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Ask Slashdot: Scripting-Friendly Smartphones?
An anonymous reader writes "I am choosing a smartphone for work, moving up from a long history of just-a-phone phones. This coincides with moving into an environment where I will have a desktop machine in my office, rather using my laptop — so I'll VPN in from home, and am looking forward to not trucking my laptop around everywhere. BUT ... this means I now won't have my laptop all the time. I have gotten used to scripting various little things that make my life easier, and would like to carry that over to the phone. For example, periodically check that a certain machine is online and backing things up the way it is supposed to; if the lab monitoring system sends me an email that the -80 freezer is up to -50, play a sound and run the vibrate system in a specific, arbitrarily chosen pattern; when I press this button, record an MP3, when I release it prep an email with it attached, that sort of thing. Does such a beast exist? Has anyone used one and if so what do you think? Bonus points if you know if I can use it with Rogers (Canadian wireless provider used by my workplace)." I've heard good things about (but never used) the payware Android app called Tasker; what other recommendations do you have for running the world from a smartphone?
I've done similar things, where I want my phone to tell me if some external activity has happened or has changed beyond certain parameters.
I do the analysis elsewhere, such as on that desktop PC, and the alert consists of sending a text message to the phone (or multiple phone numbers). Google for the how, it's a common practice and easy (and free) to do. Depends on the carrier, altho some sites claim to figure that out for you, but I just figure each one out and avoid them. this does mean that if a phone number changes carrier, I have to change the script, but since so far I have only sent texts to my own phone, it's no biggie. Just have one central script to send the actual alert.
Infuriate left and right
My brother uses a Milestone 2, and now and then he get himself doing some server administration over SSH while commuting on public transportation.
Of course it sucks, but it sucks less than trying to use a Pad or Notebook on that shitty bus seats. :-)
Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
I'd recommend a two-pronged approach, if you're looking for something user friendly and not requiring building an intermediate server.
First, check out the unbridled awesomeness that is If This Then That: http://ifttt.com/ It allows you to create simple (or complex) triggers based on all manner of inputs with all manner of outputs. Email, SMS, Social Networking, etc. I use it with a "private"(read: used only for this, and nothing actually private is tweeted) twitter account to pass data about. I originally used SMS, but I moved to twitter later as it's remarkably convenient and can be adapted easily to a number of different devices, whereas SMS is limited to phones (for the most part).
Then, on your sexy Android phone - I'm using a Note, personally, it's the closest I can get to a tablet but still be able to comfortably put it in a pocket - use Tasker to intercept and act.
Really, though, the first thing I'd do in your shoes is seriously investigate IFTTT. It's very easy to use and flat out awesome.
Meh.
It's not an inherent limitation of the device.
It's that the keyboards almost universally are horrible for it, because they are designed for things like natural speaking. Their processing of symbols is subpar.
The same is true of most small bluetooth keyboards, or built in keyboards. Frankly, my Zaurus SL-5500 from 2003 has a better keyboard on a mobile than almost anything that's come since. (And in fact, the only things I can think of that rival it that I have encountered, are also Zaurus devices.)
I have found one that I don't think sucks so far, it's "hacker's keyboard" on android. (Most important things it has that seemingly every other keyboard lacks are tab and arrow keys... easily accessible. It has some limitations though, and you'll almost certainly want to enable portrait 5-line keyboard) Though I usually use it more with my table as opposed to with my phone, though it does work there just fine, I use the phone more for email/texting/etc, so having a keyboard (swype) which is better for those things as default means the other isn't used as much.