How To: Acer Iconia 500 (with Gingerbread) Root

I just became the owner of an Acer Iconia 500.

Specs:

1GHz Tegra
1GB RAM
16GB storage (upgradeable to 32GB)
1280×800 LCD screen
2MP and 5MP front and rear-facing cameras (respectively)
built-in HDMI port
Six-Axis motion sensing gyro meter
Android Version 3.1
Kernel Version 2.6.36.3

As an Android user (HTC EVO 4G) one of the 1st things I’m used to is rooting my Android devices. There are many reasons to root, and for me the biggest reason to want to root my new toy involves being able to install Titanium Backup Root (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/app/titanium-backup-%E2%98%85-root/com NULL.keramidas NULL.TitaniumBackup), which (in my opinion) is the best backup software you can use on any Android hardware.

So I started searching for information online from anyone who had steps for the Iconia root. There were many posts, but all of them has steps for the Iconia with Android 3.0, and they didn’t work with 3.1. Finally I came across a post from sc2k (http://forum NULL.xda-developers NULL.com/member NULL.php?u=3377374)on the XDA forum with the simplest steps I’ve ever seen to root any device.

I need to add the following disclaimer. Rooting (Jailbreaking) has its risks. While rooting is easy to accomplish on the Iconia Tablet, it is worth noting that you could potentially break your device and/or void your warranty. Please make sure you read and follow these directions carefully. You root at your own risk.

The complete XDA Developers post and root download tool can be found at (LINK) http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138228 (http://forum NULL.xda-developers NULL.com/showthread NULL.php?t=1138228)

You will find a couple of versions of the tool, I used iconiaroot 1.3.apk (which as of 7/28/11 is the latest version).

How to root
1. Goto Settings->Applications and enable "Unknown sources"
2. Download the attached APK file
3. Copy the file to your Iconia
4. Install the APK & start the tool
5. Click "root"
6. Enjoy

How to unroot
1. Start the tool & click "unroot"

PC: Protecting your files–Online Backup w/iDrive

There is only 1 guarantee with computers, eventually it will crash. In the past it wasn’t that big a deal, as long as you kept a backup copy of the important documents on floppy disks (rememba them?) or on CD / external hard drive in case something happened. Now most people have their entire lives on the pc, from financial documents, to family pictures, to downloads (since a majority of software and music is now a download and not physical media). We have gig’s and gig’s of things that people would consider critical that would be expensive or impossible to replace (I currently have just over 100 gigs in my existing backup, between documents, pictures, and music alone).

Do you realize that all media providers put the responsibility on you (the end user) to do your own back up’s and if something happens to your hard drive that all you may get is “Sorry but you have to pay for them AGAIN!”. Some providers may allow a no cost recovery download to get your files back but you should never count on it.

(From the iTunes Site as an example – In Bold)

Additional Information

¹ Automatic Downloads and downloading previous purchases are not compatible with iPhone 4 (CDMA Model). Automatic Downloads and downloading past purchased music is supported only in the US and is not compatible with iPhone 4 (CDMA Model). Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer on the iTunes Store

This week alone I took 2 different calls of clients that had pc crashes. One pc was a couple of years old, the other one was less than 3 months old (so don’t think, That wont happen to me because I have a new pc). In both cases the clients had an online back up setup using iDrive (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/?p=techgeekandmore). All that happened was that they got their replacement pc’s, we connected to iDrive and they downloaded all their important files. No lost files, only minimal downtime. Last week, I took a call from another client that lost her pc through theft and in her case, the burglar also took all her disks, including her only back up’s. She is now trying to recover from scratch and has years of pictures that she may never get back.

I have been using iDrive for years now, and have always recommended it to friends and family as a way to protect what is important to them. Since the beginning of Tech Geek and More, TGM has been a referral partner for iDrive because I know it works.

The recommended back up strategy is a multi part approach.

Have a backup locally. Be it to Disks (CD most likely) or to an External Hard Drive.
Have a backup remotely. This should be in a secure encrypted manor.

Two of the biggest reasons for the remote backup are FIRE and THEFT (as shown above). A backup doesn’t work if you cant get to it.

There really REALLY REALLY is no reason why you shouldn’t have a backup solution. If you have just a small number of documents that you need to protect, iDrive offers 5 gigs of service for free (that amount can grow if you refer others to iDrive). If you have more than 5 gigs, the costs are as little as $4.95 a month.

