Thursday, August 7, 2014

Still using Windows XP? Upgrade to Xubuntu for free


If you're still using Windows XP, I'm sure you're already aware by now that support for Windows XP ended on April 8, 2014. What that means is that you're not going to get any more updates for your computer. While that might not sound like a big deal, it means you're more likely to get viruses and spyware, because you're not going to get any more security updates.

Unfortunately there isn't a fix for this besides upgrading your operating system to something else. You could buy Windows 8 for $120 or try to find a place that still sells Windows 7. Unfortunately, if your computer is running Windows XP, it's probably an older computer, which means it may not be fast enough to run Windows 7 or 8.

But there's a solution. Xubuntu (pronounced zoobOOntoo) is designed to run on older or slower computers. The best part: it's completely free! Here's how to upgrade to Xubuntu:

  1. Back up all of your documents, pictures, music, and videos. If you have a lot of them, the easiest thing to do is buy a portable USB hard drive and copy your files to it. If you don't have a lot, you can back your files up online for free. A couple services I like are:
  2. Download the latest Xubuntu image:
    1. Go here:
      http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/

    2. If you see the option to download an LTS version, you want that, because it means that it will be supported for a long time. Under Mirror downloads, click the location that's closest to you.

    3. Look for the file that looks like this, and click on it to start downloading it:
      xubuntu-XX.XX-desktop-i386.iso
      (XX.XX will be a number, like 14.04)

  3. Now you either need to burn the image to a DVD (if your computer has a DVD drive), or put it on a USB stick, if you have an extra USB stick (note that these instructions are for Ubuntu, which is for newer and faster computers, but they're the same for Xubuntu):
  4. Almost there! Now you just need to install it, which you can do by following the steps here:
    http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/install-ubuntu-desktop

  5. Once it's installed, all you have to do is copy all of your documents that you backed up. Then you're done!
One of the many great parts about Xubuntu (and Ubuntu) is its amazing community, so if you have any questions about the upgrade or after the upgrade, go here and you'll find the help you need:

Vous utilisez encore Windows XP ? Effectuer une mise à niveau vers Xubuntu gratuitement


Si vous utilisez encore Windows XP, je suis sûr que vous êtes déjà au courant que le support de Windows XP a pris fin le 8 Avril, 2014. Qu'est-ce que ça signifie, c'est que vous n'allez plus obtenir des mises à jour pour votre ordinateur. Bien que ça ne puisse pas sembler une grosse affaire, ça signifie que vous êtes plus susceptibles d'obtenir des virus et des logiciels espions, parce que vous n'allez plus obtenir les mises à jour de sécurité.

Malheureusement, il n'existe qu'une solution : mettre à niveau votre système d'exploitation. Vous pouvez acheter Windows 8 pour 120 $ ou essayer de trouver un endroit qui vend encore Windows 7. Malheureusement, si votre ordinateur fonctionne sous Windows XP, il est probablement un vieil ordinateur, ce qui signifie qu'il peut être pas assez rapide pour fonctionner avec Windows 7 ou 8.

Mais il ya une solution. Xubuntu (prononcé zoubountou) est conçu pour fonctionner sur des ordinateurs plus anciens ou plus lents. La meilleure partie : c'est totalement gratuit! Voici comment mettre à niveau vers Xubuntu :

  1. Sauvegarder tous vos documents, photos, musique et vidéos. Si vous en avez beaucoup, la meilleure chose à faire c'est d'acheter un disque dur portable USB et copier vos fichiers. Si vous n'en avez pas beaucoup, vous pouvez sauvegarder vos fichiers en ligne gratuitement. Quelques services que j'aime sont :
  2. Télécharger la dernière image Xubuntu :
    1. Allez ici :
      http://www.xubuntu-fr.org/telechargement

    2. Cliquez sur Plus d'options, puis sélectionner Processeurs 32bits (c'est mieux pour les vieux ordinateurs). Si vous voyez une version LTS c'est ce que vous voulez, parce que ça signifie qu'il sera soutenu pour une longue période de temps.

