HOW TO: Run Android Apps on Windows

With BlueStacks, you can run your favorite Android Apps on your Windows computer. Although a number of apps have their Windows version, some other apps are only available on Android. One example is WhatsApp.*

By installing BlueStacks, you can run Android apps as a "window" on your Windows PC. You can also make it full screen, setup Play Store and install other Android apps on it. It uses resources of your PC, which means Android apps and run faster, have more RAM and storage resources to run your apps. For some apps, like simulation games, this is important.

To download the free beta version, go there - http://www.bluestacks.com/. Although it is a beta version, it runs quite stable on my Windows 7, really worth a try!

*To install WhatsApp, you need to provide your phone number for activation, which will not work on a normal PC; but, after the activation timeout, then you still have an alternate method to activate it. However, note that your WhatsApp can only be installed on ONE machine.

SOLVED! - Why Windows Search for Words Only in Filename, not Content of the File

Many Windows 7 users are very confused of the built-in search function on Windows Explorer. At the top right corner of your Windows Explorer is the Windows Search, but why typing a keyword shows only filenames with the keyword!??

For example, when you want to search a keyword like "Mary" in a Microsoft Word document, instead of just typing "Mary", you should type as "content:Mary".

Other filters follow this syntax, such as kind:, type:, datemodified:, size:, etc. Also when available, drop-down list will be shown for your convenience.

However, the found "keyword" is not highlighted as in the case of Google Desktop, which has officially stopped by Google...too bad.

HOW TO - Choose Your Laptop Computer

With so many choices available, I was often being asked, "I want to buy a laptop computer, what is your suggestion?" In essence, the answer depends on your answers to the following questions:

1. WHY DO YOU NEED A LAPTOP?
2. WHAT APPLICATIONS ARE YOU GOING TO RUN ON YOUR LAPTOP?
3. DO YOU HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS?
4. WHAT IS YOUR BUDGET?

Let's discuss them one by one.

(1) WHY DO YOU NEED A LAPTOP?

Many people looking for a laptop actually already had an old laptop. They are actually looking for an upgrade, a replacement. So, what is your experience with your old laptop? Are you happy with some special features or stylish design of your laptop brand. Different laptop manufacturers build their laptops, often with their unique "signature" features and style. That's why, often times Lenovo users love Lenovo. And, Dell fans love Dell. The opposite is also true, users of a certain brand name may hate a certain thing of that brand and promised not to buy from that brand name again.

Well, this could be very subjective, sometimes even unfair, as manufacturers may have improved their technology and design over time. A loved feature may have become obsolete. Still, your feelings should be respected. I love Lenovo, but I won't insist a Toshiba-lover to change over.

Are you looking for a performance upgrade? You may feel that your old laptop is tooooo slow. You may be surprised that simply buying a new computer may not solve your problem.

Examples:

• It's not uncommon that Windows XP users when upgraded to their new computers running on Windows 7, can't feel much improvement
• If a laptop user tries to run his same applications on a Atom netbook, he's going to suffer a lot

A more scientific way to evaluate a performance upgrade is by comparing the processor speed. Though not precisely accurate, still you get a general idea of what does it mean in performance gain.

Examples:

• Suppose you are currently using a Pentium 4, 1.7 GHz CPU laptop computer, with a CPU benchmark of 202; your upgrade to a laptop with a Core i3 2330M 2.2 GHz CPU, with benchmark 2589, means an upgrade of processing speed about 12 times*

*Note that this DOES NOT mean that your computer will actually faster 12 times. Factors like hard disk drive bottleneck, network bottleneck, software getting more complicated, OS loading more features, etc. will slow down your new machine.

For a list of CPU benchmarks - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

That's also why the different names - a NETBOOK and a LAPTOP. You will find most NETBOOK runs on CPU with processor benchmarks below 1,000. Even an entry level LAPTOP computer has 2 or 3 times higher in processor benchmarking.

What could affect the performance of a laptop? A number of factors, here are some items should look at.

• CPU benchmark (as explained above); not just the "GHz", which is very misleading
• Hard disk type, SSD (Sold State Drive) surely out-performs a SATA disk
• For SATA-disk laptop, check the rotation speed; a 5400 rpm HDD is slower than a 7200 rpm HDD
• Laptop with a separate graphic card generally speaking has higher performance than one with integrated graphic card
• Chipset technology, which may be difficult to compare, but can have a great impact on your system's performance

... to be continued.

SOLVED! - High CPU Usage of Microsoft Security Essentials

I've at least two laptops, after installing Microsoft Security Essentials, the CPU usage jumps up. Stopping or uninstalling it resolved the problem, which isolated the source to be Microsoft Security Essentials itself. After some research, this works for me as a workaround this problem.

1. Run Task Manager, find the process with high CPU usage. (Sorting by CPU may help you find it)
2. Likely you will find "MsMpEng.exe" has taken much of your CPU time
3. Now go to  your Microsoft Security Essentials, click on the "Settings" tab. Select "Excluded files and locations"
4. Browse to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\MsMpEng.exe", Ok and press Add button to add the file to your list of excluded files and locations. Press Save changes button.

