Google News on the Kindle Fire - How do I scroll through the list of international editions?

I have been playing around quite a bit with Amazon's Silk browser on the Kindle Fire.

For the most part, i've found surfing the internets on the Kindle Fire to be rather easy and enjoyable.

One complaint, however.

I enjoy heading over to Google News to scan news headlines.

On the Kindle Fire, Google News has a maddening bug.  The bug is so confusing, it's forced me to basically ditch Google News for Bing News.

I don't know if I am the only one who's encountered this, and I don't know if I am just doing something wrong.  But, it's disturbed me enough to jot down my thoughts on the matter.

On a Kindle Fire, if you head over to Google News, there is this little drop down selector box at the top of the screen.

This selector box allows the user to select different international editions of Google News.  The problem I have, is that I selected this option once, now I can't seem to figure out a way to return to the U.S. edition of Google News. 

When I select this country drop down box, every attempt I make to scroll down the lists of countries does nothing....

I can continually select the "Canadian English edition" in order to see Google News in English, but every attempt i've made (for weeks now) to scroll down the list of countries does nothing.  If I try to move through the list, the entire screen moves up and down.

It's awfully frustrating.  I am know I am probably doing some minor thing incorrectly.  But, for the life of me, I can't figure out what it is.

That was a mouthful!  I'll do some repro steps below.

Repro Steps:

1.  On a Kindle Fire, navigate to Google News (http://news.google.com)
2.  Click the country selector drop down menu under the main input box
3.  Attempt to scroll through the list of countries

Result:  On my Kindle Fire, I seem to be unable to change the international edition of Google News.  All attempts to scroll through the list of international editions is unsuccessful

Expected:  I am hoping to be able to scroll through the list of international editions offered for Google News on the Kindle Fire

This is exactly what I keep seeing.  See "Edition Canada"?  If I select that drop down menu....

I get this drop down menu which shows a list of countries.  I seem to be completely unable to scroll through this list of countries, and I have been continually selecting "Canada English" in order to see English language news....

Calculator Plus Free App displays the word "error" when you divide by zero

Calculator Plus Free (Kindle Fire Edition) Version 2.7

Dividing anything by zero on the Calculator Plus Free app for the Kindle Fire results in the word "Error" being displayed.

If you divide other numbers by zero on other calculator, such as the calculator built into the Mac OS, you'll see something slightly more informative.

On a Mac you'll see, "not a number", for example.

What happens when you divide something by zero?  Semantics, playa.  Semantics.

Repro Steps:

1.  On a Kindle Fire, download the Calculator Plus Free app.
2.  Divide a number by zero (7 divided by 0, for example)
3.  Note that the Calculator Plus Free app displays the head scratching word "error" when you divide something by zero
4.  Begin contemplating math

Result:  Dividing a number by zero on the Calculator Plus Free Kindle Fire App results in the word "error" being displayed on screen

Expected:  That dividing something by zero using the Calculator Plus Free Kindle Fire App will result in a more informative word than "error" - perhaps "not a number"

Note: See Also.

Download Calculator Plus Free for the Kindle Fire.

Divide a number by zero.

There's an app for sale called CIC MB Type5App080212180223

Snazzy name for an app!

There's an app that's currently available for download on the Kindle Fire that features one heck of an interesting name.

In an example of no oversight, someone managed to get an app released with a placeholder name.

That, or someone really thinks that a name like CIC MB Type5App080212180223 will really sell itself.

But wait, there's more!

WhosHere on the Kindle Fire crashes if you try to send a message to somebody.

Date: 07/16/2012

Android Version: 1.1

Description:

I’ve found a minor bug with the app WhosHere as it operates on the Kindle Fire.

Now, WhosHere is an app that’s built around video messaging and text messages, so it wasn’t exactly designed with the Kindle Fire in mind.

Still, it’s available to download on the Kindle Fire, and a user is given an option to create an account that can be migrated to other devices.

Anyways, i’ve found a crash that always occurs.  My guess is that this bug probably reproduces on other Android devices.  So, I’ll write down this minor bug, for history’s sake.

I actually downloaded and played with the iPhone version of WhosHere.  This is why I recognized the app, and decided to download it onto a Kindle Fire.

If you’re already bored of reading this, please just skip to the attached screenshots.

On the Kindle Fire, the WhosHere app will crash, if you send someone a message.  It's pretty simple.

Repro Steps:

1.     Download WhosHere on a Kindle Fire

2.     Launch WhosHere

3.     Select any person displayed under “Near”

4.     From any person’s display page, select the pencil and paper icon at the bottom of the app

5.     Type in an message and send it to a person

6.     Note that the app crashes into “The application WhosHere (process com.whoshere.whoshere) has stopped unexpectedly.  Please try again.”