    3. Cliquez sur Télécharger pour lancer téléchargement

  3. Maintenant, vous devez graver l'image sur un DVD (si votre ordinateur dispose d'un lecteur de DVD), ou le mettre sur une clé USB, si vous avez une clé USB supplémentaire (à noter que ces instructions sont pour Ubuntu, qui est pour les ordinateurs nouveaux et plus rapide, mais c'est la même chose pour Xubuntu) :

  4. On y est presque! Maintenant, vous avez juste besoin de l'installer, que vous pouvez faire en suivant les étapes ici :
    http://doc.xubuntu-fr.org/tutoriel/installer_ubuntu_avec_le_live_cd

  5. Une fois que c'est installé, tout ce que vous avez à faire c'est de copier tous vos documents que vous avez sauvegardés. Ensuite, vous avez terminé !
Une des nombreuses grandes parties sur Xubuntu (et Ubuntu) est son communauté incroyable, donc si vous avez des questions au sujet de la mise à jour ou après la mise à jour, rendez-vous ici et vous trouverez l'aide dont vous avez besoin :

Friday, July 18, 2014

Wallace & Gromit Fright of the Bumblebees freezing


Solution:

If you're playing the Steam version of Wallace & Gromit Episode 1: Fright of the Bumblebees and the game freezes after taking out all of the bees in the yard, here's how to fix it:

  1. Download this file:
    http://uploading.com/1a97393c/slot0-save

  2. Copy it to C:\Users\username\Documents\Telltale Games\Wallace and Gromit Ep1
    (replace username with your username)

  3. Run the game → Continue → Load
If you're not playing the Steam version, try the fix here instead:
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/comment/291751/#Comment_291751

Details:

I picked up the Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures game series a while back during one of the Humble Bundles, but I'm only just now getting around to playing it. Unfortunately I ran into the bug mentioned above fairly early into the series. I Googled around for solutions and ran across the forum post I included above that mentioned deleting a couple of files (env_countryroad.dlg and env_townexterior_gromit.dlg) from the game folder. So I went to delete the files, and they weren't there. Apparently the Steam version of the game is different from the retail version. Instead, I found several .ttarch files in the game folder.

Being who I am, I wanted to get to the root of the problem, so I found ttarchext, a tool that lets you extract and rebuild the proprietary ttarch archive files. So using that tool, I found the files mentioned, deleted them, and rebuilt the archives. Unfortunately, not only did that not fix my bug, but once I did get my bug fixed it made my problems worse. It seems the only way to actually fix the bug (in the Steam version, at least) is to copy over a save file past the point where the bug occurs.


Bogue avec Wallace & Gromit Les abeilles font mouche


Solution :

Si vous jouez la version Steam de Wallace & Gromit Episode 1: Les abeilles font mouche (Fright of the bumblebees en angalis) et le jeu se bloque après avoir tué toutes les abeilles dans la cour, voici comment y remédier :

  1. Télécharger ce fichier :
    http://uploading.com/1a97393c/slot0-save

  2. Copiez-le dans C:\Users\username\Documents\Telltale Games\Wallace and Gromit Ep1
    (remplacez username par votre nom d'utilisateur)

  3. Lancez le jeu → Continuer → Charger (load)
Si vous ne jouez pas la version Steam, essayez le correctif ici à la place :
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/comment/291751/#Comment_291751

Détails :

J'ai acheté le série de jeu Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures au cours d'une des Humble Bundles, mais je viens tout juste de la jouer. Malheureusement, je suis tombé sur le bogue mentionné ci-dessus assez tôt dans la série. J'ai googlé pour des solutions et rencontré le post sur le forum j'ai inclus ci-dessus qui mentionné la suppression d'un couple de fichiers (env_countryroad.dlg et env_townexterior_gromit.dlg) dans le dossier du jeu. Je suis donc allé à supprimer les fichiers, et ils n'étaient pas là. Apparemment, la version du jeu de Steam est différente de la version commerciale. Au lieu de cela, j'ai trouvé plusieurs fichiers .ttarch dans le dossier du jeu. 

