Tasker: Don't kill official facebook app but...

If you're one of those folks like me who has a love/hate relationship with the official facebook app (hate them but also can't live without them) then keep on reading this post, I may have something for you.

The dreaded facebook app is famous for its battery hogging feature which in return may or may not brings much benefits to us (unless you're into draining your battery). While many articles over in the internet had advised to against installing it but then again the app itself does have some useful features whereby other 3rd party apps can't provide (like direct share into a facebook group).



Like many others out there, I had resorted to seek different solutions but ultimately I have no choice but to crawl back and subject my device for the battery vampire app as sacrifice. But it was today that I asked myself this question, if I can't kill it (it does respawn actually) why not I disable it? So this post is all about disabling your facebook app using Tasker.

What the heck is Tasker?
Tasker is an automation app (period) for Android devices. You can control different actions to be done on your device based on different situations (like time, location, upon charge, upon battery deplete until certain percentage). If given the proper permissions, scenarios and actions, it is a very powerful app for your device which gives you many ways to automate your device according to your lifestyle (like launch Spotify upon connecting to your car Bluetooth and change the device timeout to 10 minutes). I had purchased Tasker for a while but was not able to fully maximise it until recently (whereby the Android systems allows much more control). Coped withq another 3rd party extension app called SECURED
SETTINGS, things gets even more exciting

What are we doing today?
We will be enabling and disabling Facebook app upon toggle. Disabling the app means that the app itself would not be able to stay in memory by any means possible (unless your facebook is rigged with viruses)

Disclaimer: I have not did extensive research on Tasker (yet) and doesn't have the capability to retrieve return codes from task execution. Henceforth, these instructions still work but not as pretty only

What we need?
To start off, here's what you need:-
1. A rooted device
2. Tasker installed https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm
3. Secured settings installed https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intangibleobject.securesettings.plugin

Here are the steps:-
1. Launch Tasker and click on the TASKS tab



2. Let's add a new task, click on the + button below



3. Let's give a name to the task, call it "Toggle FB"



4. Now we need to choose the action for the task. At the search input box, type in "secure" to find secure settings option. Tap on secure settings



5. Now we are brought into secure settings options, tap on the pencil icon on top right



6. Within secure settings, you will have many options. We need the package state option which is within the root actions option. Locate and select it



7. Now we need to choose our lovely Facebook app to configure more options. Tap on the ? Icon to list and select the Facebook app



8. Ensure that the option "Toggle" and "User Disable" is selected



9. Tap on the back button until you're back in Tasker screen



10. Let's add a pulse (wait) as the next step. Click on the + icon at the bottom and type in "wait" as the search action



11. At the wait option, put in 2 seconds as the wait time



12. Next step, we shall add the launch of Facebook app. Click on the + icon at the bottom and choose "App"

Note: If the app is enabled, it will launch, if it's disabled, it will just fail with an error message



13. Select "Launch App" and choose Facebook as the app to launch





14. Once you're all done, you should see 3 actions associated with the task called "Toggle FB". Press back a few times to exit tasker

What's next?

The best step is to toggle enable/disable and launch the facebook app from your launcher.

1. Go to your launcher main screen and add a new widget. Locate and select the tasker widget called shortcut



2. Click and drag the widget to your main screen and then the list of tasker actions will be displayed. Choose "Toggle FB" (the one you created)



2b. As option, you can also choose the icon to be used by clicking on the icon on the bottom right (choose Facebook icon)



Press the back button when you're done to save it.

Testing:

On the first launch, you will disable your facebook app, henceforth you will receive the message as shown



If you tap on the icon again, you will enable your facebook app and it will launch immediately. You also need to understand, this will also removes Facebook from your app drawer upon disable. So don't panic when you can't find the shortcut from your launcher; just tap this icon to enable again. So do tell, if it had been useful to you in our facebook group.

Olympus A01 Review

Ah... A whole year and 1 post, I must had been missing or dead? Nope, I'm still around as many updates are diverted to my facebook group but then again, once in a while when I have a lengthy article to write, I'm sure to hit back here.

