Yesterday, Apple announced that the iPhone 4 comes to another 17 countries via its Retail and Online Stores, and also via its Authorized Resellers. These countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Honk Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. This is going to happen this Friday, on July 30.
If you hope to get an iPhone 4 in one of the mentioned countries, you should pre-order (if it's available) it at an Apple Retail or Online Store, or at an Authorized Apple Reseller (the best is at the carrier which has an exclusive contract with Apple) as soon as possible, because there are expected important problems with stocks (and big delays, as Apple can't currently keep up with the request only from the US).
If you want the full article, view Apple's press release here.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Hi5 email finder, or how has been the privacy of hi5 users completely violated over the last few years.
When hi5 was launched, it had a reduced number of members. Over the years, it became more and more popular, so there were many people interested in finding out email addresses of the people which were having profiles on hi5. When you sign up, you have to give hi5 an email address which has to be verified after, address with which you're going to login every time you use hi5. So here started everything.
When you register hi5, you have to agree with some terms of use (which nobody reads). And there, you agree that, even if hi5 will not make your mail address public without your permission, it has no responsibility for any failure of their systems. Somehow, it has been discovered that it is not quite complicated to gain access to the addresses from which users are logging on.
So, if you know someone's hi5 profile, you can paste the link of his/her profile into a website, which will return you the email address of the person whose email you want to find. And this happens without his/her permission. First websites of this type were created long time ago, and they are still working pretty well.
Hi5, which is "the authority" which should have done something in this situation long time ago, didn't move a finder to change something until now. It simply let the privacy of the users to be violated. Over the time, it has been shown that hi5 very vulnerable against many attacks/exploits, so, what's worse, an email address of somebody can be found even if that person has his/her profile private!
An example of a website which can do what I told you is yahoo-invisible.us (this one can find only profiles which were registered with Yahoo! emails). Personally, I don't support this type of websites, but I just wanted to show you how easy is to violate the privacy of millions of users.
Will you be still using hi5 from now? Do you agree to have your privacy violated this easy?
When you register hi5, you have to agree with some terms of use (which nobody reads). And there, you agree that, even if hi5 will not make your mail address public without your permission, it has no responsibility for any failure of their systems. Somehow, it has been discovered that it is not quite complicated to gain access to the addresses from which users are logging on.
So, if you know someone's hi5 profile, you can paste the link of his/her profile into a website, which will return you the email address of the person whose email you want to find. And this happens without his/her permission. First websites of this type were created long time ago, and they are still working pretty well.
Hi5, which is "the authority" which should have done something in this situation long time ago, didn't move a finder to change something until now. It simply let the privacy of the users to be violated. Over the time, it has been shown that hi5 very vulnerable against many attacks/exploits, so, what's worse, an email address of somebody can be found even if that person has his/her profile private!
An example of a website which can do what I told you is yahoo-invisible.us (this one can find only profiles which were registered with Yahoo! emails). Personally, I don't support this type of websites, but I just wanted to show you how easy is to violate the privacy of millions of users.
Will you be still using hi5 from now? Do you agree to have your privacy violated this easy?
Monday, July 26, 2010
Android 3.0 test build already done?
Yesterday, Kevin Krause, an editor from Phandroid presented a photo on the website with a device which seems to be running the Android 3.0. From the photo, we can see that it's a Nexus One (this is what's written in "About"), but it is not known why the upper part of the device has been covered with a sheet of paper.As some users said, it is a high probability for this photo to be a fake one, as it's easy to modify what's written in "About". However, I think that there's a change for the Android 3.0 to be already released for a small group of Android engineers, for testing/developing purposes.
Anyway, I have to warn you. If you see on the following period a build which claims to be the Android 3.0, don't install it until a confirmation from reliable website in the domain is received. Just be patient, and don't make something you'll regret later. I don't think you want a bricked phone...
More on Phandroid.
What do you think about this photo?
BREAKING: Jailbreak & Unlock for the iPhone, now officially legal in the US.
The US Government announced today big changes for all iPhone/iPod/iPad users. Starting from today, Jailbreaking and Unlocking of these devices, along with rooting of Android devices and ripping of DVSs (for educational purposes only) are completely LEGAL into the United States, unless they are violating copyright law.
This is a major hit Apple's face, who, because of its strict policy, didn't let users install unauthorized apps. This decision is a big news for users who were afraid that jailbreaking could bring them into illegality, so, starting from now, they can jailbreak and unlock their iDevices without any fear. However, it is not clear if Apple's policy is still applicable, as they might still refuse to offer support if the device was jailbroken (I'm not sure if this decision puts them into illegality if they continue doing that, we'll most probably get a clarification of this on following period).
You can read more on this subject on Redmond Pie (they've also included the new DMCA legislation).
