Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Kindle Fire Tips: TODAY's Free Android App of the day Tuesday is "Daily Workouts" - normally $3.99. Amazon's new "Experimental Streaming Viewer" plays Flash video on some websites


The paid version of Daily Workouts app is free today ONLY, Tuesday, June 18

This is one in a series of Daily Workouts that target certain areas of the bod and is said to include most of the single-target exercises available in the other apps ("abs, arms, butt, cardio, legs"), except for the work with a ball and the yoga one.

You can choose to do a workout that'll take 5, 8, or 10 minutes and choose:
. a pre-set routine
. an exercise from the list or
. make your own full-body custom routine from the list

Each group of exercises has a looping video showing you how to do the exercise, and there are text instructions under the video describing the correct way to do the exercise -- things to remember. I have two 5-lb hand weights which of course will work the wrists, forearms, biceps, back, and shoulder muscles and I never knew exactly what might be the correct ways to use them.  This gives several good examples.

There's no background rhythmic music but I guess that if you need it, you can add appropriately bouncy music found online to loop before starting the workout.

Essentially, this is a combination of 5 separate $0.99 apps, including a free advertiser-supported one -- normally for $3.99 but free for today.  It works very well on my Kindle Fire HD 7" model.


Amazon quietly adds Experimental Streaming Viewer to recent Kindle Fire 2nd Gen and HD software updates
As explained in older blog articles linked below, Adobe withdrew support for its Flash Player from Android-based tablets and phones that use later operating systems.  The newer Adobe Flash Player files won't work with them, and that includes the Google Nexus and Samsung mobile devices.

  Some users have found that certain *older* Adobe files will work well with the later Android operating systems, and users have to find them via searching blogs and forums.

Now, Amazon has at least a partial solution -- and they describe the new streaming viewer feature on their WEB help area but did not mention this feature in the software update announcements probably because they'd rather people be watching Amazon Instant Video, since the tablet is sold mostly at cost with revenue coming from use of the tablet with Amazon-offered products and is also a very sophisticated e-reader.

However, when you read the below, be aware that no Android tablet I've heard of (let me know if there IS one) has a solution like this one to the no-flash-player support dilemma -- a built-in workaround with no work on the customer's part, as opposed to finding the right files and installing them to make it all happen.  A vendor would have to pay Adobe a special fee to offer on a mobile device (with later operating system) an authorized working Flash Player with a Flash-supporting web browser.

  I first saw this new web browsing feature mentioned on the Amazon Kindle Forums by Amazon Forum Pros Laura M. Dean and *~*Pineapple*~*

  In addition to the two blog articles (linked just below) on using certain older Adobe Flash Player files that have been found to work with Android-based tablets with later operating systems:

    How to install Flash Player on your Kindle Fire and
    How to install Non-Amazon Apps on your Kindle Fire,

  there are also other good ways to view (and download) YouTube videos -- my favorite apps for that are discussed in "Two favorite Kindle Fire apps: BSPlayer and Tubemate."

The first blog article link just above describes the method I've used, since September 2012, for watching full episodes of TV shows I've missed.  It's worked well, although the new, free ABCWatch app is now available for the Kindle Fire, but the app does NOT work quite as well as just viewing them on the web with Flash on the tablet when that was allowed by ABC.  Now ABC discourages the web method on an Android or Kindle Fire tablet.

However, Amazon's newer Experimental Streaming Viewer (explained at this link) is said by a customer service representative in a reply to forumner John K this way:
' I want to inform [you] that the Amazon Silk web browser on Kindle Fire 2nd Generation / HD doesn't support Flash, but some videos in the Silk browser can be viewed using the experimental streaming viewer.

  Compatible websites will display a notification at the bottom of the screen when Flash is detected.  Tap the notification to watch the video.  You can also tap the Menu icon at the bottom or right side of the screen, and then select "Open experimental viewer."

For the best video playback experience, confirm that you have a strong wireless connection.  Not all websites are compatible with the experimental streaming viewer and video playback quality may vary.

At this time, the experimental streaming viewer is optimized for videos only.

"Currently, we're working on the software updates, so that it can be supported by most of the websites. '

You do need the latest Kindle Fire software updates and
you need to enable "Accelerate page loading" setting in Amazon's Silk web browser menu to do this.

For any website pages that don't work with even the Experimental Streaming Viewer, you can use the workaround many of us have used described in the first blog article link mentioned above.  I've not found a website for which this workaround does not work.

  In the meantime, the new built-in streaming viewer is a more straightforward solution where it works, and Laura M. Dean said it worked for her for CBS, NBC and ABC's Flash where they don't redirect you to their new app when you ask for a full episode.  It's great that Amazon is working on this even though it involves watching video that's not on Amazon.




Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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4 comments:

  1. The experimental streaming viewer sounds a lot like the Photon Browser for Android devices. Photon is a proxy browser (like Silk or Opera Mini). It decodes Flash on the server side so that you can watch videos on devices without a Flash player installed. I have a bunch of Android devices but no Kindle Fire, so I can't verify whether Photon works on the Fire.

    (I don't have a Kindle Fire, but I follow your blog because I have 3 E-Ink Kindles!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dennis, thanks for reading despite not having a Kindle Fire and my not doing as much on eInk Kindles lately, except there's a new update this week which I'll write about next.

      With so many experimenting types looking for Flash player workarounds, I doubt the Photon Browser would work with the KFire but I'll try it sometime just to see. Thanks!

      Delete
  2. I have two questions which I've been unable to find a response to and Im hoping you could answer. I just bought 2 Kindle Fire HDX for my 8-9 year olds Christmas. We live in a rural area and can't get an unlimited internet plan so we have to be careful about our use. We never stream videos etc. I'm not sure how the Cloud impacts our usage but I'd love to find information on how I can use the Kindle to it's fullest while limiting the bandwidth used. One factor in my decision was that you can actually download a movie now-they will download while away from home on free wi-fi.

    The 2nd question is how can I ensure my kids aren't seeing my Amazon purchases and wish lists while using their Kindles associated with our 1 Amazon Prime Account-without being logged into Free Time? It seems that shopping and Amazon access are really prominent on these devices and I don't want them seeing what I'm buying for them for Christmas etc. Any help would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous at 5:15:00 AM PST, I don't read enough about parental controls except to see that they're considered the most thorough type out there. The Cloud would be like any Internet site except that you use it for definite data-gathering or moving activity so when using it, in your situation, it's definitely something to do as little as possible. And yes, being able to download prime instant video when the publisher allows that would be key, especially when you can do that on free WiFi available somewhere other than home.

      From what I remember, you can choose a more basic parental control in that there are settings to set your kids up with specific apps and to not allow access to the web. That is true of Kindle Fire HD.

      To get more input on this, try out the very useful Amazon Kindle Comunity Forum to get info from regulars and 'Forum Pros' there.

      Delete

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