HOWTO: Stream Twitch.tv to Chromecast

I recently picked up a Chromecast and one of the things I was looking for was to stream Twitch.tv from my laptop to my TV using the device. Thankfully setting this setup is fairly simple thanks to the aide of the TCast Chrome plugin.

Step 0 - Install Chrome/Chromium

Streaming to the Chromecast from your PC currently requires a Chrome based browser. Install either Google Chrome or Chromium.

Step 1 - Install Google Cast and TCast Extensions

Select each of the addon links below and add them to your browser:

• Google Cast
• TCast

Step 2 - Enable Streaming from your Channel of Choice

Open the twitch.tv stream URL you want to cast to your Chromecast. Play your stream and then click the Chromecast button underneath the video player. You will then see the following appear over your stream:

Next, click the Chromecast icon in the upper right hand corner of your browser and select the Chromecast device you want to stream to:

Your Chromecast should then take a minute to load up the stream and then it should soon be playing! In your browser page you will then see the following screen from which you can adjust the stream quality and play/pause the stream:

And you are all set - enjoy streaming twitch on your Chromecast device! Have any questions or issues please feel free to leave a comment below and I'll do my best to help.

I've only tested the above instructions on my Linux based PC, but these extensions should work on any platform that supports Chrome/Chromium.

Cheers,

~Jeff Hoogland

Acer C720 Review - Perfect Little PC

A little over three weeks ago I purchased my first Acer C720 Chromebook. That is right - I liked this little guy so much I went and picked up a second copy so my wife and I could each have one.

For most of last year I kicked around a Samsung ARM Chromebook with me - so much of my discussion here will be in comparison to that device since it is still comparable price wise to the Acer C720.

Performance:

I've used dozens of different netbooks over the last few years and I must say the performance of this new Haswell based Intel chip is phenomenal. A dozen browser tabs open, Netflix streaming all while writing an article or two and the little guy doesn't skip a beat.

This thing can do some gaming as well. While it isn't going to run anything at maximum resolution, I've enjoyed the following titles at one point or another on my C720 in the last few weeks:

• Left for Dead 2
• DOTA 2
• Killing Floor
• Guild Wars
• Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

The C720 comes with DDR3 memory in a quantity of either 2 or 4GB.

Look and Feel:

The Acer C720 has a solid plastic case, that is plenty functional. I wouldn't say it is going to win any beauty contests, but it isn't unappealing either:

The dimensions of the C720 are 11.34 x 8.03 x 0.75 inches and it weighs in slightly more than the Samsung at 2.76 pounds. I know many people who are used to only having full size laptops find netbooks a bit on the small size, but personally I find the eleven inch C720 to be the perfect middle ground between a tiny screen like a tablet and fuller size laptops.

Battery & Screen:

The Acer makes up for its slightly heavier weight with a slightly longer batter life. The C720 lasts upwards of eight hours on a full charge. Obviously the exact duration will vary depending on how hard you are hammering the processor and how bright the screen is.

The screen on the C720 is basically identical to every 11" Chromebook with its 1366x768 resolution. Honestly I hope this is one of the things we see an improvement on in the next generation of Chromebooks.

Ports/Connections:

The ports on the C720 are identical to the Samsung Chromebook:

• One USB 3.0
• One USB 2.0
• 1/8" audio out
• HDMI video/audio out
• SD Card Slot

One giant improvement for the C720 though is the location of all of these ports. Unlike the Samsung which crams both USB, the HDMI and the charging port all next to each other on the back of the device, the C720 has USB ports on opposite sides:

Just like the Samsung - the SD card slot on the C720 does not fully encompass an inserted device, meaning you won't want to travel with one inserted:

Version Comparison:

Something you want to be aware of when looking to pick up an Acer C720 is that there are a few different versions of this little laptop you have to choose from. I'm not going to cite any prices here because they seem to fluctuate week to week depending on where you look, but any version of this device you should be able to pick up for under 300 USD.

There are three* different "stock" versions of the Acer C720. Where they differ is the size of their internal storage and memory. The options are:

	RAM	Storage
Option One	2GB	16GB
Option Two	2GB	32GB
Option Three	4GB	16GB

*There is also the C720P that has 2GB of memory, 32GB of storage and comes with a touch screen.

The most important thing to note if you do decide to pick up an Acer C720 is that the storage IS user upgradable while the RAM is NOT. That means if you pick up a C720 with 2GB of RAM and decide later you want more - you will need to upgrade the entire unit.

Upgrading the internal Storage (voids warranty):

If you are like me and think a C720 could easily become your day to day computer if it just had a bit more internal storage space then you simply need to upgrade the internal drive. You will simply need to pick up an M2 SSD such as this one on Amazon. Then you can simply follow this instructional video for changing out your SSD:

As someone who has opened up many laptops in his time - I must say that the C720 is very easy to get apart/back together.

OS/Software:

By default the C720 comes with Chrome OS preinstalled - if you are happy with that skip onto the next section.

One of the best things about the C720 though is that Acer has provided it with a version of Coreboot that is able to load into a traditional BIOS in the form of SeaBIOS. This means that if you aren't happy with just Chrome OS you can install a traditional operating system on the device fairly easily.

Honestly I don't see any reason not to put a full OS on the C720. The hardware is more than capable of handling it and installing the latest version of Google's Chrome browser does everything Chrome OS is capable of.

Final Thoughts:

No hardware is perfect and the C720 is not an exception to this rule. It is however a fantastic little PC for the price point that it comes at and I have been very pleased with it thus far. I picked up my C720 with 4GB of RAM refurbished for 190 USD directly from Acer via Amazon, then factor in the 100 USD SSD upgrade and I have a fantastically fast, mobile, PC with a good amount of storage for under 300 USD - not a bad deal.

