Android native SIP / VOIP client

If you have an Android and it runs 2.3.x then you have a native SIP / VOIP client. To set it up, in this case I'm using Pennytel, an Australian VOIP provider, start by going to settings -> call settings.

The following screenshots are from my Nexus 1, its the same on my Nexus S.

Press 'accounts'

and the 'Add account'

and then add your credentials

name and password will be your VOIP name and password, not your account password. The server is 'sip.pennytel.com'.

Press the back button and the account is saved.

When this is done select your calling options byt pressing 'Use Internet Calling' and select

For all calls
Only for Internet calls
Ask for each call.

When you want to place a call you get the option you asked for.

Getting started with Chrome OS Device Policy

One of the nice things about getting a Chrome OS device as part of ChromeBooks for Business is the policy control options.

After the device is enrolled in the domain, you have two device policies:

- allow / disallow guest

- restrict logins to specified accounts.

The latter takes wildcards so you specify *@domain.com so only members of your domain can log on.

To get device policies you need to enroll the device.

1. Start the Chromebook.
   Power up your Chromebook by pressing the power button on the top-right corner of the keyboard.
2. Select your language.
   On the "Let's get started" screen that appears, select the interface language to use by default. If prompted, select a keyboard input method too.
3. Connect to a network.
   Select a Wi-Fi network from the network menu.
4. Accept the terms of service.
   The Chromebook downloads any available system updates.
5. Before signing in to the Chromebook, press the key combination Ctrl-Alt-E.
   The enrollment screen appears. 
6. Enter the user name and password you received in your welcome letter from Google, or the user name and password for your existing Google Apps account if you have one.
7. Click Enroll device.
   The Chromebook is now enrolled and will follow the organizational policies you define.

If the device has already been setup either for another domain, or already has users configured, then you need to wipe the device and start again. For the Samsung Series 5:

1. Turn off the Chromebook.
2. Locate the black cover with a SIM card icon, on the right side of the device next to the USB port.
3. Open the black cover and gently move the switch underneath it to the right (toward the USB port) using a paper clip or a pen tip.
   Moving the switch to this position puts the Chromebook into Developer mode.
4. Start the Chromebook.
   The screen displays a sad face icon rather starting up immediately.
5. Press Ctrl-D to begin the wiping process.
   If you don't press Ctrl-D, the process starts automatically after 20 seconds. The Chromebook begins returning to its initial internal state. The process takes about 5 minutes. Do not turn off the Chromebook during the wiping process.
   The sad face icon appears again when the process is complete.
6. Press Ctrl-D again, or wait for 20 seconds.
   The initial sign on screen appears.
7. Turn off the Chromebook.
8. Return the switch from step 3 to its original position (away from the USB port, which is normal mode) and close the black cover.
9. Start the Chromebook.
10. Enroll the Chromebook before signing in to it.

There are a heap loads of user settings, of which the most interesting is likely the ability to control extensions.

Policy	Description
Extension IDs to allow	By default, the user can install any extension that does not appear in the list of Extension IDs to block. You only need to list an extension to this text box if the extension has an Extension ID that falls within the Extension IDs to block but you want to allow it.For example, if the Extension IDs to block is set to the wildcard *, all extensions are blocked except for the specific ones listed in the Extension IDs to allow text box.
Extension IDs to block	Specifies extensions that users are not allowed to install. Identify the extension by its Extension ID, with extensions separated by commas. The user can run any extension that does not appear in the list of Extension IDs to block.A value of * means all extensions are blocked unless they are explicitly listed in theExtension IDs to allow text box.
Extension to preinstall	Specifies extensions to install automatically. Users cannot uninstall these extensions.You must supply both the Extension ID and the URL where the extension is posted, separated by a semi-colon. For gallery extensions, the URL ishttps://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx. For example, to install the Gmail Checker Extension, enter this string in the Extension to preinstall text box: mihcahmgecmbnbcchbopgniflfhgnkff;https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx  You can't preinstall any extension whose ID appears among the Extension IDs to block.

