Trivia

I've spent years trying to make a crunchy, chewy, holey load of bread. It turns out that it is really quite simple.

I did this yesterday and am not going back. The phone is faster, smoother and so much better than I ever expected. You will loose the HTC Sence stuff, and wont miss it for a second. It takes about 30 mins to do this process.

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I decided that I wanted to try out the Navigon GPS software on my Android phone, a HTC Hero. Downloading the free Navigon trial from the Android Market initially appeared to go smoothly, until I started the application.

Navigon - for Android

On starting the program, it turned out that the maps and voices still needed to be downloaded and that the "right" way to do this was using a program called "Navigon Fresh" that is downloadable from Navigon's website. So far so good.

When arriving at the site, it turned out that there was not a Linux version available for download to my Ubuntu computer. This is particularly odd, because Navigon Fresh is a Qt based application and one of the major benefits of Qt is being able to support multiple platforms easily. Also, many of us have chosen Android phones because they run Linux and it is a shame to then have to get a Windows computer to install things. Step in Wine

Installing Navigon Fresh using Wine went very smoothly, the application started and all seemed good. However, for some reason the software could not see the cell phone's memory card and was uninterested in letting me download anything until this hurdle was overcome.

The recipe for success turned out to be:
1. Connect the phone to the computer and choose to mount the USB disk on the phone's notification menu
2. On the computer, start winecfg, choose "Drives", change the settings for the USB disk from "Autodetect" to "Floppy Disk" and press "Ok"

Restart Navigon Fresh and the device will be detected correctly and the maps and voices can be downloaded.

I've just discovered a great Android app called
Locale

The developer says:

In March 2005, Judge Robert Restaino jailed 46 people when a mobile phone rang in his New York courtroom and no one would admit responsibility. So we invented Locale. Problem solved.

Locale can use the GPS, Mobile networks and Wifi networks nearby to determine where you are. Based on different situations/locations, you can ask the application to change settings on your phone or do other actions.

I've come up with three useful scenario's on my phone so far:
- If I am at home, between 23:00 and 07:00, my phone is automatically put in "silent mode."
- If I am shopping at the local shops, the ringing tone is automatically increased so that I can hear it ring
- When I am at work, turn up the volume (regardless of the setting) if the kindergarten calls

I always make a quick call to my wife when I am headed home from work. I wonder if Locale could send an SMS for me when I leave the office, between, say 16:00 and 18:00?