Clouttery - the smart, cross-platform battery monitor

u/DarkestEx November 03, 2016, 12:49:37 AM

Quote from: gbl08ma on November 03, 2016, 12:43:31 AM
There's a minor Clouttery Android app update, that pretty much doesn't affect existing users: one can now sign in with one of the Google accounts configured on the device, without having to type usernames or passwords.

~~Should get approved by Google in a few hours.~~ The update was approved by Google right as I was writing this post

I have noticed that of the 18 app installs, there were 5 uninstalls... I wonder what can be done to make the app/service correspond better to the expectations of new users.

I have not tried the app yet, but does it require Google Play Services?

Also could you please upload it to the Amazon App Store too? It's free and I quite like their store (and it is my only way to get apps :/).

u/gbl08ma November 03, 2016, 12:55:50 AM

Yes, since the last update, it now uses Google Play Services. I'm unsure of how it behaves if installed on a device without them - let's see if I don't forget to test. I can make builds without the Play Services and distribute them through parallel channels, but I don't feel like maintaining multiple build flavors and distribution methods.
For those who can't install through Google Play, the APK is still kept up-to-date at https://clouttery.xyz/static/android/Clouttery.apk , but I no longer issue notifications about app updates, so you'll have to keep up yourself. However, I would much prefer if people installed through Google Play as that aggregates the statistics (and increments the installs counter), and also gives me access to crash dumps (not that there have been any, so far).

u/DarkestEx November 03, 2016, 01:02:53 AM

Quote from: gbl08ma on November 03, 2016, 12:55:50 AM
Yes, since the last update, it now uses Google Play Services. I'm unsure of how it behaves if installed on a device without them - let's see if I don't forget to test. I can make builds without the Play Services and distribute them through parallel channels, but I don't feel like maintaining multiple build flavors and distribution methods.
For those who can't install through Google Play, the APK is still kept up-to-date at https://clouttery.xyz/static/android/Clouttery.apk , but I no longer issue notifications about app updates, so you'll have to keep up yourself. However, I would much prefer if people installed through Google Play as that aggregates the statistics (and increments the installs counter), and also gives me access to crash dumps (not that there have been any, so far).

I am quite sure Amazon gives you Metrics as well.
In case you might port it there, many users of Amazon Kindle devices could also profit from the App.
And good old Blackberry users like me

The sideloaded Google Play store somewhat works, but any App that relies on Google Play Services will fail (not really the fact that there are none as I sideloaded them too, but they are not Google signed so most Apps tell you to update them and that they don't work).

u/gbl08ma December 06, 2016, 12:15:04 PM

Sorry for the lack of updates, uni is keeping me very busy. I'm slowly porting the Windows client from Windows Forms (which while not deprecated, is quite outdated) to WPF. WPF should be better suited to the high amount of UI elements in the devices window, and hopefully it will reduce the UI "lag" (all those redrawing flashes you see when the window opens or is resized). I'm also taking the opportunity to redesign the tray window, to look more modern and touch-friendly.

Without further ado, here are two screenshots of the screens that are already converted:

(note that both images are at 150% scaling because of my DPI settings)

Once in a blue moon, I work a bit on the Linux client. But it has a lower priority than implementing new features on the server and other clients, as not too many people seem to be interested in it.

u/Dream of Omnimaga December 09, 2016, 07:31:33 AM

Looks great! Also sorry, I haven't setup Clouttery properly yet, because I was side-tracked by so many things and am kinda busy since the last months. I will probably try during holidays.

u/gbl08ma January 03, 2017, 03:45:22 PM

Another month has passed and I barely had time to touch Clouttery. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem things will change any time soon - hopefully, by the end of this month, I'll have some more time. Here are the few changes since my last post:

The Android app had a few minor adjustments, mostly cosmetic. Make sure you have the latest version, 0.9.4
On Android devices, Clouttery now collects battery temperature. Clients don't show it in the history graphs yet, but you can see it in the Web Console graphs: https://clouttery.xyz/manage
The Clouttery website (and some other Segvault websites) now support HTTP/2, yay!

