tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6735278395030770222024-03-18T20:13:37.073-07:00Doug Dalton's technology and other stuff.... __________<br>
|[][][] []\__<br>
|Shortblog |<br>
|_/-\_____/-\_/<br>
0 0<br>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-47629280375201826052011-05-30T00:39:00.001-07:002011-06-25T17:47:50.415-07:00Gingerbread Updates Start for Verizon Droids<p> </p><p>The worst part of the android operating system is the major delay in operating systems updates, but Gingerbread is FINALLY making its way around to the Droid X, Droid 2, Droid 2 Global and Droid 2 Pro. </p><p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoZXrsqqljQDhQ3YZsCQ_DQzSjiwlkVSIelzagXj9DDzIl6IKi49BjzaLO0A5MV1HmH54gKg9ZeL9jqNIaS-hviEl1xn9KS_oUJUF0pfWqXhZjps_47ZPPsAxz6befA6c8ZdhhMUd_Ao/s1600/DroidXupdate.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="292" width="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxoZXrsqqljQDhQ3YZsCQ_DQzSjiwlkVSIelzagXj9DDzIl6IKi49BjzaLO0A5MV1HmH54gKg9ZeL9jqNIaS-hviEl1xn9KS_oUJUF0pfWqXhZjps_47ZPPsAxz6befA6c8ZdhhMUd_Ao/s320/DroidXupdate.JPG" /></a></div><br />
The list of features in Android 2.3 Gingerbread update are impressive, with the addition of download manager, active app management, shortcuts, one-touch copy/paste, widgets, icons, app groups, updated calendar options, camera geotagging, improved email synching and camera auto-focus improvements.<br />
Gingerbread 2.3 features also include user-interface refinements, audio effects, new media format support, and multiple-camera access.<br />
It will take you approximately 20 to 40 minutes to download the software, depending on network conditions.</p><p><br />
You can check for the update yourself on your Droid. From the main menu, Tap Menu> Tap Settings> Tap About phone> Tap System update> Tap Download.<br />
When updating any Droid phone, be sure that your battery is at least 40% charged and that you have at least half an hour to wait for the process to complete. To be safe, you should also back up your contacts, photos, and note what software you had installed.<br />
More details are available at the <a href="http://support.vzw.com/system_update/droid_x.html">Verizon Droid X update support</a> page.</p><p>source (<a href="http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com" target="_blank">Wireless and Mobile News</a>)</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-9518987729637047792011-04-09T16:47:00.000-07:002011-04-09T16:55:32.340-07:00Migrating from Asterisk 1.4 to 1.8 with freepbx 1.8x using Zaptel or Dahdi for Centos<img height="79" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTHrnHNGJBqitzhLlUwvIi10V9Oqj4Hrbk1FcieqIly8oPWyM6aMg" width="136" / align=right> If your upgrading from 1.4 to 1.8 there a few little snags I ran into :<br />
<br />
1. I use dahdichanname=no in my asterisk.conf all this means really is that you to rename your zapata.conf to chan_dahdi.conf<br />
This is not clearly documented.<br />
2. yum remove asterisk14 asterisk14-core asterisk14-addons<br />
3. rm /usr/lib/asterisk/modules/* (unless you have moduless you know are 1.8 compatible)<br />
3.yum install asterisk18 asterisk18-core asterisk18-addons<br />
3. tail your /var/log/asterisk/full and see if there are any errors that are causing amportal to not start, but it should start fine.<br />
And your done!<br />
If you run into any issues I will be happy to try and help.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-73172514285506465402011-01-21T13:13:00.000-08:002011-01-21T13:22:29.656-08:00The Big in the Bang theory, perhaps coke?What exactly are the lines on season one episode 17 of the big bang theory?<br />
<br />
<img height="240" src="http://content.screencast.com/users/ddalton/folders/Jing/media/5fc9f747-0af0-4001-b79f-2ed813a5c16a/2011-01-21_1248.png" width="400" /><br />
<br />
Here is the snippet of the actual show intro with the "white powder" in lines on the table:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0ct3gUEnCFg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Definitely explains why Sheldon talks so quickly! Thoughts?<br />
<br />
(found by<a href="http://www.obviousobsessions.com/"> obviousobsessions.com</a>)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-91926495236908271892011-01-20T19:09:00.001-08:002011-01-20T19:09:28.647-08:00Elew at the Mashery Office Opening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/-dWx6TNnaCY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-62406041992544778572010-09-11T16:35:00.001-07:002010-09-11T17:01:03.809-07:00Mythbuntu and Tivo PremierI was using Windows 7 for my secondary media server and was very frustrated with its performance when it came to Tivo desktop, which is the WORST part of Tivo. Tivo should be able to stream video to another server, and there are many opensource applications to do this but of course Tivo has other things to focus on like a terrible new interface and a buggy new OS, but I digress. I love my Tivo but I don't want to have to buy two of them to watch shows in a different room. So I left Windows 7 and its lackluster performance for Mythbuntu, now I just needed to get my Tivo programs to Mythbuntu. Thanks to the work from the <a href="http://tivodecode.sourceforge.net/">Tivodecode Project</a> and <a href="http://www.edsalisbury.net/linux/how-to-copy-videos-from-a-series-3-tivo-to-ubuntu-linux/">Ed Salisbury's Perl Script</a> I was able to replicate the features of <a href="https://www3.tivo.com/store/accessories-software.do">TivoToGo</a> in Linux with a much better playback and keep everything in <a href="http://boxee.tv/">Boxee</a>. Here is Ed’s Script:<br />
