Recently in Geeky Category

I mean, who cares what operating system you're running, right?  I can run any app on any computer, period.  That's just awesome... and it's not even an unreasonable dream.  But that was long ago.

Java still touts cross-platform compatibility and there are many Java apps that work (and work well) across all three of the major OS's (Windows, OSX, and of course Linux.)  Unfortunately, UI design seems to be... secondary to most Java developers, but that's another story.  No, today I plan on kicking off a multi-part story about my search - my zen-like search - for cross-platform photo editing.  

As a photographer, I've found that Windows and OSX really have some very fine tools at their disposal.  Linux has several tools that do the job, but they're all difficult to use and have a steep learning curve (not to mention they're ugly.)  Ugly shouldn't be a factor, I suppose, but as a designer and someone who spends inordinate amounts of time in front of his computer, I really place no small amount of value on an attractive and easy-to-use UI.  

I'll be touching on my experiences with Bibble, Lightzone, and (of course) GIMP.  GIMP has been part of my toolbox for some time, so the typical 'learning curve' with using it won't necessarily be as steep as usual, and I'll try to keep that in mind.

Lightzone is being installed even as I write this, so next up: Lightzone - Good, Bad, or Just Ugly.

It's totally true.  I mean, it's an extreme case of one guy's complete and utter obsession, a direct result of his reliance on IT to work and entertain himself... but it's relevant to all of us.  Look at iPhone users (and yes, even Android people too, lol).  How often have you seen two people sitting across from each other, enjoying some hot beverage, and staring at their phones?

Every once in a while someone pipes up and starts with the whole "computers are turning us into antisocial drones" or "our ability to interact socially is being destroyed by technology."  It's unfortunately true.  I know plenty of people who are incapable of the most basic levels of successful social interaction simply because they're spending way too much time sitting in front of a glowing screen... yet they're super active on Facebook.  Nice.

Keyboard cowboys are familiar to anyone who spends any time on a forum.  People who are 'brave' and will say nearly anything, express opinions, and just be social while logged in, but at the end of the day - when confronted - will always balk.  It's a sad (though sometimes entertaining) phenomenon.  

It even happens to me, and I go out of my way to make sure I interact, to make absolutely sure that I'm attempting to expose myself as much as possible to social stimuli that goes beyond staring at a screen.  I get upset when I'm too disconnected - when I don't even have my phone to keep my dopamine squirts going.  There's nothing we can do.  We've made this bed, perpetuated this reliance on technology for our stimuli.  Now we gotta lie in it.  Although there is something to going full lo-fi and disappearing into the woods.

An interesting point that this article brings up is the whole angle on multi-tasking and how it's actually not a good thing.  After years and years (heck, maybe even decades) of having people pound the concept of multi-tasking being a good thing, this is just a breath of fresh air and a reflection on what I've been saying for the last 8 years - basically since I started managing teams and really reflecting on the effectiveness of my teams.  Task-switching is the biggest killer of time, right up there with micro-managing pricks.  Multi-tasking is, in essence, its own worst enemy, and it is a concept fully capable of rendering any team completely immobilized by its own ability to handle multiple projects.  

It's a concept that requires some reflection to really absorb, and should also require some experience (either on the line or more importantly managing the line) in order to really appreciate.  Minimal research into the matter (a la Google) will give you no shortage of interesting information for you to assimilate, and just thinking about it will be, I think, beneficial.  

Then... much later (billions of years, seems like...) there was the Amon Ra recovery image.  I've used it on the Nexus One rootings I've perpetrated, and it's both functional and easy to use.  It has lots and lots of awesome features that I have no use for, but hey, whatever works.  And while Amon Ra was reDICKulously painful to install, once installed it made short work of, well, everything.

And now, evolution has brought us Clockwork Recovery.  Probably.  I don't really know nor do I much care, because I probably only use a fraction of the power of these recovery images, and it's mostly just to flash updated ROMs into my phone.  What I do know is that Clockwork is really, really, really easy to install and use.  I mean, like, almost dummy-proof.  By the nature of what it does, it's not dummy-proof - not by a long shot - but the interface is really simple and 

straightforward, and I very much appreciate the easily installed front-end GUI, available (conveniently enough) from the Android Market, as - wait for it - "ROM manager".  Not the most creative name, admittedly, but hey, it's descriptive enough.

I don't know if there's any relation between the two, but I see some similarities between Clockwork and my much-beloved CM-Updater (Cyanogenmod's original GUI for his own recovery app.)  It works, it's clean, and it's just pleasant to use.  So far.  I can't wait for it to eat total shit and brick my phone.  Then I'll be singing a whole different tune.

Anyway, Cyanogenmod has released a whole spiffy new version of his ROM, sitting pretty at 5.7 and based on the 2.1 kernel of Android, so here I go again ready to beat the holy hell out of my phone's hardware in my ongoing effort to make it behave like a much faster, much more expensive phone.  That's love!  Or I'm being a total dumbass.  Usually I can't tell the difference.  I'll update with another post once I'm done smashing.

So I moseyed on over to the "hoffice" and took a gander.  Sure enough, his Nexus One wasn't seeing the data network.  Phone seemed to work just fine, everything was peachy otherwise... it even connected to WiFi without a hitch.  But no 3G.  Double-hm.

Jimbo, in typical fix-it-with-a-big-stick mode, wanted to rock it, sock it, and just re-flash the sucka with the original Android OS, or an older version of CM, or something.  Whatever it takes to get it working. Cooler heads (mine) of course prevailed, and I figured the issue wasn't going to be too terribly complicated to wrap up.

Quick research on the matter uncovered a few similar issues but no real fixes, per se.  Before moving much further, I ran into Settings->Wireless & Networks->Mobile networks->Access Point Names.  Here you should see your network's APN (T-Mobile or whatnot.)

Hitting menu, I reset the APN to factory default.  A few hot minutes later (it does take a little bit, so be patient), bam, data network connectivity restored.  No need to re-flash or re-install anything, good to go, ready to rawk, and all set.  Enjoy!