Samsung Chromebook Plus

my youngest is in 7th Grade now! holy shit.. she's been half-ass using the Gateway Netbook with Win7, but only 2GB and small 10 inch screen, and old as dirt at this point- she needed something new.. which meant I got to get something new!

school started Tuesday- I was hoping for delivery by then, but it came today. made sure everything synced properly, logged out of the ASUS, slid it across the counter and told her to log in! she just gained 3 inches of screen, 2GB more RAM and they live in Google-land at school, so all her stuff was right there within minutes. happy kid!

and happy Mom- the smaller size and lack of frame will visually take some getting used to, but so far, I love the Plus! gorgeous difference between the classic LED screen on the ASUS C300MA and the Gorilla Glass, smooth, crystal clear surface of the Plus. I like a dimmer screen, and this does not disappoint, without noticeable glare.

I downloaded the Kindle app and added a few books I've been wanting to read- I have an old Kindle Touch that I want to use, but it always loses it's charge by the time I get to it.

the hinges seem stiff. I enjoy the keyboard, for the most part- need some practice with the smaller format. touch pad is also of higher quality- feels less susceptible to finger residues.

Play Store is nice- grabbed Facebook Messenger and Instagram apps too- will surf around some more at a later time.

the iPearl case (in red) is en route- it does feel awkward to me to use in Tablet mode and feel the keyboard on the other side, makes me super cautious and therefore, my hold is uncomfortable. the iPearl case bottom easily snaps over the keyboard to avoid this issue.

I'm looking forward to using the Plus in Tent mode in the kitchen, instead of trying to scroll through read stuff from the Nexus 6P, especially with messy hands.

also excited to mess around with the Pen. touchscreen is responsive and I enjoy using it so far.

what pisses me off?
- the Backspace and Tab keys are mini.
- in Tablet mode, the virtual keyboard pops up in Sheets constantly- I hope there's a setting, as having to hit the down keyboard every time I swipe the screen is getting annoying.


4 hours in- seriously diggin it.

LG Watch Style

far more for curiosity than actual necessity. but so far has helped me walk the fuck away from my phone and avoid the surfing, time-wasting hell I am so easily sucked into almost every time I go to "just check notifications".


got here Monday, today (Wednesday) is the first all-day test. put it on at 6:30am- at 3pm battery is 80%. 6:30pm is 60%. 11pm set on the charger at 34%.

      used it throughout the day to send text messages using my voice, read notifications, install/uninstall apps, and look at the weather.

syncing with my phone was easy - install Android Wear from the Play Store and go through the steps. app gives you a better platform to make some personalized adjustments to your watch. I have yet to get into it. 

BT and WiFi are on- as far as I can tell, BT is the primary connection between my phone and the Style, but if I get out of the BT range and both phone and watch are on WiFi, my range is extended to the reach of WiFi. I like this.

I have gestures turned off.

to change the face or settings of your current face, swipe to the right or left. 

I've used the Quoti face- currently happy with Atoms. weather, calculator, battery, steps (click opens Fit) and Events. I like the swipe-down menu on the stock faces- options for Airplane Mode, what I assume is Sleep (have to press the side button to wake instead of touch the screen), DND, and Settings; also shows battery %, alarm icon if one is set, and the date. use the button to slide up from the main face to see any notifications. 

ANY notification my phone gets, shows up on the Style. if those notifications are set to vibrate on my phone, the Style will also vibrate, a little wrist tickle- having notification sounds is moot, as the Style has zero speakers- something I absolutely love about it.
      some notifications you can respond to- text, Facebook messages and email. others are read-only, but that is fine by me. 
      response method options are: Voice, Emoji or Keyboard. the keyboard is teenie tiny but fairly usable. you can program preset responses in addition to those already available.

Maps uses my phone's location, so I don't care about the lack of GPS.

