The JyotishTools Blog

New feature and update for Android apps

Brian Conrad — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:58:47 GMT

One of the requests I've been getting recently was for the ability to import and export the charts database. When I developed most of these apps Android did not support reading and writing to external memory. I did provide the ability to export the database. Now for devices with Android 2.2 (Froyo) or better I have included the ability to read and write to the the chart database on external memory (SD card, etc). This happens automatically for new users but if you are updating, have Android 2.2 or better and want to use this feature then select Export Charts to export your chart database to the JyotishTools folder on external memory and then uninstall/reinstall the app. A bit of a hassle I know but I found it would be trickier to do it any other way. Currently this is only for the version of Jyotish Tools on the Android Market.

JyotishTools AE (at Amazon.com) came with this feature to begin with and so far no one has reported any problems. I just released Jyotish Tools 1.2.8 on the Android market with this feature. The step by step details are also in the Help file. Tropical Skies will also be released shortly with this feature as well as Jyotish Tools Lite and the 10" Honeycomb version of Jyotish Tools.

To have the chart database on external memory solves several problems. One if you have to fully reset your device then you don't lose the chart database. Also it allows you do move your charts to a new device if you get one. I also spares internal memory. Some folks have accumulated quite large chart databases so this is important.

Another situation is that companies are now making 7" high resolution tablets with Android 3.2 or better. Unfortunately these devices are currently shut out of Jyotish Tools on the Android market. For one thing the layout for 10" tablets would be difficult to work with on a 7" tablet because the widgets would be too small. And there are 7" tablets with 1024x600 displays and 3.2 would crop part of the display using the 10" layout. For 7" tablets even with 1280x720 displays the older tabbed layout is best. The version of Jyotish Tools on Amazon.com will provide the tabbed display on 7" tablets with high resolution. Developers are hoping that the Android team can develop a solutions for these overlap situations which are currently difficult if not impossible to solve with the current Android Market setup.

One last thing is the prior update fixed an Android bug which reported false times on some dates in time zones like India and other Asian countries. This is dependent on the local time zone set on the device not the app. My tests showed that US, European and Japan time zones were unaffected. This was also fixed in Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). It was rare as it only occurred on older dates and most all dates from post WW II on were not affected. In some cases it appeared to try to be adjusting the time by DST but that is not the way that function is supposed to work and in some cases if it were to be adjusting for DST the correction would be wrong.

Some Android version updates

Brian Conrad — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:38:48 GMT

All the Android products that have Atlases have been updated to prevent a bug on some devices that generated an "atlas not found" when an atlas search was initiated. The problem was that the code was made dynamic so if a user added a Personal Atlas entry that atlas would also be listed in the Settings under Select Atlas. However some of you may have started seeing as atlases listings like "India Atlas-journal". Journal files were not part of the database generation until recently and they may only exist with newer Android OS's such as version 3.2.1 and up though I may have found them on Gingerbread 2.3.3 OS emulators. Anyway those journal files have been filtered out so the bug no longer occurs.

Another bug listed this morning on the Android Market comments is a crash that occurs ONLY with the Katmandu, Nepal listing. Checking the database I see it has an offset for the zone index that causes the problem. However rather than fix the database I will have an update to all atlas using programs which updates the listing of time zones (to more current version). This already is in place for the 10" tablet version and the Amazon AE editions (a Jyotish Tools AE has been submitted to Amazon and Tropical Skies AE has been released). The update also ignores the zone index in the database and uses math instead to get any table listing or if it doesn't exist give the listing as LMT. For the time being use Google Maps (only in the Market and SWReg versions) for Nepal and -5 hours 45 minutes for the time zone (use LMT if not listed).

Another update in the works is a bit more tricky and that is with devices with Android 2.2 (Froyo) and above is putting the chart database in the Jyotish Tools folder in extended memory. This way if you need to reset your device then you don't lose your charts. This has already been implemented for the AE editions. But please be aware that the AE editions which mean Android OS Only Edition do not have Google Maps. These editions were created for the many devices that don't have the Google API, the license which adds $50 to the device price plus provides Google Maps and the Android Market. Devices which are Android OS only are inexpensive tablets like Coby, Cruz, Amazon Kindle Fire, etc.

