Is there a 'start from zero' tutorial?

[calvin2]

This morning I couldn't figure out how to dismiss a reminder from my calendar except by deleting the event. That's absolutely ridiculous. I'm not an *****. I'm new to Android but I'm very experienced with Windows-so why is Android so hard to use?

Perhaps I need to start by understanding where to look for advice. As I understand it Google produces 'standard' Android, the phone manufacturer modifies it adding/removing/replacing apps, and then the carrier further modifies the app set at least. (Does the carrier ever modify Android itself? That doesn't seem likely to me. More likely they simply add some of their own apps.) Is there any sort of guide as to what are 'standard' Android apps & how to recognize when they've been replaced?

Is there a guide that doesn't assume I already know what I'm doing? Best would be one that doesn't assume anything about me-most seem to simultaneously assume that I want to strip naked in public yet keep anybody from looking at me. (A.k.a. sharing everything but keeping my phone secure.) It's nice to have these as options-but show me how to *not* take advantage of them, too!

So I guess what I'm looking for is a Dummy's Guide to Android-or something like that. Does anybody know of one? Thanks.

 

[Golfdriver97]

This morning I couldn't figure out how to dismiss a reminder from my calendar except by deleting the event. That's absolutely ridiculous. I'm not an *****. I'm new to Android but I'm very experienced with Windows-so why is Android so hard to use?

Perhaps I need to start by understanding where to look for advice. As I understand it Google produces 'standard' Android, the phone manufacturer modifies it adding/removing/replacing apps, and then the carrier further modifies the app set at least. (Does the carrier ever modify Android itself? That doesn't seem likely to me. More likely they simply add some of their own apps.) Is there any sort of guide as to what are 'standard' Android apps & how to recognize when they've been replaced?

Is there a guide that doesn't assume I already know what I'm doing? Best would be one that doesn't assume anything about me-most seem to simultaneously assume that I want to strip naked in public yet keep anybody from looking at me. (A.k.a. sharing everything but keeping my phone secure.) It's nice to have these as options-but show me how to *not* take advantage of them, too!

So I guess what I'm looking for is a Dummy's Guide to Android-or something like that. Does anybody know of one? Thanks.

Welcome to Android and the forums!
There are plenty of books as guides. The For Dummies series is pretty well thought out, and probably available at your local library.

I am going to apologize if my response is rather long winded....
1. Calendar events: Many things come up in your notification drawer. That is where you can put your finger at the top of the screen and literally pull down. You then can see all of your alerts. Your calendar is one that you can swipe aside, and that acts as a dismissal. Many alerts act this way, the only ones that don't are apps you install, and have a constant notification for. Weather is a good example.

2. OEMs, and carriers and Android (OS): OEMs heavily modify the OS, and carriers do to a small degree. I have Sprint, and on a stock ROM, I have in Settings, the 'Sprint Connections Optimizer' of which I think is a creation from the devil itself. The only way to put something in the settings is to modify the ROM itself. It is between these two things that the OS takes so long to update. Android is approved by Google, then sent to Samsung. Samsung modifies it for their devices, and then sends it to carriers who modify it further by placing their network specific apps on it.

3. How to spot standard Android. This is called Vanilla Android. That one is very hard to tell. Some devices are Vanilla. Nexus, and Google Edition phones are vanilla. Otherwise, some custom ROMs are close to vanilla. Cyanogen and AOKP are almost Vanilla Android. By almost is defined as there are a few extra features in Settings, but that's about it.

I would highly recommend the book I suggested. It does assume that you know nothing about Android, and many of the things they talk about are general advise and how to's, so it is irrelevant if you have an S3 or an HTC One. Our community is good for asking questions, but like any other forum, search for you question before posting.

I think I got all your concerns. If not, or have any follow up questions, by all means ask.

 

[calvin2]

Don't worry about being long-winded. For me, the more details you provide the better I like it. It's reassuring to see that I was pretty much right with point #2. I'll look for Dummy's book-probably would have found it before if I could have remembered the name correctly. The reminder I couldn't dismiss wasn't the notification-this was a full screen reminder. I saw something (somewhere) about taking a screen shot so I'll try to learn that. Then, if (when) it happens again I'll see if i can't post a screenshot so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. I used to do that a lot at work-I'm a retired programmer who spent the last several years at work writing user manuals. But that was Windows-I'm sure most of the same functionality is available for Android, I just need to learn the new tools. Thanks.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Don't worry about being long-winded. For me, the more details you provide the better I like it. It's reassuring to see that I was pretty much right with point #2. I'll look for Dummy's book-probably would have found it before if I could have remembered the name correctly. The reminder I couldn't dismiss wasn't the notification-this was a full screen reminder. I saw something (somewhere) about taking a screen shot so I'll try to learn that. Then, if (when) it happens again I'll see if i can't post a screenshot so you can see exactly what I'm talking about. I used to do that a lot at work-I'm a retired programmer who spent the last several years at work writing user manuals. But that was Windows-I'm sure most of the same functionality is available for Android, I just need to learn the new tools. Thanks.

Since its stock Samsung you should have the red ring, right?

Sent from a SlimROM S3.

 

[calvin2]

As I recall, yes. I've set up a test reminder to go off in a bit, we'll see what I can figure out with that. Thanks.

OK, I'll have to change my answer to maybe or maybe not. What I have is a calendar at the top, the date/time in the middle with the event name below it and two 'buttons' at the bottom. The left button is a red X in a circle. The right button is a yellow Z in a circle. Both have dots leading to the center. Tapping these buttons causes the circle to briefly expand but does nothing else. Dragging the buttons causes the circle to briefly expand but nothing else. Except that I just dragged the X and the reminder went away. Huh? Did I somehow drag it differently this time? I'll continue checking as I have time. Thanks.

 

[Golfdriver97]

As I recall, yes. I've set up a test reminder to go off in a bit, we'll see what I can figure out with that. Thanks.

OK, I'll have to change my answer to maybe or maybe not. What I have is a calendar at the top, the date/time in the middle with the event name below it and two 'buttons' at the bottom. The left button is a red X in a circle. The right button is a yellow Z in a circle. Both have dots leading to the center. Tapping these buttons causes the circle to briefly expand but does nothing else. Dragging the buttons causes the circle to briefly expand but nothing else. Except that I just dragged the X and the reminder went away. Huh? Did I somehow drag it differently this time? I'll continue checking as I have time. Thanks.

Z is snooze, X is dismiss, and I would drag it as far as you can.

Sent from a SlimROM S3.

 

[calvin2]

For me, it's quirky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I did suspect what the X & Z meant but couldn't figure out how to use them. Dragging is the answer, now if I could just figure out why it sometimes works & sometimes doesn't. I'm suspecting it's the direction but I'll take your tip about distance too. It seems to work best when I drag the X over to the Z or vice versa. Doesn't seem to work at all when I drag the X up to the calendar. But if it needs to be dragged sideways then the acceptable angle is too narrow-for me, anyway. I'm still working on it though. Thanks.

 

[Golfdriver97]

For me, it's quirky. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I did suspect what the X & Z meant but couldn't figure out how to use them. Dragging is the answer, now if I could just figure out why it sometimes works & sometimes doesn't. I'm suspecting it's the direction but I'll take your tip about distance too. It seems to work best when I drag the X over to the Z or vice versa. Doesn't seem to work at all when I drag the X up to the calendar. But if it needs to be dragged sideways then the acceptable angle is too narrow-for me, anyway. I'm still working on it though. Thanks.

No sweat. Hopefully you get the hang of it.

Sent from a SlimROM S3.