Et alors, je voulais aller à la racine du problème, donc j'ai trouvé ttarchext, un outil qui vous permet d'extraire et de reconstruire les fichiers d'archives propriétaires de ttarch. Donc, en utilisant cet outil, j'ai trouvé les fichiers mentionnés, les supprimés et reconstruit les archives. Malheureusement, mon bogue n'etait réparé et j'avais des problèmes pire. Il semble que la seule façon de vraiment corriger le bogue (dans la version Steam, au moins) est de copier un fichier de sauvegarde d'au-delà du point où le bogue se produit.


Friday, March 28, 2014

Free wifi/data calls on your smartphone, part 2


(Pour le français, allez ici : Les appels de données/wifi gratuits sur votre smartphone, partie 2)

I blogged a long time ago about making free wifi/data calls on your smartphone. Since then, there are thankfully a few easier and better ways to do this:

Google Hangouts/Google Voice

My method of choice involves Google's Hangouts/Voice service. Google Voice was the old name for Google's service that could be used to send and receive free phone calls and send text messages (to the US and Canada), and they're currently rolling it into their Google Hangouts service that does that and more. Even if you don't use Gmail, most everyone has a Google account already, so you probably don't need to sign up for anything extra.

If you're using iOS (iPhone or iPad), it's easy. All you need to do is download the Google Hangouts app: Google Hangouts for iOS.

If you're using an Android device, by May 15th (2014) you should also be able to use the Google Hangouts for Android app to make free calls and texts. In the meantime, though, there are a few other solutions that work just as well:

  • GrooVe IP Lite
    This is the app I ended up using. It's free, works great, and has some settings that let you customize things. In addition, it only handles calls and texts and not Hangouts chats or video calls, so it doesn't interfere with the Hangouts app.

  • Mo+ PHONE for Google Voice
    This app has a nice, clean interface and easy setup. Unfortunately, it had several drawbacks that led me to uninstall it:
    • As soon as I logged in, I started getting all kinds of requests to chat from complete random strangers.
    • This app also handles Hangouts chats, which for some might be a plus, but for me was annoying because they would come in through this app and Hangouts. It wouldn't be so bad if I could have disabled Hangouts functionality in the app, but it has absolutely no settings to configure.
    • The final nail in the coffin is when I tried to actually use it to make a call. The quality wasn't as good as Groove IP Lite, and there was a frustrating lag of several seconds.

  • Talkatone
    This app doesn't work in Canada, so it was an immediate no-go for me. Maybe you'll have better luck.

  • Spare Phone
    This app costs $3, which by itself isn't a bad thing, but it hasn't been updated since June 2013, and I don't see any compelling ways it sets itself apart from the others and merits paying $3 for.

Other ways

Not into Google? Well, there's something for everyone. There is one other app I found that offers free calling and texting to the US and Canada: Mo+. Yes, they're the same ones that also offer an app for free calls through Google Hangouts that I wasn't so happy with. But this one is based on their own service. I haven't bothered using it since I'm happy with Groove IP, but some people might prefer it:
There are other apps out there like TextNow and TextPlus that are similar, but as far as I can tell none of them offer free outgoing calls.


Well, that wraps it up for now. This is one area that's rapidly changing, so I'm sure I'll be blogging about it more in the future. Until then, enjoy making free phone calls!