Jyotish Tools for 10" Android Tablets Released

Brian Conrad — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:50:18 GMT

Version 1.1.8 is as special version of Jyotish Tools for Android that runs on Honeycomb tablets with extra large screens around 10" in size. Because of the larger size the phone version looked a bit ridiculous and the features of Android 3.0 and higher allowed me to create a display without tabs that shows the natal chart, divisional chart, notes, chart information and dashas all on one page.

It also allows for editing the natal chart data by tapping on the natal chart which will bring up a full dialog with the newer widgets where you can "fling" the numbers. Tapping the divisional chart will bring up a dialog where you can select which chart you wish to display. Long holding on the Notes display will bring up the Notes editor. All this is also available from the Menu in case you forget.

At this time the Web version of the Android Market may only just show the tablet version but of course version 1.1.7 is available for smaller display devices. If you have the Android Market on your phone or a non-Honeycomb tablet then it will display the 1.1.7 version as being available. The Honeycomb version of the Android Market will display version 1.1.8.

GPS 101

Brian Conrad — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:18:00 GMT

I did a post on time zones and given my recent improvements to my Android apps it seems that many users don't understand how GPS works. My old versions would get the cached GPS location (also known as "last known location") and continue to try to get the current location. Problem with that is you usually just got the cached result the first time the app was run and if that was too old the system would return zeros for longitude and latitude.

This confused people because they knew that GPS was working on their phone. So in the new versions I put the location "listener" on a thread and wait for it to return the current location. It puts up a progress dialog while it does this. I also will time out after 2.5 minutes and take whatever is available: cached and with some of the newest update the network location (the cell tower location). Pressing Cancel may still give you the cached or network location which is often just fine for astrology given that we just use coarse atlas coordinates most of the time. I think some folks thought that pressing Cancel would also cancel the transits chart but it doesn't. The other advantage of doing it this way is the phone is only running the battery eating GPS chip during the time that it is syncing and not the entire time the app is live.

Devices with GPS chips in them triangulate your position given satellites overhead. Depending on the number of satellites overhead and the reception you device can get it can take between a few seconds to 2 minutes or more to sync up a location. Try it with Google Maps. Often Google Maps will start with either the cached location or the network location if the cached is too old. I've watched Google Maps take up to two minutes then just stay with the cached location most likely because it couldn't get the info from satellites.

Unfortunately most astrologers want things immediately. And in many cases when I've tested GPS here it has taken only about 5 seconds to get an accurate fix but other times it would take up to 2 minutes. I could have done just the network location which is the fastest but that will only work with phones and not wifi only devices. Some wifi only devices do come with GPS chips.

Time will tell how this all plays out or maybe I should just time out after 15 or 30 seconds.

On another matter one prominent Android device manufacturer didn't particularly make their devices conform to Android standards. The recent updates for "large screens" aren't working well on these devices. For one thing I used the term "large screens" for screens that are 480x800 or 480x854 because those are devices with more pixel density than normal devices. And lists like the chart entry and chart load displays were a little too short on phones with those displays. This does not mean the extra large screens that are used for tablets with higher displays such as 1024x600. There will be support for those too though most work just fine with the recent layout improvements. However that doesn't help the devices that broke the rules. Hopefully that manufacturer will fix things in a firmware upgrade.

Announcing JyotishTools Lite for Android

Brian Conrad — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 21:28:00 GMT

In response to folks who thought that $9.95 was too much to pay for an app on a $400 phone I have created a "lite" version of JyotishTools for Android. This version does not include Systems Approach support, only has 11 divisional charts and no Ashtakavarga and Shritapati support. It also does not include color charts. Otherwise all other features are there including the two atlases.

