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A long title, but a pain to achieve as Windows 8 ADB drivers are different from Vista and Win7.  It’s exactly the same process on Vista & Win 7, but impossible on Windows 8 without the drivers linked below..

Jelly Bean on Kindle Fire 2.

So in the correct order:

1. Install Kindle Fire ADB drivers from this page at XDA and then Root as instructed (Device needs to be rooted to add custom .img files and Boot-loader.).  In the same thread:
   • Carry the steps in the Root Many Android section.
   • Then Qemu Automated Root.
2. Follow the Cordless APK Instructions here to install a custom .img file and boot-loader (the excellent TWRP).  You need this to install custom ROMs.
3. Finally, you get to flash your device with a custom ROM, I used this JellyBean 4.2.1 ROM.

Once you have done that lot, you boot up into a standard Jelly Bean environment with out all the Kindle crap and the store with charges more for apps than the Google Play store does.  I linked the tablet to the wife’s Gmail account (it’s her tablet), and it promptly sorted her emails and pulled down her Android apps without my intervention…

This is about as straightforward and polished way of working with your Windows PC and you Android tablet or phone I have come across.  if they are both on the same wifi network, you can inspect, edit and transfer files between both with ease, as well as sent text messages on your PC using you phone and so on.  Impressive stuff…

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I’ve seem oil cooling used for over-clocking PCs, but it appears the server industry has been checking it out too…

Intel has just concluded a year-long test with immersion cooling equipment from Green Revolution Cooling, and affirmed that the technology is highly efficient and safe for servers. The testing, conducted at an Intel data center in New Mexico, may mark a turning point in market readiness for submerged servers, if recent experience with Intel’s embrace of emerging data center designs is any indication.

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I’ve had an Android phone for almost 2-years and I have pretty much settled on the software I use on it, I think I have reached the point where it does certain  jobs for me and that’s it.  In alphabetical order they are:

• Angry Birds Whatever – clever and entertaining.
• Assistant for World of Tanks – Stats & news on the move.
• Dropbox – Access files on the road.
• ES File Explorer – file manager, gets more use on my tablet than the phone tbh.
• FireFox – Syncs with my main PC so a no-brainer.
• Hungry Shark 2 – funny game, still makes me laugh.
• London Underground -Tubemap & travel planner.
• Moboplayer – excellent video player, didn’t like the HTC player.
• MyMovies Pro – DVDProfiler never got ported from Pocket PC so I ditched it.
• Shazam – Name that tune!
• Stupid Zombies – Another entertaining puzzle/timewaster.
• Sodoku Free – When I feel like scratching my head.
• Tank Wiki for World of Tanks – Tank porn.
• UK & World News – BBC website news feeds in a neat interface best suited for your phone.  great on the road.
• Wifi Analyser – Poor signal or the neighbours using the same channel?  Easy way to sort issues and site kit correctly.
• Winamp Pro – Music! didn’t like the HTC one.

I have tried quite literally hundred of apps, but these are the ones currently present and worth having, though I would like to find something a little less quirky than ES File Explorer tbh.  These are NOT the same as the apps I use on my Android tablet, where there is a considerable divergence due to screen size, chipset (Tegra 3) and ease of use.  I’ll cover these another time.

Well I’m not a fan of “Social Media” but I do enjoy photography and Instagram allows me to  combine my love of IT with it. You can monitor pictures as they are posted on your phone or via the Webstagram site.  Millions of users, so all sorts of interesting images covering any subject you happen to be interested in.

The filters are pretty basic in Instagram, but you can edit them before hand and import, though the bulk of mine are untouched as I try to get the best image in the lens rather the on my PC after.  There are not shortage of Android image editors either and couple of good examples are BeFunky, Pixlr-o-matic and Colour Splash Photo.

You can see my images on webstagram here.

I was going to write a little something about Instagram, but I cant…

As of 11:21 PM EST Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud in North Virginia went down, due to severe thunder storms in the area. The Washington Post reports torrential rains, “scary winds and lightening” and massive power outages in the D.C. area.

Amazon EC2 runs many major websites and services. Netflix, Instagram, and Pinterest have all been taken out of service during the outage.

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Tablets everywhere it seems…

Speculation that Google will shortly unveil an own-brand tablet appears to have been confirmed by Asus.

Reuters has quoted one of the Taiwanese manufacturer’s executives as saying the device had been designed to compete with Amazon’s handheld computer.

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Following on from yesterday I did a little search and found there is more than one motion simulator out there, but they do seem to require deep pockets…

Force Dynamics offer this puppy, though at $50,000 to $75,000 you could buy a car and go racing…

D-Box offer the GP-Pro range, 3 seats though no indication of price…

Simbolrides have limited profiles for games and no price list…

I want one of these…

Some rare, very interesting and occasionally disturbing images from WW2…

This series of entries will last from June 19 until October 30, 2011, running every Sunday morning for 20 weeks. In these photo essays, I hope to explore the events of the war, the people involved at the front and back home, and the effects the war had on everyday lives. The entries will follow a roughly chronological sequence, with some broader themes (such as “The Home Front”) interspersed throughout. These images will give us glimpses into the real-life experiences of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents, moments that shaped the world as it is today. I hope to be able to do justice to this important story in this large-photo narrative format and invite you to join me for the next 20 Sundays.

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