32 replies to this topic

[NuShrike]

Following up on: http://www.modaco.co...40/#entry875638

CamerAware Buddy is a finger friendly app for adjusting the WiFi scan interval, and cleans up the zombie chunk of ram the Navizon API leaves behind after CamerAware (running Navizon), or Navizon itself, quits.  CA Buddy is great when you want to save battery while walking, and still adjust automatically when you're at vehicle speeds (and hopefully plugged in!) without performing a complicated dance of registry editors or hard-coded cabs.
Thanks to shogunmark originally for the idea.

Features:

• Dynamic auto-selection of the WiFi ping scan-interval from 1 to 60 seconds (default usually 20 or 60) modulated by using real-time data from the GPS Intermediate Driver (WM5 and up)
  
• 1.0.1.x: turn off the screen (or let it time out) and continue to collect points

Usage:
Do NOT run CA or Navizon directly, use this program instead.

• Select CamerAware mode or Navizon mode
  
• Quit it after you "Exit" from CA/Navizon
  
• force-KILL the app started up if the app hasn't actually exited cleanly and still hanging around and onto ~2MB chunk of ram.  The Navizon .NETCF API tends to do that, although it eventually does go away by itself after minutes and minutes and minutes.
  
• Show to quick flip to the app currently running.  It's not 100% accurate for CamerAware because it the root window handle seems to change sometimes.
  
• GPS is an incomplete debugging area to see if the GPS is working or wedged, and this can happen a lot with Navizon's code or WM6.0's GPS code.  Also, this page can be used as a very fast and lightweight way to bootstrap the GPS (versus GPStest), and more visual than FusionGPSFix.

Installation:
CA Buddy is tested for storage card installed CamerAware/Navizon, and in-storage-ram installation.  The program WILL scan the preferred path and then soft-fail to the alternate path that's listed to find and execute.

It's small and fast @ 41KB ram.  With GPSauto-set running, the cpu-load is ~0% on the FUZE/Touch Pro.

Note:
The current assumption in calculating the wifi auto-scan value is 10 meters per hotspot.  Let me know if this is too generous, or too conservative.

Release Notes:

• 2010/Mar/28 v1.0.1.4: updates
  
• 2009/Feb/22 v1.0.1.1: power saving improvements (199)
  
• 2009/Jan/20 v1.0.0.16 (13)
  
• 2009/01/07 v1.0.0.15: lots of polish; cpu optimizations
  
• 2008/02/26 v1.0.0.10:
  Updated for the recent RC releases.  Will still support the beta CA3 if you have it installed.  Still bugs to fix including SHOW which has grown more unreliable as I haven't been able to investigate why the root hWnd for CA keeps changing.
  
• 2008/02/12 v1.0.0.9:
  • Remembers CA or Navizon mode selection.
    
  • Fix Auto-Set not shutting down GPS access when unselected (leaking a handle each time) until application exit.
    
  • EXPERTS ONLY: Lets you turn force off/on the GPS Intermediate Driver as well as AGPS (in the registry) to debug compatibility with other GPS programs, manually power-save, whatever.  Turning off GPSID could cause running GPS programs to go bonkers and WILL prevent new connections to the GPS.  Useful to test if manual restart could unwedge corrupted GPS access.
• 2008/02/08 v1.0.0.7: Fixes missing storage path for Navizon; cab installer added.
  
• v1.0.0.6: this is revision alpha Next

Attached Files

•  CA_Buddy.1.0.1.1.CAB   45.44K   354 downloads
•  CA_Buddy.1.0.1.4.CAB   45.7K   162 downloads

Edited by NuShrike, 29 March 2010 - 01:22 AM.

[cheshire_carper]

When I run it, it cannot find the Navizon prog. It points to \prog files\navizon\navizon.exe but the fields where it appears you can edited the path are blanked out

[cheshire_carper]

cheshire_carper, on Feb 8 2008, 09:33, said:

When I run it, it cannot find the Navizon prog. It points to \prog files\navizon\navizon.exe but the fields where it appears you can edited the path are blanked out

Also clicking Action says 'Selected program not found'

[bigdish]

Hi
No problems at all with your first version. The option to point at CA in either the phone or storage card program files works.
The reg changes for the scan interval also.
Re. the dynamic auto selection how will it work if you are in the car in a large commercial area stuck in traffic ?
I am assuming that the scan interval increases because you are not moving.
It is at times like this I find the 1sec scan helpful because of the sheer number of AP's about.
To keep my scanning at say 1sec I tick the Auto Set option to off ?
Finally The option to run Navizon only does not give the progam/storage card option.
Many thanks for a neat prog.
r
Andrew

[NuShrike]

cheshire_carper, on Feb 8 2008, 02:33, said:

When I run it, it cannot find the Navizon prog. It points to \prog files\navizon\navizon.exe but the fields where it appears you can edited the path are blanked out

Yes, I must bone headed about this and forgot I was testing installation of Navizon in main storage to see if it was more stable that way and assumed it always installed in storage.   Fix uploading.

I'm not allowing manual path override right now not only because I can't get a decent system file dialog to allow navigation to one, but that it's also bad programming security.

bigdish: Yes, if you prefer it to stay @ 1, don't use auto-set and stay with the default manual selection.

I'm just playing with dynamic auto-select because it's cool to use GPS data, and maybe I can come up with a slower backoff algorithm that prefers lower scan times versus high.  It reacts at as fast as the GPS tells me it has data to feed me; generally about every second.  I don't poll so it's much lighter cpu.

Edited by NuShrike, 08 February 2008 - 06:45 PM.

