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Windows Phone 8 + Nokia Lumia Series

Elyas Kashfi / January 1, 2013 / Android, Software, Technology, Windows Phone / Permalink

In the coming few days I will be going over Microsoft’s latest mobile OS (Windows Phone 8) and Nokia’s WP8 flagship phone, the Lumia 920.

Just to give a bit of an introduction. I have recently (only a couple of weeks) moved away from the openness and flexible mobile platform, Android, to a (hopefully) more stable and predictable OS, Windows Phone 8. I decided to go all out and got myself the hyped Nokia Lumia 920.

Given that I have been using Android since Froyo (2.2), rooted my phone, installed non-stock ROMs (like AOKP), bricked it once and developed a few Android apps (published and unpublished), I am definitely going to be biased in my views of Windows Phone. Or at least for now.

Hope you enjoy the series of posts coming up ! And of course, Happy New Year!

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Fixing Windows Phone 8 to Windows 8 Tethering Issue

Elyas Kashfi / December 28, 2012 / Internet, Software, Technology, Windows Phone / Permalink

I have recently decided to jump over to the Windows Phone side, having been on Android and even developing a couple of apps on Android (I still like the platform though!).

I went for the very popular Nokia Lumia 920 (sure it is bulky compared to the HTC 8x, but it has a more solid build) and to be honest I’m not missing much compared to Android (email + WhatsApp + GPS navigation are the apps I use the most).

One of the great things about smartphones these days is the ability to tether (for those unfamiliar with the term: share your phone’s data with other devices over WiFi or sometimes even USB). I tried to tether my Windows Phone 8 to my Windows 8 Pro laptop and unfortunately I kept getting “Limited Access”. I tried just about everything from switching DNS to reinstalling drivers and I can’t remember what else.

I was frustrated, I thought my phone was broken somehow. A search online did not help much since people were either using phones with providers that “crippled” the tethering feature or had it removed completely. I bought my phone from the Nokia dealer in Bahrain (Intercol) and know for a fact that is supposed to be unlocked.

Then it hit me, in my frustration I never tried tethering to my Windows 7 desktop, my Android phone or even my PS Vita. Surprisingly they had no problem accessing the Internet, something was wrong with Windows 8. I attempted to tether to my Windows 8 work laptop and bam, limited access… Windows 8 was definitely the culprit.

After days of trying I finally found the solution, although I can’t explain the reason why it works, it just works! What you need to do in Windows 8 is enable FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards), just follow these steps:

1. Right click on your tethered WiFi connection (which is currently showing “Limited Access”) and open up “View connection properties”.

win81 Fixing Windows Phone 8 to Windows 8 Tethering Issue

2. Go to the “Security” tab and click on “Advanced Settings”.

3. Tick the “Enable FIPS” box (its the only box there). Hit the OKs.

win82 Fixing Windows Phone 8 to Windows 8 Tethering Issue

4. If the connection still shows “Limited Access” just disconnect and reconnect. It should have Internet access now.

Hope this clears your tethering frustrations !

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Connectify Dispatch: Revolutionizing Connectivity

Elyas Kashfi / August 14, 2012 / Software, Technology / Permalink

If you have been following one of the big tech blogs/sites or Connectify (@Connectifyme) you may have come across the word "Dispatch". So what exactly is this thing called "Dispatch" and what does it have to do with Connectify?

For those of you who don't know Connectify: they created the software that allows you to share your connection (Wifi, LAN, 3G you name it) to others using WiFi. Basically the Connectify software turns your PC into a router! Great for extending your home's WiFi network, or sharing that expensive hotel Internet access to your other devices.

Connectify have recently started a new project, this thing called Dispatch. According to them, Dispatch will allow you to "use all of your available Internet connections at once to maximize speed and reliability". Let's use an example and apply it to what Dispatch aims to do. At home I currently have a WiFi connection to ISP 1 (at 1 Mbps), LAN to ISP 2 (2 Mbps) and a 3G dongle (up to 42 Mbps). Dispatch will allow me to combine all these connection into a single super connection with the speed combined! So theoretically my Internet pipe using Dispatch could reach 45 Mbps.

