N e s c a g r a f f

Finally a Galaxy Nexus

2012-01-12T21:48:00.001+08:00

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GNex)

review updated

Yep, the phone is here. It's an AP set though. A super fast phone I might say. Since my previous smartphone is an Android entry phone (HTC Wildfire), the difference in speed, size, screen clarity, weight and everything are damn obvious.

The size is extremely large. Not as big as Galaxy Note but still I have to hold it with two hands for a better experience. I have problem touching the opposite area of the phone as my thumbs are not long enough. Therefore, I applied the modified version of 'legacy menu' button and this is the result:

The 3 dots is actually a Setting button. That's ICS for you. The hack is to put another 3 dots on the bottom left side, so in case we need to use the phone while driving, it is now become much much easier.

I don't want to say much about GNex's good things. You can find them easily in tech blogs. But here are a few things I hate about my phone:

Volume buttons are way too sensitive. It's good in a way that you can tune up the volume easily when doing calls but when it gets too touchy, it's annoying. Especially when I tilt the phone to take pictures. Never miss to pull out the volume pop up. FIX: Buy a Mercury Case. The buttons are now harder to reach. Phone is now heavier too, I think it's better if I don't apply any accessories at all. Seriously.
The charging cable is not virgin anymore. I'm starting to think my AP set is probably a display unit. Aihhh... FIX: Again, thanks to the new casing, the cable is fitted well when charging due to the casing slot.
The speaker volume is not loud enough. Googled and found out that most Samsung phones are like this. FIX: Volume+
Panorama shot quality should be improved. FIX: Buy a DSLR.
The stock earphones are no good. My cheap SonicGear is a lot better in handling bass and loudness.

Edit 1: Rooted the phone (of course..) and flashed AOKP custom ROM which has 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) version update. There is a Power Saving option installed.

Here is the first test with casual tweeting + 3G + Wifi + apps installation (Power Saving mode OFF):

Not bad kan?

Edit 2: Been testing kernels a lot lately. I can't promise which gives the most battery life and buttery performance but here is my review:

Leankernel - gives me the best battery life when phone is in deep sleep mode (screen off) but I noticed small delay while unlocking. It's not that bad, I can live with it.

Franco.kernel - seems like my phone experiences some noticeable lag with this kernel. It's not so obvious but when you're playing with your phone most of the time, you'll notice something is not right. Most of the reviews gave good marks though so I don't know.. Maybe the saying "every chip is not made the same" is true afterall.

Update: After 5 days of testing franco's, this kernel gave a perfect balance between battery life & performance. No lag or delay and the phone was able to get 10-15 hours on average. That's on 3G signal + Wifi all the time.

Apex kernel - ~~testing the kernel now...~~ I'm not sure how to put this but I will not use this as my everyday setting. It's just not right. Not bad but not that good either.

Edit 3: I have removed the screen protector as it collects fingerprints a lot easier than the original screen. The screen is now naked but I hardly notice any fingerprints. Excellent quality huh?

Edit 4: Updated radio baseband to XXKK6. Wifi and Edge signal are now stable.

PS: I have tested those kernels for 3 days the least. I know it's not enough to judge within 3 days only, so I'll try with 1 week when I start my practical this 25th. That should give proper cycle charges I think.

PPS: Your experience with them might not be the same as mine. We have our own way so it really depends on oneself to tell which kernel serves best. I don't play games much with my phone. Never listen to MP3s with it, no browsing either. Tweetdeck is set to 15mins refresh, Facebook sync every 2 hours, Currents auto update every 12 hour. Messengers like Gtalk, WhatsApp, FB Chat are on all the time.

PPPS: I'm using stock kernel with AOKP build now. Haven't tested new franco update, I'll wait for CM9.

A Week Before FYP1 Presentation

2011-12-12T20:30:00.000+08:00

Sultan Selangor aku rasa paling famous sebab almost everyone knows his birthday. Mana tak nya, semua orang masuk KL untuk shopping. Everyone is enjoying the holiday except me. My past weeks have been hard with assignments and final year project (FYP) progress development. The presentation day will be this Friday and for my section there will be only two examiners (including my supervisor lulz). It should be fine.. I think.

