MELANCHOLY404 TECHNOLOGY

In one of the motivational talk shows I saw on TED, I learned that freedom to make mistakes helps you to free yourself from all constraints of being perfect and helps you to open yourself to all kind of opportunities and possibilities. This holds true in all walks of life, even when you are working on your computer. As you are working on Windows or Mac, the OS gives you the freedom to work carelessly  with files. You know that there is a fail safe designed called the Recycle Bin that will store deleted files, giving you a chance to restore them if deleted by accident.

However, even after six generations of Android, there is no failsafe yet to tackle such accidents. A file deleted from your phone is gone forever. You can certainly try to recover them using some file recovery tool, but chances of success are thin and totally dependent on your luck.
So today, I am going to introduce you to an app for Android that will give you the freedom to commit mistakes. Dumpster for Android is a free app which brings in the recycle bin feature, just like one you have on Windows and Mac, right on your Android. Also, you don’t need root access for the app to function and works with all the file managers out there.

Dumpster for Android

To get started, the very first thing you will have to do is install the Dumpster app from the Play Store (which is free, btw) and once it’s initialized, simply press the home button and let it run in the background. If you have a built-in Auto Start App Manager, make sure to include this app as an auto start app so that the services are not stopped in case you reboot.

 
Dumpster will now monitor your internal storage and no matter what you delete from any of the file managers, it will be recorded and cached by Dumpster.

The Features of Dumpster

The best part about using Dumpster is that unlike other recycle bin apps available on Android, you don’t need to share files to the app in order to add them. The app automatically monitors the files that have been deleted from the files system. Also, the app works on almost all the file types including images, videos, audio, pdf, zip, mp3, mp4, ppt, doc, avi, mpg, jpg, rar, etc and you don’t need to work on a 3rd party file manager to manage your files.
 
After the deleted files are collected by Dumpster and you now have two options. You can select files and restore them to the original location if you deleted them by accident or you realize later that you needed those files. Or, if you wish to free device storage, you can delete them permanently. In the settings menu, you can choose which of the files you would like to protect using Dumpster and which one you would like to delete directly, as all the files stored by Dumpster are still in the system storage and thus, occupy storage space lest you delete ’em permanently. You can also choose self-cleaning period after which the cached files on Dumpster will be cleaned automatically.
 
There are premium features using which you can get cloud backup along with ad-free interface, but it’s expensive at $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. The ads are not obtrusive and you can work with a free version as long as you don’t need cloud backup for files through Dumpster. This can anyways be done for free using other apps available on the Play Store.
 

Conclusion

That was Dumpster using which you can have a failsafe on Android for files that you might delete by accident. No need to root your device and even Internet connection is absolutely not required. The only thing that it needs is a persistent notification so that its services are not killed by the OS in order to free up some RAM as any file deleted while it’s not running will be deleted automatically. So make sure you try out the app and don’t forget to share your views about it.

Sometimes the notification drawer in Android gets too crowded with multiple notifications stacked under each other. And, most of the space is taken up by those fully expanded notifications (*ahem* Amazon Ads *ahem*). So, did you ever feel the need to personalize (or customize) such notifications in Android? Maybe bundle up multiple notifications of the same app in one notification or always show a notification in it’s expanded view. Well, guys, don’t worry if you didn’t feel the need for it. Because NOW YOU DO.

Many developers don’t make full use of the Notification API for Android. They’re not giving you full control of how the notification should look in the notification drawer. For your information below are the notifications types.

• Bundle: Collection of multiple notifications into one single notification. (Like we have in Gmail.)
• Head-Up Notification: You know that. (eg. WhatsApp)
• Multi-Line Text: Notification with a large chunk of text or data in it.
• Elastic List: Minimized version of Multi-line text but can be stretched to get the full view of it.

So, now what if you could enable these different types of notification views and customize the look of notifications?

Let the Nevolution Begin

Yes, you can. A new open source Android app called Nevolution can give your smartphone the ability to do so. Nevolution gives you the freedom to customize the views of notifications in the notification drawer the way you like. Let’s dig in and see how you can do it. It can run on Android devices powered by version 4.3 and above.

Choose a Notification of an App to Customize it

After you download and install the app you’re pretty much good to go. If you already have notifications in the notification drawer then it will show up in the Notification list of the app. Tap on the notification to customize it.



