Talented programmer, Andrew Russell is heading on a project that will definitely attract a lot of game developers out there.

Codename as ExEn, the open source tool allows developers to port XNA games to iOS, Silverlight and in Russell is also working on Android and OS X platform as well. In what we called a unique process, this software will make it easier for developers to take games they have created for Windows, Xbox 360, or Windows Phone 7 using Microsoft’s XNA framework and port them to the iPhone or iPad, the Web (Silverlight), and soon to Android devices and Mac OS Xl.

Andrew’s project is socially funded and a public preview (ExEn Public Preview 1) for developers who chip in the donations was just been previewed on Wednesday. You can learn more about the project here.

Everybody has a love-hate relationship with food. No matter what it is as of the moment, we all have to admit that making love with food is the absolute joy that everyone has to agree on! Food is the common thing that everyone has, no matter the race or colour, during special occasions. Android applications won’t fall far behind in this aspect too. There are a number of apps that were made for food. And some of the most downloaded ones are introduced below.

• Favourite Recipes – an application that lets you find amazing recipes, rate, comment, and save a copy of it! This is every home chef’s dream. What better way to try out new stuff than to check out the latest finds uploaded in this android application? This is the perfect pocket cookbook that will make cooking real easy and fun.
• Food-on-the-Table – this is an android application that is most useful to working moms. Whip up a weekly menu to save you the stress of deciding what food to prepare for meals. Get more than a thousand of easy recipes with an integrated list of ingredients to buy. This application also locates the nearest grocery stores and organizes the things to buy per department to save time and money. You would also be able to share with your partner the grocery list if ever there is a need to do so.
• NIH: Food Allergy Information – this is most helpful for those people who have a lot of allergies or for people who have loved-ones who have very sensitive cases of allergies. This application has a broad collection of allergy names, food intolerance, quick treatments and detailed diagnosis. There is also a large section in the application that is dedicated to helping you how to effectively live and survive these allergies.
• Calorie Counter – remember me mentioning the love-hate relationship people have with food? Well, the calorie counter keeps that relationship in check. This android application will give help you identify the calorie and nutrition information you need, it also includes a barcode scanner that you can use on nutrition labels, a food diary that you can use to keep track of the food you just ate during your meals, a weight chart to monitor your progress, and an exercise journal to keep in record the calories you’ve shed.

The most you’ll probably find are cookbooks and diet journals for android applications on food. And there are a lot of really good ones and most of the old applications have been upgraded and re-upgraded to ensure that they function at its best. So feel free to browse and check out the other food applications. Pick out the best one for you and your lifestyle. After all, androids are basically here to make your life easier.

The android technology has been filling almost every aspect of our lives. So why leave out one of your most prized possession? Let your car have a taste of these wonderful android applications that were created specifically for your ride. But these apps aren’t just for your car.

• Android-In-the-Car-Experience – consists mainly of three applications: Car Mode, Map and Navigation. Three of the must-haves in modern car models that were soley created to assist you as you drive. The Car Mode has a voice action feature that makes it easier for you navigate while your hands are full. The Map lets you check out a generated list of nearby spots like restaurants, hotels, gas stations, ATMs, etc. And the Navigation is a complete GPS navigation tool that lets you mark key locations using your computer then later transfer it to your car for directions.
• Waze – an application that is more of a community network wherein you could share with others specific helpful tips like empty parking areas, speed traps, traffic jam updates and accident scenes. You would even be able to share interesting spots that you’ve passed through or new restaurants that you’ve seen during a drive.
• GasBuddy – this is most useful when you’re out for a long drive to a different state or city. This android application gives you the exact location of gas stations near you or in the area where you’re heading to. It is also able to give you an address you can follow to get there. This will save you a lot of time and will give you a sense of security that you’d know where to load up in case you run low on gas.
• aCar – a complicated application but very useful since it would be able to track the maintenance expenses of your car. This android application will also give you a chance to check if your car is operating at its maximum capability to perform. It would be able to provide you with data presented in graphs, charts, and detailed statistics. You can customize it according to your car’s specifications but it might be a bit difficult to do that. However, once done, this application would prove to be one of the handiest.
• Parkdroid – lets you create a map according to how you were able to reach a certain place. This would be very helpful when you’re not a very attentive driver and you’d have to go to this new place for the first time. You would be able to map out the exact directions using this application so you won’t have a hard time going back whenever you need to.