Same method applies to other trusted files. You should see the CPU usage drops down dramatically.

DISCUSSION - Skype Android version not work on my N90 Tablet

Skype for Android supports only a limited number of Android devices. In my case, I've a Window (YuanDao) N90 9.7" tablet, though running Android OS 4, the screen resolution is 1024x768. As a result, Skype cannot install.

This is what I read from Skype, too bad! Hopefully, in the near future more screen resolutions can be supported.

What do I need to run Skype on my Android phone?

To run Skype on your Android phone, you will need a supported phone running Android OS version 2.1 or above with least 27MB of free memory space on your handset and 600Mhz or more processing power. The supported screen resolutions are 320x240, 240x400, 320x480, 800x480 and 850x480.

Reference: https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10653/how-can-i-get-skype-on-my-android-phone?frompage=search&q=resolutoin+screen&fromSearchFirstPage=false#3

DISCUSSION - A List of Recommended Android Apps

Here's a list of Android Apps, which I'll always keep on my Android devices. Of course, you may have your own favorites. But, these may be helpful to give you a good starting:

• ES Explorer (EStrongs Inc.) - provides you a bundle of extra functions compared to the built-in Explorer
• Color Note (Notes) - though many people love Evernote, but for me, after comparing the two, I prefer Color Note, can save and send to others
• Skitch (Evernote Corp.) - a very elegant tool to do free hand drawings, with auto smoothing, very efficient apps
• Whiteboard (HenryHuang) - with a simple interface, yet I love it's simplicity
• Handrite (NC Corp.) - a very fast free handwriting notepad, can edit 
• StopWatch & Timer (sportstracklive.com) - so far no ads. Count up and down. I used to like UltraChron Stopwatch, however it's recent update with ads really disappointed me
• Skype (Skype) - it's choice because of no choice!!
• Offline dictionaries (NGHS.FR) - if you have a chance to search for Android dictionary apps, you'll experience much frustration of the lacking of an offline good dictionary apps. Really good ones like Cobuild are paid apps. Free dictionary apps are most likely with ads and support only online dictionary. Offline dictionary is really very rare. This one worth try
• Merriam Webster (Merriam-Webster Inc.) - another offline dict, but sometimes you might feel the definitions and explanation a bit change
• Winamp (Nullsoft Inc.) - work much like its Windows version, very well-designed apps for music playing
• Music Volume EQ (K&K Design) - often a problem of Android tablet is the built-in speaker sound too soft. This EQ can help boost certain frequencies and make your bulilt-in speaker usable. This is especially helpful when you use Skype on Android tablet
• Maps (Google Inc.) - Google map, I think no need to explain
• QuickPic (AlenSW.COM) - many Android users are frustrated with the built-in Gallery, which is very inefficient in handling photos on your device. QuickPic, as the name indicates, it is QUICK, it's really FAST in browsing and viewing pictures!! I also love its options like excluding some folders when browsing, so you can skip some not-interested pictures
• Zoner Antivirus (Zoner, Inc.) - install and you can almost forget even the presence of an antivirus. It's so light-weight and transparent in functioning
• Aldiko Book Reader (Aldiko Limited) - unlike Apple's IOS, Android simply lacking a good ePub reader, but this one, after I've tried half a dozen of ePub readers, this is my choice, really satisfied
• MX Player (MX Technologies) - there're many good media players, video players; but this one gives me a very clean feel, though sometimes its buttons are not working as they suppose to be
• GO Launcher (GO Launcher Dev Team) - it replaces the default Android launcher. However, on Android 4, I like to default more than GO

DISCUSSION - Android Market Becomes "Play"

Just a few days ago, I was helping my friend to install some Apps on his Android smartphone. And, strange ... the "Market" icon has gone, replaced by the "Play Store" (it took me some time to figure out what's happening). Such a change in name is really unusual, and I believe that this reveals a major change in the direction of Google on the Android market; or, I'd say a clear trend has developed, toward the entertainment market - so "Play Store", rather than "Market"... surely is another a business decision of Google.

*This chart is based on figures from wikipedia. Sorry for not quite in scale, yet still good enough for your reference.

No matter what, Android has become a popular platform - for mobiles and tablets, even some laptops on shelf run Android! In Hong Kong, if you have a chance to go to popular shopping areas, places like Sham Shui Po, you will be surprised to see how mobile phones being dominant (over 80-90%) by Android! I can hardly find any Windows OS phone, maybe occasionally find one or two models. Android devices and accessories are everywhere in Hong Kong. Indeed many of my friends are using Android without any idea how much their phone can do, they simply use it as a mobile phone ... until when I show them ... they simply can't believe their eyes!!

I think the most dramatic transition is within these 3 months, from not many is using a tablet around, to now almost all my friends around, yes, it's almost everyone of them is with an Android tablet or phone.

