Android App: Remember Facebook Brithdays with Birthdays

If you are like me and don't visit Facebook often you might not see the reminders that it's your friend's birthday.  While I don't often post much on Facebook I do like to wish people a happy birthday, since I'm a nice guy :P, and this app helps remind me of when it's time to wish that friend a birthday greeting.

It is a breeze to setup and will import all of your friends' birthday's once you sign into Facebook through the app.  What I like most about it is that it will notify you via the notification system letting you know if there is a birthday coming up.  On top of that, you can post from within the Birthdays app to Facebook without having to open Facebook so that is a huge plus too.  You can also add widgets to your homescreen too.

There are ads with the Free version which is expected, but a pro version is available for $2.99.  

If you no longer want to miss out on your friend's birthday and would like to post on their Facebook wall give the Birthdays app a try.

Review:
+ Free version available w/plenty of features
+ Easy to use/import Facebook contacts
+ Notifications implemented
+ Post to Facebook within the Birthdays app

- Ads w/free version
- Interface is a bit bland
- Pro version doesn't offer much more
- Notification icon is slightly off

Google Play Store Link

Hackintosh: Stuck at Apple logo fix

If you have just installed OS X for the first time and your Hackintosh is getting stuck at the white screen with the Apple logo and the spinner is spinning endlessly try using -v -x boot flags. 

You should normally boot with safe mode the first time around along with verbose mode to see the last line of code just in case it gets stuck.  Once you are in you can continue with the final steps including Multibeast.

It's always best practice to use integrated graphics, especially with the new CPU's, to minimize problems.

Hackintosh: Hide and Rename Partitions on the bootloader screen

LogintoLion Theme

If you have a hackintosh and dual boot you might notice that all of your Windows partitions will be displayed on your bootloader option screen.  Well there is an easy way to clean up the bootloader by hiding and renaming partitions.  It's quite easy to do:

1. Open Terminal on OS X
2. Type diskutil list

You should notice that all of the hard drives connected to your machine will now be displayed similar to the screenshot below.

Now open your org.chameleon.Boot.plist file located on your hard drive in the Extra folder and add a few more keys and strings.  An example of my parameters are below:

Rename:
<key>Rename Partition</key>
<string>hd(1,1) Win7</string>

Above I am renaming disk1s1 which is System Reserved to Win7.  If you wanted to rename multiple partitions you would separate them with a semi-colon.  For example:

<key>Rename Partition</key>
<string>hd(1,1) Win7; hd(2,1) Win8</string>

Hide:
<key>Hide Partition</key>
<string>hd(1,2) hd(2,1)</string>

I am also hiding 2 partitions, disk1s2 and disk2s1 which will no longer display on my bootloader screen.  So now when I boot my computer I'll only see the OS X option and Win7.

If you encounter issues hiding and renaming partitions:
If the above method isn't working for you or if you notice that the disks keep changing order  when you run diskutil list in Terminal what you can do is this:

Open your org.chameleon.Boot.plist file in TextEdit.

Remove any string parameters for the Hide Partition and Rename Partition keys.

Add the following at the end:

<key>GUI</key>
<string>No</string>

You should have something similar to this:

Save it.  Now the next time you boot you should see something like the photo below:

You can take a picture of the hdd list or write it down, whatever you prefer, and the next time you boot in to OS X you'll now be able to correctly hide and rename the partitions using the prefixes listed in the boot menu.

Remember to remove the added GUI key and string to display the graphical boot menu.

Hope this guide helped.

*The theme used in the first screenshot is LogintoLion.

**I know previously I was able to rename and hide partitions based on their bootloader display name but it doesn't seem to work, for me at least.  I remember I was able to hide partitions simply by typing in the disk name (ie. "Windows C"), but that doesn't seem to work anymore.  Similarly I used to be able to rename partitions to include spaces (ie. "System Reserved" "Windows 7") but that too also doesn't seem to work.

Hackintosh: Stuck at [PCI Configuration Begin]

If you find your Hackintosh getting stuck at [PCI Configuration Begin] you should be able to fix this using the npci=0x3000 boot flag for Mountain Lion.  If you are running Lion you would use the npci=0x2000 boot flag.

Android App: Macrodroid - A task automator for your Android Phone

If you have ever wanted to automate a task on your Android phone or maybe never knew you could automate tasks on your phone and instead have been manually doing tasks daily you should take a look at an app called Macrodroid.

It's a really simple app that is quite powerful.  It allows you to create tasks which can automate processes you might be doing manually at the moment.  A simple task that I created is to automatically turn on/off wifi based on the time of day.  Turn it off at around the time I leave for work and turn it back on at around the time I get home.  I also set it to trigger this task M-F since I'm home on the weekends.  It was extremely easy to set up and works wonderfully.  That is just an example of a task that I created in less than a few minutes.  This is how easy it is:

Click 'Add Macro'
Select a trigger from a list - (e.g. Battery Level).
Configure any trigger specific settings - (e.g. Battery Level < 10%)
Select an action from a list - (e.g Enable/Disable Wifi)
Configure any action specific setting - (e.g. Disable Wifi)
Add more actions as required (up to 10)
Optionally select a constraint from a list - (e.g. Day of the Week)
Configure constraint as required (e.g. Saturday and Sunday)
Add more constraints as required (up to 10).
Choose a name for the Macro.

There are many options and tasks that you can create, from toggling Airplane mode, setting the volume, taking a picture, and toggling vibrate to name a few.  So if you find yourself doing simple tasks everyday, like turning on the GPS in the morning for your commute to work, give Macrodroid a try and create a task to do this for you so you can have one less thing to worry about.  The UI might need some work, but the app overall functions as it should.  The best part is that it's FREE*!!

Price:
Free version: limited to 5 macro's/tasks, one action and constraint per macro.
Pro version: $2.49

Macrodroid - Google Play Store

World of Goo & Prince of Persia S&F on Sale Now for $0.99.

For a limited time World of Goo and Prince of Persia Shadow & Flame are on sale for $0.99.  I don't know how long the sale is going to last, possibly this week only, so get it while you can, maybe with the $5 credit you can get from the Kit Kat bar promotion.

World of Goo: Google Play Store Link
Prince of Persia S&F: Google Play Store Link