This is a major hit Apple's face, who, because of its strict policy, didn't let users install unauthorized apps. This decision is a big news for users who were afraid that jailbreaking could bring them into illegality, so, starting from now, they can jailbreak and unlock their iDevices without any fear. However, it is not clear if Apple's policy is still applicable, as they might still refuse to offer support if the device was jailbroken (I'm not sure if this decision puts them into illegality if they continue doing that, we'll most probably get a clarification of this on following period).
You can read more on this subject on Redmond Pie (they've also included the new DMCA legislation).
Review of "VirtualBox 3.1 - Beginner's Guide" book.
“VirtualBox 3.1 - Beginner’s Guide -- is a book released by Packt, a publishing company which produces books and eBooks for administrators, developers, but also for newbies. This book is organized in 8 chapters, each chapters being organized in more parts, making it easier to learn and understand what the book contains. A free chapter (like a demo for you) is available for download here.”
This is a book designed for the beginners, as the title say, but I would definitely recommend it to anybody (even to the experts) who would like to use the virtualization. It starts by telling you the minimum resources your computer should be having. Whether your on Windows on Linux, you don’t have to worry, because the whole process, from starting the download to finishing the installation is explained clearly in words, and with the help of images at every step. Whether you had never “touched” VirtualBox ever before or not, it is practically no way to get stuck.
I have to tell you that the Guide is designed for VirtualBox 3.1, the newest version of VirtualBox being 3.2.6 now. However, 99% of what is presented in this book is still correct. VirtualBox has been created by Sun, which has been recently bought by Oracle, who, of course, got everything Sun had (including VirtualBox), in their “property”. Even if after that significant improvements were done to the VirtualBox ( guest operating systems run mainly better now), many people say that Oracle killed the VirtualBox, because there are currently several problems present. However, as I’ve already told, 99% of what is in this book is still applicable, because, theoretically, everything remained the same.
I told that I recommend this book even to the experts, because, even if it explains things like configuring (in a basical way) VirtualBox and downloading an image of an operating system, installing it and running that OS, the author also explains things that I couldn’t pass using my own knowledge. It explains anything, from 3D hardware acceleration for the guest OS, to the best configuration of the HDD, and from the optimal network configuration, to the remote control of the operating system (these are advanced things). Of course that it also explains you what you can do with a virtual operating system (this is useful if you come from Windows for example, and you have never used Linux before).
The reason for which the author chose VirtualBox is simple in my opinion. It offers anything a newbie or an expert would wish to do via virtualization, and more than this, it is free. If you are a beginner in virtualization and you buy this book, I recommend you reading it all (there is a common English used, so even if you’re not a native English speaker, like me, you’ll surely understand anything), or, even if you know how to use VirtualBox, there is a possibility to get stuck somewhere, so having this book on your desktop would be a real help in this situation.
At the start of each chapter, there are some lines which tell you exactly what you’re going to learn. After you finish each chapter, it will give you advice on what to do (eg: to continue practising what you’ve learned), and it will also summarize all that the chapter has covered. At the end of the book, there are more quizzes which will help you to verify the knowledge you accumulated. This is something that I like and I think that they are really useful for everybody.
To conclude, I think that “VirtualBox 3.1 - Beginner’s Guide” is a book that is worth buying, because it addresses to absolutely anybody who uses or intends to use the virualization on his/her computer.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Samsung presents a very resistant, flexible, AMOLED screen.
I know that this is not something new, but I saw it yesterday and I think that this is something that will drastically change the way we use and "communicate" with our phones in the future. I'm talking about a new screen from Samsung, which produces screens for many of available smartphones on the market. As we all know, AMOLED (or Active-Matrix organic light-emitting diode) and Super AMOLED (both from Samsung) are the best screens for smartphones, used by several manufacturers, competing directly with LG's Retina Display, which is used by Apple on the iPhone 4.
I think that with this new type of screen, Samsung continues to show its supremacy on the market, placing LG and its so congratulated (by Apple) Retina Display under it. In the video below, you'll see Samsung's new screen in action. Even if this flexible screen is folded in half, it continues to display the image without any problem, and to demonstrate its resistance, it was hit many times by a hammer, without getting broken at all.
An exact date of launch has not been specified, but it is expected to hit the market within the following two years.
I think that with this new type of screen, Samsung continues to show its supremacy on the market, placing LG and its so congratulated (by Apple) Retina Display under it. In the video below, you'll see Samsung's new screen in action. Even if this flexible screen is folded in half, it continues to display the image without any problem, and to demonstrate its resistance, it was hit many times by a hammer, without getting broken at all.
An exact date of launch has not been specified, but it is expected to hit the market within the following two years.
Fixing "SD card damaged. You may have to reformat it" issues on HTC Nexus One/Desire.
I've got today this issue after I transfered a file from my computer (Ubuntu) to my Nexus One (which runs the stock Android 2.2). After I clicked "Safe Remove Hardware" in Ubuntu, I got the following error on my Nexus One: "SD card damaged. You may have to reformat it". I've searched for more hours on many forums, and it seems that this is more a regular problem for HTC Desire, rather than for the Nexus One (only a few Nexus One users reported this problem).