The idea is not new, this is sort of what channel bonding (common in DSL) and link aggregation does anyway (or at least I think). However, they are not easy to configure, may or may not work with certain hardware and a ton of other variables that simply makes it not for the layman PC user. Dispatch hoped to make it a breeze.

Connectify are currently running a Kickstarter project to gather funds ($50,000) to develop Dispatch. Don't worry, if you contribute you get some goodies depending on how much you pledge, from a Connectify license to working with the design team making your own skin .

I sure am interested in trying out Dispatch when it comes, especially when I'm downtown!

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Yummy Raspberry Pi

Elyas Kashfi / August 12, 2012 / Internet, Raspberry Pi, Software, Technology / Permalink

Disclaimer: If you are reading this because you thought I am talking about "raspberry piE" then I am sorry to disappoint you . This is about "Raspberry Pi" the computer! For PIE here is the top result.

Wow where to start. Guess an introduction first. The Raspberry Pi is a cheap (around $35) computer that comes as an open circuit board. You get to see the components in the nude, touch the chips and components (not recommended due to ESD and a little shock ) and even add other compatible boards to it.

What makes the Raspberry Pi so special? For one it is quite powerful (taking price and size into consideration of course). It comes with a Broadcom BCM2835 (SoC: CPU, GPU and RAM sandwiched on a chip), 256MB of RAM that can be split between OS and the GPU, 2 USB ports, an Ethernet port, HDMI output (yes, the GPU has enough juice to output 1080p video), RCA video output and the popular 3.5mm audio jack. It also comes with GPIO (General Purpose Input / Output) that will let you connect to other boards (some available, others coming). All you need to run the OS is simply an SD card! And it only needs 3.5W from a USB power supply to run it (the micro USB type B available on some phone chargers today). Basically all you need is any TV with either the old video input or HDMI and a USB keyboard and mouse (or you can simply use Ethernet (it comes with a 10/100 port) for SSH and get rid of the keyboard and mouse).

It took quite a bit of waiting for me to get my Raspberry Pi. I actually had to register on a waiting list (many months ago), when it was my turn (invited to order on the 21st of June) I ordered and paid in full but had to wait a bit longer (16th July) before they shipped my Raspberry! It was also the first time any of my Aramex Shop and Ship packages had to go through customs (a circuit board definitely looks awkward, especially these days).

Software wise, the Pi runs Linux for now. A wide range of distributions are available, the more popular and recommended one being Raspbian (Raspberry + Debian). A more complete list of distros available may be found here (including some media servers). I opted for the recommended Raspbian, that comes with an LXDE desktop. To be honest, the desktop is slow compared to one of those cheap Chinese tablets running Android. However, if all you need is the shell then the Pi is for you.

Given that the Raspberry Pi is targeted for kids and for educational purposes, it does have its applications in other areas. Here are just a few current and upcoming projects based on the Pi.The official site also showcases what people are doing with their Pis. At the moment I have decided to run my Raspberry Pi as a seedbox: no more noisy, power hungry PC left running overnight !

Here are a few great links for the Raspberry Pi:

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Forcing Google Chrome to Use a Specific Google Engine

Elyas Kashfi / June 27, 2012 / Software / Permalink

Something that I found a bit annoying with Chrome is how it somehow detects your installation location and then installs using that country as the default Google search location. For example, install from Bahrain and it will force the .com.bh engine on queries from the Omnibox (aka the address bar). If you don't care about that and just want English then you just need to click on "English" on the Arabic page. What if you want to use .com in the Omnibox? Visiting http://www.google.com/ncr (no country redirect) doesn't affect the Omnibox and for some reason, adding an engine in Chrome (plus its extra parameters), stops the Omnibox from suggesting keywords.