<br />
<pre class="source-code"><code>
#!/usr/bin/perl
# TiVo Dump
# Copy TiVo programs from a Series3 TiVo
# by Ed Salisbury (ed@edsalisbury.net)
# http://www.edsalisbury.net
# (c)2009 Ed Salisbury, Some Rights Reserved
#
# External Utilities Required:
# * curl
# * tivodecode
#
# External Perl Modules Required:
# * Net::TiVo
# * XML::Simple
# * Text::Unidecode;
#
# Usage:
# tivo_dump
#
# License:
# Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under Creative Commons
# Attribution ShareAlike 3.0.
#
# You are free:
# * to Share - to copy, distribute and transmit the work
# * to Remix - to adapt the work
#
# Under the following conditions:
# * Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the
# author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse
# you or your use of the work).
# * Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may
# distribute the resulting work only under the same, similar or a
# compatible license.
# * For any reuse or distribution, you must make clear to others the license
# terms of this work. The best way to do this is with a link to the
# license's web page (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
# * Any of the above conditions can be waived if you get permission from the
# copyright holder.
# * Nothing in this license impairs or restricts the author's moral rights.
use warnings;
use strict;
use Net::TiVo;
use XML::Simple;
use utf8;
use Text::Unidecode;
sub fix_chars($);
# User-Configurable Variables
my $HOST = ""; # Hostname/IP of the TiVo
my $MAK = ""; # The Media Access Key of the TiVo
my $VIDEO_DIR = ""; # Where the programs get saved
my $COPY_SUGGESTIONS = 0; # If you want to copy "Suggested" programs, set this to 1
my $USER = "tivo";
my $TMPFILE = "/tmp/$$.xml";
my $PROGRAMS_FILE = "/home/username/.tivo_programs";
$|++;
# External Utilities
my $CURL = "/usr/bin/curl";
my $TIVODECODE = "/usr/local/bin/tivodecode";
my @PREV;
# Connect to the TiVo
print "Connecting to TiVo at $HOST... ";
my $tivo = Net::TiVo->new(host => $HOST, mac => $MAK);
my @folders = $tivo->folders();
if (@folders)
{
print "OK\n";
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
exit();
}
# Load the file that has the previously saved programs
open(IN, $PROGRAMS_FILE);
while (<in>)
{
chop();
push(@PREV, $_);
}
close (IN);
# Go through each folder on the TiVo
foreach my $folder (@folders)
{
foreach my $item ($folder->{'xmlref'}{'Item'})
{
foreach my $video (@$item)
{
# Only process videos, not folders
if ($video->{'Links'}{'Content'}{'ContentType'} eq "video/x-tivo-raw-tts")
{
# Choose video type based on the icon
if ($video->{'Links'}{'CustomIcon'} && $video->{'Links'}{'CustomIcon'}{'Url'} eq "urn:tivo:image:suggestion-recording" && !$COPY_SUGGESTIONS)
{
next;
}
if ($video->{'Links'}{'CustomIcon'} &&
($video->{'Links'}{'CustomIcon'}{'Url'} eq "urn:tivo:image:in-progress-transfer" ||
$video->{'Links'}{'CustomIcon'}{'Url'} eq "urn:tivo:image:in-progress-recording"))
{
next;
}
# Get program and episode titles
my $program_title = $video->{'Details'}{'Title'};
if ($video->{'Details'}{'EpisodeTitle'})
{
$program_title .= " - " . $video->{'Details'}{'EpisodeTitle'};
}
# Get Program ID and Video URL
my $video_url = $video->{'Links'}{'Content'}{'Url'};
my $program_id = $video->{'Details'}{'ProgramId'};
if (!$program_id)
{
next;
}
# If previously copied, skip
if (grep /^$program_id$/, @PREV)
{
print "Skipping $program_title.\n";
next;
}
# get details XML file
print "Getting details for $program_title... ";
my $details_xml = $video->{'Links'}{'TiVoVideoDetails'}{'Url'};
system("$CURL --digest -s -k -u $USER:$MAK -c /tmp/cookies.txt -o $TMPFILE \"$details_xml\"");
if (-f $TMPFILE)
{
print "OK\nProcessing details file... ";
my $xml = XML::Simple->new();
my $doc = $xml->XMLin($TMPFILE);
my %meta;
my $filepath;
my $filename;
# Get rating and convert to proper form
$meta{'tvRating'} = $doc->{'showing'}{'tvRating'}{'content'};
if ($meta{'tvRating'})
{
if ($meta{'tvRating'} eq "Y_7") { $meta{'tvRating'} = 'x1'; }
elsif ($meta{'tvRating'} eq "PG") { $meta{'tvRating'} = 'x4'; }
elsif ($meta{'tvRating'} eqfilepath = "$VIDEO_DIR/$series_title";
$filename = "$filepath/$series_title - $episode_number - $episode_title";
}
elsif ($series_title && $episode_title)
{
$filepath = "$VIDEO_DIR/$series_title";
$filename = "$filepath/$series_title - $episode_title";
}
elsif ($title)
{
$filepath = "$VIDEO_DIR/$title";
$filename = "$filepath/$title";
}
else
{
$filepath = "$VIDEO_DIR";
$filename = "$filepath/Unknown";
}
print "OK\n";
unless (-d $filepath)
{
print "Path $filepath doesn't exist, creating... ";
mkdir($filepath);
if (-d $filepath)
{
print "OK\n";
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
exit;
}
}
# Get the video with curl
print "Getting video... ";
system("$CURL --digest -s -k -u $USER:$MAK -c /tmp/cookies.txt -o \"$filename.tivo\" \"$video_url\"");
if (-f "$filename.tivo")
{
my $filesize = (stat("$filename.tivo"))[7];
if ($filesize > 0)
{
print "OK\n";
# Convert to MPG
print "Converting video to MPG format... ";
system("$TIVODECODE -m $MAK -o \"$filename.mpg\" \"$filename.tivo\" > /dev/null 2>&1");
if (-f "$filename.mpg")
{
print "OK\n";
unlink "$filename.tivo";
open(OUT, ">>$PROGRAMS_FILE");
print OUT "$program_id\n";
close(OUT);
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
exit();
}
# Output metadata file
print "Outputting metadata... ";
open (OUT, ">$filename.mpg.txt");
foreach my $key (keys %meta)
{
if ($meta{$key})
{
if ($meta{$key} =~ /^ARRAY/)
{
foreach my $item (@{$meta{$key}})
{
unless ($item =~ /^HASH/)
{
print OUT "$key : " . fix_chars($item) . "\n";
}
}
}
else
{
unless ($item =~ /^HASH/)
{
if ($key eq "originalAirDate")
{
print OUT "$key : " . $meta{$key} . "\n";
}
else
{
print OUT "$key : " . fix_chars($meta{$key}) . "\n";
}
}
}
}
}
unlink($TMPFILE);
close(OUT);
print "OK\n";
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
}
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
exit();
}
}
else
{
print "FAIL\n";
exit();
}
}
}
}
}
# Convert any offending characters
sub fix_chars($)
{
my ($data) = @_;
$data = unidecode($data);
$data =~ s/\:/ -/g;
$data =~ s/\//-/g;
$data =~ s/\\/-/g;
$data =~ s/\?/-/g;
$data =~ s/\*/-/g;
return $data;
}
</in></code>
</pre><br />
then just add it to your cron<br />
0 0,6,12,18 * * * /usr/local/bin/tivo_dump >/dev/null 2>&1<br />
An then your now playing or now playing and suggestions will all be copied to your Linux box every x hours.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-48800337584236933182010-09-03T20:24:00.001-07:002010-09-11T16:54:29.230-07:00How to program your MCE remote<p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" align="left" src="http://gbpvr.com/pmwiki/uploads/Hardware/MS-MCE_Remote_2005.jpg" width="166" height="240">To program buttons on your MCE remote control. <ol> <li>Place the MCE remote control head to head (2 to 3 inches apart) with the remote control from which it is learning. <li>On the MCE remote control press and hold the DVD MENU and OK buttons at the same time until the remote control lights turn off (2 seconds). The remote is now in learning mode. <li>On the MCE remote control press and release the TV, VOL +, VOL – button, depending on which command you want it to learn. The MCE remote control lights blink once to confirm the selection. <li>On the remote control that is teaching the command, press and hold the button that you want the corresponding button on the MCE remote control. The MCE remote control lights blink twice to confirm the selection. If the remote does not learn the command, the lights blink quickly four times. To try again repeat steps 1 through 4. <li>Repeat steps 1 through 4 for the other buttons that can learn commands.