Result:  On a Kindle Fire, the WhosHere app will crash if the user sends a message to any user

Expected:  The WhosHere app on a Kindle Fire won’t crash if the user attempts to send a message to another user

Repro Rate: 5/5

Download WhosHere on a Kindle Fire.  

As soon as you launch the app, you'll see a default group of people presented to you, under the heading "Near".  Select any person.

After selecting a person, you'll be sent to a page where you'll have the option to send people individual messages.  This option to send direct messages is represented by a pencil and paper icon that's visible at the bottom of the screen.  Select this option.

Send a person a message, from this keyboard pop-up on a Kindle Fire.

It will crash!

Not seeing the Twitter icon.

Twitter Kindle Fire app – Version 3.2.2

Date:  07/07/2012

Description:

Don’t know if this is just me or not, but not matter what I do, I don’t see the Twitter PNG image in the bookshelf section under apps.

I’ve downloaded, deleted, and re-downloaded the Twitter app for the Kindle Fire.

Every time I go the apps section on the Kindle Fire, I don’t see the twitter icon.

I just see a gray box.

If I add it to favorites, it’s also just a gray box.

Repro Steps:

1.     Download the Twitter Kindle Fire app

2.     Note that the icon for it (at least on my Kindle Fire) always appears as gray in color in the Kindle Fire app bookshelf

Result:  On my Kindle Fire, the Twitter icon appears as gray in color in the app bookshelf

Expected:  That on the Kindle Fire, the Twitter icon won’t appear as gray in color – I’m expecting the traditional twitter bird

Please see the attached screenshots.

I am not seeing the twitter icon on my Kindle Fire.  I see a gray box.  I've rebooted my Kindle Fire.  I've deleted and re-downloaded Twitter.  Still seeing a gray box.

If I add it to favorites, I see the gray box on the Kindle Fire home screen.

There's a guy named Rovert in Ping Pong Master

Title: Ping Pong Master

Version: 12.04.03

Date:  07/07/2012

Description:

I know, I know.  This isn’t a bug with the Kindle Fire, per se.  This is, instead, a hee-larious bug with an app that runs on the Kindle Fire.

I kept playing this delightful game called Ping Pong Master, on the Kindle Fire. 

This game is fun, and if you’ve got a Kindle Fire, I recommend it.

Each and every time I fired up this Ping Pong Master, I kept wondering to myself: “am I the only one who notices this?”

Your first computer opponent looks exactly like Waldo from “Where’s Waldo.”

Except, except….

He’s named “Robert” in a pre-game lobby.

Then his name changes, hilariously, to “Rovert” in game.

“Rovert”

See the attached screenshots.

Repro Steps:

1.     On a Kindle Fire, download the awesome ping pong title named “Ping Pong Master”

2.     Before the game starts, notice that your first opponent is named “Robert”

3.     Enter into gameplay, and notice that your opponent’s name changes to “Rovert”

Result:  There’s a character in “Ping Pong Master” whose name changes from “Robert” to “Rovert”

Try "Ping Pong Master."  You won't be disappointed.

Your first opponent...  A "where's waldo" looking homeboy named "Robert."  

His name switches to "Rovert" in-game!!!!!!!

A problem I keep getting...

Please Note:  Everything described here is very similar to what's being described in this forum.

Minor complaints…..

I’ve been using a Kindle Fire since Christmas, and I’ve got to say I’ve been extremely impressed with the device.

I must, however, complain about one small problem that has popped up for me about five times since I’ve started using it.

The specific problem I’ve had is hard to describe, so I’ll try my best to brief relate what I’ve seen.  To describe the basic problem, I’d say this.

There are times, when the device is NOT connected via wi-fi, that a couple of things happen.

1.     I’ve frequently gotten video (television programs specifically) downloaded onto memory on the device to not play while not connected to the internet.

2.     I’ve frequently gotten the device into a state where apps downloaded onto the device will not play (they will either crash or boot me out with an “internal error” message) while not connected to the internet

Every time I’ve gotten this to happen (about five times now) a reboot of the Kindle Fire did NOT work in resolving the issue.  It persisted for a couple days, then, like a summer storm, it passed and everything returned to normal.

To illustrate the problem, let me describe what happened to me when I recently used the device in the Istanbul airport.  I have no idea if what happened to me in the Istanbul airport caused the particular problem, but I was struck by how an unusual event with my beloved Kindle Fire resulted in the reproduction of the symptoms described above.

I’ll put my repro steps for what happened to me in Istanbul below….

Repro Steps:

1.     Took out my Kindle Fire in the Istanbul airport – hit the button to wake it out of standby mode

2.     Went to the wi-fi section of the Kindle Fire

3.     Attempted to connect to this wi-fi service in the airport

4.     The Kindle Fire Silk popup could not render https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr

5.     After failing to load the wi-fi login page, apps on the Kindle Fire began to stop working

6.     Don’t know if this matters or not, but when I tried to reopen https:giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr in the Silk Browser, I was given a bad certificate error message for the website

Don’t know if this makes much sense or not, but I’ll attempt to sum up briefly.  I used my Kindle Fire almost daily from Christmas 2011 to June 2012.

