How to change the default OS on Grub 2 (Ubuntu 9.10)
Although it’s not Mobile related I just wanted to post a general Linux tip that might be useful for Linux beginners (like me!) that switch to Ubuntu 9.10 or that for any reason have switched to Grub 2. It all started because I wanted to change the default OS on the Grub 2 boot screen. The default OS is, of course, Ubuntu 9.10 but I needed it to be Windows since I’m not the only user of this computer!
As any computer savvy user would do, I Googled my issue to find the answer… The problem with that is that 90% of the posts on the internet, reference an older version of Grub that uses a file called “menu.lst” and this new version (Grub 2) has deprecated that file! So after wasting a few hours reading through unhelpful posts, I finally decided to read the Grub 2 documentation and finally found the answer.
Therefore the reason behind this post is, that hopefully, all those lazy Linux beginners (like me), who want to find the exact set of commands to accomplish this task, can find this post and move on to bigger and better things!
OK This is what you have to do -> Open a terminal window and type:
cd ..
cd ..
cd /etc/default
sudo gedit grub
The GEdit window will pop-up and the only line you have to change is this one:
GRUB_DEFAULT=0
Change the 0 to whatever number your windows OS is located at when your computer starts (remember that the list is zero-based) so if your Windows is number 7, you should change it for this:
GRUB_DEFAULT=6
Then you click on save, close GEdit and type this:
sudo update-grub
And that’s it!!! Now every time you start your machine or reboot it, it will default to Windows, or whatever OS you want it to go by default for that matter… Hope it helps.
Enjoy!
Maintenance Update for Sprint’s Samsung Moment
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
Sprint just announced through their twitter account, and their support forum, that they have released a Maintenance Update for their Samsung Moment handset.
Pleased to announce Maintenance Release CL14 is now available for the Samsung Moment. Details here – http://bit.ly/7shVpY. – Sprint via twitter
If you’re like me and you’re already hitting the update button on your phone like a maniac, you’ll be disappointed to find out two things. First, this is NOT the Android 2.1 updated promised by Sprint last month; and second, this update is only currently available by visiting a Sprint retail location with a Repair Center.
But don’t despair. Sprint says that “The ability to download the update directly on your Moment will be available in the near future”. That’s good news for those of you who don’t enjoy long lines on Fridays with people paying their cell phone bills. Before you hop in your car and run to nearest Sprint store, here’s the complete list of goodies contained in the update:
- Network Assist GPS to allow indoor location fix
- Updates to several third-party apps, including Visual Voicemail, NFL, NASCAR and Sprint TV
- Change to Emergency Dial on lock screen
- Hard reset available in recovery mode: remove and reinsert battery; press volume down, send and end keys until reboot option pops up; scroll to wipe data/factory reset; press OK
- Various improvements to battery life
General Mobile Has Next DUAL-SIM Handset Readied for Jan 2010 Launch?
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
The folks at the AndroidSpin.com forums been tipped to some exclusive information about a new General Mobile Android device to be released in “late January 2010”. For those of you who don’t remember, early this year, General Mobile presented its Dual-sim DSLT1 that grabbed attention for its striking resemblance to the HTC Touch Diamond.
DSTL1
While advancing the OS from Donut to Eclair and keeping their Dual-SIMfeature, the new rumored handset is promising to address most of the DSTL1 gripes. Gripes that include its lack of 3G, screen resolution and touch interface. This time they’ll trade the resistive touch screen for its capacitive counterpart and swap resolutions from the odd WQVA to the pervasive HVGA.
OS: Android 2.0
Kernel: 2.6.29 (and newer is supported by processor)
SIM: Dual SIM (as is customary for GM)
Cellular data link: WCDMA (3g)
Display Diagonal: 3.2″
Display Resolution: 480×320 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio) or 640×240 pixels (8:3 aspect ratio) [HVGA]
CPU Clock: 624Mhz
CPU Processor: PXA935
Scroll Wheel: supported (trackball)
Touch Interface: Capacitative
Camera: 5MP
Wi-Fi: b/g supported
Samsung Moment Showcased at CES with Live Mobile DTV Chip
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
In the style of the best Russian hackers, Samsung Mobile basically modded its own “Moment” handset and inserted a mobile DTV chip into it along with some circuitry and an Android app to control it. The resulting concoction is being served at CES with mixed reviews.
The news was broken by Samsung Mobile US on their twitter account accompanied by a press release and quickly followed by a hands-on video from Engadget.
An excerpt from the press release:
[Samsung] Moment was selected because of its 3.2-inch AMOLED display screen, which delivers crisp colors, bright pictures outdoors, and wide viewing angles.
Unfortunately no launch details for a Mobile DTV version of the Android handset have been announced, but Samsung did confirmed that is rolling a “Consumer Showcase ” of the device, involving Sprint customers in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore markets during the first quarter of 2010.
So what do you think? will this eliminate the need of an Android version of the Sling Player? chime in at the comments section!
Saygus Vphone Runs On Android, Claims it Can Make Video Calls Over CDMA or EDGE
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
Chances are you’ve never heard of Utah based manufacturer Saygus. If you’re deeply involved in Android (like us), you learned about them back in November when leaks of an FCC filing for an Android phone got the buzz rolling about them. Even with that, we know little of the handset. Well prepare yourself to keep hearing that name, as they get ready to roll out their first handset, the Saygus VPhone (V1).