</li></ol> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-75635907210829553782010-09-03T19:43:00.001-07:002010-09-11T21:34:38.658-07:00Mythtv revisited with Mythbuntu<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_mz2r5T-mo_c/TIGy1mJ-06I/AAAAAAAAAW8/UB9fJHRrovE/s1600-h/image%5B3%5D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" align="left" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mz2r5T-mo_c/TIGy2LFNRTI/AAAAAAAAAXA/mnrFp1tQEjU/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="74" height="104"></a> 4 years ago I built a HTPC using Fedora and the experience was miserable, I had given up on a linux HTPC and moved to Windows and was relatively happy until my S.M.A.R.T. drive reported impending doom. I had to save my data and rebuilt my server, which made me want to revisit RAID 1 (mirroring) and Linux. From my experience, linux was going to be an uphill battle so I picked a path of least resistance with Mythbuntu (<a href="http://www.mythbuntu.org/">http://www.mythbuntu.org/</a>) and I was very pleasantly surprised. I have a 3ware raid controller which is very easily supported across all linux platforms (3ware 8006) with a ASUS M2N-E motherboard with a nvidia graphics card (Gigabyte 8400GS 512MB GV) . I recommend a fanless graphics card. </p> <p> </p> <p>I installed Mythbuntu and my mce remote and everything worked like a charm out of the box, AMAZING! I had to turn off the display blanking and uninstall the xscreensaver but that was relatively easy. Just add the following lines to your xorg.conf</p> <p>/etc/X11/xorg.conf <p>Section "ServerFlags"<br>Option "blank time" "0"<br>Option "standby time" "0"<br>Option "suspend time" "0"<br>Option "off time" "0"<br>EndSection <p>I also installed Miro, Subsonic, and qbittorrent. Miro for mobile video streaming, Subsonic for mobile audio, and qbittorrent for rss torrent downloads.</p> <p>I dont use Mythtv instead I use boxee which I launch from mythtv via the following addition to the mythtv menu</p> <p>/usr/share/mythtv/themes/defaultmenu/mainmenu.xml<br></p> <p>After:<br><mythmenu name="MAIN"><br></p> <p>Put:</p> <p><button><br><type>MENU_BOXEE</type><br><text>Boxee</text><br><action>EXEC /opt/boxee/run-boxee-desktop</action><br></button></p> <p>On day two I am very pleased with the progress of Mythbuntu as Boxee box.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-77185584957750381992010-08-08T19:46:00.001-07:002010-09-11T16:53:26.765-07:00My Current Droid App Layout (using Launcher Pro)<p>Home screen: </p> <p>-The Twitter widget small</p> <p>-Pandora, Gtasks, Mute, Calendar</p> <p>-Camera, Maps, Gmail, Foursquare</p> <p>-Clock, Talk, Voice, facebook</p> <p>-Changed Messaging launcher button to ChompSMS</p> <p>Screen 1:(To the left)</p> <p>-Weather and News Widget</p> <p>-Divx Player, MortPlayer, Mp3 Music, Shazam</p> <p>-Logmein, Gallery, Market, Skype Mobile</p> <p>-ConnectBot, My Tracks, Yelp, Springpad</p> <p>Screen 3: (to the Right </p> <p>-Power Control widget</p> <p>-OpenSpot, Blowaway,Bump, Droidlight</p> <p>-Calculator, Movies, mAnalytics, Godaddy Mobile</p> <p>-Barcode Scanner, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Paypal</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-90577307192783328612010-08-08T19:35:00.001-07:002010-09-11T16:53:26.766-07:00A Great app – Launcher pro<p><img style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px" align="left" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6zUKFHvJSckb-SVNLas74e1cZJ63WSpgMgobk9wmFbLV4PbI&t=1&usg=__SkGm3nV4HOVxB9gOcqUGwnGbb_s="></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Google Froyo finally added some of the great features of Launcher Pro, such as the desktop views and buttons to the left and right of the applications button, but still falls far short of Launcher Pro’s capabilities. </p> <p> Launcher Pro has much faster widget response times, smoother scrolling and sliding, much more customizations with the launcher buttons/icon docks, scrollable widgets, backup and much more… did I mention it is free….</p> <p>Check it out on the marketplace or at <a href="http://www.launcherpro.com/">http://www.launcherpro.com/</a></p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-87441799608051973692010-08-08T19:18:00.001-07:002010-09-11T16:53:26.767-07:00Droid 2 confirmed : launches August 12<p>The Droid 2 is coming out, The slider Droid I have been waiting for!</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Droid-2-in-the-Wild1-540x405.jpg" width="240" height="182"></p> <p>With Android 2.2 (froyo), a MUCH better keyboard, a faster processor (1ghz), the motoblur UI interface, and more… definitely worth a look at an upgrade! Here are the comparisons from Verizon and Motorola directly:</p> <p><img src="http://cdn.androidcommunity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Droid-2-Best-Buy3-416x540.jpg"></p> <p>[source: BGR]</p> <p>And here are the full detailed specs:</p> <h4>Detailed Technical Specifications of Motorola DROID2 A955</h4> <h3><b></b></h3> <p> <p><a href="http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=2011&view=1&c=motorola_droid__tao_a855_motorola_sholes"></a></p><b>Physical:Attributes</b> <h3><b>Software+Environment</b></h3> <p><b>Embedded-Operating;System:</b><br>Google Android 2.2 <p><b>Operating_System-Kernel:</b><br>Linux 2.6.32.9 <h3><b>Microprocessor,+Chipset</b></h3> <p><b>CPU+Clock:</b><br>1000 MHz <p><b>CPU:</b><br>Texas Instruments OMAP 3630 <br>Browse devices based on OMAP 3630 <p><b>Width-of-Machine:Word:</b><br>32 bit <p><b>CPU+Core:</b><br>ARM Cortex-A8 <p><b>Level+1+cache:</b><br>32KiB data cache / 32 KiB instruction cache <p><b>Instruction:Set:</b><br>ARMv7 <h3><b>Memory,_Storage_capacity</b></h3> <p><b>RAM+type:</b><br>DDR SDRAM <p><b>RAM:capacity:</b><br>512 MiB <p><b>ROM:type:</b><br>Flash EEPROM <p><b>ROM+capacity:</b><br>7630 MiB <p><b>ROM-capacity:in;bytes:</b><br>8 GB (billion bytes) <h3><b>Graphical-subsystem</b></h3> <p><b>Display-Type:</b><br>color transflective TFT display <p><b>Display_Resolution:</b><br>480 x 854 (409920 pixels) <p><b>Graphical:Controller:</b><br>PowerVR SGX530 <h3> </h3> <h3><b>Cellular+Phone</b></h3> <p><b>Cellular:Networks:</b><br>CDMA800, CDMA1900 <p><b>Cellular:Data-Links:</b><br>cdmaOne, CDMA2000 1xRTT, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rel. 0, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev A <h3><b>Control+Peripherals</b></h3> <p><b>Positioning:Device:</b><br>Multi-touch screen <p><b>Primary_Keyboard:</b><br>Slide-out QWERTY-type keyboard, 45 keys<br>Automatic keyboard backlight (upon press of any key) <p><b>Directional+Pad:</b><br>Four-way (without action button) <p> <h3><b>Interfaces</b></h3> <p><b>Expansion+Interfaces:</b><br>microSD, microSDHC, TransFlash<br>Supports High Capacity (SD 2.0/HC) memory cards with capacity of up to 32GB <p><b>USB:</b><br>USB 2.0 client, Hi-Speed (480Mbit/s)<br>USB Series Micro-B (Micro-USB) connector <p><b>Bluetooth</b>+(802.15):<br>Supported, Internal antenna <p><b>Wireless_LAN/Wi-Fi</b>:(802.11):<br>IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n<br>Internal antenna <p><b>Infrared;Gate:</b><br>Not supported <h3><b></b> </h3> <h3><b>Satellite:Navigation</b></h3> <p><b>Built-in:GPS;module:</b><br>Supported <p><b>GPS_Protocol:</b><br>NMEA 0183 <p><b>GPS_Antenna:</b><br>Internal antenna <p><b>Complementary;GPS-Services:</b><br>Assisted GPS, QuickGPS, Geotagging <h3><b>Built-in:Digital+Camera</b></h3> <p><b>Sensor-Type:</b><br>CMOS sensor <p><b>Resolution:</b><br>2560 x1920 pixels (4.92MP) <p><b>Autofocus;(AF):</b><br>Supported <p><b>Macro+Mode:</b><br>Supported <p><b>Built-in-Flash:</b><br>mobile light (LED) <p><b>Camcorder:</b><br>1080x720 pixels , 30frame/sec <p> <h3><b>Additional-Details</b></h3> <p><b>Built-in:accelerometer:</b><br>Supported <p><b>Additional_Features:</b> <ul> <li>capacitive display <li>built-in digital compass <li>Motorola MOTOBLUR UI <li>Bluetooth stereo audio profile (A2DP <li>AVRCP) <li>haptic feedback <li>speech recognition <li>image stabilization <li>Google Maps Navigation <li>Google Search <li>Google Maps <li>Gmail <li>Google Calendar <li>Google Talk <li>Wi-Fi hotspot <li>face recognition <li>8GB microSD</li></ul> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-14693914794384596522010-08-03T20:00:00.001-07:002010-08-04T09:59:41.086-07:00Froyo has arrived for the Moto Droid<div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ff66c878-b84a-4295-9ad5-a28ff653a574" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Android" rel="tag">Android</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Froyo" rel="tag">Froyo</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Download" rel="tag">Download</a></div> <p><img alt="What’s New in Android 2.2 (Froyo)" src="http://www.androidtapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Whats-New-in-Android-2.2-Froyo.jpg" width="484" height="160"></p> <ul> <li>Download <a href="http://uploading.com/files/d9mcb8e8/update.zip/">update.zip</a> (stock rom users only) <li>mount droid via usb and copy the file to mounted drive in the root folder <li>Make sure it is named<strong> update.zip</strong> <li>Turn your phone off. <li>Boot into recovery (Hold Power + X). <li>Wait for a triangle with exclamation point to appear and release Power and X <li>Hit the volume up and camera button (half-way down) at the same time. <li>Using the D-Pad select “apply update.zip” and press in the gold button on the D-Pad. <li>Your phone will now run the update. <li>When it finishes, use th D-Pad to select reboot phone.