Everything you always wanted to know about sideloading Android Apps.

Since my toddler received a Kurio Touch 4s from his grand parents for Christmas, I've been brushing up on my Android app side loading skills recently. It occurred to me that lots of folks, having found themselves in possession of a new tablet, might also need to learn more about some the different ways to do this. 

Listed below are a few articles that may prove helpful.

How to Sideload Apps Onto Your Kindle Fire

How to Download APK Files (Android Apps) from Google Play

The Ultimate Guide to Installing Incompatible Android Apps from Google Play

Hat's off to HowToGeek.com for these excellent articles on sideloading!

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Kurio Touch 4s - Initial Impressions

Christmas time has come and gone, and one of the new acquisitions for the toddler in the household was a shiny new Kurio Touch 4s.

On the surface, it seems like a good idea, a phone sized tablet, with a protected environment, for the little ones, ostensibly to help the adults keep possession of their phones/tablets instead of constantly having to 'borrow' it back from their youngsters.

But there is a catch. Despite the 30 applications that come with the Kurio, the options for adding additional apps are woefully inadequate. Out of the box, the Kurio comes with it's own app store, and nothing else, thereby making all of the other apps your child is probably already familiar with out of bounds.

Good marketing ploy for Kurio obviously, but for the consumer, it's not such a great deal, since the Kurio does not give you access to the hundreds, if not thousands, of otherwise available free apps in the Android ecosphere.

Kurio has indicated that certification for the Google Play store is in the works, but there is no firm date as of this posting, as to when existing Kurio Touch owners can expect this update.

I did manage to successfully install the Amazon Android App Store onto the Kurio 4s, but there are inconsistencies in the results. Some apps install and run correctly, others have conflicts with the Kurio's additional 'kid-safe' security features.

Hopefully the folks at Kurio will make certification for the Google Play store a priority, and work out whatever needs to be done to make sure that apps installed by the 'Owner' account and allocated to the other User accounts will actually be approved by the Kurio added security features.

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Mythbuntu 12.04 and the mythfilldatabase bug - SOLVED!

I had a bit of a scare the past few days when I suddenly realized my MythTV HTPC was showing only 6 days of programming info. Searching various forums indicated that this was not uncommon, and the solutions, even over a year since these reports started to flood in, were not clear, and in fact, most suggestions were either horribly complicated or virtually ineffective. After hours of searching, checking settings, checking file permissions, emailing back and forth with Schedules Direct, I did finally fix the problem on my machine. In the event that my solution might actually help someone else avoid this type of HTPC angst, I'm posting it here-

For reference, I am running Mythbuntu 12.04 and myth .025, and I did a complete shutdown and reboot before proceeding with these steps-

1) Using a different computer, log into Schedules Direct, and select the resend lineups button
2) On the HTPC, shut down frontend and backend, go into backend setup

3) Manually check every channel to make sure none are using EID data

4) Clear and re-enter the password for logging into Schedules Direct (Data Direct), and made sure the user ID is correct

5) Download the lineup data from Schedules Direct

6) Match the correct lineup from the pull down to the correct source (I have two)

7) Repeat steps 4-6 for each additional source.

8) Exit the backend setup, then run mythfilldatabase.

9) Run mythfilldatabase a second time using the --dd-grab-all option

10) Restart the backend and the frontend and if all goes well, you should find all the listings were restored properly

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Get Yourself a Full Featured

Dedicated eReader the EASY Way!

A little tech tip for today - 

http://androidlife.co/diya-turn-an-old-android-tablet-into-a-personal-dedicated-e-reader/

In fact, with the glut of low cost tablets floating around, you could even do this to a brand new tablet, and wind up with a powerful ereader for well less than the cost of an actual off the shelf ereader.

At Last! A FIX for the annoying FULLSCREEN bug

in Chrome and Chromium!

