Tuesday 31 July 2012

The right date for Android image editor Aviary


Easy Photo Editor used to be the only free image editor for Android that didn't mess up the time and date tags in your exif data.

But not anymore. Aviary added exif preservation a while ago, but failed to keep the date you shot your pictures. The latest update fixes this issue. The new edition of Aviary lets you choose which date you want: date of picture taken or date of picture edited. It works for the exif (android) tag, but not (yet?) for exif (IFD0). Use Jpeg Exif Viewer to check the difference.

Why do exif date tags matter? First, they remind you when you shot that World Press Photo winning picture. Second, having the right date in the exif tags makes your pictures appear in the right sequence in gallery apps like Androids built-in image gallery.

Other reasons to use Aviary: it saves your original image resolution up to 12 megapixels, and I couldn't find any ad banners in it (unlike Easy Photo Editor, which is adware). The recent update adds a level too, so now you can straighten up your pictures.

Aviary also lets you choose your own picture output folder, but there's a catch. When I tried to set my own folder, Aviary complained that I didn't have OI File Manager installed. I have ES File Explorer and X-plore, but Aviary refuses to work with them. So there's something left to fix in a future update.

Even with the file manager annoyance, Aviary has jumped ahead of its competitor. I wonder what the maker of Easy Photo Editor will do to catch up?

Aviary



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Sunday 29 July 2012

Timers4Me lets you set your favourite start tab



Timers4Me is the most versatile free Android stopwatch and countdown timer out there. It also comes with a built-in alarm clock, but this part is far from ready for human consumption. Alarms Solo is better equipped for waking me up.

The timer and stopwatch part of Timers4Me are excellent, though. Multiple timers that you can run together, lap timing, it's all there.

When you launch the app it brings you straight to the countdown timer tab, but if you'd rather go somewhere else then now you can. The new edition of Timers4Me lets you choose your own startup tab. If you want the app to launch straight into the stopwatch tab, just head to the settings menu and make it happen.

Room for improvement: make the scrollwheels for time entry optional instead of forced, increase alarm duration because one minute is not enough (tip: use a long MP3 to make the alarm sound longer), alarm tone looping, more snooze options, and maybe integrate the functions of ClockSync and TM World Clock? A few updates could turn Timers4Me into the ultimate Android time app.

Timers4Me (Google Play)


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Wednesday 18 July 2012

BugMeNot for Android remembers


Bugmenot.com stores user names and passwords of "public" accounts for forums and other websites. If a site demands that you log in but you don't want to make an account, BugMeNot often helps out.

The BugMeNot Android app makes using BugMeNot in Android web browsers a lot easier. Instead of having to copy/paste the offending URL into bugmenot.com you can send it to the app with Androids built-in share menu.

Repeat visits don't require repeat sending of the URL to the BugMeNot app, because it now remembers the sites you asked passwords for. Of course you can remove remembered sites from the list, so don't let the new search history feature stop you from sneaking into (cough) wildlife picture sites.

You still have to copy/paste the user name and password back into the target site, though. Maybe this will be automated one day, but it looks like this requires a browser specific solution. A BugMeNot add-on for popular mobile browser Dolphin would be a good start.

BugMeNot on Google Play
bugmenot.com


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