I wasn't able to find an easy way to get the ExtensionID and URL. Still working on that.

Moving email from one Google Apps account to another

As part of my digital clean up, I needed to move email from an account on one domain, to an account on another domain.

Google Apps used to have a good tool for this, it ran from the cpanel over IMAP, and was in essence a server-server tool, but this got deprecated. Now, you need to download the email locally from the source account / domain, and then upload to the destination account / domain.

On a Mac there are two ways how to do this: use MailFetcher and the Google Email Uploader.

The Email Uploader is very nice. It links to your Apple Mail or Thunderbird on your local machine, shows folders, and you can selective which folder to upload. You can also give the transferred folder a name so you can see it.

To get the email onto your local machine you need to use these instructions. You would need the domain admin to turn on IMAP first of course.

You may find that nor all messages can be moved across. The uploader won't move corrupt messages, messages that are not RFC 822 compliant, or messages with disallowed attachments eg .exe.

If the message is not RFC 822 compliant then you'll see "Invalid RFC 822 Message" in the window.

Message did not upload
   The operation couldn’t be completed. (Invalid RFC 822 Message: Date header "Sun, Dec 23 2001 13:26:12 +0000" is invalid.)
   /Users/user/Library/Mail/IMAP-user@domain.co.uk@imap.gmail.com/Email Saved.imapmbox/Messages/143660.emlx
  

I found that Mail did not see these messages either, so I couldn't use drag and drop, but since they are plain text you can view them using QuickLook in the finder, and decide if you really need them.



Also, if a folder / label has over 500 messages in it, you'll find progress quite slow after the 500. It gets to 500 really fast, maybe only a few minutes, depending on attachments. Thereafter you are limited to one message per second, so a folder with, say, 4000 message will take about an hour to upload. You might consider splitting a large folder up. You also likely parallelise things up, by running the uploader more than once, but I didn't try that. I know you can multiple GAMME uploads concurrently, to get around the ingestion limit.

Step by Step: GPS tagging Photos and creating PhotoWalk in Google Maps and Picasa

1. Synchronise the time between your camera and GPS. To display the exact time on my Android phone I use TM World Clock (free). I never change the timezone on my camera. Later we allow for timezone offset between camera time and UTC. The more accurate the time on your camera, the more accurate the geo-location will be.
   
   
   
2. Create a GPS log where you've been - I use MyTracks (free) on Android
   
   
3. Export the GPS log twice: to GPX and to KML. Call the file something like gpslog.kml / gpslog.gpx
   
   
   Press the triangle bottom right to bring up the MyTracks menu
   
   
   select Write to SD card, and then press "save a GPX file"
   
   
   
   Repeat to create a KML file
   
   
   
4. Copy these file to your computer. I use Bluetooth, while USB and email works fine as well. If using Bluetooth or USB then the two files are in the MyTracks directory on the SD card/
   
   
   
   
5. Apply the GPS data to your photos - I use GPSPhotoLinker (free) from www.earlyinnovations.com/gpsphotolinker. Its at this point that you apply the UTC offset. If you are away from your home timezone, or DST applies then deselect 'use system time zone'.
   
   
   Click 'Load Tracks' and load your GPX from MyTracks
   
   
   Drag and drop your photos into the right hand window. Then switch to 'batch' and press 'batch save to photos'.
   
   
6. When applying GPS data the date/time stamps on your files will change. I find this annoying so I fix the date / time stamps by using jhead (free) from www.sentex.net/~mwandel/jhead
   
   The command is
   
   /path/to/jhead -ft *.JPG
   
   and / or
   
   /path/to/jhead -ft *.jpg
   
   ie the command is case sensitive
   
   
7. Import / upload to Picasaweb using either Picasa desktop app or the uploader into a new album.
   
   
8. Fire up a browser, navigate to the photos in Picasaweb, and download the KML by clicking "view in Google Earth". When this file has downloaded you need to manually add a .kml at the end. Call the file something like photomap.kml
   
   
9. Goto to maps.google.com and click My Places because we need to upload the Picasaweb KML to My Places
   
   
10. Go to Google Maps eg maps.google.com , and select MyPlaces
    
    
    
    
    
11. Click "Create Map" and then click "Import". Upload your KML file from Picasaweb ie photomap.kml.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. You'll find some junk in the description section, which you can delete and put in your own description
13. Click "Import" again.
    