Les appels de données/wifi gratuits sur votre smartphone, partie 2


(Go here to read this post in English: Free wifi/data calls on your smartphone, part 2)

J'ai blogué il y a longtemps sur les appels de données/wifi gratuits sur votre smartphone. Depuis ce temps-là, il y a heureusement quelques moyens plus faciles et meilleures pour le faire :

Google Hangouts/Google Voice

Ma méthode de choix est le service Google Hangouts/Voice. Google Voice est l'ancien nom pour le service de Google qui pourrait être utilisé pour envoyer et recevoir des appels téléphoniques gratuits et envoyer des messages texte (aux États-Unis et Canada), et ils sont actuellement en train de le combiner avec leur service Google Hangouts qui fait ça et plus encore. Même si on n'utilise pas Gmail, presque tout le monde a déjà un compte Google, donc on probablement n'a pas besoin de s'inscrire pour quelque chose de plus.

Si on utilise iOS (iPhone ou iPad), c'est facile ; tout ce qu'on doit faire est de télécharger l'appli Google Hangouts : Google Hangouts pour iOS.

Si on utilise un appareil Android, le 15 mai (2014), on devrait également pouvoir utiliser l'appli Google Hangouts pour Android pour faire des appels et textes gratuits. En attendant, cependant, il y a quelques autres solutions qui fonctionnent tout aussi bien :

  • Groove IP Lite
    C'est l'appli qu j'ai fini par utiliser. C'est gratuit, fonctionne très bien, et a quelques paramètres qui permettent à personnaliser les choses. En outre, il gère seulement les appels et les textes et pas les chats ou appels vidéo de Hangouts, donc il n'interfère pas avec l'application Hangouts.

  • Mo+ Phone for Google Voice
    Cette appli a une belle interface claire et une installation facile. Malheureusement, il a eu plusieurs inconvénients qui m'ont amené à désinstaller :
    • Dès que je me suis connecté, j'ai commencé à recevoir toutes sortes de demandes de discuter des étrangers complets.
    • Cette application gère également Hangouts chats, qui pour certains pourrait être un plus, mais pour moi, c'était ennuyeux car ils viendraient à travers cette application et Hangouts en même temps. Il ne serait pas si mal si il y avait des paramètres avec qui j'aurais pu désactiver Hangouts, mais il n'y a absolument aucun paramètre à configurer dans l'appli.
    • Le dernier clou dans le cercueil, c'est quand j'ai essayé de l'utiliser pour faire un appel. La qualité n'était pas aussi bon que Groove IP Lite, et il y avait un décalage frustrant de plusieurs secondes.

  • Talkatone
    Cette appli ne fonctionne pas au Canada, et était immédiatement pas acceptable pour moi. Peut-être que vous aurez plus de chance.

  • Spare Phone
    Cette appli coûte 3 $, ce qui en soi n'est pas une mauvaise chose, mais il n'a pas été mis à jour depuis juin 2013, et je ne vois pas de manière convaincante comment il se distingue des autres et mérite de payer 3 $.

Autres moyens

Si on n'aime pas Google, il ya quelque chose pour tout le monde. Il ya une autre appli que j'ai trouvé qui offre des appels et SMS gratuits aux États-Unis et Canada : Mo+. Oui, ils sont les mêmes qui offrent également l'appli pour les appels gratuits via Google Hangouts avec que je n'étais pas si heureux. Mais cette appli-ci est basé sur leur propre service. Je n'ai pas pris la peine de l'utiliser puisque que je suis heureux avec Groove IP, mais certaines personnes pourraient préférer :

Il existe d'autres applis comme TextNow et TextPlus qui sont similaires, mais pour autant que je sache aucun d'entre eux offrent des appels sortants gratuits.


Eh bien, c'est ça pour le moment. C'est un domaine qui change rapidement, donc je suis sûr que je vais bloguer à ce sujet plus à l'avenir. En attendant, profitez de faire des appels gratuits!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Speed up a slow Android phone


Your Android smartphone/device is a computer. Like most computers, it can get slow after a while and benefit from a periodic cleanup. Here are some things you can do to speed up your Android phone if it's acting slow:

  1. Reboot
    Maybe this is obvious, but if you haven't powered off your phone in a while, go ahead and reboot it (or power it off and back on again).