Do you have a C720? If so what are your thoughts on the device? If you are looking to pick up a C720, but have a question about something I didn't cover above, please feel free to post a comment below asking.

Cheers,
~Jeff Hoogland

Flash, Chrome and a Mole Hill

In case you haven't heard yet Adobe made a blog post today detailing a new partnership with Google. If you haven't already follow my link above and read Adobe's post - it is only a few paragraphs. I've already seen this news reposted on several open-source news sites and honestly I think it is great deal of fuss over something that ultimately won't matter much.

I have a few reasons for saying this, here is my train of thought on the topic:

1.) We are getting flash 11.2 as a normal browser plugin and then this version will see security updates for five years. A good deal of flash content doesn't break backwards compatibility (heck I still use flash 9.x on my N900 without issues), this means you have at least five more years of using flash in your browser of choice on Linux.

2.) I know, odds are you know it, heck even Adobe knows it - flash is going the way of the dinosaurs with regards to web technology. Does this mean we are going to have a flash free web tomorrow? No of course not. It does mean though that as new, better content gets created for the web it is less and less likely to utilise flash. Five years from now flash not existing for Linux could seriously be a non-issue.

3.) Worst case scenario: Flash doesn't die out and five years from now we all have to install Chrome when we need to access some poorly designed flash-based website. It would suck, but it would hardly be the end of the world.

So for now, lets not make a mountain out of something that very well appears to be nothing more than a molehill.

~Jeff Hoogland

Why this Linux Fan roots for MeeGo - not Android

Some people will tell you fragmentation is one of the main things that is holding back Linux from desktop adoption. Not having a unified name, packaging system, or heck even desktop environment often confuses new users and puts them into overload - Too much choice can be a bad thing.

Android is currently the only real player in the Linux mobile market. Now don't get me wrong, I am glad Android jumped in record time to right near the top of the smart phone market. I'm also glad that through this success it has put the power of Linux into the hands of millions of people (many of whom are none the wiser about their penguin powered device).

If Android is doing so well, one might ask - why does there need to be another Linux variation present in the mobile market? For starters, just as too much fragmentation is a bad thing having only one choice I feel is equally as bad. MeeGo will provide an alternate mobile platform that is Linux based for those of us who prefer something different to Android. There are a few reasons I personally prefer what MeeGo is to become instead of what Android is today.

First, MeeGo is backed by the Linux Foundation - a non-profit organization. Google has a lot of fantastic free services (heck this blog is even hosted on one of them), but the goal of these services as many of us all know is data mining (plus Google is about as far from a non-profit as you can get). I'd much prefer an operating system running on my device that is by people, for people. Not by people, for data mining.

MeeGo is going to have a real package management system. It is RPM based, but still it is better than simply having a "market place". The applications that are to be installed via this package management system are also to be written and compiled the same other native Linux applications are - using any language that is supported by the operating system. Instead of using a java layer like Android does.

Lastly, because MeeGo is backed by the Linux Foundation I'd bet most anything that they won't be forking the kernel like Google has done with Android. Having a mainstream kernel running in MeeGo will help ensure that other distros with a mainstream kernel will also be able to run on the same hardware with the least amount of issues possible.

Now I am sure the MeeGo hand held project is going to change and mature a lot over the next few months before we see it officially released into the market, but I'd be willing to bet that most all of these changes are going to be for the better and will only add to my above list. Do you think MeeGo is going to be able to compete with Android getting into the market this late?

Also, in case you noticed it - yes the horrible pun in the title is intentional.

~Jeff Hoogland

Android vs Maemo - Hands on Review

There is no doubt that Linux will be the dominant player in the mobile market by the end of 2010. This is namely thanks to Google's Android OS, which has been appearing on more handsets than I can count the past few months. Android however is not the only mobile Linux operating system (however it is easily the most popular) that exists. I have done more than a few posts about my Nokia N900, which is another mobile device that runs a variation of Linux known as Maemo.

I recently came into possession of an Android powered device of my own and as I such I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. For the last week I have retired my N900 to the back seat and had my SIM card inserted in my Android powered Kaiser just to see how Google's mobile operating system handles itself in comparison to Maemo. I am going to compare and contrast the two on the following key points:

1. Hardware Selection - What of hardware do you have for running the operating system on?
2. Computing - Does the OS function as you would expect a computer in 2010 to?
3. Phone - Both operating systems dial out, but which functions as a phone more efficiently?
4. Applications - Apps, apps, apps! How is the application selection on the OS?
5. Internet Usage - Our mobile devices are our connection to the WWW, which OS shines when surfing the web?
   

Hardware Selection -

There is no argument about this one, one of the most powerful things about Android is it's ability to run on multitude of hand-helds (even hand-helds it wasn't initially intended for!). Big and small. Capacitive screen and resistive screen. Slide out keyboard, stationary keyboard, flipping keyboard, - heck even no keyboard at all! There is an Android device out there to suit just about everyone's needs.

Hardware Selection 10/10 - Android Total 10/10

Maemo on the other hand currently only resides on the N900. While the N900 is powerful, unique, and well made hardware there is not much choice in the matter if you would like a Maemo based hand-held. The N900 is it.

Hardware Selection 6/10 - Maemo Total 6/10

Computing -

Our hand-helds are getting more and more powerful. With each new release they become closer and close to being full blown computers - as such they require full blown operating systems. Since Android runs on a wide array of devices I do not think it would be fair to compare performance between the two operating systems (as your mileage will vary with your hardware), instead I am going to focus on the aspects of the GUI and how the operating system handles itself.

In general Android looks and feels like a (smart) phone. Which isn't bad depending on what you are looking for. Personally I find multitasking on Android counter intuitive when compared to multitasking on a full size computer. I say this because when you press your "home" button to get back to your Android desktop the application you had open has to be reopened from it's launcher icon or by a long press of the home key - not from a task bar/list of open applications like most operating systems have.

