Moto DROID Froyo 2.2 update FINALLY!!

Finally got prompted to update to Froyo 2.2 last night!! Downloaded over 3G driving home and it was installed and rebooted and ready to go when I pulled in the driveway!

All the little aesthetic/functional changes add up to a big, awesomely useful update! The shortcut bar on the bottom with phone and browser freed up 2 spaces on the main screen and the 5 screens are like finding new rooms in your house to use! Gotta spread out my setup I've been cramming into the previously available 3 screens.

Oh and the stock keyboard wow! Little tweak to the spacing makes ALL the difference in the world! SO much easier to type on the Android keyboard now. HTC IME keyboard crashing after update so I uninstalled and backed up install files so HTC IME Keyboard for 2.1 posting won't be incomplete. In a stroke of awesomeness, the developer has already release a new version for 2.2! Downloaded and installed smooth as the first time!

The little look-and-feel changes throughout are very nice and intuitive. System seems to be running very smooth. Time will tell if it indeed is running more efficiently..

Moto DROID Keyboard Alternative

I got the Moto DROID specifically for the hard keyboard. Unfortunately, it terrible! My fingers hit the little chiclet keys 2 at a time, the bottom of the screen blocks my fingers from hitting the top row of keys and the rocker is in the way of my right hand... The voice input method has turned out to be a lifesaver in many situations but the on-screen keyboard is lacking in many aspects and highly annoying to use.

On the positive, there are tons of replacement keyboards. I got ShapeWriter and it is an awesome swipe keyboard! Noticed the TO drop-down doesn't show contact list in landscape but otherwise it is incredibly predictive, accurate....and fast!

I just installed HTC IME keyboard and couldn't believe the difference! This is such an improvement, from keyspacing to setting options...WOW!

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Install/Use instructions found at www.droid-life.com. Download HTC_IME.apk and Clicker.apk.

Then copy to sdcard via these instructions www.brighthub.com.

Long press an input field and choose TouchInput and you're all set.
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I haven't played with any of the settings but the first thing I'm going to do is turn off the vibe on keypress option when I find it. Beyond that there are tons of settings to play with.

Anyone unhappy with the standard Moto DROID keyboard should try the HTC IME keyboard!

Motorola DROID

Got the Motorola DROID a bit ago and am loving it! My life is organized once again.

Came with Android 1.6 installed but shortly after, I woke up to the update notice for 2.1 and updated immediately with no problems.

So far my most used apps are Google Listen, Calendar Pad and GDocs. My most wanted app I plan on making my first coding project is a hook into Google Tasks.

This really is a small, portable computer you can carry in your hand. Having contacts, calendar, web, podcasts and notes at your fingertips is too convenient. Automatic Syncing to the web is something I've missed since I had the Sidekick II and III.

Upcoming posts will be app lists and specifics on why I like them and how I use them.

Ubutnu 9.10 Karmic Koala on HP Mini-Note 2133

In a word, WIN!!

I had previously installed 9.04 from CD with no problems.

Easily got the update by clicking System->Administration->Update Manager and selecting to upgrade to 9.10. Update took some time but was successful.

I had not done much since 9.04 install, but it looks like all my program settings have been preserved and wifi hooked right back up on reboot.

Mini 2133 Ubuntu 9.04

Installed Ubuntu 9.04 on the mini-note 2133 with no problems.

Only hiccup was the Broadcom BCM4312 wifi card. Once installed, the OS recognized and offered the use of Broadcom STA drivers which works perfectly.

Will give the OS a try on the ole Inspiron 5100 with a Broadcom wifi card that has never worked with any distro of linux, even with ndiswrapper...

SD Card Format from command line

Weird thing today, my SD card dropped from 2GB to 1GB. It's a mini in an SD adapter that I use this in my Palm Treo 700P for pics and docs storage.

I was able to read the files in ubuntu but the phone would not acknowledge the card at all. I copied the files into a backup folder on the laptop and proceeded to check it out.

Lifesaving post at: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1243539

df -k [or h if you prefer] showed the drive mounted on /dev/sde1. Unmounted and attempted to run with 'sudo mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sde1' which left the card unchanged and still not showing in the phone.

Last entry in the post shows a format command 'sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sde1 bs=512' which did the trick! Ran the format, removed card but re-inserting card didn't do anything so I put it in the Treo and it threw an error.

Apparently this was the kick it needed because I put it back in the laptop and sweet, 2GB card was mounted! I copied my backed up folders onto the card and worked fine this time when I put it in the Treo

MINI 2133 XP Downgrade

In a word, FAIL!

Try as I may, never got a clean boot...