At the bottom, the customize button will pop-up. Along with that, you get the option to make the notification appear again in the notification drawer if you had swiped it away.

Customizing the Look of Notification

I’ve chosen Flipboard’s notification. And, its notification view is of the Elastic list type. But, I always want it to show in multi-line text view. Always expanded so I don’t need to stretch it down to fully view it. Now tap on the customize button. On the next screen, at the bottom, you’ll find different notification styles that you can apply to the notification. (Notification styles mentioned above).
So, here I’ll choose the Multi-line Text style for Flipboard Notifications.

The same way you can customize the notification by applying different styles. You can even bundle notification into one single notification. For example news stories from your News app.

Also, for messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, you get special tweaks. You can separate multiple bundled notification into the separate notifications as shown below.

The notification list on the home screen of the app also works as notification log. It saves all the notification and its actions. You can make the notification appear again and perform the same action of notification again.
It’s a great way to keep track of notifications and customize the way you want it.

It’s Underrated

The app currently has mixed reviews on Play Store with an average rating of 3.7. I myself experienced some issues like notifications not showing up. But, if you’re having issues with the notifications and if it’s misbehaving then you should install the extension pack. Go to settings of the app and you’ll get the option for it. Also, you can join the conversation about it on XDA-forums thread. One of the reason could be that other notification based app installed by you might be conflicting.
However, in my usage, it’s performed well. I’ll give it a 4.3 out of 5 .

Do you own a really awesome speaker or speaker system that you just wish was Bluetooth-capable so you can stream music wirelessly to it from your smartphone or computer? The experience playing Spotify or Apple Music through a solid sound system is killer. Fortunately, this is far from impossible.

The good news is that almost any regular speaker (non-Bluetooth) can quickly and easily be turned into a Bluetooth streaming device. The bad news is while you won’t have to buy an entirely new Bluetooth-ready speaker, you will have to spend money. But the options outlined below are pretty inexpensive solutions to bring your speakers into the wireless world.

Buy a Bluetooth Audio Adapter

The primary device you’ll need to turn your speakers into a Bluetooth-compatible audio system is an adapter. This adapter would plug into your speaker and accept incoming requests for a Bluetooth connection. Enabled, it can transmit Bluetooth streaming to your speaker.
Fortunately, these aren’t very expensive at all, but they do come with their own sets of features and as such, different pricing options. We’ve picked out the best budget, mid-tier, and high-end options available, so let’s run through the choices.

On the low end is the AmazonBasics Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver. It’s just $20 on Amazon and put simply, it gets the job done. It can handle a connection for as far as 10 meters (or 30 feet) away and one Bluetooth device at a time. If you want something basic that works, shelling out $20 on AmazonBasic’s adapter is an easy choice.

However, I’d recommend moving up to the mid-tier option on our list: Logitech’s Bluetooth Audio Adapter. The retail price is $39.99 but it currently sells for just over $27 on Amazon. It stays connected to your device up to 15 meters away (or 50 feet) so you’re free to roam a bit more, plus connects to up to two devices at once. You can switch between which device you want to stream from on the fly. For $7 more than the low-end adapter, Logitech’s popular offering is worth the step up.

Folks who might categorize themselves as more genuine audiophiles should consider the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter. It’s $60 on Amazon and while it drops down to that 10-meter connection range, it can remember up to eight different devices that you’ve connected. Plus, you can switch between three active device connections simultaneously. This is the adapter ideal for large households or parties.

How to Set Up Your Adapter

Once you get your adapter, setup should be pretty simple. First, you’ll need to take the included power adapter and plug it into an outlet. Yes, unfortunately, these adapters must run on their own power, so make sure the speakers you want to hook yours up to is near a wall.
Next, take the auxiliary cord and plug one end into your adapter and the other end into the Audio In (sometimes called Aux In) port of your speaker. This is located in different places on different speakers, so you’ll have to search around to find it.
The last step would be to connect the adapter to your speaker. How to do this will vary based on your adapter, so check your instruction manual. Generally, you should have to press some sort of Connect button (as is the case with the Logitech adapter) and wait to hear a sound that verifies it’s working.

Finally, head over to the device you want to stream music out of, make sure Bluetooth is enabled and connect to the Bluetooth adapter via your Bluetooth settings. And you’re all set. Start playing music with an active Bluetooth connection to the adapter and it should automatically come out of your previously antiquated speakers.