Back in November 2015 I had made a purchase of Olympus Air A01 from Amazon and got my friend to ship it back all the way from the US of A. It's been like almost 2 months of usage with a few of my Panasonic and Olympus lenses and so how did it fare towards my liking and requirements?



What the heck is Olympus Air A01?
Okay, let's dissect the words itself. "Olympus" is a camera company - yes it's a camera (not lens but I'll get to you on that in a minute). "Air" represents lightweight and "A01" basically means it's the first model Olympus had made for the masses.




Opening the latch behind, you can dock your phone to it. Yes, you need a smartphone as the viewfinder - any smartphone running IOS and Android that can run the Olympus Air app called OA. Central



This is how the actual size in scale compared to my Olympus 45mm f1.8 Prime lens



Docking the prime lens on top, that's how it looks



This is how it looks when you dock your smartphone onto the latch



With a mini tripod, this device is cute beyond words



Of course, you can also be serious about it when you mount a larger lens








Prior than using the app with the device, you would need to pair it up via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for full functionality. Well, it's all in English (if you download from the English Amazon store) and wizard guided. Some steps would require you to take apart the device to locate the QR code within to pair. Just do it carefully and I'm sure you'll happily be using it after a brief moment. One point to take note is that the device also requires a micro SDCard to function - of which you would need to purchase separately. Once the device is powered up, the rest of it relies on the app, your lens and your skill.

The app - OA.Central
This app is the main feature of the whole thing itself. Once started, you can choose between one of these options from the main screen:-

• Shooting Mode
• Mode dial - the basic shooting mode
• Art Filter - Using filters and effects while shooting
• Color creator - Adjust color and hue while shooting
• Photo story - Collage
• Clips - Video
• Genius - Capturing 6 different effects of a same picture (including filter, zoom and such)
• View Images - View previously shot images which had been stored in the device SDCard
• Camera Settings - Adjusting the camera's settings like WiFi password, Sleep Time and such

The usual mode which you will always be using the the standard mode dial feature. Within it, you can
control the standard camera settings like auto, manual, shutter priority, aperture priority, ISO, white balance, shutter speed and aperture settings. However if you're a very physical person who needs the touch of buttons for all these features, then this may be quite complicated for you (as for me).

Taking pictures
Like many cameras today, you can use your smartphone to focus on which area of the viewfinder to focus on and tap on the snap button on the screen. Alternatively, you can also use the physical button on the device to snap - but it will readjust the focus before snapping again.

If you're a professional photographer and requires a lot more technical details of this device, I would suggest you to look at this website for more details http://www.dpreview.com/products/olympus/slrs/oly_air_a01

Your lens
It is undeniable that once you make the decision to purchase this device, the next investment would be any other Micro Four Third (MFT) lenses which is manufactured by Panasonic, Olympus, Tamron, Sigma and such. As per the photograph above, you can attach crazy big ass lenses onto it and yet the A01 will still take it like a champion - provided you can afford it. While I am not going to write about Photography101 or Lenses101 here but here is a website that is detailing out all the MFT lenses out there in the market today http://www.four-thirds.org/en/microft/lense.html. It would give you an idea of what kind of photos to take (Macro, Potrait, Landscape, Animals and such) but it also comes to one last aspect of the usage - your skills

Your skills
You see, this device is not something which is conventional in form factor. It's not sized up as a traditional camera (not even like a GoPro) but it is very convenient in that sense. You can aim the device in any angle or position which you deemed like (like going as low as foot level to take pictures of the asphalt on the road) or mount it on a tripod and leave it there for selfie, we-fie or whatever-passing-by-fie. The limitation of creative photography is just on you. I had used it to take picture in one of my company's event but I ultimately, I was limited by my own skills and lens - but I'm still learning !

Some improvements needed
Battery life of A01 is quite impressive - I had went through about 2.5 hours of shooting without any problems. The problem is only at your smart device - as it will be continuously be switched on to cater for the viewfinder. Having these thoughts, you may want to consider a smartphone which is specifically used for the A01.

