Beanster Blog

Add iPhone X "horns" to your Android Smartphone

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sat, 14 Oct 2017 12:06:00 +1300

Add iPhone X "horns" to your Android Smartphone

Available on GitHub

Tips & Tricks / Emergency SOS in iOS11

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 03:53:00 +1200

Coming to iOS11 is a neat feature called Emergency SOS.

It is found in its own sub-menu under Settings.

Basically, this feature lets you quickly call Emergency Services or your Emergency Contacts. You invoke it by pressing the sleep/wake (power button) rapidly 5x.

Don't forget to fill in your Medical ID & Emergency Contact/s (in Health app) so those first responders (police, fire, medics, etc) have some basic information to work with.

As an added bonus, invoking the Emergency SOS screen also disables Touch ID temporarily and the device will remain locked until you input your password. Useful if you are confronted by a bad guy (bad cops?). Make sure you have a strong password (an alphanumeric password is better than a simple 4 digit pin), set your phone to lock immediately, and Erase data after 10 failed password attempts as well.

Hello, Goodbye, Hello Moto...

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 16:30:00 +1200

A few weeks ago I purchased a Moto E4 Plus it was a very affordable and capable device but unfortunately, the South East Asia version lacked NFC.

Since I will be moving to a place where there would be support for Android Pay I figured I should at least get a device with both Fingerprint and NFC capability.

Yesterday I got a Moto Z Play which has NFC. Deleted and packed off the E4 Plus for sale.

I got a lot of freebies, a Moto Mod compatible flip case, and a Moto Mod Incipio battery pack.

All for 19,999 Php -- a very good deal!

The Z Play originally came with Android 6 Marshmallow, but I was able to update it to 7 Nougat and I read that Motorola/Lenovo (oh ya, Lenovo bought Motorola from Google) will be upgrading it to 8 Oreo as well.

Hope that pans out!

Nokia 105 Dual SIM (HMD Global)

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 16:09:00 +1200

Nostalgia aside, I thought the Nokia 3310 (at Php 3,000) is a bit overpriced for what it offers and for a spare phone at that. So, I purchased an even cheaper dumber phone. The Nokia 105 Dual SIM is just Php 850 yes less than Php 1,000.

It's super basic you can't even sync contacts to it or change the date format, but at least now I have a super cheap phone with super long battery life for emergencies. No fear of data charges since it doesn't even have GPRS.

I think this would be a good mobile to deploy to staff/offices that don't need more than basic features. Oh and it has a torch.

Bye Bye Windows Mobile... Again...

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 10 Sep 2017 15:25:00 +1200

Since Microsoft has given up on Windows Mobile, I guess it is time to reset and get rid of my Lumia 650 Dual SIM as well. It was fun while it lasted.

Devices Control

Erase Device

Device Deleted

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15240.0 for Mobile

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 11:47:00 +1200

Release notes here

Apple is charging more if you get Netflix thru iTunes. BAD APPLE.

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Tue, 4 Jul 2017 04:00:00 +1200

I noticed something as I was fixing my mom's Netflix subscription. She had recently done the 1-month free trial using her iPhone. Meaning her subscription would be coursed thru Apple iTunes or AppStore.

Netflix Philippines pricing direct from their website. 370Php, 460Php, 550Php

Since I already pay for Netflix, I was surprised that the prices were not the same! Apple charges extra on top of Netflix's fees. BAD APPLE.

If you subscribe via Apple, you pay 19Php, 29Php, 39Php extra on top of Netflix's monthly fee.

I canceled her trial subscription using iTunes prior to the end of the trial date and then went to Netflix.com to restart her trial direct with the streaming service.

For most people, it would be more convenient to subscribe via Apple but I don't believe we should pay more if we can get it for less.

Here is Netflix's help page on canceling iTunes billing:

How do I cancel iTunes billing for Netflix? https://help.netflix.com/en/node/27460

CEDAR PEAK by VRDC - Condo Lobby Teaser

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 19:20:00 +1200

Way Out West - Tuesday Maybe

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 00:04:00 +1200

Way Out West - Tuesday Maybe
= https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tuesday-maybe/id1226686015

BDO is now charging a fee for US$ check deposits. Boo!

