To My Newer Readers

Those last two post might have been a bit of a surprise for some of you like the title of the blog says things that interest me. This does mean mostly Tech stuff and Android phones and what not, but I also write poetry and got into the habit of posting them from my Google Reader to my blog. Feel free to comment on them and I hope this does not discourage any of my readers looking for Android news on my blog from following my blog. Thank you all for taking your time to read and for letting me be a source of news for all your Android needs.

To be under the Moon

To be under the Moon:

Live and bide my time
Breathe and be alive
Run and be free
To be alive again
To feel the wind of life passing through my lungs
Oh to feel alive again
Man more then the beast?
Why would I want to be
Oh to live free as the hounds of the wild
Not a care, to be free
Free of the cares of this world
To not worry about what cannot be seen by my own eyes
Not to be troubled by a world falling apart
A world a flame, the wars a rage
Someday even man will be set free
Free of the troubles of this world
Oh death they sweet escape
They embrace
To ferry me on to a best place

Shallow Grave

Shallow Grave:

I wait for a better day
A brighter time
No more shallow graves
To rest my weary eyes
To stand again and feel alive
To feel my heart beat again
Blood to flow and race again
Much warmer then the icy veins
This lonely world has given me
The slow cold pulse
Killing me inside
A little more each day
I lay my head to rest tonight
And every night in what feels to be
Nothing more then another shallow grave

Glu Games 4th of July Sale

Well most all of the Glu games are on sell right now for $0.99 so I thought I would give them a try. Downloaded the Call of Duty and Tony Hawks game, refunded both within 3 minutes.. The Dinner Dash game might be worth getting if your into that type of game but the only Glu game I would buy is the Guitar Hero one. Which so happens to be the only one not on sell. So thanks but no thanks Glu your games so far do not see to be worth having if you gave them away.

Motorola Takes a Shot on the iPhone Connection Issues

The best full page ad I have every seen I guess you could call this pay back for those AT&T iPhone ads that use the Motorola Droid as the target of its mud slinging about not being able to call while on the internet. Now at least we can call without risk of holding the phone wrong.

A Few Project Sites I Work With

Some sites that I work with/work on not sure anyone viewing my blog will find these super interesting but you might.

http://www.everythingannoying.com
Me and a friend started this site the facebook group for it is more active then the site it self but I will be converting it to DISQUS soon which might help. Basic theme is your normal FML type site but its just about things people find annoying.

http://www.elevated-state-of-mind.com
As the artist told me ESM can mean something different for each person and is up to you to decide what you want it to mean to you. It is a simple site on Google Sites but it does what they want it to do and is easy for them to maintain after I had it all set up for them. If you are interested in buying a shirt from them let me know and I will hook you up with a promo code for a discount.

What Are You Holding Out For To Upgrade

Please leave your comments below on what you want to see in your next Android phone what features do you need to make you make the move to a new unit. For me I'm holding out for a VZW phone with a front facing camera and 4G though depending on if that rumor about Android 3.0 is true I might need to add 1GHz cpu to the list as well. And I have finally decided that I could live without a physical keyboard if I can get Swype I think... I will take the user comments to form my next poll which will be on this subject.

IMDB at last on Android

Well this will for sure be one of the most used apps on my phone, includes movie clips in app. The only thing that might be missing from this is to buy tickets from your phone but after I play with it some more I will see if I missed that feature or not.

Download Link

Source

Bloo Too

Bloo one of the most used Android Facebook clients is moving to opensource with its new version Bloo Too which seems to be a complete recoding of the project. The first Bloo Too release will not have all the features of Bloo or Bloo 1.5 but it will be opensource enabling for a faster development process. Here is the list from the post of planned features for the first release of Bloo Too

What’s in the first version? See below:

Brand new engine utilizing the new Android Facebook SDK (Open Graph API)
New login mechanism. You know you hated it in Bloo One. Now setting up Bloo takes one step to add ALL permissions and get started instantly. Ability to log out and login as different users.
New engine for viewing Feeds/Streams for everything (Walls, pages, group walls, event walls and virtually everything the Open Graph allows you to view). Super fast.
New Home screen, including (FINALLY) the ability to go instantly back to it without pressing back millions of times.
Friends list, you know it, you loved it in Bloo One. Fast load, fast search.
Notifications. Yes, they are here just as good (even better) than in Bloo One. Faster and much better battery consumption.
New code, much faster, resusable, accessible and structured much better.

And a link to the original post by the dev.

