Totally late to the party, but why does Apple/iTunes make it super difficult to burn shows that you purchased onto DVDs? And why isn’t it clear beforehand that DVD burning is restricted by the DRM?
Upgrading my Droid Eris to Android 2.1
A little over a month ago, I finally caught up with every other techie in the area and traded in my reliable but feature-light cellphone for a smartphone — specifically, the Droid Eris. I knew that the phone was still on an older version of the Android OS, but since 2.1 was already announced to be coming in Spring 2010, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.
This weekend, Google Contacts sync somehow managed to delete most of my contacts, so I decided that I might as well try my hand at upgrading my phone to the leaked Android 2.1 OS. (Yes, I backed up everything else. No, I did not get manage to get my contacts back automatically. Yes, I’ll be switching back to the OTA update once it’s available.) While everything seems to be working pretty smoothly now, as someone who’s not a hardcore Android developer, I thought that the original instructions could use a bit more detail (it took a few tries before I got it working), so here’s my version (which may only be relevant for anywhere from a day to a week, as Verizon’s supposed to officially roll out 2.1 anytime now an indefinite period of time, as Verizon keeps pushing back the official update):
- Download the patched 2.1 ROM
- Make sure the zip file is: intact (not unzipped), named PB00IMG.zip exactly, and in the SD card root (mine originally went into the SD card’s downloads folder, but I was able to move it, thanks to the ASTRO File Manager app I had)
- Turn off your phone (again: make sure you have things backed up. You can do this in a variety of ways; I used the free version of MyBackup, since the Pro version isn’t yet available in the newer Apps Market)
- Press and hold the Power and Call buttons down at the same time
- A menu will appear on your screen with the default option of FLASHBOOT. You should “scroll” (with the Volumn Down button) to select HBOOT instead. If you see messages about “No image!” (this caused me a bit of panic initially), but still have a blue status bar loading upwards on the right of the screen, you’re fine.
- The phone will reboot a few times. Just press the trackball to keep selecting HBOOT initially and let it finish.
I have to say that my phone feels a lot faster and smoother after the upgrade, and I’m even happier with the Eris now. Plus, the boyfriend and I have been having way too much fun testing out Google Goggles on things all around the apartment.
Addendum: As usual with leaks, be warned that there are a number of (what I consider to be small) bugs that come with the upgrade. For a list of reported problems (and fixes), check out the thread via Android Forums.
Tagged: android, android 2.1, android os upgrade, droid eris, htc eris
New roommate
Well, I suppose now that I’ve broken the news to my mother, I can tell the internets (or at least mention on my sad, neglected blog) that I’ve started officially LIVING IN SIN. With my boyfriend. And yes, we’ve brought the Quixy along.
Questions
Sometimes there are drawbacks to having friends who are ambitious, smart, and talented. Sometimes I’m afraid that for all the hard work and effort in the world, I may never end up being as accomplished. Sometimes I’m also afraid that I don’t have what it takes, because I burn out in between and my health continues to be up and down, and life doesn’t always work out the way you plan or want.
As someone who wasn’t born in the United States, a lot of the decisions I’ve had to make have been weighted heavily by the legal implications and the financial burden any choice would entail. Amongst all my worries, I also want to know: when can I really just be free to pursue what I want? And in the end, how much am I sure of what I want and how much am I willing to do or give up to get it?
Balance
How do people balance the desire to be open with the need to be discreet? Most of the time I like my name, but increasingly, I hesitate before posting anything because there are certain people who abuse the vastness of the web. It’s easy to say that you should just ignore it all, but harder to do; there are general topics that probably ought not to be discussed publicly (i.e. work, visa issues, and now family, since all my relatives are familiar with Google by this point) or things that I just feel awkward broaching online (particularly: love life). Since I can’t figure out a happy medium yet, I just find myself remaining silently frustrated with all the things I can’t say.