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Improving HTC Hero Performance

ryan — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:30:58 +0000

My HTC Hero is a good phone but it’s sluggish all the time. I’ve tried many many things and should have reported on all of them but fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, you’re only going to get the tips that worked.

Install ADWLauncher and never use HTC Sense launcher again. ADWLauncher is better and faster.
Buy a faster SDCard. I upgraded to a type 6 card and received a noticeable performance improvement.
(Rooted phones only) : Install OverclockWidget and set something like this: screen on frequency: 576000 for min and max. Screen off frequency: 245760 min, 352000 max. It might be a bit sluggish to wake up sometimes but the battery lasts longer and it’s faster when you use it than when using the default HTC settings.

So not many tips but these are the only ones that worked out of hundreds that haven’t. I don’t want to buy another HTC phone because my phone was top of the line less than a year ago when I bought it and it’s official software version is 1.5 even though Google have since released 1.6, 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2. I jumped on Android so I could stay up with new technology and not lag like the other phone manufacturers besides Apple seem to do. It will be a Nexus One or I think Motorola for me next since they are quick to release the new software.

Installing Villain SlideROM on HTC Hero

ryan — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:09:11 +0000

I, like many others, am tired of waiting for HTC to update the software on my phone. The new Android apps I read about in the news are starting to require Android 2.1 or higher and I’m stuck on version 1.5. At least, I was stuck. I tried out a few ROMs and can recommend the VillainSlide ROM on the HTC Hero. It has the most responsive interface and apart from a slightly annoying application listing screen and home screen icons is visually very appealing too. Here’s the steps I took to install the ROM. It will hopefully save you a few searches.

There is a great guide for installing a custom ROM on the XDA Developer’s forum. I didn’t need the GoldCard method so my install was fairly straightforward. Follow steps PRE and 1-3 and you’re running a new version!

Here’s the SlideVillainROM so you don’t have to find that either.

The first boot after an install takes forever and a day and the SMS recovery isn’t the fastest in the world either. You’ll need to re-download apps from the marketplace too but all your contact data is safe in the Google cloud.

Wink, Drink, Walk and Fall

ryan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:30:22 +0000

I’ve been posting things on Facebook and ignoring this blog. A little cross-posting should solve some problems. Here’s sarah doing just what the title of the post says!

Video On Demand

ryan — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:13:13 +0000

I do admit that sometimes I receive high definition video files from untrusted sources. What choice do I have? In order to download high definition video legally in the UK it appears that I have to subscribe to a satellite or cable service.Sky – I can’t stand the thought of giving Murdoch money so that’s just a non-starter. Virgin Media – I really like Branson but he’s a bit like Steve Jobs – very easy to get fanatical about. I would have purchased a Virgin Media subscription years ago if the web site was clear about how much it would cost to do so. Everything on the site is rife with the terms Free but it’s all dependant upon buying another service. You can’t actually just buy TV.Why do companies make it so hard for consumers to spend money? When it becomes difficult, consumer look for other options. Make it easy and affordable and we’ll buy it. However, judging by cinemas, make it easy and expensive and people will still go!How did the price of rentals go back up? LoveFilm, Netflix, etc. all rent films at an unlimited rate for a fixed fee per month. But you try to use modern technology like downloading a film and all the sudden you’re back into the prices of 20 years ago by paying a fixed price per film. I pay for things that I don’t have to pay for. I give tips at restaurants, I donate to charities. I do this because I think they are worthwhile. If you give consumers what they want then they will be happy to give you what you deserve. I know that I’m quite late in the complaining game on this issue but one more vote can only help.

LASEK Eye Surgery

ryan — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:45:02 +0000

Firstly, please excuse any typos because I can’t really see what I’m typing. I had laser eye surgery on Tuesday and because of a genetic trait that I’ve traced to my mother, I had to have LASEK surgery instead of LASIK. LASIK and LASEK are pretty much the same but LASIK has less pain and a faster recovery time because of the way that the surgery is performed. If I was in better shape now I’d point you to web pages explaining the difference but I’ll trust that you’re savvy enough to highlight some words, right click and do a google search to find out details for yourself.

