Tutorial on how to delete all information on Google servers that was backed up from your Android phone
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/On7_okP39ms>

If you do what it says above, can you report back to that thread for us?
o That way we all learn from every action taken by each of us.

[Frank Slootweg]

Your data is in your Google Drive. In the web-interface, click on the
'Storage' icon in the left pane and then on 'Backups' in the upper
right. Then right-click on the backups you want to delete.

Direct URL: <https://drive.google.com/drive/backups>

[The Real Bev]

On 11/12/2020 08:11 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:28:02 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:
>
>> I gave up and deleted it. Installed the Rocket (free) player, which
>> seems to do FF and rewind with a long press, finds stuff easily and
>> stays where you left it when you turn it off -- essential for
>> audiobooks. It seems to use a lot of battery, but perhaps that's the
>> screen rather than the sound...
>
> Hi The Real Bev,
>
> I love testing software, but lately, my Android is just happy.
> o I haven't _needed_ to test much lately, sadly to say.
>
> I was surprised that not all players had the "jump 10 seconds"
> o Even now, 123456789 hasn't said _how_ to "jump 10 seconds"
>
> Which is odd, because he _claimed_ the Maple player could do that
> o And even odder since the "settings" have that setting
>
> So it _must_ be there, somewhere, if we only knew where.

In the settings -- 5 buttons rather than 3.

Everything works EXCEPT it doesn't actually play. It's like the
triangle button just doesn't connect to anything.

> Nonetheless, moving forward, I'll check out this "rocket" player
> o Since I usually test most of the software suggested on this ng
>
> Whenever we discuss apps, we should post the URL since a lot look alike
> o Rocket Music Player, by JRT Studio Music Players
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.AnotherMusicPlayer>

Good idea. Yes, that one. Curiously enough, it uses the icon for the
paid rather than the free version.

--
Cheers, Bev
"My parents just came back from a planet where the dominant lifeform
had no bilateral symmetry, and all I got was this stupid F-Shirt."

[The Real Bev]

On 11/12/2020 08:28 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 07:44:08 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:
>
>> Old woofers have nice magnets. Big enough to sweep over the floor
>> looking for that 0-80 screw you just dropped.
>
> <OT>
> They're fragile (ask me how I know), those big black ring magnets.

I think those are part of core memory... not cards... frames? Beautiful
things, I wish I'd bought one when the surplus store had them.

> What I love are old silvered rectangular hard drive magnets.
>
> They're just as fragile but they're glued solidly to metal half rings.
> </OT>

I seem to remember that mine were white and of an irregular shape, as if
they were designed to fit in an exact weirdly-shaped space. I thought
they were on the refrigerator, but they aren't.

A good thing for kids to do with them: cover them with a sandwich bag
and drag them through sand or dirt to pick up the tiny iron particles.
I collected a lot when I was little, and that was before we had access
to POWERFUL magnets!

[The Real Bev]

On 11/12/2020 08:28 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:

Settings: 5 buttons rather than 3 buttons!

[The Real Bev]

On 11/12/2020 08:41 AM, 123456789 wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>>> I also walk near 2 miles a day (45m at 2.5mph) while watching
>>> videos (treadmill).
>
>> I do REAL walking.
>
> Here in the desert, outside summer walking can be dangerous because of
> the heat.

An excellent reason to stay in and become a couch potato! Not an
excuse, a REASON!

When it was 114F in SoCal I didn't even want to stick my head outside
the door, much less walk. I remember driving through Vegas at 2am when
the thermometer at the gas station read 114F. At least when it's cold
you can add another layer.

>>> I use wired phones.
>
>> The Pixel2 has no phone jack, so I have to use an adapter with wired
>> phones.
>
> Yep. Phone jacks are being retired on more and more devices these days.

Same with sdcards. I like having those. You can take them out and do
massive file transfers easily.

> > I have one, but I remember how big a nuisance the wires are...
>
> I tried Bluetooth phones but I couldn't get the volume I wanted (old
> ringing ears) and also I disliked the hassle of another charger. It's
> definitely a YMMV thing...

We have plenty of chargers with USB cables, and now I have to add some
USB-C adapters for the Pixel. Yeah, a definite improvement, but a
nuisance. We LIKED our buggy whips, goddammit!

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> Here in the desert, outside summer walking can be dangerous because
>> of the heat.

Speaking of outside walking dangers perhaps I should add that I live in
a retirement community with very old drivers and no sidewalks...

