• developer,  hp,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    Meta-Doctoring: Part 5 – Sign of Life Check [Updated x2]

    The installation of the meta-doctored webOS 2.1.0 install has completed!

    Now the hard part – making sure everything is still working!

    Update: All features and functions of webOS 2.1 appear to be working! Whoo-hoo!

    On the agenda for the post software load is to:

    1. See if I can log into one of my Palm profiles – Working!
    2. Verify that webOS is running as expected – Working!
    3. Connect to a Wi-Fi hot spot – Working!
    4. Verify developer mode is on or can be activated – Working! (webos20090606)
    5. Restore my Sprint PRL software – Working! (no update possible going forward)
    6. Install the latest build of Preware – Working!
    7. Apply some basic patches – Working!
    8. Apply software tweaks from the webos-internals.org webOS 2 upgrade wiki post – Working!
    9. Backup the Pre to my alternate Palm profile – Working!
    10. Access the HP App Catalog, install software – Working!
    11. GPS access – Working!

  • developer,  hp,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    Meta-Doctoring: Part 4 – Building the New Doctor File

    Continuing to play around with applying an unofficial version of webOS 2.1.0 to my Sprint Original Palm Pre smartphone, I’ve installed all the required tools to get the job done.

    I’ve also taken the precaution to backup my PRL software so I can continue to apply Sprint preferred roaming list updates once the upgrade to webOS 2.1.0 has completed.

    Now, I’m running the Unix command line tools on my Mac to download the webOS 2 doctor files, mash them all together, and churn out a new custom meta-doctored webOS doctor restore file.

    There is a lot of Unix “gook” scrolling across my Terminal window which, I have to admit, not being a Unix/Linux propeller head, I have no idea what it’s doing.  (I know my limits and I’m not a programmer nor am I a Unix geek.  I know just enough Unix and Linux to get myself in to serious trouble!)

    So, with Daft Punk’s Tron soundtrack thumping in the back ground, the lights down low, I’ll grab my eighth Diet Coke for this project, and get to installing the new webOS Doctor!

  • developer,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    Meta-Doctoring: Part 3 – Sprint PRL Backup

    In preparing to perform an unofficial webOS 2.1.0 upgrade on my Sprint Palm Pre, I have read that you need to backup your PRL software so I can restore it to my phone later on.  This is an important step because Sprint doesn’t offer webOS 2.1.0 for the Original Pre and you won’t be able to use properly update your PRL on a meta-doctored Sprint Pre if you fail to do this step first.

    What is PRL you ask?  Good question.  I don’t really know either.  PRL stands for Preferred Roaming List.  Is is a database that gets downloaded to a smartphone that uses CDMA radios just like the ones in Sprint and Verizon Pre/Pre+ phones.  The database has a list of network IDs that Sprint has network sharing contracts with to allow your phone to “roam” on other carrier’s network towers. (source)

    The good folks at webos-internals.org have a wiki page up on how to backup your PRL data before you go ahead and do the meta-doctor webOS 2.1.0 upgrade.

    Just an important note: You must use your own PRL data.  It is tied specifically to your phone!

  • developer,  hp,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    Meta-Doctoring: Part 2 [Updated]

    Last night I got the bright idea to “meta-doctor”my Sprint Palm Pre to run webOS 2.1.0.

    After spending hours researching, reading, re-reading, and lots of download, hard resetting, and rebooting…phew!…I think I’m ready to start on the process of “doctoring” a version of HP webOS 2.1.0 to run on my Palm Pre.

    Here is a little sample of what the process looks like so far:

    Unix commands being executed to install required software.

    Exciting, huh?

    Update:

    The Meta-Doctor and GIT tools have been installed successfully!

  • developer,  hp,  pre,  sprint,  web os

    “Meta-Doctoring” My Original Sprint Pre

    Who am I to let a little thing like an OEM/wireless carrier spat get in the way of all of the fun an excitement of running webOS 2.x on my original Sprint Pre (some would refer to my webOS phone as the Sprint Pre Minus)?

    I don’t think so, either.  So with a new found bravery of software hacking my Pre smartphone (I also carry a company issued Motorola Droid Pro with me all the time), I’m researching all of the ninja-like things I’m going to have to do to mash up a Sprint Pre compatible version of webOS 2.1.0 together.

    Reading the webOS Internals official wiki on the subject reads like a splashy summer murder mystery thriller.  You need to grab an unofficial build of webOS 2 that isn’t customized for Sprint.  Then you need to download some tools that developers use to write software.  For extra fun, I’ll need to take a trip to the Unix command line of my Pre using something called “Novacomm”.

    At the end of the process, if all goes well, I’ll have a Sprint Pre running webOS 2.1.0 working with Sprint’s network.  Oh, some things like Sprint Navigation may no longer work, but I use Google Navigation on my Droid Pro for directions in the car now.  I may also lose the ability to receive Sprint Roaming Profile Lists (RPLs), but hey, that’s life in the fast lane for ya.