Android provides four desktop spaces on which you can place widgets/application launchers to your hearts content. Which is a good thing if you have a lot of applications on your Android device - because once you start to get a whole lot installed they all get lumped together in your application selector making it hard to navigate for the one you want. My only complaint about Android's work spaces is that you cannot loop from the desktop on the rightmost to the desktop on the leftmost, really a small thing but worth mentioning.

Speaking of widgets - I highly suggest you find one for toggling your device's wifi on and off. If you do not have one of these you have to dig through three layers of settings menus to toggle it. Want to connect to a new access point? Three layers of menus again. I think something used as often as a wifi connection should be more readily available for usage. Toggling your data connection on Android is just as annoying and you cannot even disable your data fully with a single switch. When you uncheck the "data connection" in the settings manager you are informed of the fact that some applications might still use background data - meaning to fully disable your 2g/3g to save battery you need to crawl through each of your individual applications that might use background data and be sure they are off - inconvenient to say the least (I am sure there is an application out there to fully toggle it off it with one button - but it is not included by default as it should be).

The last few things about Android that really keep it from having that full computer feeling is that you have to "root" your device in order to have full control/access to the system. Secondly of all the Android devices you can choose from - none of them have even a full gigabyte of internal storage. They all rely on MicroSD cards for storing media/files upon. Lastly, I have yet to find a terminal application I like. Namely because - and this may just be the key mappings on my device - but I cannot recall past terminal command with the up/down arrows or move back over to make an edit to a line with the left/right arrows.

Computing 7/10 - Android Total 8.5/10

Using Maemo on the other hand feels like you are holding a full computer in your hand. It is easy to keep track of multiple applications you have open on Maemo because you can tap a single button to view/switch between all open applications at any given time. Similar to Android, Maemo also has four work spaces on which you can place widgets, application launchers, and contacts for quick access. Like a full Linux distro however Maemo's desktops allow you to flow one into the next, continuously in a loop. Maemo also allows you to easily edit the number of workspaces available to you in case four is too many for your needs.

Maemo also handles connecting to wif and data just like a desktop operating system would. Select from your system tray "Internet Connection" and it scans for nearby wifi networks and whether or not a data connection is available. It readily gives the user full control over whether or not a connection is active - something I appreciate.

While Maemo is not perfect it is easily the closest experience you will have to a full blown operating system on a hand-held device.

Computing 9/10 - Maemo Total 7.5/10

Phone -

No matter how much these devices do and what software we cram into them - they are at their core still suppose to be "phones".

The Android platform makes a great phone. It automatically syncs with all of your Google services to suck down your contacts, calender, and email from your gmail account first thing. While this is nice - one annoying thing you will have to deal with right off the bat is organizing your gmail contacts. If you are anything like myself most of them where un-named and just emails (no phone numbers) before you got your Android device. While it takes some time to enter all your information, it is not quite as painful as other phones because you can enter all the information on your computer and then in moments it will sync to your Android device.

The default text messaging application in Android is functional, but leaves some to be desired. Thankfully there is a free application in the marketplace called "Handcent" that provides a wonderful SMS experience on Android. It has both a sleek GUI and a "quick reply" feature that make it a wonderful application. Android makes for a great phone, but there is definitely room for improvement.

Phone 8/10 - Android Total 8.3/10

The first thing you will notice about Maemo is that other than the dialler application none of the other "phone" feature applications have a portrait mode. Personally, I prefer this - but it may be a deal breaker for some. In contrast to Android, Maemo's default SMS program works well and looks great. Incoming SMSs are displayed as a short preview over what ever application you currently have open (without interrupting your work), a handy feature when you are in the middle of something. Notably lacking by default on Maemo however is MMS functionality. There is a community written application called "fMMS" that allows for the sending and receiving of pictures that works perfectly fine, it does not support media clips currently though.

One feature that truly sets Maemo apart from Android, and every other mobile phone out there currently, is that if you have a Skype account - it will fully integrate with your contacts. Meaning if you have an active internet connection when you want to call someone, you can choose to call them from your Skype account - meaning it does not use your mobile minutes. Also fully integrated in the well designed SMS client is the ability to interface with Skype IM, AIM, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, ect. While Android has separate clients for these chat protocols I like that Maemo has them all in one central location linked in with SMS.

Phone 8/10 - Maemo Total 7.7/10

Applications -

The applications make the device - with out good software an operating system is fairly useless.

Android has a large application market, currently over 30k apps, that is easily accessible from the "market place" link on your device. There are a good number of free applications on the market place, however many of them are ad-supported. If that doesn't bother you, great! But personally I dislike ads taking up my screen space. Most all of the ad-supported applications however have an identical ad-free version for purchase. If you really like a certain application then just pay the few dollars to enjoy it with out the ads.

There are a lot good applications for Android - however I would really like to see some more quality truly free applications for it.

Applications 8/10 - Android Total 8.2/10

Maemo takes an interesting approach to applications. Accessible via the webrowser is the "ovi store", an online source for free and paid applications make by developers. The Ovi Store offers easy one click install through the browser and has some good applications both for purchase and free (and none that I have found are ad-supported as of yet). The only problem with the Ovi store is that it currently only has maybe one hundred applications in it, slim picking compared to the Android market place.

The interesting part about Maemo - is that just like Ubuntu or other Linux distros it also has an "application manager" (powered by apt-get). Which as part of it's managing abilities also contains repositories you can download free software from. Most of the applications found here are ports of open source favourites such as Abiword and Super-Tux, however some of them are new applications designed just for Maemo. The default repositories are sponsored/paid for by Nokia (the backing company for Maemo) and they are maintained by the community.

Once Maemo has a year or two to fully mature to allow application market to expand it will be truly superb - but for now it can leave some to be desired at times.

