Droid Explorer 0.8.7.0

A new version of Droid Explorer was put up for download late last night. This version was initially just a maintenance release and consisted of more code refactoring. But it has since turned in to an actual release since some of the newly added features could be somewhat buggy.

One of the changes, code wise, is that all projects have been upgraded to Visual Studio 2010. Along with that, the WiX installer project now uses WiX 3.5.

I fixed the bug where files would no longer open on your system when double clicked. This may not have been an issue with all ROMs, but with CyanogenMod, it was. It seemed that 95% of the files on the system are marked as  “Executable” in CyanogenMod now.

The biggest change is that you can now specify that you want to use an existing Android SDK, instead of having Droid Explorer download a trimmed down version of the SDK. This is really more for the advanced setup, and if you don’t have the SDK already setup, it is best you let Droid Explorer set it up for you.

Once you select that you want to use your existing SDK, during the install, you will be prompted for the path of the SDK. If the installer is unable to find the necessary components in the selected directory, you will be prompted with a message stating that it is not a valid SDK directory. Make sure you are selecting the root of your Android SDK.

Downloads

• x86 Web Installer
• x64 Web Installer
• x86 Standalone Installer
• x64 Standalone Installer

Boot Animation Preview 1.5 Released

A new version of the Boot Animation Preview tool is available for download.

Changes

• Minor fixes to the animation algorithm
• Now Requires .NET 4.0
• Able to create animations from a directory containing 1 or more “parts”

Download

Boot Animation Preview 1.4

Boot Animation Preview is a tool that allows you to preview a boot animation on your PC without having to install it on the device and reboot just to see it. It also has the ability to create an animation GIF image from the animation to be used on a website or forum for showing the visitors a preview of the animation. If ADB is in the system path, then it can also apply the image to the attached device.

I’ve uploaded a new version of the Boot Animation Preview this morning. It fixes an issue of not loading boot animations that use Jpeg’s. This is the only change in the release.

The application requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 be installed on the machine. It also requires ADB be in the Path environment variable if you want to set the boot animation to a connected Android device.

Download

Droid Explorer in Community Coding Contest 2010

Droid Explorer is the first entry submitted to the Community Coding Contest 2010. Projects can enter until September 1st, 2010 and the winners have a chance to win prizes totaling over $18,000. I will need your help when voting commences September 2nd 2010, as the winner is selected by the number of votes it receives from the actual community.

This contest is put together by Chris Pietschmann. He is the contest coordinator and an Microsoft MVP on the Windows Live Platform. Chris donated 1 Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN Subscription, valued at $11,899USD, which he received from Microsoft to give out to the community. If you would like to donate additional prizes to the contest and be a sponsor, you can contact them.

Twimager 1.0.17 Released

An update to Twimager went up on the market yesterday. This release was minor changes from 1.0.16 and 1.0.17.

Changes:

• Fixed issue with TweetPhoto zoom view loading an blank screen
• Fixed ow.ly support being lost between 1.0.15 & 1.0.16
• Fixed force close when saving the image while in zoom view

The new version is available on the Android market.