Hooking up your android phone to the car stereo!

Another bit why Android is so cool :-).  I was charging my Samsung Galaxy yesterday using the USB cable from my CAR stereo and just thought I should try mounting the SDCard to see what happens.


Well I mounted the SDCard and voila ! the stereo scanned the SDCard in 2 seconds and started playing the songs I had on the SDCard !


Now how cool is that ? No need for some ultra sophisticated ipod/aux connectivity cable/paraphernalia. Very useful indeed.

Rooting & other goodies on the Samsung Galaxy SPICA I5700 (2.1 Firmware) - Updated

(DO NOT use this guide with the 1.5 firmware)
for Rooting the Galaxy SPICA 1.5 Firmware click here.

Pre-Requisite : Basic knowledge of windows and linux commands (DO NOT try this if you are uncomfortable with the command line interface)

Step 1 : Download Android SDK from here.

Step 2 : Extract the SDK to a folder.

Step 2 : If you are using windows, right-click on My Computer, and select Properties. Under the Advanced tab, hit the Environment Variables button, and in the dialog that comes up, double-click on Path (under System Variables). Append the full path to the tools/ directory to the path (for eg if you have extracted the SDK under d: drive add ;d:\android-sdk_r04-windows\tools Path variable).

for other OS follow the steps here.

Step 3: Download init.spica.sh from here. and copy it to the /tools folder under the SDK.
Step 4a: Enable USB debugging mode : Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging.  (forgot this step.. thanks to yudha.)

Step 4b: Connect the phone using the USB cable and run the following commands using the command prompt.

adb devices > it should list your device with a serial number,if not the phone is not connected properly.

then run the following commands : 

adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system

adb shell rm /system/xbin/su

adb shell ln -s /xbin/su /system/xbin/su

adb push init.spica.sh /system/etc/

adb shell chmod 0550 /system/etc/init.spica.sh

adb shell reboot

The phone will reboot at this point and after it reboots you should have root access to the phone.

To check 

adb shell

su

the prompt should change from the $ to a # ..thats it now you have root access to your android kernel :-)

Type "exit" to get back to your windows command prompt.

Alternatively you can download an application like Better Terminal and try running the commands from your phone itself.

Once you have gained root access you can remove pre-installed applications you do not like or want or install files like the LiveWallpapersPicker.apk

Backup System Files : 

Connect phone on USB

Backup all system files before making any changes by running the following command

adb pull /system/app < path the backup folder >

Mounting the system: 

adb shell mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system (this mounts the system and allows you to modify system files)

One easier way to do this is by adding the Remount script to the system/xbin

Download Remount and copy to /tools folder under the SDK

mount -o remount,rw,codepage=utf8,vfat,xattr,check=no /dev/stl5 /system

adb push remount /system/xbin/

adb shell chmod 0755 /system/xbin/remount

Now you can type "remount rw" when you want to mount the system in read/write mode and "remount ro" when you want to put it back as read only.

Remove files you don't need : (for eg myspace.apk)

cd /system/app

rm myspace.apk

Please make sure you have a backup before you try to remove any apk file.

Install Live Wallpapers (Just like the Google Nexus One)

Download LiveWallpaperPicker.apk and copy to the tools/ folder under the SDK

Open the command prompt and type :

adb install LiveWallpapersPicker.apk

You should now have an option for picking a live wallpapers on your phone.

There are a lot of nice looking live wallpapers on the market for you to download and try.

Thanks to mrJohn and Mallik_Raj @ samdroid.net

Samsung I5700 (Galaxy SPICA) Android 2.1 Flashing Guide (Updated)

***** USE THIS GUIDE AT YOUR OWN RISK !  *******
***** DO NOT BLAME ME FOR BRICKED DEVICES ******

What you need : 

The firmware : I570EDDJB2 in my case. (Unreleased Android 2.1 (Eclair) firmware from Samsung).

Multiloader application and Spica OPS (Odin_v4_03.exe + spica.ops) : Odin_v4_03.zip

Drivers for I5700 : drv5700.zip

Samsung USB Cable

Before you start : 

Backup your data !

Remove the SIM lock if any.