I don't intentionally exercise, so I also don't care that the Style is missing a heart rate monitor.

long-press on the button brings up Google Assistant- just talk and she does her best- responses are displayed (no speaker).
      "text Andy"
      "how's your day going handsome"
make sure she got it right, edit if not, and click send
      "add paper towels to my shopping list" (adds to Google Assistant Shopping List)
      "show me my shopping list"
      "set a reminder for..." (adds to Reminders)
      "make a note..." (adds to Keep)

I'm sure it can do more stuff. for what I would use it for, this thing is pretty cool.

getting used to the weight of it- certainly not a Casio digital $12 work watch. quite thin for what it is. I have the Titanium color, and it does look slick. 

there are no open ports- it's said you can take a shower with it on, but I'm not going to test that. I did put on a screen protector and clean with a lens wipe before putting on the charger- a nifty little magnetic disk with USB connection and wall adapter.
      also replaced the included stupid-fancy Italian Leather band with a metal loop-type with strong magnetic closure. easy to adjust, take off, put on and I'm not worried about it falling off or catching on anything.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XD57YBF

I'll update as I figure out more neet stuff this gadget can do. 

enter Nexus 6P

it was time. there's really nothing wrong with the Nexus 5.. but it was time to upgrade.

I really want the Pixel XL, but consistently out of stock, or a 3-4 week wait for shipping. so I went with the next best thing.

it's friggin huge. I'll get used to it.

what can Google Home do?

I know there are other lists out there, but this one is mine, the commands that matter to us. will be ongoing..

-change volume to 50% on Whole House

-add to Shopping List
-where's the nearest ..
-what time is so-n-so open?
-how long will it take to get to ..

things we know she can do:

-interrupt a music stream to ask her what song it is, to add to shopping list, or a question and then right back into the stream
-recognize voices when playing trivia

what she says she's not able to do/help with yet:

-when a song is playing on one unit, "Hey Google play this on Whole House."

-sending a song to another unit, "Hey Google play this song on Bedroom."

-queuing the next song or album, "OK Google, que The Mollusk album by Ween," or "Hey Google, play the album Tidal next."

what I want her to do:

-add to the Shopping List on the main account from any unit "hey Google, add milk to Kitchen Shopping List."

-remember wtf she was doing before she stopped- if the pause is too long between commands or a song/album end, Groups drop and the whole conversation needs to be started again and worded correctly

-stop announcing the default music source "playing blah blah blah on Google Play Music" just play please..

how to play different music on separate Google Home units and also play in unison as a Group

I dove in. two Google Home units and a ChromeCast as my birthday present to myself this year- I deserve it, dammit. while I was at it, pre-ordered a 3 pack of Google WiFi- we have three floors we use equally, plus outside in the better weather. Time Warner sucks, we don't want to give them as much money... and the Powerline adapters work, but need reboots too often- looking forward to GWiFi.

my goals for Google Home:
- music everywhere in the house, on demand, with pretty much zero limitations on content
- the ability to have all GHome units play the same music at the same time throughout the house and in specified groups
- the ability to play different songs on separate units and groups
- play around with ChromeCast and services, get rid of TWC in whatever fashion possible
- easy access to the same information with less effort
- eventually get smart with the house in general
- and of course, stay the fuck offa our phones so much

all arrived today. I already have Play Music Unlimited. I have 3 gmail accounts in my phone and Chromebook. this came in handy.

set up the first as "Livingroom" and got to know her a little bit before finding a good spot in the living room. set the second unit up as "Basement" while in the kitchen, about 3-4 yards away from Livingroom. before I took her downstairs, got to know how far apart they should be, what happens with two in close proximity, how they play under the "Whole House" group, etc.

then my daughter came home. while I'm working in the basement enjoying The Beatles Love album, she asks for Twenty One Pilots "Heathens" in the living room and I get booted. nope. not cool. certainly not putting up with this.

let's see if this works..
I upgraded our Play subscription to the Family plan. I added my other gmail addresses as users. I added my other email addresses as users in the Google Home app on my Nexus 5. I deactivated the Basement unit from my main gmail account, switched to another account within the Home app and Set Up Basement on the other account. it remained in the Whole House group as a speaker, and as a Linked Device.

then we test.
- leaning down the stairs, "Hey Google, play Adele." Basement starts playing some Adele song.
- in the livingroom, "OK Google, play Heathens by Twenty One Pilots." starts playing. I can hear my daughter singing along as I lean back down the stairs, listening to Adele on Basement for the entirely of both songs.
- standing centrally and speaking loudly, "OK Google, STOP" and both units go silent.
- in the livingroom, "Hey Google, play Pearl Jam on Whole House." SUCCESS! Livingroom announces the action and Pearl Jam is playing the same song at the same time on both Basement and Livingroom.

costs $5 extra a month and a few minutes of your time.

note: while in the Home app on your phone, all devices are listed, regardless of current account shown. if you want to make changes, you do need to have the corresponding account selected within the Home app.