Update 1

Update 2

Truth is, I don't really know what to present. Of course I can explain the background studies, logbook sketching and all but I think there are too simple and common. Everyone can do that. I need to come up with something interesting like... making a short video? That'll be a waste of time. I'll proceed with designing the project on Pro Engineer software. At least, the examiners can have a clearer view. Kan?

Update 3

That's the assembly part of my Robot Manipulator Gripper. I only managed to get up to this point haih.. I have no idea on how to design the second arm. Thing is easy when you sketch it on paper.. until you realize it's impossible to proceed without making adjustments and tweaks. The worst part is not here yet.. which is force and moment analysis. By looking at it, I accidentally added up one extra servo. Talk about tweak eh?

Update 4

Update 5

Finally, the full assembly design. It looks weird I know, but even this should be good enough for the presentation. Actually 3D drawing is not required but since I've already start designing, Mr SV suggests to just continue with my current progress. My logbook is filled with cakar ayam drawings. No more nice sketching with proper ruler line. Logbooks are supposed to be like that right?

MOOOREEE AND MOOREE TWEAKS!

It seems so easy to build robot kan? And I am here dying just to design one.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T12:46:00.001+08:00

Nexus

2011-11-28T20:30:00.000+08:00

My Twitter timeline is flooded with Galaxy Nexus stories.

I always admire Nexus phones. Nexus One. Nexus S. I have failed to get the first two Nexus'. Money is always the problem. I can spend for upgrade but there are other needs that should be entertained first (the old Satria demands a lot). My current HTC Wildfire is fine in term of usability. I love that phone. And I know my favourite custom rom, CyanogenMod (CM), support for Wildfire will come to an end soon. The new OS update from Google, Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is far too advanced for an old phone like Wildfire. Plus, my CM maintainer has got himself a new Galaxy W, surely most of his time will be spent on it. CM7 will be the last version upgrade for Wildfire.

So here I am wishing for the impossible again. Galaxy Nexus is my next target.

Stuck

2011-11-27T20:30:00.045+08:00

Currently I have no idea what to write for my Progress Report 2 (PR2). I know what my supervisor (SV) wants but to actually make it a reality is quite hard. I met him last week to discuss about my progress but he seems to be in a bad mood so I didn't asked much. 20 minutes passed and I was outside his room again, wondering what to do next. Haha.

All I know is I have to finish up Concept Development for the robot arm gripper by comparing which design and materials best among few selections. He hesitated to answer when I asked about hint regarding the motor.. That really troubles me a lot haihhh! Where can I find a micro-sized servo here?

Edit: Found them at Jalan Pasar hoyeah! Went there with Normie yesterday and as expected with me being the driver, we got lost in the mid of Kuala Lumpur. I hate driving inside KL. Always end up elsewhere. Back to my servo story, that thing is not expensive at all. RM36 for one, maybe I can get it cheaper if I buy in bulk. I just need 4-5 pieces only. Stepper motors are big and heavy. Even the normal size servos are big. They cost almost the same as micro-servo, but with bigger torque. I found a shop selling Cytron electronic parts.

Micro-servos

Normal sized servo

Should I include Pro Engineer (Pro E) design together or just stick with Concept Development only. Help...

Asking via email is a safe approach, I guess hahaha

Bersalin Kulit... Lagi

2011-11-24T11:45:00.000+08:00

I was surfing for free blog templates on google (for my nuclear group blog) when I found few themes that caught my attention. The first one is simple, clean.. and for the first time in my life I am pleased with white bright layout as background. I can't resist the urge to use the theme for my own haha so here it is.. nescagraff has changed once again! The other one is green + brownish. Tak cantik sangat...

I have removed few Nuffnang ads to maintain the simplicity of the ~~blog~~ theme. I'm not really hunting money here so it should be ok la kan with just one. The font size is enlarged, with better spacing too. Hopefully it is readable now.

Enough with persalinan kulit story. I will try to revive this old blog with my final year project (FYP) updates. I stumbled upon someone's blog the other day and in his blog, he wrote a lot about his FYP. Sounds fun.