Create a folder and extract all files listed above + the firmware (do not extract the tar file from within the firmware)

Ensure your phones battery is sufficiently charged (and your laptops battery too if you live in a country like ours lol ;-))

Shutdown any service/software which could be using the USB port, especially the Samsung PC suite. - Very Important

Flashing :

Edit : You should probably do a hard reset before you start by punching in the following code on the phone *2767*3855#

1. Shutdown your phone and remove the SDCARD and the SIM 

2. Put the phone in "Download Mode" by pressing Volume Down + Camera + Power button.

Image Courtesy : samdroid.net

3. Connect the Phone to the PC using USB

4. Install drivers using the drv5700 files- A lot of guys are going wrong here.  Open your device manager and ensure the two Samsung devices are shown properly before you go ahead.(circled in red) - see image below :

5. Open Odin Multi Downloader v4.03.exe, you should see the a COM port number with a yellow background.

6. Select the files as shown in the image below : 

Image Courtesy : samdroid.net

If you are using some other firmware and there is only one tar file select Option : One Package and load the file under One Package TAB.

Cross check the files and if you need to change anything click on "Reset Files" and select files again.

7. Once you are ready hit the START button. DO NOT DISCONNECT the phone until the firmware download completes.

8.Watch the "Message: window and wait till it shows <1> Close serial port and wait until rebooting.- This usually takes not more than 1-3 minutes.

9. At this point your flashing is complete and the device should be automatically rebooting, once the reboot is complete unplug the USB cable and flick open the Eclair green locking slider ;-)

Congrats !!! Welcome to the delicious ECLAIR club :-)

Issues : 

Google Maps seems to be a bit temperamental (Upgraded to ver 4.0.0 from the new 2.1 Market). Phone has hung a couple of times but nothing really serious.

New Features : 

Multiple Accounts Support
Exchange Support - No Calendar support or GAL lookup.
Camera now has Scene mode, White balance, Color effect
Search across the device including SMS/MMS
HTML5 Support in the browser.
Live Wallpapers
Refreshed UI


Hopefully Samsung will include pinch and zoom in the final release version :-)

Thanks to the guys at : 

www.samsung-firmware.webs.com

http://forum.samdroid.net

Screen Shots : 

  

 

  

  

 

Samsung i5700 Running Android 2.1 (Eclair)

I bought the Samsung I5700 on Friday which was running the stock Android 1.5 (Cupcake).  By Saturday I was scourging the internet forums for an upgrade to ver 2.x, I had to get it !.  After lots of  broken links, and reading up Russian tutorials translated using google I was finally got myself a copy of the new unreleased eclair firmware (2.1) : I570EDDJB2.


Everything seems to be running fine :-)  apart from a weird issue with my GPS which cant get my location right.


I will post some screengrabs and a tutorial soon... Make sure to check back soon.


Thanks to all the folks @ SamsungFirmware, SamDroid

Must Have Google Chrome Extentions

I had been sticking to firefox after the release of Google Chrome just for the simple reason that firefox had a lot more extensions than chrome. I made the switch to chrome about a month back after some of the must have extensions were made available on chrome.


Here is my list of MUST HAVE extensions for Chrome or even firefox for that matter.


XMarks : Backup and sync your bookmarks across computers and browsers. Xmarks synchronizes across multiple computers, and across web browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. After you install the add-on, click on the notification to set up Xmarks and start backing up and synchronizing your bookmarks. Xmarks sync profiles give you full control over which bookmarks are synced to which computers, allowing you to keep private bookmarks at home while syncing everything else to your work computer. Xmarks automatically keeps a backup of each bookmark change, making it easy to backup and restore your bookmark sets.


Wikipedia Companion - Mini Wiki Browser - Essential extension for any Wikipedia users. Full-featured: saves your recent wiki lookups, multi-lingual, back/forward and more!

LastPass Password Manager - LastPass is a free password manager and form filler. One Time Passwords, Screen Keyboard, and Grid multi-factor help protect your account.

Some other useful extensions you can try :

Better Gmail - Adds option to toggle: ads, chat, invites, folders4gmail, footer, attachment icons, row highlight, sponsor messages.

Stop Youtube autoplay - Stops youtube autoplay but allows pre-buffering.

Google Dictionary (by Google) -  Double-click any word to view its definition in a small pop-up bubble.

MSPaint !

The Google Phone - Nexus One (Updated)

I sat up well past midnight yesterday to follow the launch of the much awaited Google Phone aka The Nexus One.  I was expecting Google to throw some surprises but they didn't - more or less everything was "leaked" beforehand.

In case you have been living under a rock, this phone is based on the open source Android OS developed by Google.  You can see it in action here.