    
    
    
14. This time upload the GPS track from your logger ie gpslog.kml.
    
    
15. After a few moments processing, the track will overlay with the photos
    
    
16. Click "done" and set sharing options.
    

Combine Google Maps and Picasa / Picasaweb

Previously I've given instructions on how to combine a Picasaweb photo album with a GPS track. Well for some reason that no longer works. What you can do now is:

1. Get the GPSx file from your GPS logger and then use a converter such as GPSBabel to convert to KML. Or, in the case of MyTracks on Android which is what I use, you can just re-export to KML. Call this gpslog.kml or some such.
   
2. Tag your photos.
   
3. Upload GPS-tagged photos to Picasaweb just like always.
4. Download the file for viewing in Google Earth, except we won't view in Google Earth. You need to add the .kml to this file. Call it photomap.kml or some such.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Switch to Google Maps, and select MyPlaces
   
   
   
   
6. Click "Create Map"
   
   
   
   
7. Click "Import" and then upload your KML file from Picasaweb ie photomap.kml.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. You'll find some junk in the description section, which you can delete and put in your own description
9. Click "Import" again.
   
   
   
   
10. This time upload the GPS track from your logger ie gpslog.kml.
11. After a few moments processing, the track will overlay with the photos
12. Click "done" and set sharing options.
    

Howto: Transfer Photos from Android to OSX using Bluetooth

If you use the Gallery app on your Android, you have some handy sharing features such as sending pictures over Bluetooth.

Well, I was trying to push some photos from my Nexus S to my Macbook Pro, and even though they were paired, it was failing. After a few minutes I would get the warning

"Bluetooth audio failed. There was an error connecting to your headset. Make sure it is turned on and in range. The audio portion of the program you were using may have to be restarted"


which was a surprise since I don't have a bluetooth headset.

I tried to re-pair the Nexus and OSX, but no change. After some tests I thought maybe I needed to change bluetooth sharing


and now it works great.

Here's a photo to send


press on the screen to get the menus


press menu


and share


and Send via Bluetooth


choose where its going, and on your Mac accept


then on your Android it copies over




job done!

Android Device Management - minimum version is Froyo 2.2

You need at least Froyo 2.2x if you want to have Device Management, which if you use your Android with your Google Apps domain, you probably want to do - password enforcement, remote wipe etc.

developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html

Handily Froyo was also the first version with the Hotspot Feature.

Screencasting an Android device

Lets say you are presenting something to do with your shiny new Android device eg Nexus S or Xoom. And you want to screen cast.

You need androidscreencast.

You need to install the SDK first because it requires ADB. Then launch androidscreencast.jnlp. It runs as a java app, so you'll need java as well.

Chrome OS Cr48 3G Verizon and outside USA

You can get you Cr48 to work on 3G outside USA.

Firstly it will only work with some carriers, and some APNs - check them here.

Then, put it into Developer Mode, and then follow these instructions.

I located a SIM that used a supported APN, and successfully connected.

Download Android Fastboot Tool

While updating my HTC Magic from Donut (1.6) to Froyo (2.2x) I needed to try the fastboot flash method. For some reason its not installed with the SDK, so I got it from here developer.htc.com/google-io-device.html.

update: broken link fixed.

Updating HTC Magic to Froyo 2.2

I was trying to update my HTC Magic / Sapphire 34B from 1.6 to Froyo 2.2 but got

"E: Error in /sdcard/update.zip (Status 7) Installation aborted."