To be more exactly, this problems seems to be caused by a poor quality of the microSD with which these devices come. I've tried fixing this by rebooting the phone with/without the microSD card inserted, or with apps from the Market, but neither of them worked. I was not at home and I didn't have a (external) card reader with me, so I got stuck there for the moment.
After I got home, it took me some tens of minutes after I got this fixed, so here is what I recommend you doing. Insert the microSD into a card reader, because in this case you have access to what's inside it. Copy all the files on your computer (for backup), and then, using a utility application which can deal with storage drives and partitions, try to completely format the microSD using FAT file system.
I've done it using "Disk Utility", a program which comes preinstalled with Ubuntu. I'm not sure, but the default Windows partitioner should be able to do do the same. I've also tried formatting the microSD directly from the phone but it didn't work.
After you finish formatting the microSD, copy back all your data to it (do not delete your data from the computer yet! keep that for backup), insert it in your phone, power it up, and wait. If everything is fine, the device will start, slowly, to display all data you copied back to the microSD. Music and pictures are going, for example, to be displayed gradually (it may take a few minutes to display all music and pictures). If this happens, you may now delete the data kept for backup in your computer. The only problem is that I don't have anymore all apps I had installed on the microSD. Excepting this, everything is back and working.
If you still have problems or you need help with formatting your microSD, don't hesitate to request help via a comment.
To be more exactly, this problems seems to be caused by a poor quality of the microSD with which these devices come. I've tried fixing this by rebooting the phone with/without the microSD card inserted, or with apps from the Market, but neither of them worked. I was not at home and I didn't have a (external) card reader with me, so I got stuck there for the moment.
After I got home, it took me some tens of minutes after I got this fixed, so here is what I recommend you doing. Insert the microSD into a card reader, because in this case you have access to what's inside it. Copy all the files on your computer (for backup), and then, using a utility application which can deal with storage drives and partitions, try to completely format the microSD using FAT file system.
I've done it using "Disk Utility", a program which comes preinstalled with Ubuntu. I'm not sure, but the default Windows partitioner should be able to do do the same. I've also tried formatting the microSD directly from the phone but it didn't work.
After you finish formatting the microSD, copy back all your data to it (do not delete your data from the computer yet! keep that for backup), insert it in your phone, power it up, and wait. If everything is fine, the device will start, slowly, to display all data you copied back to the microSD. Music and pictures are going, for example, to be displayed gradually (it may take a few minutes to display all music and pictures). If this happens, you may now delete the data kept for backup in your computer. The only problem is that I don't have anymore all apps I had installed on the microSD. Excepting this, everything is back and working.
If you still have problems or you need help with formatting your microSD, don't hesitate to request help via a comment.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
TouchWiz from Samsung working on the Nexus One without root.
Somebody from xda-developers claimed that he ported Samsung's TouchWiz to Android 2.2 for the Nexus One. Even if some users said that this is something great, what I think is that Android's 2.2 default interface looks 10 times better than Samsung's TouchWiz, but this doesn't matter. What is important is that that person worked to do this, so that's why we have to appreciate his work.
He said that it works on the FRF83, so if you're FRF91, I can't guarantee you that it will work. I wasn't able to install it, as the user said that it needs to be installed with adb. It fails to install normally ("There is a problem parsing the package"), and, from what I know, adb means Android Debug Bridge. If I'm right, there's a quite complicated process which needs to be done, but you can try (use Google, it will help you) if you want to.
Via Engadget.
Original Source and download on xda-developers.
He said that it works on the FRF83, so if you're FRF91, I can't guarantee you that it will work. I wasn't able to install it, as the user said that it needs to be installed with adb. It fails to install normally ("There is a problem parsing the package"), and, from what I know, adb means Android Debug Bridge. If I'm right, there's a quite complicated process which needs to be done, but you can try (use Google, it will help you) if you want to.
Via Engadget.
Original Source and download on xda-developers.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Samsung sends free Galaxy S devices to unsatisfied iPhone 4 users (UK users only).
It seems that Samsung offered free Galaxy S devices to users who declared themselves unsatisfied by Apple's iPhone 4. The only thing that these users from the UK to which Samsung sent these devices did, was to complain on Twitter about the iPhone 4, so that Samsung contacted them offering free Galaxy S devices.
It seems that this is a tactical move made by Samsung, which tries to make a little advertising to its devices in order to increase its market-share. Of course that these devices were sent to people who are really influential, so if you are a normal Twitter user, don't even mind trying to receive a free Galaxy S. You can try if you really want, but there is almost no chance of getting one. And don't forget, devices are being sent only to important people from the UK.
