27 September, 2010 in Personal by Aonghas

Review: Froyo on HTC Legend

Ever since I got my new HTC Legend earlier this year, I’ve been somewhat satisfied with its performance running the stock Android Eclair 2.1 operating system with HTC Sense. What I liked about HTC Sense the most was its ability to integrate the phone’s contacts with Facebook contacts, which meant the contacts dynamically updated when they posted new photos on Facebook or updated their status.

HTC Sense had quite a tight integration with the core Android operating system (you can read about it elsewhere online) but a slight noticeable lag started creeping in after text messages piled up (in excess of 15000+ text messages) and after the contacts disk space size increased. Since applications could only be installed on the phone’s internal memory, the “Low Space” notification was almost always a problem since I could no longer update existing applications, let alone install new apps. Live wallpapers were also disabled for the Legend, possibly due to the fact HTC thought they would slow the phone down. Furthermore, the most annoying problem I quickly discovered on the Legend was its audio/video synchronisation issues during video playback (I’m sure all you other Legend owners know what I’m talking about).  The audio and video was always approximately 0.6 seconds out of sync both during local video and online videos such as Youtube. This problem was particularly frustrating during videos involving speech because the lips were never in sync.

When Google announced and subsequently released the next version of Android, Froyo 2.2, I was excited to see if HTC was going to update the Legend with the new system. After some intial doubts, it looked apparent that the Legend was in fact going to get the update to 2.2 as well, which was nice to know. Then the wait started. Originally HTC said they would start releasing 2.2 updates for the 2010 models in the third quarter of this year. I found myself checking the news everyday but to no avail. That’s when I started looking into the possibility of “rooting” my phone. The process of “rooting” a smartphone is analogous to “jailbreaking” an iPod/iPhone. Basically it allows the user to install custom ROMs on to the phone, so I could then flash my phone (wipe the current system) with a Froyo ROM, before HTC released the official update for the Legend. I tried to resist the urge to root my phone at first, but as days turned to weeks, and then to months, I finally cracked and decided to take the risk.

I must say it was pretty scary at first. I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was trusting the online tutorial to walk me through the whole process. I won’t go into detail about the actual rooting process (you can read about it here) but it turned out to not be that daunting. You just have to follow the instructions really carefully. And it’s important to backup everything on your phone first too! There were a few other technical difficulties I had since my phone’s current firmware version was newer than that specified in the tutorial, so I had to flash my phone to an earlier ROM before I could continue with the process. It’s also a bit nerve-racking when your phone’s screen turns into a DOS-like command prompt with text scrolling up the screen.

HTC Legend running Froyo 2.2

After a near-sleepless night, I finally made a breakthrough and my phone finally launched into a new environment – Android Froyo 2.2! I installed the Azure-1.0.1/CyanogenMod-6.0.0-Legend mod since it seemed to have quite a lot of features and seemed to be quite popular in online forums I read. The first thing I noticed when I booted the phone was the custom Cyanogen boot animation that replaced the standard HTC one. I thought I might try to change that in future but for now it’s not a biggie. I didn’t know how I’d feel without HTC Sense on top of the Android system but after tinkering with the phone for a while, I think I’m starting to prefer the phone without HTC Sense.

The phone is now noticeably faster and live wallpapers are available. All the apps in the market that require root access (such as screen capture apps) can now be downloaded too and the apps can be moved to the SD card to save more space in the internal memory. All the updates in the Android Market can now be performed in one click. The only real disadvantages I’ve found since upgrading to 2.2 is the absence of Adobe Flash player and the FM radio (which is supposedly proprietary HTC code). Other than that, everything works flawlessly. The animations are all smooth and the phone no longer feels weighed down by HTC Sense (not that Sense reduced the performance terribly). The contacts open quickly and still integrate with Facebook though you no longer have the thumb tabs at the bottom. Being able to move apps to the SD card is a godsend, because now I can install so much more than I could before. The only problem is that when you mount the phone via USB to a computer all your apps installed on the SD card become unusable. There are heaps of little modifications you can make including screen colour tinting and a raft of other nifty features like a torch application that doubles as a strobe light. Hopefully there will be a fix for the missing Flash player (you can still watch Youtube videos though) but I think the decision to root my phone was definitely worthwhile! Oh and by the way, YES the audio/video sync problem is fixed now!

