Internet Killed My FM Radio

There is a saying that "Internet Killed The Television". Can't say it's true for me. However abundant amount of videos on the internet, there's still no replacement for my favourite local TV shows on the television. No, it's not killing my 42" LCD TV just yet.

I can't say the same for my FM radio though. The situation becomes more apparent with the introduction of connected devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android Phones which offer applications that provide radio programs over the Internet.

However, it still does not yet offer a complete user experience to radio listening if you are talking about listening to the radio programme through the mobile devices' small speakers. You will need a good speaker system for the sound output. But, optimal user experience is still not reached if you have to connect your device to the speakers via cables. So here, we shall employ the help of bluetooth AD2P feature for that wireless experience:



The WiFi Router can even be removed if your devices is on 3G network like the iPhone. The above setup is totally wireless in terms of connection to the mobile device. With this setup, the control is now in your hands and can be moved conveniently around the house within the bluetooth maximum connectivity distance, which basically covers the whole of my house.

Clearing Doubts on iPhone / iPad Jailbreaking

I've been asked recently by friends who own iDevices which are not jailbroken. They are curious enough to try it out but not without having their doubts on jailbreaking cleared first.



Here are some of their queries:
1. can I install new iOS updates after jailbroke?
2. will itunes still work with jailbreak?
3. what will happen to all my purchased applications?
4. can I un-jailbreak and return to the stock firmware?
5. does that mean I can get a lot more applications for free?
6. is it stable?

I will answer the above questions as best as I know of jailbreaking:
1. After jailbroke, all original functionalities remained the same. That means, you can still perform your installing of apps via iTunes, sync your music, videos using iTunes, upgrade your iOS firmware updates, versions using iTunes.

2. Refer to my answer number 1 above.

3. As explained in item 1, all original stuff are "business as usual", your purchased apps will remained purchased and entitled to free upgrade via iTunes if applicable. After jailbreak, all installed apps are left untouched and unmodified.

4. To "un-jailbreak", just use iTunes to restore to the lastest iOS version. iTunes will automatically restore the latest version downloaded from Apple server. After restored, just select "restore from backup" or similar option. This will reinstall (and copy all saved settings) all previously installed apps. Of course, you must have previously done a sync to backup these installed apps to your PC/Mac.

5. After jailbreak, basically, the whole root file system is read-writable and many hacks can be downloaded to allow modifying these filesystem files. One of the hack is to allow installing apps/games that people "cracked". The answer is Yes, you can get a lot more applications for "free". But I would say that is really some sort of piracy and I really discourage that.

6. As jailbreak adds some low-level codes to the filesystem, some jail broken apps/hacks may not have properly coded and may cause system crashes. So before installing these hacks, be sure to check out in the forums about any stability issues.

Taking Note in Google Chrome - Quick Notes

I've been using Google Chrome Web Store since it launched.

Just got to notice about this note-taking app from the Web Store called "Quick Notes", not because I think I would use it much, but because of its resemblance in UI to the Note app in my iPhone.

I don't see myself using this for now because from the author's description, the current version only saved the notes locally. However it will have "Cloud" services integrated in future version.

I'm a fan of Cloud Computing and I use a few apps in my iPhone and iPad that sync with Cloud-based services such as Dropbox, Box and Evernote. This kind of sync lets me synchronise my documents and records across all my net-enabled devices - iPhone, iPad, laptop, etc.

Now, if the Cloud-based integration is in this Quick Notes, it will bring my computing experience closer to that of "Chrome OS"!

2010's Best and Worst - Biggest Tech Blunder of 2010

Coming to end of the year, many list of compilations of the year's best and worst start to appear on the net.

I'm showing this interesting "worst" list from zdnet.com:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/vote-for-the-biggest-tech-blunder-of-2010/10752?tag=nl.e539

What's your choice?

Not Jumping From iPhone to Android Phones - Part 1

So, it's like there's a new Android phone coming out to the market every other week!

We may be pampered by the abundance in Android handset choices, but there are quite a number of things and innovation in iOS that keep me from jumping over to the green robot.



First off, "Notification"...
Many think of the Apple Notification feature as a work-around for multi-tasking prior to iOS version 4 (it was called iPhone OS then and multi-tasking was not available).

