NorthStarNerd.Org

QR Codes on Your Business Card

Most of you have seen QR codes in magazine advertisements and other media. These images are also giving the ancient art of exchanging business cards new meaning! How many of you have a pile of business cards on your desk, but have not taken the time to enter some of the contact information into your computer's database (Outlook, etc)? While LinkedIn is a super service for managing contacts, having everything in your own private database has definite advantages.

The process of adding a QR code image to your business card is not difficult, but there are some steps which will facilitate the process. Once the code is enabled, anyone with a smartphone may scan you into their contacts database.

From an apps vantage point, I would recommend these two services:

• Android: QR Droid
• iPhone: Tap Media QR Reader (also exists for Android)

Both services have free versions which accomplish the basics of getting your scanned data into your contacts database.

On the QR Code creation side of the equation, here is my recommendation:

• QR Stuff
  • Select the option <Contact Details (VCARD)>
  • On the resulting form, enter your data
    • Limit your number of fields
      • Too many data fields = complex code that does not work on business cards
    • Also select <Embed VCARD data in QR code as-is>
      • This enables a more universal / easier to use image

Important Note: While there are many QR Code generators on the web, not all QR codes are created equal. I like QR Stuff because I know it works. The images generated by some sites are not of high enough quality to be used via the various web based services which you might utilize (i.e. business card services like this template from Zazzle)

Remember who will be using your business card (someone on a mobile device). Thus, make your linked content "mobile friendly". Learn more about this need (The 3 Rules of QR Codes). If you are looking to be creative, take a look at these 50 examples of business cards which have QR codes enabled.

Finally ... here is the Northstar Nerd's QR code!

All my data is valid except my cell phone number. Sorry.

Using Your Kindle Fire Browser (screenshots)

With Amazon's latest Kindle Fire upgrade, their browser has become much more web friendly. Let's take a look at how the the browsing experience has improved. With this release, you may now utilize the entire Kindle Fire screen for viewing a web page. Given the smaller tablet size compared to an iPad, this is HUGE (literally and figuratively!).

I've also included a couple of other screenshots which should help you use your Kindle Fire browser, including how to easily get rid of the hundreds of tabs that always seem to be open. 

You may also be interested in linked to my post: Personalize Your Kindle Fire w/o Rooting. It helps you get rid of the dreaded Amazon Carousel.

Click upon any image to view at fullo resolution!

When you open your Kindle Fire browser, you will see four arrows in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. Pressing them maximizes your browser to your full screen. The second screenshot's lightly shaded red area demonstrates how much viewing area you gain.

Browser Default Status

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Browser Vewing Maximized.
(press the "up arrow" at the bottom center to return the menus) 

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Getting rid of all those tabs!
(press and hold on any tab ... this pop up menu appears) 

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Accessing the browser menu items

 

Kindle Fire & GoLauncher: Where are my books?

A number of folks have had a difficult time finding their books after installing GoLauncher (no root) in their desire to rid themselves of the dreaded Amazon Carousel. While the Kindle Reader App appears, when launched it appears as if all of ones books have disappeared. Thankfully, this is not the case, but it is confusing at first. Thus, here are some Kindle Fire screenshots and instructions.

Please note that after you "launch" a book via the traditional Amazon Carousel interface, you are able to use the GoLauncher Kindle Reader app to continue reading your book. In other words, you need only return to the Carousel when you want to open a NEW book.

Should it be your desire, this process also allows you to reset the Carousel home screen as default.