One new thing I have introduced in this version is a new chart entry screen. In the old screen people missed that you could use Google Maps by going to the Menu to find the longitude and latitude of any location on earth though unfortunately Google does not supply the time zone so you have to look that up yourself. On the new screen which is basically a listing of the chart data like a list which you can click on each element and enter data.

This new entry screen will soon replace the one in the full version of JyotishTools Android as well as Tropical Skies.

JyotishTools Lite sells for $4.95 USD and is available on the on the Android Market

Android Market on the web and time in Indiana

Brian Conrad — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:05:00 GMT

Today Google launched a web version of the Android Market. Click here to visit the web site. Users and developers have been waiting for this for some time. As many of you know for the iPhone one could purchase apps off the iTunes store where there was plenty of room to provide more information about the app. However the Android Market concept for the last two years was mobile only and until recently not much room to give complete app descriptions. You can purchase an app from the store which will be installed on your phone or tablet as long as it has Google Apps. Most phones do have the latter though in many countries only free apps and many of the inexpensive tablets don't have Google Apps at all. JyotishTools, Tropical Skies and Quick Jyotish all require Google Apps to install due to the availability of Google Maps within the app to find location coordinates.

Time in Indiana

Recently a user inquired about their horoscope because the ascendant was off. They were born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Turns out that my altas files have EST as the time zone which it has been since around 1953. Prior to that it was CST. But it seems that many counties in Indiana can't make up their mind what time zone they're in so be wary of time zones in Indiana. If you're using the PC Atlas along with Jyotish Tools for Windows or Pocket PC be sure to check for atlas file updates.

Some of you have probably even heard the expression "time in Indiana" which was a joke about them constantly changing time zones. For the most part US times zones otherwise remain stable. In fact I had not even heard about this fluctuation until now and time zones were frequently discussed in some of the astrology workshops I've attended. Here's a Wikipedia article about it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Indiana

Time Zones 101 and Jyotish Tools Android update

Brian Conrad — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:56:00 GMT

When I first developed astrology software over 13 years ago most users had a history of calculating charts by hand. Most understood that for a time zone you had to calculate the time it was GMT or UTC from the birth time. This was because Ephemeris tables are GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) or UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) based.

These days however we have a new breed of user who has never done astrology by hand and when they go to the Internet to look up a time zone they get a value that is for doing the opposite of what is needed for astrology. The values on the Internet are for finding the time in a location if we know GMT or UTC time. Listeners to radio stations like the BBC may have heard things like "it is 1100 hours GMT" and if you wanted to know what time that was in New Delhi you would add 5 hours and 30 minutes because India is ahead of GMT 5 hours and 30 minutes. If you wanted to know what time it is in San Francisco you might subtract 8 hours because California is 8 hours behind GMT. But if we the birth time of a person in San Francisco was 8 AM then we would instead add 8 hours to get 1600 hours (4 PM) GMT to get the proper Ephemeris values. And yes computer calculation algorithms are also based on UTC.

So when I get a comment like this on my "MoonCast Demo" for Android:

"Nothing much here timezone signs are wrong."

We know the user has no actual knowledge of astrology. Worse yet they may find that because MoonCast is sidereal astrology their Moon sign may well be different. Of course if I changed the program to use the travel or time of day time zones then even more confusion would reign. Hence like other astrology software developers I stick the traditional conventions of astrological time zones.

Similar problems have arisen with my desktop programs. A lot of people think the programs are wrong because they are familiar with their tropical Sun sign and see it different with a sidereal program not even knowing there is such a thing as sidereal astrology even though the program description says so. But who reads descriptions nowadays?

Jyotish Tools Android Update and Color Scheme

I recently completed an update for Jyotish Tools for Android which adds a nice feature where you can save your horoscope as a picture file in PNG format to your SD card (or external memory). This can be emailed or printed (there are apps now for printing from Android devices). This feature has been available with Tropical Skies for awhile but the screen for that program contained all the relevant information so just the screen was saved. For Jyotish one would naturally not only want the natal chart but the selected divisional or transit chart and the dashas. The addition does that as a PNG file.

