Lollipop on the S5

Last week I got the "Over The Air" update to Android 5.0 on my Samsung Galaxy S5.

A download of 924 MB (rounded down). 3 GB of storage necessary to install.

I had to uninstall Goat Simulator to upgrade the OS, and then spent half an hour disabling apps I had disabled in KitKat before the upgrade. To summarise: the OS upgrade was a pain in the goat horns.

The good thing is that I am enjoying Lollipop on the S5, mostly because I am runnning the Google Launcher and using all Google apps.

Archos G9 Tablets To Get Android 4.0 In Early 2012

As reported on The Verge, the Archos G9 tablets will be getting the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update in early 2012. I'm looking forward to this as the proud owner of an Archos 80 G9.

Source: The Verge

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions. Will Archos be the first manufacturer to release an update to ICS for their existing tablets?

Android Ice Cream Sandwich [4.0]

Sticking to Google's tradition of naming versions of the Android OS after tasty desserts, Android 4.0 was officially unveiled today and it is called Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS for short).

As written on the Official Google Blog:

"With Ice Cream Sandwich, our mission was to build a mobile OS that works on both phones and tablets, and to make the power of Android enticing and intuitive. We created a new font that’s optimized for HD displays and eliminated all hardware buttons in favor of adaptable software buttons. We also dramatically improved the keyboard, made notifications more interactive and created resizable widgets."

ICS will be the default OS on the new Google Galaxy Nexus smartphone, and Google also announced that the ICS OS should run on any device that runs Gingerbread (Android 2.3). I'm looking forward to seeing what the vibrant communities at MoDaCo and XDA Developers come up with for handsets such as the HTC Desire, the ZTE Skate and the Samsung Galaxy Pro...


As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below. I would also advise popping into the MoDaCo Android forums and seeing what will be brewed up in the Android kitchens there...

Google Chrome OS Is On The Way

Google Chrome OS is on its way according to "Industry Insiders".


Google Chrome OS is a Linux based operating system aimed to be used exclusively with web applications and has not been released yet.


If "Industry Insiders" are to be believed, the first devices running the OS will be available on the market before Christmas this year (December 2010). It is also reported on the interwebs that Google may be launching an own branded device manufactured by a third party company.


I'm looking forward to this development in the consumer electronics market, hopefully with an interestingly priced device (£100 / $150).


Here's to hoping...

Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Netbook Edition

On the 10th of October 2010 (10-10-10 Get it?) Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat was released for desktop, server and netbook.

Since this version of Ubuntu has been in Beta, I've been using it both on my desktop computer and on my netbook (an ASUS EEE PC 900A). The improvements since the Beta version have been noticeable to me, mainly in speed and stability of the user interface.

The new user interface on the Netbook Edition, called Unity, has a fixed dock and is completely different to the one from previous versions of Ubuntu Netbook Edition. After getting used to it, I find it more responsive and lighter on my netbook than the previous versions of Ubuntu Netbook Edition too.

As usual, you can download Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat Netbook Edition for free from http://www.ubuntu.com/netbook. On the download page, there are also easy step by step instructions on how to set up a bootable USB flash drive. The bootable USB flash drive is particularly useful if you want to just try out Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition without installing it. If you then decide you would like to install it, there is also an option to do that.

The installation process has been simplified, and makes setting up a dual-boot system much easier. Setting up a dual-boot system is the best way to have both Windows and Ubuntu on the same machine, giving you the option to choose between operating systems when you turn the computer on.

Overall I think this is a great netbook operating system once you get used to it.

Feel free to comment and let me know your views on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.