I admit, I like to read my previous posts for my own pleasure. It's funny to see the grammar errors, misleading entries, typos here and there. Plus, it gives you the heartening feeling to watch the old you grows.

Final Year Project - Robot Manipulator (gripper)

My robot manipulator should look exactly like above.. BUT!! Smaller in size. Aiiihh how can I shrink you... The robot manipulator or arm or whatever it is will be installed on existing robot, which will be used to inspect drains and pipes. I thought the project will be funded by TNB.. not. RM400 will be given to finish the project. Seriously that's too low.

Progress Report 2 should be submitted by next Friday. I have one week left to prepare for it. The logbook is filled with drawings and designs, I think that should do for now.. I guess. I don't know! What's really important right now is I need to confirm the size and type of motor/servo needed for my robot gripper. Settle bab motor.. then the other dimensions of body part should be easy. Haih see.. I don't even know either motor or servo is best to manipulate the arm gripper.

I am going to visit Jalan Pasar again this weekend, hopefully can find some hidayah there.

Short Update On New Project

2011-11-21T13:29:00.002+08:00

I wonder why Nuffnang ads still run and I still get Buffered Earnings even though no updates have been made. My last post was on June 9th (just look at the pathetic post below lulz) and from the trend back then, it's obvious that I don't really have any will to write anything. Posting videos from Youtube can be considered as lazy writing.

Well I don't really feel like writing a 'real' post either. Maybe the mood is not there, yet. Been busy with real life, real assignments, real examinations and most of the time I simply tweet things that I want to share. Blogging them takes too much time and effort, unless I have my own words to rewrite the whole topic.

My nuclear lecturer has asked the class to set up a blog for the subject. I think his intention is to tell Malaysia about the nuclear program. Plus, using social media to convince people seems to be the right move at the moment. Here's the link to our blog: CherenkovEffect.

The blog is still in beta phase (lulz beta...), we are still discussing on what to be put in so do come if you feel like debating on the matter because everyone knows nuclear and its cause. It's important to understand and at the same time consider what's good and what's bad from everyone's point of view.

I'm going to class now (sigh).

Key to play Google Doodle - Can't take my eyes off you

2011-06-09T23:11:00.022+08:00

Go to Google.com and look out for the Doodle of the day.

This is what I got after I followed the tune bit by bit:

PPP(PR)N MKO(BP)PO KM(DO)BNMK(NO)OK MNM(WK)R (BK)BMKM(AN)AN(AB)

note: for letters in (brackets), press your key simultaneously.

Try it before its too late!

Special credit to Lowyat.net and of course the guy who uploaded it in Youtube.

Watch Time lapse of cities at night

2011-05-07T09:50:00.000+08:00

Again, if you have some minutes to waste then watch this:

Timelapse - The City Limits from Dominic on Vimeo.

Super gorgeous right? The cameraman sure took a damn lot of time to capture this beauty. Thumbs up! Now where is my DSLR?!

El Clásico Animation: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

2011-04-29T08:36:00.000+08:00

Beautiful animation. How they do it?!!

Download Youtube Video (the easiest way)

2011-04-25T21:01:00.000+08:00

The Coolest method.

If you haven’t updated your Adobe Flash Player 10 plugin yet, you can try this method but it’s for Ubuntu users only:

1. Let the Youtube video streams until it finishes.

2. Look for the video file at Computer > File System > tmp. The video is in flash format and normally VLC Media Player don’t have problem playing it raw, but in case you want to view it in Windows, you may to rename it to lalalala.flv.

3. Make sure you move the video file before closing the original video tab at your browser, or else the one in tmp folder will be gone. Foreva!

You can use this trick at most of websites hosting flash videos.

The Not so Cool method.

So you’ve already updated to latest version huh (sigh). This can only be done on YouTube. Tested on Ubuntu and Windows 7. Other OS, I don't know.

1. Install the script from this site.

2. If you’re using Chrome, you can simply install it directly. But if you’re on other browsers, use Greasemonkey. I’m not going to cover the steps for other browser than Chrome so good luck.

3. Once installed, go to YouTube and choose any video. You can see that there’s a new Download button.

Edit: YouTube is testing out videos in HTML5 now so if you have problems with it, right click on the video, choose About HTML5 and change it back to flash version.