Applications 7/10 - Maemo Total 7.5/10

Internet Usage -

Our hand-helds are most often times our main connection to the world wide web. As such having a good internet experience on a mobile operating system is a must if it is going to make it.

Android provides an average web surfing experience. The default browser is functional, but nothing spectacular. It renders all pages by default in their "mobile" version if it is offered and for most people it is more than enough. If you need something a little more powerful Opera's Mobile browser is available in the market place - it renders pages quickly and I have yet to find a website it does not display properly. I find the GUI on Opera to be slightly cluttered however, so if the page loads in the default Android browser I tend to use it instead.

Where Android really shines on the web however is it's Google Maps integration. Easily one of the best mapping systems on a hand-held device. If your hardware has a GPS it will be quickly detected and used to pin-point your current location. From there you can map your way with ease to your destination.

Internet Usage 8/10 - Android Total 8.2/10

I'm going to go out on a limb here and just say it: Maemo provides the best mobile browsing experience that currently exists. It's default webrowser is quick and renders pages properly (including support for flash 9.4). Don't care for the default browser for some reason? Maybe want something more robust or feature rich? Not a problem. Mozilla choose Maemo as the first platform to release their Firefox Mobile on. While it takes a bit longer to load than the default browser, once Firefox is running it works beautifully. It has full tab support, addons, and a download manager just like Firefox on the desktop.

Mapping on Maemo is not quite as flawless as using Google maps on Android, but it is functional. The default "maps" application made by Ovi works well with the GPS in the N900 and the routing feature provides a good number of options depending on what type of trip you are taking. If you do not care for the default mapping application, Google maps does run fairly well in Maemo's browser. It is not quite as fast as the maps application running on Android however.

I feel Maemo is currently unrivalled as a mobile internet operating system and if it had a slightly better mapping program I would give it a 10 out of 10.

Internet Usage 9/10 - Maemo Total 7.8/10

Final Scores - Android 8.2 & Maemo 7.8

Follow Up -

No operating system is perfect, Maemo and Android included. Which of the two operating systems is right for you? How should I know? Each has it advantages and disadvantages. From the final scores here you may be inclined to believe that I believe Android is the better of the two - this however is not the case. If you review all of the scores the one thing that really brought down Maemo was that it only is available on a single device currently. Meaning if you are like myself and like the N900 hardware Maemo comes on, well then that first score is pointless for you. It is hard to say where either of these operating systems will be a year from now with the rate technology advances (and who knows what is going to happen to Maemo with MeeGo lurking around the bend).

Did I miss any key points about the two operating systems? What is the reason you are swayed from Maemo to Android or vice versa?

~Jeff Hoogland

Make Firefox use as much Screen as Chrome

I've been using Google's Chrome browser off and on for some time now and I must say one of the things I like most about it is the fact that, by default, it utilizes screen space better than any other browser out there. This is something that makes it a wonderful default browser for netbooks. The only issue with Chrome is that it is still beta - meaning it crashes now and again and still has issues rendering certain aspects of some webpages. So naturally I fall back to using good old Firefox. Which got me to thinking:

If I really just like the layout if chrome, can I just make Firefox look/use screen space in the same manner Chrome does? Of course I can.

The following are the steps you can take to do the same, this guide assumes you are starting off with a clean install of Firefox.

Step 1:
Right click near the URL bar on Firefox and select "Customize...". While the customize window is open you can click and drag different things in the tool bar to where ever you would like to. Drag the navigation buttons (forward, backward, stop, home, ect.) and the URL bar and search bar to the top of the screen so they are on the same bar as your File/Edit/Tools/ect menu. (Don't worry if it is a little crammed for now). Lastly check the "Use small icons" box and then close out of the customize window.

Step 2:
Right click near the URL bar again, this time instead of selecting "Customize..." un-check the "Navigation" and "Bookmarks" tool bars. (Removing these two alone gives you a whole lot more space)

Step 3:
Here is where we start to utilize the power of Firefox: Addons. Install the following addons in any order:

Auto-Hide Status Bar - this plugin hides the bar at the bottom of the screen except when information is being loaded/used. The bottom bar also appears when you hover your cursor over a hyper link.

Hide Caption Title Bar - this addon removes the bar at the top of the screen. Do we really care about seeing the full title of the current page anyways? That is what tabs are for.

Tabs on Top - this one really makes it feel like you are using Chrome. It moves the placement of the browser tabs to above your URL bar.

Tiny Menu - This one takes care of shrinking down all those File/Edit/Tools/ect drop downs into a single menu like Chrome has (to save space, if you have a high-res screen this one is optional really).

Poof! All done, enjoy your new Chrome-a-fyied Firefox. Oh and don't forget to give your Firefox some personality while you are at it ;)
~Jeff Hoogland

Android on HTC Kaiser (Tilt 8925)

Late last week I came into possession of an old AT&T Tilt 8925. At one point in time this was an impressive piece of mobile technology, however I am sure we all know this is no longer the case. The reason I was given the phone was because it was running Windows Mobile. The device ran slowly with this operating system and suffered from enough issues to cause both my mother and my older brother to get rid of it for other smart phones (Symbian device and an iPhone). The phone itself does not have bad hardware by any means. It sports a 400mhz ARM processor, 128megs of RAM, and 256megs of NAND storage plus a MicroSD expansion slot. If the hardware is not the issue then what causes the device to run slowly?

Simple: The software.

Just as when I receive any computer with a Windows based operating system on, my first inclination is to format said device to some variation of Linux on it. So I hopped on the Linux Answer Machine and quickly found my way to the XDA-Developers homepage. The XDA-Developers community is a fair size group of people that are dedicated to hacking and cracking all things Windows Mobile and Android.