It seems that this is a tactical move made by Samsung, which tries to make a little advertising to its devices in order to increase its market-share. Of course that these devices were sent to people who are really influential, so if you are a normal Twitter user, don't even mind trying to receive a free Galaxy S. You can try if you really want, but there is almost no chance of getting one. And don't forget, devices are being sent only to important people from the UK.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
iPhone 3G and iPod touch 2G users have to save SHSH Blobs from now!
If you're having a 3G iPhone or a second generation iPod, you didn't have (until today) to care too much about saving SHSH Blobs. We are talking about those who have jailbroken iDevices, of course. So, these applied, until today, for the 3GS iPhone/3G iPod and later iDevices.
Starting from now, SHSH Blobs must be saved by iPhone 3G/iPod Touch 2G users, because Apple stopped signing digitally for older firmwares for these devices. If you have one of theses devices, changing firmwares was easy, you just had to select an firmware and click update or restore and then to do jailbreak, depending on the situation.
If you update today, for example, your jailbroken iPhone 3G from 3.1.3 to iOS 4.0, and you didn't save the SHSH Blobs for your device, there's no way of turning back. You'll be stuck on iOS 4.0, with iTunes giving you an error when trying to downgrade (restore to older firmware). And this happens because, as I've already told you, Apple stopped signing older firmwares for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 3G.
So, you really have to save them (just for any case). On your jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch, open Cydia, and tap on "Make my live easier, thanks!". This is all, it's really simple.
If you're asking what this does exactly, here it is: when iTunes will try to downgrade your iDevice, instead of asking Apple's servers for approval, it will call Cydia, which will, if you have saved your SHSH Blobs, give iTunes "OK for downgrading".
Starting from now, SHSH Blobs must be saved by iPhone 3G/iPod Touch 2G users, because Apple stopped signing digitally for older firmwares for these devices. If you have one of theses devices, changing firmwares was easy, you just had to select an firmware and click update or restore and then to do jailbreak, depending on the situation.
If you update today, for example, your jailbroken iPhone 3G from 3.1.3 to iOS 4.0, and you didn't save the SHSH Blobs for your device, there's no way of turning back. You'll be stuck on iOS 4.0, with iTunes giving you an error when trying to downgrade (restore to older firmware). And this happens because, as I've already told you, Apple stopped signing older firmwares for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 3G.
So, you really have to save them (just for any case). On your jailbroken iPhone/iPod Touch, open Cydia, and tap on "Make my live easier, thanks!". This is all, it's really simple.
If you're asking what this does exactly, here it is: when iTunes will try to downgrade your iDevice, instead of asking Apple's servers for approval, it will call Cydia, which will, if you have saved your SHSH Blobs, give iTunes "OK for downgrading".
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Update: Another virus hits Yahoo! Messenger.
A virus which is not new to Yahoo!'s network seems to be hitting it again. A Romanian website for security warns users of Yahoo! Messenger about its existence and offers help in fixing it. This virus sends various links, most of them referring to Facebook (so this creates confusion between users). Some of them are pasted here:
- http://ow.ly/2D4zB?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- is this you on pic? http://ow.ly/2cWs2?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2d3aB?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2cTes?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2bmMb?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- foto :D http : //ow.ly/2b7Xp?=www.facebook.com/photo.php
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2aG6r?=www.facebook.com
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2arJj?=www.facebook.com
- foto :D http://ow.ly/2aHoc?=www.facebook.com
The virus asks user to download a file, which is, of course, the virus. Here are some examples of files containing the virus:
- 012457566896789-JPG-www.facebook.com.exe
- PIC348u6234-www.facebook.com.JPG.exe
- n719753102_09.JPG-www.facebook.exe
- n11975310_09.JPG-www.facebook.exe
- n11975310_09.JPG-www.facebosok.exe
- n777719102_09.JPG-www.facebook.exe
- 102_09.JPG-www.facebook.exe
- 9.JPG-www.facebook
Normally, an antivirus program should detect the malware and remove it, but if it doesn't (or you don't have one), you may download Palevo Removal v2 from here. This program should automatically close the virus and remove it. All you need to do then is to reboot.
Note: Windows 7 and Vista users must click "This program works correctly" when prompted.
Thanks to the Romanian website called IT Security which made everything possible. (Google translated webpage here).
Update: The admin from IT Security warned me that the virus is downloading more and more files with strange names (it's quite impossible to keep up with it). He also told me that using Malwarebytes should help much (download here). Make sure to update after installation and then perform a full scan.
Thanks to the Romanian website called IT Security which made everything possible. (Google translated webpage here).
Update: The admin from IT Security warned me that the virus is downloading more and more files with strange names (it's quite impossible to keep up with it). He also told me that using Malwarebytes should help much (download here). Make sure to update after installation and then perform a full scan.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Motorola Droid X doesn't really breaks if you install a custom firmware on it.
There were lots of discussions about the recently-launched Droid X, and why it seems to get broken when trying to install a custom firmware on it. Motorola came up with an declaration, claiming that these who tried custom firmwares on their phones didn't actually break them, their phones just went in recovery mode by themselves.