In order to do this efficiently memory wise I had to change the "Theme" for Jyotish Tools from the default or standard theme of a black background and light text to the "Light" Android theme of white background with dark text. This is a major change in the look of the app and some have written me requesting it. And naturally you wouldn't want to print a chart that has a black background. So unless I get objections the new version will be released shortly with the new color scheme.

And for those who have requested Tropical Skies via my web site because they don't have the Android Market either in their country or device I will shortly be releasing a version you may purchase through SWReg on my site.

A quick note to blog spammers: your messages are obvious and are rejected. Furthermore I mark them as spam which means you may find your posted automatically deleted in the future by GoDaddy.

JyotishTools on YouTube

Brian Conrad — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:42:00 GMT

I've created a JyotsihTools channel on YouTube for better demos. The first demo is for Tropical Skies Astrology and you can view it below. Putting these demos on YouTube allows for better quality video demos and they will apparently be linked on the Android Market too. There will also be some demos for JyotishTools too. Note that the chart entry for JyotishTools is the same as for Tropical Skies. The demo was created by using an Android Emulator on a PC and a screen capture program.

(Update: I've also added a brief demo of JyotishTools too):

Next up will be a video on how to use the settings for each program and possibly ones that you can play on your Android phone which will fill the screen providing a simulation of the apps.

India and other countries to get Android Market Paid Apps

Brian Conrad — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:28:00 GMT

Google Android announced today that over next two weeks India and 17 other countries will have access to paid apps on the Android Market. These countries are Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and Taiwan. Here is the blog article at Android:
http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-countries-more-sellers-more-buyers.html

So now these countries will also be able to see and purchase Jyotish Tools apps.

Here Come the Tablets!

Brian Conrad — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:47:00 GMT

Recently I was contacted by Samsung India to see if I could fix Quick Jyotish to support the forthcoming Samsung tablet which has a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. Actually for the WVGA screens which have been on some Android phones since last fall there was no work needed as the chart graphic still stretched up to the 854x480 pixel screen. However with a larger screen the chart graphic remained smaller. So I fixed the program so that the graphic size is doubled when a larger than WVGA resolution is encountered. Google would prefer a different solution which apparently they will provide in Android 3.0. This makes me think that currently the system can't actually stretch a graphic to that size in some circumstances. I say "some" because Tropical Skies with no extra work other than the support for WVGA screens also scaled up to the 1024x600 screen. The difference is that the Tropical Skies chart screen is nothing but a graphic.

Other tablets are beginning to show up on the market. Earlier this summer K-Mart even advertised an Augen Touchpad for $150. Quite a bargain. Unfortunately the company shipped with an unauthorized version of the Android Market. So the tablet was pulled though my local K-Mart still has them (at $170). The revised version uses an independent store. You also find other tablets online. There is also the Dell Streak and a number of other tablets that are going to be sold through the telecoms so they can get your money for the data service. However some people don't want that monthly fee and would be happy just to use their tablets wifi. In fact I am considering one of these tablets to test software on another device.

Google is also changing the licensing method for Android Market an I will moving my Market offerings to that method and revising the SWReg licensing to something similar. According to Google this should allow them to offer the Market in more countries.

Commenting on Comments

Brian Conrad — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:50:00 GMT

The Android Market has a comments section where users who have purchased a program can rate and/or comment on an app. Developers however are not able to reply to any of these comments so I thought I would post some of the comments here and reply. First off here are a couple from Tropical Skies:

Comment - Anna (July 1, 2010):
The Atlas is very limited, why not incorporate Google Maps for coordinates?

Reply: Google Maps is incorporated. Unfortunately there was no room on the data entry form to put a Maps button BUT if you select Menu then you will see the Maps Icon in the menu and a Google Maps screen will come where you can select a location and will be copied into the location coordinates. Also Jyotish Tools and Quick Jyotish provide Google Maps.