I quickly found my way to the Android on HTC Kaiser sub-forum there. There are a multitude of different HOWTOs and guides for installing various forms on Android Linux on your Kaiser device. At first it can be a bit overwhelming, there are piles of different .NHB files to pick from, different kernels, and even different Android versions! Several days and many hours of downloading, flashing, and a few posts later the following are the steps I took to get a fully functional Android system running on my HTC Kaiser:

The first step on this journey is to HardSPL your device. What this does is allow you to flash any ROM to the hand-held.

Next, now that we have the device unlocked, we want to update the system's "radio". To do so head over to here and download the latest radio. If you need a hand on how to flash this updated radio - check this out. Don't worry, I had to read through it my first time as well.

After you upgrade your radio we need to get that pesky Windows Mobile off of the phone and get it actually booting Linux. To accomplish this you need to go download the proper .nbh file for your Kaiser and flash it.

If you have ever used Linux before you know your system needs a kernel of some sort to boot from - head over to here and download the zImage file provided. Place the download file on your MicroSD card in a folder called /andboot (if this folder does not exist, create it). Also note that if the file is not called simply "zImage" rename it as such (most of the files you download have a date or some other extension after this name)

Now you have some choice. There are two different variations of Android I personally found worked best on my HTC Kaiser (and I tried more than a few). The first is Eclair. Eclair is based on OpenEclair and gives you a variation of Android 2.1 on your Kaiser device. Under Eclair I had working call/text/multimedia messaging/data/android applications - however no matter what form of patches, I found around the Internet, I applied I was not successful in getting my device's wifi, bluetooth, or camera to work. I also found that this newer version of Android tended to run poky by comparison (still faster than Windows Mobile however) on the Kaiser's older hardware.

My current Android build of choice for my Kaiser, and the second one I would like to recommend here, is Myn's Warm Donut. Under this build I have a fully functional Android system on my Kaiser. Warm Donut is a variation of Andriod 1.6 for your device, this version is quite snappy/responsive. Which of the two builds you would like to use is up to you - personally I recommend trying them both and seeing which one you enjoy more/suits your needs.

Anywho - the next step you take after downloading your preferred flavor of Android is to extract the androidinstall.tgz file again to the /andboot folder on your MicroSD card. Next, pop the SD card into the bottom of your phone and hold down the volume up or dpad center as the device boots. The select "install" from the menu and it will extract the install package and create the necessary files to boot Android on your phone.

The last thing I would like to mention, is that if you are using Warm Donut and would like Wifi/Bluetooth support on your device you will need to apply the patch found here. To install the patch it is the same as installing the base system, extract the androidupdate.tar to the /andboot folder on your MicroSD card, boot the device while holding the proper key, and this time select "update" instead of "install". The only extra step here, is that after you apply the update also need to select "fix permissions" from the menu so the system will work properly. Also, if you are running Donut, I found that during the initial system start the setup wizard would crash on me the first time I tried to log into my Google account - don't panic if this happens to you. Simply reload the setup wizard and the second time I entered my information it worked just fine for me.

Poof, all done! Enjoy your new and improved Linux-Power HTC Kaiser :D

Trouble Shooting:

Wifi/Bluetooth not Working - If you are using Donut check two paragraphs up for instructions on this. If you are using Eclair check the main Eclair thread for suggestions, lots of people doing debugging there. As I said I have yet to be successful at getting my wifi working under Eclair.

Microphone Non-Functional - Try a different kernel (zImage). The first kernel I used had everything working aside from my microphone.

Colored Lines/Discoloration on Screen - Make sure you downloaded the proper .nbh file for your device. If you have the wrong one it may cause this issue. Don't worry, reflashing the new .nbh file will not affect any of your Android data.

Function Keys Miss Mapped - See Colored Lines/Discoloration on Screen. Same solution.

~Jeff Hoogland

Note: I do not take credit for the method or files presented here, the hardworking people over at XDA-Developers deserve all the thanks. I simply assembled this guide for others who may be overwhelmed at all the choices when first trying to put Android on their Kaiser and for myself as a reference point in case I need to setup another device in the future.

Operating Systems and Market Share Statistics

Did you know that 55% of statistics are made up on the spot? (or maybe it was 68% I don't recall) If you have ever taken a statistics class you know that data is everything, but it's not just about the data itself. Whenever you see numbers you have to ask yourself:

• Where did these numbers come from?
• Is it a credible source?

When it comes to market share and operating systems I've heard lots of numbers thrown around over the years and it is difficult to figure out which numbers you should put your faith in on this subject. For instance if your take a peek at the Wikipedia page on the subject it shows the following figures:

• Windows: 87.67%
• OSX: 5.9%
• Linux: 1.1%
• Other: 2.08%

Those seem like fair figures right? Odds are many will stop there and take them as fact, however take a peak at some numbers from Marketshare.Hitslink.com:

• Windows: 92.12%
• OSX: 5.02%
• Linux: .98%
• Other: 1.88%

They don't quite match... Windows is ahead by any rate (which we should expect) but still, take a look at numbers from a couple other websites. Statowl.com:

• Windows: 88.49%
• OSX: 10.87%
• Linux: .41%
• Other: .12%

Wait, what? OSX has over a ten percent market share? That almost twice what our first two sources cite... How about a forth source? W3counter.com:

• Windows: 84.33%
• OSX: 8.12%
• Linux: 1.55%
• Other: 6%

These numbers from W3Counter seem to be the middle ground of the four sources for OSX, however note the fact that their count for the Windows Operating system is much lower and their count for Linux operating systems in much higher. One thing to note about these numbers is the much larger "other" category. Even further curious I find is that Google's Android operating system, is thrown in with "other" on W3Counter even though it is a derivative of Linux.