> An excellent reason to stay in and become a couch potato! Not an
> excuse, a REASON!

An excuse would be no inside treadmill available. And they're not so bad
with amenities: AC and fan, cold drink, videos, and perhaps the best of
all instant bathroom privileges... ;)

>> also I disliked the hassle of another [earphone] charger.

> We have plenty of chargers with USB cables, and now I have to add
> some USB-C adapters for the Pixel. Yeah, a definite improvement, but
> a nuisance. We LIKED our buggy whips, goddammit!

I've gotten to like wireless charging. So far it's my phone and one
tablet. I imagine your earbuds would work as well on my wireless charger
but unfortunately I still couldn't hear them.

[Alex Trishan]

Arlen Holder wrote on 11/8/2020 6:30 AM:
> For example:
> a. If you want Google Play, you simply use Aurora which is far better.

What's Aurora?

[Adam]

Thanks, visited the URL (above) and it says "No backups", which is what I wanted.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/12/2020 11:20 AM, 123456789 wrote:
> The Real Bev wrote:
>> 123456789 wrote:
>
>>> Here in the desert, outside summer walking can be dangerous because
>>> of the heat.
>
> Speaking of outside walking dangers perhaps I should add that I live in
> a retirement community with very old drivers and no sidewalks...

Jess Ranch by the beautiful Mojave River by any chance? My mom's friend
moved there. The management gave her shit because she bought her
security door and windows from the wrong company.

>> An excellent reason to stay in and become a couch potato! Not an
>> excuse, a REASON!
>
> An excuse would be no inside treadmill available. And they're not so bad
> with amenities: AC and fan, cold drink, videos, and perhaps the best of
> all instant bathroom privileges... ;)
>
>>> also I disliked the hassle of another [earphone] charger.
>
>> We have plenty of chargers with USB cables, and now I have to add
>> some USB-C adapters for the Pixel. Yeah, a definite improvement, but
>> a nuisance. We LIKED our buggy whips, goddammit!
>
> I've gotten to like wireless charging. So far it's my phone and one
> tablet. I imagine your earbuds would work as well on my wireless charger
> but unfortunately I still couldn't hear them.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that wireless recharging wears the
battery out faster than wired recharging.


--
Cheers, Bev
"Too many people in Washington are full of themselves, among
other things that they are full of." --Thomas Sowell

[nospam]

In article <rol6vb$8mg$1...@dont-email.me>, The Real Bev

<bashl...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > I've gotten to like wireless charging. So far it's my phone and one
> > tablet. I imagine your earbuds would work as well on my wireless charger
> > but unfortunately I still couldn't hear them.
>
> I seem to remember reading somewhere that wireless recharging wears the
> battery out faster than wired recharging.

it does due to heat. however, the phone will still outlast the battery.

[123456789]

The Real Bev wrote:
> 123456789 wrote:

>> Speaking of outside walking dangers perhaps I should add that I
>> live in a retirement community with very old drivers and no
>> sidewalks...

> Jess Ranch by the beautiful Mojave River by any chance?

A place called Pebble Creek in Goodyear AZ. Built on WW2 cotton fields
(not many bug problems because of the leftover DDT). The Goodyear Tire
Company made tires with the cotton which is where the town got its name.
Been here 20 years now.

> My mom's friend moved there. The management gave her shit because
> she bought her security door and windows from the wrong company.

HOAs are a PITA. But the HOA free neighborhood I moved from in Phoenix
is a dump now. Can't live with them, can't live without them...

>> I've gotten to like wireless charging.

> I seem to remember reading somewhere that wireless recharging wears
> the battery out faster than wired recharging.

My wireless charging pad has a standard USB cable so I can plug it into
any size of wall charger. I'm currently using a 750ma wall charger that
doesn't generate any detectable device heat that I can feel. Since I
generally charge overnight slow charging is not a problem. In an
emergency I could plug it into a larger charger but I haven't been in a
hurry in many years... ;)

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:43:19 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> I collected a lot when I was little, and that was before we had access
> to POWERFUL magnets!

It's amazing how much the black sand alongside the roadway was filled with
those small particles... As a kid, I explored everything. Even sand. :)

I remember being a toddler of some age, wondering, for the first time, why
when I dug the hole in the sand at the beach, it kept filling up.

My father was laughing the entire time I tried to scoop the seawater out.
o Given I was likely pre school age, I didn't know it wasn't possible.
--
Sort of like how it is today, teaching people not to believe MARKETING bs.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:08:38 -0500, Alex Trishan wrote:

>> a. If you want Google Play, you simply use Aurora which is far better.
>
> What's Aurora?