Make floating image for your blog

2011-04-21T23:45:00.001+08:00

Look at the bottom right corner of this blog. Click on that floating image. Yes, thanks a lot for the click :)

So this is how you can apply it on your blog too.

Note: Basic HTML code knowledge needed here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Upload the image to any image hosting site. In my case, I use Flickr.

2. Go to your template/design setting of your blog.

3. Paste this on top of ]]></b:skin> (use ctrl+F for quick find).

Note: You can set the position of the image by changing the code i.e. bottom, top, right, left to your needs.

4. Paste this below </body>.

Note: Make sure you change the links correctly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

So when the campaign period is over, all you have to do is upload a new image to Flickr or other hosting sites and link it back. I’m not responsible for any wrong doings. Risk it yourself.

How would you rate Uniten survey form?

2011-04-10T10:26:00.000+08:00

Be honest with me. Will you do the above survey?

Webmaster: I’m the greatest web designer ever!

Student: Y U SO RETARDED!

My opinion:

This is not how you make a survey bro. Survey forms are supposed to be USER-FRIENDLY. They are supposed to be easy to click, easy to fill and clear for your target.

You bombard us with questions and you expect us to click every single box to rate your service huh? Do you think we will give positive answers after all that?

One more thing, for God’s sake, DON’T USE DROPDOWN MENU!!!!!1 Use BUTTONS!!! You’re the webmaster, you should know better. I don’t mind dropdown menus if the questions were like 3 or 4 haih.

Please, please make it like this:

Easy to click, easy to read.

Next time if you wanna ask something from us, please put yourself in our shoes.

Credit to TheOatmeal for the picture.

Find saved Wi-Fi passwords from your Android phone

2011-04-07T15:11:00.001+08:00

You are setting up your laptop on a bench, close to a coffee shop nearby. You plan on using their WiFi service but you are a student and you don’t have the money to buy a cup of coffee, just to get the password for an hour of Facebook stalking. Your mind realizes the problem and spins hard to find the best way to steal the WiFi password without paying a cent to the coffee shop owner.

You remembered you already have the password stored in your slim and shiny Sony Xperia Arc but being a human who always pretend to forget the house rent due date, you can’t recall the exact keywords.

You notice you already installed Root Explorer and few other file manager apps which can gain access to your root phone folder. You are the best cheapskate in town, so you always use ~~Applanet~~ for illegal download activities for your paid apps.

Knowing what Root Explorer can do, you make your way to these folders: /mnt/sdcard/data/misc/wifi/

…hoping to find some clues. There! You see hope when you found the wpa_suplicant.conf file. You made a click on it and found a list of saved WiFi SSIDs together with the passwords and their priorities.

The password is within the psk quote.

Weehoooo! Free WiFi again baby! Thanks Kopitiam B**** :)

Credit to AddictiveTips.

For rooted Android phones only.

P/S: I was bored, forgive me.

Can a Display Screen Let Me Recharge My Cell Phone?

2011-04-05T20:45:00.001+08:00

French organization Wysips is implementing a whole new technique which may cause smartphone touch screens to perform double duty as photo voltaic power panels to recharge cell phones.

The thought is fairly interesting because [1] it entails laying an extremely thin transparent photo-voltaic film layer together with the mobile phone screen. The film might get energy not only from the sun, but any nearby source of light.

Estimated recharge times could be about six hours from sunlight and some minutes longer from leaching electricity from indoors lights. Wysips is at work for the 2nd development of the technology, which looks to supply thirty minutes of talk-time after just an hour or so in the sunshine.
The issue with a solar battery charger is the fact that the sun moves continuously, and my practical experience continues to be that you must move the battery charger every couple of minutes to help keep it in the sunshine.

Actually most solar chargers for cellphones could be beneficial to folks who spend lots of time outdoors, and should not readily utilize a car or wall charger for devices. Backpackers, fishermen, etc, would possibly like this.

Otherwise, you are probably more satisfied using something different. The most effective solar cellular phone chargers available on the market take too much time to charge - a 1 hour charge provides you with just enough to make a 5-10 minutes mobile call. It requires something similar to 8-10 hours to obtain a full charge.

