computoman

Here is a neat little trick to get move volume from your touchpad or etc, allit required us just a few pieces pvc pipe. There were several ways to do it.  The ist was to use a tube and two elbows. It was effective but not very sturdy, To ke the unit, you would take a piece of tube long enough for the the Nexus7 and the elbows to attach. The you would attach the elbows. The insert the Nexus 7. More often than not the it had to be propped up against something. Drcided to use tees instead of th elbows. Since both sides of the tubes were open, it led to a loss of volume, No problem. Found something to plu up the back sides of the tubes and viola it worked; The finished version.

Actually what I am talking about is the Google Chromecast. Chromecast allows you to throw the video or other media from the Nexus 7 to an hdmi enabled device such as a newer tv or monitor. So now you can attach a larger monitor to your nexus 7 via wifi and the Chromecast. Setup is fairly easy and you should be able to do it all via the Nexus 7 using the Chrome browser with internet access. You will also need the Chromecast app from the Playstore to be installed.  I now carry the Chromecast and a specially setup router with me. Make sure that is the router is only set up to take the mac addresses or special identification of the devices to connect to the router. Also use wpa2 or better wifi encryption. Not completely secure but not half bad. Personally wish I had had it when I was teaching. For home media, I would probably prefer to use the Raspxbmc or the like.

Nexus 7 and the Arduino. http://www.instructables.com/id/Nexus-7-and-the-Arduino/

Want to hook your Nexus 7 directly to your arduino, then all you need is a OTG cable and a standard usb cable. Get the free (at this time) Usb(terminal app from the playtore and install it.You will want to set the arduino serial port and the Nexus 7 both the the same speed. We use 9600.  The android has an ide app for Android, but I have not tested it yet. Update Downmloaded and installed arduinodroid. Seems to work ok even with my osepp board.  Have fun. Code to send data from the Arduino to the Nexus 7. <code> void setup() {   // put your setup code here, to run once:  Serial.begin(9600); } void loop() {   // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:   Serial.println("This is a test");   delay(1000); } </code>

Traditionally if you wanted to build an application for Android, you had to install a set of programs on the desktop computer. Doing so could cause a majority of problems. Now there are Android application environments now for direct use on Android such as the Nexus 7.  Such an application is called AIDE (Android integraded development environment). You can get Aide directly from Google play and download it directly ot your device. Now lets build a simple hello world program. Everyone's first program is usually the "Hello world" thing.  This will be a different experience from the days of: $ gcc progname.c -o progname or $ ./config $ make $ sudo make install 1. Get AIDE. It can be downloaded from the Play™ store. 2. Open up AIDE and it will ask to create a new project. AppName: HelloWorld PackageName: com.meetdageeks.HelloWorld 3. Goto MainActivity.Java and add the three lines (without the comments!). package com.HelloWorld; import android.app.*; ...

Always thinking of new ways to use a tripod. Earlier we made an adapter to allow a tripod to be a camera holder. Then I thought, why not make a portable lectern. From the spare wood pile, simple enough as you just needed a rectangle wooden base with a small strip of wood as a lower paper stop.   Actually, you do need a special part called a 1/4 inch tee nut so it can be connected to the tripod. You can get them for about two for a dollar at the local hardware store. Still think this setup is not that stable and would be hesitant to use it to hold any computing device, but then you can always live dangerously. Poor man's stain (a coat of tea and then a coat of vinegar that had steel wool steeping in it overnight.) Later after a week. No additional staining was done.

The Nexus seven is beginning to grow on me despite limitations I could easily get around with a linux box. Yes you can install linux on the touchpad, but it is still not a complete adaption last I heard. Then too, you lose the Android environment. Seems that more and more applications want you to root your system if you want to take advantage of their software. In someways that could be a deal breaker, Thought about getting a cheap tablet to experiment with that and keep the Nexus seven a bit more private. First project was to see if I could serve out a gpxe linux install from the Nexus 7.  It would be so neat to be able to start a linux install on a traditional pc from a tablet device. Already do this all the time from a regular server (see the last article). For some reason of the web servers I tried for the android they were not up to the challenge,  Disappointing, but not the end of the world. There are some plus sides to having the server, You can run html and javascript ...