I will be doing [...]]]> So you just got your sweet new Android phone and you are a little overwhelmed. If you are coming from Apple or Blackberry, there is a large learning curve. I hope that in this article I can brake down some of the basic things you should know about your powerful phone.

I will be doing this whole article on a new Galaxy S 2 (II) running the Samsung TouchWiz launcher (interface). Some things may look different to your phone, but the basics are there. Please comment with any questions you have.

Buttons

The following button will be found on all Android phones along with a Lock and Volume buttons. Your phone might have some extra buttons or have them in a different order but, these will be your main keys.

Back – Will always take you back one step as well as close any on screen keyboard.

Menu – Will bring up secondary options for your open page.

Home – Will always take you back to your launchers home screen.

Long Press Home - Will bring up your multitasking menu.

Search – This will bring up your Google search function. It will also bring up in app search fields.

Long Press Search – You can configure this to launch certain apps such as Voice Search.

Main Screen

This is your “Launcher” you can add app shortcuts, widgets, apps, more pages, etc… You can tailor this page to anything you would like. Most option are accessed by pressing the “menu” button and adding things to a page is easiest by long pressing an open spot.

You can always get back to this screen by pressing the “Home” button.

App Drawer

This is where all of the apps you download live. You can usually access it by an icon on your dock. You can customize the way the apps are listed, depending on what launcher you are using, by selecting the menu button.

Settings

Accessed by pressing the “menu” button > Settings on the Main Screen. Here you can adjust any setting from lock screens, contact accounts, storage, etc…

Multitasking

You can access any running app by long pressing the home button. This will also show you a list of apps that you recently used. Click on the app you would like to use.

Android Market

This is a pre-loaded app on your device. You will have to supply a Google e-mail address. You can install apps from your phone or with ease from your computer by acessing the online store at https://market.android.com/

This should get you up and running on your new Android phone. Messaging, Dialer, and Contacts should be pretty straight forward and the same as any other phone you may have used. Please check back shortly for more advanced guides such as: Advanced Apps, Voice Commands, Must Have Apps, Hacking, ETC… 

Please comment with any questions you may have or areas you would like me to go into more detail.

You just Jailbroke your iPhone/iPad running iOS 5 and you open Cydia to find thousands of apps staring you in the face. What do you install? What will work with your phone? Well, I hope I can shed some light on this for you.

I have a minimalist approach to Cydia because you can create some issues by doing [...]]]>

You just Jailbroke your iPhone/iPad running iOS 5 and you open Cydia to find thousands of apps staring you in the face. What do you install? What will work with your phone? Well, I hope I can shed some light on this for you.

I have a minimalist approach to Cydia because you can create some issues by doing too much. The following collection of apps I have tested myself and have not had any conflicts. Most of these apps are to help you with day to day tasks and overall improve your iOS experience. 

SBSettings

(Free, Default repos)

This is an absolute must have for any iDevice. SBSettings offers an easy way to access most iPhone Settings from any app without going through the hassle of exiting the app and launching the Settings app or digging through setting menus.

This tweak has only gotten better with iOS 5 now that you can integrate it with your Notification Center. To enable this go to Settings > Notifications > SBSettings > Notification Center.

FakeClockUp 

(Free, Add repo repo.insanelyi.com)

This is another absolute must have for any iDevice, especially if you are using an iPad. This tweak will make your iOS experience seem snappier without overclocking. The tweak will not change any hardware settings, but rather alters the UI animation speeds so that transitions and other animations will occur quicker. You have multiple options for speeds, but I prefer the standard x2.5. You can adjust this under  Settings > FakeUpClock

ManualCorrect Pro

($0.99, Default repos)

This is the last absolute must have for any iDevice. With this you can take 100% control of your autocorrect from what, how, and when it does it. I mainly use this app for the custom dictionary. You can simply Settings > ManualCorrect > Add Dictionary Item.. and never send an awkward text message again.