Another big problem with these chargers could be that the unit is only able to be charged around 500 times. This could equate to approximately 12 months in case you used it everyday. You will never go green using this thing, since you'd must change it every 12-18 months.

With more men and women getting cellphones and iPads etc...., the drain on electricity grids is increasing. So, incorporating the capacity for the cellular phone to independently re-charge from the light signifies they might help pull their own weight, and you also wouldn’t need to take with you a different battery charger or move it around.

Another interesting truth is the opportunity to utilize this system to charge the cell phone while using the indoor light... it is a real benefit. The product could be continually charging as light falls on display, meaning it will be topping off it’s power as the cellular phone just sits inactive.

This progression is much more appealing than previous attempts to generate solar chargers for smartphones, for instance Samsung's Blue Earth mobile phone [2], which included a solar charger on its back. A few months ago Apple was awarded a patent [3] for a method to charge small gadgets using solar powered energy, an indicator that this company considers solar energy worth exploring.

The solar efficiency from Wysips' charger is only 9 %, in comparison to the best solar panels used elsewhere. That is much better than the 0 % smartphones offer now. The additional green energy gained coming from a solar charger including Wysips' could allow cell phone designers to build up slimmer batteries for their devices, or allow for faster, better devices with satisfactory battery lives.

Footnotes:

[1] Explains in more detail how the new solar charger works (Wypsis official site).
[2] Where it's released the info about the Blue Earth Phone (Official Samsung site).
[3] Writes about the Apple's patent on solar powered devices (Tech Crunch).

About me:
Sofia Susan Sheppard writes for the blog, her non profits hobby blog site she uses to discuss the latest technology information about solar chargers for small systems.

Smartphone. Should I buy one?

2011-03-24T12:29:00.001+08:00

Living in modern world does not mean you have to own a decent gadget to keep you on track with what's trending. Smartphones are no toys. They have many many functions and I believe if you don't fully utilize your smartphones, you better stick with the normal ones.

I came across many doubts among my friends who kept asking what phones should they buy. I'm not an expert myself so I hope you can trust my thoughts about this.

Note that I will only mention 3 platforms in this post: iOS (iPhone), Android phones and Blackberry. If you don't fit into any of the below- save your money and get a normal phone.

____________________________________

Are you buying because of the games?

If the answer is yes then get yourself an iPhone. Android games collection is growing but they aren't very amusing and fun compared to iPhones'. Blackberry.. out.

Is it because of the apps?

Yes? Again, get an iPhone. Apple do well with their App Store as they monitor the ins and outs of the apps. Only the best will be selected, so the money you put on these apps can be considered well spent. Don’t get me wrong, Android apps are not too shabby either but if you’re looking for illogical, weird out-of-the-world app, Apple App Store has it.

I like customization.

Android is best for you. Iphones can be customized too but you have more control over your phone with Android. Unless you Jailbreak it (gain root access of iPhone). Blackberry.. out.

Wait! I thought smartphone is about Facebook

and Twitter?!

Duh… Get a Blackberry. Yes, you may also opt for other platform such as Symbian (Nokia or Sony Ericson). Android and iPhone have these apps too, in case you're wondering.

Should I subscribe to Internet data plan?

Of course.

But I have Wifi at both my office and home!

You have laptop and PC for that, so why bother buying a smartphone? You may argue with me about this but if you can't do surfing on the go, its not smart already.. showoff!

My friends talk about BBM. I want it too!

That's only for Blackberry. We have other alternatives for that like Whatsapp and Kik, which are better as they support multiple platforms. Unless you're a dreamer or a wanted terrorist, go on with that BBM of yours. The encrypted BBM is no use for normal people like me.

Which one is the most user friendly?

Give a child an iPhone and an Android. He/She will choose iPhone over Android. That’s how you summarize them up.

Should I go for a high end specification

phones?

If you have the money, yes go for it. Even if you don't have enough money, I suggest you wait and get the best phones available. I'm using HTC Wildfire right now. It's an entry level Android phone with low specs. At first I thought having a phone that can play some games and able to use Internet when I'm outside is enough. I was wrong. Most of the games now are in HD, they won't fit into my tiny screen anymore. Same thing applies to processing power and camera. You'll want more, believe me.