Note: This entry is additional help for the Personalizing Your Kindle Fire Post

Here are the promised screenshots: (click to maximize)

#1: Bring up the GoLauncher Menu

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#2: Press upon <Add>

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#3: Press upon <Application>

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#4: Scroll down and check <Launcher>
(this app will always return you to the Amazon Carousel) 

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#5: Now start the "Launcher" app 
(yours may be located somewhere else on your screen) 

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#6: Select or Navigate to <Books>

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#7: Open your desired book
(you may now return to GoLauncher and read via the Kindle Reader app) 

SharePoint Apps: iPad - Yes ... Kindle Fire - No

I've been using and testing business applications on tablet computers since January of 2011. Via my "day job", I often find myself immersed in SharePoint (SP). While one may always connect directly via your browser to a SP web page, this process can be a bit slow and cumbersome. Thus, I decided to test the Filamente Lite and SharePlus Lite apps on both my iPad and KindleFire. The "lite" applications are free, but restrict usage of viewing only! The "pro" versions are paid, and generally allow editing of of SharePoint content.

First let's address what did not work. As much as I tried I could not get any Sharepoint site to connect via either app on my Kindle Fire. I suspect that there is some underlying issue with the Amazon internet connection via wifi which may be utilizing Silk. Regardless, it was a no go (bummer!).

On the iPad, my experience was much better. Both apps easily connected to my SharePoint 2007 and 2010 sites. However I quickly discarded Filamente because when it came time to open MS Office documents (Excel, Powerpoint and Word), the app did not take advantage of my entire screen. I don't like wasting valuable screen real estate.

Thus, hands down my choice was SharePlus Lite. It even worked in terms of viewing SP 2010 discussion forums, which is something the native SP "mobile" mode does not support. This pleased me very much! From this point on, I will take you through some screenshots such that you may experience the app.

Here are the apps I use most often for work:
(click upon any image to view at full size)

If you would like to test SharePlus for yourself, I would recommend the following:

• Download and Install SharePlus Lite for iOS or Android
• Link to Towson University's SharePoint 2010 Demo Site
• Configure / Connect Shareplus in this manner
  • No User ID and Password required
  • No Domain
  • Windows Based Authentication
  • Use this url: https://sp.towson.edu/sites/demo

In general, whenever connecting to a SP site, you will use "windows based authentication" (even on an iPad), and ignore much of the SP url. In the case of Towson, the full url is:

• https://sp.towson.edu/sites/demo/default.aspx
  
  • We ignore: /demo.default.aspx

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SharePlus Lite: Towson University Configuration

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Home Screen: SharePlus Lite
(MS Office Documents Example) 

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SharePoint 2010 Project Site

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SharePoint 2010 Project Sub-Site

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SharePoint 2010 Project Documents

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SharePoint 2010 Project Documents: Sub Folder

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SharePoint 2010 Project Documents: Items

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SharePoint 2010 Project Documents: Page View

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Home Screen: SharePlus Lite
(Discussion Forum Example)

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SharePoint 2010 Project Site

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SharePoint 2010 Discussion Forum

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SharePoint 2010 Discussion Forum: Threads

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SharePoint 2010 Discussion Forum: Messages

Kindle Fire vs. iPad Web Browsing

I like my both my Kindle Fire and iPad. Many tech blogs have lambasted the Kindle Fire, but not NorthstarNerd.Org. Amazon's tablet provides a great platform for reading books, watching movies, and doing a quick check of email or web pages. However, if your goal to browse a significant amount of web content, take a look at my screenshots. You will find the iPad is your preferred platform. 

Three screenshots are given below which should give you a sense of perspective, but first the "technical" specs: (landscape viewing of web pages ... I always browse in the landscape mode on either device ... much easier to read text)

• iPad: 1024x768 pixels
• Kindle Fire: 1024x600 pixels

While a difference of 178 pixels might not seem like much, the screen sizes are quite different ... and here are the result. Click upon any image to maximize.

Image #1: iPad screenshot showing the area not seen on a Kindle Fire

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Image #2: Original screenshot from Kindle Fire

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 Image #3: Original screenshot from iPad

If you are still with me, and wondering how I take screenshots of my Kindle Fire (without rooting the device), link and follow these instructions from CNet. You may also wish to view the original page from my blog which I used for the screenshots.