<br> </li></ul> <p>What do you get? </p> <ul> <li>Flash (must be installed from the android market) <li>Wifi tethering and hotspot functionality <li>Bluetooth voice dialing <li>Enhanced google search bar <li>Move apps to SD card (to free up internal storage) <li>Better memory management <li>Better launcher features <li>Market now has auto-update settings!! <li>Gmail app enhancements <li>Contacts grouping enhancements <li>Better camera application! <li>New Car home <li>various performance tweaks that make it much faster than 2.1</li></ul> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-18519807665490762342010-08-02T11:24:00.001-07:002010-08-02T16:18:17.075-07:00Android is now the largest selling mobile platform for 2010<p><img src="http://photos.macnn.com/news/1008/canalysjuly2010-lg.jpg"></p> <p>According to <a href="http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/08/02/android.said.to.have.34pc.us.market.share/" target="_blank">electronista and canalys</a> the mobile platform that is now the largest is Android, it is hard to see from raw numbers because of the multiple manufacturers. Motorola, HTC,and Samsung are all making their major platform Android, this competitive market space has made for more features, higher quality handsets and rapid innovation that is going to leave closed platforms such as iPhone OS, Blackberry OS, and Web OS scrambling to keep their market share. Windows mobile also benefited from this model and will continue to do so, but WinMo has serious ground to make up because their OS was so lackluster for so long. Also the WinMo platform is not opensource. I dont see it as a threat to Android in the immediate future. </p> <p>UPDATE:</p> <p><img src="http://tctechcrunch.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/mobile-os-share-recent-2010.png"></p> <p> </p> <p>This the Nielsen Company also shows that Android is almost surpassing Apple for the last 6 months as the most ubiquitous operating system for smart phones.</p> <p><img src="http://tctechcrunch.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/mobile-os-share-q2-2010.png"></p> <p>The total subscribers Android is still almost half of iPhone OS but rapidly gaining ground.</p> <p>(source Nielsen and Techcrunch)</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-78187523619774267612010-07-26T11:50:00.001-07:002010-07-26T13:08:38.645-07:00Its now legal to Jailbreak your phone<img alt="Electronic Frontier Foundation" src="http://www.eff.org/sites/all/themes/frontier/images/head_logo.gif" /><br />
The EFF has won legal protections that make jailbreaking your phone legal:<br />
<a href="http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26">http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/07/26</a><br />
This is a huge stride for people rights and stopping the broad overreach of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act" target="_blank">Digital Millennium Copyright Act</a>.<br />
I am hoping this will also pertain to devices such as the routers, game consoles, dvrs ... etc where people have put their own firmware or operating system and have been threatened with legal action.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-57362423752461269582010-07-21T15:29:00.001-07:002010-07-21T16:21:48.116-07:00Apple fights back with the death grip videos<h1></h1> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:a7bb4915-e758-49e2-a1eb-8cdafedca0c5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="841db96f-1e6e-4292-bb32-9c0726532e5e" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b-aoZNv-q0&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mz2r5T-mo_c/TEd00XdKnCI/AAAAAAAAAWM/1z6scrTsGTY/videoe1851d2d86f5%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('841db96f-1e6e-4292-bb32-9c0726532e5e'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-b-aoZNv-q0&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-b-aoZNv-q0&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p>Apple, in an battle to defend their exposed Iphone 4 antenna, has tried to smear every other phone manufacturer for having attenuation problems. If every other phone really had this problem that would make sense but the Iphone 4’s problem is very different than the common “death grip” attenuation problem. Apple exposed their antenna, allowing your hand to bridge the two antennas and cause attenuation as seen here at the bridge point</p> <p><img src="http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/epicenter/2010/07/apple_antenna1.jpg"></p> <p>No other phone Apple has mentioned has an unexposed antenna, they are trying to redirect a obvious design problem towards another issue, if Apple were to cover this exposed antenna this would not be as big problem, some humorous products are already out there:</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="apple iphone 4 antenna-aid" src="http://www.iphonefaq.org/images/archives/accessory-antennaaid.jpg"></p> <p> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Hopefully Apple will pick up their dropped ball, but it seems like for now, they would rather keep the shiny design rather than a less conductive covered surface, choosing design over function.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-83204312329427709472010-07-16T10:23:00.001-07:002010-07-21T16:21:58.376-07:00The Motorola Droid reaches the end of its life<div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:fecd7859-0453-4221-b9df-5bc9bcafa8e8" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Mobile" rel="tag">Mobile</a></div> <p><img src="http://www.androidguys.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/droid-end-of-life.jpg" width="500" height="186"></p> <p> </p> <p>According to droidforums.net the motorola droid has reached its end of life, that is sad news in one way, no new droids but if your droid gets damaged it will be replaced with a similar device, which could mean the droid 2.</p> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-30561852535604123062010-07-10T16:53:00.001-07:002010-07-10T16:56:19.936-07:00Everyone has problems : Twitter and RedditFor those of you out there that just expect everything to work on the internet, here is a great internal view to some of the hard challenges that face some of the largest sites on the internet. <br />
<img src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:aQEKxhCt-FyKNM:http://www.sabreinspired.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/twitter_fail_whale.png" /><br />
Twitter listed its challenges as of late:<br />
“Twitter has experienced several incidences of poor site performance and a high number of errors due to one of our internal sub-networks being over-capacity.<br />
We're working hard to address the core issues causing these problems --more on that below-- but in the interests of the open exchange of information, wanted to pull back the curtain and give you deeper insight into what happened and how we're working to address this week's poor site performance.<br />
What happened?<br />
In brief, we made three mistakes:<br />