Remove Background + SBSettings Toggle

(Free, Default repos)

I hate opening my task switcher and seeing a list of unused apps. Remove Background easily and in one step removes all apps from the task switcher. This will also kill all app processes too. I added Remove Background SBSettings Toggle so I can easily access this from the SBSettings drop down in Notification Center. If you do not have SBSettings installed, WeeKillBackground is a great, simple, free alternative.

BiteSMS

(Free, Default repos)

This is simply the best texting client for any iDevice.  BiteSMS has more features and it is much quicker to compose or reply to messages. Some of the extra features are Quick Reply, Quick Compose, Scheduled Messages, Auto-Forward, Auto-Retry, Passcode Lock, Privacy, Delivery Reports, Contact Pics, Easy Pick Smileys, Templates, Signatures… Use biteSMS as a complete souped-up replacement to the built-in Messages application on iPhone and iPod devices.

MyWi

($19.99, Default repos)

Must have internet tethering app. Create an iPhone WiFi HotSpot or iPad WiFi HotSpot with a press of a finger. You can connect your laptop or other mobile device to your iPhone/iPad easily to use your iPhone/iPad’s data connection. MyWi 5.0 will work with all jailbroken iPhones and iPad on iOS5.

WinterBoard

(Free, Default repos)

This is a very powerful theming tool used to customize and transform the look and feel of your iDevice. This application runs in the background and handles everything from basic SpringBoard themes (Wallpaper, Dock, StatusBar, & Icons) all the way up to complete themes that customize the entire system UI (Buttons, Backgrounds, & Sounds). WinterBoard also has the ability to theme individual applications which are usually referred to as App Themes.

Infinifolders

($1.99, Default repos)

Don’t get stuck with only 12 icons in your folders. Infinifolders removes that restriction and lets you add as many as you want to any folder. It also comes with a lot of other options for full customization.

Barrel

($2.99, Default repos)

This is a great tweak that adds some character to your iDevice. Barrel adds transition effects to your springboard (Icon Grid) when switching pages.  You have many to choose from under Settings > Barrel

What you will need to do this:

Step 1: Turn your [...]]]> This is a quick tutorial on how to install Plex 0.9.0 Beta on your  Jailbreaken Apple TV with firmware 4.4.4. This entire tutorial was done using Windows 7.

What you will need to do this:

• Jailbroken Apple TV 2 (4.4.4 will be used in this tutorial) How To
• Putty SSH Client (Or equivalent) Download

Step 1: Turn your Apple TV on and navigate to Settings > General > Network. Write down the numbers next to the “IP Address” field. For this demo I am going to use “192.168.0.114″

Step 2: Launch Putty.exe …You should not have to install this application.

Step 3: Enter your Apple TVs IP Address under the “Host Name (or IP address)” field and hit enter. The first time you do this it will take a longer amount of time and warn you about security. Click “Yes” on the pop-up.

Step 4: It will ask you “login as:” enter “root” to log in as the root user and hit enter.

Step 5: It will ask you for your root user password. Enter the default password of  ”alpine” and hit enter. (the password will not show as you type)

Step 6: Now you have to add new Cydia sources. Copy the text below, right click in Putty to paste it, click enter when done.

echo "deb http://www.ambertation.de ./downloads/PLEX/" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/plex.list

Step 7: Now you have update your Cydia database. Copy the text below, right click in Putty to paste it, click enter when done. It may ask you a couple of yes or no questions. Answer “y” every time.

apt-get update

Step 8: Install Plex for Apple TV 4.4.4. Copy the text below, right click in Putty to paste it, click enter when done.  It may ask you a couple of yes or no questions. Answer “y” every time.

apt-get install com.plex.client-plugin=0.0.9.0.0-312c11b0

Step 9: Apple TV will reboot and you will see a PLEX menu now.

Enjoy

What you will need: 

The site is not 100% done and will never be. I will continue to tweak and update the site weekly.

