Tethering HTC Hero With Android 2.1

 

After upgrading my HTC Hero to Android 2.1 recently, one of my first thoughts concerned tethering. Would it still be possible and would it still be easy? Being able to connect to the Internet no matter where you are is very convenient and it was a feature I was hoping would remain.
It did and if anything, using it now is even easier now than what it was on Android 1.5. Below are the steps:

1. Plug in the USB cable into the computer and into the phone.
2. Select "Internet Sharing" and hit "Done" as shown below: 

That's it. Your computer should, assuming it has no driver problems, be able to recognize that your phone is a modem and you should be able to connect to the Internet that way.

Thank you Google for making this so easy and thank you ACS for not blocking this functionality.

Please note: the above is true for HTC Hero's from ACS in Alaska. It should hold true for other 2.1 devices as well.

2Tall Tales Is Moving

After several years of entertaining on Blogger, I've decided to move the blog and give it a proper domain and a slight "name lift." Going forward, 2Tall Tales will be known as Tall Tech Tales and will be located at :

http://www.talltechtales.com

All entries from here have been transferred but until the search engines catch up, I'll be posting in both places.

The new blog is powered by Wordpress and gives me more flexibility to do what I want and as a result, I hope it will turn into a better blog.

So, if you enjoy my entries, whether they are about TV shows, Android or Ubuntu, head on over to the new spot.

I'll see you there!

LeBron James and Twitter

I guess it was just a matter of time before LeBron would appear on Twitter. With his free-agent status and so many rumors flying around about this man, I'm frankly surprised he hasn't joined the band wagon already. After all, there are plenty of other people that I'd say are less famous that have more followers than LeBron.

Of course, that may be about to change.

When I first laid my eyes on LeBron's Twitter account, it had about 80,000 followers and was not yet confirmed as his official Twitter account. That was about 10am yesterday, July 6th. At about 1pm, the account was up over 120,000 and now, at about 9pm on the 7th, he has almost 284,000 followers.

He has stated that he'll make an announcement on live television on Thursday but one can't help but wonder what the role of this Twitter account is. I suspect that by tomorrow, the amount of followers could be 350,000 or 400,000 at least. That's almost half a million fans (or not) that are watching for any news beyond what will be on TV. Really, if LeBron plays it smart, he should keep hyping the account and increase traffic to his own site as well.

So, King James may have been slow jumping into the tweeting but as far as followers goes, he's quickly joining the popular crowd. Time will tell whether he'll actually keep tweeting anything interesting or if it was just a publicity stunt.
Links:

 

• http://www.lebronjames.com
• http://www.twitter.com/kingjames

Android 2.1 Available From ACS and GCI

As announced last week, Alaskan wireless carriers ACS and GCI today made the Android 2.1 upgrade available for their respective customers to download through their websites.

Before jumping on the bandwagon, you may want to ask "what's new" and is the upgrade worth it? According to ACS, these are some of the things you'll find in 2.1:

• Support for MMS (picture and video messaging)
• Pinch Zoom Gesture Support for Gallery, Google Maps and Other Apps
• Leap Thumbnail Views with Pinch Gesture

• Enhanced Graphical Android Market with Access to over 45,000 Apps
• Simultaneous Logon to Multiple Gmail Accounts
• Bluetooth Contact Transfer Support
• Improved Battery Life
• Voice Dialing
• Voice Commands
• Active Call Screen with Speakerphone and Mute Buttons On Screen
• Enhanced Camera Features Including White Balance and Scene Modes
• User Dictionary Management (add, delete and edit custom words use
  for messages and typing)
• Smarter Keyboard Calibration
• And much more...

For now, both companies require that a Windows machine is used for the upgrade. ACS also offers in-store assistance for those that need help with the upgrade.

To download the respective updates, visit the below pages:

• ACS Wireless
• GCI/Alaska Digitel

If you're one of those that don't have access to a Windows computer and don't feel like going to a store, here's a suggestion for how to install the ACS update no matter what computer you have:

• http://www.apexalaska.com/installing-the-2-1-update-without-a-windows-pc/

Using Google Voice With Unsupported Carriers

Google Voice was made available to all interested parties this past week, giving all of those interested in it a chance to try it out. No more need to request and invite, no more waiting for the eventual invite to arrive.

Alas, many smaller regional carriers, such as those here in Alaska, are not on the list of supported carriers. What to do, what to do?

Although this could be a problem, it really isn't. The carrier support only really seems to be needed for the part where the voicemail is activated for one of your phone numbers so in the end, whether your carrier is supported or not is irrelevant.

What does this mean?

It means you can pick another carrier, like Verizon, and Google Voice will still work ok.

I did exactly this. I picked Verizon and got this pop-up:

The *71 is the call forward immediate code and my Google number is immediately after it.

So, if you're using a carrier that is not supported, simply substitute your carriers call forward immediate code and Google Voice now works on your phone as well.

One important note to keep in mind: Google Voice numbers can be long distance, especially if you live in Alaska like I do. So, if you want to use Google Voice for your voice mail, make sure you have nationwide plan.

In addition, if you're using an Android handset, you also have the Google Voice app available for download in the Android Market. How much easier can it be to keep all your voice mail handy?

To find out what your carrier's call forwarding code is, contact your local carrier.

Blackberry Storm 2 Coming to Alaska

Alaska has had a busy couple of days with multiple carriers announcing the release of additional Android phones as well as the Android 2.1 update coming next week.

As if that was not enough, GCI goes ahead and announced the impending availability of the Blackberry Storm 2 for the Alaskan market.

We have another exciting product launching coming up at GCI, as we will be launching the BlackBerry Storm 2 (GSM/CDMA) in the coming weeks.

The original Blackberry Storm never made it to Alaska and it didn't seem that too many cared. The Storm, although a touch phone, never quite had a reputation as a fantastic touch screen phone.

With the Storm 2, some changes have been made and I'm sure time will tell whether it was enough.

Android 2.1 Available In Alaska Next Week

After many months of waiting patiently, Alaskans who has ACS as their carrier will finally get to experience Android 2.1 for their HTC Hero's on 6/29.

ACS announced the availability of the update today through their Facebook page, just a day after announcing that their customers will soon be able to buy the HTC Desire and the Motorola Milestone through ACS.

It’s ready! We are very excited to announce the Android 2.1 update will be available for ACS customers this Tuesday (6/24). A link to the update file and instructions will be posted here that morning. Thank you all for your patience, I know it has been a long wait.

Although 6/24 is set as the date in the official post, a later comment corrected this to 6/29.

Not to be outdone, GCI, the local competitor that beat ACS with their Desire/Milestone announcement, posted a tweet while this post was being written outlining similar intentions.

We're also pleased to announce that Android 2.1 for HTC Hero users will be coming next week. Look here for more on that early next week.

Overall, this is good news for customers of both carriers, both of which will be able to take advantage of the new features of 2.1. If you have a Hero, I suggest you get ready.

Sources:

• ACS Facebook
• GCI Twitter