* We put two critical, fast-growing, high-bandwith components on the same segment of our internal network.<br />
* Our internal network wasn't appropriately being monitored.<br />
* Our internal network was temporarily misconfigured.<br />
What we're doing to fix it<br />
* We've doubled the capacity of our internal network.<br />
* We're improving the monitoring of our internal network.<br />
* We're rebalancing the traffic on our internal network to redistribute the load.” <br />
(<a href="http://engineering.twitter.com/2010/06/perfect-stormof-whales.html">http://engineering.twitter.com/2010/06/perfect-stormof-whales.html</a>) <br />
<img src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:uG_ONZ60yk8joM:http://www.marcofolio.net/images/stories/fun/other/error_handling/reddit.png" /><br />
Reddit has also had some huge challenges with traffic:<br />
“We've been kinda bummed at reddit these days. It seems like every week something comes up that slows performance to a crawl or even leads to a total site outage. And we almost never get a chance to release new features anymore.<br />
Our four engineers -- <a href="http://www.reddit.com/user/KeyserSosa">KeyserSosa</a>, <a href="http://www.reddit.com/user/jedberg">jedberg</a>, <a href="http://www.reddit.com/user/ketralnis">ketralnis</a>, and <a href="http://www.reddit.com/user/raldi">myself</a> -- are working full time (plus many evenings and weekends and sometimes even the middle of the night) just to keep things going. Perhaps we're doing it wrong: there might be ways to optimize our code, or technologies that could allow us to work more efficiently, but we're too busy to investigate these things, or to migrate to the ones that look promising. It becomes a vicious cycle.<br />
The bottom line is, we need more resources.” <br />
(<a href="http://blog.reddit.com/2010/07/reddit-needs-help.html">http://blog.reddit.com/2010/07/reddit-needs-help.html</a>)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-72600763151105848882010-07-09T18:28:00.001-07:002010-07-09T19:48:26.668-07:00UFO shuts down Chinese airport<img align="left" alt="The strange light appeared to glow as it swept through the night sky, to the alarm of local residents" height="152" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/09/article-0-0A61C231000005DC-541_634x396.jpg" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="240" /><br />
<img alt="Another photo from a different angle which shows a wide trail behind the object as it zips through the sky" height="144" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/07/09/article-1293395-0A61DC6F000005DC-184_634x373.jpg" width="240" /><br />
<br />
According to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1293395/Chinese-airport-closed-UFO-spotted-city.html" target="_blank">dailymail.co.uk</a> the the <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Xiaoshan+airport&sll=37.778279,-122.424029&sspn=0.008768,0.006137&ie=UTF8&hq=Xiaoshan+airport&hnear=&radius=15000&ll=30.177186,120.570831&spn=0.613764,1.007996&t=h&z=10">Xiaoshan</a> airport was closed and many flights were diverted when a UFO flew into the airports airspace. Chinese officials said the object was not made public because of a “military connection”. It should be interesting to hear what this object is.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-82776257856183591672010-07-08T20:18:00.001-07:002010-07-09T19:48:42.852-07:00Marina and the Diamonds warming up for the show tonight<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrh-KtNvQKEHfclBQjvcPmJ8I-lkyAP5ad2KQFGHcIfXWsfFN5VyPDZ2Ktmmpm2eWv_QsPX7LjeBrVPvq447UUdrBmZ2M__nBvte6_r5WU5K6KFlN_Mfj1ikS4LeCjmCIS6K1Uwi-AdvU/s1600/2010-07-08+19.53.04-783001.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491740535260608194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrh-KtNvQKEHfclBQjvcPmJ8I-lkyAP5ad2KQFGHcIfXWsfFN5VyPDZ2Ktmmpm2eWv_QsPX7LjeBrVPvq447UUdrBmZ2M__nBvte6_r5WU5K6KFlN_Mfj1ikS4LeCjmCIS6K1Uwi-AdvU/s320/2010-07-08+19.53.04-783001.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-5236431182667129512010-07-07T08:34:00.001-07:002010-07-07T08:45:58.457-07:00Android 2.2 improvements beating iOS4<div align="left">Arstechica reported that the javascript engine in Android 2.2 has some huge performance benefits, blowing the doors off Apple’s flagship iOS4, as seen in the chart below:</div><img alt="Android 2.2 demolishes iOS4 in JavaScript benchmarks" height="329" src="http://static.arstechnica.com/assets/2010/07/ios_v_android-thumb-640xauto-15275.png" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" width="435" /><br />
With a Linpack score of 37.6 MFLOPs in Android 2.2, compared to 6.5 or 7 MFLOPs in Android 2.1, Android is finally gaining ground where it counts, in performance. Moto Droid users should see this update in mid July, HTC plans to update the HTC Desire and Legend devices by Christmas according to Eric Lin of HTC PR, My guess is a ROM will be released by <a href="http://www.cyanogenmod.com/">http://www.cyanogenmod.com/</a> well prior to Christmas.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-71949234756199649592010-07-06T06:03:00.001-07:002010-07-06T11:30:34.725-07:00Froyo for the Droid<img align="left" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:u_5ba_vDsq-o-M:http://optimistworld.com/files/files/Alison/froyo%2520230x230.jpg" style="display: inline; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px;" /><br />
Rumor has it that froyo will be release for the motorola droid on July 13th.<br />
Here are some of the features you can look forward to (from Robert Hallock):<br />
<h5>Adobe Flash: confirmed</h5>Android 2.2 comes bundled with Adobe Flash 10.1, the latest and greatest version of Flash. Handsets running Android 2.2 will have full access to the web’s flash content, including websites like Kongregate, PopCap games and Farmville. <br />
Hulu is another big name at the top of everyone’s list when Flash is mentioned, but they’ve decided to sit this one out. Hulu has blocked Android 2.2′s Flash player citing copyright concerns; their content providers don’t want to be seen on any device but the desktop. <br />
<strong>UPDATE: </strong><em><a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363965,00.asp">It is confirmed</a> that Flash support requires a handset with a <a href="http://tech.icrontic.com/#">processor</a> comparable to or better than the ARM Cortex-A8. In other words, every mobile prior to the Droid is off the table.</em> <br />
<h5><strong>Applications on microSD: confirmed</strong></h5>If there is no space available for applications in an Android 2.2 handset’s onboard ROM, the applications will be automatically installed to your microSD card. <br />
<h5>Just In Time compiler: confirmed</h5>Android 2.2 comes packaged with a little piece of code called the <em>just in time (JIT) compiler</em>. A JIT compiler will increase the speed of Android and its applications by translating their code into a form that’s much faster for your phone to run. <br />
The JIT compiler will help <a href="http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html">Android 2.2-powered handsets run 2-5x faster</a> than the same model running Android 2.1 <br />
<h5>WiFi tethering: confirmed</h5>Using a phone’s unlimited data plan, Android 2.2 handsets can use their WiFi chips like a wireless <a href="http://tech.icrontic.com/#">router</a> to provide Internet to nearby wireless devices. It is not yet known if carriers intend to charge extra for this feature, but it is rather likely. <br />
<h5>USB tethering: confirmed</h5>Faster than WiFi, USB tethering turns your phone into a surprisingly snappy modem that can make quick work of basic web browsing. Like WiFi tethering, it is not yet known if carriers plan to charge for the feature but, again, it is rather likely. <br />
<h5>Browsing speed boost</h5>Dubbed “V8,” A new JavaScript engine has been baked into Android 2.2′s web browser. Google says it provides a two or three-fold performance increase when it comes to browsing the web. <br />