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 00:01:00 +1200

PSA: Beware of this BPI Phishing Email

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Tue, 23 May 2017 11:01:00 +1200

I don't have a BPI Express account, so I knew this was a phishing email from the get go.

When we look at it on a desktop browser we see the email address has been masked/tampered with

When we hover (DO NOT CLICK) on the link we can see the URL is suspicious as well.

DO NOT CLICK ON LINKS IN EMAIL.
IT IS BETTER TO GO TO THE WEBSITE ON YOUR OWN AND NOT RELY ON LINKS
BE WARY OF ATTACHMENTS, EVEN FROM PEOPLE YOU KNOW.
TURN ON "TWO-FACTOR" AUTHENTICATION IF AVAILABLE.
IF YOU FELL FOR A PHISHING EMAIL CONTACT YOUR BANK (OR THE WEBSITE) ASAP.

The scary part is when viewed on mobile (in this case GMail for iOS) it looks ok but it is not, more and more people just do stuff on their mobile and this might fool some.

Princess Leia’s Stolen Death Star Plans by Palette Swap Ninja

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 7 May 2017 14:45:00 +1200

MOST IMPRESSIVE!

Microsoft Surface Laptop

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sat, 6 May 2017 23:22:00 +1200

Microsoft recently announced their Surface Laptop.

The device looks great on video and specs wise it seems like a capable device for the target market (education / ultra-portable) however I am a bit uneasy about the move to a single USB port and the fabric on the keyboard seems like an impending hygiene issue.

I am not sure how I feel about Windows S as their response to ChromeOS. It remains to be seen if they will make a dent on Chromebooks market share. Personally, I would opt to upgrade to the Pro version anyway to get the most out of Windows 10.

Let's see what MSFT's partners will cook up now that Microsoft has unveiled their new "hero device".

I really think APPL is missing the mark by refusing to add touch capability to their MacBooks screen, the TouchBar isn't really compelling (yet), and I think the devices on the Windows side should capitalize on this.

In the end, competition is always great for the consumer :-)

Why is Apple killing Enhanced Podcasts?

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 17:47:00 +1200

I've been an off + on podcaster for a few years. You can check out my electronic music appreciation podcast = Thank You For The Music (shameless plug).

From the start, I wanted to do enhanced podcasts just like the wonderful podcast Coverville.

Enhanced podcasts add chapter support with different artwork per track and even URLs to podcasts. A really useful feature IMO.

In recent years it seems both iTunes + Apple's Podcast app support for enhanced podcasts have become worse.

iOS
I've been testing the Podcast App and it doesn't even display the chapter artwork properly.

It works well on Downcast App.

Desktop
In iTunes 12.6 as you can see the controls are hidden, difficult and don't work very well. The chapter artwork also doesn't change except on the mini player view. WEAK!!!

Downcast for macOS has better support Enhanced Podcast support vs iTunes 12.

It seems third party devs may be following Apple's lead, OvercastFM my current audio podcast app of choice seems to have dropped enhanced podcasts support. Good thing I also own Downcast for both iOS and macOS which still does support it.

I am not sure how many people use the enhanced format but I do for my show. It really is annoying that they are doing this, I think this is another sign of Apple deciding on behalf of its users. This is not how a company should do things. SMH.

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 23:54:00 +1200

adbl.co/Thrawn Enjoying the audio book very much!

Windows 10 Mobile Build 15063.138

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 18:46:00 +1200

enrolled my @Lumia 650 to @windowsinsider #fastring hope to get 15063.138 before Easter hehe. #windowsmobile
— Vincent B Castro (@bnycastro) April 12, 2017

Well after only a few hours of my above tweet hoping to get Windows 10 Mobile Build 15063.138 it is now downloading on my device hehe. I did have to install build 15063.2 before 138 appeared under updates.

Will report back on how the update goes...

iOS 10.3 APFS (Apple File System)

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 05:00:00 +1300

Seems I saved 4.7Gb after upgrading to 10.3

VBC

Pairing Bluetooth via NFC | BOSE SoundSport Wireless & Microsoft Lumia 650

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 19:40:00 +1300

Pairing Bluetooth via NFC | Plantronics Voyager Edge to Microsoft Lumia 650

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 17:04:00 +1300

Star Wars Rogue One iTunes Extras

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:36:00 +1300

The extras are pretty cool!