    Now, I’m not really a risk taker when it matters.  I plan on using a separate Palm Profile account, not my primary one until I have confirmed that I have a (mostly) stable install on my phone.  Once you upgrade to webOS 2.x, your webOS 1.x profile is converted and I don’t believe that there is a way to downgrade it once you’ve stepped up to webOS 2.  I’ve also backed up my USB partition to my Mac’s hard drive.  And lastly, if things go really wrong, it looks like I’ll be able to download the webOS Doctor file for the Sprint Pre and revert the phone back to an official webOS 1.4.5 build.

    Just call me “Greg House, MD” this weekend.

    (And yes, for my long time readers, the role of vicodin as seen in “House, M.D.” will be replaced by a constant stream of cold cans of Diet Coke.)

  • apple,  hp,  iphone,  pre,  sprint

    Sprint Loses 101,000 Post-Paid Customers

    Sprint reported their quarterly earning and dropped a “small” detail that they lost 101,000 post-paid customers.  They expected to lose “just” 15,000.

    In an article posted by AppleInsider today, they write:

    “In its latest quarter, Sprint posted a net loss of 101,000 subscribers, far higher than the 15,000 loss analysts had expected it to suffer. In contrast, AT&T added 331,000 subscribers and Verizon added 1.3 million, aided by news sales of 2.3 million iPhones.”

    It seems that I really love underdogs; first Palm, and now Sprint.  If only they had the HP Pre3 or the Apple iPhone.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

  • blackberry,  facebook,  rim

    Facebook 2.0 Released for BlackBerry, BlackBerry Playbook

    The Facebook 2.0 client is out for both current edition BlackBerry smartphones and the new BlackBerry Playbook.

    The new features of Facebook 2.0 for BlackBerry include:

    • Facebook Places – Users choose to share where they are, what they are doing and who they are with – with Facebook friends. Get directions to and from a Facebook Places by clicking on the map image, which will seamlessly launch the Bing! Maps on the BlackBerry Playbook.
    • Facebook Events – View events and birthdays and receive notifications of new invitations. View event details like the time, place, guest list and more. Users can even RSVP and write on the event’s Wall.
    • View ‘Likes’ – See the names of the friends that ‘liked’ a user’s post. Users will also be able to tap their friends’ names to launch directly to their profiles.
    • Privacy control on status updates – Control who can see each update users share. Simply click the lock icon in the lower-right corner of the status publisher to select who to make the status update visible to before posting it.

    As my long time readers know I own a BlackBerry Curve 8330 and most recently used a BlackBerry Storm2, which I had to turn in for a Droid Pro back around February.  I miss having my BlackBerry and still think about picking up a new Bold at some point.

    [Via CrackBerry.com…]

  • apple,  att,  ipad,  iphone,  touch,  verizon

    Apple Releases iOS 4.3.5 Software Update

    Yesterday afternoon, Apple released the iOS 4.3.5 software update for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

    The software update addresses an issue with how security certificates are validated and does not add any new features.

    The software update is for the GSM iPhone 4, the GSM iPhone 3GS, both editions of the iPad, and the 3rd and 4th generation iPod touch.

    The CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon updates to iOS 4.2.10, addressing the same problem.

    The latest software updates are available now via iTunes when you connect your iDevice to sync it.

  • apple,  lion,  mac os x

    Lion Upgrade Journal: Day 1

    Ok, Lion was installed yesterday and I was, apparently, in good company because 1 million other Mac owners upgraded along with me.

    Scrolling with a Track Pad or Scroll Wheel

    Ok, using the scroll wheel on my wireless Mighty Mouse is taking a little bit of getting used to.  In Lion, scrolling like like scrolling in iOS; you flick up to move the page down.  Basically, we’re talking about an inverted y-axis here.  Fortunately, if you can’t make the adjustment, of you’re like me and I have to use a PC at the office, you can revert the scroll wheel functionality back to the way it was in Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard in the Mouse control panel.

    iChat Group Windows

    Another application that I use all the time is iChat.  I use iChat as my client for Jabber chats like Google Talk or Facebook.  In Snow Leopard, I would have a chat window for each service.  Now, in Lion, all my friends and buddies show up in a single unified window.  When a new chat is started, a separate chat windows appears.  If I have multiple chats going on at the same time, I can use iChat’s preferences to define if all of the chats should be combined into a single chats window with tabs along the left of the window for each chat thread, or to appear in separate chat windows, as was the case in Snow Leopard.

    I had the chance to test both modes out while chatting with two of my friends this evening.  I like the consolidated buddies list, but I still prefer to keep the chat windows separate.  I very fine tweak to iChat if I do say so myself.