Simply put this is the most desirable Android handset to date and it has definitely split the Smartphone market wide open. iPhone fanboys here we come ;)

Some cool specs :

1 GHz Snapdragon Processor

512 MB RAM & ROM

3.7 inch 480 x 800 AMOLED capacitive touchscreen

5 MP Autofocus Camera with LED Flash

Removable 1400 mAH Battery

HSDPA 7.2 Mbps

Assisted GPS

802.11n Wifi

Accelerometer

Noise Canceling Microphone

Android 2.1 (Eclair)

Google Earth - A first for Android OS

Google Maps - Includes turn by turn navigation

Google Voice (Only in the US)
Update : Pinch and Zoom functionality added via a minor OTA.

Complete tech specs can be found here.  My biggest and only complain is that there is no Multi touch support !

You can read a review of the Google Phone here and here.  While I go back to drooling and figuring out how to lay my hands on one (beg, borrow or steal seems to be the only option right now).

Officially it has not been launched in India but lets hope they do launch it soon considering we are such a Smartphone crazy nation.

Mega-Geek-Diagram

some interesting pictures..

 

you ought to watch this closely to figure out whats going on here.. don't call me if you are dazed ..

New Google Search

Google had been working on a more colorful and a categorised version of google search - It has been finally launched.. its a nice touch to have all the categories for quick access.

In addition now the the home page is now changed too - the text on it fades in when you move the mouse and the new GOOGLE SEARCH & I'M FEELING LUCKY buttons.

Question-Box

I read about this ingenious project called the Question Box in the Indian Express this Sunday.  It is a great example how simple technology can help people around the world (especially the 3rd World).

It relies on a simple cell phone put inside a durable metal box and provided with two buttons - green and red.  When you want to ask a question just press the green button and the cellphone connects you to one of volunteers, he or she then looks up the question on the internet or a database to answer the query.

I think this device is a great way of putting information in the common mans reach, where most people in rural India/Africa can't even read and write, let alone use a computer.

The people at OpenMind have even developed an open source software which can used to start your own Question-Box project.

Buying a domain and more..

I was fooling around with the settings of my blogger account and impulsively ended up buying a domain of my own ! It wasn't hard to choose the domain name though, it had to be "Greaky".  For the better part of my online life I have always loved using the word greaky for various things, be it a nickname for my Quake III matches or just a userid for various websites I used to sign up for.  When people asked me what did it stand for - I used to say it is a mixture of Geek & Freak which incidentally now appears in the urban dictionary as a word !! I even have a gmail account by that name the days when gmail was by invitation only.

More about the domain : Well since this blog is hosted on www.blogger.com, when you buy the domain you get a google apps account linked with it where you can go and create your own email address like mail AT greaky.com, contact AT greaky.com or whatever you like.  You can create upto 50 such accounts with 7GB (and growing) of mail quota each.  All this for just $10 (Rs. 450).  I guess very soon I will be thinking about changing my email address to mail AT greaky dot com and stick with it for the rest of my life..

Politics Simplified.

Found these rather amusing but accurate definitions : 

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.

FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.

DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.

BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.

LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

and finally my definition of INDIAN DEMOCRACY : You have two holy cows. You let them out on the road to  graze/eat trash all day.  If they return, you sell the milk after adulterating it.  You also sell bottled cow urine.

Know your digital camera

Most people have a digicam nowadays, but very few actually know or use the features they offer.  Here is a simple tutorial explaining the basics of any digicam and how to use them.  You will be surprised how good your pictures can look if you follow these basic steps.  Afterall who does not like good pictures.

Here is one simple Microsoft utility which can be used to resize images especially when you want to email them or just save valuable HDD space.  After installing the utility all you have to do is the right click the image file(s) and click on "Resize Pictures" - Select "Large (fits a 1024 x 768 screen)" and voila you have a file that is not even 1/10 of the original size.  Printing these resized images is not recommended though. I personally keep the originals for pictures I might want to print someday.  If you are just going to view these images on the computer the resized image is good enough.

Don't Own a digital camera yet ?

Here is one great resource for reading up on the hundreds of models on offer and which one of them is the best for your needs.  The author makes it simple to choose a camera based on your needs - Just click on Dave's Picks and choose from the categories listed like "Long Zoom", "Pocket", "Budget", "Enthusiast" etc.  He has carefully reviewed the best models which fit the intended usage and neatly categorised them.  Certainly better than wading through tons of reviews or worse still buying a camera which your salesman thinks is the best !

no title required

found this rather interesting image..

