Tag Archives: galaxy s

The Night of Two Eclipses

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Google Sky Map as displayed on my Samsung Galaxy S

Google Sky Map as displayed on my Samsung Galaxy S

I was torn between watching the Lunar Eclipse and another eclipse unfolding on the ground. Hacktivists launched ‘Operation Malaysia’ at about the same time when the celestial bodies lined-up early this morning.

The pre-declared cyber war on Malaysian government websites started earlier at around 1:30 am. Only a couple of sites appeared defaced while some others probably pre-empted the hostilities by going off-line in advance. The sheer number of curious visitors could have also caused some of the servers to keel over.

The fun however was in observing the camaraderie among the many excited supporters who commented live on Twitter and blogs. Many Internet users see the blocking of file-sharing sites as protecting the interest of big business and maybe even Uncle Ho. The ‘Anonymous’ hacker group deemed it as unfair censorship while the government insists that copyright violations must be policed.

2:53 am Malaysian Time: Half Eclipse

2:53 am Malaysian Time: Half Eclipse

Meanwhile, the real eclipse is considered (relatively) rare as the center of the earth’s shadow will move across the moon. Here in Malaysia, it was to be an almost total eclipse. Using Google Sky Map on Android and my trusty Garmin 60CSX GPS, I calculated the moonrise, trajectory and angle in advance.

And what do I know? The best place to observe or photograph the eclipse was not the planetarium but at my own little garden. I set up the Olympus E-PL2 with a 300mm Zuiko lens on a sturdy Manfrotto tripod and triggered the rig by a wired remote. Even had my laptop next to the garden chair, still running off the home wi-fi. Only thing I can’t predict nor control is the spoiler of many past eclipses; clouds.

2:53 am Malaysian Time: Three-Quarter Eclipse

2:53 am Malaysian Time: Three-Quarter Eclipse

3:20 am Malaysian Time: Near Total Eclipse

3:20 am Malaysian Time: Near Total Eclipse

Clouds came in after that but I was still able to track the moon’s position although it was totally hidden. Google Sky Map uses the phone’s built-in accelerometer sensors and GPS to determine which part of the sky the phone is pointing to.

Tasty Froyo: Android 2.2 For Samsung Galaxy S

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Google has been naming the various iterations of the Android mobile OS after desserts. There is some method to the madness, though. Each flavour represents an alphabet. So far, we have Cupcake (1.5), Donut (1.6), Éclair (2.1), Froyo (2.2), Gingerbread (3.0) and the future Honeycomb. There’s talk of Ice Cream to follow. Serious 🙂

When I purchased the Samsung Galaxy S last July, it came with Version 2.1. Although the Galaxy is armed with the very fast Hummingbird processor, it felt a bit laggy when too many programs were opened. So, after having sold 10 million Galaxy S phones (in six months), the official update finally lands in Samsung Malaysia.

I upgraded quite by accident. I went over to Samsung Service Plaza in Petaling Jaya to buy the (original) spare battery (RM 116), wall charger (RM 49.80) and USB cable (RM 16.80). I was pleasantly surprised that the prices were very much lower than those quoted by several greedy phone vendors in Plaza Low Yat. I asked about upgrading to a stable version of Froyo and was surprised Samsung was willing, even though I didn’t bring the warranty or have proof of purchase.

The counter person, a Ms Rekha, was very helpful. She even assisted me in removing and inserting the SIM and microSD into a spare Nokia phone of mine. Which wasn’t really necessary as the update was completed in less than 15 minutes. An SMS was automatically sent (to my contact number) when the technician completed the task.

Remember everything on the phone will be wiped off in the process. So, back-up your contacts, messages, data, pics and programs, before hand. Fortunately, I stored all my pics and videos in the external SD. I had also moved all contacts to the cloud (Gmail) and the list was magically restored as soon as I logged-in again.

The professional and efficient service rendered made up for the horrible Kies PC-connecting software that Samsung provides. So, there you go. No more hunting, downloading, wondering if you have the correct version and pulling your hair out. All painless, free and almost instantaneous at Samsung Malaysia.

Screenshot of GPS

One of the best new Froyo features (for me) is the easy, built-in screen capture function. How to do it? Just hold down the back button and press the home button at the same time. You will hear a camera shutter sound and the image will be saved to a folder in the internal SD. I use SwiFTP to transfer the files to my PC via Filezilla, when both are on the same Wi-Fi network. Totally wireless. The GPS indeed works better now. Getting a lock is faster and accuracy with Google Maps has improved.

Froyo 2.2 Android

There are a number of improvements under the hood. While 2.2 offers quite dramatic performance gains, the Samsung firmware has added a number of subtle tweaks to the interface. There is now an unread message count in the icon, among many other thoughtful little touches (screenshot below).

Subtle Differences

Mobile AP

I never had much luck with the Mobile AP functionality in the previous version. Now the phone can act as a wireless hotspot seamlessly for both my notebook and iPad.

Better Market

Market (like the Apple’s App Store) gets a better interface (left).  The live webcam of the Johor-Singapore Causeway also appeared smoother and loads very fast with Froyo.

Galaxy Daily Briefing

Samsung Daily Briefing widget (left) & the new Drop-Down Notification Bar. Auto-rotation lock added in new version.

Android Apps

Live Feeds: MyCen Events Calendar instant updates (left) and listening to an exciting, ongoing, real-life  ‘cops & robbers’ pursuit, live via police radio scanner app.

How To Go: MyCen Map of Samsung Customer Service Plaza in Petaling Jaya

Full Moon & The Wolves

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My fascination with heavenly bodies began back in Form 4 or Form 5. I can’t remember exactly but it was during the time I joined my school’s astronomy club. Armed with a telescope and a tattered constellation chart, we made regular outings to Lake Gardens and other dark places.

For many of the boys, the principal objective was to get close to the gamma virginis. Somehow, there was something appealing in a Form 6 girl who had just graduated from full pinafore to a skirt and starched shirt.

As always, there were a few nerds who were actually into planets and other celestial objects. The guy who can pick out Venus or memorised the names of the Greek Gods was appointed Geek God.

Full Moon Over KL

Good Moon Hunting With Samsung Galaxy S

But who needs a constellation chart these days? With Google Sky Map installed on a Android phone, you can identify any planetary object in any weather, with pin-point accuracy.

The program is able to do this because it calculates the view based on your GPS-detected location. It also makes use of the phone’s 3-axis accelerometer and compass to change the sky view as you move the phone about.

During the full moon earlier tonight, I knew exactly where the shy moon was hiding. All I had to do was to point the camera in its direction and wait for the clouds to clear (as in pic above). By the way, Gamma Virginis is a star in the constellation Virgo.

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