I'll be getting a few more units down the line. will set up under the main account, add to the groups I want, before switching to another account on my Play Family plan. and Taryn can have her own, on her own account in her own room for so many reasons.

next two projects:
- Hey Google, announce "blah blah blah" to Whole House and/or Hey Google, play "this song" on "this Home" (I had to play to the Whole House group to Rick Roll Andy in the basement LMAO)
- "OK Google, add "blah blah blah" to Kitchen Shopping List" from any Home unit


oh and Chromecast.. uuhh.. I'll play around with it a little more, but I don't think it fits us- we'd have to keep TWC just to be able to log into all the apps, everyone would need the apps on their phones.. nah.. we're better off with PS Vue for what we wanna do.
   

more thoughts on Powerline networking

I've done more research and read more reviews.. it is happening, but the brand and model is still under configuration.

we're planning on getting the wireless router from TWC- only to keep the mess down. I can turn off the wireless function in my current router and use it as 4 solid ports in the basement for my computer, the PS4, etc. but then the computer won't be able to talk to any of the other media outlets on the network.

will need 3 kits- Powerline base off the router in the livingroom, adapter in the basement, in both the girls' rooms, in the master bedroom..

I want to do this right and have everything working together as we're used to: I'll just have to splurge on a 4-port switch adapter. glad all HomePlug AV compliant work together!

the house is wired to one box in the basement- reading about adapters being on the same circuit to work best.. what exactly does this mean?

battery testing

one of the major concerns I read regarding the Nexus 5 was the battery life.

my slab of awesome was born 4/21/14. I took screen shots when my battery got to about 50%.

7/4/14:

7/5/14:

7/6/14:


7/7/14:


7/8/14:

Nexus 5

simple and gorgeous.

first gripe: icons far too large, installed Nova Launcher with the Google Now bar
second: no Bubbles live wallpaper
third: had to install Message Classic

aside from the wallpaper, all set up and functioning just like I was on the N4.

love the Spigen Neo Hybrid case- metal slate, of course. looks frikin classy.
      http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EV8Y684

getting myself organized and called TMo for my old SIM to be added to Taryn's line. hoping to surprise her tomorrow morning with a fully, but tastefully, bumpered Nexus 4.

the Ionic GUARDIAN Armor Case will be awesome for her. easy to press the buttons, adds good grip and looks like more than adequate protection.
      http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A06YZTG

our accounts are still syncing and downloading and installing and whatnot. I'll be sneaking her phone away while she sleeps to load her pictures and music, then put the new one in its place.
      my 9 year old has a Nexus 4.

edit 7/4/14: and of course, I can't wait for surprises- gave it to her last night. moved all her pics and music this morning. still waiting for the SIM to be active, but she's loving it, and picking up the new OS and features mighty quick!

Nexus upgrade?

I've had the Nexus 4 for about a year and a half.. getting direct OS updates from Google, running KitKat 4.4.4, still haven't rooted. I love straight up Google-iness and want to continue with my future devices.

now have my eye on the Nexus 5.. capable of running Android L beta, and will get the official update as far as I can tell, while my Nexus 4 probably will not. but.. I know I should wait until October when the next device is announced, and not jump the gun too soon-- on the other side, why not get the Nexus 5 now while it's on the cheap and available? TMobile has that Jump thing, so if I do want to upgrade after the new one comes out, I can without issue, so I might as well.

since TMobile will only give $85 for trade-in, and getting her a new lesser model would cost at least $120, Taryn will get he Nexus 4 whenever I do upgrade.. along with an otterbox-type case! poor kid is struggling with the Exhibit 4G- small screen and she can't play nearly a quarter of the games she wants- phone just can't handle it.

to get the Nexus 5 itself, about $30 from TMobile in shipping and sales tax, additional $16.50 added to the bill each month.. and about $30 from amazon in a new case for Taryn on the Nexus 4, and a case for my new Nexus 5. hey, I have $60!

