Android Tricks with Linux

[marnold***]

This may only appeal to, well, me, but this is one of the reasons I wanted to get an Android phone. I figured out how to take a screenshot of my phone via the SDK in Linux. The cool thing is that it also exposes a lot of the inner workings of my phone so I can see how everything is stored, running processes, etc. It's like a geek-o-rama. This is one thing that convinced me not to get an iPhone/iWhatever, because none of this stuff would be exposed, much less in Linux.

[Eric***]

I didn't read through the nuts and bolts of the links, since I don't own one, but I get the idea. Cool. I'm edging ever closer to getting a smartphone, but I'm trying to hold off.

I don't want to bash any computer system in this thread, but suffice to say I agree with your general stance.

On a different topic, my computer has been slowly dying for a long time, and the latest news is that my DVD drive doesn't open, even with some percussive persuasion. Might be time for a new one...any recommendations?

[marnold***]

I ended up ordering one from CyberpowerPC last year. I made a thread about it here: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=14011 I did run into separate memory and video card problems which seem to be nothing more than extraordinarily poor luck on my part. It was a PITA to diagnose, but since I have the box has worked great.

[Eric***]

Yes, I remember that thread well. I'll look through it again when I have a few more minutes -- I guess it might still be relevant even a year later -- but do you care to remind me what the video card/memory problem was?

I seem to remember you having a bad batch of RAM or something? Were the two items conflicting, or just both defective or something?

[Ch0jin]

Eric, as for your new PC parts, I built a Wintel box for myself late last year and I'd highly recommend the Intel i5 series chips. They run really cool and the whole "turbo" mode seems to work really well, sliding the speed from sub 1GHz to over 3GHz (on a 2.8Ghz CPU) as needs demand. Power management seems to work well, and if you feel the need, you can overclock the buggery out of them. I ran the software utility that came with my mobo (P7P55D-E) just after I assembled it and saw 4.1GHz stable clocks out of her with totally acceptable temps under my coolermaster Hyper 212+ fan/HS.

[marnold***]

Yes, I remember that thread well. I'll look through it again when I have a few more minutes -- I guess it might still be relevant even a year later -- but do you care to remind me what the video card/memory problem was?

I seem to remember you having a bad batch of RAM or something? Were the two items conflicting, or just both defective or something?

It was just dumb bad luck. The memory sticks and the video card were bad. This despite the fact that I used reputable parts: Corsair for the memory and EVGA for the video card. Cyberpower sent me new memory from a company I had never heard of before and it's been rock solid. My second EVGA card has a minor problem in text mode (the text looks blurry) but it works fine otherwise. I figured I'd probably upgrade that someday anyway so it wasn't a problem.

So yeah, my phone works cool with Linux

[vroomery]

Yeah I love my Evo4g for that reason exactly. I can set it up exactly how I want it and even with a simple app like Astro you can see all the file locations.

Have you tried any other launchers like Launcher Pro or ADW? I'm a huge fan of launcher pro. What other apps are you using?

[marnold***]

Have you tried any other launchers like Launcher Pro or ADW? I'm a huge fan of launcher pro. What other apps are you using?

With the HTC Sense stuff, I haven't found a need for Launcher Pro, etc. The apps I use the most are:
Olivetree BibleReader (can't wait for v5!)
TapeMachine (voice/sound recorder)
Astrid (to-do lists)
AK Notepad
handyCalc
JamBox (guitar chord/scale program)
Brewzor Calculators (brewing calculators)
AndiCar (car expense tracker)
Tapatalk (forum reader, which The Fret will support soon)
Seesmic (Twitter)
WeatherBug
Documents2Go
SoundHound (song identifier)
Euchre
And, of course, the ubiquitous Angry Birds

I obviously use the built-in Gmail and Web browsing apps too. I like the HTC Twitter app a lot but the update function crashes all the time.

[Eric***]

So yeah, my phone works cool with Linux

Yeah well...sorry. Thanks for humoring me.

[marnold***]

Yeah well...sorry. Thanks for humoring me.

No problem. I didn't mind the digression. Just wanted to bring it back on topic.