Feel free to ask me anything about my new configuration or if you want any specific screenshots!

More screenshots coming soon.

25 September, 2010 in Music by Aonghas

Memories Behind Glass

This morning at Lincoln Heights School I passed a glass cabinet in the hallway and noticed myself in a faded photo from years ago when we performed at Westcity! Ahh good times

Young Aonghas in the middle

22 September, 2010 in Interests, Personal by Aonghas

A Disney Dream

Tonight after my technical communications lecture, I attended a presentation by Disney in one of the Engineering lecture theatres. I didn’t actually know what to expect beforehand but the “Disney” title was really what grabbed my interest. There was quite a big turnout for the presentation and before long, we were introduced to the presenter for the night, Jennifer Mattson. She told us that she was a recruiter for an international student exchange program they run at Walt Disney World in Florida. The program she was advertising was 6-12 month term work experience opportunity for current tertiary students in Australia and New Zealand.

She started the presentation by giving us an overview of Disney’s history and showed us an interesting video that included the many facets of the Disney brand. She then started to talk specifically about the Australia/New Zealand work experience program and what it involved. Basically it is a program set up to give international students an opportunity to travel to America to work at Walt Disney World in Orlando with up to 7000 other international students. The type of work we would be taking part in would range from such roles as operations, merchandise, quick service food and beverage and lifeguards.

In addition to the valuable skills gained through the day-to-day responsibilities of their job, participants will have the opportunity to learn skills from Disney leaders, participate in special Cast Member learning activities and networking events, take advantage of our Disney Learning Centers and add work experience with one of the most admired companies in the world to their C.V.

It seemed like a really good opportunity considering the only costs involved were a few admin fees and flights to get there and back. While the students are there, they would be living at Disney and working at Disney to pay their way over there. About $80USD would be taken from their wages each week to pay for accommodation, including amenities such as  internet access and gym. The presenter played several videos throughout the presentation showing interviews with past students who participated in the program and it looked really exciting.

At the end of the presentation, Jennifer was going to take interviews with anyone who was interested in participating next year, but obviously I knew I wouldn’t be able to go next year. I went down to the front of the lecture theatre and spoke with Jennifer and she said that it would be possible for me to do the exchange program up to one year after I graduated. It all happened so fast but after I left the presentation I had a sudden epiphany about the number of opportunities there are in the world. It’s really up to me to decide what I want to do in future and this might be a way to launch a career I hadn’t thought about previously.

If you want to read more about this program, you can to to the Disney International Program website or alternatively (if you have time) you can watch the full presentation that I sat through online by watching the E-Presentation here (it’s approximately 1 hour but it includes all the videos I watched etc.)

20 September, 2010 in Engineering, University by Aonghas

Writing Lego Instructions

For our technical communications paper this semester we’re learning about different kinds of documentation required in the engineering profession. At today’s workshop for our Instruction Writing module, we were given the task of creating a Lego model using a photo as a reference. After we created the model we then had to dismantle it and write written instructions for someone else to follow in order to recreate the same model. Although I was tempted to pick a bizarre model, I decided to stick with a more conservative mosaic-like box because I thought the instruction writing might be a bit more straight-forward. Some of the other models people chose included a moa bird, an arch-way, a helicopter, and several others.