I'm itching.. easy to make happen.. I think it's happening soon. like today.

and then I did it. yeay!

Powerline adapters

we're buying a house!

I failed to notice exactly where they have their set up right now- wireless modem noticeable in the dining room closet-office/office-closet.

we don't want to start punching Ethernet jacks all over the place and running wires... but wireless can't do everything we do- streaming through the game consoles works better wired, so we have a necessity for Ethernet connections.

Powerline adapters. $135 total from amazon

Linksys Powerline AV Wireless Network Extender (PLWK400)
Linksys Powerline AV 4-Port Network Adapter Kit (PLSK400)

still researching, but this is pretty cool.

root Galaxy Exhibit 4G

Taryn loves her phone but with all the TMobile and Samsung stuffs, it lags and fills up quickly. the only option is to root and remove. and I'm ok with that.


http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=26859796

she's gone for the long weekend, so sometime this week, Mumma's gettin her geek going.

hello Fire!

I love it. this was the one thing Taryn asked for for Christmas, and I already had my eye on it. she has proven her responsibility with electronics- never had to replace the screen, or even screen protector, on her iPhone 3G, she cleaned it, took good care of it.. put some Hello Kitty stickers on the back under the silicone case, but.. no damage in the few years she had it.
      the Fire arrived Friday and I made it a whole 4 hours before I opened the box. she comes home today from her dad's- I've decided to leave it out.

my research was between the Nexus 7, naturally, or the Kindle Fire HDX 7.

now we all know Android, live in Google-land, and love it. but Mumma also lives in Amazon-land.. Prime membership with access to tv shows and movies for free or to own/rent, Amazon MP3 Cloud storage (our entire collection) and web-based player, Kindle books and whatnot.

so not only did the Fire give access to more service we already subscribe to, it also has fantastic parental controls- which unfortunately, the Nexus 7 does not, at all.

block the web browser, email, calendar. require a password for any purchases- the only thing it allows is Prime free movies and tv shows- even if the app is free, password needed.

within FreeTime, give access to apps and content on the device. of course I signed up for FreeTime Unlimited after seeing the content. her favorite Disney and Nickelodeon shows, movies, tons of books.
      the only thing I don't care for, is the parental control password is required to get out of FreeTime. I completely understand why it's there.. but I'd like an option.

the Netflix Android app does not support Profiles. c'mon now. so my watchlist is full of stuff for Taryn..

the screen is beautiful and bright! our ripped DVDs look great. Netflix streams without *any* issues, as if it were over Ethernet. Angry Birds is more fun on a larger screen. Silk isn't so bad- but I will be sideloading Chrome if possible. Pinterest is more pleasant. I'm sure we'll find more fabulous things as we play more.

battery- as with any other Kindle, WiFi disconnects when put to sleep. last night, I fully charged and then shut the screen off- waking up now about 15 hours later, 50% battery. an app killer might be a good idea.

side-loaded movies- they show up under Photos, but once opened, it's in the Carousel, long press, selected Add to Home, and then the Videos folder is right there for easy access.
      of course this can be done for any app or book or anything that shows up in the Carousel. there are also Remove from Carousel, Remove from Home, Remove from Device, and Add to Collection options on a long press.

I'm impressed.. not that I have a lot of tablet experience (none actually) to be this over the moon, but..

edit 1/9/14: Netflix now has profiles for the app. the Kindle keeps Taryn quiet and still for a length of time. perfect purchase.

Live USB stick and eff iTunes

since we got rid of the mini all of Taryn's iTunes encoded movies have been just sitting in the "mac back-up" folder. 2 purchased from iTunes, the rest digital downloads from physical Blu-Ray/DVD disc packs we own.