It turns out that my bootloader was too old at 1.33.0004. To confirm if this is the case, shutdown your phone, then restart by holding down the back button and on button together. It takes about 3 seconds and then you get the fastboot screen.


check bootloader version: if its 1.33.0004 then need to update. The picture above shows mine after updating.

It also tells you if you have 34A or 34B phones. Then press 'menu' to shut the phone down.

Next you need to get a later bootloader from android.clients.google.com/packages/ota/vodafone_vfpioneer/126221163a9c.hboot-1.33.0013.vfpioneer.12622116.zip

Copy this to the phone's SD card, and rename it to 'update.zip'.

Then boot into recovery mode by holding down home and power until you get the warning triangle, which takes about 13 to 15 seconds on my phone. Then, press home and power again, and you should get the recovery console. Using the trackball move down to select 'apply sdcard:update.zip', and then press the rollball to start things off.

It won't take long but there will be a couple of reboots. Eventually though you are returned to the phone and it'll be running the new boot loader.

Next get Froyo for the Magic from android.clients.google.com/packages/ota/vodafone_vfpioneer/735b0bf4f2e4.signed-vfpioneer-FRG83D-from-DRC92.735b0bf4.zip

and once again copy to the phone's SD card and rename to update.zip. Once again boot to the recovery console (home + power for about 15 seconds), select 'apply sdcard:update.zip', and then press the rollball to start things off.

Sit back and wait because it'll take a while, and possibly a few reboots. Eventually though you are returned to the phone and it'll be running Froyo


I have to say, its pretty nippy, and because the available memory is so small, you don't all the crapplications that some later phones are lumbered with. It does have a music player

Install MyTracks, Google Authenticator and Google Device Policy Management and you are good to go.

Galaxy Tab - Wallpaper template

The Galaxy Tab has a native screen resolution of 1024 x 600, and to have a wallpaper size that is correct for both orientations requires 1024 pixels wide x 1200 pixels high.

This Tabloid is different to previous Android devices in that the home screen autorotates even though there is no physical keyboard (like the G1).

Also the home screen uses the left hand side of the wallpaper by default. With this in mind I've created a new wallpaper template for the Galaxy Tab which is in Photoshop format. Get it here.

Also I've created some wallpapers which you can get / view www.fire-horse.co.uk/Galaxy_Tab_Wallpapers/index.html. Just so you know, not all the wallpapers are 100% safe for work ;-)

PS Just like setting wallpapers on other Android devices, the built in tool does weird stuff, so you'll need the free App from the Marketplace called "Wallpaper Set & Save".

More Galaxy Tab fun here.

Android SDK ADB missing

While doing some screenshots of my new Galaxy Tab I downloaded r8 of the Android SDK, launched DDMS, and get an error.

Failed to get the adb version: Cannot run program "/Applications/android-sdk-mac_86/tools/adb: error=2, No such file or directory.

To fix, all I did was to copy the adb from the old SDK.

More Galaxy Tab fun here

Galaxy Tab - fun with screenshots

Acquired a Galaxy Tab ;-), and looking to update the wallpaper template.

Downloaded the new Android SDK (r8 as of late November 2010).

When I get DDMS going it has problems with the screen orientation.

More Galaxy Tab fun here.

Howto Import csv calendar into iCal and Google Calendar

I was sent a schedule of activities in table format, on a web page. But I needed the schedule to be in Google Calendar.

First I copied the text off the web page, and pasted into Neo Office. I did some very basic tidying up, and the saved as CSV.

Then I converted using a tool called "iCalTextImport" from homepage.mac.com/penicuik/FileSharing15.html.

After following the instructions eg where to put the scripting folder, launch the app and open you CSV file. Then map the fields. This can be a bit trial and error


when ready click import file


and you'll get a new calendar in iCal.

Once its there you can export it to .ics format



and then import into Google Calendar



goto Calendar > Settings> Calendars and look for the import button

A note on timezones. The process assumes the dates/times are UTC because my CSV had no timezone information. When the .cs is imported by Google it adjusts for the timezone of the calendar you import it into.