In the majority of that time, the Kindle Fire was never connected to the internet.  On about 5 occasions, the Kindle Fire got into a state where media (video and apps) stopped working.

Rebooting the Kindle Fire did NOT resolve the problem.  The problem always seemed to resolve itself after a few days.

I took some screenshots of what I saw, as soon as it happened in Istanbul.

Above is an image of a pop-up message I got on my Kindle Fire, after I attempted to visit a wi-fi service in the Istanbul airport.  The address for the wi-fi service is https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr

After attempting to connect to https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr on my Kindle Fire, the Kindle displayed this Log In screen, no text ever appeared.

I went back, and attempted to visit https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr via the Amazon Silk browser.  Was given this bad certificate message for https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr

After failed attempts to visit https://giris.ttnetwifi.com.tr, it sure seemed as if apps stopped working.  Here's a screen shot of the app Cube Runner, which now refuses to work on my Kindle Fire.

BabyNotes app crashes if the user presses “Audio Note”

App name: BabyNotes (version 3.7)

Description:

An app that’s available in the Amazon appstore crashes on the Kindle Fire when the user attempts to record audio.

The app is called BabyNotes, and it has a selectable option called “Audio Note”.  If the user presses this “Audio Note” option, the application crashes.

Repro Steps:

1.     On a Kindle Fire, download and launch BabyNotes

2.     Tap the bottom menu key on the screen to bring up the menu

3.     Select “Add Baby Note”

4.     Tap the menu key again and select “Audio Note”

Result:  Selecting the “Audio Note” option in the BabyNotes app on a Kindle Fire will crash the app

Expected:  Kindle Fire apps shouldn’t crash that easily

Note:  Please see attached screenshots

On a Kindle Fire, download an app called BabyNotes.  

After launching BabyNotes, select the menu option at the bottom of the screen, and then select "Add Baby Note" from the menu that pops up.

Press the menu key again, and then select the "Audio Note" option that you see in the upper right.

AudioBoo App on the Kindle Fire crashes after the user selects “Record”

01/04/12

Note:  Please see the attached screenshots.

Description:

On a Kindle Fire, an app called “AudioBoo” will crash if the user selects the “Record” option.

After the countdown for the “Record” option ends, the application crashes with an error message of: “This application AudioBoo (process fm.aduioboo.application) has stopped unexpectedly.  Please try again.”

Repro Steps:

1.     On a Kindle Fire, download and Audioboo

2.     After Audioboo has been installed on the Kindle Fire, launch it

3.     On a Kindle Fire, select the “Record” option

Result:  On a Kindle Fire, the Audioboo app will crash after the user selects “record”

Expected:  No app on the Kindle Fire should crash that easily


P.S.  As a side note, everyone is now rating this app poorly on Amazon's appstore, presumably because they are downloaded it for the Kindle Fire...

Download Audioboo on a Kindle Fire.  

Select the "Record" option at the top of the screen, and then click on "Start".

The application will countdown.  "3, 2, 1..."

And then it will crash.

Occupy News App crashes if user exits to Amazon.com and presses the back button to return

Date: 12/01/12

Description:

Don’t know if this is an Amazon Silk problem, or a problem with this one particular app.  I am going to guess that it is a problem with the app.

There’s an app that is available for the Kindle Fire called “Occupy News”, which is basically a news aggregator for news related to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

This “Occupy News” app has a storefront, which takes the user directly to Amazon’s website.  If the user backs out of Amazon and back into the app, the app crashes.

Much easier to show than to describe, so please just see the attached screenshots.

Repro Steps:

1.     Download and launch an app called “Occupy News” on the Kindle Fire

2.     From inside the “Occupy News” app, select “Storefront”

3.     From the “Storefront” section, select any displayed book

4.     Select “Buy Now” and the app launches to Amazon’s website on Silk

5.     Back out from Amazon, back into the “Occupy News” app

Result:  On the “Occupy News” app available on the Kindle Fire, the application will crash if the user exits the app to Amazon.com, and then tries to back into the app using the back button

Expected:  That the “Occupy News” app will not crash if the user exits to Amazon.com and then attempts to return back into the app using the back button

Download and launch the "Occupy News" app.

The "Occupy News" app has a storefront option at the bottom of the screen, select it.  

From the "Occupy News" storefront, select any displayed book.

Select the "Buy Now" option from inside the app.  This will take the user to amazon.com on the web, via Silk.

From Amazon.com press the back button to return to the app.

The application crashes.