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12Sep/116

How To: Watch Normal Videos on HP TouchPad

Alright, so after a few hours of searching online I finally came across a way to watch standard video formats such as DivX, XviD, WMV and MKV etc on the HP TouchPad.

As most of you who have tried to watch videos in this format have noticed, your HP TouchPad simply wont recognize it.

So in order to play it, you would need to install the KalemSoft Media Player. So far I do not have any issues with it and it works great on all of my videos.

For the installation instructions, you can download it via the HP App Catalog or you can follow the instructions here: http://www.kalemsoft.com/site/downloads2.html

Click on the New: KalemSoft Media Player v0.4.0 for TouchPad download link.

After you have downloaded the file, proceed to the installation instructions here: http://www.kalemsoft.com/site/docs/wqi.txt

Once you are done, you will have a media player that will work with your videos flawlessly :)

 

 

24Aug/1115

HP OfficeJet 4500 – Turn off Power Save Mode

So recently I came across an issue where my HP OfficeJet 4500 would constantly go into Power Save mode. However while it is in that state, I can't wake it up when I want to print something. It started to get on my nerve quite a bit, so after a bit of research, I found that it was an issue with the Power Save Mode.

Now there is no way of turning it off from the main settings, so in order to turn it off, you need to do the following steps:

Press * and # at the same time on the Printer.

You will then see a screen full of *'s and #'s.

Press 1, 2, and then 4 buttons in sequence.

You will then see "Underware MWM..."

Press the left arrow key twice, and click OK.

Press the left arrow key once, you will see the option "System Mode Timeout" - Click OK

This option will be set to 1800 by default, so all you need to do is press 0 (zero), and click OK.

Then click the X button twice to go back to the main menu.

This should remove your Power Save Mode.

I haven't come across much problem with the printer since, so I guess it worked. Hope this helped you as much as it did for me!

22Aug/110

FIX: Force Close on Google Music and Hulu Plus

I have not actually come across this issue because I only use Google Music. However, I do note that many people will get this issue, so I thought I'd share with you some information I found.

If at any point you receive a Force Close error on either Google Music or Hulu Plus, there is a simple solution that will solve your issue.

All you need to do is Download AdFree Android and select "Revert". This will repair your hosts file to the correct state. After that, reboot/restart your phone and your issue will no longer occur.

Why does this happen?

Google Music and Hulu Plus use the same channels that ads use and that are blocked when you change your hosts file - this prevents the applications from successfully streaming the content and thus the application force closes.

Source

To download AdFree Android, here are the links to do so.

AdFree Android - Android Market

qrcode

AdFree Android - APK

qrcode

21Aug/111

Save YouTube Videos

Ever saw a video that you wanted to download/save onto your computer for later use? Possibly just change it into an audio file itself.

Well look no further as I have found something that many of you will love!

Introducing ClipConverter.

ClipConverter

An online website that converts YouTube videos into a variety of formats:

 

But this website does not only limit you to YouTube... It also allows you to save videos from the following sites as well:

Direct Download, YouTube (HQ and HD), Google Video, Sevenload, MySpace, Dailymotion (HQ), Vimeo (HQ), Metacafe, MyVideo, Veoh. Also a couple of adult sites for the perverted ones :P

The website itself is quite easy to use, and download times vary depending on the file of the video you are downloading. The great thing about this is the fact that it allows you to only download the audio, which helps a lot.

So if you were always looking for a way to save your YouTube videos, here is the best way.

http://www.clipconverter.cc

19Aug/110

HTC Thunderbolt ‘Official’ Gingerbread RUU Leak

If you haven't already heard, there has been a leak for the 'Official' HTC Thunderbolt that was leaked recently, that updates the phone to Gingerbread.

I've been using the update for close to a day now.

So far no random reboots, battery life has been vastly improved. Had a few issues with getting a data signal at the start, but after restarting a couple of times, it all seems to work fine - both 3G and 4G LTE.

Speed of this RUU is amazing. Everything loads much faster than it used to, Skype and Gtalk have video calling - both with the ability to use the front facing camera. It still has the Verizon apps and MyVerizon works as well on this build which is a plus.

Here are some of the issues I'm facing:
Market is not updating to the latest version - though I can just install it from here.

I had a hard time accessing TheMikMik.com to download the RUU - but there's a mirror site now:

http://www.multiupload.com/KXDK90T8KO

Ensure that the MD5 of the file is: e4c90364613e1a520d4313114604e4e8

After installing it, it might have some issues while booting up, remove the battery and restart the phone. Took me a couple of times before it started to work properly.

I assumed that with Gingerbread, there would be a whole new UI... I was wrong :P It's 90% the same as Froyo, with some slight changes in the features...

