http://alnemec.com/index.php/site/index/ en al.nemec@gmail.com Copyright 2010 2010-07-23T14:02:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/42_easy_steps_to_remove_bloatware_from_android/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/42_easy_steps_to_remove_bloatware_from_android/#When:14:02:00Z I believe step 43 is "bang head on keyboard"That’s right folks, its just 42 easy steps to remove that beloved NASCAR or Blockbuster app that your carrier doesn’t want you to delete. Download the file attached to the alldroid.org post and expand it to a folder you can find (eg. c:DroidXRoot_v2) (file can be found here) Download the attached .ZIP and expand it somewhere you can find it (eg. c:ADBDrivers_v3). (file can be found here) Plug your phone in via USB. Either Windows will install a few drivers and you won’t get any prompts, or you’ll be prompted for the location of the ADB driver (select the folder you expanded the files to earlier). If you don’t see any prompted, open device manager (Start Menu, right-click on My Computer, click Manage. In the window that comes up, scan the tree at the left, locate “Device Manager” and click on it.) Look for a device with a yellow exclamation mark. Assuming you don’t have other devices missing drivers or otherwise misconfigured, this should be your DX. Right-click the DX and then click “Update Driver” Click “Browse my computer ...” Click “Let me pick from ...” Click “Have Disk...” Click “Browse...” Browse to the folder you created in the begining (it should contain the folders amd64 and i386) Click “Open” Click “Ok” From the list select “Android Composite ADB Interface” Click “Next” You might get a dialog saying “Installing this device driver is not recommended...”. If so, click Yes (we know it’s a valid driver from Google) If all went well, you should see “Windows has successfully updated your driver software” On the phone: Home, Menu Button, Settings, Applications, Development: Make sure the “USB debugging” option is enabled/checked. Status bar, USB connection: Make sure “PC Mode” is selected. Open a command prompt (Windows: Start, Run, “cmd”, OK; Linux: Terminal) Run “adb devices”. If you don’t see your device listed under “List of devices attached”, return to step 2 and follow the link to setup ADB (use that topic for support) and return here when “adb devices” lists your X. Run “CD c:DroidXRoot” (or where ever you expanded the archive) Run “adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/Superuser.apk” Run “adb push su /sdcard/su” Run “adb push busybox /sdcard/busybox” Run “adb push exploid /sqlite_stmt_journals/exploid” Run “adb shell” Run “cd sqlite_stmt_journals” Run “chmod 755 exploid” On your phone, navigate to a screen where you can switch wifi/bluetooth on/off easily (settings, or a home screen with a widget) IMMEDIATELY after executing the next step, toggle wifi or bluetooth off and back on Run “./exploid” and follow directions on screen. Once this completes you’ll be back at a shell prompt. Run “rootshell”. You’ll be prompted for a password. Type in password “secretlol” and press Enter then you are root! (You’ll know because your prompt will now be a “#” instead of “$") Run “cp /sdcard/Superuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk” Run “cp /sdcard/su /system/bin/su” Run “cp /sdcard/busybox /system/bin/busybox” Run “chmod 4755 /system/bin/su” Run “chmod 4755 /system/bin/busybox” Run “rm /system/bin/rootshell” Run “exit” to drop from root to a non-root user shell (on phone still) Run “exit” to drop back to your machine command prompt (instead of phone) You’re Done! See that wasn’t so bad now was it. Gadgets 2010-07-23T14:02:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/droidx_no_thanks/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/droidx_no_thanks/#When:12:44:00Z I have gotten more hands on with the Droidx and although I'm impressed with where Android as a platform has gotten. The amount of interface inconsistencies are enough to drive me crazy.Don’t get me wrong, its a great phone compared to what we all had to deal with years ago but with the iPhone to compare against its easy to see where they placed their priorities.  I find that a clear, precise, quick, and logical UI to be a huge factor in the value of a phone and thats where the iOS still stand head and shoulders above Android on the Droidx. Let me give you a few examples of my initial use of the Droidx to show you what I mean. - Unlike the sense UI from HTC, the Droidx default UI widgets look like they were produced in MS Paint.  And this is just first turning on the device, it immediately starts off on the wrong foot. - I noticed their is a camera app on the desktop that takes you to the camera, logical enough.  I am told you can touch to focus, so I touch the screen, then I touch somewhere else.. nothing.  I try again and still nothing.  