<h5>Application updating</h5>Users running FroYo can now configure any and all applications they have installed to automatically update themselves when a new version is available in the Android Marketplace. This auto-updating functionality is completely discretionary, and configured on a per-app basis. Users will also have access to an “Update All” button that updates every installed application. <br />
Google also announced an online Marketplace, which allows users to browse Android applications from their desktop and then push them OTA to their Android handset. <br />
<h5>OpenGL ES 2.0 improvements: confirmed</h5>Google has announced several new APIs in Android 2.2 that better leverage a phone’s 3D graphics chip. It is not yet known how developers plan to make use of these changes. <br />
<h5>Improved camera software</h5>Android 2.2 revamps the camera’s user interface to support one-handed operation. A new series of radial menus and dials auto-rotate with the phone, and have taken the place of the old UI. <br />
<h5>Revamped Google Voice Search</h5>Google has put considerable work into refining the Google Voice Search experience. Where voice searching on Android 2.1 often produced inaccurate gibberish, demonstrations of the technology on Android 2.2 produced accurate results for complex phrases like “Barack Obama at the G8 Summit.” <br />
<h5>Music streaming</h5>Thanks to Google’s acquisition of Simplify Media, users will be able to stream their DRM-free music to their Android 2.2 handsets. The same streaming technology can evidently be used to push music and videos OTA as well.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-82014461169036647222009-11-08T03:57:00.000-08:002010-07-06T11:30:34.727-07:00The Palm Pre Vs The DroidFirst off, let me say my primary phone for quite some time has been the HTC touch pro with a custom rom from sskusers.net. Not great by any means compared to other smart phones but I really am happy with verizon, so I was waiting for a real smart phone by them. I have been using the HTC with the palm pre (which was a gift) for a few months, and so my Pre review is an experienced review, where as I have only had the droid two days.<br />
<br />
Palm Pre (activated with Sprint) :<br />
<br />
Cons :<br />
The notifications, all the notifications fill your hold screen and often take up valuable screen space, instead of being icons they are large first and then go away when you dismiss them, which isnt a problem with one application like mail, but if you use chat, twitter, set an alarm and have your calendar reminders, soon you have more reminders than screen.<br />
<br />
The battery life: this device will stay in standby quite some time, but use it for calls and email heavily and it will be dead in less than a day.<br />
<br />
The keyboard: The keyboard on the bottom is nice, but very tight, I cant type quickly.. and the copy and paste functions are challenging, there are no directional keys so you have to use gestures to move across the screen which isnt very easy.<br />
<br />
<br />
Pros:<br />
<br />
The camera is fast, it processes the photo in the background and takes bright quality pictures but it doesnt take any video, which is a huge oversight. The camera has no features either, like zoom, but the speed and quality make of for that.<br />
<br />
Task management: The pre (webos) uses a cool task card system which makes finding a task and killing a task very easy and so intuitive, this is one of the nicest features of the operating system.<br />
<br />
The form factor: small and sleek, this is a nice looking and relatively responsive phone.<br />
<br />
Phone : the phone works well and is straight forward, the downside is that if you click a notification to clear it for a missed call, if immediately calls the person... this is really annoying.<br />
<br />
Network: viewing webpages and getting email with this phone is great, I was surprised by sprints network.<br />
<br />
Messaging: The email application on this phone is good and very easy to use. The IM/SMS system is also very nice, it has a combined contact, so if you IM someone and text them, it keeps them in the same thread.<br />
<br />
<br />
The Droid:<br />
<br />
What Can I say, I have only had this device two days and I am very pleased.<br />
<br />
Cons:<br />
<br />
The camera: This is a terrible camera, my settings must be wrong, it takes very dark photos and takes quite some time to do that. Its like an early era camera phone. I am hoping there is a firmware or tweak I can do to resolve this. video is equally dark.<br />
<br />
Task management: There isnt a good task manager by default, so you have to download one but there are plenty, and plenty of good ones, but task dont usually exit so you will need a task manager to help you clean up your memory.<br />
<br />
The keyboard: this is a pro and a con, its great to have one but this one is very tight to the top of the screen so it can be a little challenging to type, but overall not as bad as other reviewers have made it seem.<br />
<br />
Moving desktop icons around: if you fill your desktop you have to trash an icon and then move icons around like one of those number puzzle games, or move the icon to another desktop but this isnt a huge problem unless you are moving icons often.<br />
<br />
Pros:<br />
<br />
Where to start<br />
<br />
The Keyboard: it has one, I hate when I use a iphone and half the screen goes away so I can type, I cant see what I was working on which is a bit of a pain. With the droid, if you dont mind the half screen, you can use the onscreen keyboard or you can use the real keyboard.<br />
<br />
The screen: It is high resolution and very nice to look at, switching from landscape to horizontal has little or no delay, this is another big plus. The touchscreen is also very responsive, a bit faster than the pre, but does not support multitouch at this point.<br />
<br />
The CPU: many of these feature rich phones often are horribly underpowered, but the droid really performs here it is fast and responsive.<br />
<br />
GPS: Another thing I am impressed with is how fast the droid locates the GPS satellites and finds its location. The HTC touch pro took way to much time to do this. Even better is with google navigation you dont need a tom tom or garmin, it gives you great turn by turn directions.<br />
<br />
Networking: Verizon's network has always been fast but this device performs well on it.<br />
<br />
Messaging: This also does the combined sms and IM thread that the pre does, but not a seamlessly, which i actually like, it will only combine them when you sms that particular person. Email is great for Gmail, just like any google app, it works incredibly well, I have not tried this with non google mail.<br />
<br />
Apps: While not as many apps as the iphone, but more than the palm pre, this has a great app catalog with such heavy hitters as facebook, pandora, imeem, foursquare, and twitter, I even found a great ssh terminal application. It also has desktop widgets which are great, allowing you to see twitter et al updates from your desktop without launching the app.<br />
<br />
Battery: I bought a spare battery because the Droids slim form factor and my heavy use tends to render a phone dead in a half day, but thus far, it seem like the droid will actually last a full day without a charge and heavy use. Again this is only after two days.<br />
<br />
Summary<br />
<br />
While I haven't had a iphone to compare the droid to, the palm pre is the closest contender, and while it does some things better (camera and task manager), the droid is just a more robust and functional device and operating system. It is the best smart phone I have used thus far. I would definitely recommend it. I will be keeping an eye out for a camera fix/update from Motorola, but its not a deal breaker for me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-588786502796939972009-06-05T05:20:00.000-07:002010-07-06T11:30:34.728-07:00Palm Pre ReviewSo after doing everything I could to get my hands on a palm pre, my friend Hooman came through an landed me this awesome device. My initial thoughts were around Sprint. This phone comes tethered to Sprint, which isnt a network that has the coverage I am used to. I must say in the 2 days I have been using the device, the voice quality is great and the network speeds are good. Back to the Pre, its a nice feeling device, it sits in your hand easily, its very sleek, but that will get old soon if it doesnt work well. The speed of the UI is impressive. I am a tough customer, and this device doesnt take long to boot up apps, its very easy to shut them down as well. Everything is just a gesture.<br />
