Friday, July 16, 2021

Google Home's Relaxing Sounds - How to get more out of this feature!

 Do you have a smart speaker with Google's Assistant built-in? Do you regularly use the Relaxing Sounds feature?

The White Noise Relaxing Sound has been very important in our house ever since my son was born.  We keep it on during sleeping time and we have it scheduled to turn on a little bit before bedtime to help us to remember it's time to start relaxing.  

While I think the feature is wonderful, there are two drawbacks that I have found frustrating:


  • When you tell Google to "Play white noise," by default it only plays for 12 hours, and sometimes we need it to go a little bit longer.
  • If the power goes out or the internet otherwise fails, there is no way to tell one of your speakers to play white noise (or other relaxing sounds) on another speaker.

However, with the building Routines function, we can work around both problems!

In your Google Home app, you are going to want to click on the Routine button, located at the top of your app:


From there, you are going to want to make a new routine.  You can name it whatever you like, I named mine "fix it."  You also need to pick a phrase to use when telling your Google Assistant to start this routine, although we won't be using it for that very often.  

From there you want to enter custom text to tell your Google Assistant what to do when you start this routine. Here is where you can solve the first problem: you can tell your Google assistant how long to play white noise (or other relaxing sounds)! In this case, I set it up with the phrase "play white noise for 15 hours."


You can now set this routine up to run on a schedule if it suits you.   However, what do you do if it's the middle of the night, your child is sleeping to white noise, and the power goes off for a few minutes? The power came back on, but now white noise isn't playing in their room.  Do you risk going in there and waking them up to attempt to quietly whisper your request to the speaker in their room?

Instead, we can use the app on our phone to remotely start this routine on any speaker in our Google Home.  Go back to the Routines section from the home screen of the Google Home app:




Now scroll all the way to the bottom and you will see an area that says "Start Your Routines on" and then has a default speaker selected.  You can click on that and change it to any speaker in your home:



After you've selected that, any routine you click on the play button next to from your list of routines will play on that selected device.  TIP: if you don't want to wake anyone up, lower the volume of that speaker first and then slowly raise the sound once the white noise or other relaxing sound is playing.




Friday, August 3, 2012

XBMC For Android + 1Channel Plugin

Okay, so here is every step to get XBMC and 1Channel up and running on your Thrive or other Tegra 2 device:

NOTE: touch input isn't very responsive, you are going to want to use an external keyboard or mouse.

1.) Install XBMC using this link: http://anonym.to/?http://depositfiles.com/files/ok6moyzt3

2.) Download 1Channel and get it where your tablet has access to it. http://www.xbmc4android.com/uploads/1/2/8/9/12898021/plugin.video.1channel-0.1.6.b6-fixes.zip

3.) Ideally, you want to either your own onechannelcache.db to /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc. xbmc/files/.xbmc/userdata/database and your own libraries over to /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/org.xbmc, or just copy my userdata.zip over ontop of yours on your tablet.  It's going to be a pain to set up your entire library on the tablet, as touch input is hardly working and you have to use a keyboard/mouse and it's slow and a little buggy.

4.) Once you get into XBMC, go to System-> Settings -> Add-ons -> Install from ZIP, and navigate to the 1channel zip you downloaded. 
5.) Go to Videos -> Files -> Files -> Add Source and you will have to type in special://userdata/addon_data/plugin.video.1channel/TVShows.  This is tough because the backspace on your hardware keyboard won't work, and if you use any symbols on your hardware keyboard it freaks out.  So to type the symbols, use your mouse to click "symbols" and pick them out and if you have to backspace use your mouse to click backspace.  When it asks how to scrape it tell it TVDb.  Now do the same thing for special://userdata/addon_data/plugin.video.1channel/Movies but use theMovieDb this time.

6.)  If you used my files or your own, then at this point when it asks you if you want to scan these locations for new files say yes and wait.

7.)  Now you can watch whatever you want wherever you have internet.  If you want to add movies/shows, just search for them and right-click (long press wasn't working for me so I used the keyboard key for right-click) and choose "Add to Library."  If it's a show you want to get new epsides of as they come out, also right-click and choose "Subscribe."

I have my own userdata folder to share, but it is 90MB.  I have attached screen shots of my working XBMC installation with 1channel.  I uplaoded my userdata file to [link concealed, contact me if interested].  This would also work on your PC.  First I would go through all the TVShows and see if you want to delete any.  If you delete a lot, I wouldn't add the onechannelcache.db because I'm not sure, but you probably are going to want to delete all those subscriptions you don't want and it might be easier to just add the ones you kept intead. 