If you want to force whatever Google localized engine or the regular .com engine try these steps:

Google usually installs in your user's account folder, inside is a file called "Local State". The path to the file is usually: C:\Users\<User Account Name>\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Local State (replace <User Account Name> with your Windows account name). I believe there is also a similar file in Linux, but I can't remember its exact path.
Edit the "Local State" file, right at the beginning of that file look for 2 lines: "last_known_google_url" and "last_prompted_google_url".
In my case, the above 2 lines contained "http://www.google.com.bh/". Just change both to whatever other Google URL you want such as "http://www.google.com/" for regular Google or, "http://www.google.co.za/" if you wish to use Zimbabwe's .
Save and restart your browser, it may prompt you the first time you search if you want to keep using the current engine or switch back. You know what to click.

Hopefully this more hard coded way of changing your Google engine in Chrome give you a permanent fix to your Omnibox Google localization issues.

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Bahrain Cinema (Text Mode) App Released

Elyas Kashfi / June 25, 2012 / Android, Software / Permalink

Just published my first Android app in Google Play: Bahrain Cinema (Text Mode)! Get it from Google Play below:

The app will allow you to access Bahrain's cinemas listing and get you the movie's show time and synopsis. Currently only Bahrain Cinema Co. (Cineco) is supported. Show time data and synopsis obtained from the official Bahrain Cinema website.

More details here.

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What to do With an Old Netbook?

Elyas Kashfi / June 12, 2012 / Internet, Software, Technology / Permalink

Many of us at the moment probably own one or more of these devices: a laptop, desktop, smart phone, possibly a tablet and maybe a netbook. If we exclude the smart phone, the weakest device in your arsenal now is probably the netbook.

Netbooks were great. It's light, extremely portable, has a decent battery life and you can do all your browsing and emailing in convenience. However today, notebooks are extremely affordable and have much better specs than a netbook. Then the tablet arrived, it used to be expensive with Apple dominating the market, but thanks to Android a plethora of tablets have poured in the market. By now, you are probably doing your netbook stuff on your tablet (email, browsing, videos, social networking etc…) or combining the netbook usage with some high end gaming or graphics on your notebook.

Now you've got a netbook lying around, doing nothing but picking up dust. So, what other uses can you find for your old netbook? Here are a few I came up with:

Give It Away

This one is pretty obvious, if you have someone that doesn't own a computer the netbook will probably be the best gift ever! You could also give it to a younger sibling or donate it to some charity or thrift shop to be sold. Quick and easy disposal. Someone like me however, would skip this option.

Try a Different Operating System

Your netbook most likely came shipped with Windows XP or Windows 7 Starter, I'm leaning to a majority of XP netbooks. Heard of Linux? No, it is not a hacker thing. Although technically incorrect, Linux is an alternative operating system. However they come in flavors (Linux is the kernel), depending on usage. For beginners I would recommend Ubuntu. Simply download it, get a flash drive, download and run Unetbootin to create a bootable flash drive and let your netbook boot from the flash. Ubuntu will give you the opportunity to try it out without touching your hard disk contents.

For the geeks: install something like FreeBSD and show off your devilish netbook!

Run a NAS

Netbooks aren't really suited for running a Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers because they usually come with small capacity drives. However, if you just need to attach an external USB drive and you've instantly upgraded usable storage. For a quick NAS solution try FreeNAS. It is built upon FreeBSD but has everything you need to start a NAS almost immediately after installation. It comes with an easy to use web interface and several plugins to expand its capabilities. Don't let the system requirements fool you, for a small network your 1GB of RAM netbook should be ok.

I will probably be doing this with my old netbook.

Donate its CPU Cycles

Although I do not recommend it on netbooks, you could "donate" CPU time to one of several grid computing projects out there. Your CPU will be running at (or almost) maximum capacity searching for disease cures or aliens. Reason I do not recommend it is that firstly, the CPU will get hot and netbooks do not have the best cooling fans. Secondly, the CPU in a netbook is pretty slow, so you will complete computation projects pretty slow as well (may take days for a single work unit).

WiFi Repeater

If you live in a large house or one with many walls that make it difficult for WiFi signals to pass through, you may want a repeater of some sorts to extend the signal. Rather than buying a wireless extender, try a software solution. If you are running a Windows 7 netbook simply install Connectify and a few clicks later you have a wireless router that uses your current WiFi network. Place the netbook somewhere in the middle and you'll get better coverage throughout your house. Or, share WiFi with your friends (and your other devices) through your netbook in places that charge for, or have authenticated Internet access such as hotels, coffee shops, convention halls etc…

Other Uses

A few other uses (but that may not be as practical): automating your home (light on, lights off with a clap, sort of ), network firewall (requires at least 2 network cards), sell the parts (HD and RAM probably easiest accessible) or sell it online (is it worth much?)