Earlier this week I had (what I hope is) the final iteration of [...]]]> It has been a long time coming and I have finally had a chance to finish and upload the new EPIC engineering website athttp://www.EPICSuspension.com

The site is not 100% done and will never be. I will continue to tweak and update the site weekly.

Earlier this week I had (what I hope is) the final iteration of the EPIC 2008+ STi springs fitted.  Pending a few more road and drive ability tests we should be going into production with them shortly.  This will be followed by more heavy website updates.

Click here to check it out!

let me know your thoughts.

I have had this problem with two computers running both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

All seem to be when I am using my Samsung monitors through DVI port.

The reason is because Photo Viewer uses a color profile that is not properly calibrated. The easy fix is to switch the color profile to the [...]]]>

I have had this problem with two computers running both Windows Vista and Windows 7.

All seem to be when I am using my Samsung monitors through DVI port.

The reason is because Photo Viewer uses a color profile that is not properly calibrated. The easy fix is to switch the color profile to the standard IE color Profile…

Step 1: Go to your “Color Management”

Easiest way to find “Color Management” is the start menu search box.

Step 2: Select your monitor

Step 3: Check “Use my settings for this device”

Step 4: Click “Add” and select “sRGB IEC61966-2.1″

Step 5: Set as “Default” and close out

Your photo viewer should look normal now.

Questions I frequently get asked by friends and other patients is what it does to [...]]]> About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer.  I went through my surgery and began Chemotherapy shortly after I recovered. I was in Chemo for a little over 3 months about 7 days a week 8 hours a day.

Questions I frequently get asked by friends and other patients is what it does to your body and will you recover 100%. ( Be the same afterwards )

I can not speak on behalf of all Chemo patients… But, I HAVE recovered 100% and with some hard work got myself to the best shape I have ever been in my life.

Dealing with Cancer is a very much a layered cake. All I am going to go into detail about here are the effects Chemo has on your body and how long it took for me to get back to normal. I will write more on other aspects of the whole experience in other posts.

Chemotherapy

Let me start by listing what changes your body goes through from JUST the Chemo ( Not of the meds ) in little detail.

In the most basic explanation… Chemo stops anything that grows / re-generates from doing so…

• You lose your hair ( Everywhere your hair noticeably grows in your Chemo time frame )
• You lose ALL of your energy ( Partly from the drugs )
• Your stomach begins to ache non stop ( Acid reflux and Heartburn are a daily battle )
• Your skin stop regenerating ( Hyperpigmentation and paleness - Your bruises cuts do not heal )
• Your nails stop growing
• Your taste and smell go away
• Your hearing decreases and you hear constant ringing
• Your muscle goes away ( Partly from not eating as much and not being physical )
• Your saliva becomes very thick

Those are the major physical changes you will experience.

4 Weeks into Chemo - Lost all my hair

Recovery:

Lets start with the last day of chemo…

After 1 week – My saliva went back to normal

After 2 weeks – My taste and smell came back and all stomach related symptoms went away

After 3 weeks – My hearing normalized

After 4 weeks – My hair began to grow ( Came back blond at first )

After 5-8 weeks – My cuts started to show signs of healing

After 9 weeks –  At this point I was able to start exercising and my energy started to normalize ( Not sleeping 14 hours a day ). I began to work out 5 days a week with more pain and recovery down time then I have ever experienced in the past.

After 14 weeks – The fat that I gained started to go away.  My muscle started to come back slowly ( Still struggling with above normal pain ) but, was finally noticeable.

After 18 weeks – My hair was normal again. I was cutting it every 2 weeks… It started blond… Went curly… And is now 100% the same way it was before Chemo.

After 22 Weeks – I am 100% with the exception of my skin.  It appears normal but, will still take another 6 months to be as resilient as before.

Details

Me: I was 24 when I was diagnosed and went through the treatment.