What creates the "problem" is eFuse, which is an system designed by Motorola to verify the bootloader which runs on their phone. More exactly, if eFuse detects unapproved software, it will automatically enter the phone in recovery mode. When the user tries to boot with an official firmware, eFuse detects that as an approved software, and lets the phone boot normally.
This is really interesting, I am sure that there will be soon methods of avoiding eFuse (or making it think that custom firmwares are actually approved software).
What creates the "problem" is eFuse, which is an system designed by Motorola to verify the bootloader which runs on their phone. More exactly, if eFuse detects unapproved software, it will automatically enter the phone in recovery mode. When the user tries to boot with an official firmware, eFuse detects that as an approved software, and lets the phone boot normally.
This is really interesting, I am sure that there will be soon methods of avoiding eFuse (or making it think that custom firmwares are actually approved software).
Friday, July 16, 2010
Apple still doesn't admit that iPhone 4 has problems with signal reception.
Everybody hoped that Apple will, in a final, admit that the iPhone 4 has problems with signal reception, at the conference they organized today. But Apple still doesn't admit this, saying that "phones aren't perfect", and declaring that BlackBerry Bold 9700, HTC Droid Eris and Samsung Omnia II have the same... little issues. This surely wasn't the answer that anybody wanted to hear.
The only good news is that Apple will offer free Bumpers for everybody who own an iPhone 4 (what an incredible fix, Apple!), and when they will run out of Bumpers, another accessory for your device will be offered. But this happens as long as you bought your phone before September 30th. They also claim that they spent over $100 million in special rooms, where they tested iPhone's antenna, and they didn't discover any problem.
Moreover, they also said that only 0.55% of iPhone 4 owners called AppleCare to complain about the reception issues. If anybody finds details about this problem on the internet, who they think that is going to call them just to be told that the phone doesn't have any problem with antenna?!
Personally, I am completely disappointed by this policy of Apple. Are they ever going to admit (maybe in the following 50 years) that the iPhone 4 had problems with antenna?
Thursday, July 15, 2010
iOS 4.0.1 and 3.2.1 hitting the iPhone and the iPad. Jailbreakers MUST stay away!
Apple launched today two updates, one for the iPhone (4.0.1) and the other one for the iPad (3.2.1). It seems that these updates are patching the exploits used for jailbreak, so the guys who are working on these solutions are telling everybody who need jailbreak and unlock to stay away from these updates.
The only thing that the update does on the iPhone is to fix the signal issues (or at least, this is what Apple says). It is not confirmed if this fixes the issues or not (however, it seems that Apple silently recalled the iPhone, because many people who got their phone replaced are no longer complaining about the signal issues). I didn't find out yet what the update exactly does one the iPad.
I just warned you about what these updates do, but I won't offer you solutions for jailbreak at all. If you need, search on a dedicated website for something like this.
The only thing that the update does on the iPhone is to fix the signal issues (or at least, this is what Apple says). It is not confirmed if this fixes the issues or not (however, it seems that Apple silently recalled the iPhone, because many people who got their phone replaced are no longer complaining about the signal issues). I didn't find out yet what the update exactly does one the iPad.
I just warned you about what these updates do, but I won't offer you solutions for jailbreak at all. If you need, search on a dedicated website for something like this.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Syncing Palm handhelds (running PalmOS) with Ubuntu 10.04/10.10.
If you have an Ubuntu 10.04 or 10.10 and a (older) Palm handheld, you probably want to synchronize them, especially to install programs on your device (I have a Zire71, which doesn't have WiFi, so the only way of installing applications is via a computer). We'll be using "gnome-pilot" in this purpose. So, go to Synaptic Package Manager (System | Administration | Synaptic Package Manager), search for "gnome pilot", and install it.
After you installed gnome-pilot, go to Start | Preferences | PalmOS Devices, and click Add. Now make sure that the port/hub in which the handheld is connected is working, and your device has enough battery. If you had your device synced before, click on "Get from PDA" button, and tap on the sync button on the dock. If that doesn't work or it's the first time you sync your device, give it an owner name, and an ID (it doesn't matter what ID, I put 1000), click "send to PDA" and tap the sync button on the dock.
If that succeeded, close that window, and on the "Conduits" tab, enable all settings you want. Make sure that conduit "File" is enabled. When you're ready, right-click on panel (the bar with Applications, Places, System, etc) and click "Add to Panel". There, select "Pilot Applet" and click Add. A black-and-white icon should appear on the panel (if you can't find it, ask for help).
All that you have to do now is to download applications for your PDA, and to drag and drop them over that icon. When you tap on the sync button on your device, it should be automatically installed on your device. I know, it isn't intuitive, but you can't say that it's difficult.
If you have any problems, don't hesitate to leave a comment and I'll be happy to assist you.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Nexus One trackball flashing in different colors (Android 2.2, -no root required-).