There is still a good number of android applications you can use for your car, but the one’s indicated above are a few of the most downloaded and really popular apps. Choose your pick and drive safely!

New android applications are being released everyday. There are probably thousands available to everyone who needs it. You could just pick one which is most suitable to your needs at the moment. A list below will show some of the applications that a lot of people have been obsessing about. See if any of them would be able to assist you with your daily activities as well.

If you’re a big movie buff or a TV addict, then these android must-haves should be in your smart phones already by now! But if you’ve just bought your first one, then get these to jumpstart your android experience!

• SPB TV – the creators asks for a one-time fee then they let you browse through 100 television channels from over 17 countries. You could catch your favourite TV shows wherever you may be. Could you just imagine having Glee and Vampire Diaries at the tip of your fingers?
• Flixster – definitely the application for huge movie fans. Rotten tomatoes’ ratings can be viewed from this application. Browse through movies showing in your area’s nearest cinemas. The interface is very well-organized and easy to navigate. So whenever you’re out to see this movie you’ve been eyeing for the longest time and you want to hear the other’s review before you watch it, then check out this application.

Music is the universal language. It speaks to everyone no matter what age or sex or race that person may be. That is probably the reason why one way or another, everyone will always enjoy music. And android applications won’t fall behind in offering the best options for users to choose from.

• TuneWiki Social Music Player – though Android has a default music player, you’ll find a lot of reasons why you should get this application as well. You’d get to play the same set of music from your phone’s memory, the only difference is that you’d get to see the lyrics onscreen. Plus there a lot of other features that you could use to advance your player, like making a playlist out of YouTube’s top 50.
• Pandora – is a live streaming music application that lets you listen to songs being played by your local radio stations. You’d also get to see the album art plus the ratings for that song.
• For bookworms, there’s Kindle – the android application that shows you books being sold in Amazon.com. You’d get to choose over thousands of books available online; read the synopsis and reviews; plus a feature that can transfer your bookmarks, highlights or other markers to any other device. This will give you a chance to smoothly transition from your other reading gadgets to your phone and back.

There are a lot of other android applications that will suit your needs. Just make sure you read reviews and descriptions before you decide that it will work for you. After all, there are thousands out there, you’d better the best.

It didn’t seem that long ago when the first mobile phone was introduced to the public, and that feeling of awe and amazement at this new technology. It wasn’t long before everyone started owning mobile phones and companies begun to build more and more advanced and impressive models and systems. Now, no one can keep track of the different models being introduced every day. That new device you recently bought would have at least one week before it will become outdated by a new model soon. However, everyone has been falling in love with this superior technology called Android.

Though a lot of people identify Android with smart phones, which is a common misunderstanding. Android is an operating system that has become the world’s best-selling and extremely popular smart phone platform. But it doesn’t work solely for mobile phones only. Think of it as a small office, or a small entertainment venue, a school, a playground made to fit in your very pocket! And the best thing about Android is that it is open source, which means that it is absolutely free. The open source community has been working day and night to give us cool and amazing stuff! Android applications are being developed, improved and upgraded every day.

Android applications have been taking the world on fire. Because of the open source nature of the Android OS, all kinds of applications have been made available for everyone. You can do everything from checking the game updates of your favourite sport, to streaming live your favourite television shows, and to listening to the new singles of your favourite band. You can check the weather and see if your scheduled vacation with your family would be sunny or a bit rainy. Search for just about anything under the sun with just a simple tap. Everything is literally at your finger’s reach. Re-connect with long lost friends through popular social networking sites. Post pictures and share your thoughts, blog and create reviews all through Android. And the fun doesn’t stop there, for everyone’s favourite is also one of Android’s much-loved things to tweak. Widgets are also a common choice for tech-savvy people. You could put different widgets on your desktop for free. You would be amazed at how much you can do with Android that you wouldn’t be able to imagine the world without it.

Another great thing about Android applications is that when you’re having trouble with it, a huge support community would be there to help you out free of charge. Talk to hundreds of people dedicated to answer your questions no matter how complicated they are.

Because of the easy accessibility of Android, the market is coming up every day with different mobile phones that are cheap and affordable. It wouldn’t be long before everyone is given the chance to have a bit of Android in their world.

When Apple announced the iPad last year January, it was not the end of the PC era but rather a new chapter. The company who is known for reinventing the wheel did just that when they took a form factor that has been around for some time now and revolutionized it. In that time the company sold 15 million of the original iPad units and with the launch of the iPad 2 earlier this year, it is clear that they are hell bent on keeping their market dominance.