Comment - John (June 19, 2010)
Default location doesn't work. Needs orb settings, more options and better help section

Reply: Default Location is a place you want to use for transits instead of GPS providing them for you. If you have "Use GPS for Transits" unchecked in the Settings then the Default Location will be used. To set the Default Location select or enter a chart for the location you want and then select Use as Default Location from the Tools Menu. However most astrologers will prefer the GPS feature. Orbs settings may be a bit beyond the scope of a basic program. And be sure to check the Online Help which is updated and includes more information.

For Quick Jyotish:
Comment - matthew (June 9, 2010):

Very Basic...but only program of Jyotish for Android. Thank you for doing this! Can you give smaller dashas? Navamsha? And make a panchang?

Reply: Maybe Matthew is in a country where the paid apps aren't available on the Android Market but Jyotish Tools has the pratyantar dashas and varga charts. Jyotish Tools for Android is also available for purchase on the Jyotish Tools website for locations where paid apps aren't yet available on the Android Market. However the Navamsha is provided in Quick Jyotish not as a chart but as a listing under "Navamsha Signs." MoonCast provides the Panchang.

Many of the other comments for Jyotish Android programs were either addressed with an update or in some cases the users didn't understand the programs were for Vedic not Western astrology. One of the problems with the Market is a lack of space to put features so users are encouraged to visit the Jyotish Tools website for a more complete listing.

Something for Western Astrologers

Brian Conrad — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:07:00 GMT

Some of you may have noticed I recently added a western astrology program "Tropical Skies Astrology" to the product lineup. It was launched a couple weeks ago the Android Market and just recently announced here. I first wanted to see how it did with putting it on the Market without any fanfare here. It has been doing well probably because the western astrology market is 15-20 times larger than the Jyotish market.

I created the program because no one had yet to release a western astrology program for Android and I had libraries ready for use. It is a fairly basic tropical astrology program providing the four most popular house systems and displays the major aspects. I am planning an update which will list the minor aspects too. The program also has a built-in atlas and you can also save locations not found in the atlas to a personal atlas (this is also available in Jyotish Tools for Android). I can also use Google Maps for locations as well as GPS .

Uranus and Neptune calculations are both VSOP87 calculations as are the other planets except Pluto. Unfortunately Pluto was never added to VSOP87 and may never be since astronomers no longer consider it a planet. Therefore the current calculations may be a little rough as there is not much out there for Pluto and because it was only discovered in 1930 hence not observed for very long and has a highly erratic orbit so even the best calculation engines may not be all that accurate especially for any future longitudes. I am seeking to improve those terms so they match as closely as possible to engines like the JPL ephemeris.

(Android Market Barcode for Tropical Skies Astrology)

iPhone and iPad

I still keep getting numerous requests for iPhone and iPad versions. Unfortunately Apple puts too many obstacles in the way to invest any time and money on such products. They are frankly a risky investment and by already publishing for Android would probably get rejected. Developers with Macs can gamble with that market.

Jyotish Tools for Android now available from SWReg

Brian Conrad — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:16:00 GMT

For people interested in purchasing Jyotish Tools for Android who have Android phones without the Android Market or do not have access to paid apps on the Android Market I've set up a version of the program for sale on the JyotishTools website which may be purchased and downloaded from SWReg. For those ordering this way be sure on your phone to go to the phone's Menu and under Setting and Applications check Unknown Sources. The latter has to be checked to install programs from third parties outside the Android Market. If for some reason you recieve your receipt from SWReg on your desktop instead of the phone be sure to forward it to your phone to properly download the program.

As always this is a new program and if you encounter any bugs (outside of bad data entry such as getting latitude and longitude reversed) be sure to contact me at support@jyotishtools.com. The program has an online help section which will be updated with FAQs as questions arise.

And as some of you are aware there is a video demo of the program at http://jyotishtools.com/android.php
Interest and viewing of the demo spiked after Professor Choudhry showed the program at his recent conference in India.

SWReg is planning to add a mobile interface so you can order from your phone too.