If you own a Nexus One, you probably know that there is a conflict between Google on one side, and developers and users on the other side. This happens because users and developers want the trackball to flash in different colors, and it is not known why, but Google doesn't want this.
I don't know if this is a feature brought by the Android 2.2 update, but, without any root, the trackball from the Nexus One can actually flash in different colors. You can have any color you like: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Cyan, White, Magenta, Purple, and if you now the hex codes of the colors, almost any other color (or a combination between them). I'm not sure, but what I think is that there is only a single LED, capable of flashing in different colors, and not more LEDs, every flashing in its own color. But this doesn't matter.
What's important is that this feature is working well on Android 2.2, FRF91 Build, without root. I'm now asking myself were the hell are the developers, and why they didn't develop yet their applications with this feature. They can make the trackball to flash blue when you receive a reply or a DM on Twitter, and yellow when you get a message on eBuddy, for example.
Search for "LED Tester" into the Android Market (it's the second result, that one with the blue trackball at its icon).
if it doesn't work work for you, please leave a comment telling the version of Android, its build, and if your device is rooted or not.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 2 getting out of control.
A few days ago I presented you Ubuntu 10.10 Alpha 2 (here), telling you that it has some bugs at sound (it doesn't work at all with some sound cards) and at booting procedure (or more exactly, it fails the installation procedures and is forced to boot in live CD). However, there is another critical bug that I experienced a few minutes ago.
Here are some details: Pidgin + Chrome were running (nothing else) while I was notified that Gwibber crashed (it was not running, I didn't open it). Everything is...normal until now, I periodically receive notifications telling me that Gwibber crashes (even without running it). But what happened after was....let's say, normal for a pre-release version of Ubuntu. The main problem is that you it makes it difficult to save what you were working on at that time. This is what I'm talking about.
When Gwibber crashed, "Report a problem" has opened, in order to let me send details to developers, to help them fixing the problem. And it seems that, I don't know why, "Report a problem" crashed after that, too. And again. And over and over again. I think that every second, two windows of that type were appearing. That's not much, I know, but for my desktop, which doesn't have video hardware acceleration (lack of drivers), they are a real problem, as it is hard to save anything.
So, here's a new bug that developers need to fix for the final release of Ubuntu 10.10.
Here are some details: Pidgin + Chrome were running (nothing else) while I was notified that Gwibber crashed (it was not running, I didn't open it). Everything is...normal until now, I periodically receive notifications telling me that Gwibber crashes (even without running it). But what happened after was....let's say, normal for a pre-release version of Ubuntu. The main problem is that you it makes it difficult to save what you were working on at that time. This is what I'm talking about.
When Gwibber crashed, "Report a problem" has opened, in order to let me send details to developers, to help them fixing the problem. And it seems that, I don't know why, "Report a problem" crashed after that, too. And again. And over and over again. I think that every second, two windows of that type were appearing. That's not much, I know, but for my desktop, which doesn't have video hardware acceleration (lack of drivers), they are a real problem, as it is hard to save anything.
So, here's a new bug that developers need to fix for the final release of Ubuntu 10.10.
Yahoo! Messenger login issues?
Since this morning, I've been experiencing important problems when logging in into Yahoo! Messenger. In the morning, I started my desktop PC on which I got the following message several times when I tried to connect from Ubuntu, with Pidgin
followed by
In an end, I got an error which said that the messenger can't communicate normally to its servers (actually, my password wasn't wrong). After I got this, I successfully logged in at the following try.
I have no idea which is the problem, but I hope that Pidgin was wrong. I mean, I don't login frequently on Yahoo! and, anyway, I think that it was referring that somebody tries again and again to login from my account so it was locked because of this (exactly, I'm afraid that somebody tries to hack it).
If you have this problem please don't hesitate to leave a comment telling us also when your problem started!
Account locked: You have been logging in too frequently. Wait a few minutes before trying to connect again. Logging into the Yahoo! website may help.
followed by
Received invalid data.After all these messages, it simply connected by itself. I thought that it was a problem with the way Pidgin was authenticating on Yahoo!'s servers, but in the after-noon, I tried to login from a Window-based laptop, on Yahoo! Messenger 10, and surprise. It said that my password was wrong. OK, I gave it another try. And then another one. And I continued like this five more times.
In an end, I got an error which said that the messenger can't communicate normally to its servers (actually, my password wasn't wrong). After I got this, I successfully logged in at the following try.
I have no idea which is the problem, but I hope that Pidgin was wrong. I mean, I don't login frequently on Yahoo! and, anyway, I think that it was referring that somebody tries again and again to login from my account so it was locked because of this (exactly, I'm afraid that somebody tries to hack it).
If you have this problem please don't hesitate to leave a comment telling us also when your problem started!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
New YouTube mobile interface.