It wasn’t until I accidentally brushed my finger across the screen that I realized you have to drag that focus box to where you want to focus, you can’t simply touch and have the box move there.  Talk about making the user do more work to accomplish a rather simple feat.  It got even better when i went to another app on the desktop labeled camcorder, well what do you know, it takes to the same camera app!  Why in the world are their two app icons that take you to the same app!?! - Things continue to go down hill as I examine the other options for widgets, shortcuts, and settings.  For example I dragged the widget that lets you quickly turn off and on wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc.  I setup that widget on the desktop and then I got to try it… I tap wifi, but no response, i tap again right away, nothing… And then a few moments later the switch turns and illustrates I turned off wifi.  This is suppose to be a cutting edge phone with a fast processor, yet the device can’t handle giving the user an immediate response when touching a button!?! - General quickness of the device seems to be an issue as scrolling a list of contacts, applications or other lists is still jerky and a little bit lagging behind your finger movement.  Anyone who has used an iPhone knows it moves EXACTLY with your finger and that makes a big big difference. - The fact that any scrolling list doesn’t have any sort of indicator that you are at the end of the list (like the spring back effect you see on the iPhone) is often confusing.  Instead the movement just stops dead.  Several times i thought the phone had just locked up for a moment and that it was trying to show me more but couldn’t.  I can’t stress enough how user feedback in the UI is critical. The list of irritations in the UI go on and on.  All I can say is Thank you Droidx, for showing me that I don’t want an Android phone yet.  Perhaps another year and they will have a device that catches up to Apple in the UI department… maybe. Gadgets 2010-07-21T12:44:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/android_is_the_new_windows/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/android_is_the_new_windows/#When:14:32:00Z As the public interest in technology has turned mobile, the latest competition between Apple's iPhone and Google's Android platform has brought fans from both sides out of the wood work.Is it just me or has the latest arguments between Apple heads and Fandroids sound eerily similar to the arguments between windows and mac from 10 years ago? - Apple heads defend that the iOS has a much better UI while Fandroids claim those extra UI touches to be fluff. - Fandroids claim that their ultimate flexibility with installing anything they want is good while Apple heads point to spyware problems with Android as a reason to have a more controlled ecosystem. - Fandroids would rather have a plastic case with an impractical screen size rather than Apple heads which want a heavily refined beautiful piece of hardware. - Apple heads focus on features and how well a feature is implemented even if a few are missing, Fandroids focus on tech specs and prefer to compare isolated measurement numbers without context thereby making them irrelevant. Perhaps this is just the nature of geeks, we are bound to fight about our gadgets while both ignoring each others legitimate points. Gadgets, Microsoft, Apple 2010-07-08T14:32:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/wwdc_2010/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/wwdc_2010/#When:12:30:00Z I will be heading to sunny San Fransisco to attend WWDC 2010. I will be preparing to soak up as much knowledge on Cocoa programming, HTML5, and CSS3 as I can.As someone who considers themselves a novice when it comes to Objective-C, I will be doing everything I can to try and improve my mobile app development skills. My goal… To have a beta (if not alpha) build of the new iPhone weather app I am working on done by the end of the conference.  Hopefully I’m not biting off more than I can chew. Apple 2010-05-12T12:30:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/ipad_a_pc_in_disguise/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/ipad_a_pc_in_disguise/#When:19:23:00Z If you haven't been following the tech world, its been a buzz about the Apple iPad. While most people I have heard from like the device, it certainly has spawned the usual tech controversey that comes with a new Apple product.Simply reading the tech specs of the device may have you thinking “what’s the big deal?”.  But I believe its the experience of this device, not the number of USB ports it has that determines how ground breaking it is. As much as the general pc industry may think computers are a main stream appliance, they aren’t.  Atleast not to people like my parents and 96% of the population who just use computers as way to surf the internet, write a document, use spreadsheets, check email, and play games.  