Hi Alex Trishan,

We could look up the "official" description of the "Aurora Store" (and we
will); but how I would describe it to someone in an elevator pitch is that
it's EXACTLY the Google Play store, but with only "good things" enabled.
o <https://i.postimg.cc/ydsJVX3R/aurora01.jpg>

For example, it's EXACTLY the same apps (since it logs into the Google Play
store) - which you get anonymously.
o <https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore/-/releases>

And, it's EXACTLY the same search results as Google Play except you get
filters such as Google Play apps which are "free only", "ad free", "not
using google framework", and even, "not from Google" itself.
o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/>

Note that Google Play itself will _never_ give you those search filters!
o The beauty of the Aurora Store is that it's Google Play, only better.
<https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/galaxy-playstore-alternative-t3739733>

If you like, you can use Google Play & the Aurora Store concurrently.
o You can even use your Google Account with both of them (if you want to).
<https://www.reddit.com/r/OculusGo/comments/9y7cqk/aurora_store_play_store_without_play_services/>

Me?

I disable Google Play (although I could enable it if I wanted to).
o I use Aurora Store instead, which is EXACTLY the same - only better.
<https://supreme-gamers.com/resources/aurora-store-the-best-google-play-store-alternative.31/>
--
Note that, while I have tons of Google Accounts, I do not set my Android
operating system to any of them, so that I don't have the Advertiser ID
nor any Google backup to the Google servers.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:36:11 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> So it _must_ be there, somewhere, if we only knew where.
>
> In the settings -- 5 buttons rather than 3.

Hi The Real Bev,

Thanks for that purposefully helpful hint to switch the Maple Player from
the default of 3 buttons to 5 buttons, which now does skip forward & back
within a song the prescribed number of seconds.

> Everything works EXCEPT it doesn't actually play. It's like the
> triangle button just doesn't connect to anything.

Hmmm.... My Maple Player plays songs.
o Dunno why yours doesn't.

>> Nonetheless, moving forward, I'll check out this "rocket" player
>> o Since I usually test most of the software suggested on this ng
>>
>> Whenever we discuss apps, we should post the URL since a lot look alike
>> o Rocket Music Player, by JRT Studio Music Players
>> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.AnotherMusicPlayer>
>
> Good idea. Yes, that one. Curiously enough, it uses the icon for the
> paid rather than the free version.

I apologize for not getting back to you on this.

It took me a while to install Rocket Player as I had a problem with Aurora:
o Is your Aurora Store working for you, logged in anonymously, lately?
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/PxP-9yYpimY>

Installed Rocket Player just now, but I will almost certainly delete it as
I (almost) never install freeware that has ads. I haven't seen any ads in
Rocket Player yet (and I do block all ads anyway); but the _instant_ I see
an ad in _any_ app, that's a fatal kiss of death for that app.

At the moment I'm testing Rocket Player, but I don't yet see how it skips
forward or backward a set interval (e.g., 10 seconds) if it even does that.

[Arlen Holder]

On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:44:18 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> Personally, I agree with 123456789 that there _must_ be a way to make that
>> Maple player skip forward 10 seconds, but whatever it is nobody yet has
>> posted how (to my knowledge) to make it use its own settings to do so.
>> o <https://i.postimg.cc/KcdxChXH/audio09.jpg>
>
> Settings: 5 buttons rather than 3 buttons!

Ah. Thanks! That did it!

That's why I like intelligent people like you, The Real Bev.
o You're purposefully helpful (which is all it takes to be a good person).

By way of contrast, 123456789 couldn't, didn't, and wouldn't help out.
o He proves exactly what he is every time I interact with him.

Thanks for that setting hint to change the Maple Player to five buttons!
1. Previous song
2. Skip backward X seconds (whatever the setting is)
3. Play/Pause
4. Skip forward X seconds (whatever the setting is)
5. Next song

BTW, I almost never (if ever) listen to songs; but I just wanted to follow
the thread, as I generally try everything suggested in almost every thread
so that I can learn more about how things work.
--
When we pool our knowledge, all of us can learn from each other.

[Arlen Holder]

On Wed, 11 Nov 2020 20:16:32 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

> A couple of times a year my mom would treat her cars to a tank of ethyl.
> She figured it couldn't hurt, might help, and didn't cost all that
> much. Even her last car, the POS '88 Eldorado, an ungrateful bastard if
> there ever was one.

