Android applications

I tend not to install many apps on my cellphone because they seem to easily run out of space even with using an SD card to extend internal storage. Perhaps this most occurs after the cellphone is already storing a major operating system update and the vendor expects one to change the unit every year or two anyway like a good consumer. Still, I thought to mention some of the Android apps that I do use:

• James Moss' DigiHUD Speedometer helps to determine how a vehicle's speedometer reading relates to its speed of travel. Modern cars typically overread by 5% to 10% in my experience though my police car was an exception.


• Google's Hangouts Dialer allows me to telephone the US for free from anywhere I have a wifi signal.


• Google's Maps is great for navigation by foot or by car, including rerouting around bad traffic ahead and calling up satellite photographs of one's environs.


• Mark Harman's Open Camera is an easy and effective camera app that does not require absurd permissions like being able to make a call. I avoided alternatives that may be better for those who know much about photography.


• Nokia's Z Launcher does not force a search bar on to the home screen.

Chat clients for work

Some time ago at work they switched to Slack for team messaging. I dislike their clients and much prefer having my choice of open-source software, especially multi-protocol so that the same precious screen space can serve all my chat needs. At the time I did not much object because Slack offered workable IRC and XMPP gateways. Over time those gateways became less workable and are soon to be disabled. Fortunately with a change in client I find that I can use wee-slack, a WeeChat plugin that uses Slack's API rather than a gateway.