Archive for January, 2009

iPhone contact list, me.com sync issues

January 17, 2009

This afternoon, I got a call on my iPhone from an acquaintance who was already in my contact list and to my surprise the name of the person was not displayed on the iPhone just the number. I checked my address book and it had become empty. Thanks to the buggy Me.com sync operation, I’m sure. Well if this happens to you, before you start to panic, try this: 

  1. Remove the me.com mail set-up from your iPhone
  2. Now add it back

This has happened to me twice, and in both cases, removing and adding the me.com mail account fixed the problem. Fortunately the sync didn’t delete all of my contacts on the me.com web site, just deleted all contacts on the iPhone.

Posted in iPhone | Leave a Comment »

Arduino, could not detect size of program error

January 15, 2009

Arduino IDE, takes a Sketch and compiles it to C++ program. This C++ program is in turn compiled by the AVR GNU C++ compiler to object code, the resulting executable is in hex format and finally, this hex version is uploaded to the Atmel chip. The outline of the generated C++ code looks like this:


#include "WProgram.h"

int main(void)
{
	init();
	setup();
	for (;;)
		loop();
	return 0;
}

I had defined a function called init and this resulted in Arduino compilation to C++ failing with the error that it could not detect the size of the program. The reason for this was really due to a function by the same name getting defined in the WProgram.h file. The resulting error message, however, did point to the temp folder where all of the generated C++ code is stored. A quick read at the files in this folder highlighted the real problem: two functions with the same name. I renamed my function from init to initialize and the program compiled without a problem.

Posted in Arduino | 1 Comment »

Power Sparkfun USB Evaluation Board GM862 from Arduino

January 14, 2009

 

Power GM862 from Arduino's 5V output

Power GM862 from Arduino's 5V output

For lower current applications, e.g., sending SMS vs voice calling, it appears that you can readily power the Sparkfun’s USB GM862 module directly from the Arduino’s 5V output and ground pins. I connected Arduino’s 5V to GM862′s 3.8 V pin, Arduino’s ground to GM862 ground, Arduino digital 1 (TX) to GM862′ s TXD and finally Arduino’s digital 0 (RX) to GM862′s to RXD pin. 

Note that the 5 V output drops down to 4.91 when measured at the GM862 board. 

After you make the connections, you can control GM862 from your Arduino board without having to separately supply power to the GM862 board.

 

Crude battery power Arduino and GM862

Crude battery powered Arduino and GM862

To run fully on a battery, I had to use two batteries. One for Arduino and one high capacity/current Polymer Lithium Ion (3.7V – 860mAH) for GM862. This did the trick. The regular 9V battery didn’t seem to have enough juice to run both Arduino and GM862. There must be a single battery option, but that will have to wait for another day.

Posted in Arduino, Telit GM862 | 5 Comments »

Adobe Share Just Got a Speed Boost

January 12, 2009
Adobe Share (this link only works on iPhone or Safari browser)

Adobe Share (this link only works on iPhone or Safari browser)

Adobe Share 1.7 was released today. This is the best release of Share to date. The upgraded service is now quite snappy and this alone should make the service a lot more useful and fun to use. If you’ve an iPhone, you can access your Share files directly from your iPhone too (this link only works from an iPhone or a Safari browser).

Posted in Adobe Share | Leave a Comment »

Skitch for marking up an image on the Mac

January 9, 2009

 

Use skitch to markup an image with ease

Use skitch to markup an image with ease

If you ever need to markup an image with text, arrows, and various shapes, look no further than skitch. It is a really easy application to use and does an an excellent job. Kudos to the designers of this tool.

Posted in OS X | Leave a Comment »

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