You can basically follow the same instructions for any XBMC installation on any device, just the file paths and installation files might be different.

Now, if this was working with PseudoTV...









Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What Do When Your Favorite Electronic Device Gets Wet

Have you ever spilled a glass of water on your camera? Dropped your cell phone in the toilet? Left your laptop bag on your front porch in the rain overnight? Okay, so the last one might be a bit specific, but I actually did that a few weeks ago. What some do not know is, even if you completely submerge a device, there is still a good chance you rescue it from becoming a rather expensive paperweight.

Here are the basic steps to follow if you ever get one of your favorite companions wetter than you should have:

1.) Immediately unplug and/or remove the battery of the device. If the water is in there and the device is on, you can ruin beyond repair right then. If it has "extras," for example a laptop, remove the cord from both the device and the wall, remove any drives or cables you can.

2.) Gently remove as much of the liquid as possible. If there is standing liquid gently dump it out. Be careful not to shake the device, but rather tip it, such that you do not spread the liquid around.

3.) Carefully blot away even more liquid with a lint free cloth. If you don't have one, you can use a towel just pay attention and try not to get any lint inside of the device.

4.) Blow-dry any excess liquid out. Be sure to use a low, cool setting or you could damage the device. You could also use canned air.

5.) LEAVE IT ALONE! I know it may be hard, but, depending on the size of your device, you should not mess with it for at least 24-hours after this. If it is something larger, like a laptop, I would leave it for 2-3 days just to be safe. In some cases, you probably could turn it back on sooner, but if you do, and it is not dry yet, you could fry your little guy.

These are just suggestions and some devices may just be fried past any recovery, but in most cases, follow these steps and you will not lose an expensive toy to H2O!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

YouMail...Free Pimped Out Voicemail!





You might have heard about the iPhone's visual voicemail feature, and thought, "hey, that's pretty cool," but never had any intention of purchasing an iPhone. Besides, if it is really that cool, something that like will start to be available for all kinds of phones, right?

Well, with YouMail's voicemail service, now it is! You have the option of either viewing your messages in a list via your web browser (at http://m.youmail.com), or downloading their app (currently only available for Blackberry, Android, or iPhone). And of course, you can still call to check your messages.

So what else does YouMail have to offer? Here is a list of my favorite features:

-Smart Greeting: when people call you and reach your voicemail, YouMail scans your contact list for their number. If it finds it (or if there is Caller ID information available), then instead of the typical, "Amy is not available, please leave a message," YouMail will great your caller by name "Hello, John, Amy can't come to the phone right now, please leave a message." Of course, you have to be careful not store your boss in your contacts as "Butthead Boss."

-Personalized Greetings: this gives you the ability to have a greeting for each different person(s) who calls. I have one set for my sister, my husband, my mom, and my parents house. You could also do this in groups, like have a "professional" greeting for anyone calling from work, and a "funny" greeting for your old high school pals.

-Notifcations: You can set YouMail up to notify you of not only new voicemails, but missed calls as well. You can choose to have these sent via text, email, or both. This service is also combined with Caller ID information. This means that if you receive a call from a number you do not recognize, but instead of leaving a voicemail, they hangup, you may still be able to get the caller's info. This is also useful in case you have low-cell service, so your call goes straight to voicemail but a message is not left, you still get a notification.

-Transcriptions: YouMail can also transcribe what your callers are saying on your voicemail and send them to you via email or text. Unfortunately, this is not included in their free service. This service starts as low as $3.00/month.

-Call Ditching: Sick of your mother-in-law nagging? Avoiding your boss? Your ex does not know when to stop? With YouMail, you can ditch calls. Although this feature does not actually prevent the number from calling, they will be played a message about how their call is not wanted, and then will be hung up on after the message is played instead of being able to leave you a harassing message.

-Importing: Since a lot of the features rely on your contact list, YouMail makes it easy to import. You have the choice of uploading a file, or letting YouMail log into one of your email accounts like GMail or Yahoo and retrieve your contacts for you.

-Message Forwarding/Reply: I also like that you have the option to forward or reply to messages. You can do this to the recipients email address or text message. I like being able to type a quick reply, or when someone leaves me a hilarious voicemail I can forward it to our other friends.