There is even a plan that lets you backup as many as 5 pc’s under 1 account (for a total of 500 gig’s of space), for just $14.95 a month and those 5 pc’s don’t have to be in the same home. In addition iDrive has a discount for education

Sign up with your .edu or k12.state.us domain based email address to avail 50% off on IDrive Pro Personal and Pro Family plans.

iDrive is pc and Mac compatible, and has apps for both Android and iPhone that allow you to have access to your backup files from your smart phone (LINK) http://www.idrive.com/idrive-for-iphone.htm (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/idrive-for-iphone NULL.htm)

To view a demo of iDrive (LINK) http://www.idrive.com/online-backup-demo.htm (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/online-backup-demo NULL.htm)

To sign up for iDrive service follow this (LINK) http://www.idrive.com/?p=techgeekandmore (http://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/?p=techgeekandmore) or just click on the iDrive banner on the right side of Tech Geek and More.

(Disclaimer – Tech Geek and More does get a small referral fee for those signing up with a paid iDrive account. However, this recommendation would be exactly the same even if Tech Geek and More was not getting anything).

Web: Twitter having issues this evening 7-18-11

Seems that Twitter is having some technical issues this evening. The issues appear to have started about 8:30p (EST).

Not only will people not see any current tweets but things like followers seem to have all disappeared. (Thanks a lot Twitter, it took a lot to get what little I had).

Updates to follow as more information is known……

UPDATE: As of 10p (EST) Twitter now has the follow post

UPDATE: 7-19-11

Twitter now reporting that issues are now resolved.

Notebook Software: Evernote, Part 1 of ?

Sometimes I want to scream “Hey Microsoft, I don’t always have access to my PC.” Also I want to scream “Hey Google, I don’t always have access to the Internet.” I did this once in an old folks home and was asked to leave. This always seems to be my problem, (the PC and internet thing, not screaming in old folks homes) there are times where I don’t have access to my laptop, or it’s too much hassle to get it out, and for whatever reason I don’t always have access to the Internet. Mind you it is rarely at the same time. I’ll usually have one or the other.

That is why I really like applications such as Evernote (evernote.com) (I’m using it to write this article now). It’s a solid Notebook software (just like Microsoft OneNote) that keeps a copy of your notes on your PC and a copy in the cloud that can be accessed via a web app. Along with that I have several PCs, each can access the same web account, and synchronize the notes with each other. You can also access your notes on your Smart-phone, however I’m not as thrilled with using my Smart-phone (I use a Blackberry) with Evernote. I have to access the notes on the web, there is not local storage of files. This is a good feature to have in a pinch, but be warned the bigger the notebook the more bandwidth you’ll spend getting your notes.

Feature wise it’s pretty comparable with Microsoft OneNote and to Evernote’s credit they are continuously adding features to it. If you aren’t familiar with notebook software, the quick answer to “What is Notebook software?” is “Word processing software on Steroids”. All of the ones I’ve used all have basic Word processing capabilities, like formatting, plus some extras. For example creating Tables, and numbered and bulleted lists. Then you can use the Clip features, to capture Web pages, screen shots, and e-mails. In addition you can upload PDF files into Evernote. The captured items are then easily organized with in the software in different Notebooks that you create.

Oh yeah did I mention it’s free. You are limited to 60MB of data. If you need more and can afford $5 a month (or save $15 and pay $45 for the year) you can store up to Upload 1GB a month in notes. I found that the first month was the closest I came to reaching the 60MB of data, but I was uploading several PDF files at the time which took up a lot of Bandwidth.

Part 2 (LINK)

Software: Google+ App for Android–Battery Drain Issue

With the release of the (Invite Only) Google+ in the past couple of days, Google has been able to create a lot of Buzz (No pun intended to another one of the Google Projects). Google+ is the latest attempt to go head-to-head with Facebook.

Tonight’s post concerns the 1st issue I’ve run into while playing with Google+. I have an HTC Evo 4G that since I moved to an extended life battery (3.7V / 3500 mAh) lasts me 2 full days between charges. That was until I installed the Google+ App on my phone the other day (It was the only app that I had installed in the past 2 weeks), and suddenly my phone lasted 5 hours on a charge. So not realizing what was happening, I charged my phone, and again only 5 hours and I was out of charge again.

During the initial install, I didn’t make any changes, and installed using the default settings. So with the sudden and massive cut in battery life, I started digging and figured out the following

- There are 2 settings in the Google+ app that directly affect your battery life.

Once I made the following changes my phone’s battery life went back to what I was accustomed to.

1 – Open your Google+ App

2 – When you start your Google+ app, click on the Menu button on your phone. This will open the settings button. Click on settings

3 – Once you are in the settings section, scroll toward the bottom and Uncheck the “Instant Upload” choice. Once that is uncheck, click on the “Instant Upload Settings”…..

4 – This will open an additional Instant Upload Settings Options screen. On here scroll toward the bottom again, and click and put a check on “Battery Uploads” choice.