In the specs department, it features a 3.5-inch screen, a 624 MHz Marvell processor, and a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and flash. While the camera may seem standard for most Android handsets lately, the cool feature about this one is that it is a front facing camera. Using the company’s proprietary video algorithm, it allows them to transfer video data at 18-22 frames per second over video challenged technologies like CDMA or EDGE.
Unlike HSPA(UMTS), the technology used by AT&T and T-Mobile on their 3G networks, CDMA (Verizon, Sprint) is not natively equipped to allow for video calling. It’s up to the phone to pack and send that video through the data network. Other technologies like EDGE that predate UMTS are not equipped for video calling either and that’s where Saygus is hoping to make big business.
The first version of the VPhone is for CDMA networks and Saygus is close to signing on with a major carrier, said CEO Chad Sayers, That would likely mean Verizon or Sprint in a month or so. A GSM version (T-Mobile, At&T) is also in the works for the second quarter and will allow video conferencing over EDGE.
Dell Officially Announces Android Handset for AT&T
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
After months of speculation, finally today at CES, No. 2 PC-maker Dell confirmed it’s launching an Android handset for the U.S. The not-so-surprising news is that the carrier behind this launch is the iPhone’s own home network: AT&T.
There are no details about hardware specifications, price or availability, but from previous rumors we’re expecting it to feature a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen display, with a resolution of 640×360 and a 3 megapixel camera. We’ll keep you posted as details become available.
A copy of Dell’s press release can be found over at SlashGear
Dell is not a new comer to the handheld market and this is technically not their first Android offer either. This smartphone will be a revised version of the Dell Mini 3i that’s being sold in China and Brazil. They are also highly regarded in the industry by their very successful line of PDAs back in the early 2000’s the Axims. A little, yet ironic fact is that those were manufactured by the then unknown HTC, marketed under the Dell brand.
Via USAToday
Mobile Browsing Explodes in December, Android Big Winner With 54.8% Gain
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
Mobile browsing now accounts for 1.3% of all web browsing, according to the latest figures released by NetApplications yesterday. A brief post on their web site claims that mobile devices were the biggest usage share winners this past holiday season. All major mobile operating systems attained large percentage gains; with Android leading the pack obtaining twice the gain of the competition!
1.3% market share might not seem like a lot at first, but when you think that’s more than half of Opera’s market share, it really helps put that figure in perspective. These are the numbers for each of the leading mobile platforms:
| Mobile O/S | Percentage Gain (November – December) |
| Android | +54.8% |
| Blackberry | +22.2% |
| iPhone | +20.1% |
| Symbian | +19.0% |
| Java ME | +15.6% |
A detailed look at Android’s worldwide trend, shows solid growth throughout the year, but a definitive spike on Novemeber and December, indisputably ignited by US events like Droid’s ad campaign, the holiday offers on most Android devices and the fact that is now carried by 3 of the 4 nationwide mobile operators.
Net Applications measures browser usage share by tracking the systems used to visit the 40,000 sites it monitors for clients, which results in a pool of about 160 million unique visitors per month. Their numbers have been widely used to measure the pulse of browser usage trends.
Engadget gets its very own Nexus One
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
Three full days before Google’s official event, Engadget managed to get their very own Nexus One.
Besides the obvious bragging, they don’t mention how they got the device which should probably hint at Google distributing a few actual units to the media, before and probably during the launch event.
The good news here is that we’ll FINALLY have plenty of high resolution pictures and video of our favorite device, at least for this three agonizing days before the device becomes available to the general public.
Go ahead an indulge yourself with Engadget’s first impressions article.
Nexus One Rooted Already
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
Well, the title kind of says it all. The high honor is being claimed by MoDaCo’s founder Paul O’Brien, who reported on a thread back at his site, he had created “Superboot”.
Superboot is a boot.img that when flashed, will root your device the first time you boot
The news was broken by Engadget yesterday afternoon, they included this picture from forum user Stericson as confirmation of the achievement.
If it weren’t for Paul’s reputation on the mobile space I would say this is totally bogus, especially since Stericson is already saying on his Twitter account that the root hack won’t work on the device once it goes on sale
I hate to kill everyone’s high, But the root that we managed to get on the Nexus root Probably will not work on the shipped phone.
Only time will tell…
ABI Research: iPhone’s App Market Share to Shrink, Android to Benefit
originally published at AndroidGuys.com
ABI Research, a marketing research firm based in New York, released a study about the future of the mobile app market in the next five years. The firm expects application downloads to reach five billion by 2014, up from an estimated 2.3 billion in 2009.
The remarkable part of the study is their prediction of Android as a heavyweight challenger of Apple’s reign. Their dominance will peak next year, but only to start its decline into the following years ceding ground to Android’s aggressive offer.
Here’s an excerpt of the press release:
“The iPhone’s share of the app market will contract from its 2010 level during the latter part of the forecast period, but it will remain the leading platform for applications…The big beneficiary will be Android, which will see its market share of total application downloads increase from 11% of the market in 2009 to 23% in 2014. This rapid growth is driven by the mass adoption of the Android OS by both vendors and consumers from 2009 onwards. There are now more than 14 phones that run the Android OS, and many more will launch in 2010. This, coupled with the rollout of application stores from both smartphone vendors and network operators, will see the iPhone’s share of the total market shrink between 2010 and 2014.”
You can read the entire press release here