Jyotish Tools for Android Released

Brian Conrad — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:49:00 GMT

Jyotish Tools for Android has been released. You can see a video of the demo on the Android page on JyotishTools.com. The program has some new features and uses updated Systems Approach rules. Charts are stored in an SQLite database which is exportable. I've also added western glyphs to the program. Android phones are becoming very popular since they are available from many wireless carriers throughout the world. The program is available on the Android Market for and introductory prices of $9.95 USD.

(Android Market barcode for JyotishTools).

Quick Jyotish Android update and 64-bit desktops

Brian Conrad — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:15:00 GMT

I recently updated Quick Jyotish for Android to version 1.0.3. This fixes some entry bugs and changes input to the way it works on the desktop making it cleaner and faster. Checking entries realtime seemed to bog input down. It seems that though the Maps feature to find coordinates works well in the US they may be a little sluggish elsewhere from reports I'm getting.

I've begun work on a version of Jyotish Tools for Android which will include an atlas. Though Google Maps can find the coordinates of about any location on the globe it doesn't return the time zone. The atlas is the same that comes with the current Jyotish Tools and the Indian atlas will also be included. The atlas will also return whether DST was in effect with cities in the US if the date is 1966 or after. Also the program will use the latest Systems Approach rules.

If for some reason you've purchased a 64-bit processor machine be aware Jyotish Tools for Windows may not work on it. Be sure to download the trial version and run it before you purchase. Personally I don't see much andvatange for an astrologer to own a 64-bit machine but marketing often makes people feel they are getting the "coolest" machine if they buy one. However there is not much software that really takes advantage of a 64-bit processor. The main advantage of such a processor is to access larger hard drives.

GPS Prasna Updated

Brian Conrad — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:20:00 GMT

I have updated the Android program GPS Prasna so that it now listens for GPS location updates while running. Thanks to rather lacking documentation by Google I originally thought the implementation I had was sufficient but later learned that the program needed to have a "location listener" implemented to work properly. Now it works flawlessly as I can attest using my Android phone. When GPS is available and turned on you'll see the satellite dish icon in the Android top bar as shown here. With this free software you can get a prasna chart with the correct ascendant for your present location. Try that on an iPhone.

GPS Prasna is available for free on the JyotishTools.com web site on the Android page or on the Android Market.

Android Tips

Brian Conrad — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:48:00 GMT

I finally got an Android phone, an HTC Eris. Here is a picture of Quick Jyotish on the Eris. Since I can now see my software in action (as well as debug) on a device instead of just the emulator I can provide a few tips for use of the software.

First off, there is no problem with the software keyboard as far as entry goes.   Just be sure to use the return key for each field. Unlike the Java, Linux and Windows versions of Quick Jyotish the Android version checks your entries to see if they are legal when you enter them. For instance if you enter 29 for a date in February when it is not a leap year it will change the day back to 28. If you don't hit the return key the field may not register and you'll have to type it in again. Also hitting the return key will advance you to the next field. When finished with entry hit the "back" button on the phone and the keyboard will clear so you can hit the OK button.

Also I will be adding the GPS function for the NOW button in Quick Jyotish so if it is turned on you will get your current coordinates. It was in the program originally but turned off when GPS stopped working with the emulator.

GPS Prasna also worked with GPS as long as the user had used another program to get GPS coordinates. However I am going to add a "GPS listener" so the need to run another program won't be necessary. To work GPS has to be turned on and you will see a little satellite dish in the status bar when it is on. Watch for the update.

My apologies also to anyone who has an Android phone but not access to the Android Market and tried to download either GPS Prasna or Quick Jyotish from the JyotishTools web site. Unfortuantely the PHP script did not set the MIME type properly so it would not install. That has been corrected and those two downloads will install on your phone. Just download and then click on them and you will be asked if you want to install the program.

I am planning some more astrology applications for the Android phone. One may be a "lite" version of Jyotish Tools as well as a full version late on.   I will be implementing the same built-in atlas that Jyotish Tools has with one improvement, it will detect DST if you enter a place in the US and date 1966 or after. You will also be able to use Google Maps to find coordinates. Unfortunately at this time Google Maps does not return the time zone and if it did it would only be the current one not the historical one for the date. But one can always look up the time zone with the default atlas for a nearby city and use then find the location by Map.