These changes so far have not had any affect on my ability to use the majority of the features in Google+. The only 2 things is that I now have to manually upload my pics to Google+ (Instant Upload setting) and I can only upload photos when the phone is plugged in and charging (Battery Uploads). Of course, you can always uncheck the Battery Uploads choice, upload your pictures, and then check it again. If you choose to only check the “Instant Upload” setting, you get some of your battery life back but not all. In my case, it was 1 full day + 6 hours (approx.).

Of course this is a new App, for a project that was just released and is still in early beta and changes we can all expect that Google will be making changes to fix issues.

Alert: 2 New Facebook Scams (July 2011)

One of the most common tricks the bad guys use to trick people into infecting their computers involve using current events. Since the beginning of the internet “Social Engineering” has always been the easiest way to get around any pc security.

We have 2 new tricks making the rounds on Facebook.

1st Scam –

Just a few days ago Facebook announced a new feature (that will be coming soon) allowing Facebook users the ability to do Video chat (http://articles NULL.cnn NULL.com/2011-07-06/tech/facebook NULL.announcement_1_mark-zuckerberg-facebook-spokeswoman-facebook-users?_s=PM:TECH) with others on your Facebook list. Security firm SOPHOS is now reporting that the bad guys have started using that announcement to trick Facebook users into infecting their machines (LINK) http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/07/08/facebook-scammers-spread-app-pretending-to-be-video-calling/ (http://nakedsecurity NULL.sophos NULL.com/2011/07/08/facebook-scammers-spread-app-pretending-to-be-video-calling/)

The FAKE app will show on someone who has already been tricked into clicking the link. The idea being that if you see if the link on the page of someone you know, “then it must be safe”. If you happen to click on the link from someone “someone you know”, then the link appears on your page and the cycle continues.

If you see a wall post referencing "Enable video calls.", don’t click it! Send your friend a message that they have been tricked.

Keep in mind 2 things, (1) The Facebook Video chat will not be released as an add-on app on Facebook, It will be built directly into the site. (2) It isn’t out for general public use yet.

2nd Scam –

With the Not Guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony verdict causing so many emotions within the general public, the bad guys have figured that emotion will override common sense.

As SOPHOS is reporting (LINK) http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/07/10/leaked-video-of-casey-anthony-confessing-facebook-scam-spreads-quickly/ (http://nakedsecurity NULL.sophos NULL.com/2011/07/10/leaked-video-of-casey-anthony-confessing-facebook-scam-spreads-quickly/) , there is now a FAKE story showing up in posts claiming to be a confession video.

For those who wonder why would anyone bother to do this there is a simple answer, MONEY…….

Because you’ll ultimately be taken to a page which pretends to be YouTube, but is really designed to trick you into taking a survey that earns commission for the scammers.

The page you will be taken to is FAKE and of course before you can see a video THAT DOESN’T EXIST, you need to fill out a survey. In addition, if you click on the link, it will then appear on your wall and in your likes, with the hope that your FB friends will click see them and click on the links from you.

———————————————————————-

As always, here are a few reminders

1 – Do your “homework” before clicking on links, even if they appear on the Facebook page of someone you know. Please understand, JUST BECAUSE ITS LISTED ON THE INTERNET, DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT’S TRUE

2 – Make sure you are updating your pc software. That includes Windows/Office Updates, Mac Updates (Yes Mac is starting to get the attention of the bad guys), in addition to Adobe Software Updates (Acrobat, Flash), Oracle Software Updates (JAVA), Your Antivirus maker software (you should be running something, a number of free choices, so there is no excuse), and your Anti-malware software (Superantispyware, Malwarebytes, etc.)…..

From Phandroid: Google+ Cheat Sheet

Phandroid has a good Google+ Cheat Sheet (LINK) http://phandroid.com/?p=56477 (http://phandroid NULL.com/?p=56477) . Recommended for anyone who has been trying to figure out Google+

From Phandroid: Acerbic Iconia Tablet 3.1 update.

Per Phandroid, The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is now rolling out its 3.1 Android update. http://phandroid.com/?p=56074 (http://phandroid NULL.com/?p=56074)

Web: Trekkie Alert Netflix now has everything Star Trek

For all those Trekkies out there, Netflix now has every episode of Star Trek from every season, of every series (including the The Animated Series), plus the movies.