Alternatively, you can also opt to switch off A01 entirely. Letting your smartphone power-up the device itself via the OA.Central when needed - but this cold startup will take about 1 minute before the viewfinder is enabled (sometimes, if your smartphone have a lot of stuff going on, it may even take double the time). Likewise, you can also use your smartphone to power-down the A01.

There may be times when the synchronization between both device is out which left the viewfinder frozen in a specific frame. In those times, you would just need to wait a bit for both devices to sync back before you can continue shooting again

After using a while, the A01 is hot to the touch (Not burning) which is a bit worry-some if you're planning to leave it switched on for a long while or planning to take long exposure shots at night.

What else I like 
The A01 uses MicroUSB slot for charging - of which if you bring a battery pack out with the standard MicroUSB cable, you can last quite long in that context (i.e. Outdoor shooting).

As mentioned earlier, there is a shutter button on the device itself which is useful for those point and click moments - without a viewfinder (If your aim is good). I had seen someone created a module to do so over in the internet, I'll share it when I can find it again.

While it is not written on many reviewing websites, the battery is not interchangeable but it is actually replaceable. Unscrewing some screws behind would expose the battery compartment whereby you can buy the replacement battery when the charging lifecycle of the original battery had depleted

If you're adventurous enough, you can also create additional modules or apps for the device as all the specifications and application interface (API) is published by Olympus for the masses to work on it.

In my upcoming post, I shall post some pictures which was taken by the device

The day I "Androidify" the car... (part 1)

When I bought my Hyundai Sonata about 4 years ago, I was very pleased with the elegant look of the car's design. Much so that I took a step further by purchasing many parts to beautify it (Chrome metal parts imported from Korea and such).

While the car's exterior seems to look elegant and unique (trust me, it's really one of a kind but not too much until it looks yuppy) but the interior still runs on primitive stock double din music system. There was no reverse camera which is also a downside which renders me a few minor scratches and dinks due to reversing too far and hit the elevated pavement underneath the chassis (ouch !)

It was an insomnia night when I started asking myself, are there such a thing as a wireless reverse camera which uses the Android screen for display? As I'm currently docking my device onto the car and using a headphone jack to relay audio into the car's system, what if I can attach a reverse camera which can use the same Android screen? It would make my device being modular to the car !

It was then I Googled a bit and then I stumbled upon this fella...



So basically it's a reverse camera with IP66 certification and uses Wi-Fi to relay image from the camera onto your device. All you need is just to install the app and pair with the Wi-Fi for the first time and voila! You're set to go... 

Basically the package comes with a simple booklet with instructions for the installer (which is simple to understand but hard to apply as you may not know how to pry open your car's exterior hubs and caps).





But because the unit comes from Hong Kong, I decided to give it a test run by hooking to the AC/DC adapter and see if it works (My car installer not free today).



Tada! It works like a charm! Basically the application would run automatically when it detects the camera's Wi-Fi and performs the connection. After which, it automatically launch the app and display the image for you. As you can see, it also gives you the indicative range of how close or far you are to the object which you want to hit... Hehe

So I'll be installing it tomorrow and if this guy can serves me a while, I may consider getting another unit for the frontal part of the car. So here's the idea, when driving forward, the Android screen will display the camera in front. When reversing, it will disconnect the frontal camera and activate the back camera... Hmmm... I wonder... :-)

Galaxy Note 4 review part 2 : Camera

One of the reason why I had chosen the Note 4 compared to Xperia Z3 was based on the camera review by the masses. Many said that the camera works so well the it even surpasses the iPhone... So I went and spent a couple of days poking on the camera features and here are my findings...

For a start, the device is equipped with a 16 megapixels main (rear) camera and a 3.7 megapixels front camera. According to Samsung here are the camera specification.

Front Camera 3.7MP + F1.9/ Selfie (90º), Wide selfie mode (120º)

Rear Camera 16M+ Smart OIS/ Fast AF, Live HDR(Rich Tone)

So let's talk about the front camera. When activated, the camera itself is already providing you with quite a wide angle view where you can snap a wider view compared to many smartphone cameras. With a large aperture (f1.9), the front viewfinder already gives you an edge when taking photography in the shade.



