Android Tricorder Killed By CBS

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Android Tricorder Killed By CBS

Posted by timothy on Friday September 2, 2011 @11:10AM from the was-about-to-grab-it-actually dept.

First time accepted submitter josn writes "Today I found out that Moonlight's Tricorder app, which I always install on Android devices, is gone. Google received a DMCA letter from CBS. I think it is a shame that CBS thinks it needs to kill a free and open source project giving a ad-less app. I, for one, sent a message to CBS explaining that this fan-supported app is not bad, but good for them, and asked them to reconsider. I hope, especially for the author, who must have spent a lot of time on this app, that they do."

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Lame! by barlevg · 2011-09-02 11:15 · Score: 5, Interesting

I love that app. Does anyone know, for those of us who still have it installed, Android App Market doesn't automatically uninstall apps without user permission (like they'll remove books from the Kindle) in cases like this, do they?
1. Re:Lame! by Artifex · 2011-09-02 11:50 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  No, but last night I had it installed when I wiped & installed a later ROM. When it got through auto-reinstalling my backed up apps from Market, Tricorder was no longer there :(
  Just goes to show, ya gotta back up your software locally (In this case, the .apks); can't trust a vendor to store it for you.
  
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  Get off my launchpad!
2. Re:Lame! by nbetcher · 2011-09-02 12:09 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  No. It does not. Also, you can still install the Tricorder app by finding the APK on the web, checking 'Unknown Sources' (Settings->Applications), then issuing: 'adb install tricorder.apk' while your phone is connected to a PC that has the ADB drivers installed. Otherwise you can download the APK to your phone and use Astro Filemanager to install it.
Damn it Jim... by fahrbot-bot · 2011-09-02 11:17 · Score: 4, Funny

...I'm a doctor, not a copyright lawyer.

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And now by geekoid · 2011-09-02 11:19 · Score: 5, Interesting

we see the power of the android system.
I can still load the app from other sources.

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Re:Its the first app I install ... installed by Jeremiah+Cornelius · 2011-09-02 11:19 · Score: 4, Funny

CBS. What have they done, that is worth shitting on, in 30 years?
I say that a bunch of Anonymous types ought to buy microwave equipment and blast their Sat feed offline.

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Re:"...a add-less app..." Really? by scarboni888 · 2011-09-02 11:22 · Score: 5, Funny

No it's spelled right - the tricorder app is known for only being able to perform subtraction operations. :)
Re:Another reason not to develop android apps by ColdWetDog · 2011-09-02 11:26 · Score: 5, Insightful

As if a stupid little app that just looks like a Star Trek tricorder doesn't qualify as "complete shit". Whoever developed that ought to be using their time on more productive pursuits.
Like what? Posting on Slashdot?
Just sayin'

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Re:Another reason not to develop android apps by barlevg · 2011-09-02 11:32 · Score: 5, Informative

The app is surprisingly useful: accelerometer, audio spectrum analyzer, compass to name a few... it does everything you'd expect a "real" tricorder to do, with the only limitations being the phone hardware.
Re:Its the first app I install ... installed by sarysa · 2011-09-02 12:02 · Score: 5, Interesting

It's available on google code still. It's a little bit of a pain to build...I had to combine the HermitAndroid and HermitLibrary src into the Tricorder project, and then delete said libraries. (but I build with CLI, eclipse may end up being easy peasy) svn checkout http://moonblink.googlecode.com/svn/trunk moonblink-read-only As I'm not an anonymous coward, if I distributed the APK, would the DMCA trolls smash my head open?

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LCARS is the problem by steveha · 2011-09-02 12:44 · Score: 4, Informative

The summary includes a link to the wiki article about it being killed by lawyers. This in turn includes the text of the DMCA takedown notice. Take a look:

lxxxxxxn@cbs.com to support-portal@google.com Reply - More info Aug 23 Options
AutoDetectedBrowser: Internet Explorer 7 AutoDetectedOS: Windows XP IIILanguage: en IssueType: lr_dmca Language: en agree1: checked agree: checked android_app_developer_1: Moonblink android_app_name_1: Tricorder android_app_url_1: https://market.android.com/details?id=org.hermit.tricorder companyname: CBS country_residence: US description_of_copyrighted_work: LCARS graphical user interface dmca_signature: Lxxxxxxn dmca_signature_date_day: 23 dmca_signature_date_month: 8 dmca_signature_date_year: 2011 full_name: Lxxxxxxn hidden_product: androidmarket location_of_copyrighted_work: LCARS graphical user interface, an example of which can be viewed at the URL below: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/star-trek-padd/id446277240?mt=8 represented_copyright_holder: CBS Studios Inc.

Now, I used to have an app on my Palm PDA that pretended to be a tricorder but didn't actually do anything (other than make some chirp noises and display various jokes). That's not what this is; this "tricorder" app displays the outputs from various sensors on an Android phone. You can get a magnetic compass, sound data from the microphone, GPS data, etc. The DMCA takedown isn't about this functionality, but just about the LCARS interface.
The solution is obvious: reskin the app, using an Android sort of theme, and for extra safety change the name. The result shouldn't bother CBS anymore.
I don't even really like LCARS much.
P.S. I presume that CBS will go after the people who install LCARS themes on their desktops. What a waste of time.
steveha

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