YouTube launched a new interface for their mobile site, one which is more complex and more touch-friendly, making it easier and faster to access both videos and all other stuff (subscribes, favorites, like and unlike for comments, and even a possibility to play videos in HQ). The interface is designed to bring users a very similar experience compared to the desktop version of YouTube.
Here is a video from YouTube showing the features of the mobile version (I don't know what was in their mind when they put the Nexus One and the iPhone together).
This website surely is a fresh breath of air for the iPhone users, but is it worth on the Android? I mean, YouTube says that it is fast and with many options, but the YouTube app from Android is just the same. Moreover, the app looks better on the dark interface.
Which one are you going to use? m.youtube.com or YouTube app from your device?
Here is a video from YouTube showing the features of the mobile version (I don't know what was in their mind when they put the Nexus One and the iPhone together).
This website surely is a fresh breath of air for the iPhone users, but is it worth on the Android? I mean, YouTube says that it is fast and with many options, but the YouTube app from Android is just the same. Moreover, the app looks better on the dark interface.
Which one are you going to use? m.youtube.com or YouTube app from your device?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Using social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace or LinkedIn? Then, try HootSuite.
HootSuite is a professional social client, featuring various platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Page, LinkedIn, Ping.fm, WordPress, MySpace and Foursquare. I presented you some time ago Seesmic's web service (here), and the main difference between them is that HootSuite is much more complex and supports other platforms, not just Twitter.
There are many things you can do with HootSuite: track results of your websites (only for WordPress), add contributors to your account (who can post from your account), schedule posting at certain time/date, monitor mentions or assign tasks to your contributors. All those in a well organized screen, with a theme of your choice (you have 3 themes to choose from).
Posting is done easily with a large number of options, and with the option of selecting the network on which to post. If you are confused about changing settings, viewing your stats or managing plugins, just hit that owl on the upper left corner of the window.
Go now on http://hootsuite.com/, create an account, and start using all of your social networks from one single place.
There are many things you can do with HootSuite: track results of your websites (only for WordPress), add contributors to your account (who can post from your account), schedule posting at certain time/date, monitor mentions or assign tasks to your contributors. All those in a well organized screen, with a theme of your choice (you have 3 themes to choose from).
Posting is done easily with a large number of options, and with the option of selecting the network on which to post. If you are confused about changing settings, viewing your stats or managing plugins, just hit that owl on the upper left corner of the window.
Go now on http://hootsuite.com/, create an account, and start using all of your social networks from one single place.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Alpha 2 is available.
I don't know which are your feelings about Ubuntu 10.04, but I have the impression that it was just released. And I have to tell you, that on the 3rd of June, the development for the following version of Ubuntu was officially starting, with the launch of Alpha 1. Today, we already have the Alpha 2, which has been released on the 1st of July.
You're probably curious to know the changes now. So, they aren't really important....interface was a little redesigned, a change that is even hard to see at a first look, boot time seems to be improved a little...and some bugs related to the sound and booting procedure. The rest is the same.
The schedule has been changed this time. We have 3 Alphas, a Beta, the Release Candidate and the Final Release. So here's the schedule:
3rd of June - Alpha 11st of July- Alpha 2- 5th of August - Alpha 3
- 2nd of September - Beta
- 30th of September - Release Candidate
- 10th of October - Final release
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Chrome dev version fixes most of the problems.
You probably read my article about that stupid bug from Chrome, which keeps aleatory some windows unmaximized even if they are maximized, right? (more here). And you probably seen (or not) Andrew's comment from WebUpd8, who recommended me today to try the latest unstable version of Chrome, which is an Alpha one.
It seems that this version fixes this the bug that I had. It adds some updates to the interface. That loading signs from the tabs have changed colors, and the interface at tabs and at the buttons under them seems to be a little redesigned. Loading speed of webpages has been improved. However, remember that this is an Alpha version and it can crash when you need it more, so this version is more recommended for testing purposes.
If you want to install it and you already had a version of Chrome installed, I recommend you doing it via Synaptic Package Manager, in order to avoid any conflicts that might occur from installing the latest version over the previous one. If you didn't have Chrome yet, go on SoftPedia here and download the latest version corresponding to your OS. Please note that the latest version on Linux is 6.0.453.1 dev, so try to search the same version for your platform.
It seems that this version fixes this the bug that I had. It adds some updates to the interface. That loading signs from the tabs have changed colors, and the interface at tabs and at the buttons under them seems to be a little redesigned. Loading speed of webpages has been improved. However, remember that this is an Alpha version and it can crash when you need it more, so this version is more recommended for testing purposes.
If you want to install it and you already had a version of Chrome installed, I recommend you doing it via Synaptic Package Manager, in order to avoid any conflicts that might occur from installing the latest version over the previous one. If you didn't have Chrome yet, go on SoftPedia here and download the latest version corresponding to your OS. Please note that the latest version on Linux is 6.0.453.1 dev, so try to search the same version for your platform.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Apple promises to fix iPhone 4 signal problems via software update, experts say it's impossible.