So if any of this sounds interesting to you, sign-up! YouMail is available for most of the popular providers, and I have also heard that if you are having any trouble, their customer support department is very helpful!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Where I Shop to Save $$

Like most of you out there, I am not exactly swimming in the dough these days. However, I do have a crazy addiction to technology, and I am always looking for my next little toy! So, how am I still able to treat myself? Internet shopping! It seems that almost any product you want to buy, you can find somewhere online for a very decent price!

In this spirit, I thought I would share the websites I that check every day as a part of my morning routine. These sites have saved me hundreds, if not thousands, over the past couple of years!







Spoofee
This website is a compilation of general deals on the net. It even has a "free goods" link at the top for their forum where users submit links to various kinds of freebies.







Woot!
This is one of those very popular deal-a-day sites. It is mostly electronics, but sometimes they surprise you. Deals are normally pretty decent, and deliveries are fast and on-time. They even have a few split offs from the main site including a "sellout" page on Yahoo Shopping, a T-shirt page, a Wine page, and more recently, a kids page.






1 Sale a Day
This is another DOD site. I like them because most days the items are very cheap. In fact, some days there are free items, you just pay shipping which is normally around $5. I have ordered a few things from them. The products were good, I just did not care for their shipping times. It took around 1.5 weeks after my purchase for both items. They also do not do combined shipping. But other than that, I have been very happy with my purchases so far! They have two other tabs on the site, too, one for Wireless and one for Watches.





DOD Tracker
DOD tracker is a little different. It takes all of the DOD sites it can find, and posts their current deal in one easy to look at place. And yes, it does have Woot! and 1 Sale a Day, those are just my favorites so I like to look at those first. This helps to find some amazing deals! For example, I found a BT dongle on this site for around $5 shipped!

There are tons of deal sites out there. And there are lots of sits that just have good prices on all kinds of stuff like Buy.com and MWave.com. If you're shopping for something in particular, you might want to try something like Google Shopping or Nextag where you can enter a product and it will search for the best price for you, and they also have reviews of the companies your purchasing from. Then, of course, there's always eBay or Craig's List where you can buy used goods for a decent price!

What Do When Your Favorite Electronic Device Gets Wet

Have you ever spilled a glass of water on your camera? Dropped your cell phone in the toilet? Left your laptop bag on your front porch in the rain overnight? Okay, so the last one might be a bit specific, but I actually did that a few weeks ago. What some do not know is, even if you completely submerge a device, there is still a good chance you rescue it from becoming a rather expensive paperweight.

Here are the basic steps to follow if you ever get one of your favorite companions wetter than you should have:

1.) Immediately unplug and/or remove the battery of the device. If the water is in there and the device is on, you can ruin beyond repair right then. If it has "extras," for example a laptop, remove the cord from both the device and the wall, remove any drives or cables you can.

2.) Gently remove as much of the liquid as possible. If there is standing liquid gently dump it out. Be careful not to shake the device, but rather tip it, such that you do not spread the liquid around.

3.) Carefully blot away even more liquid with a lint free cloth. If you don't have one, you can use a towel just pay attention and try not to get any lint inside of the device.

4.) Blow-dry any excess liquid out. Be sure to use a low, cool setting or you could damage the device. You could also use canned air.

5.) LEAVE IT ALONE! I know it may be hard, but, depending on the size of your device, you should not mess with it for at least 24-hours after this. If it is something larger, like a laptop, I would leave it for 2-3 days just to be safe. In some cases, you probably could turn it back on sooner, but if you do, and it is not dry yet, you could fry your little guy.

These are just suggestions and some devices may just be fried past any recovery, but in most cases, follow these steps and you will not lose an expensive toy to H2O!

How to Ditch Cable and Save Money

If I think back really hard, I can remember being very excited when we finally got cable as a child. I don't actually remember life before it, but I do remember the ugly cable box with red numbers on it. Ever since then, I have been a cable customer. I've used Comcast, Charter, and Bellsouth Cable (yes, they had/have cable. They do offer a dish of some sort, but certain areas can actually get their cable service). As much as I have enjoyed cable, my bill was just getting to be too much, so a month ago I finally got brave enough and I canceled it.

So, now that you've canceled cable, what are your options? The most popular option, which almost everyone knows about, is the new digital converter boxes that are now required to receive the basic free channels (ABC, NBC, CBS, etc). These are available at drug stores, electronic stores, department stores, etc. These boxes do require an antenna that have to purchased separately. With one of these set ups, you should be able to receive the basic channels in HD and much clearer than with rabbit ears. Before purchasing one of these set ups, I would recommend visiting AntennaWeb. This web site allows you to put in your address and it will tell you what channels you will be able to receive with what kind of antenna.
NOTE: If you have a newer TV, you may not need the converter box, as a lot of the newer models come "Digital TV Ready."

