So You Want To Hack Your Pre 'Eh?

If you've got a Pre and want to try out some Homebrew Apps but are not sure what to do, or are afraid all your data will be lost, this ones for you.

First things first, i'm not going to reinvent the wheel.  Pre Central.net wrote a great tutorial on how to "Jailbreak" or hack your Palm Pre.  I suggest you head there if you want to either look at an app list, or want to hack your Palm Pre for Homebrew.  That being said, there are a few things I feel I should add and discuss.

What is going to happen to all my data?
If done right, the only data you will be messing up is your contacts, which are going to become unlinked and you will have to go back and link them up again.  The Pre backup feature backs up Memos, Calander Data, Contacts, E-Mail Settings, etc..  Things like pictures downloaded videos will have to manually be backed up via USB mode to a PC somewhere.  Make positivly sure you have the profile info for your pre.  You can verify this by clicking on backup, then preferences and entering your password.  If you don't remember the password it can be reset through the phone after a few failed trys.

The WebOS Quick Installer or Dr. isn't able to connect to the phone.
In some cases, it's because the computer itself isn't updated, but mostly it's because your phone isn't in developer mode.  If you are unsure, it can't hurt to open up developer mode on your phone.  If you don't already know, just type in "upupdowndownleftrightleftrighbastart" and click on the button that should come up if you type it in right then just flip it on and it'll ask you to reset, or rather, restart your phone.

Ok, so i've jumped through hoops and my phone is officially hacked...  Now what?
There are 2-3 must have apps you need to install.  There are 2 "appstore" like programs you should get.  One is called File Coaster and the other is Preload.  File Coaster is great, as it's just one big ever growing list of easy to install apps.  Preload is like File Coaster in the fact that you can download and install apps.  But with Preload you can get already made ringtones and sounds as well.  I would also like to suggest you get Switcheroo too, which is an app that changes your wallpaper every 5 minutes or so.  You can earn some mega geek points if you are like me with your brightness all low, with a crazy amount of High Def. wallpapers which are different every time you access the phone.

If you have any more questions or comments, don't hesitate to post.

Cool Gadget: OLED Goodness

Like any good geek, my love for gadgets started when I was very young. Someone had given me one of those old school voice recorder watches and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. From that point on, I was a born again geek and wouldn't have it any other way. So in the same spirit, I give unto you a heads up on some pretty cool tech.

The Orb Bluetooth Ring OLED Headset:













I'm not a big fan of large rings, but I'm tempted to pickup one of these when they hit the market in January 2010. I could just picture someone hacking this thing to show game stats, or watch movies, not that you'd really want to watch them on such a tiny screen... While on your finger the headset boasts voice-to-text display info, caller ID, calendar reminders, and seemingly much more. One swift twist and it's a full fledged ear piece. When on the ear it uses high quality bone conduction audio, much like those toy store lolly-pops that play music through your teeth, just better. I couldn't imagine it sticking on your ear very well with the present design. With bone conduction though, I would imagine it needs to be somehow pressed to the bone so we'll see. Oh, and for those concerned, it's even waterproof.