What irks me about humankind is that MARKETING is almost always bullshit.

What MARKETING does is play on people's "intuition".

If you know anything about physics, intuition is almost always wrong.

Yet some people trust their intuition more than they trust facts.

It's what irks me most about both Politics & Marketing.

The reason my facts are never wrong is I don't trust my intuition.

I only trust facts.

People put all sorts of "liquid magic" in their vehicles.

Almost all of those liquid miracles are pure MARKETING bullshit.

[The Real Bev]

On 11/16/2020 07:42 AM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:36:11 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:
>
>>> So it _must_ be there, somewhere, if we only knew where.
>>
>> In the settings -- 5 buttons rather than 3.
>
> Hi The Real Bev,
>
> Thanks for that purposefully helpful hint to switch the Maple Player from
> the default of 3 buttons to 5 buttons, which now does skip forward & back
> within a song the prescribed number of seconds.
>
>> Everything works EXCEPT it doesn't actually play. It's like the
>> triangle button just doesn't connect to anything.
>
> Hmmm.... My Maple Player plays songs.
> o Dunno why yours doesn't.
>
>>> Nonetheless, moving forward, I'll check out this "rocket" player
>>> o Since I usually test most of the software suggested on this ng
>>>
>>> Whenever we discuss apps, we should post the URL since a lot look alike
>>> o Rocket Music Player, by JRT Studio Music Players
>>> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrtstudio.AnotherMusicPlayer>
>>
>> Good idea. Yes, that one. Curiously enough, it uses the icon for the
>> paid rather than the free version.
>
> I apologize for not getting back to you on this.
>
> It took me a while to install Rocket Player as I had a problem with Aurora:
> o Is your Aurora Store working for you, logged in anonymously, lately?
> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/PxP-9yYpimY>

No idea what that is.

> Installed Rocket Player just now, but I will almost certainly delete it as
> I (almost) never install freeware that has ads. I haven't seen any ads in
> Rocket Player yet (and I do block all ads anyway); but the _instant_ I see
> an ad in _any_ app, that's a fatal kiss of death for that app.

As long as they don't overlay the entire screen I don't get too upset.
People who write software that we use should get paid for it, and if the
ads do that it's just a minor annoyance I'm willing to put up with.

> At the moment I'm testing Rocket Player, but I don't yet see how it skips
> forward or backward a set interval (e.g., 10 seconds) if it even does that.

I don't think it does. It just skips while you hold down the icons.
Like analog devices did :-) I haven't used it since I started it.

--
Cheers, Bev
My house isn't a pigsty, it's an Immunity Enhancement Center.

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 16 Nov 2020 09:20:27 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> Installed Rocket Player just now, but I will almost certainly delete it as
>> I (almost) never install freeware that has ads. I haven't seen any ads in
>> Rocket Player yet (and I do block all ads anyway); but the _instant_ I see
>> an ad in _any_ app, that's a fatal kiss of death for that app.
>
> As long as they don't overlay the entire screen I don't get too upset.

Regarding these music-player subthreads in:
o Samsung Galaxy S5
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/qTMDmHP9ToI>

Oh, I've seen those that take over the _entire_ screen.
o Mostly on iOS but maybe, perhaps, a long time ago maybe, on Android.

I can't actually remember _seeing_ an ad in a very long time on Android.
o And I have, oh, let me look... I have 561 apps according to My Apps.

> People who write software that we use should get paid for it, and if the
> ads do that it's just a minor annoyance I'm willing to put up with.

That's fine if that is what the user agree to when they use the app.
o I don't want to see ads, so I simply find developers who agree with me.

I do the same, by the way, when I write tutorials or answer questions here.
o I do it for free for the express purpose of helping others do what I do.

>> At the moment I'm testing Rocket Player, but I don't yet see how it skips
>> forward or backward a set interval (e.g., 10 seconds) if it even does that.
>
> I don't think it does. It just skips while you hold down the icons.
> Like analog devices did :-) I haven't used it since I started it.

Well, I love to test freeware so I currently have 5 apps in my audio folder
o Music Player <com.simplemobiletools.musicplayer>
o Music Player Go <com.iven.musicplayergo>
o AIMP <com.aimp.player>
o Maple JB <com.sqr5.android.player_jb>
o Rocket Player <com.jrtstudio.AndotherMusicPlayer>
And, I just noticed when I looked that I have this permanently _disabled_
o Google Play Music <com.google.android.music>

Of those, I only need one, which would likely be the first on the list.
o <https://www.simplemobiletools.com/>

We should really put this all in a separate "music player" thread
o That way all benefit from our efforts (via search engine results)

Maybe this one?
o Google Play Music
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/zep7Cj0yCcw>
--
Usenet allows an exchange of ideas & logic between us for all to benefit.