[Shadowfixeruk]

NuShrike - what a great tool!
xda developers have some cabs that i have been using to change the wifi scan speed and they have worked a treat - why have a dog and bark yourself - CABuddy makes the changes for me...  

Can i be so bold as to ask for a feature request?
is there any way that i can get CABuddy to save my settings?  When i open up CABuddy i have to select my install location & check the "use navizon" box each time i start the app...  its pretty tricky whilst driving .

Also not sure what the rules are on cross posting - but i would suggest putting a link on the "navizon" thread (i know Paul asked you to take it out of the CA <Hearts> thread).... the amount of AP's that you locate really increases when you increas the scan speed

I would put a link onto the xda dev forum for you but i don't know if you can be bothered with the additional "support" pain

Thanks again..

SF

Edited by Shadowfixeruk, 11 February 2008 - 03:45 PM.

[NuShrike]

Shadowfixeruk, on Feb 11 2008, 08:37, said:

Can i be so bold as to ask for a feature request?
is there any way that i can get CABuddy to save my settings?  When i open up CABuddy i have to select my install location & check the "use navizon" box each time i start the app...  its pretty tricky whilst driving .

Thanks.  I'm glad it's helping people enjoy the experience.  So sure.. not too hard to do soon.

Btw, you don't really need to select the install location except for Navizon mode override.  It'll scan the listed paths and run the one that has a file actually there before complaining.

As for XDA, I'm pretty sure some of them already browse this thread too, so I prefer questions here for now.

[NuShrike]

Shadowfixeruk, on Feb 11 2008, 08:37, said:

[snip]
is there any way that i can get CABuddy to save my settings?  When i open up CABuddy i have to select my install location & check the "use navizon" box each time i start the app...  its pretty tricky whilst driving .

Done plus some other stuff posted.

[NuShrike]

Updated to support latest RC revisions of CamerAware.

[bigdish]

Thanks for the update.
Working well - I use when not using CA3.
r
Andrew

[NuShrike]

version 1.0.0.15 [2009/01/07]:  Happy New Year!

Here's the latest version after months of self-beta:

• screen-rotate supported
  
• updated core GPS code (shared with FusionGPSFix)
  
• new icon
  
• connection to GPS for AutoScan isn't activated until app is actually running -- immediately deactivated when AutoScan is turned off (better power savings)
  
• AutoScan preference is preserved also
  
• registry backup of WiFi settings attempted in case of device/app crash
  
• CamerAware 3 beta support removed
  
• works fine on FUZE
  
• works well with FusionGPSFix

Edited by NuShrike, 08 January 2009 - 02:39 AM.

[Shaggylive]

NuShrike, on Jan 7 2009, 19:20, said:

version 1.0.0.15 [2009/01/07]:  Happy New Year!

Here's the latest version after months of self-beta:

• screen-rotate supported
  
• updated core GPS code (shared with FusionGPSFix)
  
• new icon
  
• connection to GPS for AutoScan isn't activated until app is actually running -- immediately deactivated when AutoScan is turned off (better power savings)
  
• AutoScan preference is preserved also
  
• registry backup of WiFi settings attempted in case of device/app crash
  
• CamerAware 3 beta support removed
  
• works fine on FUZE
  
• works well with FusionGPSFix

Thanks, for the update!  can't wait to take it for a spin!
btw, I remember trying this a while back, but stopped using it for some reason..  anyway your latest post over @ navizon brought me back.  is it ok if I post a link to this thread and amazing tool on another site?

[NuShrike]

Shaggylive, on Jan 13 2009, 12:50, said:

Thanks, for the update!  can't wait to take it for a spin!
btw, I remember trying this a while back, but stopped using it for some reason..  anyway your latest post over @ navizon brought me back.  is it ok if I post a link to this thread and amazing tool on another site?

Ya, feel free to link on. Thanks.

I'm going to post a newer version fairly soon too to fix a bug in restore-registry-settings code.  Also, cooking in accelerated fixed-point math that works better for these fpu-less devices just for kicks, and to exercise the library.

Edited by NuShrike, 15 January 2009 - 06:58 AM.

[Mike Sundstrom]

The paths to either "\storage card\program files" or "\program files" aren't working for me since I have a localized (Swedish) version of WM 6.1
My path is \Program. Is there a way for me to change this? tried to look through the registry but with no luck.

/Mike S

[Shadowfixeruk]

Hi Nushrike - is there anyway that you can provide support for ?AppToDate
? in the next version of CABuddy

Cheers
SF

[NuShrike]

Mike Sundstrom, on Jan 15 2009, 03:02, said:

The paths to either "\storage card\program files" or "\program files" aren't working for me since I have a localized (Swedish) version of WM 6.1
My path is \Program. Is there a way for me to change this? tried to look through the registry but with no luck.

/Mike S

You're right!  I forgot to use the system APIs to give me the proper localized system paths.  I'll fix this asap.

I'll see if I can figure out how to add AppToDate support.

[Mike Sundstrom]

Great! I'll keep my eyes open for an update.

/M

[bigdish]

Thanks for the update.
Working well on the Touch HD.
r
Andrew

[NuShrike]

version 1.0.0.16

NuShrike, on Jan 15 2009, 17:02, said:

You're right!  I forgot to use the system APIs to give me the proper localized system paths.  I'll fix this asap.

Okay, localized Program Files and Storage Card support now baked in.  Uses custom fixed-point math library (shared with LevelSight) to avoid some floating-point calculations in the auto-set routines due to non-existent FPU even in current high-end HTC/Qualcomm devices.

Let me know how it works out for you.  Meantime, working on some power-optimizations for the next revision.

Edited by NuShrike, 21 January 2009 - 12:13 AM.

[PaulOBrien]

AppToDate support?

P