CyanogenMod on my Nexus One

So I decide to try a community created ROM on my Nexus One and I went with the CyanogenMod (http://www.cyanogenmod.com/) because it appears to be the most popular. I have not found any good documentation which tells me what apps are included with it and what the purpose of the app is. So I am going through it listing the Apps and links to some documentation. Here we go:

ADWLauncher.apk - http://jbthemes.com/anderweb/adw-launcher/adw-launcher-information/
This app replaces the Android Launcher which is the little bar at the bottom of the screen and gives you access to the apps drawer. What is nice about the ADWLauncher is you can customize what other apps are on the bar by simple dragging and dropping them onto the bar over the existing app shortcut that is there.

CMParts.apk
Needed to prevent force close when accessing CyanogenMod Settings
CMPartsHelper.apk
CM Parts Helper

DSPManager.apk - http://bel.fi/~alankila/android-dsp/
This is a base system framework update, which gives enhanced sound processing capabilities to 2.2-based phones.

RomManager.apk - http://www.koushikdutta.com/2010/02/clockwork-recovery-image.html
ROM Manager is a Android front end to the Clockwork Recovery image.

SpareParts.apk
Extra 'settings' menu

Stk.apk
Sim Tool Kit; manages multiple SIM cards

There are a few other apps but they don't need much explanation. I also found this page on the CyanogenMod Wiki which has a good list http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Barebones. Overall I'm happy with the CyanogenMod and look forward to new versions.

The Austin move

The move is still a work in progress. Finding a cool place with a roommate proved harder then I thought and after ten days of staying in a hostel and looking I finally had to breakdown and just find a place on my own. I moved into a new complex that is right on Lady Bird Lake (not really a lake but the Colorado River or at least a part of it I think) and is more then I was looking to spend on rent. It just means that instead of lounging around and being a part time sound engineer wherever I could pickup work I actually have to find a full time job. Then on top of that the moving company that I'm dealing with in Illinois says they can't have my stuff to me for about another two weeks, which means I'm living out of a backpack and sleeping in a sleeping bag for almost three to possibly four weeks. Oh well nothing to do but chalk it up to a life experience and if/when I move to another city/state I will do what I did when I left S.F. and get rid of everything except what I can carry.

Austin, other then living arrangement, is a pretty cool city. I'm still exploring it, so far I've only covered the main drag downtown which is 6th Street which I avoid like the plague on Friday and Saturdays. I keep telling my parents it is like South Street in Philly but only worse. I still know there is a lot more to the city and look forward to discovering the cool spots and things to do.

As of now I have a interview lined up with a company called ServiceMesh. I did a phone interview with them in February and I think they liked me but they needed someone right away and I was not ready to leave Chicago at the time. James Galloway, a buddy from Los Angeles, is the head of QA at Trion Worlds and he says they have a few openings. Then Michael Gladkowski, my manager from Interwoven/Autonomy-iManage, knows people at Qualcom and has offered to put me in touch with them. Finally Pete Bratach, a buddy from S.F. & VMware days, says that Facebook has some support offices here and is willing to pass my resume along. It seems like finding a job is going to be easier then finding an apartment.

Cyber security/warfare

So heard this story on NPR a few days back http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125578576 titled Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles To Confront Threat and then heard Richard Clarke on Fresh Air today talking about 'The Growing Cyberwar Threat', can hear it hear http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126097038. I got to thinking how on my home box, which is running Fedora Linux, has port 22 open on the cable modem for ssh access and how I see attempts to connect to my system. I from time to time check /var/log/secure for IP address and I will do a nslookup with most of the time the results coming back as Asia or the former Soviet Union. Now from time to time I will send an e-mail to the admin of the system and let him know that someone is running a bot on his system or there is a script kiddie I then will also let Comcast, my ISP provider, know about the attempts. 100% of the time I get no response from anyone. My thought is would not it be a good thing if people could report attacks either on their own, like me submitting my secure logs, or via some sort of automated mechanism to the government so they could track the attacks?

Google Nexus One

My Nokia flip phone's main display died last week so I started looking at what smartphones T-Mobile had the choice came down to the Blackberry Bold 9700 and Motorola Cliq. Having worked with Blackberry devices I have been pretty happy with the hardware and software but was really interested in trying a Android based phone. Before clicking buy on the Cliq phone on the T-Mobile site I decide to do a large search on the Net and discovered that even though T-Mobile does not list the Nexus One on their site they are one of the providers that do support it. Thursday morning I order the phone from the Google web site and by Friday afternoon I had the phone on my desk. After weekend with the phone I have to say I'm happy with it; good size, good feel in the hand, the interface is nice, takes great pictures and I'm discovering more and more things that make this a great phone!

Rebels Without Applause

Went to Sub-T last night and saw Rebels Without Applause and Soul Pollution. Rebels was pretty good they had a mix of hard rock and blues down just right, their myspace page (www.myspace.com/rwachicago) says Metal/Rock/Other.

Crazy radio hosts

So yesterday I accidentally tuned in the Rush Limbaugh show and today I got the Alex Jones. These guys are just plain crazy.

Long tough winter

Well this winter has gone on way to long has been way to cold and snowy for me; here are some stats from the Chicago Critical Mass e-mail listserv:
2008-2009 Chicago Bike Winter Weather Summary
Period 11/1/2008 thru 1/31/2009
---------------------------------------------
Days 92
High (F) 73
Low (F) -18
Average (F) 26
Days Above +20F 36 39%
Rain Days 38
Total Rainfall (inches) 8.74
Snow Days 31
Total Snowfall (inches) 44
Average Wind Speed (mph) 11
So with stats like these and with nothing much keeping me here in Chicago I've started planning my escape. Currently I have two destinations in mind Vancouver and D.C.. My plan is to spend the summer looking for jobs in both those cities and take whatever opportunity I get.