But performance wise, it is much, MUCH better!

Hope you enjoy the update as much as I am :)

Filed under: Android No Comments
10Aug/111

Facebook Contact Number – How to hide it!

Alright, so today I saw one of my friends post the following status:

PHONE NUMBERS OF ALL are now on Facebook!
Go to the top right of the screen, click on Account, then click on Edit Friends, go left on the screen and click on Contacts. All phone numbers are published.

Please re-post this on your Status, so your friends can remove their numbers and thus prevent abuse!

Alright, now before people all go crazy over this, know that you can actually change your privacy settings and hide your phone number from being displayed on that list.

All you need to do is:

  1. Go to Accounts
  2. Click on Privacy Preferences 
  3. Click on Customize Settings
  4. Scroll down to Contact Information and change who is able to view your contact details.
    - You can limit it to specific people, lists or no one at all.  

That's all you need to do.

You can also change a number of other privacy options here as well.

Hope this helps!

9Aug/110

Facebook – Block Events and App Invites from Specific People

Got some of those friends who are constantly inviting you to things you're not really interested in on Facebook? Well look no further... You can now block invites for apps and events from specific users easily.

All you have to do is the following:

  • Go to your Accounts drop down on the top right
  • Click on Privacy Settings
  • Click on Edit your list under Block List 
  • In here, you will see options to block users totally or app and event invites from specific users.

Facebook: Block Users

Once you have added their names to the list, you will no longer receive invites from them depending on which items you choose.

7Aug/112

Invite users to Google Plus using Link!

Well, you want one of your friends to join Google Plus, but don't really know their email address? That's fine, because with the latest feature from Google, you can now allow your friend to join Google Plus by simple clicking on a link!

At the moment - as they are testing this phase - a maximum of 150 users can sign up via your invite. So be sure to send it to users you think would truly benefit from the use of Google Plus.

For those of you who are not sure where your link is, I've provided a little image for you find yours:

Google Plus: Right Sidebar

Click on the Invite Friends button on your right sidebar.

Google Plus: Invite Options

You have an option to invite by e-mail or sharing a link. Each user will have their own unique link address.

Once a user clicks on that link, they will be brought to the Google Plus website, where they will be given the option to sign up for Google Plus from an invite by you!

It's that simple.

Google Plus currently has over 25 million users and is still growing - will it be a competitor with Facebook in the near future?

5Aug/111

Skype with Video – Now on more Android Devices

Well Skype has released a new version that allows video calling for more than 20 devices. The devices include the following:

Samsung Galaxy S II
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung Droid Charge - Verizon
Samsung Galaxy Tab
HTC Desire (2.2)
HTC Thunderbolt - Verizon
HTC Sensation
HTC Evo 4G
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Incredible S
HTC Desire HD
HTC Flyer
LG Revolution - Verizon (2.2)
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro
Acer A5
Samsung Google Nexus S
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo
Sony Ericsson Xperia pro
HTC Desire S

This is great news for many Android users as they have been waiting for months on a Skype version that supports video calling on their phones - especially Thunderbolt users. Having a front facing camera but being left out of the Skype Video Calling, Thunderbolt users were not really happy.

There was a temporary fix for some users who rooted their phones as I have mentioned in the following articles:

Skype with Video for HTC Thunderbolt and other devices - Android 2.3

Skype with Video for HTC Thunderbolt - Froyo

Both these articles gave way to edited versions of Skype that enabled some devices to use Skype with Video - however now Skype has officially released a version that works on most Android phones.

The one thing that I am not too happy about and the main reason I am still sticking with my old Skype with Video for HTC Thunderbolt - Froyo is because the new version does not allow you to utilize the front camera. You area only allowed to use the back camera, which almost defeats the purpose. But to those of you who can't use the old Skype version anymore, this will have to do for now. Rumors also suggest that only devices that are running on Android 2.3 are able to utilize their front camera.

Now I notice that some users are having trouble downloading this version of Skype from the Market, so I've provided download links directly here as well.

If you have any tips or comments about the new Skype, please do post a comment!

Skype v2.1 - Android Market

qrcode

Skype v2.1 - APK Download

qrcode

2Aug/111

Blackjack – Java Programming

So after I went through a few more tutorials, I decided to create another app. I've integrated it to my original app, so in the welcome screen, it will ask if I want to use the Calculator or play Blackjack.

My first attempt at building a Blackjack game via Java programming. It works and is quite simple at the moment. The more I update it, the more complex it will get!

