The View From Space

Based on the recommendations of the highly regarded IT Guru @ryankanno and Social Media maven @GeeWhy I purchased the Yubikey and LastPass security system.

While the added layer of security is well worth the cost ($45  for 2 keys and a 1 year subscription to Lastpass), the biggest benefit for me is the fact that Lastpass encrypts and remembers all my login passwords, so I dont have to!

Will provide a review once I have a few days of use under my belt.

The long awaited Android 2.2 FROYO update for T-Mobile’s Samsung Vibrant is finally here… for some.
Althought the update is “readily” available to all via the quirky Samsung Kies Mini PC app, it is not currently available through an OTA (Over The Air) push.  There are a few issues I see with this rollout to “all”

Issue #1: How many of you out there know how/where to get the Kies app?

Issue #2:  I guess the first question should have been how many of you out there even KNOW what the Kies app is?

My point exactly.  The only ones who can tell you what Kies is and where to find it are the geeks who have already been flashing their phones (for all you normal people out there, Kies is software provided by Samsung to flash software updates to their many products).

Issue #3:  It ONLY works on PC’s.  So all you MAC and Linux users, sorry you’re SOL.

While technically T-Mobile is correct in saying that they’ve rolled out the Android 2.2 Froyo update for Vibrants, they’ve done a disservice to their average user. The majority of those who know about Kies have most likely flashed their phone with a custom 2.2 ROM and have no need of the upgrade. The vast majority of users probably won’t upgrade until Tmo comes out with an OTA that makes it a 1 button install.

It’s an unfortunate situation in which many customers bought the unit early on with the promise that the Vibrant would receive the FROYO upgrade as soon as it came out or shortly thereafter.  What this delay and “limited” release does is sour many of the first adopters to purchasing these phones as soon as they hit the market.

The next time it’s going to be a lot harder for them to shake loose the $$ from my hands.  I’m predicting that many will wait until the manufacturers and service providers start offering sweetheart deals in order to get rid of inventory, I know I will.

Recently installed an app called Double Twist on my Vibrant. This allows you to wirelessly sync your Android phone to your iTunes library.
What it consists of is 2 apps on your phone (double twist airsync which is currently $0.99 on the Android Market for the first 10,000 downloads, regularly $4.99. And a double twist player, $Free) that syncs with a free Double Twist app that you install on your computer.
The computer app not only hooks into your iTunes library but into any HD that’s currently attached to your machine.  It has a familiar iTunes looking interface which allows you to select playlists, videos and podcasts for syncing to your phone.

The phone interface is straightforward and easy to use/understand.  The first thing you’ll need to do is enable your phone’s WiFi so that it turns on and off along with the app (Settings section).  This allows you to pair your phone to your computer via a private code generated by the phone app.  Syncing is easily accomplished by selecting what playlist/video/podcast you’d like then hitting the sync  button.  Presto it sync’s via WiFi.  No need to atach your USB anymore (unless you’re recharging).

One limitation is that it will not transfer any DRM locked items.  So if you didn’t iTunes Plus some of your older content you wont be able to sync it to your Android.

My twitter post to a buddy of mine literally came back to stiff me. 

Being a certified Android Flashing Fool it was inevitable that I would one day brick my phone with a bad flash.  Well, it happened not once but twice.  With the help of a Norse God named Odin I was able to return my Vibrant back to stock (and without even resorting to a human sacrifice)

While they don’t condone or promote flashing custom ROM’s, Samsung does provide users with a way to bring your phone back to stock form.  Check out the Vibrant Directory on the XDA forums for numerous posts about using Odin (includes links to download the program, the required files to bring it back to stock, as well as how-to videos showing the procedure).

And if you’re interested in flashing a custom ROM (Or even jumping the gun and flashing a stock version of Froyo (Android 2.2)) on your Vibrant the same Vibrant Directory will also provide the necessary files.

Now that the front facing camera is working, it’s time to find me some good video chat software.  Originally stumbled across an app called Fring.   While it was a good start, the app has a lot to be desired.  Grainy video and an almost comic book interface.  Not quite my style.  The one redeeming quality was the loop-back test, quite a good feature as it allows you to test your setup without another handset.

While perusing the xda forums I happened upon a few folks mentioning an app called Tango. So, doing my best lemming impersonation I followed.  Boy was I glad I did.  The first thing you notice is the definite difference in picture quality vs Fring.  The image filled the screen and it actually looked good.  Plus the interface was much cleaner.  It also allows you to switch back and forth between the front and rear camera.  The only issue (and one the I’ve brought to the attention of the Tango Dev team) is that there isn’t a loop-back capability.  They liked the idea and hopefully we’ll see one soon.

What might you ask makes this so different from the apple Iphone 4 facetime app?  The main difference is that you can run it on a 3G network, you don’t need a wifi connection (by the way you Iphone 4 folks can run Tango too).  Of course the video/audio may be choppy depending upon your connectivity.  But it works.  So while it currently isn’t much more than a novelty item, the video chat capabilities are definitely available.  Even without a front facing camera, you can use Tango to stream live video directly to someone.

So get your groove on and Tango the night away.

Let’s just hope that there isn’t a video chat app out there called the Quickstep.

Shot this nice panoramic view from my hotel room while staying at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore of Oahu.
The built in feature of Android 2.1 comes with the standard camera app and seamlessly integrates up to 8 standard shots into one panoramic picture. You don’t do much more than click on the first frame, pan slowly across then click on the last frame (if using less than 8). It automatically senses the edge of each shot and takes the next.
The picture shown here was only 6 frames wide.

Here’s one I took that uses the full 8 frames

The Devs have been hard at work and are close to creating a stable Wifi Tether for the Samsung Vibrant.  You will have to root your phone first though.  I’ve been running the last 3 experimental versions and haven’t had a problem yet.

Note: Eclair (Android 2.1) already has a built-in usb tether capability.  But where’s the fun in that?

Recently been invited by Google to participate in beta testing of their new Android App Inventor software.  It’s a web based app developer that doesn’t require in-depth knowledge of Java, C or C++.

Quite a novel concept.  It’s based on visual blocks that are shaped liked puzzle pieces, each block represents a line of code or a statement.  Statements/pieces can only interact with other statements/pieces that “fit”.  For example:  A  <when – Button.Click – do> statement/piece, can be connected to a  <Call – Sound.Play> statement/piece.  So when a button is clicked a sound is played.

This is a great way to get kids (or newbies) to start programming, they can create apps by visually building them.  Statements that fit will lock together like puzzle pieces.

If you’d like to participate in the beta or would like to learn more click on over to the App Inventor site and request access.

As noted in an earlier post I did a comparison of twitter apps  Twidroyd and Twitter for Android http://www.theviewfromspace.net/2010/06/twitter-for-android/

Now that I’ve had a chance to put both through the paces I’ve made a decision as to which one will be my working app.  The pros and cons noted earlier still hold for both so the deciding factor came down to speed and ease of use.  The winner for me was Twitter for Android.

Although there were definitely some features that I liked better in Twidroyd (like the bit.ly account inking), Twitter for Android came out ahead due to it’s faster updates and snappier screen refreshes.  Twidroyd appeared to clunk along when updating.  And once I got used to the Twitter interface it was much more intuitive than Twidroyd.  So while both apps perform their job admirably I’d have to give the nod to Twitter as I’m an impatient person and don’t like waiting around for my screen updates.  However, if you’re into tracking the traffic of  your bit.ly url’s  you should consider Twidroyd as it does allow you to link your twitter and bit.ly accounts.