But on top of that you can also perform a panorama shot which allows you to drag the camera from corner to corner to get a wider "wide angle" effect - which gives you a choice of taking "we-fie" instead of selfie.



With a fairly large aperture (f2.3 I think) the main camera also comes with "HDR mode" which excels further when shooting shady or shadowy environment. HDR photography basically means that the camera will take 3 photos in different exposure and then combined it into a single photo. This helps exposes the details of the objects that is hidden within the darkness of shades and such (Not total darkness though)

Taken using the front or rear camera, I also noticed that these pictures have facial or skin color smoothing or soft focus effects - making everyone in the picture look young and vibrant. I think this is the part where people were complaining about color incorrectness. With due honestly, I am not complaining - I rather see everyone look bright, vibrant and young compared to looking like a zombie in the picture







Night shots aren't that bad either. With OIS, the night shots with zoom can be taken flawlessly. Perhaps not the best but at least you still can work out what are you snapping.





The Selective Focus shot (bokeh) allows you to focus on the object of your choice AFTER the photo was taken.







In some modes, you can press and hold the shutter to take a maximum of 30 photos at one go. Of which you later can use their new PHOTO STUDIO to pick the one you're interested in and edit.

One other mode which is of interest is called the Animated Photo mode. Basically you can capture an animation of the surrounding with a single object in stagnant. I just have a few ideas on what am I going to do with this...



Finally there are other modes which I explore very little. Virtual tour for example; allows you to tour a place while taking photographs. The inbuilt guide will guide you to take pictures of the whole path while you're walking through. Imagine you want to give others a tour of your new house? This is a good one to start!



Then there's this new mode is called "Food Mode" which is specifically use to take pictures of food. However, it comes with a trick - it allows you to adjust the color hue of the food to make it look more vibrant (and tasty?)





Other features which I have yet to try is the "shot and more" feature. It is a combination of

- Best photo: Select the best from a series of pictures.
- Best face: Select the best picture of each person from a series of pictures.
- Drama: Take a series of pictures of a moving object, then merge them.
them.
- Eraser: Erase unwanted moving objects from your picture.
them.
- Eraser: Erase unwanted moving objects from your picture.

I'd reckoned that these features may be the most used features for those who are into taking group photos, kids and fast action objects. While you can use the burst mode to capture and select which picture you wanted, but this mode does not save up all the different pictures in burst mode.

The camera also allows you to capture videos ranging from VGA to UHD resolution. Below are the list of resolutions available:-

-3840×2160 ULTRA HD (4K)
-2560×1440 Wide Quad HD
-1920×1080 Full HD
-1280×720 High Definition (HD)
-640×480 VGA

You can also capture videos in fast motion, slow motion or smooth motion (?) and perform screen capture during video recording. Video capture is also easy because there is a dedicated button for you to activate the video capture immediately from within the camera application.

As with 4K mode, some of the above mentioned features will be lacking thereof. For example, you may not be able to perform screen capture during video capturing.

So here goes my part 2 review of the Galaxy Note 4. I'll be back in part 3 and cover other parts of the device - like stylus functions and features

How to read Chinese text anywhere within your device using Note4 (picture or text)

The new "Smart Select" of Note4 feature allows you to capture any part of the screen and perform a OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to gather the text content. With this capability and coped with Google Translate, I am able to capture most Chinese or other kanji characters for translation. Here's how it works...

With the stylus, hover near the screen and click on the stylus button



With the wheel menu pops up, select SMART SELECT option.



Choose the text or graphic which you need the OCR to function upon (could be a text or picture)



Once captured, you'll see the text appears on screen only. Click on the T icon to perform OCR.



Once the text can be recognised, it will appear as the screen above. Click on the share link



Share the contents to Google Translate and viola!



You may not get a full meaningful translation all the time but it basically gives you an idea what the text is all about...