In short the difference is that a flap is cut in LASIK and the surgery is performed deeper in the eye. In LASEK, a chemical peel is used to remove a thin protective layer and then the surgery is performed on the outside of the eye. This means that you have to grow back the protective layer instead of just haling a little flap. It takes much longer and is described as hcausing minor irritation. I can say that minor irritation is pretty much like sticking fine sandpaper on your eyelids for four days. I have a contact in each eye to reduce the pain while it is healing. I cannot imagine what this would feel like if I didn’t have that in! The good news is that the pain is reducing but the bad news is that I know I’ll have the pain until they take the contact lens out on Friday. Everything is hazy and it feels like I have something in my eye (a contact, perhaps?).

I’m told that once my contact is removed that my vision will be much improved and the pain will be reduced. I will find out in two more days. Recovering from eye surgery is boring. You can’t really do anything – even sit and watch TV! I can’t focus on a book or newspaper long enough to get through a page and going out in the sun hurts so I’m kind of stuck inside. I’ve been using BBC’s iPlayer to listen to past television shows that are heavy on dialogue like Mock the Week and The Weakest Link. I’m mving into old radio shows next.

The verdict is still out so I’ll have to let you know what the end result is. Four days of pain is a togh one to take on voluntarily. If you are reading this because you’re trying to learn about LASIK versus LASEK and you’re scheduled for a LASEK treatment then all I can say is be prepared to crya lot. Not the girlie emotional kind but your eyes will just drip tears for days because they are irritated. The first 24 hours aren’[t so bad, partly because you still have supplies of the topical anasthetic to make all the pain go away but also becaus the contact lens is still fresh. Ever worn a contact lens for four days without taking it out, even just for a rinse? Life gets pretty hazy at that point.

And once again, sorry for those typos. I’m pretty good at typing and caught a couple of mistakes as I typed them so I hope that I backed up enough to correct them or else I’ll have half words all over the place.

Hope to see you soon!

N82 iSync all-day events fix!

ryan — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:05:13 +0000

I have varying degrees of success when syncing Nokia phones to my Mac. Usually, everything works well as long as you have a phone that’s been out for at least 2 months. However, there was always one issue that wouldn’t go away: all-day events in iCal turned into 00:00-23:59 meetings in Nokia Calendar. These are hardly the same thing. Luckily I found Ali Rantakari’s blog post on just this subject.

Our New House

ryan — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:45:28 +0000

We have a new house! Our first home that we actually own. It’s quite exciting. We collected the keys today and did a review. We found a leaky toilet and what appears to be a fairly steady stream of leaking from the water tank in the loft. Unfortunately, I leave for Finland in the morning so sorting out these repairs is not going to be easy!You can see pictures in the house gallery.So far, it appears that being a homeowner involves creating lists of things that cost a lot of money.

Boiler replacement
Roof fixed
Bathroom replaced
Kitchen replaced
Re-do both bedrooms
Replace carpets
Fix…
Replace…
Buy…

Patience for Children

ryan — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:08:50 +0000

I’ve been told by many recent parents that having a child of my own will teach me patience. Little did I realise that this process would start months before my baby is even born. My life for many years had meaning. It could mostly be summarised by experiencing new things and sharing them with the ones I love. Now with a new one on the way I’m dying to have the new experiences and share them with everyone + 1!!

Thank you from Al-Maha

ryan — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:41:26 +0000

Yu Kyoung and I are officially married now. At the resort everyone refers to her as Mrs. Fife and it still makes me giggle just a bit because Mrs. Fife, in the rare times it was used, always referred to my mother! We are enjoying the beautiful desert resort of Al Maha. Unfortunately, we cannot share any photos with you because we’ve accidentally posted the data cable back to London with some other items. We did record this special thank you for our wedding guests, however.

Casio AVI Codec for Macintosh

ryan — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 02:43:23 +0000

Since everyone seems to use their own little codec for video you can’t always view them on your macintosh straight away. I had this problem with my father’s Casio digital camera movie files. It appears that others have complained and Casio has listened. The download and installation instructions can be found here:

Casio AVI Codec for Macintosh
If you have QuickTime PRO it is easy to export the video into a more widely supported format before posting it.