I do have one of the previously mentioned setups, but my favorite option is the HTPC. HTPC stands for home theater PC. This is when you set up a computer with your television and use it instead of/in conjunction with a monitor. Combine this with Windows Media Center, Hulu Desktop, Boxee, a PC Remote, and possibly a wireless keyboard/mouse, and anything and everything you could ever want to watch is at your finger tips.

What you need:


-A PC with outputs that will go to a TV. This could be S-Video, Video Composite, or HDMI. To read more about these kinds of outputs, read this article.
-A TV
-An active internet connection
Optional:
-Wireless Keyboard/Mouse
-A WMC Remote
-Software
-WMC
-Hulu Desktop
-Boxee


How to do it:


The set up is very simple. I bought an HP Slimline PC from Woot.com for around $500, and it came with all of the cables I needed and a remote control. If you aren't great with computers, I recommend finding a setup like this that will have everything you need and instructions on how to set it up. But if you know a little bit about computers, you could always buy the pieces separately. I am also using an old Gateway laptop in the bedroom and had to get the pieces separately. But the hook up of the PC to the TV is similar to that of settings up a DVD player. You plug all the cables into the back of the computer, and then into the TV.

Once you have everything plugged in, you could stop here. You can watch most of the popular TV shows directly on the broadcaster's website. These are normally available online the day after the show originally aired. Here is a list of some of those sites:

ABC
NBC
CBS
Fox
F/X

If you have a PC running Windows Vista or Windows XP Media Center Edition, then you have Windows Media Center running on your PC. It also has access to certain Internet TV stations. You could also add the Secondrun.tv plug-in to expand that selection. You can also use the program to navigate through your music, pictures, and videos. If you have a TV Tuner in your computer, you can use it as a DVR.

If you want to take it one step further, you can download and install Hulu Desktop. Hulu has TV shows and movies from numerous sources. You can subscribe to your favorite shows and they will automatically be added to your queue. The best part is you can completely operate the program with a WMC remote. This program has completely replaced my DVR.

The last piece of software I'd recommend is Boxee. Boxee calls itself a social media center. You can access several pre-loaded apps including YouTube and CBS. You can also add any RSS Feed you want. My favorite feature is that you can also watch local media on your PC as well as access media on your home network. This way, I can access all the music and videos I have on any one of my computers with the touch of a button, while never having to leave the couch (this can also be done with WMC if you have it, but if not, this is a nice, free alternative).

There are many other programs out there and a lot of more detailed information on how to do something like this. Hopefully, this will be an worth-while starting point for anyone interested in doing something like this!

My Long-Term Obsession with Food

I love food. I mean LOVE it. I don't always eat just because I'm hungry and it is something I have to do to stay alive. I eat when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm bored, when I'm excited, when I'm lonely-you name it! Food has always been tied to my emotions.

And now, of course, it's caught up with me and something must be done! When I started my diet two weeks ago, my BMI was 28, which is overweight. Over the past two weeks, I have been eating healthy and exercising, and my BMI is now a 25, but my goal is a 20.

But the point is, I'm eating healthy, I'm feeling better...yet ALL I can think about is food! I try to focus on healthy stuff, like new recipes I want to try that are going to help me with my goal. However, most of the time it is about the food that I should probably never eat again. I decided that it may help me if I write this and compose a list of those foods I have been dying for!

So, here is my list of foods that I wish I were eating right now!

-Big Mac
-"Real" French Fries (I've been slicing taters fry style and baking in the oven)
-Fish and Chips
-Beer Battered ANYTHING
-Fried Chicken
-Baked Mac n' Cheese
-CHOCOLATE CAKE
-Arby's Roast Beef
-Anything from Krystal's
-Wendy's Spicy [Fried] Chicken Sandwich
-Pad Thai
-A Big Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae
-Canned Spaghetti (This is one of my favorite things in the world)
-Cheesecake-Chocolate Chip Bars
-Chicken Fingers
-Beer
-Dove Dark Chocolate
-A Special "ABC" from El Torrero (it's two chicken or beef burritos covered in cheese dip and topped with lettuce, tomato, guacamole, and sour cream)
-"Real" Sour Cream (FF just isn't the same!)
-Golden Corral Rolls
-And many, many, many, MANY more, but that's just to name a few!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

CLEAR Internet Service


So, due to my hatred of Comcast Service, I finally ditched them in order to give CLEAR a chance. Here is what I've found so far:

When I called and spoke to the first guy who actually sold me on CLEAR, he told me it would be $162 to get set up for what I wanted. This fee included an activation fee ($35, I would prefer not to pay something like that, but they would of course waive it if you sign a 2-year contract, I just wasn't ready for that commitment yet), the price of the modem ($80, and I would much prefer to buy it then rent it), and the first month of service ($30 for the 3mbps plan, supposedly comparable to Comcast6). When I actually went to pay the price was $161.87.