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Incremental Backups with Google Drive

Elyas Kashfi / May 20, 2012 / Internet, Review, Software / Permalink

With Google Drive out (my take on it here), I was looking for what to do with the free 5 GB of storage. I do not want to store anything sensitive on it, neither do I want to use it to store media since I have much more than 5 GB worth of that. One thing I am paranoid about is having a backup of important stuff which I store in a folder that syncs across all of my computers (using Wuala, a great multi platform service).

I thought, how could I store a backup of this folder on Google Drive, while at the same time keep it encrypted with a password known to me only? Most importantly I need something that can do backups incrementally to save time and bandwidth. I could simply throw everything into an encrypted 7zip archive and password protect it. However, if changes are significant it might require uploading the archive over and over for simple changes (emphasizing the need for incremental). Then there is the issue of scheduling the whole backup process, logging into my Google Drive account and uploading the backup.

Then I came across an excellent backup program for Windows called Duplicati. In a nutshell Duplicati can:

Encrypt using 256-bit AES (which is very hard to crack, assuming the password is strong ).
Performs full and incremental backups.
Multiple upload destinations.
Rules and filters if you don't want certain file types to be uploaded.
Splitting files, better for unstable connections.
A wizard: Probably the most important feature to bind everything above!

The wizard is very easy to go through. You basically select what you want to backup, choose a password for encryption (optional), select the destination, enter authentication for destination and you're basically ready.

Tip: In case you want to backup to Google Drive, you should set the destination to Google Docs in the wizard (remember Google Drive is still being rolled out). Now you know how to backup safely to your Google Drive .

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Google Drive: Too Late or Innovation?

Elyas Kashfi / May 14, 2012 / Android, Internet, Review, Software, Technology / Permalink

It has been a few weeks since Google launched their new service, Google Drive and I decided to give it a try. I actually found out about it a week after it was launched. The signup process is painless if you already have a Google account since all you need to do is sign in. At the time I signed up however, the signup was not immediate and it told me that the service was not widely available yet but I would receive an email once I get "invited". A day later I checked my email and it confirmed that I could now use Google Drive, not as bad as other Google services when they launched (remember Google+ ?).

It might be surprising to see Google decide to launch Google Drive these days since there are a plethora of services that basically do the same thing as Google Drive: Dropbox, SugarSync, Wuala just to name a few (check out my Wuala review here). There was a rumor going around about Google Drive for many years.since 2006 (6 years, an eternity on the Internet!). Note, Google Drive has nothing to do with GMail Drive (not officially from Google) which is a Windows application that can be used to store files on your GMail account. So is it too late for Google to be joining the online storage and sync market?

The Good Stuff About Google Drive

1. They are giving away 5 GB worth of storage for free. Other services offer considerably less, though you can earn more storage if you invite your friends to use as well. Odds are your friends are already using such services making it difficult to get storage through referrals. This is already a big plus compared to the others.

2. You can use Google Drive on a wide range of devices: Windows, Mac, Chrome OS (the OS in Chromebooks) and Android at the moment. A Linux version is coming soon (3rd reply down by Teresa Wu), so is a version for iOS for iPhones and iPads. Depending from which device you visit, Google Drive will let you know if there is an application for your OS:

3. Easier sharing and integration with other Google services. Once your Google account is Google Drive approved, you will no longer have Google Docs since it turns into Google Drive. Google are eventually going to convert Docs accounts into Drive (as shown on the Docs login page). Additionally you will have all and more of the collaboration features that were available on Docs.

4. Feature rich web interface. The interface is quite similar to GMail's default theme and you can use it to upload files AND entire folders if you need to. On some services it can be quite a pain uploading several files (you might need to do it individually) or have a folder upload feature.