What are other things to consider? For starters how do these places collect their statistics? What websites do they pull their data from? The content of a webpage very much determines the type of operating system that a person is likely to view it on. For instance these are the operating system statistics from the last month for my own (primarily Linux-focused) blog :

• Windows: 44.4%
• OSX: 8.03%
• Linux: 44.03%
• Other: 3.54%

Care to guess which operating system that data set is skewed towards because of the page content?

Beyond just looking at the source of web statistics of operating systems, when it comes to the global market as a whole, you have to consider the countless systems that are offline or are rarely connected to the internet. Unlike OSX where you can count the systems by the amount of Apple hardware sold or Mircosoft's Windows where they can count the number of activations, a single Linux ISO download can account for multiple (sometimes even hundreds) of offline (or online) installations.

Truth be told, will we ever truly know the precise market share of each operating system? No, we will not. From my four sources here (and others you can find around the internet) I'm inclined to believe that currently Windows floats somewhere around 88%, OSX around 8%, Linux somewhere close to 2%, and the rest can get lumped into that wonderful "other" category.

What do you think? Know of another credible source for market share statistics regarding operating systems that I didn't mention? Let me know!

~Jeff Hoogland

Minting the Girlfriend

A few weeks back the girl I have been dating for awhile now had idly made a complaint about her laptop being poky at certain tasks. I'd used the thing once or twice to check my email and recalled it was running Vista - no surprise there. I like this girl a lot and figured it was time to take that next step in our relationship:

I offered to put Linux on her laptop.

She had used my many computers which all run various forms of Linux several times and was open to the idea. After reassuring her that none of her data was going to be lost by installing Linux and in fact I would even leave Vista on the computer should she want to go back to it, she was ready to let me get Linux installing on her laptop. Thankfully she had a 320gig hard drive in the system, most of which was unused, so I was able to give Linux 80gigs to reside on.

For a long time I have always installed Ubuntu on friend's computers who where interested in moving away from Windows, however as I recently stated I now feel Linux Mint is better suited for this situation. Thankfully I keep a 1gig flash drive in my laptop bag that boots a Linux Mint LiveCD (Created using unetbootin - if you have never installed from a flash drive before I highly recommend it, much faster than installing from a disc). Around half an hour later I had the operating system fully updated and installed. I spent another five minutes creating a mount point and fstab entry for her Windows partition. And lastly for the sake of easiness I created symlinks in her /home directory so she could easily access her pictures/documents/music stored on the Windows partition.

Then came that fateful question: What about Microsoft Office?

Personally I had grown up using Office 03 for a short bit and then mostly OpenOffice.org, so when I made the move to Linux just having OpenOffice on my own systems was fine for myself. She was used to the ribbon setup of Office 07 though, beyond that she also had all of her calender dates residing in Outlook and she used OneNote a few times a week. The solution?

Crossover

Thanks to this wonderful GUI front end for the Wine Project, Office 07 can be installed under Linux just as easily as on Windows. In fact, after I had installed Crossover on the system and she saw the GUI she took the computer from me and installed Office 07 herself because "anyone can follow an installation wizard". Which is very true, the point of the Crossover products is that you don't need to be a Linux Guru or even a computer tech to install Windows software on Linux and it does a fantastic job to this end.

Was the move to Linux successful for her? More than three weeks later and I can say with confidence:

Yes it was.

Is Vista gone from her laptop? Not yet, but maybe someday (Move Media Player not installing on Linux or through Wine is the last hangup). She is booted in Mint more often than not and has found her way around the Ubuntu Software Center to install Frostwire (among other things). She also used the Linux answer machine to hunt down the driver for her Cannon MP190 printer when it was not auto-found by the printer installer on Mint.

All in all I must say though, the best part about installing Mint on her laptop is that now when I use it to check my email I no longer have to use Vista :)

~Jeff Hoogland

The Year of the Tablet Computer

There is no denying the fact that we have become a touch-centric society in regards to our technology. Thanks to the "iPhone standard" every new handheld device better sport at least some form of touch screen if it expects to compete with the competition. Where is our technology headed though? With the idea of "bigger is better" in mind: if a 3.5~ inch touch screen is good a larger screen must better right?

Apple announced their "iPad" earlier this year.

With a revolutionary device such as the iPhone already under their belt, can Apple hope to dominate the tablet computer market in the same way that they have crushed the smart phone market in recent years? Initial signs point to no. Sure, there is going to be that collective of die hard Mac users that flock to the latest shiny product Apple releases and buy the iPad the day it releases, however consider the following about the iPad:

• Like iAnything, the iPad is going to have a locked amount of internal storage
• It lacks USB ports, meaning you can't really connect anything useful to it
• It lacks flash support. Meaning a large portion of the web will not function on it
• I could go on...

With the iPad apparently set to fail to satisfy our touch-technology needs from the start: Where is one to turn when looking for a tablet computer in 2010? There is of course long term contender in the tablet PC market the touch screen laptop. At this point such devices, while functional, are far from being anything "special" or "revolutionary".

Slightly more recent is the hybrid of last year's craze the netbook and what is bound to be a theme for this year the tablet computer found in Asus's EEE T91.

Next: Enter the latest addition to the touchscreen devices set to da-beau in 2010: MeeGo. In a joint effort between the Intel and Nokia companies. MeeGo, a Linux based operating system, is going to be targeted at both ARM and x86 based devices (despite the former of the two not being made by Intel). While MeeGo is still in the very preliminary stages of development, other Linux-based touchscreen-orientated operating systems, such as Android and Maemo, have shown us that the Linux platform is more than capable of functioning on such devices in an elegant manner. With backing from such large companies MeeGo is going to be hard-pressed to not get at least some publicity.

