Tutorials & Reviews

Activate iPhone 5 using AT&T GoPhone Prepaid Sim Card

2013-11-12T22:19:00.000-05:00

I will update this post when I finish this journey.

Remote unlock websites have been having trouble with servers and prices have sore to more than $100 to unlock a single iPhone. I will try another method.

This is a test on unlocking an iPhone using a GoPhone sim card and this website https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/client/en_US/.

This is not the fastest way to unlock it but possible the slowest. According to the website "Prepaid / GoPhones: Device has been active for at least 6 months".

I recently bought an iPhone 5 on eBay which needed to be activated.

To activate it I used a GoPhone prepaid sim card that can be easily be purchased on eBay.
I'm not sure if this really matters but the SKU was 72290.
The sim card was just to activated.

I will update this post when I finish this journey. I am planning on paying at&t for 6 months of service on GoPhone prepaid service, and then unlocking it through at&t's website. Again this is not the fastest but if you are going to spend $100 I rather get something more in return.

RGB LED using 3 leds. And random numbers

2012-12-05T12:30:00.002-05:00

/* random numbers on 3 leds to create a cool effect
Also controlling 3 red, green and blue leds to create a bigger RGB led.
*/

int blue = 3;
int red = 5;
int green = 6;
int randred;
int randblue;
int randgreen;

void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(blue, OUTPUT);
pinMode(red,OUTPUT);
pinMode(green,OUTPUT);
randomSeed(analogRead(0));
}
void loop(){
randblue = random(0,256);
randred = random(0,256);
randgreen = random(0,256);

analogWrite(blue,randblue);
analogWrite(red,randred);
analogWrite(green,randgreen);

Serial.println(randred);
Serial.println(randblue);
Serial.println(randgreen);

delay(100);

}

iTunes Error 3200 iPod, iPhone, Apple TV and iPad

2011-10-13T14:37:00.001-04:00

The new iOS 5 for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and iOS 4.4 for Apple TV came out yesterday. Everyone with an iOS device rush to get it making Apple server(downloads) slow. The flood also made some, a lot of people get an error when trying to update their iOS device.

I for example, was trying to update my Apple TV to 4.4 but i kept getting error 3200. I also tried to update using a PC but still the same problem.

The way I solved this problem.was a few tricks. (I was using a mac)

Downlod TinyUmbrella Here.

Download iOS 5 or Apple TV Firmware Here

Open up TinyUmbrella and press Start the TSS Server.

Open up Terminal

Type or copy and paste sudo nano /private/etc/hosts

Look for any line containing gs.apple.com and put a # before the line.

Save it as by pressing Option and O host.umbrella, yes to overwrite

Save it again this time as host, yes to overwrite.

Open up iTunes and restore your iOS device (You can choose the firmware by pressing Option and restore at the same time)

This made my Apple TV take longer to update but it updated successfully without any errors.

Hope this helps anyone.

Fading 2 LEDS Challenge.Using an Arduino!

2011-09-19T17:25:00.001-04:00

This project is for beginners on arduino who want a challenge.(if it is a challenge!?!)

You have to create the fading led effect on 2 leds. But each led has to fade all the way off so then the fading on may start on the other led. Like So-

If you gave up or want the answer here is the source code(there might be other ways to do it, so if you can recreate the effect it is fine. comment below your answer)-

/* This source is for fading 2 leds one at a time

As soon as one led is off the other will start to turn on

int brightness=0; //sets the brightness of the led. it starts as off or 0

int change = 5; //change for bightness

int ledon = 6; // ledon is the led which is currently on

int ledchange = 1; // switches which led is going to turn on

int prevled =5; // represents the previous led that was on.

void setup()

{

pinMode(5,OUTPUT); //led is on pin 5

pinMode(6,OUTPUT); // anothe led on pin 6

}

void loop()

{

analogWrite(ledon, brightness); // starts to set the led on

brightness = brightness + change; // creates the fade effect

if (brightness == 255){ //if brightness reaches 255 then

change=-change; // change will become negative and cause led to fade out

ledchange=-ledchange; //this will switch which led is on

}

if (brightness == 0){ //if brightness is 0 or nothing then

ledon =ledchange+ledon; //led which will turn on is changed

prevled =ledon - ledchange; //SETs the led which was previously on so

analogWrite(prevled,0); // it will stay off without this the led will stay on

change=-change; // change, changes again to fade the led up.