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 16 Nov 2020 09:20:27 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> It took me a while to install Rocket Player as I had a problem with Aurora:
>> o Is your Aurora Store working for you, logged in anonymously, lately?
>> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/PxP-9yYpimY>
>
> No idea what that is.

Hi The Real Bev,

BTW, I'm not sure if you were saying you don't know what the problem is...
o Or if you were saying you don't know what the Aurora Store is...

If it's the former, don't worry, as I figured out the problem...
o If it was the latter, it behooves all Android owners to know about Aurora

I gave this morning the answer to what it is to someone else, but Aurora
probably deserves a thread all on its own, it's that good (Aurora replaces
Google Play by simply being everything Google Play is, only better).
o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/>

From: Alex Trishan <alek.t...@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: Re: Samsung Galaxy S5
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:08:38 -0500
Message-ID: <rok88m$p1q$1...@dont-email.me>
References: <ro7eba$10cq$1...@neodome.net> <ro8ksq$2di$2...@news.mixmin.net>

Arlen Holder wrote on 11/8/2020 6:30 AM:
> For example:

> a. If you want Google Play, you simply use Aurora which is far better.

What's Aurora?

See my response to Alex in this same thread.
--
The problem with software is that if we only listen to MARKETING, we will
never have the best software out there (we only have what THEY want us to
have).

[The Real Bev]

On 11/16/2020 02:02 PM, Arlen Holder wrote:
> On Mon, 16 Nov 2020 09:20:27 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:
>
>>> It took me a while to install Rocket Player as I had a problem with Aurora:
>>> o Is your Aurora Store working for you, logged in anonymously, lately?
>>> <https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/PxP-9yYpimY>
>>
>> No idea what that is.
>
> Hi The Real Bev,
>
> BTW, I'm not sure if you were saying you don't know what the problem is...
> o Or if you were saying you don't know what the Aurora Store is...

That one! Thanks.

> If it's the former, don't worry, as I figured out the problem...
> o If it was the latter, it behooves all Android owners to know about Aurora
>
> I gave this morning the answer to what it is to someone else, but Aurora
> probably deserves a thread all on its own, it's that good (Aurora replaces
> Google Play by simply being everything Google Play is, only better).
> o <https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/>
>
> From: Alex Trishan <alek.t...@gmail.com>
> Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
> Subject: Re: Samsung Galaxy S5
> Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 16:08:38 -0500
> Message-ID: <rok88m$p1q$1...@dont-email.me>
> References: <ro7eba$10cq$1...@neodome.net> <ro8ksq$2di$2...@news.mixmin.net>
>
> Arlen Holder wrote on 11/8/2020 6:30 AM:
> > For example:
> > a. If you want Google Play, you simply use Aurora which is far better.
>
> What's Aurora?
>
> See my response to Alex in this same thread.


--

Cheers, Bev
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
"With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. However,
this is not necessarily a good idea...."

[Arlen Holder]

On Mon, 16 Nov 2020 17:48:50 -0800, The Real Bev wrote:

>> o Or if you were saying you don't know what the Aurora Store is...
>
> That one! Thanks.

Hi The Real Bev,
I appreciate you clarified, & to further help, I made this screenshot:
o <https://i.postimg.cc/vTQ13DcK/apk01.jpg>

I don't know who it was that turned me on to the Aurora Store, but it was
an epiphany when he told me about it years ago as it replaced Google Play!
o <https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/galaxy-playstore-alternative-t3739733>

Even if I was using the Google Play Store, I would _still_ use Aurora Store
o It's that good.

Notice it gives you _everything_ you'd "want" in Google Play
o None of which would Google MARKETING ever give you

Basically, it's Google Play but with a huge amount of privacy & filters.
a. You can log into Google Play anonymously
b. You can spoof your device, language, location, etc.
c. You can set your download path to save Google Play APKs into
d. You can filter out Google apps from your search results
e. You can filter on free, ad free, gsf free apps in search results
f. You can search by unique package name
g. You can enable/disable automatic extended updates of even disabled apps
etc.
--
What we learn from each other makes us very knowledgeable Android users.