Nearly half-way through my Lego mosaic box

The actual construction of my mosaic Lego box wasn’t actually too difficult since both sides were identical and fit together at opposite corners. However, I soon learned that the instruction writing part of the task would prove to be the real challenge. I didn’t think it would be too hard at first, but when I started to think about how to explain at what dot positions to connect the pieces without using any diagrams, I started to appreciate the effectiveness of a simple picture! My instructions started to get longer and longer and before I knew it, I had nearly written two pages of instructions – for a supposedly simple mosaic Lego box! Once we had finished writing our instructions, we swapped with the person next to us and tried to create their Lego model using their written instructions. I partnered up with Andrew and I found his instructions to be more straight-forward than mine. I figured out that the instructions didn’t have to be so precise to still make sense. Luckily I was able to put Andrew’s model together (he also had a mosaic box with a different pattern) and likewise he was able to make my model too which was a relief. It sounds trivial I know, but if you ever get the chance to write instructions for Lego without using any pictures, you’ll see what I mean!

12 September, 2010 in Interests, Website by Aonghas

Need Help Sleeping?

My friend Carey recently launched a new website to help people who have trouble getting to sleep at night. Although it’s often easier to fall asleep in a quiet environment, sometimes the complete absence of any noise whatsoever can also be unsettling. So the solution?

www.SoundsToSleepTo.com

Choose which sounds you want to fall asleep to

Whether you like the gentle sound of rain outside or birds chirping by your window, there are six different ambient sounds (and counting!) to choose from. They all sound very realistic and you can even mix different sounds together and adjust the volumes separately as you wish.

I think this website is a great idea and would be particularly helpful for those who have trouble falling asleep in silence and just need something soothing to help them rest. Even though the site hasn’t been up for long, it’s popularity is increasing daily as more people discover its effectiveness. So go on, check it out and have a good night’s sleep!

5 September, 2010 in Friends, Social by Aonghas

Nick Turns Twenty

It didn’t seem that long ago since Nick’s last birthday party, but here we are again another year on. Tonight Nick celebrated his 20th birthday and invited a few friends to dine with him at La Porchetta on Lincoln Road. The last time I had eaten there it was still Pizza Hutt, so everything looked a bit different inside. When I arrived, most of them were already seated and we were just waiting on Sam, Bryn and Hailey. The menus were passed around and me being my usual self, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat. After scanning over the menu back and forth, I finally settled on the Quattro Gusti pizza, which was a pizza that had four different toppings. I ordered a large pizza, though I didn’t realise how large a ‘large’ was until it was put in front of me by the waiter. Luckily I was hungry by then so I managed to gobble it down… just! Just before we left, Nick was surprised (though somewhat prematurely due to one of the staff members mentioning “candles”) with an ice cream birthday cake! We sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ and divided up the cake before it had melted completely. On the way out, I bumped into a Michelle Lee, an old friend from Rutherford. She was with her friend Aniva, who turned out to be the same girl I met at New Zealand Natural a while ago.

Happy Birthday Nick!

From left: Me, Carey, Nick, Luke

After dinner, it was back to Nick’s house for a bit of hangin’ and chillin’. Some of the girls arrived later after getting ready, while the rest of us played some pool, darts and listened to music. It was nice to chat up with some friends I hadn’t seen for ages, even though a few of them were a bit tipsy at the time. We sang the birthday song to Nick again, but this time with gifts.

The taxi vans were due to arrive just before 11:30pm to take us into town. Since I wasn’t going to be staying out all night, I decided to drive into the city myself, and Luke came with me too. On the way into town, we saw two breath-testing stops on motorway on-ramps, so the Police were definitely out in numbers tonight! The taxi van we were following stopped just before the viaduct so we needed to find a car park as close as possible. At first I didn’t know where to go and there were cars all over the place, but luckily we didn’t have to search for too long before we found a carpark down at the viaduct opposite the Westin Hotel.