}

delay(30); //delay for a smooth effect

}

PNP Transistor Simple Project W/ Arduino

2011-09-19T11:59:00.002-04:00

In this effect I only program one led to blink, I used a PNP transistor to turn on another LED once the first LED is off. The transistor makes the other led turn on while the other is off, so it would make 2 LED blink
Things needed is 2 LED, 2 Resistors(I used 100ohms), Arduino Board, PNP Transistor and wires.
I will post a video later when I get a camera.

This is my attempt at a schematic. If you don't know what the symbols are click this link

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/symbol.htm

Source(it is just the blink example on the Arduino)-

void setup() {

pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
digitalWrite(13, HIGH);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(13, LOW);
delay(1000);
}

Fading Leds With Arduino!

2011-09-09T20:39:00.002-04:00

This is just the source code, for now. I will write a tutorial later.

Source Code-

/*This is my attemp to copy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI-sODvkuTM&feature=watch_response_rev
or an illusion of the leds fading smoothly to the next one.
*/

int thr=0; // represents brightness for pin,
int fiv=50; // each integer's name is the firs three letters of the pin
int six=100; // it represents of the pin it represents this is just to keep
int nin=150; // track it represents
int ten=205;
int ele=255;

int c1=5; //c represents change, each pin gets its own change
int c2=5; // so it wont interfere with any other pin
int c3=5;
int c4=5;
int c5=5;
int c6=5;

void setup(){
pinMode(3,OUTPUT);
pinMode(5,OUTPUT);
pinMode(6,OUTPUT);
pinMode(9,OUTPUT);
pinMode(10,OUTPUT);
pinMode(11,OUTPUT);
}
void loop(){
analogWrite(3,thr);
thr=thr+c1;
analogWrite(5,fiv);
fiv=fiv-c2;
analogWrite(6,six);
six=six-c3;
analogWrite(9,nin);
nin=nin-c4;
analogWrite(10,ten);
ten=ten-c5;
analogWrite(11,ele);
ele=ele-c6;

if(thr==0 || thr==255){
c1=-c1;
}
if(fiv==0 || fiv==255){
c2=-c2;
}
if(six==0 || six==255){
c3=-c3;
}
if(nin==0 || nin==255){
c4=-c4;
}
if(ten==0 || ten==255){
c5=-c5;
}
if(ele==0 || ele==255){
c6=-c6;
}
delay(10);
}

Unlock iPhone 4with Gevey Ultra SIM

2011-09-07T13:58:00.001-04:00

Gevey Ultra Sims are nothing new, but i decided to try it to see if it really works. I got mines from http://applenberry.com/store/gevey-sim/gevey-ultra.html. Shipping was super fast and most importly it came.

ApplenBerry is a authorized re-seller BEWARE OF OTHER SITES, they may or may not be real Gevey.

Gevey will work on firmware 4.3.4 and 4.3.5 but you have to do the steps manually or for a non-jailbroken devices.

Instructions
Jailbroken Devices

Open Cydia
Click on Manage then Sources
Click Edit then Add
Type "http://cydia.furiousmod.com "
After it is done click 'Return to Cydia'
Then click on FuriosMod.com
Install FuriousMod
Confirm It and Respring your iPhone
Turn off your iPhone and put in your Gevey SIM Card
Turn on your iPhone and wait for your carrier name to load.

If you ever remove the SIM card while it is on, you must turn the iPhone off again to have the unlock.
If you are having problems I suggest you try unlocking the iPhone manually which is the Non-Jailbroken Device's way.

Non-Jailbroken Devices

Turn off your iPhone, if it is on.
Insert your SIM card with Gevey SIM card.
A Welcome Menu should show up, accept it. (it did not show up for me so its okay to skip this)
Click on Settings
Click on Phone
Scroll down, click SIM Applications
Click on Instructions
Accept and wait 15 seconds
When you have one bar dial 112 and press end immediately not letting the call go through.
Turn on Airplane Mode and wait 40 seconds
You will see "No SIM card installed", turn off Airplane Mode
"SIM Failure" should appear click OK and wait for your carrier name to appear.
Enjoy Your tether unlocked iPhone

It is important in step 8 to wait, and step 9 to wait for a signal bar.

