personal development since 1989

Considerations before rooting a Motorola Defy

I had been struggling with myself for a long time, until I decided to root my Motorola Defy. Usually I “never change a running system” and I would not have rooted the device, if I had not had significant problems. 1st problem: The preinstalled Swype has version 2.25, available is 3.26. Motorola, Y U NO …

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YouTube Star: Urban Ninja

Parkour has gained more and more popularity, but this stunts by Xin Sarith Azuma Phan Wuku are amazing and nearly incredible. This guy makes a fool out of gravity.

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Create own shortcuts in Word 2007

In Word 2007 there is no shortcut for inserting a section break. Even, if you want to customize and create own shortcuts, these functionality is not really easy to find. I think this is one of the biggest disadvantages in Word 2007. But on tortoiseshell.net I found a nice tutorial about defining own shortcuts.

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Considerations before rooting a Motorola Defy YouTube Star: Urban Ninja Create own shortcuts in Word 2007

Dec
15

Unread Messages from Talk on Android lockscreen

Categories:

Android

December 15, 2011

In this post I will show you, how to turn your lockscreen into an information dashboard for missed calls and unread sms, mails, chat messages or upcoming events. At the end, it will look like the image on the right. Click on it to get a larger view. (I’m sorry that it’s in German. But I’m sure you can guess what it means.)

The reason for this work quite simple. When my notification LED blinks green, I’ve got either a new mail, a sms or a new message in Talk. But only in the last two cases, I want to react shortly. Mostly I got a new spam mail, so I unlocked the screen and entered the PIN unnecessary. I know that this is definitely some kind of luxury problem – but I want my phone to fit perfectly to my needs and for that, I would even pay.
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Tags: android, customization, google, motorola defy

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/unread-messages-talk-android-lockscreen-222/

Nov
04

Solve freezing problem of Google Maps on Froyo 2.2

Categories:

Android

November 4, 2011

Google Maps Logo About a few months ago, I got the official update to Android 2.2 from Motorola. Everything was alright, except Google Maps. Everytime I use parts of the app, my Defy freezes a short time afterwards.

Use the navigation: after about 30 km the phone freezes. View, where you are: after the third time the phone freezes. Want to check-in using latitude: the phone freezes. Accidentially swiped to the left in Google+: the phone freezes. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: google, motorola defy, root

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/freezing-google-maps-froyo-2-2-218/

Nov
01

Update preinstalled Swype version

Categories:

Android

November 1, 2011

When you buy a Motorola Defy and update it to the latest official available version, you have Swype in version 2.25. The lastest official available beta is 3.26, which more than one year of development ahead. The input method has improved a lot, so I understand everybody who demands on a new software update. But it won’t be released by Motorola, at least not for a Defy. So, you have to root your device and update Swype on your own. Here’s a walkthrough of it. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: motorola defy, root, swype

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/update-preinstalled-swype-207/

Oct
30

Root a Defy without a desktop pc using Gingerbreak

Categories:

Android

October 30, 2011

Rooting a device can be dangerous. It modifies system files, which are intentionally write-locked by manufacturers. They won’t always repair a smartphone, which are broken during or because of a rooting process. So, be aware of what you do and what consequences it may have. The Guys from DroidLessons have posted a nice overview of advantages and disadvantages of rooting.

There are many one-click solutions for an instant root on your smartphone, such as SuperOneClick, z4root and Universal Androot. Some programms work only with a limited number of devices or only for specific Android versions. Please check their websites or threads on xda-developers to find the best solution for yourself.

In this blogpost, I will describe my rooting operation on a Motorola Defy with Gingerbreak. I chose this solution, because I don’t have any Windows PC available. Before you start, ensure you made a backup. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: motorola defy, root

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/root-defy-without-pc-gingerbreak-200/

Oct
28

Get a backup! (without root)

Categories:

Android

October 28, 2011

When you talk about backup and Android smartphones, you will often come upon Titanium Backup. This is unambiguously the most ~~enthused about~~ mentioned app, I’ve ever heard of. The problem: It requires root.

There might be a lot of reasons, why someone doesn’t need root permissions and also I took a long time to think it through. And might it just be the only time before you root your phone for the first time, you should have a backup of your files.

As an all-in-one solution for an export are MyBackup (30-day trial) or PhoneBackup available. But I’ve read a lot of comments in the Android Market about problems restoring files or inconsistent information, so I preferred putting my time and effort into an entire, reliable backup. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: backup, motorola defy

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/get-a-backup-without-root-197/

Oct
26

Considerations before rooting a Motorola Defy

Categories:

Android

October 26, 2011

1st problem: The preinstalled Swype has version 2.25, available is 3.26. Motorola, Y U NO update?

2nd problem: Since the update to Froyo, there are highly increased performance issues to the point of a frozen display after the use of Google Maps. A patch requires root.

3rd problem: Taking a screenshot always requires the installation, configuration and usage of the Android SDK on a second device.

At this moment, I’m not needing a custom ROM or overclocked CPU. I just want the issues to be fixed. Additionally, the warranty will have expired in a week.

I don’t believe that there will be an update to newer android releases. In case of needing features in further updates, root is a mandatory requirement for installing a custom ROM on this smartphone.

Tags: motorola defy, root

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/why-rooting-a-motorola-defy-196/

Oct
11

Add Widgetsoid buttons to notification bar

Categories:

Android

October 11, 2011

I’m using Widgetsoid nearly since the beginning of my smartphone career. It’s an essential app for me, and worth trying for everyone, who want to switch settings (e.g. turning GPS on and off) quickly. In fact, I was satisfied yet until I saw a screenshot in another forum. There, the settings are included in the notification bar.

The final result will look like this:
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Tags: motorola defy

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/add-widgetsoid-buttons-to-notification-bar-189/

Sep
21

GL-35DSR and locked files

Categories:

Applications

September 21, 2011

A couple of months ago, I have bought a NAS to store my digitalized CD archive centrally. I wanted to access my files from my netbook, desktop PC or hotel PC while travelling. The NAS is running some unix-based operating system, what is something I’m not very familiar with. Indeed, I ran into a lot of issues, never anything critical, but this one kept me busy.
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Tags: Linux, NAS, SSH

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/gl-35dsr-and-locked-files-181/

Sep
08

Google Notebook will be closed! – What to do now?

Categories:

Web 2.0

September 8, 2011

A few days ago, Alan Eustace announced to bury some more Google products. This also includes Google Notebook, where I have stored a lot of ideas and post drafts. Other products are Google Pack, where you were able to download popular software (Skype, Adobe Reader, Chrome and Antivirus software) all at once or Google Desktop, to search files locally on your hard drive. A full list is mentioned in the blogpost linked above.

What happens to notes, when Google Notebook is closed down? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: google

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/google-notebook-closed-alternatives-169/

May
24

vlc.exe has stopped working

Categories:

Applications

May 24, 2011

For some reason my vlc video player stopped working today. First I got a window over both desktops, but nothing was played. After killing the process, my win7 machine refuses to start the program again. It took me a while to struggle with this issue. Then, a VLC command line param on VideoLAN Wiki solved this problem:

C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\>vlc.exe --reset-config

I’m outta here, have to reconfigure my settings.

Tags: VLC

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Permanent link to this article: http://project89.com/vlc-exe-has-stopped-working-164/

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