Google Cardboard: It’s just a box

November 6, 2015 by rootjunky

Google Cardboard: It’s just a box Google Cardboard VR is a free open source D.I.Y. project Google started to inspire VR (virtual reality) development and to get it into the hands of the common user. It’s acentually free at worst low cost, by only requiring everyday household items or easily accessible parts from a local crafts store. To …

Marshmallow Headache

November 2, 2015 by Episode Tuesday

Marshmallow Headache

Google defines Hyperglycemia as:

A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in the blood.

The Mayo Clinic advised me that symptoms of hyperglycemia develop slowly over several days or weeks. The longer blood sugar levels stay high, the more serious the symptoms become. Early symptoms of hyperglycemia can be fatigue and Headache. Fatigue and Headache!

So why are we discussing blood sugar levels? Why do i have fatigue and headache? Well I think that I may have a small case of hyperglycemia brought on by the sweet, sweet goodness of Marshmallow. Please allow me to explain.

So a few weeks back I had no headaches and no regrets, but i wanted some more, something sweet. At that point in time my trusty Nexus 5 was consuming a fruit and fiber diet of Cyanogen Mod 12.1. There was also a sprinkling of Xposed modules to guarantee a well balanced diet. Then Rootjunky (ohhh, such a fitting name to someone who deals in the drug of modifications), came along with his tempting video for rooting Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

I thought to myself, this is great, I will enjoy the sweetness of marshmallow along with root access. I decided to leave the bland taste of CM12.1 for Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Afterall, there is s’more to love. I honestly really like it. My Nexus 5 seems smoother, and somehow more refined. Battery life was never the N5’s strongest point so the doze feature on Marshmallow created battery drain as slow and sweet as molasses. The honeyed improvements to the “do not disturbed feature” are greatly appreciated. It is similar to what Lollipop had to offer, it has just been processed a little finer. I personally use this feature a lot at work and find it very handy. Everything was so sugary. Even the new boot animation was like watching someone pulling multicolored taffy.

It was like saying “trick or treat”, when I held onto that home button to turn on, Google Now on Tap. Each time I was blessed with a little treat. Sure there were some instances where it do not provide me with anything. I wish I could have thrown eggs at those time; like I would have at delinquent household, refusing to join in the Halloween candy giveaway. Most of the time I was happy with the added functionality. Using any app for the first time was sugared with permission checks. Each time I consented to give access, I found the sweet taste of marshmallow was in the air.

Sounds good so far, right? Well this is when the gooey, softy, sugary sweetness of Marshmallow Android 6.0, started to cause fatigue and headache. The first time I precieved Marshmallow was maybe too sweet for me, occurred when I noticed and new app from Chainfire call [root] LiveBoot. Not sure how long this app has been around for but it was the first time that I noticed it. I have been a big fan of his SuperSU and 500Firepaper apps so I knew that this would be worth the download. I installed and tried to run the app but nothing……. It did not work with Marshmallow! The new OS was simply too sweet and the LiveBoot app could not handle it.

I should mention that sometime last week Chainfire brought the fibre. He was like bowl of All-Bran; regulating sugar levels, as his update allowed the app to work with Marshmallow. Not a moment too soon as far I am concerned. The app is really cool. I have developed a habit of turning my phone off and booting it up in front of family and friends just to show off the app’s boot animation. I let them think that I am some kind of supper moder who can read and understand the animation!

Turning my phone off and on made me notice another aspect of Marshmallow that was too sweet for my blood. Powering the phone down only gave me one option – power off. What happened to my enhanced menu with reboot options? I know that with root access I can make that happen again but then I have to endure the bitter taste of finding just the right app to do that for me. Before it was just there.

The sweetness of Marshmallow just became stronger as I stuck with it. A new cyanogen theme was available for Halloween. It looked really cool and guess what? It does not work with Marshmallow, it is for Cyanogen. For some reason with Marshmallow, Star War’s commander will not sync up with my Google play account? I had a level 8 town hall, I am not going back to the beginning now! All this Marshmallow sweetness and it is sweat, is giving me Hyperglycemia. I have the symptoms, fatigue and headache. Now what will I do?

First off, if I am honest it is really not that bad. There are apps that I can install to get back some of the functionality I had. With Rootjunky’s help my Marshmallow is rooted so I have room to play. I have also seen lots of hints that CM13 may not be too far off. That is quite the accomplishment. I was not expecting anything before Christmas but looks like the Cyanogen crowd are working hard.

I guess I was like a kid during Halloween with Marshmallow candies. I don’t not think of the consequences, I saw something sweet and went for it. Now I am suffering with a sugar headache but you know what? I will do it all over again next year.

E. Tuesday

P.S.

Have you ever installed something sweet and regretted it later? Tell me about it in comments area.

P.P.S.