5. Developers, developers, developers, developers… Google Drive has created a new ecosystem of applications for the Google Chrome browser. At the moment there are several applications in the Chrome Web Store developed by 3rd party services that allows integration between their stuff and Google Drive.

The Possibly Bad Stuff About Google Drive

1. Privacy. Google Drive shares Google's single privacy policy. Some aspects of the policy includes what they do with the data, how they can use it, who they share it with and more. It is well known that GMail emails are scanned in order to show relevant ads. Some people slam the policies while others say it is similar to those in other services. You be the judge and read the fine print.

2. Some features are missing. Other services allow you to sync multiple folders, perform scheduled backups and more. Though Google Drive is still new and we will see what comes down the road.

3. Related to privacy is encryption. The link between your computer and Google is encrypted, however the files are likely sent as it is to be stored in Google's servers. Wuala for example, encrypts data on YOUR computer before being sent for storage on their servers, making it impossible for them to decrypt the data, unless you give them your password.

4. Loss of data control. When you store data on your computer you know exactly where it is, on your drive. Once you start using cloud based storage you basically no longer know where your data may be stored. Remember that Google have many data centers spread across the world. Is your data in the US or India now? Does Google need to disclose data in those countries?

5. Due to points 1, 3 and 4 I would not store anything sensitive on Google Drive. Actually I would go as far as saying if you value the privacy of your data do not store it online at all!

Although it may seem that Google has joined the cloud sync/backup market a bit late, I believe they have the potential (and money) to improve Google Drive's functionality and features. Time will tell.

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A Quick Tour of Windows 8 Beta

Elyas Kashfi / March 4, 2012 / Review, Software / Permalink

Microsoft are well known for their Windows product line which is popularly known to be a desktop/laptop operating system. The people at Redmond have been working really hard on getting Windows popular on other devices popular today: smart phones and tablets. They have already gotten into the phone market through the early days of Windows Mobile and now Windows Phone. However, soon Microsoft will enter the tablet market (with a bang!) with their new operating system: Windows 8. The alpha was not that great, however Microsoft made many changes and after its release, Windows 8 Beta (download here) was downloaded more than a million times in a single day!

Windows 8 will power both regular consumer computers and tablets. More of the latter by the looks of it since it was basically made to work really well on a tablet or PCs with touch screens. This new interface is known as Metro and it tries to make interacting with the OS simpler through well sized tiles. For a person not familiar with touch devices, there might be a learning curve involved. It makes no sense to call this new operating system Windows when there aren't any windows!

The famous Start menu is no longer a menu but more of a screen with applications. To run you simply click on it, no more going to Start > Programs > Application. Each application is also colored differently to make it easier to differentiate from others. A hover of the mouse towards the right of the screen brings up what would be the system tray in older versions of Windows which includes: the time, network status, a search tool and settings for the current active interface. They did not get rid of the traditional desktop for those who fancy some traditional Windows computing. One thing is obvious the start menu is not there, fishy… Disabling the Metro UI restores the old Windows look, but what's the point?

Much like other operating systems today (especially the ones on smart phones and tablets) there is a place you go to get apps. Android has the Android Market, Apple has the iTunes Store, Microsoft however, have the Windows Store. You can get games, applications and all sorts of goodies. The bad: for some reason I was unable to install anything from it (I tried a few free apps), either it doesn't work well in a virtual machine, not licensed to my location or something else.

I tried to run a classic from the Xbox Live games section, Solitaire! In its full screen glory. Internet Explorer is also revamped to work as a fullscreen app. Pages are shown in full with no toolbars to mess up the experience, to visit something else, simply right click the screen and the address bar with everything else is back. SkyDrive is finally in an app worth using for once, although it is obvious I haven't been using it for a while…

So how much does all of this cost in terms of CPU, memory and other resources? Let the new task manager help us out:

Verdict: Microsoft has really done a pretty good job with Windows 8, especially after listening to alpha testers' complaints. The new Metro interface I believe will revolutionize user interfaces of the future and I wouldn't be surprised if other OS start imitating. There are still some kinks and issues to be addressed (such as the store not giving me apps!), but hey it's still a beta. Let's hope they deliver another Windows 7 and not Vista !

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