On 07/31/2013 03:05 PM, Omer Gilad wrote:
Flaming is not the purpose of this discussion - the purpose is to:
1. Share and find some practical solutions, if there are any.
That's the primary reason I bothered to reply in the first place.
I saw you wasn't try to flame. But, since you were pissed off, you
missed to actually bring facts to the discussion, which you did later
replying to me.
Accomplishing that I tough of moving it one step further: from other
discussion is pretty clear that among who read your question there's no
one who have a solution.
Every single developer is solo in handling this issue, which is part of
the reason this is so costly.
If we (all the Android developers) want to achieve this second point:
2. Bring the seriousness and span of this issue to Google's attention -
as there seems to be complete ignorance and self-delusion regarding it.
So far I haven't seen any official Google source admit that this issue
even exists, or provide any practical way of dealing with it.
we should keep to the facts, like the list you gave, and start doing
something.
And I think this discussion is perfect to do some brainstorming of what
we can do to help everyone.
It may also help bringing the fact in front of Google to make them
acknowledge it and help.
Of course, there's an inevitable element of being completely pissed-off
about it.
:)
Know the feeling
Regarding an issue database - that's a partial solution that can
certainly cut off the amount of work that developers spend on device bugs.
If I could look up issues related to a specific device or API and
prepare myself before publishing to users using already made
workarounds, maybe my job would be easier.
Yes, better then nothing I think.
And there are plenty of free bug trackers that can be used too.
It will also bring the issue to Google's attention, because at some
point they'll have to confront a constantly growing device issue database.
Thanks for pointing that out, that's not a small point in building up an
issue database.
But it's only partial - I'm trying to point out the the problem is more
in the attitude, than in specific device vendors.
Bugs will always happen in any product, and Google can't put
surveillance in Samsung's factories and tell them what to do.
However, Google can be very strict about regulations, and demand high
standards from anyone who wishes to use the Android brand and use the
Google Play service.
Agree, and I think they are moving in that direction, but that's my guess.
Still, it will take time.
And more importantly, we can't do anything about it now. We may in the
future if we build that database we were talking about (visibility helps).
Some practical steps that Google can take to eliminate the problem that
developers face when distributing apps:
1. Automatically monitor app ratings in Google Play, and identify spikes
where a certain device gives a considerably low rating for an app than
the other devices.
Chances are that there's a device specific bug.
Actively inquire the situation ( that will usually apply to lots of apps
using the same API), and when Google verifies there's indeed a bug in
the device
That would be a good idea.
And maybe they already do so.
- demand an on-the-air update from the vendor in 2 weeks.
If the vendor won't fix the bug on all of its device that can access
Google Play, ban the device from the store until they fix it.
That's probably harder to do.
But as developer we may do something similar... for example by stopping
supporting very buggy device.
This is very similar to the InternetExplorer issue web developer have.
If only Web developer stopped supporting the browser every user would
just change it.
If you buy a device for which there are no app you (as an User) say the
device sucks, not the app.
But if you don't know which devices are more buggy you don't know which
device to remove the support from --> back to the bugs database.
2. Set up a special contact email for developer reports, so you can get
reports about specific device issues that developers encounter.
Do the same procedure like in #1 - ask the vendor to fix it. If they
don't fix it, remove their Google Play certification until they do.
email wouldn't probably be the most useful thing, a dedicated bug
tracker may be better.
But that's what Google can do, doesn't help us now.
All that is being asked from Google is to be assertive and strict about
who they give Google Play certification to.
I don't expect Google to fix vendor bugs, that's impossible - but I
expect Google to demand high quality without compromise.
I also expect that. But you can't change the behavior of someone else.
You can only change your own and hope this will also change the others.
That's some idea:
- choose and start to use a bug tracker to grow a bug database about
android personalizations from different vendors
- create a Google+ Community dedicated to this to have a single place to
report issues you found out
What we need are some people willing to maintain those.
The more the better.
I've not much experience with these kind of issue, I fear I'll not be
someone in the right position to do so.
But I'd love to have something like that.
Regards,
Daniele Segato
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