One final comment, the Kindle Fire represents a great marketing move by Amazon. The Fire convinced me to join Amazon Prime, and I gave a free membership to each of my three adult children and wife. When the family compared notes after the holidays, almost EVERYONE had done 100% of their Christmas shopping online via Amazon. Still think Amazon is giving away the Kindle Fire???

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Updates: You may also wish to read these two posts:

• Using Your Kindle Fire Browser
• Personalize Your Kindle Fire w/o Rooting

Northern Newspaper App ... the USA Today

You may not think of the USA Today as the newspaper of Duluth, Minnesota. After all, Gannett certainly does not target the NorthstarNerd who lives in the frozen northland! However, spend some time with my post and you will learn a number of items:

1. The USA iPad App is phenomenal, and free!
2. Old media which does not adjust is doomed.

Let's address the second item first. The largest newspaper in the state of Minnesota, the Star Tribune, offers a digital only subscription for $52 per year. While I applaud the Star Tribune for their efforts, review of their iPad app demonstrates a less than optimal user interface, and integrated digital media. Like most newspapers, the Star Tribune covers national stories, but they are really only repeating what any netizen can get from better national sources who have deepers pockets (like the USA Today).

In terms of the first item, review some of the images I've included below. I added USAToday.Com to each image to insure proper attribution. You'll discover that the USA Today has an easy menu, and integrated video, weather, and high resolution photographs. I've only included sports photos, but they have the "Day in Pictures" for each section. One of my personal games is to review all the high-res celebrety photos and see if I even know who are the stars and starletts featured (normally, the answer is "no"!). I also like to toggle the descriptions on and off for the main "Day in Pictures" photos, and see if I understand or know the context.

The USAToday is one reason I love my iPad. The reading experience is wonderful, and "consuming" the app has become part of my daily routine.

Oh yes ... why is the USAToday the NorthstarNerd's newspaper of choice. Believe it or not, I am constantly amazed how often they have photos of Winter sports events presented in a manner which my Minnesota media does not. (two versions of every photo ... with and without captions).

Enjoy! (one football photo for you non Winter sports fans)

Remember ... click on any image to expand and view at full resolution.

 

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Biathlon! (Nordic Skiing)

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Ski Jumping 1! (Nordic Skiing)

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Bob Sledding!

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Cross-Country Skiing! (Nordic Skiing)

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Ski Jumping 2! (Nordic Skiing)

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Downhill Skiing! (Alpine Skiing)

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American Football

Adding a Microphone to your Kindle Fire

While I like my new Kindle Fire, I see no reason to limit its functionality to just the desired services which Amazon wants to push at me. For instance, my post last week included instructions on personalizing the Kindle Fire user interface without rooting ( I hate the Amazon Carousel!). This post follows up on that theme and explains how to add additional third party apps to your Kindle Fire without rooting.

Perhaps you would like to use a microphone with your Kindle Fire. Wait ... I thought the Kindle Fire did not have a microphone, and thus could not allow voice input?? No problem! If you purchase an inline stereo microphone (cost: $3) and install the Tape-A-Talk App from GetJar, you are in business! Here's the process:

• Configure your Fire to allow non Amazon Apps
  • Settings => Device => Allow Installation of Applications => On
  • Instructions continued below image

• Install GetJar (a safe, 3rd party App Store)
  • View these screenshots from Business Insider which thoroughly document installing and using GetJar on your Kindle Fire.
• Via GetJar, search for Tape-A-Talk (download and install)
  • Not all Android apps will work on your Kindle Fire
  • Be willing to experiment.
  • Tape-A-Talk is a voice recording app
  • Just uninstall any app that does not work!
• Make certain you have the proper inline microphone
  • Universal 3.5mm In-Ear Stereo Headset with Microphone

In addition to GetJar, I've also used Android Freeware to download apps for my Kindle Fire.

One final note, it is very easy to determine whether the inline microphone you might purchase will work with the Kindle Fire, but the key is to "count" the number of rings on the audio plug. The microphone / ear buds must be stereo capable, which means "three rings on the plug". See the image shown below.

