Derby 2.0 just released

Hi folks,

I just released a new version of my puzzle game Derby. It is a logic game where you have to order the game field. The color of every pebble in the columns must match the color of the one in the bottom column. To make the game more challenging, yo can only use the knight move from the chess when swapping two pebbles. but enough talk, let's give it a spin!

New features:

• Brand new, clean design which fits on any screens from the smallest phone to te largest tablet
• Redesigned game area which helps understanding the goal of the game in a glance
• An ear-catching background music and fresh sound effects
• Completely rewritten code which drastically improves stability and performance
• You can enjoy the game ads-free with a one-time in-app payment

Some screenshots:

A handy tool for Android UI designers

Hi folks,

As any UI designer can tell, designing UI elements with the tools given in the SDK can be a real pain in the add. Recently I stumbled upon a very handy tool which can help a lot with the everyday design work by providing a nice and user friendly interface for creating 9-patches, app icons and action bar/menu assets.

Here is the link, have fun!
http://android-ui-utils.googlecode.com/hg/asset-studio/dist/index.html

Setting the locale of your application from code

Hi folks,

The built-in localization system of the Android is pretty straightforward, but sometimes you will need to change the locale of your app without changing the global locale settings on the device. If you really need this, the process is easy. Just create an Application subclass and load a locale code from somewhere (from the app preferences, from the device location, etc.):

public class LocalizedApplication extends Application {

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        initLocalization();
        super.onCreate();
    }
    
    private void initLocalization() {
        // Load a locale with specifying an IETF language
        // code, the short one:
        String languageToLoad = "en";
        // or the country-specific:
        String languageToLoad = "en_US";
        Locale locale = new Locale(languageToLoad);
        // or load a Locale directly:
        Locale locale = Locale.US;
        Locale.setDefault(locale);
        Configuration config = new Configuration();
        config.locale = locale;
        getBaseContext().getResources()
            .updateConfiguration(config, getBaseContext().
                getResources().getDisplayMetrics());
    }
}

You have to specify in the manifest xml that you using your own application subclass:

<application
        android:debuggable="true"
        android:icon="@drawable/launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:name=".base.LocalizedApplication">

        <!-- other manifest stuff goes here -->

</application>

A word of advice: this should be considered only as a final solution, if your app logic (or your client) really needs to manage the locale settings by itself. While this is a perfectly working and correct solution, changing the locale in this way goes against the common Android practice, and it can confuse the users of your  application.

Using the Nexus S with Windows 8

Hi folks,

recently I upgraded my personal notebook running Windows 7 to Windows 8 64-bit RTM. There was one big setback that the system did not recognize my Nexus S device as an ADB interface, so I could not use it for development. Here are the steps to bring it back to life:

Open Device Manager, then find your device in the Other devices group. Right click on it, then select the Upgrade driver software option.

Automatic search will not work (otherwise it would do the trick the first time you connected your phone to the computer), so select the second option.

Because I upgraded from Windows 7, the needed drivers are already in the system, but somehow the Windows 8 will not use them unless you tell it so. Select the second option, and on the next screen select ADB Interface.

If you installed previously the Google USB drivers from the Android SDK, there could be a lot more options in this screen. In this case browse for the Samsung drivers, and select the most recent.

That's all, happy debugging! :-)