From left back: Luke, Racheal, Steph, Sam, Nick, me, Rosie

The message from friends was that they were at “Provedor”, a bar on the waterfront. It took a couple of misguided instructions from road workers and security guards to finally find our way there, but we got there in the end! The music at the bar was pumping loud and I took my first step into a bar in the city! Over the next hour or so, we had a great time dancing with friends in amongst a crowded pack of randoms. Photos were taken and we even met some other friends from school. When it was approaching 1am we left Provedor to go somehwere else. I’m not sure if anyone knew where that “somewhere else” was at first, so we walked through some streets trying to find another club that was free. One of the clubs had a very long queue waiting outside; I’m not sure what that one was called though.

Tonight was a night of “firsts” for me. It was the first time I had eaten at La Porchetta, the first time I had walked into an alcohol store (but I didn’t buy anything!) and the first time I had gone to town! In other news, my workmate Nikki invited me to her party tonight as well and I was planning to go, even for a short while, but I didn’t manage to get there in time . So I’m really sorry about that Nikki, but I’ve still got your birthday card so I’ll make sure I give it to you when I see you at work next!

2 September, 2010 in Friends by Aonghas

A Nicholaonghas Day Out!

We got our lunch from Country Fried Chicken (on a rainy day!)

The weather was groggy and wet this morning and I didn’t really feel motivated to do anything except laze around at home. Nick texted me mid-morning asking if I wanted to have lunch so I agreed (since he graciously offered to pick me up ). At first I was half-expecting to dine at Wendy’s like the old times, but Nick had a surprise up his sleeve. We drove in the rain for the better part of ten minutes before we arrived at… Kentucky Country Fried Chicken! It was a small little lunch-bar type place that sold everything from burgers to chicken and even sushi! Nick told me he had come to CFC, as he called it, many times in the past but not for a while. We both ordered a combo that included a chicken burger, two pieces of chicken, chips and a drink. As we waited for our lunch, we read the weekly Coffee News which always has interesting stories and jokes. In this week’s edition, there was an article about a Korean lady named Cha Sa-soon who had finally passed her written exam for a driver’s license… after 950 tries! That’s crazy. Especially since she paid almost $4200 in fees in the process. And that was just for her written test. In the “On the Lighter Side” section, this one-liner joke was pretty clever I thought:

What gets bigger the more you take away? A hole!

We sat in the car to eat our lunch

Our lunches were ready by the time we finished reading Coffee News so we took our food back to the car (the car with only 2 hubcaps, might I add) and Nick drove down to the little carpark near Te Atatu beach. We had a good catch up over lunch and talked about the recent happenings in our lives. Nick started playing music off his iPod so I decided to test this app on my phone called “SoundHound”, which is supposed to recognise songs after recording short sound clips. After correctly recognising a few songs, Nick dug into his vast music collection to try and beat the system, even with some home-grown NZ music. Although there were a couple of exceptions, I’ll think it’s safe to say we were both pretty impressed by the accuracy! And just in case you’re wondering what songs we tested, here is a list of (most of) them in reverse order:

Yeah, pretty long list! After we got tired of that and realised how much of my Vodafone data plan we were wasting, it was time to head home. But not before we made a quick detour to have ice cream!

My sundae had a mixture of cookies & cream and coconut strawberry ice cream

1 September, 2010 in Work by Aonghas

Meeting My New Manager

All my other workmates had already met our new manager Jess except for me. She started working at our store over a month ago but before today, I had only ever talked to her on the phone and left her notes in our “communication book” at work. So when I heard that I would be working with Jess today, I was pretty excited. I even got a text from her this morning telling me that she was looking forward to working with me finally. That was nice.

My shift started at 1pm and I was rostered on to work until 6:30pm to close the store. I had to walk to work so I left a bit earlier so I could squeeze a small feed in before I started. When I got to work I was greeted by Jess, who seemed really friendly – just how I remember her on the phone. She got me to start on the mens’ fixtures before she finished her shift. I had to shift around some of the stock to get ready for the new VM.

By the end of the day, I think I completed everything Jess had set for me (or so I hope). I’m glad I finally got to meet my manager though, and I’m looking forward to the next time we get to work together. Oh and thank you Nikki for letting me work your shift today