It might take you more than one try to get all the steps right .

Official Instructions can be found at http://applenberry.com/store/instructions/gevey-ultra-1/manual.html
I recently updated an iPhone 4 to GM ios 5 which also updates the baseband to 4.11.01, Gevey did not work so stick with 4.3.5 or lower.
If you have shsh you can always downgrade.

More Music On Your Tiny iPod!! (or mp3 player)

2011-07-29T20:40:00.000-04:00

Do you ever get bored having 200 songs on your tiny 1GB iPod?
This tutorial is an old trick I picked up back in the days when memory cards and mp3 players had a small capacity such as 1GB or 512MB. I would make more music fit into the device. Once I was able to fit about 900 songs on a 1GB iPod shuffle.

Requirements

iTunes or other mp3 converter.
Computer that supports the program you are using.
MP3 player or iPod.
Music

I will be using iTunes since it is free and all my music is stored and organized, but you can use any other converting program.

Steps

Open up iTunes.
Windows users go to Edit click on Preferences
Go to General look for Import Settings, Click it.
On 'Import Using' choose MP3, since it is the most common file type.
Now on 'Setting' choose Custom, a new window should pop up.
On 'Stereo Bit Rate' choose 56 kbps.
Click Ok three times.
On iTunes now choose a song(s) you want. Select them.
Go to Advance and Create MP3 Version.
Wait.
Done!

Explanation

If you do not know anything about this process, all this is doing is lowering the quality of the music. I choose 56 kbps because anything lower will sound very bad, or distorted. By lowering the quality you also lower the size of the mp3.

Suggestions

Do not delete the original song.
You cannot increase the quality because it is already lost.
You can use any converting tool.

Any more suggestions or questions you have please post below.
Thank You for viewing.

AirVideoEnabler!, AvPlayer! and Apple TV! (Review,Tutorial)

2011-07-02T16:26:00.000-04:00

AirVideoEnabler allows you to use airplay on your iPhone or iPod with more apps, such as AvPlayer, which lets you play any file video(.avi, .mp4, etc).

AvPlayer is very helpful when you have a movie that is big and will take forever to convert and view on your Apple TV or iPhone. If you have a a jailbroken iPhone or iPod you can easily transfer that movie in the AvPlayer folder via SSH and view it. This app is great and only $2.99.

Combine this AvPlayer and AirVideoEnabler and you have an Apple TV that can play anything.

To get AirVideoEnabler you must have a jailbroken device.
Go to Cydia>Search, type Airvideoenabler. It should pop up.
If it does not pop up add the source "http://apt.thebigboss.org/repofiles/cydia/"

This tweak does have some limits though. I tried playing a 4gb iso movie and it would freeze.

If you have any comments or questions just write it down below. If you want a more clear explanation of anything also just write it down there. Thanks For Viewing!

Time Capsule With Apple TV! w/ XBMC

2011-06-15T17:16:00.000-04:00

Apple Products are made for each other, meaning they go together, meaning they all should be compatible with each other. So you think, Until you get a Apple TV and a Time Capsule. You upload a bunch of movies into the Time Capsule to view wirelessly with your Apple T, this is when you find out apple does not have compatibility with all their products.

This tutorial will help others who like me want to watch movies through the Time Capsule without having any computer on.

"AirPlay" with Time Capsule
For this you need to have a JAILBROKEN Apple TV, Time Capsule and a computer all within the same network.

1. Install XBMC
Check your Apple TV for its IP Adress.
If you are using MacOsX then open terminal and enter what is on the page - Link replace "<your ATV2 IP address>" with the Apple TV's IP Address and remove the '$'.
If you are using Windows Download Putty then enter what is on the page - Link replace "<your ATV2 IP address>" with the Apple TV's IP Address and remove the '$'.
Your Apple TV should reboot, if not do it manually.