Andy finally upgraded his phone from the Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G to the Galaxy S4. Rylie upgraded from the LG Optimus T to the Galaxy S2. so Taryn upgraded from the iPhone 3G to Andy's old phone.. and she loves it!

yes, she's 8. yes, she's had her own cell phone (game player, music player and movie player), since she was 4 (long, complicated story involving asshattery). TMobile makes it easy to block her line, only allow certain numbers for calls and texts, and block data access.
      when she had the iPhone, you know the drill to change music or movies or apps.. and it was jailbroken and whatnot, so I had to do everything for her and make sure it didn't update on it's own, and all the other BS that goes along with having an iPhone.

when we got rid of the mini, I refused to install iTunes on my PC. eff iTunes. therefore, she was not able to update anything on her iPhone.

      now that she's on an Android, she has her own Google account, with no payment method, so she can download free games to her heart's content, I'm not blocking WiFi access, but still blocked data.. she says the Android is better than the iPhone- the best part is she can do it herself, put on new music and games by herself, remove games and switch out her music herself, and she says it works better.

the only thing she's complained about is not having her movies.

hooray for Ubuntu! I popped in my 16GB Live USB stick, upgraded to 12.04 LTS, followed all the directions to get HandBrake working, and have been ripping our owned DVDs onto the 1TB shared drive in mp4 format so she can have them on her phone.. more for the Kindle Fire HDX the family is getting for xmas.

http://askubuntu.com/questions/239748/unable-to-rip-dvd-using-handbrake-or-ogmrip

understandably, I'm having difficulty encoding the iTunes bought m4v files to mp4. she may just have to do without Guardians- The Legends of Ga'Hool and Marmaduke.

we heart XBMC

after removing the mini from our lives, I was left with an "extra" 19" monitor. it sits on the closet shelf, wrapped in an old sheet.

finally took a peek at my graphics card.. VGA, DVI and HDMI. oh really.. I can run two monitors. I can run two monitors! but wait.. I haven't the space... I could probably make the space, but we're on this downsizing, almost-minimalist kick, and rightly so.. so.. I wanna, but I haven't yet, and not sure if I will.

but.. I can purchase a 15' HDMI cable to run from the PC to the 42in HDTV.

      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000O5N5AI/

cheap, and after a restart, extremely effective.

XBMC and Android remote app, and wireless keyboard and mouse.. it's gonna be a great winter. might finally cut back on TWC.

I'm totally drunk-dyslexic.. XMBC.. my lawd. lol

waving farewell to another POS

the mini.. she pissed me off for the last time.

I spent TWO DAYS backing all the files up between Amazon MP3 cloud and an SD card.
      slow.as.shit.I.tell.you.what.

the internal DVD shit out a while back.. it won't let the external reload the OS to wipe.

all SD contents onto the PC.. PC moved downstairs.. plugged the 1TB external drive to the PC, formatted proper and loading all our music from Amazon. set up user accounts for Andy and the girls. setting permissions and learning lessons on setting permissions...

happy to see I have HDMI out for XBMC to the 42in LCD in the livingroom adjacent. no more small square screen from the netbook VGA out!
      also, DVI- get the right cable and I'll have dual monitors on this desk. will come in handy for when I get back to coding.

Rylie has a PC laptop. Andy has a PC laptop. I have a half-breed netbook.. the PS3.. they all like Windows for Media sharing. hooray for this.

mini is in the "electronical bin" in my closet. one day I might feel like fixing the drive and getting rid of it.. or fixing the drive, wiping it out and turn into an Ubuntu box.

dual-boot the netbook

http://gadgetgeekgrrl.blogspot.com/2011/02/omg-ubuntu_21.html

I did this before on the Dell laptop, and I'm sure I won't have as many issues with the Gateway- everything is simple and pretty standard.

I had upgraded to Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and I *hate* it. especially on a netbook screen. couldn't find anything, or my way around.. lagged, YouTube won't play.. pissed me off.

I've recently fallen in love with XBMC on my machine upstairs, and want to use the netbook on the big tv downstairs to view. tried the XBMC-Ubuntu version, but can't get it on an SD card to run "live," even on Windows within Virtual Box. stupid.