You may have noticed that those activities can all be accomplished on Apple’s new iPad. So what could be a computer for the majority of the population where security isn’t even a thought, software is in one place and easy to buy and install, and their work and play media is at their fingertips? That’s right! I am suggesting that most of the population could use the iPad as their computer.  Now their are a few things that have yet to happen to really make that a reality. Like letting your iPod sync with the iPad or printing to your printer from your iPad.  In reality the general public still needs a regular computer for this to dock with, for now. What I am getting at is, could this be the future of computing? I’m not be the first to publish this idea, but I will admit it certainly crossed my mind only minutes after hearing about the iPad.  I couldn’t use an iPad as my full computer since I am a web developer, but my parents and people like them could.  The UI and the experience of doing anything on it is so simple that my parents could use it without calling me first.  Installing applications seems like an easy thing to most tech savy people out there but it still scares my parents to death.  The app store experience for them would solve this problem, let alone the problem of letting dmg files stack up on their desktop. For those who don’t see the potential of the iPad, let me say you are probably wanting your computer to do more than what a netbook can do.  Apple has specifically compared the iPad to netbooks during its announcement and thats squarely where the functionality of this device lies. It can browse the web, check email, write papers, play games, and more.  All better and easier than doing it on a netbook. 2010-01-28T19:23:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/go_away_video_drm/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/go_away_video_drm/#When:18:41:00Z These days audio is now freed from the shackles of DRM. You can purchase music from a multitude of online stores and use it with any software you like. Not so for video... yet.I know purchased video content using DRM isn’t really anything new.  We have all had online sources of video content available to us that lock down that video so as not to be used on anything other than the software you used to purchase it. Before I get too far let me mention that I have been trying to not use cable or satellite to get my tv for the past year now.  I find that with the limited amount of TV I watch, I can save a lot of money by just getting it a la cart.  This is why I have been trying to explore all that’s available to me in the land of IP tv.  Most cable or satellite subscribers won’t let me just get the 10 channels I want.  For example, its generally an all or nothing scenario if I want to get discovery, hgtv, comedy central I have to get 200 other channels too.  This means I get charged $60 a month for cable tv with these options and a DVR.  Thats the equivilent of buying a full season of Mythbusters, Man Land, The daily show, and Top gear every month.  Not only that but most DVR’s still won’t let you take the content from the DVR and put it on your computer.  Which means no watching it on the go on my iPhone or my laptop. In my most recent home project I decided to build a theater and it wasn’t until then that I realized how obnoxious this problem really is.  My wife and I purchase video content from iTunes on a somewhat regular basis and all of this content can be streamed to any computer in the house as long as its running iTunes.  And sure I could just buy a mac mini or an Apple TV for this new media room I am building and that content would work there. However… iTunes currently doesn’t offer all of the content I wish to watch or at least at their pricing model.  Until Apple institutes a subscription model of video content, I don’t see my self spending $2 nearly every day just to watch The Daily Show.  A show that is topical humor and is likely to never be watched more than once.  The currently solution to the problem of watching something The Daily Show is hulu.  Hulu is a great service that offers this content free with just a small amount of advertising to monetize the service. This service is fantastic and its only real issue is that it is limited to its own UI to retrieve the content. Which brings me to my dilemma.  I could have a wonderful home theater experience with a multitude sources all being automatically complied into one cohesive user interface IF the iTunes video content was not locked to iTunes.  Open source video players such as Plex offer a great user interface to read in all of these various bits of content into one UI.  But since they aren’t sanctioned by Apple they can’t play the purchased iTunes content. Until Apple works out a deal to release their iTunes videos from containing DRM.  