Source

We will be looking forward to giving you a review of the product when its ready for public or beta.

FRF84B With Stock Kernel

I will most likely give it a shot later as I wonder mostly about the kernel if anyone gives this a go before I can let me know what you think.
http://alldroid.org/tabid/62/g/posts/m/4354/ROM-Android-2-2-FRF84B-Clean-Untouched-Virgin.aspx#post4354

Bugless Beast Built on FRF84B

Well that did not take long must not be much different to the last leak version to have it rekanged already. Well let me know what you guys think about it if you end up running it just leave some thoughts or comments on it in the comments section of this post. And thank you all for following and reading my blog as of late.
Download Here

Motorola Droid FRF84B Froyo Test Group Build

Install Instructions

1. Download the FRF84B-Released.zip file to your SD card.
2. Open ROM Manager and choose “Install ROM from SD card.”
3. Navigate to the location you just downloaded the file to.
4. Tap on the file.
5. Check the box to create a backup in case something happens with the install.
6. No need to wipe data and cache if coming from another Froyo ROM.
7. Allow your phone to boot into recovery and work some magic.
8. First reboot could take a while so be patient.
9. Enjoy!

My Mirror
Droid Life's Mirror
Link From Source 1
Link From Source 2

Will be posting the link to my server when upload finishes and a GDocs link.

Found the files uploading to my server now link coming soon.

I'm currently looking to find a copy of this build so I can rehost it seem most sites with this links are down or broken if you see a live link please let me know asap tekhawk@gmail.com I will updating this as soon as I can find the files.

Source

One More Reason Google Buzz is Better then Twitter

Google Buzz has no #FAILWHALE I have been using twitter a lot the last few weeks. And I have found that the #FAILWHALE strikes the Twitter community way way to much... Shouldn't you guys be buying more servers or something. And rumors are still stirring about a Google Me Facebook killer I have not seen any real facts on the matter yet. But one thing is for sure if Google is getting close to their Facebook killer which you know they do want to do I hope they call it Google Me I love that name.

VZW Android Bing Phone

Android phone with Bing coming to VZW :(

This appears to be a rebrand of the Galaxy S by Samsung at least it looks like you will be able to install google maps but this might not give you the nav features as the Motorola Droid has because of the inclusion of the VZNavigator. On a brighter note this is the first really VZW branded locked down Android phone it might not be the last either but at least we should be safe with Motorola phones not doing this on the Droid lines.

Quote from Source

SAMSUNG FASCINATE SPECS

Android 2.1 platform – With support for Google Mobile Services including Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk and Android Market
Preloaded with Bing Maps and Bing Search
3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities – Allows customers to transform their phone into a wireless modem for up to five compatible Wi-Fi-enabled devices
Advanced touch screen gestures capabilities, including multi-touch pinch to zoom, double tap to zoom and horizontal swiping, which provides easier and quicker access to many applications, including location-based services, Web browsing and digital photos or videos
Six-axis sensor that works with the smartphone’s accelerometer to provide a smooth, fluid gaming experience when the user is tilting the device up or down or panning the phone to the left or right
5.0-megapixel camera/camcorder – Auto-focus and LED flash with HD video recording and playback (720p) capabilities to capture photos and videos for playback on your HD television
WiFi Connectivity (802.11 b/g/n)
Stereo Bluetooth® Technology – Support for headset, hands-free, stereo, phonebook access, object push for vCard and vCalendar
Music and video players and 3.5-millimeter headphone jack
2GB internal memory, expandable to 32GB; 16GB microSD™ included with handset
Lifestyle features:

V CAST Music with Rhapsody®, V CAST Video on Demand, V CAST Song ID, Visual Voice Mail, V CAST Tones, VZ Navigator® and Mobile IM , City ID
Samsung’s Social Hub – Built around messaging, contacts and calendar sync, which allows users to send and receive information, whether it is e-mail, social network updates or SMS messages
Integrated Calendar information from portal calendars, on Exchange, Google Calendar™ and social networking services (SNS), including Facebook®
Integrated Contacts syncs with Exchange, Google, Twitter and Facebook® and displays a user’s contacts in four categories including Information, History (previous calls and messages), Activities (status updates and notifications on social networking sites) and Media (Facebook profile photos and photo gallery)
Feeds & Updates – Displays feeds from multiple SNS sites such as Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter, which also allows users to update their status instantly
AllShare Application – Enables inter-device connectivity through Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), so users can send multimedia content wirelessly to other DLNA-enabled devices such as TVs and laptops
Daily Briefing – Instant access to weather, news, stocks and schedule
Write and Go – Quickly jot down an idea and later decide on a format, such as SMS/ MMS, e-mail, calendar or memo, to send or post to popular SNS sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
Weather Clock – Displays current time and weather of the selected city (ability to add and select other cities)

Nexus One 2.2 Update Goes Live

Android 2.2 for the Nexus One is finally a finished product and being sent out as an OTA as we speak hope you all are enjoying it do me a favor and tell Motorola to pick up the pace when you get a chance.