2.Setup Your Time Capsule
With your Time Capsule it came with a 'Airport Utility' install CD. If you do not have it install in your mac or pc do it.
When you have it install open it up. Click on your Time Capsule and click Manual Setup. Then click Disk > File Sharing. Check the 'File Sharing'. On 'Secure Disk Sharing'- "With device password". On 'Airport Guest Access' - "Read and Write". Finally go to at the bottom 'Workgroup', type in "WORKGROUP" (This name is also use for file sharing with windows computers)
Press Update and Wait....

3. Setup XBMC
On your Apple TV start XMBC. Go to Videos. Scroll Down To 'add source', click it. Now click 'Browse', then scroll down to 'Windows Network(SMB)' click it and now you should see a folder called 'WORKGROUP' click and you should see the name of your Time Capsule. Click it and scroll down to 'OK'. Click okay for every menu that comes up and when you get a message about Unassigned Content click yes.

You are now done and should be able to watch your Time Capsule movies.
Congratulations!?!

Comments below if I missed Something or questions you have.

Getting the "Best" out off eBay!

2011-04-27T18:46:00.000-04:00

In my opinion eBay is very greedy. Taking 9% on everything you sell including shipping plus an insertion fee! How in the world can we make money! I have read around the internet and seen many people complain about the fees being to HIGH! Although many people complain, they still use it. Including me. I used it because it is the easier way to sell things fast. They have a huge audience and I (anyone) need that to make a sale. So how do I make the Best out of eBay you say?
I don't! Just Kidding!

Some Tips!
1. Take advantage of the free insertion fees on auction!

eBay offers free insertion fee when your item starts as a penny! BE CAREFUL! Study your item on eBay and get a view on how much your item sells for. Chances are your item might sell the same, or even more.

2. "Steal eBay's Audience"

eBay has existed in the World Wide Web for a long time. Through out that time eBay has accumulated many people. Put a link in the description of your site. I do not think it is against the rules to post links leading to another buying page (your page). For this you need PayPal. Learn how to make Buy Now Buttons on Paypal. PayPal fees are like 1%-2%, much cheaper than eBay.

3.Watch the news.
Most of the time items being sold on eBay are things that happen in the world for example "Charlie Sheen" His tickets sold very high once he became a sensation Another example is Osaama Bin Laden's death. On eBay they sold for about 10-20 dollars for the newspaper. So keep up with the news and take advantage of what the world brings.

If you have more tips please share. I will put more as I learn more.

Watch Movies Free on Iphone, Ipods and Ipads! With Crackle!

2011-04-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

Sony recently released a new app for the iPhone called Crackle. Crackle is a Sony product, similar to Hulu. The big difference is that Crackle lets you watch their videos on your iDevice without signing in or buying a subscription. They have many shows to pick from, like Seinfeld, Married with Children and many others. You can also watch full length movies. There is not a wide selection of movies like Netflix, but Netflix is a paid service. Crackle is free due to ads in the movies and shows.The ads are very short, its what makes this service better. This a app is free for iPhones iPods and iPads, you can even use this service online with your computer.

Color App Review for iPhone & Android!

2011-04-23T16:50:00.000-04:00

A new app (well not new new) has come up on the app store call Color.
The idea of this app is to share photos or videos with people near you. The photos/video are share with anyone within the 150ft range, no uploading or attaching required. There is no signing on or making an account. You can see different perspectives of the same thing or location. . You can also leave a message or comment on the photos you see. Color is a new way to socialize.

I think this app is a great idea but not many people have it yet. Of course when it first came out Color was very confusing to use. All you really saw on the app was icons which you would not know what they were for. Updates have been made to make the icons or buttons represent things that actually relate to its job better. The app may need some more work but for now it does as advertise.

It would be cool to see different persons point of view and see other parts of the city I have never seen. I will keep on using it and expect more people to have this app later on.

For More Information
Color.Com
App Store Link
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color/id427763573?mt=8&ls=1

Blog Info

2011-04-15T18:37:00.000-04:00

This Blog is created to seperate the tutorials from the other stuff in my other blog at http://somethingtonothing.blogspot.com/
I will have tutorials only, here.