[Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root...

[Droidintorrance]

This, ol' phone... - Part 3


This will be the last of my installment on my old phone; there is one article that I've been keeping just for a post like this. It comes from Lifehacker a few months back:

What Can I Do With an Old Smartphone (Besides Sell It)?

Some of the things I already mention like using it to Skype and dedicating it for a certain portion of the house; but there are things I can't wait to try. Like making it a portable gaming counsel, and seeing what possibilities of making it a linux machine..!

One huge comment that I didn't even know is that an old phone can still be used in emergencies. A disconnected phone can still dial 911 and be able to reach an operator.

Now with the new Google Off-Line maps, even without a WiFi signal, I should still be able to get around. Not sure how this works or if I can hack this; but before I flashed CM on the desire, the phone was still able to pull GPS location, not sure if it was pulling it from the cell signal, which I still show; or the satellites themselves? Or from locked WiFi signals? But now with CM, I can't usually pull GPS location without data.

And, just yesterday, another article from Lifehacker...

Servers Ultimate Turns Your Old Android Phone Into a Tiny, Multipurpose Server

Not sure of all the implications here, but sounds totally cool... I can see totally being used as a DLNA server, and that is the only thing I can see so far, being applicable to our household, but I'm sure more will come.

A lot of people are discouraged that CM won't be supporting our old devices beyond CM7.2; but as you can read from these three days, these are still very capable devices that can still be put through the paces.

It's interesting how tech gets old so quickly and things get thrown in the trash after 6-months; however with these first generation devices; they are almost consider like valuable time-pieces to the Android community where I look forward to passing on the old phone to the next generation and showing them, how the love affair all began...

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2WtBwAL0SE&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7-p15xbXB4&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1sz5c-R9h0&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9qeN42KAc0&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArRc5EdyK90&feature=player_embedded[/YT]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6COwgigJ-g&feature=player_embedded]Nexus One: "Web meets phone" - YouTube[/YT]

 

[Droidintorrance]

The Cloud sounds Wet


There is something powerful to think that every digital picture that you have ever taken or owned follows you wherever you go. That every single digital document that you have ever created, owned or saved is accessible wherever you might be.

I was taking out food at this Hawaiian BBQ place over here call, Back home in Lahaina; while waiting, I wiped out some vacation pictures that we took in Lahaina and showed it to the owner, he got such a kick, he gave me a discount and we came up with an idea for customers to submit their own Lahaina pictures.

The wife and I were out; and for whatever reason, we were talking about the most random, memory of our wedding 8-year ago; I was able to pull pictures of our wedding reception and identify what kind of dress, someone was wearing, on the spot, within a couple of minutes. (Guys... this is like being able to remember which dress your wife wore on your first date...! Major Wife Credits.. SCORE...!!!)

Lastly, I can revisit the day of my son's birth; anytime, anywhere I want; with just a few swipes and clicks. Even scroll through that 20 meg power-point presentation I did announcing his birth.

All this wasn't possible just a few years ago... that is until the cloud came along...

Lifehacker did a recent article on what do do with all the free storage...

http://lifehacker.com/5911022/what-cool-things-can-i-do-with-all-this-free-cloud-storage-space

A few people I know just use one or two cloud storage services for all of their needs; but like the article I like the idea of keeping things separate for different purposes.

Here is what my digital life looks like, living in the cloud...

Gmail/Calendar still for password storage, quick reminder notes, to-do and tasks lists, and of course email.

Corporate IMAP for work related mail.

Evernote for quick and dirty grocery lists, notes to self and AC posts.

I like Dropbox for just work documents - I literally do not have any work documents on local storage at work; I can work from anywhere.

I have a personal Dropbox just for my rooting adventures; ROMs, back-up files, drivers, TiBu folders.. needless to say, it got filled pretty quickly, so, gotta constantly maintain that...

