[gopher] list "alpha test": Overbite for Android

[Alex Nordlund]

Your HTTP link 404s

---
//Alex
"Look boys, the graphical part is done. Now we just have to code it!" --tdist



On Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 11:06 PM, Cameron Kaiser <spectre at floodgap.com> wrote:
> Rob Sayers has been my guinea pig today and it seems to be working well for
> him, so I'm opening this up to the group. (I have some interest in this from
> @segphault at Ars Technica, so I want a good test before I let Ryan at it.)
>
> Overbite Android is, just like it implies, a gopher client for Android.
> Android 1.5 is required; 2.x is recommended, and it is fully compatible with
> 2.2 Froyo. It should work on any currently available form factor, including
> QVGA all the way up to Droid X-level resolution.
>
> OA is incomplete -- it does not support file downloading yet and it does not
> currently have internal bookmark support (though it can put shortcuts on the
> Home screen as primitive bookmarks) -- but it does support item types
> [017ghI] and fully integrates with the Android Browser so that any hURLs you
> click are loaded in the Browser, and gopher:// URLs you click in the Browser
> are automatically loaded in Overbite. It also handles portrait and landscape
> modes (landscape recommended for obvious reasons), is localization-ready, and
> zoom-aware (remembering your settings as you click around). I will also be
> making source code (built with Eclipse) available.
>
> I think expanding into the mobile space is critical for Gopher because this
> is a niche it can easily gain a foothold in. In GPRS land, Gopher is the
> fastest way to do anything because it is the least spendy on the network,
> and when you're being charged by the KB/MB a low-bandwidth protocol will
> in turn save you money. I have a friend who is tightly connected into Palm's
> developer program and thinks that the upcoming PDK will be able to allow an
> Overbite on webOS. I'd like to write an iPhone version, but I'm tired of
> Apple screwing around and there's no guarantee they would allow it in the
> App Store since it doesn't fart. A BlackBerry version might be possible. The
> more places Gopher is visible in the mobile space, the more it can become a
> viable alternative.
>
> I would like your comments when you've tried it out. I'm particularly
> interested in the following:
>
> - Is it fast? I want it at least as fast, preferably faster than, the
>  Browser.
> - Does it integrate well with your workflow? Other than the swap in
>  activities, is Gopher's integration seamless?
> - Is it useable? Are the touch landing zones sufficient?
> - Is it attractive? It's supposed to be plain, but I am particularly
>  interested in making sure the (semi) resolution-independent art works
>  well on most handsets.
> - Does it seem like an app a non-Gopher user might be curious about? What
>  would make it more approachable to a new user?
>
> Let me know your thoughts. THESE URLs are TEMPORARY.
>
>        gopher://gopher.floodgap.com/9/AndroidOverbite.apk
>        http://gopher.floodgap.com/AndroidOverbite.apk
>
> --
> ------------------------------------ personal: http://www.cameronkaiser.com/ --
>  Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems * www.floodgap.com * ckaiser at floodgap.com
> -- Don't wear rollerskates to a tug-of-war. -- Larry Wall ---------------------
>
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