[Opinion] My introduction to Arduino

I began writing a description of the Arduino unit and then I decided theirs was better.  

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. - http://arduino.cc/en/

While looking at all the fun stuff on the website http://hackaday.com/ I noticed a pattern.  So many of the titles had Arduino in it.  Figured I would see exactly what it was an wow, a prefabbed unit desigend for people to build all sorts of goodies.  

Now its my turn.  I am thinking I want to start with what has been done, and then move on from there.  My first goal will be to use SiriProxy and my iPhone to control the temperature in my home.  Using VPN, I believe I will be able to adjust the temperature even while I'm on the road.  So for those weekends away, I can leave my heating down to a bitter 55ish degrees and when I'm on my way home, I can adjust it remotely and have it nice and warm by the time I pull in the drive.

Yes, I do realize that I must be a huge geek for being excited about this, but for those who were thinking the same thing, me being a geek that is, is only because this type of action isn't mainstream yet and you haven't had time to take it for granted.

I am truly intrigued at all of the projects popping up using Arduino, Microsoft's Kinect, and other setups.  The possibilites are endless and the platforms have already been developed and handed to us in a nice shiny box!

Time to get my learn on.  Fortunatly for me, my best friend is an electrician by trade, and he can expect that I will be hounding him about all sorts of basic electrical questions.  Capacitors, voltage, 

[Personal Note] The Walking Dead on AMC

I have just recently found a fun past time in AMC's The Walking Dead.  It's the first show that I know of on this subject.  Although post apocalyptic shows are nothing new to this fan, such as Battlestar Galactica, it is nice to have an ongoing zombie story to look forward to.

It's about the lives of several survivors who are living in a zombie-infested reality.  I was super stoked to find this on Netflix, yet it only wetted my appetite.  I was forced to download the remaining series to catch up.

Now I thoroughly await seeing the new episodes.  If you like zombie flicks, then you too may enjoy this one.

Lion update

I see it's been a while since my last post. Now that I've been using Lion for some time now, I can speak more about it.

Of course there are the common rants about Lion. Rosetta is a big one, but that's not really Apple's fault, they gave developers plenty of time to update their software. This causes people to grumble about having to spend more money to buy newer versions of their applications. But did you have to update to Lion in the first place? It was a well known fact that Lion didn't support Rosetta anymore, so if you upgraded and don't want to spend the cash, time to roll back that install to good ol Snow Leopard. SL is still a great OS, nothing wrong with sticking with what works. If it aint broke...

I really hated the resume feature of Lion personally. When I restarted my computer or application, I did it to clear the work space, not so I can continue with the mess I had before. If that was the case, I wouldn't have restarted. Of course there are plenty of applications that can solve the resume problem and even some command line tweaks if you are a do it yourself kind of person. TinkerTool (http://bresink.de/osx/TinkerTool.html) for example is one of many applications that can help you rid your self of a few "features" of Lion and tweak a few other settings. For just a resume fix, try Resuminator (found on OSXDaily.com - http://bit.ly/v0xRev).

Speaking of OSXDaily.com, if you are a Mac or iOS (iPod/iPhone/iPad) user, then you should visit this site often for a ton of great tips, tricks, and news.

I have recently acquired an iPhone 4S, so my trusty Captivate went to the Mrs. Which leads me down another rabbit trail. Got to remember to send my old Captivate to a trusted kernel dev for that platform. But back to the 4S for a sec. Now I get to learn how to use Siri, which is supposed to make my life so much easier. Hoping to wire my home into my network so I can use Siri to adjust my lights and temperature from the couch and the road by just asking about it. Thanks Siri Proxy Devs (http://bit.ly/u8wFCC). I'll post more on that in the future.

Guess it back to work time, so in case I don't get back to you all, have a merry Christmas everyone!

[Review] OS X: Lion

I installed Lion last Friday morning and so far everything is doing great. As with all OS upgrades, there are a few patches and fixes to get rolling to get all the software working as it did before. PowerPC software is out for sure (no Rosetta for Lion) A quick trip over to OSXDaily.com and it will show you how to check to see if you're running any PowerPC software that for sure won't be supported. Fortunatly for me and most of you, this shouldn't be an issue. If you find that you do have an app or two, try the vendor's website or MacUpdate.com

Here are some issues that I ran into:

Java isn't included and is now a separate download. It can be found on Apple's website: Java for OS X Lion

Right off the bat, I noticed that "Library" directory was missing from my users folder. No worries, it's just hidden. A quick terminal command easily corrects that:

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

Another issue I ran into was the my Truecrypt wasn't working. A simple install of the latest MacFuse took care of that issue. It can be found at here: MacFuse 2.1.9.

More to come..

Samsung Captivate: Updating to Gingerbread

I have been running Gingerbread (Android v2.3.3) on my Cappy for several weeks now, and I love it! There are two methods of going about this that I am discussing today.

DISCLAIMER: It is possible to ruin your phone by not reading and following directions. That is all. I will not assume responsibility.

AT&T ROM:
First the unofficial Official AT&T ROM installer (Odin 1-Click) can be found at http://bit.ly/kj5Xt3. They have created an installer package built on top of Odin. For those of you that do not know what i'm talking about, this is the software that lets you flash you Samsung Captivate with all sorts of goodies.