Google Drive for just personal documents - personal finance, (mortgage) spreadsheets, old love letters. I have started to collaborated more this year, using drive for a few remote workers thought out the country on a few documents such as a presentation and spreadsheet.

Flickr for misc pictures - message board pics, uploads, crops...

The wife likes Shutterfly for her pictures, mainly she can order prints and make photo/scrap books.

10+ gigs of pictures and videos on Picassa – a good weekend project would be to upload the remaining 10+ gigs of pictures and videos of life before cloud storage to Picassa; another project would be to scan personal and extended family pictures to Picassa…

I have 16+ gigs of music and podcasts on Google Music

200+ gigs of movies up on Bitcasa – I just finish this week; Bitcasa gives you unlimited storage and is free; they don’t have an Android app interface, but the web interface is just as good. Movies stream just as if it is on local storage, on 4G of course.

Also on Bitcasa is a graveyard of complete hard drive back-ups of old PCs that are no-longer here; entire hard drives of old pictures, old documents and old assignments. There is that laptop from b-school; where if I really want to, I can relive writing that business plan from grad school. Those old vacation pics are also in folders within old PCs that have long since crashed.

Those of you with 3G speed Fruit Phones will NOT understand this post… do you remember the first cell phone call you have EVER made? I do, I was in high school, on the weekend, in the car-driving around with some friends on the freeway. My friend handed me his new Motorola brick phone, that cost $800. I called my dad to tell him where we were going for the day, and a switch went on in my brain, connecting two things that never connected before; driving and talking on the phone. The entire world literally opened up; I have the same feeling knowing EVERYTHING I care and hold dear follow me around wherever I go (in my pocket) all within a few seconds away… it’s a great feeling.

BTW... if you need a Bitcasa invite, please PM me...

 

[Droidintorrance]

Re: [Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root... & life

Friday Aquarium


Happy Friday people, the Aquarium of the Pacific is one of our favorite places in the world; the wife and I frequented the place during our newly-wed days. The kid and I love hanging out there on a Saturday morning before the crowd gets in.

I'm taking a much needed day off and calling in sick. We are all ready to go, got my app downloaded on the Gnex & just to be safe the N7; should really add to the experience and also checking out the Long Beach App in tow, might even discover something new about our favorite city.

https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...GFjaWZpYy52aXNpdG9yX2d1aWRlIl0&token=F6InfIaz

 

[Droidintorrance]

Re: [Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root... & life

Happy Monday Fellas...

Thank you to all the 50+ people who check into my rants everyday... I brain stormed a bit over the weekend on what other topics that intersect my Android & kid and there are still a bunch more that I can talk about so thanks for indulging me.

I'm organizing a few more topics, but instead of this being just an echo chamber, please let me know what you like and like me to dive into...

Always, always appreciate feedback and comments...

In the mean time, what do you say... we take the day off and just make paper Androids with the kiddos..?

 

[oxymoron]

^this is great. Thank you.

Also, even though I don't comment often, I very much appreciate your posts.... even if you are as long winded as dmmarck

 

[Droidintorrance]

Bookworm


I need to read more books. Reading is like working out for the brain; well I need to work out more too but they both have the same effect on my mood, personality and overall enjoyment of life. The seasons, were I have good reads were the times; I was just a better person to be around with.

Unfortunately, if you’re like me, you are a busy parent and you don’t have time to read. The only books I read these days are children books, and the last time I dig through a good book is when the wife and I were reading about sleep training; you don’t even want to ask me when the last time we read for enjoyment was.

The kid is potty training; but overall, we are having difficulties disciplining him; and the wife and I are tearing out our hairs trying to figure out the right and wrong ways to go about it. We know what our friends think, but I think it’s time to pick up a few books again.

Here is again where the saving graces of a smartphone come in. For the first time in a while, I cracked the wonders of G Books. First of all really digging the new UI, didn’t remember it being so beautiful. The page turning animation really does make a difference, especially when reading to the kid.

