Green Rubik

CyanogenMod Update to HTC Incredible-HowTo

January 15th, 2012 No Comments

CyanogenMod has breached 1M users. At this time, that’s 1 out of 200 android users are using CyanogenMod.

So what exactly is CyanogenMod. From the website:

CyanogenMod is an aftermarket firmware for a number of cell phones based on the open-source Android operating system. It offers features not found in the official Android based firmwares of vendors of these cell phones.

Cool, right?

I have a HTC Droid Incredible. An older phone, but I like the form factor. I don’t like the big bricks out there nowadays. I don’t watch Netflix on my phone, so the screen size is just fine for me.

I decided to check out CyanogenMod. This is how I did it*.

*Download Astro File Manager
Once Astro is installed, back up all apps. I had done a factory reset so my apps were minimal. I also did not backup other things like images, texts, etc, which you can also do via Astro.
Rooted my phone using UnRevokd method for my phone. I use OSX so it was VERY easy.
Install ROM Manager
Open ROM Manager and backup current rom

Then I followed instructions from CyanogenMod’s wiki page for my phone as folllows:

Launch RomManager.

Optional: Choose the first option in the app, Flash ClockworkMod Recovery to update to the latest version.

Select the Download ROM option from the main menu in the ROM Manager.
Select the CyanogenMod option, and then choose the latest version of CyanogenMod from the menu.

Optional: When you select the latest version of CyanogenMod, check the Google Apps* option.

Once the ROM is finished downloading, it asks if you would like to Backup Existing ROM and Wipe Data and Cache.
If Superuser prompts for root permissions check to Remember and then Allow.
The HTC Incredible will now reboot into the recovery, wipe data and cache, and then install CyanogenMod. When it’s finished installing it will reboot into CyanogenMod.

~~I could not get the download to come through ROM Manager due to the zip being corrupted.~~

I finally got the download to go via ROM Manager. It took me several times. Kept giving me timeout error or corrupted zip. I just didn’t let my phone dim or timeout, kept it up while the download took place. Something to consider. Otherwise go ‘Recovery’ route: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Incredible:_Full_Update_Guide

At this point my phone rebooted, got the CyanogenMod splash screen but continued into a loop. It never got into the OS. I was posting updates on Google+ so a follower told me to check this: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Troubleshooting (Thanks to Tony Love)

So I had to proceed with the following instructions found here and outlined as follows (i used ClockworkModRecovery):

Pull the battery from the device.
Boot into the custom recovery image. Refer to this article on more info on that.
Download the latest version of CyanogenMod on the computer.

Optional: Download the Google Apps for the device.
Mount the device into USB storage mode:
- ClockworkMod Recovery: select mounts and storage » mount USB storage
Copy the CyanogenMod update.zip to the root of the SD card
Unmount USB storage mode:
- ‘ClockworkMod Recovery: select Unmount
Wipe userdata:
- ClockworkMod Recovery: select wipe data/factory reset
Flash CyanogenMod:
- ClockworkMod Recovery: select install zip from sdcard » choose zip from sdcard and select the CyanogenMod update.zip
Reboot the device and everything should be fine.

Of course there was a bad zip. So I had to redownload the file to my computer, rename it ‘update.zip’, transfer it to root of sd card on phone, and then repeat the instructions above. I eventually got it running!!

Confidence will prevail. As long as you have ClockworkModRecovery installed, you should always be able to revert to factory reset. YAY!

*Disclaimer – take responsibility for your actions. While I outlined what I did, you have to make sure your backup is good and that making this change to CyanogenMod does contain some risk of bricking your phone. No guts, no glory, but don’t blame someone else.

First Go at Meditation

January 2nd, 2012 No Comments

One of the things I want to do from 2012 on is to explore consistent meditation. I picked up this book a while ago to get some insight on where to start. I’d recommend it. It’s not preachy or religious, though it contains bits and pieces on how meditation plays a role in some spiritual beliefs.

Today was my first day trying to zone out and meditate. It’s not easy and as the book says, practice will help. It also mentioned meditating 15min in the morning and 15min in the evening, and that you’ll find yourself typically going over the 15 minutes. You’re not kidding. I literally thought I was going to stop and look at the time and think time was creeping along and only 5 minutes would have lapsed. I was wrong, it was 17. Wow.

Inside IT Staffing – The Candidate Experience

December 29th, 2011 No Comments

Look on Linkedin, Twitter hash tag ‘jobs’ and popular job sites and you’re bound to come across a job opportunity posted by a staffing firm. Ninety plus percent will not list the client, the client being the company that needs a qualified candidate. You go ahead and apply but never really know what happens after that. Further experience working this path leads you to believe that it may be a shell posting. Shell postings get a bad rap, we’ll explain later.

Once you apply to the position, like any job you apply for, your information gets entered into a database and a notification is sent to staff. This happens in companies that have their own applicant tracking systems, not just staffing firms.

The recruiter screens the resume, skills, etc and determines if you’re 1) qualified for the role you applied to or 2) qualified for any role that the firm may represent. If you meet either, expect a call.

If you have met with the firm in the past 6 months, the recruiter will tell you about the position, blow you off, or reach out to you to see how your job search is coming. This last part generates leads for the firm. Again, we’ll talk about that later.

If you have NOT met within a certain time frame, longer than the aforementioned 6 months in some cases, they may have you come back in to update paperwork. Some firms require this as part of their process – some are publicly traded and could be a part of SOX compliance, etc. Trust me, it’s not to waste your time, it’s a process thing. When you come in you’ll fill out I9 info, take skills assessments, and meet with the a recruiter. The recruiter will need to get certain information – job history, gaps in employment, confirm salary expectations, ask how your job search is coming/where else you applied/gather leads for sales, discuss your availability, gain rapport, etc. IF, you are qualified for an open position, the recruiter will pitch it to you. If there are no open positions that fit your experience/background, you’ll be given the ‘keep in touch’ verbiage and a handshake. Good recruiters will setup a follow up time.

So what happened to the position that you applied to?

Inside IT Staffing – The Beginning

December 12th, 2011 No Comments

A series that provides some insight on how the IT staffing industry operates. The series is used to help educate IT professionals as well, as hiring managers, so they understand the processes and methods of how an IT staffing firm works. These are my experiences and I reserve the right to say that your experience may vary.

In order to give some type of context to this series it’s important to get some background on me and explain how I landed into IT staffing. It’s important to know a bit more about me and my love of technology. Knowing where someone came from helps you understand what they become.

Thank you Steve Jobs

October 5th, 2011 No Comments

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” — Steve Jobs, at a Stanford University commencement ceremony in 2005.

Steve Jobs 1995-2011