Should I go for contract with the telcos?

Calculate and think before you subscribe for one. Do not fall for subsidies. Yes, the phone may cost lesser under contract but what will happen if you are not satisfied with your phone like I do? Revoking a contract is expensive!

____________________________________

Again, I'm no expert. I have spent time with all 3 of them, and I can tell which is better and which is worst. It's very subjective actually. So try it out, play with your own hands then only decide which one suits you the most :)

Electric Meter

2011-03-20T13:39:00.001+08:00

[Ad] At UNITEN, we have something that you guys don't have. I suppose we should be proud of this 'great' invasion and we are grateful that we're among the first to try.

Tada its the electric meter.

Here at Uniten, every student hostels were installed with this electric meter. The function is just like any other home meter: to record the usage BUT we have something far more interesting than your typical cheap meter!

We have to top up the credit before we get to use the electricity. Great isn't it? Go green technology! The rate is cheap enough, just RM0.34 per 1kwatt (after 15% discount). If you must know, the normal rate for normal residency is RM0.22 per 1kwatt. The difference is too small and can be negligible. And no one cares about this. We are rich la come on!

Thus, in order to save electricity (as well as our pocket money), we cut our daily usage, declining our very normal activities such as switching on the fan at night and studying inside the campus. To make full use of the electricity conservation, we bath at night to cool our hot boiling body temperature (enraged heart included) and face the fear of darkness as we shut all the lights off including the toilet and the hall in order to fulfill the call. A very good way to participate the greener lifestyle, yeah in conjuction of 2011 Earth Hour.

Uniten surely have to be proud of this, they should get any award related to the Green Technology and our bikmama should present it with her own hand!

Amusing isn't it? Lets ask all the suku sakat of 1Malaysia fella to enroll here. We at Uniten, have the best of everything! RM200 for twin-sharing and RM280 for single room. Top up early and you'll get discount for the electricity tariff. The Grand Sale is always here. with more and more discount! It's not gonna cost you much guys. It would be fun to be in the dark every night and enjoy the moon light. Just think about the earth and you'll be fine here. Trust me!

P/S: The apartment rate can be changed without further notice. It's not Uniten's fault if you failed to read and update because we never email you about our plans and we never will. Kehkeh!

Picture courtesy of msanne.

Ad-Hoc made easy with Connectify

2011-02-03T14:39:00.001+08:00

I’ve been playing around with Windows 7 Networking and never once get computers in my network connected to each other. Yes I hate Windows 7 for messing up my life. Playing LAN games is now a no-no. Till I found Connectify.

“With Connectify you can share expensive airport Wi-Fi with co-workers, create a hotspot in your ethernet-only hotel or dorm room, even extend the range of your home router.”

- quoted from their website.

Ad-Hoc? No problem! It’s plain easy to set up. Get smartphones connected to your PC in less than 5 minutes, plus it uses WPA2 password encryption.

P/S: Happy Chinese New Year!

Four dreams in a row

2011-01-23T18:59:00.001+08:00

First Dream

I was relaxing (driving I think). The dream was quite long compared to the other three. I was already married. I saw Normie and a girl with me, probably my daughter. We were singing in the car, convertible one. And as the dream continues, suddenly I was having problem with breathing. It got harder with every breath. They looked concerned, tried to help but the dream went poof and I woke up.

Its my pillow that's blocking my nose. I shifted position and continued my sleep.

Second Dream

I was driving again, this time at mall's car park. We were searching for parking I guess. Suddenly the car felt heavy and finally came to a stop. Weird thing happened.

The car reversed by itself! I tried to brake but failed. Even the handbrake was not working. I looked behind to notice a Chinese man and 3 girls, also Chinese, were pulling my car with a rope. And they're running. Wth..

Oh forgot to mention, the car was an old mini without a roof. Normie was there too and we were shouting for them to stop, until I was awake again.

There's no harm with them pulling my car in a shopping mall but my heart was beating hard when I came to my senses.

