Posts in Andriod
Android app: Y5 - Battery Saver

 

Recently I did a factory reset on my Android phone and I noticed an app, that I had taken for granted, was missing.  Every time I stepped into a hot-spot my WiFi would turn on and when I left it would turn off.  This app had worked so well that I though it was feature of Android. I guess not. I had installed the app Y5- Batter Saver.  This app simply did what was mentioned above. Turn on your WiFi when you had saved a hotspot to the phone and when it was out of range it would turn off WiFi and turn on your wireless carries data.  Simple as that! Also it worth mentioning that your phone wastes less battery on WiFi than on 3G/4G connection.

 

Verizon Wireless is collecting your information

 

It looks like Verizon Wireless will be pushing out a new privacy policy as reported by a few reputable technology websites like: PCMag, International Business Times and others. Verizon has been sending out email in regards to this change. If you have not received that email here is a link to it.  Verizon will be collecting:

  1. URLs of website you have visited
  2. search terms
  3. app and device usage
  4. consumer information about the use of  the product
  5. demographics in age, gender, pet owner, and other similar  demographics
They will be using this data for marketing purposes and targeting content.
If you do not agree with these changes you can op out by Calling them at 1-866-211-0874 or visiting www.vzw.com/myprivacy.
App of the Week: Gesture Search (Android)

Each Tuesday we will feature a smartphone app of the week either iOS or Android compatible. Gesture Search by Google is an application that enables the user to search their phone's contents via writing, using your fingers instead of the conventional typing.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="124" caption="Image from Android Market Place"][/caption]

After installing via the Market the application indexes the contents on your phone. The time required to index may vary depending on the amount of content on your phone. You may also have it index the contents of your phone in the background when using the Gesture Search for the first time. Gesture Search utilizes image processing amongst other technical details to recognize what letter you are writing and provides list of potential  content that may match up what you are trying to spell.

For example,

Step 1: Draw a letter, let's say 'H'

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Image provided by Google"][/caption]

Step 2: Write the next letter. Note as you write the second letter, a list behind it is visible where you could select content that matches what you are looking for.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Image provided by Google"][/caption]

 

Step 3: Repeat Step 2 until the content that you are looking for on your phone is available for selection.

I found Gesture Search easy to use and prefer it over searching manually via multiple screens or using the on-screen keyboard. Note: My phone does not have a slide out QWERTY keyboard.

Gesture search is great for searching for contacts, website book marks, apps and more. I definitely recommend you give it a try.

Unfortunately, you need to launch it each time to use it, which is a good reason to have it on your home screen for easy access. Hopefully, in future releases you will be able to simply "Gesture Search" from your home screen.

 

Download via Market :

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.gesturesearch

How to get the full potential from your batteries - Lithium Ion

This tip is not about what habits to change with your phone/device but the maintenance for your device on how and when to charge your battery. This only applies to batteries of type of Lithium Ion. Now with older batteries it was always recommended that you always discharge your battery to reset the "memory"  like in nickel metal hydride and NiCads but it is the opposites with Lithium Ion. Like Steve Gibson says

"What lithium-ion batteries want is to stay charged. This allows you to get the most battery life."

Now what kind of devices have a  Lithium Ion batteries?  The three of the top of my head are iPad, iPhone and the Kindle. I bet there are many more but that ill leave that to you. Another thing to add is that all three devices I mentioned do not have a removable battery which doesn't allow you to buy an extra one.  In the end. this leaves you with just one solution.  To extend that battery life of your Lithium Ion battery is a good idea to always keep it plugged in when you can.

 

Security Now 321

photoby[marioanima]

Favorite OneTechTips

  The past few months we have been on a bit of hiatus due to school and some technical difficulties with our host. Now, we are back and better than ever. We are slowly evolving our webpage and always looking for improvement. Monday October 17, we shall see the official relaunch of OneTechTip (OTT) with daily posts and some new featured posts, still following our one post, one tip a day format. For example, we will be having an Andriod/iOS App of the week each week on Tuesdays. Subsequently, we shall be increasing our activity via social networks the next couple of weeks so be sure to follows on @OneTechTip and on Facebook. In addition we have an Android App which can be downloaded via the market, here.

