- Part 2

Read. Buy. Enjoy.

October 30, 2011 by blogmeister·0 Comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of MyReviewsNow.net for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Even with all the influx of online shopping portals popping up here and there, I still have second thoughts when buying something online. Considering that some portals sell them so cheap, my doubts even grow stronger and I get apprehensive if the site itself is legit or not.

But sites like myreviewsnow.net have changed my perception. Having online shopping resources in one place is very advantageous because I do not have to go to each site to check out their prices and compare them. Doing the comparison in just one site saves me a lot of time.

Plus reviews help give ideas on what the product really is like in actual action. You say they may be biased but no, the reviews also come from on hand experience with customers who used the product. This is a good starting point to know if the product you plan to buy is worth it or not.

I recommend you check out the site to get started. Even better is the fact that right now, they are giving away a $340 Kohl’s gift card by simply liking their Facebook page and tweeting the message “I love to #shopathome online!”.

Check out the official rules here.

Android Animation To Expand & Collapse View & Its Children

October 29, 2011 by blogmeister·12 Comments

Most expand and collapse animation code I saw in Android related forums never worked. I think that they probably are limited to just widgets. When the View object itself e.g. LinearLayout has children within it, then those animation XMLs or code to animate them during runtime do not work.

The closest code that worked is from Tom Esterez. He describes it as a dirty hack but I think that it is the only code that is shared publicly that works. However, the code he shared is limited to expanding the ViewGroup.

I modified his existing code to also cater a collapse version. The method returns Animation object.

Feel free to change the animation speed according to your preference. The lower the value, the faster the animation speed will be.

Expand the code area section to view the method in full.

public static Animation expand(final View v, final boolean expand) {
    try {
        Method m = v.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("onMeasure", int.class, int.class);
        m.setAccessible(true);
        m.invoke(
            v,
            MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),
            MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(((View)v.getParent()).getMeasuredWidth(), MeasureSpec.AT_MOST)
        );
    } catch (Exception e) {
    	e.printStackTrace();
    }
    final int initialHeight = v.getMeasuredHeight();
    if (expand) {
    	v.getLayoutParams().height = 0;
    }
    else {
    	v.getLayoutParams().height = initialHeight;
    }
    v.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);
    Animation a = new Animation() {
        @Override
        protected void applyTransformation(float interpolatedTime, Transformation t) {
            int newHeight = 0;
            if (expand) {
            	newHeight = (int) (initialHeight * interpolatedTime);
            } else {
            	newHeight = (int) (initialHeight * (1 - interpolatedTime));
            }
            v.getLayoutParams().height = newHeight;	            
            v.requestLayout();
            if (interpolatedTime == 1 && !expand)
            	v.setVisibility(View.GONE);
        }
        @Override
        public boolean willChangeBounds() {
            return true;
        }
    };
    a.setDuration(SPEED_ANIMATION_TRANSITION);
    return a;
}

public static Animation expand(final View v, final boolean expand) {

try {

Method m = v.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("onMeasure", int.class, int.class);

m.setAccessible(true);

m.invoke(

MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(0, MeasureSpec.UNSPECIFIED),

MeasureSpec.makeMeasureSpec(((View)v.getParent()).getMeasuredWidth(), MeasureSpec.AT_MOST)

);

} catch (Exception e) {

e.printStackTrace();

}

final int initialHeight = v.getMeasuredHeight();

if (expand) {

v.getLayoutParams().height = 0;

}

else {

v.getLayoutParams().height = initialHeight;

}

v.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

Animation a = new Animation() {

@Override

protected void applyTransformation(float interpolatedTime, Transformation t) {

int newHeight = 0;

if (expand) {

newHeight = (int) (initialHeight * interpolatedTime);

} else {

newHeight = (int) (initialHeight * (1 - interpolatedTime));

}

v.getLayoutParams().height = newHeight;

v.requestLayout();

if (interpolatedTime == 1 && !expand)

v.setVisibility(View.GONE);

}

@Override

public boolean willChangeBounds() {

return true;

}

};

a.setDuration(SPEED_ANIMATION_TRANSITION);

return a;

}

Riptide For Android Now Supports Multiple Devices

October 27, 2011 by blogmeister·0 Comments

Ever since I got hold of my Galaxy S2, I have been wanting to play Riptide GP. It is the first ever console quality water racing game for mobile, created by Vector Unit. They are the same group that developed the Xbox 360 hit Hydro Thunder Hurricane.

The problem before was that this game was for Tegra 2 based Android devices only. Even with ChainFire 3d installed, it still did not work. But the time has finally arrived.

Rev up your supercharged jet ski and take a wild ride through twisting canals and rivers, futuristic cityscapes, and mysterious research facilities. Skill, stunts and speed will be your best allies as you grab massive air off huge waves, kick out death-defying tricks and boost your jet ski to victory across a dynamic, ever-changing torrent of foam and spray.

This game is even compatible with a bluetooth or USB gamepade for Android devices with operating system version 3.1 or higher. Cool, right?!

Tech Tips & Tricks

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Month: October 2011

Read. Buy. Enjoy.

Android Animation To Expand & Collapse View & Its Children

Riptide For Android Now Supports Multiple Devices