I know this isnt really android related, but I couldnt resist bragging about the new electronic device I ordered last night. Apparently e-cigarettes have been around for a while (I guess I live in a cave) but I havent really seen them, so this was news to me. Having seen an ad for blucigs while browsing random pages I couldnt help but check it out. After a little reading (2 hours) and watching a few videos I decided to bite the bullet and order my first electronic cigarette. From what I can tell this will be a full replacement for real cigarettes minus the smell which means my wife might have to figure something else to complain about. For those of you who smoke and have not yet checked it out, take a peek at their site by clicking the image to the left.
I did the math and the starter kit itself seems like enough saving to warrant a chance. The starter kit is $59 with free shipping. It includes 2 batteries, 2 atomizers, the portable charger (shaped like a pack of cigarettes), a usb charger, a wall charger and 25 smoke cartridges. Cartridges are sold in packs of 5 with each pack being equal to about 75 cigarettes (almost 4 packs). A "Carton" of 5 packs is equal to about 350 cigarettes (1.75 normal cartons). With the current price of the smoke I buy being about $60ish, that puts the starter kits cartridges at about $105 worth of smoke for $60. Each carton after that is $25, and replaces almost 2 cartons of cigarettes. Based on my prices a month of my normal cigarettes cost me about $160 blucigs would cost me about $50. That is a nice saving considering the lack of smoke and other chemicals make it worth trying. If for any reason it does not work out, they offer a full 30 day money back garuntee.
One of the best things about an electronic cigarette seems to be the fact that they are not a tobacco product, which means I might get away with smoking at my work where they are very strict about tobacco usage (zero tolerance). They seem to be gaining popularity based on the backorder times so I will not receive mine for at least 2 weeks.
***EDIT***
After about a week of waiting I was tired of the wait. I talked with the owner of RockyMountainVapor.com and he walked me through picking a replacement kit and shipped it the next business day (Monday). I received it today and have been using it since. I am at about 8 hours without a cigarette which is actually pretty good for me. I am not really craving it and when I do a quick puff from my e-cig and I am good for a while longer. I will add an update in about a week for those who care if I am still tobacco free!
The results of the Droid Dev Challenge 1: Cupcake Widget are in. 18 widgets were submitted to be voted on and 2 were chosen as first and second place winners. The widget that won first place gets a prize total of $656 with the second place winner getting $164. While I could keep typing here forever to prolong the results, I will hold in my deep desire to be mean like that and just get on with it
Well, it seems Haykuro has done it again. Rogers will be the second to release the Rogers software when their Android phone hits the market tomorrow (June 2nd). They were beat by a 17yr old who happened to finish his homework early and have some time to spare. They should change the back of the phone to say "WITH Haykuro" instead of the "Rogers" logo. This early release presents another first also: US G1 owners have a chance to use the Canada only rom before Canada gets to use it. Grab your copy of it here!
Now that is an odd mouthful. For those who do not understand what it means, Rosie is the home screen HTC wrote that shows all those nice widgets. Hero is the phone the wrote the nice UI for and haykuro is the one who got it all from them. I have reports from the man himself that while it looks great, the speed is a bit lacking. The HTC Hero has better specs than the G1 and therefore can handle it a bit better. No word yet on when/if there will be a release. Watch the video below for the latest on Rosie from haykuro.
The first (but hopefully not last) Droid Dev Challenge is coming to an end. Developers, you do not have much time to get your submissions into me. Please read the rules on submitting your entries to me. The rules and submission guidelines can be found on the contest page.
We have had many Android developers express interest in the contest, and some have started submitting their Android widgets already. As you can see from the sidebar, there is a nice chunk of change sitting in the prize pot. Good luck to all of the developers and may the best widget win!
JesusFreke releases a Cupcake update for all Dream devices. This includes the G1 (US and UK) and the ADP1. The previous release only covered the ADP1 (which most users just flashed anyways). If you have not flashed the cupcake RADIO update, you will want to do that soon after flashing this update.
Haykuro, with the help of a Magic owner was able to find a method to obtain root access on the 2nd Android device. They found that fastboot was left unlocked and allowed for unsigned images (unofficial) to be flashed. A boot.img that was unsecured was flashed, giving root access in adb, which then gave them the power to flash a modified recovery. As we all know from the G1, having the modified recovery is the main step required to be able to flash custom roms. Haykuro has offered to build a JF-like rooted rom for the Magic community and is probably working on that now. Full instructions on how to gain root access and flash the modified recovery on your HTC Magic/Sapphire can be found in the wiki.
Now that the update has been found we can make way for JF to perform his usual magic. Once he creates a JFized version, it will be posted here. For those who want to tweak it themselves or just want to try it without root the information including download links can be found in the wiki.
Well, it seems Haykuro has done it again.