PHP 5, MySQL web server on Android

Want to run a web app server on your smartphone or tablet? Specifically, run a full fledge PHP-MySQL Web Server straight from your Android device.

Well, there are a few pre-built apps on the Google App Store. In the past, there were a few lightweight HTTP servers running customize apps like AirDroid or PAW. These new ones have full PHP and MySQL run-times.

I tried a few and settled with Bit Web Server. I also tried KSWEB.

Bit WebServer also comes with PHPMyAdmin (PMA) installed and you are ready to go.
You can install Drupal and Wordpress as well. I got Code Igniter running without any problems.

A few notes. These apps tend to be a bit buggy. They can force-quit or hang under load. I can't really blame them as the fault may be with Android OS itself or the hardware I am running. I've tried them with the Galaxy Nexus and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. I've been reading that the OS (Jelly Bean and ICS) may starve the apps due to power savings and other reasons such as auto close.

I can't really complain though. I'm not running anything mission critical. If the app crashes, I simply restart it. It comes in handy show off web apps.

Moreover, it runs LIGHTTPD instead of Apache so PHP run as a CGI.

The apps range from $2 to $3. Yeah, you're paying for open source software and may have an issue with it. However, think about the time you are saving without having to resort to building PHP/MySQL from scratch and make it work on your phone. I have no problem with the pricing.

Just add a keyboard and you are ready to go!

Links:

Bit Web Server
KSWEB.

Turn a Galaxy Tab 2.0 7" into a working desktop.

With some accessories, the 7" Galaxy Tab 2.0 can be turned into a productive desktop workstation.
Docked in an Arkon fold-up stand and connected to a Graybean USB OTG hub, the Tab 2 can be propped up with extended storage and input I/O.

The Graybean OTG USB hub supports 3 USB inputs and various sd/tf/mmc cards. I already have other OTG cables but I like the fact this sport several USB ports.

Here, I attached the Tab to a USB docked 2TB SATA drive, various USB sticks, USB keyboard and mouse.

A few notes on this setup:

A power adapter does not come with the hub yet it has a port for external power. You can't even power a keyboard or mouse without external power. I don't know if this an oversight or missing items from my order. Luckily, I had a spare power adapter on hand that worked with this hub.

Next, you can't have more than 3 USB drives connected. I've tried and it will randomly unmount drives until it has two available. The hub's sd card reader will override the internal micro-sd card. This is with a stock non-rooted device. Rooted, you can probably mount more devices.

Everything else works since Android's ICS supports USB HID and storage device. The mouse and keyboard works great. I noticed that many applications do not work as well as their desktop counterpart. For example, in Chrome, you can't right click and open a link in a new tab nor can you create a tab with a keyboard. Scrolling is reverse (aka natural scroll) similar to what you would find in OSX Lion. If you move the mouse down, the page scroll ups. Furthermore, I can't seem to disable the on-screen soft keyboard. It gets annoying whenever I reach an text input area and the soft key pops up.

So far, I use the Tab to type up simple Word compatible .docx notes and use connectbot to turn the Tab 2 into a SSH terminal. I tried a few RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) apps but the 7" screen is too small to make it useable even with a mouse and keyboard. 

I am using an Arkon stand and I think it is amazing piece of accessory for $8. It is compact, folds up easily, and works with 7" and 10" tablets like the iPad. A few people I know who have seen the Arkon stand rushed out and ordered ones for themselves. I seem to prefer using it over propping up the Tab 2 with a folio case.

Overall, this new setup has renewed my interests with the Tab 2.  I prefer the 10" Tablet size and I'm constantly trying to justify the 7" form factor. This now keeps my interest on the Tab 2 from waning.



LINKS:
Arkon Fold-up tablet stand at Amazon
Graybean USB OTG Hub at Amazon

Google's Offline Maps

On June 6, 2012, Google announced Offline Maps for Android devices. Wow, this sounds great until you actually use it. Like many people, I had the expectations I could ditch my Navigon and Co-Pilot satnav apps on my 7" Galaxy Tab 2. For those expecting to get a free satnav solution for the Asus Nexus 7 device will be in for a big surprise as well.

How it works? You can store offline maps by selecting a coverage area.


For actual usage, it only works as a pre-cache or a backup data source for your navigation route. If you have a route/navigation set, you can use it as a cache in the likely chance you may encounter dropped data connections while travelling. In theory, this works fine if you  have a data connection like I do on my Galaxy Nexus.