Here is 7 of my favorite featured tips on OTT in no specific order.

  1. Remote Access to Your PC From Anywhere - Teamviewer enables the user to take control of another computer, File Transfers, and access presentations. Great way to help a friend with a computer issue or see what they see.
  2. Look at the Alternatives - This posted highlights a site that features a list of Open Source Alternatives, free to use, to Premium Software.
  3. IM from your Browser - Increasingly social media networks are becoming an integral part of our lives, and many feature chats. In this post we show you a site that enables you to chat via multiple IM clients from one webpage.
  4. Apple Refresh - Apple has come a long way in a little over 10 years. Presently, Apple product redesigns and refreshes are quite common, in this post we feature a site that let's you know whether to hold of on purchasing the current iPhone or to go for it.
  5. Let's Make a Deal - Many of our non-tech savvy friends are unaware that often they save a significant amount of money by buying online.
  6. PCPartPicker - Ever wanted to build your own PC but did not know what components go with what?
  7. Learn HTML, CSS, Javascript - for FREE!!
Feel Free to Contact Us about a tip or a tech related problem you face, whether you are tech savy or not.
Control technology, do not allow it to control you. :)
Want To Know Your Cell Phone Raditaion level?

In the last year, there are many debates on the question: "Do cell phones cause cancer?" This unanswered question is scary to think about because we all use cell phones day in and day out. Even our cell phones become alarm clocks. We can just hope that cell phones don't give us cancer.  If you are one of those people who are alert to this discussion, you can take some very simple steps of precaution.

1) Don't use a cell phone (Okay maybe not totally possible ).

2) Use headphones when talking to somebody.

3) Use the speaker phone.

4) Get a phone that has a low radiation level.  Below is a link to a CNET article on Radiations levels  from cell phones. Great source!

Cell phone radiation levels

Get Your Laptop Back With Prey

Did you know that every week in Unites States airports more than 12,000 laptops are lost. That is an outstanding number. Could you be the next person to lose your laptop or even get it stolen? Why not prevent it now . There is a free open source software program that can be installed to track the thief or location.  This software is called Prey. It's very simple.  First, install the software on your PC, Mac or even Linux machine. Then, go ahead and log into your online account at www.preyproject.com to make sure that you have successfully added your device.  Below are links two links:

1.)An introductory video on how to install and what features are available to recover your device.

Prey Project introduction Video

2.) Prey's frequently asked questions.

Prey FAQ

Andriod Keyboard MOD
I love my HTC Evo, rooted with Cyanogen's latest ROM. The one drawback to my Evo and many other android phones is the keyboard. I have tried many different types and styles from Swype to Swiftkey and the stock HTC Sense keyboard but there was always something I didn’t like. I couldn’t change the language with out going into the settings, the emoticons were difficult to get to or  the  manually typed, keys that I wanted where missing and had others that I didn’t care much for. I wanted to be in control of my keyboard and customize it like I did to my Android device. With the new keyboard, I can use swipe commands to shift, change language, hide the keyboard, or delete the last word, I can also add custom emoticons, and much more.So enough small talk lets get to the goods. The customizable keyboard is called HTC IME (input method) MOD, based off of the HTC's Sense keyboard but so much better.  This is what you’ll need: HTC_IME.apk Clicker.apk (needed ONLY if you don’t have a phone with HTC Sense) Applications Manager (I use Astro File Manager)

First you’ll need to download Astro or some other File/App manager from the Android market. Next download the zip with both apks here. Place the apks on your sd card and install them with Astro. Once installed all you have to do is go to the Android settings -> Language & keyboard, under Keyboard Settings you’ll see HTC_IME mod and a check box next to it, check it to make it your primary input method. Below the check box you’ll see the settings menu click on that and customize to your hearts desire.

Try it out if you don’t like it you can always go back to what you had before but if you do like it and would like to donate to the developer jonsil please visit: http://android.hallerud.se/donate.html

If if there is something you don’t like and are feeling up to the challenge here’s the source code: http://www.hallerud.se/htc_ime_mod_dev27.zip