In closing, you may be interested in reading the comments (multiple pages) in the discussion for this post from Lilliputin. I have definitely used an inline mike with my Kindle Fire and Tape-A-Talk, but some apps seem to not work properly if they are looking for a physical mike that is part of the device.

Personalize Your Kindle Fire w/o Rooting

My Kindle Fire arrived last Saturday, and given an extended Thanksgiving vacation, my life has revolved around two items: configuring my Fire and the search for skiable early season snow (x-ski)!

While not an iPad, the Kindle Fire is worth every penny of its $199 price. Amazon's App store is rapidly expanding, and the seven inch screen is proving quite capable. However, the smaller screen compared to the iPad makes the value of apps much higher when it comes to optimizing the viewable area. 

I do have one BIG nit with Amazon. I HATE the carousel. This user interface feature takes up almost 1/2 of your startup screen, and delivers little value. The carousel displays every app, book, video, or song (MP3) which you've ever read or purchased via Amazon. In my case ... a whole lot of books via my public library. Thus, the carousel had to go! (continued below)

For the first few days of the Fire's existence, you could download without charge Go Launcher EX from the Amazon Apps Store. Apparently, Amazon did not like people removing their carousel and wallpapers; thus, they removed Go Launcher from the Amazon Kindle Fire Apps Store. No Problem! There is an easy work around. Just download the app directly from the vendor's web site (no charge). You first may want to read this excellent review from Lilliputin complete with video about Go Launcher. However, in short, this app allows you to personalize your start-up screen as "you" desire. (see image shown below, installation instructions start below the screenshot)

Note: See the bottom of this article for an update (link) which explains how to install non Amazon Android apps w/o rooting via GetJar.

Installation Process:

1. Configure your Fire to allow non Amazon Apps
   • Settings => Device => Allow Installation of Applications => On
2. Install a File Manager from the Amazon Apps Store
   • My choice: AndroXplorer (free for basic version)
3. Download Go Launcher Ex from GoForAndroid via your Fire
   • Download Page (use this page)
4. Using your File Manager (commands for AndroXplorer)
   • Open AndroXplorer => sdcard => download folder => Go_Launcher.apk
   • Note: Your Go Launcher will include the version number
5. You're Done!

At this point you can set up your Kindle Fire home screen to display your desired content. When you first turn on your Kindle Fire, you will be presented with this option: (see below)

Select Go Launcher EX, and make it your default action (easy to undo). This makes the dreaded carousel disappear except upon your command!

Should you wish to return to the native Kindle Fire user interface and start-up screen, you have a number of options:

1. Uninstall Go Launcher (remember, you did not root the device!)
(or)

2. Navigate to "all apps" and start "Launcher". This starts the native Kindle user interface.
(or)

3. Remove the "default startup" setting for Go Launcher:
Settings => Applications => Go Launcher => Launch by Default => Clear Defaults

Now that you are comfortable that one may easily return to the native Kindle Fire user interface, you will want to configure Go Launcher to fit your desires. Take a look at the screenshot given below (click to maximize). There are three basic options you'll want to explore.

Go Launcher Ex Configuration Settings:

1. Add: select the apps you want displayed on your home screen
2. Wallpaper: Get rid of Amazon's start-up splash screens
   • Unfortunately needs to be reset each user session 
3. Preferences: Personal choice, but my favorites are ...
   • Screen Settings => Grid Size => Tightest (5x5)
   • Screen Settings => Dock row => 3

Once you add some apps to the desktop, just press down on any app for a few seconds. All the apps now become movable (or remove from screen).

Finally, here are are my "initial apps". Let me know what the apps you have found useful via the comments section of this blog post. You'll note that my focus is not games!