CLEAR internet service runs on radio waves comparable to microwaves. I don't really understand the technology and I haven't done a lot of research on it. Supposedly you take the modem out of the box, plug it in, it gets the signal from the air, and you're ready to go. It wasn't quite that easy for me. I took it out of the box and it never got service. I tried putting in a window like the instructions suggested. I called customer service that had me walk it from room to room all over my house and point it "left of east" where the actual tower was in order to achieve a signal; still nothing. They did offer to send someone out, but it was going to be about a week before they could come out and I had scheduled the Comcast people to come pick up their equipment the following day. I really wasn't interested in waiting that long and was considering just returning everything. I left the modem plugged in and called my husband to give him the bad news. When I walked back in the room...boom! Two bars of service!

I had a little trouble after that because I never saw the TOS to agree to in order to activate my service. I called customer care again to see if I was just missing something and they supposedly set me all up. I ran a few internet speed tests and I was only hitting about 1.52mbps for my download speed which I thought was rather disappointing. Everything was SLOW.

HOWEVER...the next morning when I tried to browse the web I kept getting the TOS that I coudln't make load the night before. Only, now I was sucked into a loop where all I could do is load the TOS without actually being able to browse. I finally called customer care...again...and they "provisioned" my router. After that, I started doing internet speed tests and I was testing at almost the entire 3mbps I was promised.

The next day (today), I have ran a few more tests. The lastest one, the download speed was 4.26mbps! And all of this while running major downloads in the background. I am starting to be very impressed with this service.

One more however though...I looked at my banking info online and I was not charged the $161.87. I was instead charged $187 and some change the day OF the transaction. I thought they must have charged me to overnight the product to me without asking me. But, today the charge is only $160.00. So I'm really not sure if that was an issue with my bank, or an issue with them, or what. But I will update if I find any new information.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

BoostBerry How-To, Everything you Need to Know

So I do a lot of crazy, obsessive, nerdy things that most of my friends really don't care about. But since I know there are a lot of other people in the world who do care about them, I decided to start this blog and the Boostberry seemed to be the best way to do that!

Here is a guide to the things I had to do to make it work properly.

-------------------------------------------
ALSO BE AWARE:

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but currently we CANNOT use BLACKBERRY MESSENGER.

WE CANNOT USE PIN MESSAGING.

WE CANNOT SEND ATTACHMENTS VIA EMAIL.

If anyone has any ideas on how to make this work, great, post it, let's make some magic happen. Otherwise, come on guys...

-------------------------------------------

EDIT: *This whole time I was more concerned with writing a how-to that had all the FAQ so everyone had a one-stop shop. I didn't even think to thank the person that actually combined my books with anworm's for us!

So anyways, a big thanks to http://forums.crackberry.com/members/ffdk/ for combing the books and making SO many Boosters happy!*



So there were a couple of things I had to do to start with in order for me to get some of my stuff going the way I wanted them to:

1) I had to copy all of my contacts from my SIM card


a) Click on the “Contacts” Icon

b) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Contacts from SIM card

c) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Copy all to Contacts

2) I had to turn off Smart Dialing (+1) dialing to be able to place calls from my phone book.

a) Click on the Green phone icon key

b) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Options; Smart Dialing

c) Change the country code to “unknown”

Then, you need to get all the correct service books installed so you have full access to everything. You can download them here: http://forums.crackberry.com/attachm...-combined3.zip

NOTE: This is a ZIP file. You will have to extract in order to use with BB DM. If you do not know how, read this: How To: Open a Zip file

1) ENABLE SERVICE BOOK COMPLETE BACKUP / OVER WRITE / RESTORE on the Device, like this:


a) On your device, go to Options -> Advanced Options -> Service Books hold Alt and hit {S}{B}{E}{B} let go of alt and it should show a message about how legacy service books are enabled.