Speaking of Android - the Notion Ink ADAM contains some of the most impressive tablet computer specs we have seen thus far. If the initial announcements are held true over the course of development, then this little tablet computer might just be that "revolutionary" tablet the world is looking for. The first set of tech specs boast:

• HDMI Output
• 3 USB Ports
• 16 hours video playback
• Adobe Flash (thank god)
• Camera
• And More

While it isn't official which operating system will be shipping with the device when it finally goes to market - there is a tech demo video of the device, found here, running what is said to be "a wrapper around Android". Other mentioned operating systems that might be possible to run on the device include Google's Chrome OS and Ubuntu ARM.

Finally I would like to mention the product I think should end up being the clear winner in the "tablet-orientated" marketplace in 2010:

Lenovo's U1 Ideapad

Now with the hype have I just given the ADAM you might be thinking "What makes the U1 so special/interesting/unique?" Simple:

The U1 is two computers in one.

In addition to being a fully functional 11.6 inch touchscreen laptop sporting an Intel Core 2 processor, two gigs of RAM, and a 128gig SDD the U1's touchscreen is detachable. When detached from the computer the tablet-screen contains it's own 1ghz snapdragon ARM processor, RAM, and 16gig SSD. When in "laptop" mode the system by default runs Windows 7 and when the screen is detached the tablet-screen runs Lenovo's Skylight Linux. Both computers contain their own batteries (which are each rated at five hours duration), and each of the computers are fully functional without the other (if you hook the laptop base up to an external monitor of course, because naturally while tablet-screen is detached the laptop is missing it's screen).

Needless to say there is not going to be any lack of tablet computers on the market in 2010. Another point I feel worth noting is that a majority of the devices listed here are running various forms of Linux (Just like many of the smart phones being released recently). So while 2010 might not end up being the year of "desktop" Linux, with the flood of penguin-powered touch screen devices it may still be the year Linux makes it's way into countless homes.

I have just highlighted some of the top competitors for upcoming tablet computers I have come across/researched thus far. Know of any other upcoming tablet computer releases (or perhaps one that is already released)? Drop a comment to let me know about it.

~Jeff Hoogland

AT&T: Linux is why the Internet isn't Working

I have very basic AT&T DSL at my current place of residence. Late last month when I tried to sign online my browser was promptly redirected to an AT&T webpage informing me that the master account password for the DSL had been updated and I needed to enter the new information. I rent, I don't own - the DSL is in my landlord's name. I promptly gave her a phone call and within a few moments my landlord and I were on a three-way phone call with AT&T tech support trying to get it sorted out.

They walked me through your standard idiot checks:

• Yes, my computer is on.
• Yes, my modem is turned on.
• Yes, my modem's internet light is green.
• Yes, my computer is connected to router properly.

Then they asked the question that all tech support are bound to ask "What operating system are you running?" Before I could say anything my landlord chimed in with "I think he uses Linux or something like that." Well, so much for avoiding that bomb shell. The tech operator's next words could have been scripted "Odds are that is the issue, do you have access to a computer with a Windows-based operating system?" I sighed a bit under my breath "The exact same issue is present on Windows 7 and XP - its something on your end."

He then wanted to walk me through checking my router settings, but not before he said "To log into your router you will need to boot into Windows and load Internet Explorer." I rolled my eyes and promptly clicked on the Google Chrome launcher on my Gnome panel and logged into my router, checking all the settings he listed off to me (they where all set correctly).

In the end it ended up being an issue on AT&T's end (after all I was still online it was just redirecting any pages I tried to view to AT&T's website). A couple days later and some paper work later needless to say my internet was back online - Linux and otherwise.

It just irks me greatly that companies always try to blame a third party when their own equipment is not functioning properly. Anyone else ever have a similar experience?

~Jeff Hoogland

The State of Smart Phones Today

I mentioned in one of my earlier postings this month that I had recently obtained a new smart phone. Now picking out a smart phone is no easy task in today's market. There are piles of devices to choose from, each of which has different pros and cons to go along with it. When it comes to technology I try to always be a very informed shopper; a computer is something I am going to be using often and typically for a good deal of time. I was under contract with AT&T, but that was about to expire so I did not limit my phone search to a single company/service provider.

I went store to store first (a strange experience I will admit, normally I do most everything online). AT&T has their iPhone, Verizon the Droid, Sprint the Palm Pre, and T-Mobile the G1. After going in and playing with the devices I was fairly impressed with the two running Android based operating systems. Next I took to the internet to do more research, which is where I discovered two things: First, through the suggestion of a friend I found the device I ended up purchasing and currently enjoy very much - Nokia's N900; Secondly I learned more about "rooting" or "jail-breaking" phones. Odds are you have heard at least one of these terms before, "rooting" refers to gaining access to the "root" account on an Android device and "jail-breaking" was coined as the term for gaining full access to an iPhone (it references the phone escaping from the "Apple jail"). Neither of these processes is very difficult to accomplish with a small bit of know-how and it's your phone so you should be able to do with it as you please.

Right? Yes and no.

On the yes aspect, yes you can do what ever you want with your phone. No one is going to knock on your door and tell you its illegal (although if Apple had their way it would be illegal). Now for the no aspect: in both the case of Android devices and the iPhone, rooting/jail-breaking is discouraged and frowned upon. For both types of devices (Android based and the iPhone) if you bring them in for service while they are "hacked," the companies have been known to refuse to honor warranties. Beyond this if your rooted device suffers from an issue with an application the fact that the phone is jail-broken is a reason to refuse service.

At this point there is no questioning it: Our "smart" phones become more and more like a normal computer and less like a telephone each day. They surf the internet, instant message, play games (in full 3D in some cases), install applications, manage our music and other various media to name just a few likenesses. If the devices behave and function as a normal computer why can we not hold them to the same standards as such? Would you buy a Linux PC you didn't have the root password to? How about a computer running Windows that you weren't given the administrator password for?