Apple published today a letter regarding the iPhone 4 and its signal problems. Officially, it seems that the device really has some problems with the signal, and not the users were actually causing that problems (letter is available here). Apple declared that they have a failing algorithm which calculates the power of the signal, and explained the problem into the letter. They also promised that they are going to fix that problem via an update (in a few weeks), thanking everybody for their patience.
The wireless specialists don't agree with Apple. However, they say that the thing with the bad algorithm can be true, an update can possibly improve the accuracy of the displayed bars (they aren't currently displaying the real signal). But, there still is a problem. The phone loses completely the signal while in the hand, and this isn't a problem caused by a badly configured software. The experts say that this is a problem with the design of the device, when you cover with your fingers or your hand the region which causes the current problems, it will lose the signal in any situation. It doesn't matter what software it is or how it is configured, this is simply a problem with the design of antenna.
I'm curious to see what happens when Apple will launch the next update, and which will be the people's reaction if the wireless reception problems will not be fixed.
Full article on Gizmodo here.
Full article on Gizmodo here.
Google Chrome Beta has at least one serious bug.
I observed this bug several times over the last few days, and I decided to tell you about it. It happens randomly (I haven't observed to occur regularly on a certain website) when you're trying to maximize a window while being unmaximized. The page simply remains unmaximized, even if the window is in full screen. I took a screenshot to get an idea about how something like this looks like.
If you get here, what you have to do is to copy the link and open it in another tab. Unmaximizing and maximizing the window or refreshing the page does not work.
This happens on Ubuntu, with the latest Beta version of Chrome installed (5.0.375.86).
Nokia prototype (possible N9) gets on the internet.
The guys from TechoBuffalo got a Nokia on their hands, which seems to be the predecessor of N8, the N9. What is not clear is why is it (still) running the Symbian OS, because Nokia promised that all their high-end devices which are going to be launched after the N8 will be running the MeeGo OS.
Here are some of its specifications:
- nHD Display (640 x 360 pixels)
- 4" capacitive multi-touch Display
- 8 MPx camera with LED flash
- possible VGA camera with LED flash on front
- HDMI out
- Bluetooth + WiFi
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Yahoo! launches broken Android application.
Yahoo! launched two own applications for Android, Yahoo! Messenger and Yahoo! Mail. I've installed them both, and I must tell you that I am disappointed by both. The messenger is completely useless. It connects to Yahoo!, but it doesn't display any contact as online. All my contacts are seen as offline, even if I currently have about 45 of them online (and visible, of course).
Regarding to the mail, it works, but it does it really slow. Too slow for a mail client, in my opinion. Viewing through the content of the mails is fine, but the time from when you select another mail and you view it, is simply too much. On a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of ram, with Android 2.2 Froyo installed. OK, if it works like this on Nexus One, how does it work on slower devices?!
Have you installed these two programs? How are they working (if they are...) on your device?
Regarding to the mail, it works, but it does it really slow. Too slow for a mail client, in my opinion. Viewing through the content of the mails is fine, but the time from when you select another mail and you view it, is simply too much. On a 1 GHz processor and 512 MB of ram, with Android 2.2 Froyo installed. OK, if it works like this on Nexus One, how does it work on slower devices?!
Have you installed these two programs? How are they working (if they are...) on your device?
iPhone 4 available in the Eastern Europe, at prices nearly $3500.
A few days ago some users from Twitter discovered that an online electonics shop from Romania has the iPhone 4 in its offer, at a price somewhere under $3500 (32GB model). Everybody hoped that it was a mistake, or at least, that the guys from that website were kidding, but after somebody contacted them, we found out that the information was, unfortunately, true.
Today somebody found out that another online store has included the iPhone 4 in its offer, at the same price. I don't know who the hell they think that is going to buy an iPhone 4 at that price, I mean, if somebody can find an iPhone 4 in an Apple Store in the US, he/she can bring it here and pay under $1000 for it. However, because of Apple's problems with stocks, iPhone 4 is currently a hard-to-find product almost anywhere.
These prices are available at regular online stores from Romania (which are not Apple dealers and I think that they don't even have the right to resell iPhone 4 here).
If you live near Romania (Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, etc) and you know that iPhone 4 is available there, we would be glad if you can tell us its price (and if it is locked on not).
Today somebody found out that another online store has included the iPhone 4 in its offer, at the same price. I don't know who the hell they think that is going to buy an iPhone 4 at that price, I mean, if somebody can find an iPhone 4 in an Apple Store in the US, he/she can bring it here and pay under $1000 for it. However, because of Apple's problems with stocks, iPhone 4 is currently a hard-to-find product almost anywhere.
These prices are available at regular online stores from Romania (which are not Apple dealers and I think that they don't even have the right to resell iPhone 4 here).
If you live near Romania (Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, etc) and you know that iPhone 4 is available there, we would be glad if you can tell us its price (and if it is locked on not).
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