2) BACKUP EXISTING SERVICE BOOKS

a) Hook up the phone to the laptop

b) Open Blackberry Desktop Manager -> Backup/Restore -> Advanced

i) On the right side, scroll down to Service Books, then press the <<

ii) Click on Save, and save them some place just in case

3) WRITE NEW SERVICE BOOKS TO DEVICE

a) First, clear your service books by scrolling down on the right side, high light Service Books, then press Clear

b) Check your device now (Options -> Advance Options -> Service Books)

i) If there is anything left besides something that mentions TCP/IP or Browser, delete those also

c) Open BB DM, go to Backup/Restore -> Advanced -> Left Window -> File -> Open -> select the service book file you downloaded, then the >> button to move it over. A pop-up will ask if you want to over-write. Say "Yes."

d) Disconnect phone from Computer.

e) Go to Options -> Advanced Options -> Host Routing Table -> BB Menu key -> Register

f) go to advanced settings -> browser and change the hot spot to browser.

i) Now your browser should be enabled, along with this, you should also be able to send/receive MMS. Now would be an okay time to test this, by sending one to yourself. If you are able to send, but not receive, make sure your phone is updated with the correct IMEI on Boost's "My Account" area and that you have disabled text forwarding. It might also be a good idea to put your SIM in a different phone and make sure your number is receiving texts.

g) If you do not get the browser option restart and try again. You will need to restart with step 1 (holding down alt+sbeb).

Now that you’ve done that, you should also be able to use the BB inbox for email via Shangmail. This is an application that runs in the background and pushes your email to your BB.

1.) Go to Shangmail’s website: Shangmail-Cell phone mailbox, mobile phone e-mail, take with you freely I used the English version but it does go down from time to time. I have heard the Chinese version is more reliable but I do not know this from experience.

2.) From there, you should be able to register, add up to 5 pop3 email accounts, and download the app and install via Desktop Manager.

3.) Once installed, you have to open the application and log in. After that, it should start up instantly and push your email to you instantly.

Now you should have full use of your BoostBerry! Here are a few additional applications I recommend:


1.) Opera Mini (Opera Mini - Download)

a. You do not have to use this for web browsing since you have the native browser working, but there are some sites that load better with Opera and it’s faster.

2.) Google Maps (You will have to download this via the BB Browser OTA. You have the option to do this when you go to google.com with your BB Browser).

a. You now have the Blackberry Maps application installed but certain functions are blocked out because you do not have BIS/BES so this program will help. (EDIT: go into options;service books and delete 5 click ipppp) There are also other GPS programs out there. I have heard good things about AmazeGPS but I haven’t personally tried it.

3.) VyMail (http://www.joekrill.com/vymail/0.8.3...il-0.8.3.5.zip)

a. This is a third-party App for using YouMail. As of right now, you can only download YouMail via the Blackberry Store Application but you won’t be able to use that since you don’t have BIS/BES. I’ve used both and this works just as well.

4.) “Visible Menus Theme” (Default theme with black menus)

a. A lot of third party pieces of software such as Opera Mini do not support the transparent menus that are utilized in the default them for the 8350. This theme is simply the default theme but with the fix so you don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Now, if you still have the urge to forward your text messages to your email, here is the how-to on that. This is a little more updated than the other one.

1) Go to Sprint.com and where you can sign in, click on “Sign Up.”

2) The rest should be pretty straight forward, just fill out the form. Once you get logged it, it might say “Cannot access your account at this time.” Don’t worry about that, just move on.

3) Go to http://mms.nextel.com/mms and log in with the same information.

4) You will see a red bar that says “Your messages cannot be read. Please try again later.” Do not worry about that, this is made for Sprint customers so you will never be able to read your messages on this page.

5) Click on Preferences, then Forward Messages.

6) At this point, you can choose a place to forward your messages too. This can be any email address, but the most popular is a gmail or msn account b/c you can download the app for the respective email accounts and they poll often enough. Since I downloaded shangmail, I have push email so I just used my favorite email account. I also tested sending it to yournumber@page.nextel.com. This comes in as an SMS message which is instant (sometimes shangmail can take up to 15 minutes). However, it does not show who the message is from. If you get it as an email, it will tell you it’s from “your friends number/TYPE=PLMN@myboostmobile.com” If you want to reply, you will have to send a message to “your friends number@their service provider.com.” It’s a pain, but it’s better than nothing. Anyway, type in your email address and click “add.” If you want to test different ones to see which comes in faster or how they come in, you can add more than one address.

7) Be sure to check the boxes that say “Enable Forwarding Address” and “Keep a Copy in my Inbox until it expires” and then click “Okay” to save everything.