<br />
Phone<br />
<br />
This is one of the coolest parts of the palm pre. With most touch devices, you "butt" dial or turn off features with your ear while talking, the palm pre included a proximity feature that allows your phone to sense when its in your pocket or next to your face and turns off the screen, eliminating accidental "touch" dialing or hanging up by ear. The rest of the phone is pretty standard and works well. It has a slide to unlock feature which is very good.<br />
<br />
Messaging<br />
<br />
Lets face it, texting is a key feature for any phone, and this phone does it very well. It combines all of your account messagers into one thread, so for example you can AIM someone then switch to sms and this all appears as one seamless thread, very impressive. I am a little disappointed with the configurations on this phone. If I just want to display I have an SMS, Email or MMS it should say so, but it shouldnt display all the info in the sms or email to prying eyes when my phone is laying around. So you either turn you notifications off or have the contents exposed when then phone is locked, there is no inbetween.<br />
<br />
Web browser<br />
<br />
No flash support but everything else works very well. It uses multitouch to zoom in and out on pages and renders very quickly. With Sprints 3g network there is almost no delay. Not much more to say here. Sprint defaults to a bookmark page where all your favorites are listed, which means it two keypresses to get to your default homepage but a nice interface.<br />
<br />
<br />
Camera<br />
<br />
This is biggest oversight on this device or lacking feature.. no video. I dont know why device designer skip this? As for the camera, the quality is good, 3.2 megapixels, the flash is ok, but no zoom.. overall not very much here in comparison to better phone implementations.<br />
<br />
GPS<br />
This phone has a fast gps radio, so location based apps work quickly, and a nice implementation<br />
<br />
Applications<br />
<br />
The app store is new, and has only a few apps, not much there. I am not sure if you can add your own app but it doesnt look that way, this is a big downfall. I should be able to install an app on my device even if palm doesnt want it on the webstore.<br />
<br />
It does come with great apps like google maps and a youtube app and you can download where and pandora.<br />
<br />
Keyboard<br />
<br />
The palm pre has a slide down keyboard that is easy to use with both hands, I have large fingers and have no problems using it.<br />
<br />
Battery life<br />
<br />
It seems like power users will drain their device in a day, otherwise it should be fine for light users.<br />
<br />
Cables<br />
<br />
It uses the less common Micro USB as apposed to the very common mini usb, very lame choice, it might as well be a proprietary cable. Mine came with an induction charger as well, which is very cool. just set it on the charger, no cables.<br />
<br />
<br />
Summary<br />
<br />
Pros<br />
For a pda that does your basic communicating, this is a great device, Its fast and easy to use and it has all the core features you would want.<br />
<br />
Cons<br />
lacking notification options, no video, no micro sd, and no non palm store applications.. This phone is probably not for a power phone user at this point, but with some os changes it could possibly be.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-57210207614469999692009-04-21T08:27:00.000-07:002010-07-06T11:07:34.450-07:00Simple cron script to watch a firefox kioskPut this in your crontab -e:<br />
<br />
* * * * * /user/cron.sh<br />
<br />
then in /user/cron.sh put<br />
<br />
#!/usr/bin/bash<br />
TEST=`ps ax | grep firefox | grep -v grep | grep -v /usr/bin/firefox | wc -l`<br />
if [ $TEST = 0 ] ; then<br />
/usr/bin/firefox &<br />
fi<br />
<br />
<br />
and make sure it is set to chmod 755 /user/cron.shAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-38904890597862999702008-12-02T22:03:00.000-08:002010-06-27T12:34:25.675-07:00How to set an auto update script for your dynamic dns name for asterisk/freepbxIf you have ever setup an asterisk box then you know some changes are in the configuration. One of those challenges is being behind a nat or router. The issue usually arises when you use the ivr and you dont receive DTMF tones to your ivr. I use ViaTalk for service and their support staff clued me into the problem. I had to externhost=my.dyndns.com in your sip_nat.conf does not solve this problem, or at least didnt for me so I had to write my own dynamic dns update script using php only because it was quick but you can do this is bash probably just as easily.<br /><br/><br/><br/><br/><textarea cols="40" name="text" rows="4" style="background-color:#D4DCC4"><button><br />#!/usr/bin/php -q<br /><?php<br />// update the exterip of your asterisk/freepbx server<br />// using dynamic dns<br />// by: Doug Dalton<br />// ddalton at shortbus.net<br />// Documentation:<br />// add a cron job :<br />// * * * * * asterisk_extern_ip.sh<br />//edit these variables<br />$your_ddns_name="yourdynamicname.gotdns.com";<br />$your_restart_command='/usr/sbin/rasterisk -rx "reload"';<br />$your_sip_nat_conf="/etc/asterisk/sip_nat.conf";<br />//Dont edit below this line<br />$ip = gethostbyname($your_ddns_name);<br />$conf_file= file_get_contents($your_sip_nat_conf);<br />// Place each line of $userfile into array<br />$lines = explode("\n",$conf_file);<br />$found=false;<br />$write=false;<br />$conf_str="";<br />foreach ($lines as $line) {<br />@list($attr, $var) = explode("=", $line);<br />$attr=strtolower(trim($attr));<br />$var=trim($var);<br />if ($attr=="externip")<br />{<br />$found=true;<br />if ($var!=$ip)<br />{<br />$write=true;<br />$conf_str.="externip=$ip\n";<br />}<br />}<br />else<br />$conf_str.=$line."\n";<br />}<br />if (!$found)<br />{<br />$write=true;<br />$conf_str.="externip=$ip";<br />}<br />if ($write)<br />{<br />if (is_writable($your_sip_nat_conf)) {<br />if (!$handle = fopen($your_sip_nat_conf, 'w')) {<br />echo "Cannot open file ($your_sip_nat_conf)";<br />exit;<br />}<br />if (fwrite($handle, $conf_str) === FALSE) {<br />echo "Cannot write to file ($your_sip_nat_conf)";<br />exit;<br />}<br />fclose($handle);<br />} else {<br />echo "The file $your_sip_nat_conf is not writable";<br />}<br />system($your_restart_command);<br />}<br />?><br /></button></textarea><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-673527839503077022.post-40286525220690615692008-06-05T07:18:00.000-07:002010-07-06T11:11:27.930-07:00How to make your Dell m1210 into a Mac (dual boot with Vista)First off, I take no responsibility for any damage done to your computer, I am just explaining a possible way to get mac osx running on a dell m1210, if you break your computer, dont cry to me. Also buy osx, if you are from apple, make osx for regular pc's so I dont have to do this.<br />
<br />
<br />
First off you are going to need some things:<br />
<br />
<br />
-Utorrent <a gparted.sourceforge.net="" href="http://www.utorrent.com%3E%20here%3C/a%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E-Gparted%20Live%20CD%20%20(if%20you%20dont%20have%20a%20free%20partition%20on%20your%20drive)%20%3Ca%20href=" http:="" livecd.php=""> here</a><br />
<br />
-IMG burn <a href="http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download"> here</a><br />
<br />
-The OSX86 driver disk for the m1210 (only if you plan to upgrade to 10.5.3) <a href="http://www.netreveal.com/ddalton/OSX86.zip.torrent">Download file</a><br />
<br />
-Kalyway OSX ISO 10.5.2 <a href="http://www.netreveal.com/ddalton/Kalyway_Leopard_10.5.2_DVD_Intel_Amd.torrent">Download file</a><br />
