Thursday, August 12, 2010

Modding and streaming

I've gotten a little into modding software lately. From modding the OS on my phone, to modding my desktop (see picture):


I blurred the calendar skin shown on the left, lower middle
portion
of the screen, but it shows items from my Google calendar.

I think it's kind of cool to do, because you can make your OS/desktop look exactly the way you want it to. There are some risks involved (you could wreck your OS if you're not careful), but I've found that I had to do a lot of poking around help forums to get my knowhow.

The same thing happened recently when I was trying to get streaming to work to my PS3 using Tversity. That's why I'm going to publish a couple of howtos on doing these things. Look for them soon! I'll be going pver how to use Rainmeter to customize your desktop, and how to install custom visual styles for Windows 7. I'll also go through installing and setting up Tversity to stream your media (including some MKV files). Lastly, I'll swing back to modding, this time for Android phones.

Before I even start this series, I have a disclaimer to put out. I don't claim to have comprehensive knowledge on any of these topics. My howtos will by no means be an end-all-be-all, for the topics discussed. They will be based on my direct expirience, and you should keep this in mind when following these howtos. That's why I will also be listing my sources. Should your expirience differ from mine, you can hopefully find what's wrong, along with a potential solution.

Like I said, stay posted for more.

Android


In my last blog post, I mentioned my new Android based phone, the Moto Cliq.  I've been looking into the different aspects of android (App programming, custom roms, rooting, that sort of stuff)  and I'd be interested if anyone could point me in the direction of where I could learn more beginner level type stuff.  I've signed up at a couple of phone modding forums, but they all seem to be filled with people who are lightyears ahead of my knowledge base, or people who knew almost nothing about computers or phones.  I've already also taken a look at Google's Android developement how to, and it appears that they assume that you already know a good deal about programming in Java (their preferred method of devlopement for the masses is in a Java based IDE).  So, if anyone out there can point me in the right direction for learning how to build a custom Android flavor, or how to program in Java/make Apps, I would be much obliged.  More later about my Android based escapades as they happen.

Posted via my Moto Cliq