If you use it on a WiFi only device like the Galaxy Tab 2 or Nexus 7, you will need to make your route beforehand while you are in the vicinity of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Now for my complaints. It shouldn't be called offline maps. Rather, it should be billed as a backup cache for your navigation. Sure, you can scroll around the map but thats it. You can't do much else.

You can't find POIs (Points of Interests like your local supermarket/ATMs) while offline. You can't make new routes while offline. In fact, you can't even enter in an address offline. You can't even drop a point on the map and expect it to route to it. In essence, this is a  useless gimmicky feature for wifi only devices.

If you have a phone or 3g/4g tablet, is it still worth it to use? It depends. The base map is only covers a small area so routing a trip from say San Francisco to Los Angeles won't be supported in offline maps. Forget about over-seas usage unless you have data connectivity abroad to initiate a route. The largest size you can cache offline is about 70-80MB which covers a few counties in a major metropolitan area. What about dropped connections? The likelihood of this ever happening in the San Francisco Bay Area is close to zero. You may some some pennies by having the phone access the offline the maps instead of draining your monthly 3g/4g data allotment.

In short, companies like Tom Tom, Garmin, and others have little to worry about Google's offline maps. In short, Google simply increased the cache size to 70-80MB, Before June 6th, you could already pre-cached your route to a 10 mile radius.

Nexus 7

Google today announce the Kindle fire beating $199 Nexus 7.

It sure has some impressive specs but the onboard 8GB/16GB kills it for me.

I have a 8GB 7" Galaxy Tab 2 and it only has 400MB of free use able space. I had to delete apps like Google Earth and Firefox because they were taking up too much space. The Galaxy Tab 2 at least has a micro-sd and USB OTG (on-the-go) which allows me to offload my media files.

This has no option for external storage.

I think I'm gonna pass on this device.

Multi-Monitor on the Galaxy Tab 2 and Galaxy Nexus

In my first multi-monitor display post, I wrote about using the Retina iPad 3 as a high-res portable multi-monitor display for a laptop.  Today, I am going to show you the same software running on Android's Ice Cream Sandwich with the wonderful Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 7.0" Android tablet. It also works with other Android devices such as the Nexus.

Avatron makes the same Air Display available for Android on the Google's Play Store. I was looking for something similar to my iOS and I hit jackpot. The desktop client is the same and the app works and feels like the iOS counterpart. The client app works on both Windows and Mac OSX.  Below are screenshots of it running in Mac OSX.

Set up is the same as before. You select your device (s) and adjust your secondary display arrangement.

The Air Display Galaxy Tab 2 is the bottom one of the right. I love running multi monitor displays on my macbook!

And voila. Wi-Fi palette monitor; using the Galaxy Tab 2 as a secondary portable monitor. You can use the touch-screen as a virtual mouse as well.

And here it is on a 4.65" Galaxy Nexus. As you can see, the soft keys take up quite a bit of space. A 4.65" screen is cutting it close to be useable. 

A few things to note. With Ice-Cream Sandwich, you don't get the full screen. The virtual soft keys (home/back/menu) and task bar still exists. Hence, you lose some resolution compared to an iOS device.

1024x600 on the Galaxy Nexus
1024x540 on the Galaxy Tab 2
2048x1536 on the iPad 3 in Retina mode. (1024x768 other mode).

The only missing feature from the iOS version is virtual keyboard. Both have virtual mouses but with the iPad, you can pull up the tablet's keyboard to enter text or type within apps inside your Air Display monitor.

Next, the other issue is the inability to power multiple "Air Display" devices; meaning I am unable to use all my devices as 4th or 5th monitors at the same time.
I have some DisplayLink usb powered monitors and I can daisy chain up to 6 DisplayLink monitors to my MacBookPro. It would be nice to have a similar feature with Air Display.

Lastly, the refresh is rather laggy and slow. This is expected since the redraw is taking place over WIFI. The speed of your refresh depends on the speed of your WIFi network and your devices. Both my Samsung devices, in general, have poor WIFI connections. This doesn't bother me because I use these monitors as palette displays to show non-motion material. I use them mostly for displaying error logs, mail, and terminal windows which do not need fast refresh.  Depending on your use case, this may not be ideal for you. Considering that the application cost $5, the investment is low compared to buying and lugging extra monitors around.

And a word of advice. If you ever plan to use a WIFI monitor or even some sort of Remote Desktop (VNC/RDP/X11), always choose a solid color like dark grey for your background. It makes it easier on the refresh and redrawing.


Link: Air Display at Google's Play Store