[NTLK] Einstein on Android troubles

Tue Sep 30 05:23:24 EDT 2014

Matthias (et al):

Thanks for your suggestions. I was able to get everything fixed (Einstein is now up and running!) a couple of days ago, but this is the first I've had the time to respond.

I'm actually glad that I got your email after I got it figured out...respectfully, your statement about "start(ing) from scratch. There are no other settings hidden anywhere" was inaccurate.

It turns out, I was able to REALLY "start from scratch" by unchecking a box I found in the Settings app, under the "Backup & reset" menu, for Automatic Restore: "When reinstalling an app, restore backed up settings and data." What was happening, apparently, was that every time I was unin- and re-installing Einstein, whatever the initial problem was--corrupted data, bad settings, etc.--kept being reinstalled, which is why things seemed to just get worse and worse.

Once I deleted all traces of Einstein, unchecked that box and reinstalled it, everything went very smoothly. I got the menu screen that I didn't have before, asking me if I wanted to install the (downloaded) package: then Einstein transferred it, then installed it.

Matthias, you and all the others who have contributed on this project deserve much credit. Thank you!

Thanks,
--Forrest

"The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place."
--Douglas Adams

On Sep 28, 2014, at 2:41 AM, Matthias Melcher <mm at matthiasm.com> wrote:

> 
> Hi Forrest,
> 
> Sorry to hear that you have trouble using Einstein. Einstein on Android has a very minimal user interface due to the lack of time on my side. I am not an Android developer - heck, I didn't even know Java until I ported Einstein.
> 
> But let me try to solve your issues.
> 
> All data that EInstein uses or generates is in /Downloads/Einstein. If you clear or delete that directory, you start from scratch. There are no other settings hidden anywhere.
> 
> I take from you mail that you managed to install Einstein, install the ROM, and launch the NewtonOS. You even managed to install the Y10K stuff at some point and a few packages.
> 
> So, if you want to try from scratch, empty the "/Downloads/Einstein" directory. Put a fresh copy of the ROM image into it and NEwtonOS should boot up after a while.
> 
> If you want to install the Y10K patch, you need to (and can) do that only once. It should be the first thing you do: launch Einstein, then go into the (any) Android internet browser and find the patch somewhere in an uncompressed form. Just tap on the .pkg file, and a dialog box should appear, offering you various apps that handle .pkg files. If no other apps registered for .pkg files, Einstein should pop up right away and install the package. This is really all that should be needed for this and all other packages.
> 
> To install the network components, you *must* install them in the order described on googlecode. If you mess up the order, you basically need to start over from scratch (new ROM file, new patches, etc.). The network emulation runs very slow and is mostly limited to http communication. I never managed to sync all the way through with NCX.
> 
> The emulation hence is pretty much stand-alone. Serial port emulation has been attempted, but never succeeded. If you need to back up the Newton memory, just copt the /Downloads/Einstein/Flash file somewhere else.
> 
> I hope this helps a little.
> 
> On Sep 26, 2014, at 11:54 PM, Forrest <newtonphoenix at mindspring.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hello all,
>> 
>> A few weeks ago while at a local Fry's Electronics I picked up a Hisense Android 7" tablet. I'd heard a lot about Android and wanted to see what all the fuss was about (even though I use Apple products)--plus I wanted to also install Einstein on it.
>> 
>> While I've been VERY impressed with the Android OS, I've had quite a bit of difficulty with Einstein. I spent nearly all of my waking hours last Friday and Saturday trying to get it to install and work properly...at first, I was able to install the 2010 patch, then I got three of the necessary Internet packages to install. However, since then I've been unable to get anything else on there. I even deleted the app completely and then tried to reinstall it--twice. Neither instance would even update to the 2010 patch as before...nor could I install any other packages.
>> 
>> Here's some more relevant information:
>> 1) It's Android 4.1. I have downloaded and installed the APK (05-01-2013) from the code.google.com/p/einstein site, as requested to the Download/Einstein folder. (Yes, the other files/packages are all found there as well.)
>> 2) There is a Newton lightbulb icon on the taskbar. When I tap it, I get a new Android window with a list of menu items, including "Install packages", which only takes me to whatever window is currently open in the Einstein app. The "Preferences" button does nothing.
>> 3) Unlike the OS X Einstein app, there are no icons above the actual Einstein window (Power, Backlight, Network, Install Package).
>> 4) When it worked, Einstein would boot up, and then the message "Installing packages" (with a progress bar) would appear and it would then, well, install packages--the patch, and then whatever else I would move into the Downloads/Einstein folder. That has stopped.
>> 5) I was connecting to my MacBook Pro with a USB cable to move files/packages to and from the tablet. I've since found and installed a file manager app (ES File Explorer) to eliminate all that fuss. I can download directly or, if necessary, use Dropbox to move files.
>> 6) There are no other installation issues or any problems at all with the tablet and its other functions...just Einstein.
>> 
>> I'm about to give up on the entire experience--I could certainly use some help. I have run out of ideas.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> --Forrest
>> 
>> "The idea that Bill Gates has appeared like a knight in shining armour to lead all customers out of a mire of technological chaos neatly ignores the fact that it was he who, by peddling second-rate technology, led them into it in the first place."
>> --Douglas Adams
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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>> 
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>> The Newton Glossary           http://splorp.com/newton/glossary/
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
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> The Official Newton FAQ       http://splorp.com/newton/faq/
> The Newton Glossary           http://splorp.com/newton/glossary/