Google on the other hand is hell bent on destroying that dominance and with the help of Honeycomb and manufacturers such as ASUS, Samsung and HTC, they hope to topple Apple’s short lived king as the ruler of the tablet sphere. (more…)

The android craze has hit the world with such storm that thousands upon thousands of applications have been released for everyone’s use! You can choose from an extensive array of different kinds of android applications from business, movies, music, games, lifestyle, health and many more. So it wouldn’t come as a surprise if you’d want to be a part of the fun as well and create your own android application as well. You can have it for your own use and you can also have it available for everyone to download. Listed below are the different ways you can start your Android application project.

1. Application Development Tool – several companies allow you to use their platforms. Though you might not be able to achieve that complicated feel you are hoping to have, at least you’ll be able to make your first android application. There are usually templates you can choose from and then some tools let you choose what kind of application you’d want to create (eg. Music, ebook, etc)
2. Let the professionals do it for you – if you’re so much into having a unique and customized android application but you don’t have the patience and the time to do it then the only option you have is to find someone else who can do it for you. There are several companies who will be able to help you with this. Though, this may be a bit expensive but it will definitely be worth your money. Just make sure that you be very clear with the specifications you want your android application to have. Take the time to agree with the time frame.



3. Do it Yourself – the hardest way of creating your own android application is probably to create everything from scratch but it is the most fulfilling as well. This is the most time consuming and energy draining way too. However, you’d be able to customize everything to the smallest detail of your android application. You’d feel like the biggest genius after you finish your app. Best way to start is by downloading the development tools, buy a book to explain to you the basics then talk to professionals as well. In no time, you’ll learn everything there is to know about creating an android application — enough for companies to hire you as a developer.

These are probably the three basic ways you can build an android application. Pick which of the three you think would work best for you. Use a tool — ask for help — or think, “what the heck! I’m gonna do this myself!” whichever you decide to choose, make sure you have fun and learn! Then let your Android application do its magic!

We had a report on Google’s security flaw yesterday which could affect 99% of Android smartphones, now an official Google statement reads that a fix is imminent for the widespread issue which does not need any action from the consumers as it is has been patched on the server side.

“Today we’re starting to roll out a fix which addresses a potential security flaw that could, under certain circumstances, allow a third party access to data available in calendar and contacts. This fix requires no action from users and will roll out globally over the next few days.”

The said exploit has been discovered by a team of researchers from a University in Germany who recently released their findings online.

The researchers at the University of Ulm, Germany are not impressed with the security in Android smartphones after they found several exploits that could lead to a great damage in Android user’s privacy. What they has found is that any Android smartphones running firmware versions prior to the previous 2.3.3 are prone to ClientLogin authentication protocol exploit. Below are the explanation which has been quoted from their article:

ClientLogin is meant to be used for authentication by installed applications and Android apps. Basically, to use ClientLogin, an application needs to request an authentication token (authToken) from the Google service by passing an account name and password via a https connection. The returned authToken can be used for any subsequent request to the service API and is valid for a maximum duration of 2 weeks. However, if this authToken is used in requests send over unencrypted http, an adversary can easily sniff the authToken (e.g. with Wireshark, see screenshot below). Because the authToken is not bound to any session or device specific information the adversary can subsequently use the captured authToken to access any personal data which is made available through the service API. For instance, the adversary can gain full access to the calendar, contacts information, or private web albums of the respective Google user. This means that the adversary can view, modify or delete any contacts, calendar events, or private pictures. This is not limited to items currently being synced but affects all items of that user.

The attack is very similar to stealing session cookies of websites (Sidejacking). The feasibility of Sidejacking attacks against well-known websites such as Facebook or Twitter, has lately been demonstrated by the Firesheep plugin which attracted a lot of attention.

Here is a screenshot from Wireshark program that shows the authToken for ClientLogin in a data API request to the Picasa Web Albums service, an experiment that has been done by the group of researchers.

Google just released 2.3.4 version update few weeks ago but there are still a lot of phone providers out there that did not roll out the latest version yet. So, if you are still on 2.3.3, and that there is no 2.3.4 available for you, it is better if you stay away from any open WiFi networks nearest you as to what has been suggested by the researchers. Ok, now i need to check which Android version my phone is running to.