I am always amazed with the selection of (free) books; and you can almost sample half the books you have to pay for. I’m embarrassed to show you guys my paltry on-line bookshelf; I do hope to get a few more best sellers on there…

So last night I started on “Discipline Without Shouting or Spanking”; it’s free and it’s a good place to start in giving the wife ideas to use during the day. As always, absolutely love how G Books knows which page I’m on when switching from the desktop, to the Gnex, to the N7 and back home on the PC there. One annoying thing about G Books is that I wish there is a “Read Out Loud” option for more books. Yeah, I know that robotic voice isn’t pretty, but I sure would like to listen to a chapter or two on the way home.

Books are the first line of resources when we are learning about something new, I will touch on others this week.

Enjoy…

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaZSMlq10oU[/YT]

 

[Droidintorrance]

Re: [Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root... & life

Listen & Learn


So yesterday I mention getting back to books with G Books; which is great if you have the time and energy to read. I hinted that I would ideally love it if G Books have the "Read Out Loud" option on ALL their books.

Here is where I need some help, is there an app that can recognize texts and read it out loud for me? I see a few apps but have not tried them.

So what is the best alternative; when we have to read, but don't have the time, place or energy to read?

The best option that I've found is to listen to books.

We all know Audible, great service; great Android UI/widet and all your books sync to all your devices. After flashing a new ROM, your book easily downloads again, and there you go. Also love hearing my favorite Authors reading their books. First time users get a free credit or book and the selection is great.

Drawbacks.. those books are darn expensive. Sometimes two, three times than the books itself. If your on some membership then it might come out the same, but why so expensive?

So, what are some alternatives to Audible...? I found these sites...

10 Websites For Free Audio Books

Not the best selection, but found some ok, books on Child Discipline... most you can download on MP3 format and is just one large audio file; or files usually broken down by chapter.

Other than that... your usual pirate sites, should have some audio books; again selection are slim but if you're a desperate-broke parent, no one in the world will blame you..! Go for it... I rather deal with the moralities/consequences of piracy than have to deal with screwed up children that grow up to become screwed up adults in our society, any day...!

Well the timing is perfect... what do we have here...

http://www.androidcentral.com/audio...-android-app-offers-all-you-can-eat-small-fee
http://www.audiobooks.com/home


Also Google Search:
$0.00 site:audible.com
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=$0.00+site:audible.com

 

[dmmarck]

Greetings those who have spawn and flash devices:

I will be doing a Hangout on Air at 3pm EST to walk a chap through restoring his GNex back to stock. If you want in/a link, PM me or gtalk me.

- D

 

[Droidintorrance]

Re: [Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root... & life

Parenting Pod-catchers


I've been talking this week of resources for parents; we covered free ebooks on G Books and audio books. Today is another resource for busy parents who need help but who don't have time to read.

I already have my lists of mostly NPR podcasts but recently added a folder just for parenting guides. Listening to some of these 30-min podcast episodes is like reading the entirely of a 300 page book.

Most times these very inform child educators, researchers, hosts and their guests can summarize the most important parts of their books and give us exactly what we need, when we need it the most. Some of these episodes are titled by specific topics; listen to the ones that apply and skip the ones that don't. I have always gotten at least two or three practical applications I can immediately use.

Google recently killed the Listen podcast app; but I have it backed up. I will be hanging on to the app for as long as I can. It taps into my G Reader RSS feeds and pulls in and delivers MP3 in a clean and simple to use UI.

I've been really happy with Listen and I have yet try others; but I assume others should be as clean and easy to use.

Several Feeds that I subscribed to are:

Focus on the family - marriage
Focus on the Family: Focus on Marriage

Focus on the family - parenting
Focus on the Family: Focus on Parenting

Family Life
Family Life Podcasts

Positive Parenting
"Positive Parenting" Radio Show

Focusing on solutions
Focusing on Solutions a Positive Discipline Podcast

Family podcast network
The Family Podcast Network

 

[Droidintorrance]

Re: [Guide] The Busy Parent?s (& Noobs) Guide to Root... & life

Total Sap


I'm feeling particularly sentimental today, call it a father thing.. my sappyiness on a Friday before a long weekend. Oxy.. where the heck are you man..? Back me up here...

