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The Liturgy of the Hours, the Mass, and other things.

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Amazon bug in Kindle Fire

Posted by universalis on 11 February 2015

On 10 February 2014 a bug was reported to us on the Kindle Fire, which caused the Universalis app to stop working. The bug only affected certain models of the Kindle Fire, and possibly only certain users of those models. Amazon are incapable of providing technical support.

Everybody’s Universalis apps started working again, eventually. The full details are below, copied from the original article.

On 10 February 2015 the same thing has happened. The symptoms are the same, and again the problem seems to cure itself spontaneously in the end. Because it is an intermittent problem, it is not possible to tell what is causing it, or what actions will make it go away, or whether it is just necessary to wait a day or two for the problem to go away by itself.

The Universalis app for Android exists in only one version, for all Android devices, so there must be something special about the Kindle Fire.

Symptoms

The Universalis application works perfectly in every respect except the following:

  • All the text pages (the Hours, the Order of Mass, Readings at Mass) are completely blank.
  • In the “Font size” setting screen, the sample text is blank.

Circumstances

For some people, this happens all the time. Others have found that it sometimes happens and sometimes doesn’t: they try, and they see blank page; they try a little later, and they see text.

One user reports that deleting and re-installing the Universalis application cures the problem (for a short while). Others report that it doesn’t.

Some people report that shutting down their device and starting it up again cures the problem (for a short while). Others report that is doesn’t.

One user reports: “I switched my wifi off and on again and I got to Vespers. Setting it up for Compline failed. Switching wifi off and then on again brought up Compline.” We would be very interested to know if other people have the same experience. But that user then wrote back and said that the next day everything was working perfectly!

Versions affected

Amazon’s name Software version
Kindle Fire HD (Previous Generation) System Version 7.4.6 user 4620220
Kindle Fire HD (Previous Generation) System Version 7.4.7 user 4730120
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ System Version 8.4.6 user 4620220
Kindle Fire System Version 10.4.6 user 4620220

No report received

Please let us know if you have any of the following Kindle Fires:

Amazon’s name Software version
Kindle Fire HD 11.3.1
Kindle Fire HDX 13.3.1
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ 14.3.1
More models have been added since this article was originally written.

Please help us to make these lists complete. Here are instructions for finding out the version of your Kindle system software. Here are instructions for finding out what model of Kindle Fire you have.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Amazon bug in Kindle Fire

Deeply embarrassing

Posted by universalis on 22 October 2014

A very kind user looked a little ahead in the calendar and discovered that Universalis was wrong about the date of All Souls’ Day in England and Wales. It had, in fact, disappeared altogether.

This year, in England and Wales, All Saints’ Day is moved to Sunday 2 November (it is moved to Sunday when it falls on Saturday) and consequently All Souls’ Day is on Monday 3 November.

The web site has been corrected, the Windows and Mac downloads have been corrected and you can re-download and reinstall them. The apps for iOS, Android and Mac have had corrections submitted and will be updated automatically. On the iOS and Mac side, this means waiting for Apple to approve the update, which at the moment seems to be taking about a week.

Posted in Calendars, Downloadable Universalis | Comments Off on Deeply embarrassing

Android bug

Posted by universalis on 11 August 2014

Once again, the latest updates to Android on certain devices have brought with them a bug which makes all pages in the Universalis and Catholic Calendar apps blank. (The apps continue to work normally in every other respect: for instance, the calendar listing is still visible).

As before, the problem is connected with an Android system update and only affects some Android devices. Unfortunately, none of our own devices are affected despite having had the latest updates installed. This means that we cannot find out what the Android bug is, or whether there is any way for an app to work round the bug.

Last time round, the bug affected only the Kindle Fire, and it went away after about a week. Presumably that was when Amazon noticed the bug themselves, corrected it, and issued an update.

We hope a similar thing will happen this time. Meanwhile here are three things you can try, which should make no difference at all to the problem… but may do, nevertheless.

  1. Shut down the Universalis app and then restart it.
  2. Shut down the device completely and then power it up again.
  3. Remove the Universalis (or Catholic Calendar) app and re-download it or reinstall it.

In addition, one user has reported that turning wi-fi on and then off again corrected the problem. This is clearly impossible, and it serves to emphasise that the bug in Android is erratic and random.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Tagged: , | 5 Comments »

Amazon bug in Kindle Fire

Posted by universalis on 10 February 2014

Amazon have just distributed an update to Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD devices which causes the Universalis app to stop working. We do not yet know whether this is an intended effect of the update or not. We have made a support request to Amazon to try and find out.

There is no way we know of preventing your Kindle device from being updated. If it is working today, it may stop working in the next couple of days. The problem is intermittent, however.

Symptoms

The Universalis application works perfectly in every respect except the following:

  • All the text pages (the Hours, the Order of Mass, Readings at Mass) are completely blank.
  • In the “Font size” setting screen, the sample text is blank.

Circumstances

For some people, this happens all the time. Others have found that it sometimes happens and sometimes doesn’t: they try, and they see blank page; they try a little later, and they see text.

One user reports that deleting and re-installing the Universalis application cures the problem (for a short while). Others report that it doesn’t.

Some people report that shutting down their device and starting it up again cures the problem (for a short while). Others report that is doesn’t.

One user reports: “I switched my wifi off and on again and I got to Vespers. Setting it up for Compline failed. Switching wifi off and then on again brought up Compline.” We would be very interested to know if other people have the same experience. But that user then wrote back and said that the next day everything was working perfectly!