VBC

Plantronics Voyager Edge gets a firmware update

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Sun, 26 Mar 2017 13:43:00 +1300

Wow first firmware update in more than half a year... at least they haven't abandoned the device!

Review|Nillkin Microsoft Lumia 650 Hard Case

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 18:23:00 +1300

I finally got the hard case for my Microsoft Lumia 650.

NFC works through the case and it has a lip so you can place the device face down and the screen won't touch the surface.

All the cut-outs are there and the case is very affordable.

Highly recommended.

Rematch on Rebels

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 05:00:00 +1300

Obi Wan Kenobi faces off (again) with Darth Maul on Tatooine

Microsoft Lumia 650 Dual SIM

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Fri, 3 Mar 2017 05:00:00 +1300

Ever since my Lumia 535 got stolen, I have been slumming it with the Lumia 532. I had my eye on the Lumia 650 but unfortunately, Microsoft decided to bail on mobiles for now, and as per the Microsoft Store in SM Megamall, the device would not be sold locally. Both the Lumia 950 and 950XL were very tempting but out of my budget range. Bummer.

I still preferred to use Windows 10 Mobile for work and initially I tried to order it via Microsoft's US Store but they don't accept credit cards issued in the Philippines. So I hit eBay and actually got the device including shipping at a lower price, all in I spent less than 9000Php for this device. For the price, the device looks and feels great!

Microsoft Lumia 650 in hand

Specs: Microsoft Lumia 650 (MSFT website)

I got it in black and opted for the Dual SIM variant. It takes nano size SIM cards there's no need for adapters on this one. Like my previous Lumias, it has a microSD expansion slot, I have a 16Gb card in at the moment. I also noticed that this device has NFC, I don't have programmable tags with me at the moment but I was able to pair my Plantronics Voyager Edge headset via NFC, and check my Octopus card balance with an app I got from the Windows 10 Store.

with the battery out, sim cards, sd card slightly out

An added bonus: since my device is from the USA, I get to use Microsoft's Reset Protection (Activation Lock clone), makes me wonder why devices sold outside the USA don't have this important feature on by default.

Find My Phone + Reset Protection

Here are some more photos of the device...

Packaging is simple. Includes the phone, battery, and charger. No wired headset.

Lumia 650 front, first boot

Thinner than expected, the metal frame is a nice touch.

I have been using this for about a week and I am really happy with my purchase. I would not recommend this device if you are way into the Apple or Android ecosystems. However, if you are a Microsoftie like me it's a nice and affordable mobile to keep in the loop with Windows Mobile 10.

MacBook1,1 on Windows 10

bnycastro@gmail.com (bnycastro) — Fri, 3 Feb 2017 05:00:00 +1300

Got some tools from Handy Man. I swapped the 250Gb drive from my MSI Wind U123H with the 60Gb drive of the MacBook.

I borrowed my friend's Apple Dev credentials and downloaded both Leopard and Snow Leopard DMGs as well as the Combo Updates for both from Apple. Thank you, Jayson!

Installed OSX SnowLeopard and Windows 10 Pro 32 bit. The BC2.1 drivers are compatible with W10.

If like me you didn't want to bother with burning DVDs install rEFit (MacOS) this nifty program let's you boot from USB on old Macs.

System sluggishness, which is to be expected since the hardware is more than 10 years old. It is a slightly better experience vs my MSI Wind U123H Netbook but not by that much.

Since the battery has bloated I tossed it in the trash. The machine is basically non-portable and bound by the availability of a power outlet.

iTunes 12.5.5 installed but video playback is not supported. Probably due to the very old GPU. I will see how it performs for syncing and backing up my Grandmother's iPhone 6.

I've christened this MacBook1,1 as "StormTrooper" since it's white and clunky hehe. If you have old hardware I highly recommend giving Windows 10 a spin to salvage it.

Remember, Apple may abandon it's old machines but it doesn't mean that the machines are totally useless.