Additionally, I just created a Matrix room for Segvault. This is highly experimental. The idea is that users and developers can get together to discuss Segvault and TNY network projects, and maybe do a bit of "self-service support" too.
Why Matrix? Well, it does everything we need, signing up for an account is not mandatory, it's more powerful than IRC, not a closed platform like Skype/Discord/Telegram/etc., you can use it without installing more software, and it integrates well with Slack - which we were already using internally, so the Matrix room just appears as yet another channel on Segvault's Slack.
Here's the link: https://riot.im/app/#/room/#segvault:matrix.org

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 05, 2017, 05:35:19 AM

Do you still have plans to make this compatible with Vidéotron ISP and Windows 10 firewall? I still get the Network error when trying to download setup.exe and if I disable the firewall, it instead says "The site can't be reached" and that the connection was reset. Every single browser I tried also gives the latter error (Chrome, Firefox)

As a result, I will never be able to use Clouttery

EDIT: I solved the issue by downloading Setup.exe via a proxy (anonymouse.org). If anyone else has the same issue as me, use Tor or a proxy.

Last Edit: January 05, 2017, 05:42:33 AM by DJ Omnimaga

u/gbl08ma January 05, 2017, 11:52:40 AM

That is really strange. I never experienced that problem on any of my (and my friends') Windows 10 machines, just the standard SmartScreen warning.

Were you trying to download over HTTPS? Because if yes, your ISP should not be able to interfere (besides dropping the connection altogether, which may be the cause of the "connection reset" error). Get a better ISP, I guess...

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 06, 2017, 11:29:20 PM

After further investigation @gbl08ma I found the culprit: It's Avast. MateoConLechuga Oiram Level Editor has the same problem.

I tried both HTTP and HTTPS by the way. And I can't change ISPs now since I currently have an huge rebate that will last as long as I have this plan

(and Avast was the issue anyway)

EDIT: Also a bug report on the Android client: If I clear my notifications, they re-appear just two seconds later, fully intact.

u/gbl08ma January 11, 2017, 02:14:21 PM

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on January 06, 2017, 11:29:20 PM
EDIT: Also a bug report on the Android client: If I clear my notifications, they re-appear just two seconds later, fully intact.

Yes, I have noticed this sometimes happens. It may be worse with faster connections. It should be easier to clear them for once if you go back to the home screen of your device (so the app isn't in the foreground), then clear the notifications from the Android notification center. That way it won't re-sync before sending the information about cleared notifications.

I have not yet identified why this happens, as I'm explicitly checking whether there are new cleared notifications (and sending their status) before fetching the current notifications. Perhaps there's a code path I am not aware of.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 11, 2017, 05:07:49 PM

Ok I'll try this out when I have a chance. Btw what's the minimum version supported for Android?

u/gbl08ma January 11, 2017, 05:16:23 PM

It runs on Android 4.0.3 and up.
In the future, if there's enough interest I can always build a "lite" client that runs on older Android versions, at the expense of having little to no features (such version would only be for sending battery information, so it's easier for people to keep old devices alive if they so wish for whatever reason).
But for now I see no reason to go through the additional effort to support Android 2.x.

u/Dream of Omnimaga January 18, 2017, 04:42:02 AM

Ah ok. This means I will have to setup my Samsung i5510 as a dumb device then (its max supported Android version is 2.2.2)

u/gbl08ma January 18, 2017, 10:41:48 AM

Thanks for letting me know you have a sub-4.0 Android device, if there are enough people with such devices it might make sense to develop a client for such old versions. It'd be great if people with an interest in adding such devices to Clouttery posted here, so I can have a better idea of how common this situation is...

BTW, in the topic of old devices - if you have a Windows Mobile 5.x or 6.x device (with touchscreen) I have also built a simple client for that OS. It's incomplete and unreleased, because I only developed it as far as I needed for my purposes, but if anyone is interested I can make it available or even turn it into a more complete client.