I wanted to go back to 10.04 LTS anyhow.. so I'm searching through this blog for my write-up and instructions. as I go searching for the physical Live CD, I also find my MSDNAA copy of Win7 Pro 32-bit.

aaahh.. dual-boot dreams.. use Windows 7  for XBMC and Ubuntu 10.04 LTS for everything else.

grabbed the USB CD-ROM drive off the POS Mac mini (internal shat out a while back- this thing is infuriating these days) and booted to the Live CD, gparted, set up partitions, shut down, boot to Windows disc and installing now.

6 1/2 weeks with the Nexus 4

where to begin.. ok.. as far as I can tell, the 16GB Nexus 4 available through TMo is exactly the same as the Nexus 4 through Google Play Store whatever. straight up Android JellyBean 4.2.1, no pre-loaded branded carrier blah blah blah.
      my kick-ass slab of awesome was born on November 29, 2012.

Nexus 4 arrived!

happy Joss.

I know I will root, but not sure if I'll go running back to CM anytime soon. JellyBean is soo much better/different than GingerBread. loving stock.

it is beautiful. the screen is downright gorgeous. camera kicks ass. so many features and settings to figure out- I still love my G2, but this upgrade was long past due.

I didn't have to do much set up.. log in here and there, sync, download, rearrange.. thank you Google for consistently making my life easier.

upgrade time

I've had the G2 for damn near two years. TWO YEARS with the same phone. that is amazing in my land. I need something new.. I crave something to play with..

being one who needs to set goals, and also being one who needs a kick in her ass at work..

I can't upgrade my phone until I'm in the top 5 for two weeks straight.

then I am calling TMo and having that shit overnighted!

right now, thinking htc One S- I am an htc fan, like seriously. and I can get over the non-removable battery and no additional storage. the screen size is perfect for me, upgrading to JB within weeks, and therefore Sense 4+, and it's a g.d. htc. mobile hardware and software gurus as far as I'm concerned. 

the Galaxy S3 is too big, and plasticky, and a Samsung. just not my thing.

the One X+ rumored to come to TMo is too big. otherwise, freakin perfect.

if only there were an htc vanilla Android 4.1.. a G2 update, perhaps.. I love my G2. I really really do. but it's time to move on.

edit 10/16/12: of course, now that I'm in "upgrade mode" I'm researching like crazy.. and there seems to be a difference in models of the One S-

Another way to identify it is to start the phone in HBOOT mode (Press and hold volume down, and then press and hold Power, releasing Power when the back/home soft keys flash).
The HBOOT screen should show VILLE or VILLEC2 at the top. VILLE is S4, VILLEC2 is S3.

so I'm gonna havta to go either Best Buy of the TMo kiosk, or the TMo store in NH, and actually test for the processor before I agree to take it home. that ruins my plan to get it cheaper over the phone with CS.

downgrade, root, CM G2

I'm not prepared to do this today, but it needs to be done soon- stock is pissing me off, I miss CM in a bad way. getting all my ducks in a row- will update as I actually get into it.

the replacement G2 came with Android 2.3.4 S-ON - therefore, I need to downgrade to Froyo before going through the root process:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1178912
this requires use of ADB and allows temp root access

to gain perm root access, S-OFF, install Clockwork- I will be using section 4.b when I get to that point:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Vision#Rooting_the_Vision_.28G2.2FDZ.29_and_DHD

from there, I should be able to use Clockwork to download and install CM. also, I saved my SD card from the hackedified G2 so I can reload Titanium back-up once I'm up and running again.


off-topic: interesting.. the One S can be rooted, S-OFF'd, CWM'd and the like without an sd card... cuz it doesn't have one.. love the dev community.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1604677


--
edit 8/26/12: took me 45 minutes max to downgrade and get the perm-root and whatnot. after that was all set, I shut down, took my SIM card out, booted up again and connected via WiFi:

- install ClockworkMod from the Market
- Flash ClockworkMod Recovery
- under ROM Management, choose Download ROM
- I choose CyanogenMod and we're going right back to 7.2.0

aaahh.. this is *so* much better.. missed CM. loading certain apps w/data from Titanium Backup now.. yeay Jewels and Angry Birds!