Quote from Source

New Android 2.2 Software Update for Nexus One phones

Starting today, Nexus One users will begin to receive the Android 2.2 (codenamed Froyo) over-the-air software update on their phones. This update provides some great new features including support for making your handset a portable hotspot and support for Adobe Flash within the browser. For a complete list of everything we’ve included in Android 2.2, please see the Android 2.2 Platform Highlights.

In order to access the update, you will receive a message on your phone's notification bar. Just download the update, wait for it to install, and you should be all set. This update will be rolled out gradually to phones - and most users will receive the notification by the end of the week . We hope you enjoy these new features.

Your Phone of Choice Update

Clearly the Nexus one seems to be the fan favorite phone I'm sure I'm not the only one that would have one over the Motorola Droid if they would have made it for the VZW network. The Nexus One is still leading my blogs poll at 16 votes with the Motorola Droid in second place at 6 votes I do not see any phone passing up the Nexus One within the time the poll closes in 15 days.

Cyanogen Mod 6 (CM6)

No really big news that I have seen on this yet just a Twitter post from his Twitter account stating that it is coming along nicely http://twitter.com/cyanogen/status/17315366019. I'm still running on the AOSP 2.2 included in the care pack post and if this is any indication I'm sure Cyanogen Mod 6 will run better then that build with all those Cyanogen Mod features we all love.

Android 2.2 (Froyo) running on G1

Droid Froyo Source Build (Google Apps, Root + SU, 800MHz, ringtones)

Well after spending some time trying to get this put together my self... I found out someone else already had while I was still trying to figure out how to get GApps working. Here is a link to A folder on GDocs where I will put source builds for Froyo for the Motorola Droid right now there is just one. This should be Koush's build Bekit kern the Gapps and the media files. Unzip the first zip file and flash the four files like me you might not want all the ring tones if you want to skip that file or if for some unknown reason you do not want Googles apps "market is a google app".

Download Here

Uploading the zip one at a time now as well in case you do not need to download everything please stand by.

Main Rom

Google Apps

Super User

Ringtones and Notifications

Jrummy's Build

Flash Player 10.1

Baseband "looking for the all in one baseband update at the moment"

And just to add I'm not taking credit for any of this I'm just providing you with these files to save you the time of looking for them. Thankfully good the good people of of the Cyanogen IRC had links to this already when I asked about the Google Apps for Froyo builds.

The First Fail of iPhone 4

So if you have not seen or heard yet the iPhone 4 has a rather big issue about losing all signal when you hold it wrong which seems rather easy to do.



And as you can see in the pictures on Engadget in the link below it does not seem Jobs is to happy with this or fixing it any time soon.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/apple-responds-over-iphone-4-reception-issues-youre-holding-th/

Mash-App

mash-app.com
Is an interesting new site I just saw posted on Google Buzz it lets you create list of app you like or use a lot maybe even a list of disliked apps to share with friends over Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites with ease. Here is a link to the first mash I made and will keep updating with my most used apps most of which I use every day. I will add links to a game mash and a few others as I make them.

http://mash-app.com/mash_apps/116-tekhawk

Your Phone of Choice

First off thank you to everyone taking the time to cast their vote, I will update this post from time to time with the latest poll standings till the poll closes. Leave a comment below if I missed a phone that you think should be included on the poll. The poll is located on the side bar on the right hand of the site.

• Droid - 6
• Droid Inc - 1
• Nexus One - 15
• Droid X - 4
• Evo - 4
• G1 - 4
• MT/MT3G - 2

Well I love the fact that the Nexus One is leading still wished it would have came to VZW. I do however wonder who picked the G1? And if you do not already know I'm not a fan at all of the Droid Inc so I do not mind that one being dead last. I feel that it was an attempt to ride the marketing hype of the Droid and was not a very sold phone, battery life!

Oh and I'm not including any unannounced phones such as the Droid 2, Droid Pro, ect..