Personally, I think the Apple Notification is a great feature on its own. It inspired the creation of online games, like "We Farm, Farmville" and apps like "Whatsapp, Textie" whereby the games/apps will still receive notification and alert the user even though they are totally closed or offline.

All these apps tap on the single service that the Apple provides to poll for the notifications. So, no matter how many apps/games you have run to receive notifications, the memory usage are utilised to a low single service's usage.

I've previously tried opening several "notification-based" apps, like IM app on my Android HTC Desire and checked the services running. It was one service per app runnning at the same time. My HTC Desire became slow and sluggish very soon after that.

And then in iOS 4, Apple introduced "Local Notification" which is similar to the normal remote Notification, except it runs off the local handset. This offers even better performance in terms of battery consumption and response time. Typical apps that uses this are those Alarm apps.

So, the Apple Notification is one of the several features that keep iOS and Android OS apart... and me and the green robot away for now.

... to be continued

Merry Christmas!

Here's wishing everyone a merry Christmas ahead!

J-K Pop

What's with the music trend in Singapore recently?
We are seeing an influx of Korean artistes into the Chinese community.

We see "super heroes" such as Wonder Girls, Super Junior and "aggressors" like Beast appearing in Singapore at "odd hours" like 2PM, 2AM, etc.

This lets me to dig out my years-long once-favourite Japanese songs from my sea-size MP3 collection for reliving the once-glamourous J Pop years.

Among all favourites like Ayumi and Utada, ELT (Every Little Thing) impressed me the most.




"Koi Wo Shiteiru" is one of the best. Perfect music, arrangement and vocal to my listening taste.

Catch it here:
Music Video

iPad Camera Connection Kit on iOS 4.2.1

I bought the iPad Camera Connection Kit mainly to serve as a "normal USB port" since my set is Jailbroken.

While at iOS 3.2, all my USB thumb drives works fine and the iFile on my iPad was able to mount them without problem.

After upgraded to iOS 4.2.1, my regular two thumb drives that I normally used with my iPad are now not mountable with the popped-up message indicating "not enough power".

Click on the image to go the linked article mentioning about Apple bringing down the power from 100mA to 20mA in iOS 4.2.1!!!!

Come on Apple!
Luckily, the SD card adapter is still able to power up my SD cards. So, all are not lost!

Apple is seriously pointing me to the Android tablet with iOS 4.2.1!
If only the Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 10" version...

iPad Bluetooth Keyboard Case

So, I've been using the bluetooth keyboard case for iPad for around 2 weeks.

Initially I would think the keyboard that uses bluetooth to connect to my iPad would prevent the use of a bluetooth earphones simultaneously.

I tried hooking up my Sony Ericsson bluetooth earphones to the iPad and turn on the keyboard at the same time... both worked! No lag as well!

Overall, the keyboard is very useful except for one bad point, in that there's no "Shift" button on the right side. There's only one on the left!

Being a certified typist myself, I find this very inconvenient to capitalise the left hand side keys!

iOS 4.2.1 on iPad - Compatibility List

I've taken the bold move to jailbreak my iPad on iOS 4.2.1 days ago knowing that it's only a "tethered" jailbreak. Meaning I would have to use my PC to connect up to my iPad to tethered-boot up the iPad using RedSn0w every time I reboot my iPad.








Here's a list of Cydia apps that I've tried on my iPad 4.2.1:

Tested compatible:
1. Activator (ignore the warning message it gives at first launch)
2. Open Notifier (worked fine but Exclamation icon seemed to stuck on status bar)
3. Notifier+ (small icons on lock screen showed, but normal icons didn't)
4. QuickLock 2
5. Install0us (do not mix this up with Installous/Installous 3)

Tested not compatible:
1. SBSettings
2. Notified Pro
3. Lock Info
4. Installous 3 (cannot install as the OS requirement not met)

Do continue the list in the comments section.

Manchester United goes to the top!

3 cheers!

Manchester United goes to the top of the table with a 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn Rovers yesterday!

Although with a +6 goal for the 7-1 score, the Goal Difference is still level with that of Chelsea. Meaning, if Chelsea were to win the balance match, Chelsea will go on top of the table again due their superior goal difference.

Anyway, it's anyone's game at this stage.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Javahoe Blog Created

Javahoe blogspot site is created today!