Here is the source code for the game. It's very simple and probably very messy! But hey... I'm still learning :)

package Blackjacks;

import java.util.Random;
import java.util.Scanner;

public class Blackjack {

	public static void main(String[] args) {

		//Scanner//
		Scanner scan = new Scanner(System.in);

		//Game Background Object//
		BJBackground b = new BJBackground();

		//Game Randomizer Object//
		Random r = new Random();

		//Dealing Cards and Generating Computers Cards//
		System.out.println("Welcome to Blackjack.");
		System.out.println("Would you like to play Blackjack? Yes or No");
		String input = scan.next();
		if (input.equalsIgnoreCase("yes")) {
            b.play(true);
		}
		else return;	// Assuming they type 'no' or something else, we can just quit the program here.

		//Create Random Card Total for Computer//
		int computer = 14 + r.nextInt(9);
        //Stores Card Total for Computer//
	   	b.setcomputer(computer); 

		//Creates Random Number for First Card//
		int fcard = 1 + r.nextInt(11);
		//Stores Card Number on First Card int//
        b.setfcard(fcard);
        //Creates Random Number for Second Card//
        int scard = 1 + r.nextInt(10);
        //Stores Card Number for Second Card int//
        b.setscard(scard);
        //Updates and Stores Player Score//
        int player = scard + fcard;
        b.setplayer(player);
		System.out.println("Your first card was " + b.getfcard() + " and your second card was " + b.getscard());

		//While Loop//
		while (b.play()) {
               System.out.println("Your total is " + b.getplayer());
               if (b.getplayer() == 21) {
            	   System.out.println("You have 21! You hit Blackjack!");
               }
               else System.out.println("Would you like another card? Hit or Stand");
               input = scan.next();

	        	   while (input.equalsIgnoreCase("Hit")) {
	            		//Creates Random Number for New Card//
	           		   	int ncard = 1 + r.nextInt(10);

	           		   	b.setncard(ncard);
	           		   	b.setplayer(ncard);

	           		   	System.out.println("Your new card is " + b.getncard());
	           		   	System.out.println("Your new total is " + b.getplayer());

	           		   	b.resetncard();

	           		   	if (b.getplayer() <= 21); {
		           		System.out.println("Would you like another card? Hit or Stand");
		           		input = scan.next();
		           		}
	        	   }

	        	   if (input.equalsIgnoreCase("Stand")) {
	        		   if ( b.getplayer() > 21 ) {
				       System.out.println("You had " + b.getplayer() + " and the computer had " + b.getcomputer() + ". The computer beat you..");
				       return;
				       }
				       if ( b.getplayer() > b.getcomputer() ) {
				       System.out.println("You had " + b.getplayer() + " and the computer had " + b.getcomputer() + ". You win!");
				       return;
				       }
				       if ( b.getplayer() < b.getcomputer() ) {
				       System.out.println("You had " + b.getplayer() + " and the computer had " + b.getcomputer() + ". You lose!");
				       return;
				       }
				       if ( b.getplayer() == b.getcomputer() ) {
				       System.out.println("You had " + b.getplayer() + " and the computer had " + b.getcomputer() + ". You drew!");
				       return;
	        	   }
        	   }
		}
	}
}

package Blackjacks;

public class BJBackground {

	//First Card//
	private int fcard = 0;

	//Second Card//
	private int scard = 0;

	//
	private int ncard = 0;

	//Player Card Total//
	private int player = (fcard + scard + ncard);

	//Computer Cards//
	private int computer = 0;

	//Boolean to Play//
    private boolean play = true;

	public void play(boolean play) {
	   this.play = play;
	}
	public boolean play() {
	   return play;
	}
	//Boolean for New card//
	private boolean newcard = true;

	public boolean newcard() {
		return newcard;
	}
	//Sets First Card's new amount//
	public void setfcard(int amount) {
	        this.fcard += amount;
	}
	//Allows Blackjack Class to know what the First Cards number is when called//
	public int getfcard() {
	        return fcard;
	}
	//Sets Second Card's new amount//
	public void setscard(int amount) {
	        this.scard += amount;
	}
	//Allows Blackjack Class to know what the Second Cards number is when called//
	public int getscard() {
	        return scard;
	}
	//Sets new Card's amount//
	public void setncard(int amount) {
			this.ncard +=amount;
	}
	public int getncard() {
			return ncard;
	}
	public void resetncard() {
        ncard = 0;
	}
	public void setplayer(int amount) {
        this.player += amount;
	}
	public int getplayer() {
			return player;
	}
	//Sets Computer Score//
	public void setcomputer(int amount) {
        this.computer += amount;
	}
	//Allows Blackjack Class to know what the Computer score is//
    public int getcomputer() {
        return computer;
    }

}

If anyone has any tips on how I can improve this, please do let me know!

I'm trying to figure out a way to allow you to take more than just one card at the start... Hopefully I'll figure it out soon!