The kid and I were getting ready for bed last night, we had just tag teamed Angry Birds and were feeling rather good; we both didn't want to go to sleep yet, so I pop open the old picture slideshow/clock app on Gingerbread, play some soft music and enjoyed the impromptu slide-show my Android just happen to stitch together of the kid and I.

That old 3.7" screen never looked so good; pictures gradually zoom in and out (a lot slower than ICS or JB); fades in and out, all seemingly in sync with the music was playing. The kid and I was really moved as we remissness the adventures we had over the past couple of months. I was simply in tears of how simple, how easy, how memorable and lasting the moment was.

After a long days of work, driving and stress; my daddy duties start the moment my feet hits the door, and wife takes off for the gym and I feed the kid, play with him outside, give him a bath and put him down. It's all pretty darn difficult, been on night duty since he was born; I don't know how the wife does it all day. But I will be one sad robot the day he starts to eat completely on his own, takes a bath by himself and when he puts himself to sleep. I can already see myself balling my eyes out on my keyboards. But I will always cherish these rare moments, these bonds that will never break. My snugging time with my growing son just before bedtime.

For those of you who still don't feel me... just watch this... and tell me if you're not also in tears afterwards...

IMHO - The most beautiful video on Youtube... have a good long weekend...

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNVPalNZD_I[/YT]

 

[lpt2569]

Dude...I'm sitting here at a picnic table at a family cookout, my boy is swimming in the river (that's him with his uncle looking back at me), and I'm fighting back the tears. Thanks for that. This thing called life is so bittersweet.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[oxydoc]

He looks scared to death! I invented a device called the Oxyphone to help with kids like him, afraid of the nebulizer. I would like to use his picture in our advertising campaign "Don't mask asthma, Oxyphone it!" If you allow us to use this picture, I will send you an Oxyphone. I am a practicing ER doctor and see kids like him all the time. The Oxyphone works better than a mask. It plays music when attached to a smartphone or similar. If y'all have a compressor at home, it attaches to the Oxyphone to provide the treatment. Please see our website at www.oxyphone.com for more info. I hope you will consider our offer. Thank you for your time. ( Hope he did well after the surgery. Our son was 5 when he had his out. His asthma improved after that also.)
Craig (Oxydoc)

 

[Droidintorrance]

Hey Craig... welcome to the thread..! Glad you were able to find us, appreciate the offer, let me think about it and I'll PM you. Your invention sure looks like a great idea. The kid didn't need surgery; luckily, he hasn't had another asthma attack since the last one. I hope you stick around, we sure can use the help/advice of an android er doc around here...

 

[jean15paul]

Hi fellow tech dads,

I'm back after a few weeks away. I'm in New Orleans, and we just dealt with Hurricane Issac. Fortunately, there wasn't much serious damage in New Orleans (although there definitely was in some surrounding areas). But I was without electricity for a week. And when electricity came back my AC was broken so it was another few days dealing with that. (I really don't mean to complain; some people had MUCH worse experiences.) After that it's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things.

On a positive note, my 6-year old son was a real trooper through the whole situation. Without electricity and with schools and offices closed we had a lot of family time. We played a lot of checkers and UNO and had a ball. So much so that we started a family game night. I'm really proud of how mature he's been.

Also it's the start of football season, which means I'm deal in fantasy football research. (Anyone here play?) I'm in a league with my 2 brother and a lot of friends; it really helps me recharge. I guess fantasy football is one of the few things that I do just for me. So that's been keeping me a little busy.

With all of that I'm now 2 ROM flashes and a radio flash behind. I guess something has to give right?