• Amazon Kindle (default Kindle app)
• AndroXplorer
• Appstore (default Kindle app)
• eMail (default Kindle app)
• Documents to Go
• Facebook (default Kindle app)
• Gallery (default Kindle app)
• Evernote
• Launcher (default Kindle app)
• LinkedIn
• MapQuest
• Netflix
• Office Calculator
• Pulse (default Kindle app)
• Quick Office (default Kindle app)
• Weather Channel

Have fun exploring your new Kindle Fire!

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Still with me? (additional Kindle Fire content)

Since this orginal Kindle Fire post, I have added these posts:

• Using Your Kindle Fire Browser (Jan. 26, 2012)
• Kindle Fire and GoLauncher: Where are my books? (Jan. 19, 2012)
• SharePoint Apps: iPad - Yes ... Kindle Fire - No (Jan. 19, 2012)
• Kindle Fire vs. iPad Web Browsing (Jan. 4, 2012)
• Adding a Microphone to your Kindle Fire (Nov. 29, 2011)
  and
• Android | iPad | Kindle Fire (all posts)

Just in case you want to branch out ... NorthstarNerd.Org explores more than just the serious side of technology. Visit my SkiCam Man posts! (learn a little about Nordic Skiing and Northern Minnesota)

Optimizing Your iPad Browsing Experience

The ability to easily switch between how your iPad browser is identified has real advantages. For example, I have my iPad browser idenitfy itself as Internet Explorer 9 while using SharePoint sites, but if I need to read Google Analytics reports, I switch my browser's identification back to Mobile Safari: iPad (see screenshot).

There is logic behind these actions. SharePoint, being Microsoft software works much better with Internet Explorer (surprise, surprise). However, Google Analytics loads charts using Flash. If I am using a browser identified as "Flash capable" like I.E., the page load times are horrible. However, if my browser is identified as Mobile Safari: iPad, Google Analytics knows not to attempt loading certain charts and graphs, but the data tables load fine and quickly!

I'm certain there are many other occasions where the ability to easily switch back and forth how your browser is identified would be valuable. For instance, while I.E. is useful for many sites, if you are on site with embedded YouTube videos, having a browser which is identified as I.E. would not be good. It would not understand that your computer does not render Flash. However, if identified as an iPad, the Youtube videos will play via the iPad's built in technology.

Finally, if your organization requires authentication where pop-up window login screens appear, that process generally works better via I.E. than Safari. I've actually published a manual of many of my favorite iPad apps.

Hopefully you understand these examples. The iPad is a great device, but there will be times where it is useful to "fake out" the site you are viewing and have it believe you are using a different kind of device / browser. 

For the purposes of what I explained above, I burned an entire dollar to purchase Atomic Browser. It was well worth the expense. 

Of Bippolo Seeds and Zinniga-Zannigas!

Working as a corporate software project manager for a Fortune 100 company can be intense, which is why I just purchased the Bippolo Seed app by Dr. Seuss.  This app both restores my sanity when work is stressful, and brings together several lost stories by that famous author. Each story was published over 50 years ago in various magazines, and have not since seen the light of day.

Now ... when I need a moment away from web analytics, SEO or Yammer, I can break out into brand new Seussian rhyme and impress my cube farm mates! Better yet, I can use the app's extras and provide entertainment for the aerospace guidance engineers who sit near me. What could be a better interlude from work than listening to the tale of the Zinniga-Zanniga?

Seriously, the app is an amazingly better experience than the book, and cheaper! I forked out $6.99 via iTunes for the app instead of purchasing the book for $13 via Amazon (includes shipping charges). The app extras make this option a slam-dunk! To learn more for listen to this commentary from NPR (National Public Radio). Geeks may prefer this story from Wired Magazine!

Regardless, I just read the first story via the app ... no wait ... after a few pages I stopped reading to myself and let the narrator take over with his sound effects. This 55 year old had a great time ... laughing out loud by myself. Now that I've finished the Bippolo Seed, I'm on to "The Rabbit, The Bear, and the Zinniga-Zanniga! I can't wait to experience this app with my grandson, Ben!

Click on any image to view full sized (screenshots from my iPad)