What is worse than this, I feel, is the fact that people have come to expect to be locked out of their own hardware by default. Since I've gotten my N900, I've lost track of the number of people who asked if I plan on "jail-breaking" the device. I always respond with "No". A large contributing factor to my purchase of Nokia's latest internet tablet (that's right it is a computer first and phone second) was that they allow the user unrestricted access to the device with out any hacks or cracks.

What are your feelings about the smart phones on the market today? Did I miss any key points or perhaps do you disagree with something I've said?

~Jeff Hoogland

Linux in Real Life - Uses Around the World

My little niche here on the internet is largely devoted to talking about various forms of the Linux Operating System. Truth be told, however, I can blog about Linux until my fingers fall off from typing and the vast majority of what I wrote would be meaningless to the average person. Even with its slowly growing popularity, Linux is still a largely unknown thing to many people. Why should Average Joe care about Linux? This alternative operating system doesn't affect his life at all - or does it? The truth of the matter is this: Almost every adult who uses technology in today's world uses or has used something that is Linux powered.

Don't believe me? Lets take a look at some of the places Linux is used around the world today. In the world of retail, Linux is used as the sole operating system of two major clothing retailers:

• Burlington Coat Factory
• The GAP

These companies use Linux both as a server back-end and as a desktop solution.

Now maybe you are like myself and you have never shopped at either of the above listed stores - don't worry there are plenty of other places Linux is hiding in the world around us. If you live in the United States then you should be pleased to know that our government uses Linux is several areas including:

• The Postal Service
• The Federal Courts

The postal service uses Linux clusters to sort bulk mail and the federal court system uses Linux systems for case management, case tracking, accounting, and probation services.

Alrighty - maybe you live outside the United States, meaning you have never used either of the two services listed above. How about this: Do you ever go to the movies? Many companies that produce movies use Linux, including:

• Disney
• Dreamworks

They use Linux based production machines for rendering 2D art work, 3D graphics, and special effects.

Still a few of you out there who think you haven't used Linux yet? Don't worry, I'm not even close to being done yet. Anyone have either of the following two items hiding in their entertainment center:

• TiVo
• Playstation 3

Yep - you guessed it, both are Linux powered devices.

How about mobile devices? The company LG has been powering their cell phones with Linux based technology for several years now. Perhaps you have heard of (or possibly even own) one of these handheld devices:

• Sprint's Palm Pre
• Verizon's "bare knuckled bucket of does" - the Droid
• T-Mobile's G1
• Google's Nexus One
• Nokia's N900
• Amazon's Kindle

Are all high-end devices running various forms of mobile Linux.

Whew! Did you find where you fit into the world of Linux yet? Wait - did I just hear a "no" still? Alright - do you use the internet? (rhetorical question, you are reading a web-blog) Since the answer to my previous question is most obviously yes - I'd be willing to bet you have used one of the following two web pages at some point in time:

• Amazon
• Google

Both companies are largely (or in the case of Amazon - almost entirely) powered by Linux. In addition to these, it relatively safe to say around half the internet runs on Linux powered Apache servers.

I think I've covered just about everyone who uses technology at this point in some form or another. Does anyone still think you haven't used something Linux powered at least once in your life? No? Good. :)

Does anyone else know of some other common places Linux is used by the masses or another large retailer/company that is Linux powered that I missed? If so, please drop a comment to let me know.

Update: Check out this article for a whole pile of places that are running Linux!

~Jeff Hoogland

Riding the Google Wave

Google is pretty much a house hold name at this point in the 21st century. Starting with a search engine they have slowly been expanding themselves into almost every technological market you can think of. Email, blogs, web browsers, mobile phones, and of course web searches are all things Google has a foot in these days. Today I am going to take a moment to talk about one of Google's up coming projects: Google Wave.

Wave is Google's latest attempt to revolutionize the web. At a glance Wave looks very much like any of our common email clients. It allows you to organize contacts and messages (referred to from here on out as "waves") in one central place. The thing that makes Wave revolutionary in today's world full of different web applications is the way in which the waves function. A wave is essentially a real time thread that you can add and subtract information from at your leisure. You can have both public and private waves, share a message with just your friend(s) or the entire world.

Another feature that sets Wave apart from standard Email is the ability to "embed" different objects into a wave. What can be embedded in a wave? Just about everything you can think of, maps, pictures, videos, flash content, or documents just to name a few. Waves are also created dynamically in real time, ever wish you could get a message quicker? Why wait for the person on the other end to press send? With Wave as soon as someone adds you to a wave you can see in real time what they are typing, embedding, or adding to the wave. From this stems the most powerful use for Wave - the ability for multiple people to be editing a Wave at the same time. Creating a presentation with friends? You no longer have to wait for everyone to do their share and then send it to you so you can add your part. With wave you can all be working in a document at the same time and see who is adding what to the wave and when. Now with all of this collaborative editing occurring it is only a matter of time before someone removes or edits something you might have wanted to keep - don't worry your information isn't gone. Each wave contains a replay button that allows you to watch the time-line of a given wave, basically it lets you replay from start to finish what has been added and subtracted to a wave and in what order.

Still not impressed? Wave has one more trick up it's sleeve to impress you with - waves can be embedded into web pages. The truly phenomenal thing about this is if you post in say tens (or hundreds or even thousands) of different waves around the net all of these different waves will also be collected within your Google Wave inbox. This means in order to check on conversations you have going on all over the internet you can just check one place instead of jumping all over the web. As with private waves you can also embedded different files to your heart's content within wave on a webpage.

Last but not least I feel I should mention that Google Wave runs fully within your web browser. No extra application installation necessary. Wave is currently in an "alpha preview" state and I received my invitation to begin using it some weeks back now. It is a project worth keeping your eye on and once it comes into maturity I have no doubt it will become a major tool in the web-based world in which we live today.

~Jeff Hoogland