Third Dream

No Normie this time. I was lying on the mattress when Aiman and Paan were busy dressing up as if they're going to rob a bank, no kidding. Both were smartly dressed like the architect in Inception, I forgot his name. The dream was short and I woke up again.

Fourth Dream

I cant remember this one. Its damn short. I should've note them first before start typing. Well, better luck next time.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Create your own Android blog app

2011-01-17T09:13:00.001+08:00

Thanks to Da Alpha Dog, we can now create our own blog app on Android platform by using this service from feed.nu. The site will generate the .apk file for you. All you have to do is just insert any blog RSS feed you desire, upload some pictures and tag lines to personalize your blog and you’re good to go.
Here’s the link to my app.

Some tips to consider:

Use black #000000 as background. Dark backgrounds consume less power than bright ones thus saves your battery from energy drainage.
If you’re damn popular and think your blog deserves a spot in Android Market, head to this page and register your app for a fee of $25. Yes, you have to be damn rich too to afford that.

Just follow the steps mention in the first page of feed.nu. Its damn easy! Try it!

P/S: I’m doing it for fun. I don’t think anyone ever need an app for my blog hehe.

#tanyanajib goes viral

2011-01-11T17:41:00.001+08:00

It all started with a tweet from @najibrazak, our Prime Minister Twitter account which goes like this:

And if you know Twitter well, surely you’ll understand how a simple tweet could go viral within minutes among the users, with the help of a hashtag such as #tanyanajib:

Still at number 10 from the time I screenshot the page.

The questions asked at first were rather focused on political issues eg. fuel price, racism etc but then it goes wild with silly questions from tweeters which are not relevant at all. Hahahaha but still, it cheers me up nevertheless.

P/s: I still remember how #yorais went to Twitter Trending Topic.

Redirect Blogspot to mobile template

2011-01-01T11:11:00.001+08:00

One thing Blogspot users lack compared to Wordpress is the mobile phone friendliness. Previously, I used Mippin for mobile blog redirection but its not friendly enough. Fret no more, now you can help your followers save internet data usage with the ‘new’ Blogspot mobile template:

Open Blogspot dashboard in draft mode here.

Go to Settings > Email & Mobile. Check on ‘Yes, On mobile devices, show the mobile version of my template’. You’ll see a QR code next to it which you can scan it with your phone, but that’s another story.

Click on the MOBILE PREVIEW button. Take note on the URL. We’re gonna use it later.

Open Notepad and copy paste these scripts on it:

Look out for the codes in green, replace it with your own mobile URL (from Blogspot dashboard earlier).

Save it as ‘mobileblog.js’ or whatever name you like and remember to set the Save as type to All Files. Otherwise the codes will be saved in .txt which will not work.

Upload the file to your hosting. In my case I use free Dropbox online storage.

If you’re using Dropbox like me, proceed with the setup including installing it on your computer bla bla bla. Once done, go to Dropbox.com again and click Public. Upload the file to this folder.

Choose Copy Public Link from the drop down menu. Copy the URL.

On Blogspot dashboard, go to Design > Edit HTML. Use Ctrl+F to find </head>. Insert this script right on top of it:

Replace the text in green with the URL copied from Dropbox. Save your template and you’re done. Go to your mobile phone browser and search for your blog. You’ll see they’ll show up just like the one in Blogspot dashboard preview.

Try it!

Credit to here and here.

P/S: I don’t know if there’s an easier way of doing this. Do tell me if you got any ok?

#malaysiacheatlaser

2010-12-27T00:37:00.003+08:00

These are the Twitter trending topic for the night:

#malaysiacheatlaser, USE LASER, CURANG

I watch football. In fact I have my own favourite teams that I support until now. It's not the club or countries that matter- its the skill. You can classify it as one of the entertainment for the fans. Club will get new line ups each season, players will jump from one team to another but that's not important at all. It's how they play the game. All star teams are not dream teams. We've seen it, haven't we?

And we as the fans, shouldn't cross the line when it comes to give our full support.

The game between Malaysia and Indonesia was a shame. Some claimed Malaysians used lasers to distract their national players, while on the other hand, Malaysian fans accused its the Indonesians that made it happen. I don't care which side speaks the truth as I was not even there.