So while playing with Marshmallow and writing this article a few ideas came to mind. Would you like to see a post about comparing stock Marshmallow to CM12.1 or CM13 when it arrives? I am thinking of comparing two identical phones, one with stock and the other with a custom ROM (Maybe even kernal). We could look at benchmark programs for performance and battery life. We can also do some real world tests to see what if any difference there is. What do you think leave me some encouragement below if you would like to see a post like this.

Android Launchers Part 3

October 27, 2015 by Episode Tuesday

Android Launchers Part 3 – conclusion

Welcome to part 3 of our look at Android launchers. In this post we will discuss launchers in general and ask a simple question. Is all of this choice worth it?

To use a launcher or not to use a launcher – That is the question! Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the conformity of apple or take arms against the colours of touchwiz, and by opposing end them.

William Shakespeare wrote that, or at least something very, very close to that. I don’t want to make this post remind you to much of high-school English class but what was William trying to say? This is my opinion…….
We have heard the arguments before, people who enjoy conformity and more communistic viewpoint should buy an Apple phone. This is not a bad thing. They are great phones, and all comrades are considered equal. All use imessage, all use facetime, and with this comes the ability to streamline services and production. Apple is the icon of conformity and Android OEMs would love to have that level of success with their own apps and services. Samsung has tried to push its services in a wide variety of ways, HTC has Zoe and LG follows along with this approach but non can compare with Apple’s magical ability to glorify conformity. Are they wrong? Why does it matter if i don’t have a choice? If the correct and best option is already laid out in front of me why would i need to look elsewhere? As parents do we not lay out the best choices for our children and tell them what to choose? This is done with love and for the greater good. Apple has spent countless manhours creating the best icon for you, the best app for your needs and the best layout for your information. I am not saying this to be sarcastic. Many people, about 20% globally and about 50% in North america prefer the option of a ready made choice. And why not? It’s easy. The rub with this viewpoint is that the whole is more important than the parts. Your individual identity is lost.
Android is the choice for those that like choice or so it is said. “Be together, not the same” as the slogan says. But is android the choice of freedom? Yes and no. Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC and the rest have tried to get you to enjoy their premade choices. They have each failed at their version of communism so they allowed more choice as the years have moved along. A little more colour in the pristine white of conformity. Is it enough? Sony’s themes have always been gratifying and improved over the years. Samsung has done wonders with the new touchwiz theme engine but again, is it enough? Is this preset amount of easy change something to Shakespeare would write about? Are these the choices of freedom, the ones that are truly noble in the mind?
Well they work and they work really well. Anyone can open the Sony theme engine on their Xperia and in a few taps have a new look on their phone. Samsung has also done amazing things in 2015 to allow colour into our lives. All the OEM have given in to bits and pieces of personal choice. This is good for us all. Even Apple has opened up little but little.
So why do we need launchers? They can muck up processors and slow our phones down. They can be difficult to work with. If you really want to make a launcher your own it can take hours of time and adjustment to get it just write. Why bother?

Shakespeare also said
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to your smart phone.”

That is what Shakespeare said or at least it was really close to that. This is the point i am trying to make; launchers allow you to be true to yourself. When my phone rings the Knight Rider theme plays. KITT even talks to me when I get a notification, sure he calls me Michael but i am OK with that. The point is that i feel like myself with the phone. And the best part is I can have a multiple personalities. So many different launchers, with so many different strengths, the possibilities are endless. I can change who am from day to day. We can all express our individualizam.
So go out and be true to who you are. If that means an iphone or sticking to touchwiz, great be happy with who you are. If you have a taste for colour in your life, if you need to push away from the ordinary, then go for the customization that launchers can give. It does not matter which one you start with, what matter is that you start to explore. There is an odd kind of spark that happens when you see someone with a heavily modded layout. You know that they also dream in colour, and that they are true to themselves.

Perhaps i am making much ado about nothing, a phone after all, is just a device. A piece of overpriced glass and metal. It has no soul. Thing is, not all of us are artists, not all of us can sing or paint. For some our phones are our canvases. The device may not have a soul but we all do. So let your colours shine.

E. Tuesday.

YouTube RED

October 22, 2015 by rootjunky

YouTube RED October 28th is the day you have been dreaming of……youtube videos without any of those annoying ads for cars, toliet paper or viagara. YouTube Red is a paid membership that lets members enjoy any video on YouTube without ads while still supporting creators. It also lets members save videos to watch offline on mobile, play videos in the …

Android Launchers Part 2

October 18, 2015 by Episode Tuesday

We are back with part two of our look at Android launchers. Last week our attention was focused on two of the best launcher for customization and stability, NOVA and Action Launcher 3. I said that this week we would be looking at the fun launchers. Two of the best launcher to use for sheer enjoyment are Buzz Launcher-Smart …