How we mess up our education system in India.

I have been a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, and I know for a fact that our curriculum was much better than the state boards.  In fact till the year before I passed out of the X class (1991) we were given 5% extra on top of the percentage we scored in the board exams if were to cross over from the CBSE schools to the state board (In Maharashtra atleast).  We were also required to furnish a domicile certificate if we wanted to get admitted to a state board affilianted Junior College (class XI), I never really understood why were we given such a treatment.  On one hand the state was acknowledging that our study pattern had been better and on the other hand we needed to prove we were Maharashtrians enough !

I wondered why could we not have one single curriculum across India so that students could easily cross over from one school to another.  What is the point have every state have their own bodies which create their own curriculum ? Why not draw the best talent from all states and make them run the National curriculum program?  All we would need are some translators for the vernacular schools.   Guess we just like to give every state the opportunity to spend money on the exact same thing which the NCERT has already worked on.  Also it would give the regional parties a chance to introduce 'customised history' lessons. So much for a 'forever developing nation' which is short of funds !

I feel there are a lot of simple answers to the big questions India faces as a country, it just needs some common sense and a bit of political will to set it right.  Maybe they just don't want us to get smart, that way they can keep exploiting us and milking the country & filling up their already overflowing coffers.

Funniest Email Ever

I came across this mail trail at our work from one of our fellow IT guys, I haven't stopped laughing yet.. omg.. somebody please tell him to stop using the built in thesaurus..

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

English is indeed a bery funny language !! ;-)

Scotch Tape Tricks

A very useful collection of Scotch tape tricks, food for thought for a stationery freak like me... :-)

Smoking Kills

Pure and simple. Ok ok... I have been reading it myself over and over again.

Games overtake electrical sector in Japan

Most people give you a wry smile if you tell them you are gamer, guess this story will shut them up. According to another report the worldwide gaming industry is bigger than the Movie Industry !

That surely made me miss my old gaming days...mmmmmmmmmmmmm... what a time that was.. playing Quake III, GTA, MOHAA, CoD, Half Life right into the night.. I did trade this shitty job for that life anyday...lol

Click on the title to read on more.

GMail Ninja

Most people I know have an inbox which holds every email that was ever sent to them thanks to the virtually unlimited mailbox sizes being provided by GMail/yahoo & others. Trust me organising your mailbox will be a fruitful activity especially when you want to find something or keep track of all those emails. With GMAIL we got to realise is that it is not your vanila email account, it has a a lot more capability than you realise. Have a look at these tips and you will realise how much more you can do with GMAIL.

Excerpt from the original post :

The GMail product management team has combined the best of tips into a guide at www.gmail.com/tips, cheekily entitled "Become a Gmail Ninja." The tips are categorized into ninja belts (white, green, black and master ) based on how much mail you get each day. There is even a printable 2 page version :-).

Home-2009

I watched this movie yesterday and I can't find words to describe how I feel. Guilt, anger, fear are few words that come to mind. Now we all know what we have been doing to earth with our mindless industrialisation but I think after watching this movie we will have to accept the harsh reality.

Mother earth is dying ! Are we ready to do something about it ?

Synopsis -

In 200,000 years (majority of it in the last 50 years) humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it's too to be a pessimist: Humanity has barely ten years to reverser the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth's riches and change its patterns of consumption.

By bringing footage from over 50 countries, all seen from the air, by sharing with us his wonder and his concern, with this film Yann Arthus-Bertrand lays a foundation stone for the edifice that, together, we must rebuild.

We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand and think the danger will pass away.

Another suggested watch on the same lines is the documantery An Inconvenient Truth.

The Missing Link - Use Microsoft Outlook with Google Apps for email, contacts, and calendar

I have been a strong advocate of using Google Apps for business but it lacked a major feature which was of using Outlook as a full fledged client. Well they seem to have fixed this with the release of Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook.

Now you can use outlook to sync all your emails, calendar, & contacts. I am not sure yet whether you can sync notes or tasks. I will soon find out and post an update.

With the release of an offline mode and now this, Google Apps seems to have turned a full circle.

Update : In case that just made you think about deploying Google Apps in your organisation, here a link that can help.

Update 2 : I cannot confirm whether it can sync tasks/notes. I guess they would get added once Gmail itself has notes (it does have Tasks though).