Since sometime in 2011, Google Chrome and it's open source equivalent Chromium have been plagued with the dreaded ''Fullscreen'' bug which *seems* to occur randomly after updates. I've labored over editing configuration files in the past, so that I didn't have to restart with a blank user profile, and then rebuild, which is most often suggested as the only solution.So when I got slammed with the bug again today, and was painfully searching for the info I needed to once again do a manual edit of the configuration file, I found this little gem - A solution that is painless, and nothing short of miraculous! Thanks Dansoonie, for sharing this with the rest of us! You are AWESOME!

http://dansoonie.tistory.com/m/post/view/id/665

In a nutshell, when faced with this problem, you simply change your screen resolution to one SMALLER than you normally use. Your browser will resize itself accordingly. After that, it's simply a matter of reverting back to your normal screen resolution, and your problem is permanently fixed! No need to lose your existing profile settings, no need to painstakingly edit the profile defaults by hand!

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Hey Windows Users! 

It's easier to make the switch to Linux than you think.

Not only that, all these software replacements for commonly used Windows programs are FREE...

http://www.tecmint.com/windows-alternatives-for-linux/

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It's almost a universal truth that sometimes the simplest solutions are the best-

http://www.howtogeek.com/96541/the-painless-way-to-ditch-your-old-windows-xp-for-a-more-secure-linux/

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Computers running Windows NEED anti-virus protection!

Here's today's Computer Tip-

http://www.howtogeek.com/140795/htg-explains-why-you-need-an-antivirus-on-windows-no-matter-how-careful-you-are/

And here's a simple solution-

http://freebies.about.com/od/computerfreebies/tp/best-free-antivirus.htm

I've used and recommended AVG for years, and Avast! is also very good.

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Think Twice Before Purchasing an Element Electronics TV

So far I have owned two of the Element 26 inch TVs (Model ELCFW261) that I purchased from Walmart online, and both have had total failure of the control boards that allow the TV to operate with the remote or the control buttons on the casing. The first lasted only five days before failing, the replacement lasted 3 weeks. Not surprisingly, these units are no longer even listed for sale on the Walmart website. Whether that is because they are out of stock, or because Walmart realized there is a problem with those particular models, and pulled them from the online store, is not something the average consumer is ever likely to know.

However, based on personal experience, this problem is not limited to just this particular model. The Element 40 inch TV (Model ELDFW407) that I had purchased a few months ago in my local Walmart store has recently also started to act up with the same type of problems, although so far, instead of a total and permanent failure of the remote and control button functions, turning off the TV and letting it sit for a half day or so seems to allow it to start working properly once again. I have no doubt that eventually this 'fix' will no longer be effective, and I will have to deal with warranty issues on this one as well.***

The sad part is that these TV's, had they been reliable, are in all other respects, an excellent balance of picture quality, performance, and price. But the quality of the components used, and the high rate of failure (3 out of 3) indicates that Element has some serious QC issues in their production process.

I made a mistake in replacing the first defective ELCFW261 with an identical model, assuming that it was an understandable random defect. Now that all three Element TVs have exhibited the exact same problems, it appears to me that it is more likely that there is an inherent design flaw/defect with the electrical components that handle the remote and control button functions in more than one model of Element TV products. I will not be replacing them with another product from Element, and feel compelled to describe these events as a warning to potential purchasers that, based on my experiences, there is a high chance of getting a defective product when purchasing this brand.

I have no idea if the extended warranty that I purchased for the second 26 inch ELCFW261 can be transferred to a different product**, but I am certain I am not going to opt for a fourth Element product as a replacement at this point, since it now has become the second Element TV that I will have to return to Walmart in less than a month.

Next up, I'm sure I'm going to be finding out in the near future just how good the manufacturer's warranty and Walmart's Extended Warranty plan is on the 40 inch ELDFW407 that I purchased in the store.

**Walmart did inform me that Extended Warranty Plans are non-transferable, but they did promptly refund the price of the Extended Warranty that I had purchased for the ELCFW261 when I contacted them about it.

***The day after this blog entry was posted, the Element 40 inch TV  (Model ELDFW407) had a complete failure exactly as described for the two 26 inch models. I'll be updating this blog with details as to how expeditiously Element handles the warranty process.

To be clear, Walmart and it's employees have given excellent customer service throughout this whole ordeal, and are certainly not responsible for the quality of the products produced by Element.

All logos, trade names, trade marks, and photos of the same belong to their respective owners. The use of such material in this article falls under the Fair Use provisions of intellectual property laws.