With the ever growing Apps on the Market, the usability and value of Android device keeps growing. However, how many Apps can a device install? Maybe a browser, email, apps for viewing documents, excels, pdf, epub, video player, music player, photo gallery, and a few tools you use, etc. and that's it. Still, the number of Apps an average person will use is quite limited. But, for entertainment, on the "data" side - music, video, books; of course, together with games - the potential is much greater!! Just think about the success of Angry Bird - well, in Hong Kong, you can see Angry Bird everywhere, not just simply as a game, but Angry Birds of all kinds - decoration, key-chain, bags, toys, clothes, even cakes!!

We see the logic behind the change of name - Google "Play"!!

DISCUSSION - Microsoft's Live.com or Googles?

After using Googles for so long, I'm always a happy user of Googles. However, recently I've been heavily testing the features available in Microsoft's live.com (SkyDrive). My conclusion, Microsoft's live.com is my choice in Calendar, Web Apps (Office Applications) and Group sharing!!

Pros:

• Better compatibility of your Microsoft Office - currently, Web Apps of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote are available
• Better learning curve as the Web Apps user interface resembles their desktop full version
• Easy integration of web calendars to your Outlook
• Easy integration of web mails to your Outlook or Windows Live mail client
• OneNote App available for your smartphone, easy synchronization
• Easy document sharing with security rights set, concurrent edit with good response time
• 25GB SkyDrive storage
• Professional look and very user friendly

Cons:

• Occasionally, users may experience server bottlenecks and slowness in response time
• Googles offer far more features than Microsoft's SkyDrive
• Googles is consistently faster, with proven reliability
• Mobile or tablet device support is lacking, only OneNote is supported. Android Apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email, Calendar are severly lacking
• For sharing, users need a hotmail or live account, which is a hindrance for use because many are happy with their Googles account

In the mean time, I'll keep my Googles account and it's hard for me to believe that Microsoft will provide the same set of features for free as Googles. However, for documents and calendar sharing, Microsoft SkyDrive is definitely my choice!!

DISCUSSION - Lubuntu, "Light" Edition of Ubuntu

Although the published minimum requirement of Ubuntu is pretty low, tests show that it's not practical to run Ubuntu linux on hardware which is too old, or just meet the minimum requirement. A better option would be "Lubuntu".

I've tested installing Ubuntu 11.10 on a laptop with Pentium 4, 1.6GHz CPU, 512MB RAM and 40GB HDD. Installation successful, however, the resulting performance is so bad that it's not practical for actual use.

Then, I noticed another edition of Ubuntu - Lubuntu, the light edition of Ubuntu. It takes much less resources, so even on a slower laptop like the above, it's still good enough. Installation is pretty fast. Hardware side, drivers were all successfully installed without any problem, not much difference from Ubuntu. Software side, basic web browsing, email, media player, word processor, terminal are all available inside the install ISO. Indeed, the desktop look is not bad, even better than Ubuntu (my personal opinion)!!

However, users of Lubuntu need to aware that besides the system installation, 3rd party application installation will not be as straight forward as Ubuntu. The Software Center is missing. In many cases, you will need to open a terminal, type commands to install software. Language pack support may cause you some difficulties. No office application is available by default, so more complicated word processing, spreadsheet, presentation features are not readily available, unless you install them afterwards.

Of course, Lubuntu is not as feature-rich and user friendly as Ubuntu, though it's a very good option for computers with slow CPU and lacking RAM. A computer with Pentium 4, 2GHz or lower, or 512MB RAM or lower, Lubuntu should be your choice.

Those who have interest to try it, here's the official download site:
http://cdimages.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases

DISCUSSION - Microsoft on Android Market

A quiet, careful, and very first move of Microsoft stepping into the Android world - Microsoft OneNote for Android, which works with Windows Live account and SkyDrive.

This initial release of OneNote for Android is not impressive at all, though with a professional look. A 6.9MB program file download, a bit bulky. Loading is slow, with limited functionality, even without a widget!! In comparison to other well developed note apps like Evernote and Color Note, OneNote is really inferior. Hopefully, more features will be added to it in the near future.

The good side, synchronize with my Windows live account, which I've been using for a while. Sadly though, the other apps on live.com are not quite stable in use, crashes are common. And, no support for other apps like Word, Excel and Powerpoint are available for Android in the moment. We'll see what the future holds ...

Can Microsoft find his way to the smartphone market and have a share!?!?

DISCUSSION - Kubuntu or Ubuntu?

First glance... judging by appearance, Kubuntu can be said the "Cool" derived version of Ubuntu linux system. With the KDE Plasma Desktop, the look of Kubuntu is much more fresher and eye-catching. However, in terms of STABILITY, Ubuntu is much more stable.

I've tested install and run Kubuntu as a vm on my VMWare Player. The installation process takes much longer time (compared to installing Ubuntu), I've no choice but left it running overnight. After the initial installation, I started download patches and upgrades, crashed... and crashes. Programs like media player also experienced frequent crashes.

The overall performance is slow when compared with Ubuntu, displays dragged and initial screen draws were messy... New windows pops up with distorted screen, then redrawed.

After a reboot, the mouse is lost!! Reinstall VMWare Tools failed... really disappointed...!!

Eventually, I removed the whole Kubuntu virtual machine ... go back to my Ubuntu virtual machine.

The "cool" look of Kubuntu, ... yet sadly buggy ...