I'm enjoying the phone and it has many capabilities including I can use my wifi network with it. If found the displays quite readable which was a concern for my programs.   Verizon's big launch seems to have prompted other wireless companies who do not have Android phones to make announcements. There are even rumors that AT&T will be launching an Android phone. If you're wondering why I chose the Eris over the Motorola Droid, I don't use mobile phones that much. The Droid is larger, faster (dual processor), has a hardware keyboard and a good choice for someone who uses a mobile phone quite a bit especially for business.   The Droid is also more expensive than the Eris. When choosing a phone take into consideration how you will be using it. Try to go to a store that sells them and see the different units (unfortunately many store don't have live demos so far).

Daylight Time Help and More Android

Brian Conrad — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:42:00 GMT

Here in the US we just changed back to Standard Time and I was inspired to create a Python script to generate the start and end dates for Daylight Time since 1966 when the US standardized those dates. The idea was to add the ability for the atlases in my new programs to provide DST if the date is 1966 or later and a US chart. I also generated the tables for the European Union but those only begin after 1996 when they were standardized.

DST can be the bane of an astrologer's existence. So many states experimented with it and some states like Indiana differed from county to county. Wouldn't it have been nice if the birth certificates could have also included GMT or UT? And I'm sure legislators won't resist changing rules again in the future. Arizona never has had DST and Hawaii being close to the equator has no use for it. Neither do many countries close to the equator. China, India and Japan do not observe DST either.

So you can print out the tables which are available at http://jyotishtools.com/dst.php

Sprint and Verizon have both launched their Android phones. Also more than 50+ Android phones have been announced. HTC has also released a smaller Android phone the HTC Tattoo. The Verizon phone is the Motorola Cliq and they will also be offering an HTC phone. Sprint has the HTC Hero and a Samsung Android phone. Google has also released Android 2.0 and I will be updating some of my current apps to take advantage of those features.

Web Site Updated

Brian Conrad — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:52:00 GMT

I've just updated the Jyotish Tools web site with a cleaner Web 2.0 (whatever that means) looking design. It looks cleaner and should be easier to navigate. I've also added a current planets display on the home page. This is also driven by a simple PHP script and is also available for mobile phones and devices at mobile.jyotishtools.com . It provides the current planetary position regardless of where you are. I have to muse that I was looking at what few astrology programs are available on iPhone and someone has an ephemeris and one of the comments was "but I don't live in Greenwich." I would hope all of you would chuckle at that comment but sadly too many astrologers have lost touch with how planets are calculated or never even learned to calculate them by hand or they would realize that the current planets GMT or UT are good for any place on the planet. When we calculate a birth chart we add or subtract the time zone to get the GMT time for that birthdate because calculation tables and data are for GMT. A web server can provide the current GMT so that step is unnecessary when providing the current planets.

I've also made the Android free programs available for download too as more Android phones are becoming available in places like India and China. Some of these phone services may not have access to the Android Market so I have also made them available on the JyotishTools site on the Android page.

And finally if blogging weren't enough JyotishTools is now on Twitter or "microblogging" as I call it. The address is:
http://twitter.com/jyotishtools

MoonCast for Android Released

Brian Conrad — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:08:00 GMT

I am happy to announce that MoonCast for Android has been released. Along with the features that were in the Palm version I have also added Tithi information. If you have an Android phone you may download the demo version in Demos on the Android Market. With the demo you can enter your birth information and get a reading for June 16th, 2009. MoonCast for Android is available in the Android Market under Lifestyle (they don't have an astrology section yet) on sale for the introductory price of $2.99.

Now that Palm has released their new Palm Pre product some of you may be thinking of upgrading to it. Though the Pre does not have the Palm emulator that previous models had one company, MotionApps , has an emulator available that can run your legacy Palm apps such as JyotishToGo and MoonCast.