Anyone who purchases content on iTunes will be limited to using iTunes for our video media playback.  That or somehow it becomes extraordinarily easy to remove DRM from iTunes content in the near future, but I doubt it. 2009-10-05T18:41:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/why_verizon_wont_be_better_for_the_iphone/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/why_verizon_wont_be_better_for_the_iphone/#When:11:33:01Z Many people complain endlessly about AT&T (i'm looking at you san fransisco), and perhaps for good reason. But I disagree with those who say Verizon will save the iPhone from its current carrier woes.5 reasons why Verizon may not be the best for Apple, not to mention us. Verizon aims to open an app store and put it on all of their phones, other phone manufacturers be dammed. While this sounds good for handsets that never had apps available.  If Verizon tries to put their own “universal” app store on the iPhone it will ruin the experience of getting apps on the iPhone.  Thankfully, I sincerely doubt Apple would ever agree to that sort of thing.  The question is, what does that mean for the two companies trying to start a manufacturer/carrier relationship? Verizon locks down all of the functionality on many of their phones. In many cases this means no wifi, gps, or bluetooth without paying extra.  Boy I can’t wait to pay more for something the carrier doesn’t even provide service for.  Once again I doubt apple would go for this sort of treatment but it doesn’t bode well for the two companies to get together. Verizon currently uses CDMA. Their network is their strong suit and as of now, they do not have any phones that use anywhere near as much data as the iPhone will.  Their is no evidence that shows Verizon will be able to handle the traffic of the iPhone any better than AT&T.  Not to mention how CDMA is supposedly on its way out so what will Verizons network be like when they are just starting to rebuild it as GSM? Verizon currently uses EVDO. Verizon is known for having a great data network as well but one problem with EVDO is that it is like AT&T’s Edge in terms of multiplexing.  Meaning unlike 3G, you can’t use the phone and your data at the same time.  I would very much miss talking to a friend to arrange going to a movie and not being able to look up show times while on the phone with them.  I know I missed it when I was on EDGE with the first iPhone. Verizon turned down the iPhone originally. Apple actually went to Verizon first when it was trying to get the first iPhone started.  AT&T was thankfully willing to accept the deal Verizon turned down.  Perhaps Verizon will accept now that it sees its been a daft prick but given Apple and Verizon’s past.  I am not so sure they will ever start up a relationship.  Given what costs AT&T has had to endure with money spent on upgrades and constant PR battles Verizon may decide to not take the heat of carrying the iPhone. I agree that AT&T still has its problems.  Where is MMS and tethering we were all promised?  But overall I have had excellent coverage and service out in the Midwest.  I only wish the data plan didn’t cost me $30 per iPhone.  But then again, it does on every other carrier except Sprint, so I would still be complaining about that on Verizon. My real hope is that the Apple/AT&T exclusivity will merely end and many carriers will be able to carry the iPhone (assuming they support visual voicemail).  Consumer choice is what we all really want, just so long as its not at the expense of reducing the iPhone’s potential to that of a “free with contract” LG knockoff.  I’m looking at you Verizon. Gadgets, Apple 2009-09-08T11:33:01-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/is_the_grass_greener/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/is_the_grass_greener/#When:14:32:00Z A large volume of AT&T users, thanks to the iPhone, seem to contantly complain about their quality of service. But do other carriers really have better service? Or does the grass just look greener?As an iPhone/AT&T user I often feel I am in the minority by not complaining about my service.  First of all, I live in a medium population city otherwise known as Madison Wisconsin.  We have great 3G service and coverage here and I never get dropped calls.  So you can see why I raise an eye brow to the multitudes of users claiming AT&T is out to get them. That doesn’t mean I think they are making it up.  Actually, I believe the service one would experience with a cell phone provider has 90% to do with where you live.  In most places I have traveled I have had great service with AT&T.  However the bulk of the complaints seem to come from the west coast where apparently AT&T has exchanged cell phone towers for orange julius stands.  