<br />
-Kalyway Combo Update 10.5.3 (only if you plan to upgrade to 10.5.3) <a href="http://www.netreveal.com/ddalton/Mac_OS_X_Leopard_10.5.3_Kalyway_Combo_Update.torrent">Download file</a><br />
<br />
-Your Vista install dvd <br />
<br />
<br />
Things you should know now before starting... <br />
<br />
-Scary things will happen (drives will have problems, but hopefully this will walk you through that) but you should be fairly os savvy before using this, I dont go into a mass of detail but if you email me I will add more <br />
<br />
-if you have the nvidia card, your computer or monitor cant go into sleep mode, it just wont work<br />
<br />
Check this blog for update on Nvidia (<a href="http://scottdangel.com/blog/">Nvinstaller.com</a>)<br />
<br />
-if you have the 1394 wifi card you will have to follow the iwidarwin project (<a href="http://code.google.com/p/iwidarwin/">iwidarwin</a>) which had stopped as of the time I wrote this , I recommend the Dell 1390, it works out of the box<br />
<br />
- this process causes osx to load by default, if you dont want that, dont follow this ( I will work on a fix for this but I dont have one yet)><br />
<br />
- Audio does not work without a different how to<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Ok first burn all your ISO's and the pkg updates and osx drivers to a cd/dvd.<br />
<br />
With the Gparted ISO:<br />
<br />
If you are shrinking your drive, first off find the drive that has your Vista install, this is usually the largest.<br />
<br />
#1 If you have a spare 15-30gig partition skip to step #2<br />
<br />
-Load Gparted and delete all the other partitions but the vista partition, (NOTE: I dont use the media direct, if you do, dont follow this, because this will delete media direct)<br />
<br />
- move (using resize/move) the vista partition to the very front of the drive and allow for 15-30gigs at the end of the drive (for macos) (this takes forever so get dinner and a movie)<br />
<br />
#2 make your second partition (the empty one) a NTFS partition with the label "OSX"<br />
<br />
#3 set the attributes to the partition to bootable or boot<br />
<br />
(now vista wont load but dont worry about that yet)<br />
<br />
With the Kalyway 10.5.2 ISO :<br />
<br />
Once the DVD boots it will ask you for the language, then tells you to agree to kalyways terms, click agree, then their will be a bar at the top that says Utilities<br />
<br />
<br />
-click utilities -> disk utility<br />
<br />
-pick your "OSX partition"<br />
<br />
-click Erase<br />
<br />
Choose volume format macos extended journaled<br />
<br />
label it OSX<br />
<br />
- click Erase<br />
<br />
-once completed close the window<br />
<br />
-in the main window now it will ask you to choose and install location<br />
<br />
choose the osx partition<br />
<br />
-next it will ask you to install (DONT)><br />
<br />
-Click CUSTOMIZE<br />
<br />
under this use all the default settings<br />
<br />
- Graphics<br />
<br />
if you want the computer to sleep correctly choose INTEL GMA<br />
<br />
otherwise if you have the Nvidia card choose nvida<br />
<br />
- Network Drivers->Network Cards<br />
<br />
Choose AppleBCM440xEthernet<br />
<br />
Under Patches -> leave the SMBIOS all as the default<br />
<br />
and choose the rest (boot_with_cpus=1 is the most important)<br />
<br />
then Close and install <br />
<br />
OSX should boot and work fine<br />
<br />
next getting vista working<br />
<br />
- get your vista boot disk<br />
<br />
- load the vista install<br />
<br />
- click repair<br />
<br />
- under repair it wont find anything<br />
<br />
-click next or whatever and it will show a page one option is cmd prompt<br />
<br />
-click command prompt<br />
<br />
-type the following<br />
<br />
diskpart<br />
<br />
select disk 0<br />
<br />
list part<br />
<br />
(usually osx is part 2)<br />
<br />
select part 1<br />
<br />
active<br />
<br />
go back to the window with the utilities and hit repair<br />
<br />
it will say your disk has been repaired<br />
<br />
reboot<br />
<br />
vista should now come up<br />
<br />
after vista boots (it may need to boot twice to repair completely)<br />
<br />
then go to command prompt<br />
<br />
type the following <br />
<br />
diskpart<br />
<br />
select disk 0<br />
<br />
select part 2<br />
<br />
active<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now you are set... when you reboot your system, the darwin boot loader will give you 5 seconds to stop the boot (by pressing any key) <br />
<br />
it will label OS *usually and OSX, <br />
<br />
choose OS for Vista <br />
<br />
choose OSX for Mac OSX<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
to upgrade to 10.5.3<br />
<br />
boot into osx<br />
<br />
place the drivers / 10.5.3 combo pkg update into the CD drive<br />
<br />
-click and install the combo package update (it will ask you to reboot at the end DONT!)<br />
<br />
-click the kernel package (install both kernels)<br />
<br />
-now reboot<br />
<br />
-hit the F8 key in the boot loader<br />
<br />
-type update -v<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The system will boot and possibly reboot ... then you will need to reinstall the ApplceBCM440xEthernet driver<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
reboot into osx<br />
<br />
place your OSX drivers CD back in the drive and<br />
go to system/library/extensions/IONetworkingFamily.kext/contents/plugins and drag AppleBCM440xEthernet.kext from the CD in there and replace<br />
<br />
<br />
Open Applications->Utilities->terminal<br />
<br />
(type the following)<br />
<br />
sudo -s<br />
<br />
*give password*<br />
<br />
cd /system/library/extensions<br />
<br />
rm extensions.mkext extensions.kextcache<br />
<br />
chown -r root:wheel *.kext<br />
<br />
kextcache -k /system/library/extensions<br />
<br />
exit<br />
<br />
Now reboot<br />
<br />
<br />
Now everything should work fine again.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Last but not least the clock fix <br />
<br />
boot into osx and unset the clock to update from apple automatically<br />
<br />
then go into applications->utilities->terminal<br />
<br />
1. Create new file /sbin/localtime-toggle with the following contents:<br />
<br />
type vi /sbin/localtime-toggle <br />
<br />
type i<br />
<br />
<textarea cols="40" name="text" rows="4" style="background-color: #d4dcc4;">#!/bin/sh<br /> to_utc() {<br /> echo "localtime-toggle: Toggling to UTC."<br /> date `date -u +%m%d%H%M%Y`<br /> }<br /> to_localtime() {<br /> echo "localtime-toggle: Toggling to localtime."<br /> date -u `date +%m%d%H%M%Y`<br /> }<br /> trap 'to_localtime; exit' term<br /> to_utc<br /> { while true; do sleep 86400; done; } &<br /> wait</textarea><br />
<br />
<br />
type ESC<br />
<br />
type :wq!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
2. at the promple type:<br />
<br />
chmod +x /sbin/localtime-toggle<br />
<br />
3. Create new file :<br />
<br />
at the prompt type<br />
vi /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.osx86.localtime-toggle.plist <br />
<br />
type i<br />
<br />
<textarea cols="40" name="text" rows="4" style="background-color: #d4dcc4;"><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><br /> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"><br /> <plist version="1.0"><br /> <dict><br /> <key>Label</key><br /> <string>org.osx86.localtime-toggle</string><br /> <key>Program</key><br /> <string>/sbin/localtime-toggle</string><br /> <key>KeepAlive</key><br /> <true/><br /> <key>RunAtLoad</key><br /> <true/><br /> <key>HopefullyExitsFirst</key><br /> <true/><br /> </dict><br /> </plist></textarea><br />
<br />
<br />
type ESC <br />
<br />
type :wq!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
4. Reboot. <br />
<br />
(set your clock to update automatically in windows)<br />
<br />
Please send me errors you run into or suggestions on how to make this betterAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14598107554392137263noreply@blogger.com0