Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Technology Review - Near Field Communication (NFC)

Tired of carrying lots of bank cards, money, id cards etc in your wallet ?
Want a futuristic mobile phone which can replace all these ?


Google got the same idea and implemented it. The result is Google Wallet.


You can use a mobile phone installed with Google Wallet and make transactions at shops, restaurants, taxis etc. It replaces the need of carrying money or credit card. The application has all your bank data including credit card numbers etc. Everything you need to do in order to complete a transaction is to just wave your phone near the NFC enabled sensor or just touch your phone to the NFC enabled sensor.


YES, you got me right. NFC. Near Field Communication. It is the next generation technology which can transfer huge amounts of data between multiple NFC enabled devices when placed at very short range.
In order to use NFC, your device must be pre-installed with NFC chip in its hardware.
NFC is like bluetooth. But a lot of differences and pros and cons. Bluetooth works even at larger distances like 5mts but NFC works only at short distances. Bluetooth can transfer speeds upto Mbps only while NFc can make it upto Kbps.
NFC replaces both BlueTooth and WiFi. Tap an NFC enabled device with NFC enabled router to start using the router's WiFi.
Sad thing is that NFC doesn't support security. But guys this is just the beginning.


Just look at the sample below to know what exactly NFC can do.
7:30 - Eric gets on a train to go to his office, using his NFC-enabled phone to tap a reader and easily open the turnstile. 
7:32 - He sees a poster announcing a free concert that evening. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to the N-Mark on the poster, which transfers the detailed information onto his phone. He reserves seats for the concert with his mobile phone, using mobile communications (e.g., SMS, internet, packet-based connections), and the complimentary tickets are sent to his mobile phone. He sends a text message to his wife to invite her to the concert and dinner.
8:15 - When he arrives at his office, Eric touches his NFC-enabled phone to the office gate to unlock the security mechanism. 
Noon - At lunch time, he pays for his meal using one of the credit cards stored in his phone.
13:00 - After lunch, Eric visits the office of his new business partner for a meeting. Those attending the meeting exchange electronic business cards, stored in their NFC-enabled phones, by touching their phones together. 
18:00 - Eric meets his wife and they go to the concert venue. He touches his NFC-enabled phone to a turnstile at the entrance to the venue, their reservations are confirmed, and they are admitted. 
20:00 - After the concert, they visit a shopping center, where they make a few purchases and have dinner, using their NFC-enabled phones to pay for everything.
22:00 - When they arrive home, Eric realizes that he left his NFC-enabled phone on the train. He immediately calls the mobile network operator and makes a request to disable all active NFC services in the phone. If his phone is later found and returned to him, he will be able to reactivate these services.


CHECK OUT HOW TORRENT DOWNLOADING WORKS, IT'S INTERESTING :)


The Artifex.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Must Have Apps After Rooting Android

So you are done with rooting your Android safely. Next is the most important step. Because what's the use of rooting your Android if not installing awesome apps.

I'll give you a list of apps which every Rooted Android user must have.
The list goes like this.


  1. Titanium Backup : Backs up every app, appdata, system data on your SD card. You can restore all the data if something wrong happens to your device data. Must have App.
  2. ROM Manager : This app lets you install any custom ROM onto your device very easily. ROMs may vary from app packages, custom ROMs, kernel etc. 
  3. Juice Defender : This apps defends the juice flowing out of our battery. Chill guys. This is a battery conserving app. Must have as Android phone's battery wont last long. 
  4. Root Explorer : This app is like a file manager but it enters into the creepiest corners of your Android device using the root permissions. 
  5. Wireless Tether : This apps helps in creating a wifi or PAN from your device so that other devices can use your phones Internet connection as WIFI to access internet. Must have for hardcore networkers. 
  6. AdFree Android : The name itself explains the app. It blocks almost every ad while using Android whether it be while browsing or app ads. 
  7. CacheMate : This app helps in clearing the cache data on your device. Thus it helps in freeing up some memroy. 
  8. SetCPU : This app helps in setting custom clocking rate of your CPU. Recommended for advanced users.
These are the most important apps a rooted Android must have. Any changes will be updated. 

Check this space for updates. 

Happy Androiding.
The Artifex.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

How to Root an Android - A way to exploit Android

Have you ever heard of jail-breaking an I-device ? like the ipod touch, iphone, ipad etc ?


Jail breaking is a process of exploiting every resource of the device. The possibilities are almost endless. You can install applications which are not on the Apple iTunes store. You can do anything on your jail-broken device that Apple doesn't want you to do.


Coming to Android, ROOTING replaces i-device's JAIL-BREAKING. You can achieve endless control of your Android phone only by rooting it.
Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices. It is analogous to jailbreaking on devices running the Apple iOS operating system.
The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.
Device manufacturers and carriers cannot prevent rooting because the rooting process exploits a vulnerability in the operating system or the device drivers which installs a custom app called SU(Switch User) into the OS. This program is the one which provides root access to the programs that request it. 
Another program called Superuser Permissions is usually bundled with all root methods. It gives you a chance to approve or deny requests from any application that wants to utilize root. Superuser Permissions essentially replaces the conventional root password with a simple Approve/Deny prompt, which isn't as secure as having a password, but is far more convenient on a mobile device. 


There are a lot of ways to root your Android device. But each one is applicable to a particular set of device models. Best way to root your device is to Google "YOURDEVICENAME root" and apply the proper method. 
Remember there a risks and advantages of rooting your Android device. The risks are you lose your device warranty and may brick your device if you don't root it properly (slim chances).


Advantages of Rooting:
  • Full Control Over Android
  • Backup and Restore the whole system
  • Install Custom ROMs
  • Saving phone memory (Using Custom ROM to move apps to SD card)
  • Run special applications
More info about custom ROMs and Special Applications in the upcoming post. Keep watching this space.


Happy Androiding.


WANT TO HAVE THE BEST APPS FOR YOUR ANDROID ? CHECK THIS OUT


The Artifex.

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