While I haven’t been to California recently I would be willing to bet the cell phone coverage is similar to certain rural areas of Wisconsin, places I choose to not venture if I can help it, that deliver poor coverage and only an edge data connection. One of the reasons this post has come up is that I have also noticed that many people who use verizon (supposedly the golden boy of cell phone companies on the west coast) also complain profusely about how lack luster their service is.  While their complaints don’t always pertain specifically to service coverage, they tend to talk more about how evdo data doesn’t let you make a call while using data.  And how Verizon locks down bluetooth on all their phones so you can’t use it to its full potential, and how they are limiting how developers can attempt to write applications for their phones. Get the picture?… Nearly everyone hates their cell phone carrier in some fashion.  Cell phone companies are just a small notch above used car sales men for most people. Now grab your torches and pitchforks and lets get some changes made with ALL of those cell phone carriers. 2009-07-14T14:32:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/fierce_keyboarding/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/fierce_keyboarding/#When:15:30:00Z These days the smart phone market has a great variety of models to choose from. Some better than others, but for the most part one could choose the phone that is right for them quite easily.Along with these choices comes the recommendations from tech pundits and various tech users alike.  While opinions on which phone to buy seem pretty evenly spread out, one particular attribute of these phones seems grossly mis-represented. The iPhone wasn’t the first phone to feature a software keyboard, but it was one of the most popular phones to only offer a software keyboard.  This has caused a great deal of previous smart phone users, namely blackberry and windows mobile, to think the iPhone is not the phone to get if you need to do a lot of typing. Now I can understand where this group is coming from.  For them (on the windows mobile and blackberry phones), the software keyboard is a small very unusable “hunt and peck” style keyboard that doesn’t hold a candle to the much larger physical keyboards included on those phones. Naturally what this group is overlooking is that the iPhones software keyboard is fully redesigned and usable keyboard that is nothing like the software keyboards of old.  Its keys have an even bigger hit area than the physical keyboards included on the most popular blackberry phones.  On top of that, the iPhone keyboard touts a very impressive predictive typing engine that helps you complete words and sentences even when your finger isn’t even close to the right key. Many windows mobile and blackberry phones and even the palm pre do not have any typing correction software so hitting the right key is crucial to making sure you are understood in that ever so important email. Now I am not trying to say the iPhone keyboard is superior in every way.  To the contrary, I believe choosing the right keyboard is very much a personal preference issue.  I just think its important to note that many of the nay sayers of the iPhone keyboard don’t own or use an iPhone on a regular basis. The iPhone is not my first smart phone.  I once had a windows mobile phone on sprint that had a slide out landscape keyboard.  I never really got into using it that much but I was able to handle typing on it after some practice.  The same is true for the iPhone, after using it for a week or so I got pretty fast at typing on it.  And today, I can type extremely fast on it.  In many cases faster than my friends when they are on their netbooks.  The trick is really just learning to trust the corrective typing and power through. In contrast, I got to use a friend of mines Palm Pre for a few hours and I couldn’t type anything correctly to save my life on that physical keyboard.  However, I have no doubt that if I used one for extended periods of time I would get good at using it. The bottom line is… Anyone who says serious smart phone users need a physical keyboard, hasn’t used a software keyboard for more than five minutes at a time. Don’t knock it till you try it… Gadgets, Apple 2009-07-10T15:30:00-06:00 http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/hypercritical/ http://alnemec.com/index.php?/blog/permalink/hypercritical/#When:18:00:00Z A nice article on how design needs a critical eye. As obnoxious as it can be...This article on ArsTechnica is an indepth look at how design in all its forms needs a critical look in order to really be useful. A fun analogy with super heros… … I was like Wolverine, whose superpower is not his nigh-indestructible skeleton or super-sharp metal claws, but rather his body’s ability to heal, which made his surgical augmentation possible, and which allows those claws to repeatedly pierce his hands without causing permanent injury. ... Web Design 2009-05-06T18:00:00-06:00