Bizarre Droid auto-focus bug revealed
What was making the Droid camera go out of focus?
Verizon's launch of the Droid has been marred by a handful of bugs that Google and/or Motorola and/or Verizon appear to be squashing pretty quickly (seriously, how much buck-passing goes on behind the scenes when there's a bug with this device?). One of the most interesting bug stories I've heard in a while has to do with the auto-focus bug. Apparently it just didn't work. The on-board camera would focus, then blur out again.
And then it suddenly started working properly for everyone. The first theory of why it would fix itself was that there was some film on the lens when a Droid was fresh from the factory, but it got cleared off with use somehow. Folks claimed that directly cleaning the lens with a soft cloth would fix the problem, and that much made sense, but other theories had the film getting cleaned by the action of sticking the Droid in your pocket? I wish I lived in a world where things got cleaner the more you used them!
The next theory was that some kind of stealth patch got pushed to the Droids without the owner's knowledge. Officials quickly denied this rumor. Probably good news that they can't (or at least, won't) patch your phone without your choosing to accept the patch.
Finally the real reason for the bug and fix was revealed, and maybe it's just because I write web scripts for a living, but I really got a kick out of this. The auto-focus routines somehow make use of a timestamp, and the bug was due to a rounding error. In a comment on an Engadget post, someone claiming to be Google engineer Dan Morrill said:
There's a rounding-error bug in the camera driver's autofocus routine (which uses a timestamp) that causes autofocus to behave poorly on a 24.5-day cycle. That is, it'll work for 24.5 days, then have poor performance for 24.5 days, then work again.
The 17th is the start of a new "works correctly" cycle, so the devices will be fine for a while. A permanent fix is in the works.
How crazy is that? Engadget says they tested this by backdating their Droid to November 11th and sure enough, the problem returned. I pity the engineer who had to uncover this one; talk about finding a needle in a haystack.
Anyway, let's hope they get this patched up before the current 'good' cycle ends.
By the way, I'm considering springing for a Droid; if any readers have one, I'd love to hear comments on it. Are you happy with your purchase?
Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world
Brian Proffitt
Microsoft/Novell: Breaking Down the Coupon Numbers
Esther Schindler
Drupal's Dries Buytaert on Building the Next Drupal
Tom Henderson
Top Ten General Operating Systems Rants
pasmith
PS3 motion controller delayed; goes up against Project Natal
sjvn
Neolithic Windows security hole alive and well in Windows 7
claird
Perl source code comparison makes for good reading
mikelgan
Cell phones don't create stress or interrupt much
Sandra Henry-Stocker
How to: The Unix Interview
Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann
Join the conversation here
Quick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.
- Ubuntu advances: Why Ubuntu server installations will surge in 2010
- Social media marketing: How to make friends with benefits
- More...
Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.
Droid
I got mine on launch date and overalll have been very pleased with it coming from the iPhone 3GS. So far I find only a few things that are quirky; one is that emails and SMS with phone numbers aren't highlighted like a link and can't be dialed directly from the message, I miss that the most. Cut and paste is a bit quirky, there isn't a good printing app yet. Battery life is a challenge but I had to use a Mophie Juice pack on the iPhone to get a full day out of it and it added a ton of weight and bulk to get it. On the plus side Remote Desktop from Xtralogic is the best RDP app I have ever used on a phone, it beat the 2 I had on the iPhone hands down. Call quality is a welcome change from the dropped hissing calls I had with ATT half the time. They can cry all they want about Verizon's ads, but while I really like the iPhone their network just doesn't cut it.Droid -- YES!!!!
Peter,Now that the autofocus "bio-rhythm" is in the correct "moon phase" I have absolutely no reservation in recommending the Droid (well, maybe one -> the task management {memory useage} needs to mature)...
Go DROID
I really, really like my Driod. Supposedly 250,000 have been sold so far and Moto / Verizon is predicting 1M by year's end. The Android Market has more than enough aps to download and play with until it achieves parity with the iPhone ap store in quantity and quality. It's a work in progress that's 90%+ where it needs to be already - I say go for it.