Ask NerdGirl: Bookmark Backups, Using Your Phone to Find A Box In the Woods, and Internet Glitches
by n3rdg1rl
May 18, 2010 9:00 AM –
I’m so excited! Google I/O starts tomorrow! I can’t wait to hear all the announcements! They even have an app for it. Plus, since I’m taking a train for 13 hours it will give me something to do!
Hey nerdgirl…=)…I don’t know if you condone rooting but…when I switch roms I naturally have to reinstall my apps; now when I reinstall Skyfire mobile browser it only has the bookmarks that my stock browser has…the thing is I obviously don’t use my stock browser…do you know of a way to save the bookmarks so I don’t have to constantly keep adding them? Thank you in advance X3
After doing some research, and installing SkyFire myself, it seems like this is everyone’s complaint with this browser. I did notice that it imported my bookmarks from my default browser, like you said. I took that to mean that it does understand where bookmarks are stored by default, but writes to it’s own folder for bookmarks made by SkyFire. So I made a few bookmarks. I went back to my default browser and the bookmarks I made in SkyFire were there. I went into my folder for bookmarks on my phone and it seems like they’re all there in one place. I’m not sure what the disconnect is on yours, and others, phone. Maybe rooted phones place bookmarks in several places. I’m not sure and unfortunately it seems like no one else is either. I wish I had a better answer for you, Matthew.
And in the matter of rooting, I don’t have an issue with it. The way I feel about it is that you purchased your hardware. If you want to make your phone into a magic carpet or a microwave, why can’t you? It’s yours! Android is an open source platform so changing it isn’t stealing and (if you know what you’re doing) doesn’t hurt anything. You own the hardware. You should be able to do whatever you want with it. That’s just my opinion!
I’m a huge fan of your page!!! Sorry I had to start with that!!! But I was wondering, is there a nifty geocaching app out there? I love geocaching and the thought of paperless caching & not having to lug around my handheld GPS even though I have my phone on me, would be a huge help!!! Just wondering…. Figured if anyone could help me with you could!!
Little Missy
I love geocaching too, Missy! For those of you that don’t know what geocaching is, here is a little explanation from Geocaching.com: “Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. ”
So a geocaching app would be something that connects to Geocaching.com, has a GPS, a compass, and a way to mark your caches. I have been researching these myself and there are a ton of apps and geocaching tools. Some of the higher ranked free apps you may want to try out are c:geo (which is the one I use), GeoBeagle, GeoHunter (which is based on GeoBeagle), or Columbus (which has the highest rating).
There are good tools for geocaching as well. You can use Hintdecoder for Geocaching or Geocaching Tools to figure out the hint’s without having to manually decode it. Geocaching Keyboard provides a specialized keyboard just for logging finds. It provides keys just for TFTH, DNF, TNLN, and other frequent geocaching abbreviations. Orienteer is a compass you can use with your phone for when your GPS is being inaccurate due to cloud cover, trees, or buildings.
So, with these tools you can be a paperless geocacher with only your phone (and cache repair kit) to carry around! Have fun! I’m going to be using some of these myself while I do some geocaching in New York City this week!
How do you use [AppBrain]. Mine keeps saying that I must connect to INTERNET but my android had wifi, so what would it tell me to do that?
Tai, I’ve run into this problem. What I find on my Eris is that it’s not the app having the problem, but it’s a problem with the actual phones software. As odd as this sounds, see if turning off your wifi fixes it. It has a few times with me.
But if it does end up being a problem with AppBrain, that can be simple to solve. Make sure you’re signed in with the same email on both accounts, the computer and your phone. When you go into AppBrain and click on Manage my Apps, it will then go through your installed apps on your phone. Click on Sync with AppBrain and the apps you want to install or uninstall will be listed at the top. This is where I was getting the message and after I turned off wifi it went away. Then click on Perform Installs and voila!
Keep sending those questions to
nerdgirl@androidtapp.com! I need something to do on vacation and helping you guys out is an awesome way to spend my time! ^_^
~n3rdg1rl