Yes, using lasers (if that really happened) in game is cheating. Pity to those who did that. It's not sporting at all. Its a sin obviously and never ever should happen in the first place. You can put the blame on shallow minded people for acting at such level, I personally would agree too as it cost the game 5 minutes pause.

But you can't blame the whole nation for an act caused by some stupid minorities. Malaysian team deserved to win, they played the game well (surprisingly during this cup IMO). Football is just a game. I can't understand why some people could take it so serious that they take it outside the arena. I understand its one nation pride but its not like they themselves played the match. Whats up with all the curses? Provocation at its best?

Come on.. its just a game. Pfft..

Update: This should clear up the heat a bit- Laser claim. Credit to kak @kujie.

CityVille Fever

2010-12-24T09:00:00.000+08:00

I’m currently addicted to this..

CityVille!

Curse you Zynga for making another Ville game. It’s pretty much like the old time favourite Sim City where you become a Mayor of a town, managing the city welfares. The only thing that makes CityVille so popular is the game is on Facebook. And you know how Facebook with its notification spam contributes a lot to these social gaming companies right? Even Electronic Arts have a hard time catching up with them now..

Click on the image to enlarge

CityVille is not hard to digest. After few minutes of playing and exploring, you’ll get the idea on how the game should be played. You build, you supply goods, you collect the money. That's all.

But then comes the hard part, which is how should you design the city and get the most profit out of the limited energy and resources. You can try to build the most beautiful city with lots of gardens and fountains for the citizens to play around, or you can have tall buildings scattered all over the map with packed and small roads for people to move around. Or perhaps you could create both and still be a successful mayor. Your pick.

I’m still finding the best combination huhu. You can check the official forum for updates and tips. There are many city builds for you to follow, so what are you waiting for? Be my neighbour!!

Modding HTC Wildfire II

2010-12-19T12:45:00.001+08:00

I’m bored, can’t study, no mood to do pages of report.. so I’ll update what I did with my Wildfire for the past few weeks.

³ or cube

This is a music player with cool interface, quite close to iTunes swipe album art thingy with its own touch. Updating album arts takes some time but worth the wait. Homescreen widget supported.

A+ Timetable

This app helps me a lot! I have problem with short term memories, even remembering a simple timetable seems harder these days. Getting old perhaps *cough*. Subject input is easy and simple. It has a homescreen widget too for easy browsing. No reason to escape class edi.

Advanced English and Thesaurus

One thing I missed the most about Nokia 5800XM is the dictionaries. This app is the only offline dictionary I found on the Market. Not bad for a free data.

Zeam Launcher

I’ve tried few launchers (no Sense launcher anymore after modding with custom ROM) but none of them give fast and smooth scrolling like Zeam. CyanogenMod comes with pre-installed ADW Launcher but the app often force closed on me. BTW, The launcher is at the bottom of the screen. Swipe left and right for more shortcuts. Minimalist and sleek.

Clockr

If you have sharp eyes you’d notice the time mentioned in the previous picture is in text form. It may look redundant to have two clocks on one screen but nothing satisfy me more than having a nice interface. Can’t find it yet? Hint: evelenZEROfour = 11:04am. Aiyooo…

Tweetdeck

This is the best Twitter – Facebook app ever! You may suggest Touiteur, Twitdroyd and Twicca but none of them have simple and user friendly interface like Tweetdeck. I love Twitter for Android but it lacks options, which drives me to try Tweetdeck and yeah it works perfect for me.

Dropbox

It’s a free online storage. For starters you’ll receive 2GB storage limit but do refer it to your friends to get 250MB with every friend registered. Its an alternative to preserve the virginity of your phone USB port hoho. I didn’t use adb to transfer files as I still don’t know how to configure the setup in Ubuntu. I normally use Dropbox to transfer apps from PC to phone. In case of reformatting, you can always have your apps back.

FxCamera

We’re still waiting for Instagram to try Android but while doing that, there’s another camera app that gives the same quality and thats FxCamera. Camera360 has more photo options than this but the ads are annoying. ToyCam is my favourite.

lol.. no modding at all.