Damnit someone voted for the Droid Inc finally :(

Droid X Multi Touch Keyboard for Droid & Nexus One

Looks like the people over at XDA wasted no time on this one heres the link this should work on any 2.1 roms and unrooted units.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8BWYGDTQ

I believe this will also work on the Nexus One. All in all better then the stock keyboard but being that I'm spoiled by Swype I do not know if I will get much use out of this.

Update: I have yet to find anyone that can confirm that this works with 2.2 and I do not feel like loading a 2.2 rom to see if I can find one that it works with. If I hear about a 2.2 friendly version I will update this post and link.

Last.FM Now Playing Status for Gtalk

Okay... this is not a very direct method but it works and once it is all done it is nice to have your streams and mp3 files all in one place to play them. So here is the link to the guide I used for this I will try to rewrite this into a single guide with links later on when I have more time.

http://www.uberullu.com/show-last-fm-current-music-track-as-gtalk-status-message-using-foobar/

Compiled AOSP

Still waiting to confirm this but I believe this link that Koush posted on the clockwork Twitter account is the working compiled AOSP for the Droid I think I will give it a shot here in a few but here is the link should anyone want to try it out I do not think this includes the Google apk files though.

http://www.droidaftermarket.com/koush//test/generic_sholes-ota-eng.koush.zip

On a side note... someone needs to make a zip to install the 2.2 versions of the Google apks.

Droid 2.2 Coming July 2010

The following post from DroidLife show an image that would lead to believe that the Droid 2.2 OTA will be coming in July http://www.droid-life.com/2010/06/23/motorola-droid-receiving-android-2-2-in-july/

I would think there is a good chance with the AOSP 2.2 drop today that we might see Cyanogen Mod 6 before then which will be built off of the 2.2 source code though at least one can dream right?

Motorola Droid X Unboxing Video and More

Here is a unboxing video of the the Droid X alone with some other interesting videos about the Droid X I will add to the video list as I find more worth sharing.



Video by @thedroidguy



Video from Droid Life

Google Releases Android 2.2 Source Code

Well it is the moment we have all been waiting for Froyo Android 2.2 source code is live on AOSP already and has been compiled and tested on Nexus One units. Looks like there is already some people working on compiling it for the Motorola Droid I will most likely test that build if I can get my hands on it not sure if I would trust my self to try and compile it myself though. Cyanogen has already started work on CM6 it looks like not sure how long it will be before we start to see some test builds as I'm sure there is a lot of code that needs to be merged and bugs that will need to be cleaned up from the merge. Will try to keep this updated as I see updates from from Cyanogen and the other people on Twitter that help with the Cyanogen Mod project.

@koush

Here is a link to the blog post by Google to that has some interesting information about the AOSP turns out that it will build as is on three phones out of the box!
Android Developers Blog: The Froyo Code Drop

Image Source

New Look

Just refreshed the template with the new designer tools played with some text options wished I could use Helvetica but that was not an option. And added a custom favicon to the blog so it can be ID' easier in your wonderful tab based web browser of choice *cough* hopefully Chrome. Thank you all for following and visiting my blog and hopefully there will be a little more content coming here faster.

Mumble Update

Just a small update on the Mumble server it is now located at mumble.tekhawk.com:1462 for easier access because I hate remembering IP addresses like I'm sure most of you do to. I will most likely be bring a Guild/Clan website online for the Verloren gaming group again soon list of games I think we will be supporting for the moment is below.

World of Warcraft
D&D Online
Lord of the Rings Online

There is a shooter game from steam that one member is playing and I will add that to this list soon as I think I will be trying it pretty soon my self.

Mumble + Android = Gamer Dream Come True

I might make this post a little more detailed later on but for any gamer out there I'm sure you have heard of Ventrillo or TeamSpeak. Maybe even wondered why no one ever made a Android client for them Mumble will make you happy. Mumble is not a Vent or TS client but an opensource replacement for them which means lower cost to the host and cheaper servers for us, oh and clients for Windows, Mac, Linux & Android! The Android client works over WiFi or 3G and the audio quality was amazing the app is a beta made by a third party I believe simple UI best used with some ear buds all in all nearly call quality with a good 3G signal.

Windows, Mac, Linux Clients
Downloads

Android Client
Downloads

Here is my server information should you want to jump on and try it out

IP Address: mumble.tekhawk.com 76.74.238.52

Port: 1462

This server was also only about 9$ per year for 10 user slots at http://www.multiplaygameservers.com/voice-comms/ the server it self is located in LA by the way.