Versions affected

Amazon’s name Software version
Kindle Fire HD (Previous Generation) System Version 7.4.6 user 4620220
Kindle Fire HD (Previous Generation) System Version 7.4.7 user 4730120
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ System Version 8.4.6 user 4620220
Kindle Fire System Version 10.4.6 user 4620220

No report received

Please let us know if you have any of the following Kindle Fires:

Amazon’s name Software version
Kindle Fire HD 11.3.1
Kindle Fire HDX 13.3.1
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9″ 14.3.1

Please help us to make these lists complete. Here are instructions for finding out the version of your Kindle system software.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Tagged: , , | Comments Off on Amazon bug in Kindle Fire

New iOS version available

Posted by universalis on 4 February 2014

The new version of the Universalis app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch has just been approved by Apple and it will be available for download within the next few hours. The new version works on iOS 6 and 7 only: if you are using an older version of iOS them you will not be offered the update and you can continue using the old version.

All the existing features are still there and some new ones have been added: notably, a night mode for people who like to read in the dark. The user interface has been made simpler and more logical. The new operating instructions are here.

BUG: If you use the United States calendar in parts of the USA where the Ascension is celebrated on a Sunday, the name of the calendar at the top of the calendar page is reported as “United States: Ascension on Thursday”. The calendar itself is correct: it is only the label that is wrong. We will correct this soon. Thanks to the alert user who reported this bug.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Christmas presents from Universalis: apps

Posted by universalis on 2 December 2013

Apparently this is meant to be the year when everybody gets tablets and e-readers for Christmas. Here is a list of all the systems we sell Universalis for, and how to give it as a present. The next blog post will tell you about e-books.

iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch: the Universalis app costs £9.99. Visit the App Store and click on “View in iTunes”. Next to the “Download” or “Purchase” button you will see a downward-pointing arrow. Click on it to open the menu, and select “Gift This App”.

Android from Google Play: The Universalis app costs £9.99. Google Play does not allow apps to be given as gifts. You can send your friend a Google Play Gift Card for the right amount, together with a link to the Google Play listing as a hint of what you would like your friend to receive from you.

Android from Amazon: The Universalis app costs £9.99. Amazon do not allow apps to be given as gifts. You can send your friend an Amazon Appstore Gift Card or Certificate for the right amount, together with a link to the Amazon Appstore listing as a hint of what you would like your friend to receive from you.

Mac and Windows: A Universalis registration code costs £19.99. It gives free access to the Universalis programs on the Mac and on Windows, and to all the apps listed above. It allows you to create e-books if you need them, and provides a daily email service. To give a code as a gift, please buy it from us in the usual way. Forward the 9-digit code to your friend, and then, to avoid confusion in the future, send us an email to let us know that the code belongs not to you but to your friend (your friend’s name, address, and email would be helpful).

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“Updates will percolate”

Posted by universalis on 4 July 2013

I am always grateful when someone spots an error in Universalis and lets me know about it so that I can correct it. (Or to be precise, I am annoyed by the error and grateful to have it corrected).

This post is about what happens to corrections and when you will see them appear in Universalis.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Downloadable Universalis, The Universalis site | 1 Comment »

No selection switches in e-books

Posted by universalis on 2 May 2013

The Universalis downloads and apps have blue arrow buttons inside them which let you choose different options each day. See, for example, How the Selection Switches Work for Mass. (The web site does the same kind of selection in some cases, but it does it using ordinary links).

If you print out a page from Universalis and you end up with blue arrows on the paper, tapping or clicking those buttons does nothing. The paper does not change.

An e-book is just paper inside an electronic box. Tapping or clicking arrows in it would do nothing. Consequently e-books created using Universalis do not show the arrows at all. This applies both to Kindle e-books and to e-books in the ePub format.

The selection switches for Mass let you choose which readings you want to use for Mass that day. For instance, on a memorial, you may want to ignore the General Instruction of the Roman Missal’s instructions (at §357) and use the readings for the memorial rather than the readings for the ferial day.

When you use the Universalis program on your computer to create an e-book, the program uses whatever selections you have chosen within the program. If you chose the readings for the memorial on a particular day, those are the readings which will appear in the e-book. So if you have particular preferences for readings on memorials (and also for optional memorials), go through the calendar in the program and set the selections accordingly. Then all future e-books that you make will respect your selections.

Kindle Fire

In order to confuse their customers, Amazon use the same name for their e-book readers (the Kindle) and their tablets (the Kindle Fire). In fact the Kindle Fire (modern versions) and the Kindle Fire HD are not Kindles but programmable devices, and you can buy the Universalis app for them, blue buttons and all.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis, e-books | Comments Off on No selection switches in e-books

Kindle e-books on the Blackberry

Posted by universalis on 3 April 2013

There isn’t a Universalis application on the Blackberry and there won’t be one. However, you can still read Universalis on the Blackberry if you want, by creating a Universalis e-book on your computer and then reading it on your Blackberry. Here is how to do it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Downloadable Universalis, e-books | Comments Off on Kindle e-books on the Blackberry

Got a new toy for Christmas?

Posted by universalis on 18 December 2012

Whatever your toy, you can probably get Universalis on it.

iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone: you can buy the app.

Android tablets and phones: you can buy the app.

E-book readers: you can create e-books for yourself. Eventually you’ll need to buy a registration code but you can try it out for a month or so first.

Amazon Kindle – it depends what kind of Kindle:

  • “Plain” e-book reader Kindles (Kindle Classic, Kindle Paperwhite): you can create e-books for yourself or you can get e-books straight onto your Kindle from our web site. Read all about it here.
  • “Tablet” Kindles (Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD): you can buy the Universalis app.

All the things I’ve mentioned here are single purchases that last for ever. They don’t need any kind of subscription.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis, e-books | 1 Comment »

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