The downside to this official type ROM is that you are also getting all the AT&T bloatware to go along with it. However this ROM is most likely to run correctly because it was designed with the source code that isn't available to make a Gingerbread ROM for the Captivate yet.

Continuum:
I've been running this ROM for a while now and I find it to be very stable and is easily my favorite ROM out there. I look forward to the Continuum Team to put together a ROM based off the previously mentioned AT&T ROM, but for now, this is the one I would, err have chosen for my phone. This link will provide you with all the information and links to download one of the most complete and stable ROMs that I have came across for the Captivate. I hope you enjoy! http://bit.ly/mvx2k8

[Tech Support] Android Tip: Laggy Dialer?

Cleaning out your call logs will do wonders for a laggy dialer app.  I started using Call Log Trimmer and no more problems trying to get a call out due to lag.

Remove AT&T from the Samsung Captivate

Note: Most of this content was taken from the article found at BriefMobile: http://briefmobile.com/how-to-remove-att-from-captivate

Root the Samsung Captivate

The easiest method I have found to root my Cappy is the SuperOneClick Root package. This is ran from you Windows or Mac PC. It can be found on the good ol’ XDA dev site (registration may be required, but you will most likely be here again and again). SuperOneClick v1.8beta

Enable App Sideloading

AT&T has some weird reservations against app sideloading. That means, AT&T Android users can not use any apps not downloaded on the Android Market. Have no fear! You can remove this restriction easily. Check below for the basic instructions, or click to go to our “Enable Captivate App Sideloading” guide.
• BusyBox Installed
• Samsung Captivate with root
• SQL Database Manager
o We suggest trying the SQLite plugin for Firefox, you can find it here.
1. Turn on USB debugging: Settings >> Applications >> Development
2. Plug in your Samsung Captivateyo
3. Open up Command Prompt on your computer (Windows: start, search, type “cmd”, right click cmd, Run as Administrator)
4. Type in: cd _____PATH TO ANDROID SDK FOLDER______\tools
Example: cd C:\Users\USERNAME\Desktop\android-sdk-windows\tools
5. Type in: adb shell (Note: on a Mac, you have to enter ".\adb shell")
6. Type in: su
7. Type in: cp /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db /sdcard/settings.db
8. Type in: cp /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db /sdcard/settings.db.backup
9. Type in: exit
10. Type in: exit
11. Type in: adb pull /sdcard/settings.db %userprofile%\desktop
Leave Command Prompt open
12. Open SQLite Manager in Firefox by pressing Tools >> SQLite Manager
13. Click “Database”
14. Then click “Connect Database”
15. Navigate to “settings.db” on your Desktop
16. Expand the tables
17. Click “Secure” on the panel
18. Scroll down to ID 6, “install_non_market_apps”
19. Double click it and change “value” from 0 to 1.
20. Close SQLite Manager
21. Go back to the command prompt window, type in: adb push %userprofile%\desktop\settings.db /sdcard
22. Type in: adb shell
23. Type in: su
24. Type in: cp /sdcard/settings.db /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings
25. Type in: chmod 777 /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings/settings.db
26. Type in: reboot
27. Disconnect your Captivate from your computer while your phone reboots.

Remove AT&T Bloatware Apps

Must have root and BusyBox installed before performing this process!
1. Open up Android Market and search/download “Titanium Backup”
2. Make sure your phone is not “Mounted” with USB
3. Press the Backup/Restore button
4. Click on each app and press un-install if you’d like to get rid of it. Do not delete apps off of this list, unless you know it is safe! This deletes these potentially forever… so be sure about things!
Delete-able:
o AT&T Navigator
o AT&T Radio
o AT&T Maps
o AT&T Music
o AT&T Mobile Hotspots
o Mobile Banking
o Mobile Video
o Where
o YPmobile
o AT&T FamilyMap
o Mini Diary
o MobiTV
o Write and Go

Remove AT&T Market Restrictions


Market restrictions? What? You mean AT&T really censors what apps I can and cannot see on my Samsung Captivate? Yes they do. But, no problem. Android developer Andrea Baccega has developed an app called "Market Enabler" to remove the censorship by emulating the T-Mobile market on the Samsung Captivate as well as other devices. Instructions below if you've already got root access:
1. Download “Market Access” and install the latest version of the APK file on your Captivate.
o Don't know how to install .apk files? Copy the file to your phone and then install "Apps Installer" or "Astro File Manager" from the market. It's easy! Just double click the .apk when you find it!
2. Close the Market down fully. If you were running the Market previously, reset the phone so it is not a running task. Or use a task killer and end the Market app.
3. Open up the Market Access application and go to "Backup value" in case you need to get back to the AT&T market
4. Then click "Providers" and find: "T-Mobile [US]"
5. Click and hold that option until it says "Emulate "T-Mobile" SIM?" -- click "Yes" there
1. You may have to Allow Market Access in Superuser Permissions
6. Click back to "Settings" click the checkbox next to "Emulate on boot"
7. All done. Now your Market is uncensored.