“Google + a Facebook Killer?” Question Answered

“Google + a Facebook Killer?” Question Answered

Is your time spent in the social network worth anything? Apparently in the currency of "eaves" it is

This is a little different from all the facebook games like Farmville, this is actually your social media usage converted to the stock market.

It is called Empire Avenue where you basically turn yourself into stocks. The game of Wall Street played and grown by your activity in social media.

But it isn't just a game, it is actually social media in itself. It gives you the opportunity to meet and interact with cool and sometimes famous people. A game you play to grow your social outreach, what a clever idea :)

Now go on, go look and play, and buy my stock since I told you about it :)

HTC EVO 4G have battery issues? Root it, problem solved

I love my EVO, but hated how fast the battery drained. I had the app killers and battery monitors but nothing helped. On the stock battery I could manage almost eight hours of use between charges.

So I ended up buying one of the extended batteries, which require a new case back since the battery is larger. I was pulling about 14 hours at first, but it crawled down to a measly 5 hours eventually.

I decided it was time to root my phone and take advantage of the custom kernels that help save your battery with voltage scaling. Basically that means it turns down power useage when it isn't needed.

With the help of a guide on Good and Evo I rooted my phone, got a custom ROM and kernel and now I am on 18 hours of uptime with 60% of the battery still there. This is with the same battery I was getting 5 hours from before.

There were some problems with the root that the guide didn't cover. I initially read through the comments and saw one of the problems had to do with apps, so I removed a ton of them, but that didn't help. The issue was one of the files not getting deleted between the boot ups and hanging. Then making it fail if you tried the process again.

The name of the file slips my mind, but you get an error that the process died unexpectedly. Just find that app (the name is in the error) and just remove that app, and run the root application again.

UPDATE: With average phone and internet use I am netting 29 hours of uptime with 14% battery remaining. This is with 4g off, leaving 4g on all the time drains the battery fast, I haven't tested the life on that yet though.

Slimbox hiding animation/flash and not unhiding it

I am actually using Clientcide libraries lightbox (mootools vers 1.2), which is slimbox made into a class, but should all be the same.

Slimbox is suppose to auto hide flash and animation, but show it once you close the lightbox. Unfortunately it didn't work, and flash was hidden forever unless you refreshed the page.

Here is how I fixed the issue.

Search for

var vis = (open ? 'hidden' : el.retrieve('lbBackupStyle') || 'visible');

and just remove el.retrieve('lbBackupStyle') ||

var vis = (open ? 'hidden' : 'visible');

Here is how the Dallas Cowboys still make the playoffs in 2010

Lets say that Dallas runs the table for the remainder of the season. That will put them at 9-7 with two critical wins over the Eagles and one over the Redskins. As of right now Dallas is last in the NFC East, here is a low down on how it stands:

Giants 6-3
Eagles 5-3
Redskins 4-4
Dallas 2-7

So if Dalls wins out, that is 2 more losses for the Eagles and 1 for the Redskins. For Dallas to trump the Eagles in the division, the Eagles only need to lose 2 games other then the losses to Dallas. Out of the 6 games (not including Dallas), 2 losses would tie them with Dallas but they lose the tie breaker since Dallas is 2-0 against them. This is the easiest scenerio out of the other teams since Dallas can win the head to head matchup. Here is the remaining schedule for the Eagles:

@Redskins
Giants
@Bears
Texans
@Dallas
@Giants
Vikings
Dallas

For the Skins to fall behind Dallas it would need to lose 3 games out of the 7 non Dallas games remaining. I am just playing it safe here and saying they need to finish the season at 8-8 or worse. There may be a way for them to finish 9-7 and still lose out to the Cowboys due to division/conference records, but 8-8 ensures they can't win the division. Here is the rest of their schedule:

Eagles
@Titans
Vikings
@Giants
Bucs
@Dallas
@Jags
Giants

Giants may be a bit more of a stretch. They either need to lost 5 of their remaining 7 games or lose all 4 against the division rivals. Losing against the Skins and Eagles would put them at 9-7 but Dallas would win due to conference record. Here is their schedule:

@Eagles
Jags
Redskins
@Vikings
Eagles
@Packers
@Redskins

Now of coarse this is all moot and gets even more complicated if Dallas loses 1 game, but this season has been a weird one for the NFL and who knows, maybe they still have a chance at 8-8 :)

Apple wants to convert everyone to "right-hand"

The latest and greatest iPhone is proving to be quite a pain, for left handed people that is. There are reports from engadget that some phones drop all calls when held in the left hand.

There are also reports of yellow "spots" stuck on the screen. Perhaps their fantastic retina display is a bit jaundice?

Iphone hoopla and why I chose the Evo

Apple doesn't impress me. I don't dislike Apple, their stuff just doesn't impress me. I view their computers as overpriced "wow" items. I think the "I'm a Mac" commercial is stupid, mainly because a PC doesn't mean Windows, it could be Linux which is the very base of their OS, but that is a different rant (I don't like Microsoft either).

I do like the iPhone, it pushed the cell phone technology to a new level and forced other makers to get with the program. What I don't like about the iPhone is how closed it is, and most importantly, it is on the crappy AT&T network.

I chose the Evo 4G for many reasons, the open Android OS (I am a web developer and programmer), the big screen, the 8mp camera, the processor speed, the fact it has a removable battery, changeable cards and a ton of other reasons I won't bore you with.

Is the Evo better then the iPhone, even the new one about to reach their eagerly awaiting owners hands? Maybe, maybe not. I like having control and that is what the Evo allows that the iPhone doesn't, so unless the iPhone is better then the Evo 10folds, it won't matter to me.

iPhone supporters like to throw the App count into the argument. That does not matter to me. Any app I want is on the Android Market. Even if it wasn't, it would be soon (or I could try to build it myself). Apple's tight hold on what apps are allowed is another turnoff. Maybe I want an app that has Droid in the name, or something built with an Adobe converter, or I want to look at naked chicks. NOTE TO WIFE: I don't want to baby, was just making a point ;)

In my opinion the iPhone is for newbies, the inexperienced, or even the materialistic. Some people will buy it just because it is Apple's latest and greatest - like the iPad (lame). The system restricts what you can do, so much to the point it is hard to mess anything up. That is why newbies and non techy people have such great experiences with it. Kinda like a tech toy for dummies - no offense to iPhone owners, there wasn't an easy way to say it :)

The Android OS on the other hand, is the complete opposite. I view this as more desirable to the tech crowd, hackers (that doesn't mean computer hackers), modders and those that just like to tweak the stuff they own. That doesn't mean a newbie will have issues with it, they can have a great experience, but if there ever comes a time they want to do some tweaking they can.

I would suggest an iPhone to my Mom or Dad if they were wanting to get a "cool" phone. Easy to use out of the box. For myself, I will stick with an Android phone :)