Tom's Tech Blog
DIY tech projects, computers, mobile gadgets, news and whatever else I feel like writing about.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Current Projects
Linking a Bluetooth Keyboard to Rooted Nook Color
I must say, this is pretty cool. I just paired my Nook Color, rooted with CyanogenMod 7, with my Logitech DiNovo Edge Bluetooth keyboard. That's actually how I'm typing this blog post. I downloaded the Blue Input Demo app in order to successfully pair my keyboard and Android tablet. It isn't perfect, however -- the connection is a bit weak, so some letters are left out as I type, and because it's a demo, every so often the name of the app will ins[blueinput demo]er[blueinput demo]t itself into my text. See what I mean? Looks like I'll have to either wait for Barnes & Noble to add Bluetooth functionality to the stoc[blueinput demo]k Android, or I'll have to pay for the full version of Blue Input.
If it was more error-free, I'd consider [blueinput demo]buying a small Bluetooth keyboard (like Apple's) and leaving my netbook at home more often. Lifehacker had a couple good articles [blueinput demo]recently about increasing productivity, and they talked about how using a tablet can help you focus on one task at a time. I'll believe it. This is[blueinput demo] actually a pretty good way to avoid the distraction of a full-featured computer when all you need is to get some writing done.
I like where Asus is going with their line of tablets. One model has a built-in sliding physical keyboard, and another can be docked in a keyboard shell, turning it into a laptop of sorts. The Nook Color is nice to play with, but not built as a productivity tool. I'd be interested in picking up a full-featured tablet once the iPad eventually gets some real competition.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Nook Color Book Case
If I told you ten years ago that I'd built a book case that could hold tens of thousands of books, you would've either looked at me in disbelief or questioned my ability to count. But that's exactly what I did over the past week, only it was less of a system of shelving to store paper books, and more of a case for my e-reader built out of a paper book. Book case, get it? I guess "Nook case" would be more appropriate. Either way, I turned an old hardcover book into a camouflage case to store and display my Nook Color. I destroyed an analogue book to protect a digital book... the whole project stinks of irony. Or something. Maybe it's just the glue.
I didn't think to take any pictures of the process, but it was fairly straight forward. I got the basic instructions from the How To Do Stuff blog, but made a few small modifications to accommodate my Nook Color.
They did a pretty good job of providing detailed instructions on the blog, so I'll just summarize. I painted a water/glue mixture onto the edges of the book, allowing it to soak in and dry. Once it had completely dried, I measured my Nook and drew guidelines on the top page of the pages I wanted to cut, and then used a metal straightedge and a box cutter to cut down through all the pages, removing the cut-out paper as I went. Once I had reached the end, I applied the glue mixture to the inside edges of the hollow and clamped the book shut while drying. When it was dry, I put my Nook in to make sure it fit, made a few adjustments, and eventually had a perfect snug fit.
I used the case for a few days to transport my Nook safely, and then decided I wanted to be able to use the book case as a stand for my Nook as well. The meant repeating the glue process on the remaining pages in the front of the book, and cutting out a notch the width and length of the edge of my Nook so that it could stand on its own. If I was going to do this all over again, I would've taken this into account at the start and tried to incorporate a vertical stand as well as horizontal.
All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out, and might even make a few more to sell online. Anyone interested?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Why I'm sick of my Cr-48
I’ve had the opportunity to test drive Google’s new Chrome OS for the past two months. The excitement I felt when my Cr-48 showed up on my doorstep has slowly disappeared as I encounter problem after problem. While I’m aware that this is just a prototype and there are bound to be kinks, the things that frustrated me are more than just bugs. On the computer user spectrum, I rate closer to the “power user” end of things, and that’s probably why I’ve been so disappointed in the Cr-48 as an everyday computer.
The most recent roadblock I’ve run into has involved the lackadaisical file management system and the inability of Chrome OS to properly interact with USB devices. I bought a Nook Color last week while visiting my parents, and while I was able to read books right out of the box, I was more interested in rooting it and loading my microSD card with music, videos and documents. Unfortunately, I had chosen to take my Cr-48 with me over my netbook, and was unable to do any of those things.
Within the first week of receiving my Cr-48, I had already downloaded dozens of web apps and extensions. I’ve been forced to disable or uninstall nearly all of the extensions to narrow down reasons for the browser crashing, and I’ve given up using web apps because they’re all pretty much just glorified web page links. I’m sure the quality and quantity of web apps and extensions will improve as Chrome OS and the Chrome browser gain popularity, but right now they’re in their infancy, and I want nothing to do with them.
Browsing the web on the Cr-48 makes me nostalgic for the days of dial-up. My usual routine of jumping between a dozen open tabs at a time causes so much stress to the operating system that I’ve had to try to train myself to work with five tabs or less, which I have trouble abiding by. If I had the time and energy to devote to maintaining my Google Reader, I could bypass going to my favorite sites and just get all the content in one easy place, but why should I be forced to do that?
I can’t watch Netflix whatsoever, videos on Hulu and Youtube are excruciatingly slow and choppy more often than not, and many popular web pages are just so damn media-rich that loading them on the Cr-48 drags down the performance of everything else. For something that is marketed on a platform of always being tethered to the Internet, the web browsing experience on the Cr-48 feels like a step in the wrong direction.
In its current state, Chrome OS isn’t an ideal substitute for a real computer. Sure, it might be a perfect single-tasking companion for students and technophobes, but for me, it’s more useful as a secondary machine for browsing Reddit, writing in Google Docs and checking my e-mail. However, as with all early forms of technology, Google’s Chrome OS will improve over time and slowly settle into the world of computing as an everyday service, just like everything else that Google touches.
Edit: Just a little post script to prove my point -- I tried doing a Google Image search for a Chrome logo to put in this blog post, and the page crashed. It can't even handle a simple image search. On Google, nonetheless.
Monday, March 14, 2011
NOOKcolor
My first impressions of the NOOKcolor: decent web browsing, plenty of reading options, beautiful screen, good size. However, the screen seems almost too sensitive at times, going haywire if you touch it with slighly sweaty fingers. I'll have to keep a microfiber cloth on hand. No autocorrect is a pain in the ass, so I don't expect to do much writing on here. The back edge of the unit feels loose at times, moving around more than I would hope.
As of right now, I'm happy with it overall. There's talk of a B&N Marketplace coming soon, and if its a letdown, I can always root it and slap Honeycomb on a microSD card. Which I fully intend on doing anyway.