Video from Friday Night Hangout #8

Android Enthusiasts: Friday Night Hangout #8 (Dec 14, 2012)
Please add topics during the week and not just during the hangout :)

Main topics
✓ Galaxy Camera
✓ New features for S3 (and hopefully the N2 in Canada) - Multi-Window
✓ Nexus 4 shipments?  (stripped of LTE?)
✓ Free SIM unlock trick for S3/N2 on 4.1.1?
✓ Official CM10.1 Nightlies are Live! - More phones being added in the coming weeks/days

Reviews
✓ Windows Phone (how good we have it on Android)
✓ G+ communities (how are you using them?  app?)

Updates of the week

✓ YouTube: revamped UI for 10" tablets
✓ Currents (what happened to READER)
✓ S2 / Note1 updates should be soon
✓ Drive: Again no changelog. Seems to be the norm for Google.
✓ Facebook: native code now
✓ Google Calendar: Call and go to map directly from notification
✓ G+

What's new:

✓ New feature: Google+ Communities

✓ Support for full resolution photo uploads via Instant Upload

✓ Subscribe to any circle for notifications

✓ Support for time zones in Events

✓ Basic profile editing

✓ Integration with Google Now to send birthday wishes to friends

✓ Support for animated GIFs

✓ Express your mood via animated images in posts

✓ View and explore Photo Sphere images (Android 4.2+)

✓ Add the Google+ widget to your device’s lock screen (Android 4.2+)

For Android:

✓ easier way to author content,

✓ subtle notice when there's new stuff to read.

Events:

✓ send messages to specific guests and see who’s opened your invitation.

✓ guests can RSVP with the number of people they’re bringing

Hangouts:

✓ extremely low bandwidth Hangouts.  (150 KB of bandwidth)

✓ expanded video for single participants

#AppColiseum (leave blank until we show - then post links)
✓ Ryan - Angry Birds Seasons - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rovio.angrybirdsseasons
✓ Tom - Remote for iTunes - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hyperfine.hftunes.release
✓ Mark - Moon+ Reader - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flyersoft.moonreader
✓ Brian - AutomateIT - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=AutomateIt.mainPackage
✓ Sivan - justWink - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.justwink
XCass (at work Christmas party)
X Sylvain (Still at Farm Sanctuary in New York)

Perfect timing from Google for releasing an update for G+. Most developers never release updates on Fridays so they don't have to deal with fixing bugs on the first weekend of the update. Google surely surprised me today!

They went from changing the icon, again!, to adding some moods à la Facebook it seems, to moving the icons to the bottom of the page, weird. It sure looks good, although not too hyper about having the icons at the bottom now that they're bigger.

This is a big update with a lot of new features, but the biggest one to me has been the integration of the Communities into the app. I am so happy they didn't make us wait as long as they did for pages and also that they actually made a good job with it. I still don't use my phone to update my pages since I find the "log out/log in" a real pain. The communities are accessible right from the menu, as it should be, and that is just perfect.

Overall, awesome job on this update. Love it!

Video from our Hangout Session #7 - | Android in Canada Blog

Video from our Hangout Session #7 - | Android in Canada Blog

Hangout on Air from last night | Android in Canada Blog

Hangout on Air from last night | Android in Canada Blog:
Recorded Nov 16

'via Blog this'

My foray into 'tweaking' Android

Okay, I believe I discussed this some time back about me playing around with trying to ROOT and flash my HTC Magic.  It just never took.  Ah well.

heh...  I need me texting on the Galaxy Nexus at the end (and it's missing my Rolodex REX)

I get a little gunshy pretty easy.  And when it comes to messing with my expensive gadgets, I get worried.


I pooched a Treo700w, a Treo650, and nearly a couple other Palms when I would attempt to do some 'fun' with it.  I've jiggered with dozens of WinXP or Ubuntu ISO's for my netbooks, and nearly had a couple unrecoverable.


So when I'm trying with my latest phone, the one I've had over a year now, and contemplating getting a new one, I start getting somewhat braver.


I start to read up, and I'm no slouch -- should be pretty straight forward.  In order to flash a non-signed ROM (version of an operating system) I need a special recovery mode... so you flash that kernel, and you should be fine.  Except it wouldn't boot up.  I could boot into recovery mode, but I had no ROM to flash onto the phone.


Luckily with the help of some G+ friends (and a real chance to play with the Hangouts feature - which is awesome btw), I was able to get it back to where it was before I experiemented (nothing lost, but nothing gained either -- except a healthy dose of respect to not do things wrong).  But so close to having to make a quick choice.


Not my first foray into tweaking, but a true honest try, not a successful one however... *le sigh*.


So, I'm debating about buying the new Galaxy Nexus... I'll have a separate post about that.


Here's my geekery on what happened, play by play.


I rooted my phone with  - http://www.unlockroot.com/
very straight forward (thanks Sylvain)


Then got the Heimdall program from the Cyanogen Wiki site for the Captivate.


I downloaded the Speedmod for the recovery, and I think that it didn't like being installed and then booting into the standard Samsung ROM, which is why it just hung.


I'm debating doing it again (maybe after I have my new phone in hand).  Do it the 'standard cyanogen' way, or go all freaky and try the leaked ICS option?