Diet: Nothing special… Went to a normal diet, drank alcohol, little fast food, not on a schedule, etc… It is safe to say that if you give yourself a more strict diet you would recover faster.

Before Chemo my weight was 180lbs at 6’1″ ( Mostly muscle )

After Chemo my weight was 150lbs at 6’1″ ( Mostly fat )

After 5 months my weight is 195lbs at 6’1″ ( Less than 8% body fat )

Closing

Right before I started chemo I researched on the Internet about the long term effects it would have on my body. I found very little encouraging news and scared myself quite a bit. There where people saying “you will never be the same”, “your hair will come back different”, “your energy will never come back” etc… This was all untrue for me. Those effects where temporary and with some hard work I was 100% again.  It was frustrating and slow going at times but, it was not a problem to find motivation.

I hope this answered some of your questions and if you are about to enter Chemo or just finished… Don’t stress, give it time, you WILL be normal again.

For my friends: This is not the write-up that I have promised you. This is strictly the effect of the drug on my body. I should be done with the other shortly.

Kind Regards

Dan Antonielli

The below gallery has images of me taken by Chelsea Taylor 5 months after Chemo.

The only issue I have run into are with programs that are not optimized for [...]]]> I have been running Windows 7 RC 7100 on my MSI Wind U120 for a few weeks now.  When I started I was dual booting W7 and XP but, now I am exclusively on W7 and removed the XP partition.

The only issue I have run into are with programs that are not optimized for Windows 7 ( Such as Skype ) but, the latest batch of Win Updates have cleared that up and I expect that to continue over the next few months.

See the screenshot gallery and details after the jump…

Performance:

Intel Atom CPU N270 @ 1.6GHZ and 1GB of ram

Runs fast and stable. Much quicker then XP in general OS use.

Here is a list of programs I use regularly: WMP 12, Word 2007, Excel 2007, Fireworks CS4, IE8, Chrome 2, Filezilla, and Skype

I did disable some of the visual effects to conserve batter life.  (Check the screenshot gallery)

Battery life:

It is a little bit less but almost negligible.  With my 3-Cell batter I average 2.5-3.5 hours of use and double that with my 6-Cell.

Bottom line:

I am very happy with Windows 7 on this machine and will not go back to XP.  If you have a net book… I would recommend switching to Windows 7. I have been running smoothly on 1GB of ram for a few weeks and I do not really see a benefit in sticking with XP.

Eibach is currently a bit behind but I should have the springs by mid June.

Here are a couple of images I took of [...]]]> Last week I was down in Southern California and was able to visit Eibach USA manufacturing facility.  I was eager to get an update on when the springs would be available.

Eibach is currently a bit behind but I should have the springs by mid June.

Here are a couple of images I took of Eibach USA facility.

Eibach Facility #1

Eibach Facility #2

Kind Regards

Dan Antonielli

Directly after the first restart the installer hangs on “Completing Installation”

I have installed Windows 7 on all of my machines (The RC 7100 build) ranging form Netbooks to Quad-Core powerhouses with 8gigs of RAM.  Recently I ran into this issue and figured out [...]]]> I have seen the following issue posted a few times now

Directly after the first restart the installer hangs on “Completing Installation”

I have installed Windows 7 on all of my machines (The RC 7100 build) ranging form Netbooks to Quad-Core powerhouses with 8gigs of RAM.  Recently I ran into this issue and figured out what I was doing wrong after 2 failed attempts.

On the “Where do you want to install Windows” page I was just formatting the partition I wanted and clicking “Next”

THAT IS WHAT I DID WRONG!

I did the following and it was smooth sailing from there.

DO NOT just hit “Format”

“Delete” then “Allocate”

It will then create 2 partitions.

Par 1 –  Will be called “System Allocated” and only be 100mb ( This was the key )

Par 2 –  Will be your new OS volume

( You can also just leave the area “Unallocated” and click “Next” )

Where do you want to install Windows?