The following are available via streaming or DVD/Blue Ray

Star Trek: Enterprise (http://www NULL.netflix NULL.com/Movie/Star-Trek-Enterprise/70158332?strkid=916817486_4_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=287b2bf6050c4b50_4_srl&trkid=222336)

Star Trek: Voyager (http://www NULL.netflix NULL.com/Movie/Star-Trek-Voyager/70158331?strkid=916817486_3_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=287b2bf6050c4b50_3_srl&trkid=222336)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (http://www NULL.netflix NULL.com/Movie/Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation/70158329?strkid=916817486_2_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=287b2bf6050c4b50_2_srl&trkid=222336)

Star Trek (http://www NULL.netflix NULL.com/Movie/Star-Trek/70101276?strkid=916817486_1_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=287b2bf6050c4b50_1_srl&trkid=222336) (2009 Movie)

Star Trek (http://www NULL.netflix NULL.com/Movie/Star-Trek/70136140?strkid=916817486_0_0&lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strackid=287b2bf6050c4b50_0_srl&trkid=222336) (Original Series)

With the remaining series and movies on DVD and/or Blue Ray. It seems that Paramount has updated the franchise with a digital makeover.

Cellular: Sprint Airave (Femtocells) Pt2–Now that I have the device……

The biggest reason I wanted to get this device was because the cell signal at my house was almost non-existent.

As you can see from the screenshot above, 1 bar and that’s barely. The funny thing about my Sprint service is that if I go 1 block in any direction from my house there is “perfect” 5 bar service. It just seems to be that my block is in another dimension (or something like that). So when I discovered that there was a way that I could get my own “Personal Cell Tower”, I jumped on it.

Once it arrived, it was very simple to set up. For one, it was sent configured (Thanks Sprint), so all I needed to do was plug in the provided network cable from the Airave to my Router (If you have a DSL Router there may be an additional step needed to allow the Airave to communicate with your Router). I was advised that you shouldn’t power the unit up until you plug it to your network, so that’s what I did. The Airave device has a built in GPS antenna, which in my case worked, however if your Airave is unable to pick up a GPS signal, an additional external antenna is provided. The instructions say that it is recommended that the Airave be placed in an elevated area or high shelf, so I placed it on top of a bookcase that is next to my pc, its across the room from a window (not next to it).

Once its plugged in to your network and powered on, you will see 4 lights on the Airave. Once the bottom 3 lights go solid (This took about 30 min during the initial boot up), your Airave ready to be used. (The top light turns on when the Airave is being used for make or receive a call)

At that point I didn’t need to do anything else. As you can see, this Airave makes a noticeable difference. The signal strength in my entire house is now 5 bars.

The Airave connected to your internet makes your cell phone into a VOIP phone. Per Sprint, no minutes are used when making or receiving calls via the Airave. However, It is important that you have a quality high speed internet connection. The cell phone automatically connects to the Airave when its signal is in reach (you will know that you are connected as you get 3 beeps on your phone at the beginning of each call), and if you are on a call that started on an Airave and you walk out of its range, the phone will automatically continue that call using the nearest Sprint cell tower. However, if you start a call outside from a cell tower, the call will NOT transfer to the Airave.

Here is my breakdown of the Airave –

PRO

- Its simple to get up and running

- Multiple phones can use the Airave at the same time (Up to 6 phone, I understand)

- For those with weak or no signal, it works.

- Does not use up your minutes while connected to the Airave. This could be an option for those looking to replace their home phone service with VOIP service.**

**Note VOIP and Cellular service does NOT have traditional E911 capabilities, so you do want to make sure you are aware of the limitations ahead of time (and have working alternatives for those limitations).

CON

- Depending on the tech(s) you speak with, the Airave could cost you over $200 to purchase and include an additional monthly fee on your bill.

– If you are in an area that can be proven has weak or low signal coverage. Sprint should really be offering these for FREE without making jump through so many hoops**.

**During a follow up call, I was informed that I would need to pay for the device and a monthly fee, that was higher than what I was originally quoted. I ended up having to speak to multiple agents (including customer retention) and threaten to look at additional options (including giving my cell service to another provider). Finally with the customer retention department, I was given the the device with fees waved.

- Not all the Sprint tech’s seem to understand and know what the Airave is or what it does.

- Sprint does not make it simple to get the Airave

– It took me 3 phone calls, that involved 7 different Sprint representatives and about 5 hours of my life until I was able to get the device.

Final Comment

If you are willing to put up with many unnecessary hoops, the Airave works and will be a noticeable difference. The more times you have called Sprint in the past to report (complain) about the weak signal, so that its already recorded in the Sprint system, the easier it will be to be able to get Sprint to agree to send you an Airave. You will probably get multiple Sprint representatives trying to get you to pay for the device or a monthly fee, if you are trying to get this because your service isn’t what it should be, you will need to make sure you are adamant to Sprint that you need this because of their lack of coverage.