  2. (Nexus and HTC One phones only) Try LagFix
    This only applies if you have a Nexus or HTC One phone and running Android less than 4.3. These devices have a very specific bug that causes lag and can be fixed by this app: LagFix (fstrim) Free (requires root). I wouldn't recommend running this for other phones; at best it will do nothing and at worst it could damage your phone.

  3. Undo any recent changes
    If your phone has only recently been acting slow, think about any recent changes you've made. Have you recently installed or updated certain apps? Have you recently received a software update? Any of these changes can slow your phone down. If it's an updated app, you can sometimes find old versions of apps online. If it's a software update, undoing it will be much trickier, but it is possible. If it is indeed the culprit, somebody's probably written up instructions on how to go back to the previous software version.

  4. Uninstall/disable unused apps
    Some apps actually run in the background whether or not you've opened them. Too many of these kinds of apps will definitely slow down your phone. Examples of apps that run in the background are apps that display notifications, whether notifications that are always present or notifications that show up from time to time. Aside from these, we could certainly all benefit from going through our apps from time to time and removing any we don't use any more.

    Some phones come with a lot of preinstalled apps that you don't use or want (called bloatware). These often can't be uninstalled, but they can be disabled starting in Android 4, which should at least keep them from slowing down your phone. To disable them go to Home → Menu → System settings → Application manager → All, select the app to disable, and click Disable.

  5. Greenify!
    I intentionally put this step after the previous step, because the first step really is to get rid of apps you're not using. But of course there are certainly some apps that you'll want to keep, and what if one of those is the culprit, running in the background and slowing your phone down? Thankfully there's a great solution: Greenify. It's an app that lets you control which apps run in the background. It doesn't kill them, but it hibernates them instead. Because of this, it does need root access.

    Side note: I mentioned that Greenify doesn't kill apps running in the background. This is because     killing apps can actually slow your phone down and use up your battery faster because then the apps will just start themselves back up. If you're using a task killer app thinking you're speeding your phone up or saving battery life, you're probably doing just the opposite. You should uninstall it right away, and instead follow the steps in this post if you're having issues.

  6. Remove some widgets
    Building on the previous point, there's a whole category of software that runs in the background: widgets. Any widget you have on your home screen is going to run in the background on your phone all the time. The more you have, the slower your phone can get. Remove a few and you may notice your phone runs faster.

  7. Don't use live wallpaper
    Live wallpaper is fun, but it's just creating extra work for your phone and using up your battery faster. Use regular wallpaper instead.

  8. Look at your SD card
    If your phone has a removable SD card, turn it off and remove it. See if that fixes the problem. If so, see what the speed class of the card is. If it's less than class 6, I'd recommend buying at least a class 6 card, especially if you've moved any of your apps to the SD card. If your phone has internal storage, which most recent phones do, you could even try running without the SD card. At the very least go through your SD card and clean up some of the unused files and folders. Apps have an annoying habit of putting things on there and not cleaning them up.

  9. Clear app cache
    Clearing the caches for your apps may help speed things up. If your phone is rooted and Titanium Backup is installed:
    1. Open Titanium Backup
    2. Go to Menu → Batch actions
    3. Scroll down to Manipulate data → Clear cache for user & system apps and click RUN
    4. Click Select all and then click the green check mark in the upper right to begin the task

    If your phone isn't rooted and/or you don't have Titanium Backup installed, the process is a lot more tedious:
    1. On your phone, go to Home → Menu → System settings → Application manager → All
    2. For each application in the list, select it and click Clear cache. Yes, I told you it would be tedious. This should be good incentive to follow my previous suggestion at getting rid of unused apps :)

  10. Wipe cache partition
    This will probably only be available to you if you've rooted your phone. If you have, power it off, boot into recovery mode (varies by phone), and select the option to wipe the cache partition.

  11. Disable/uninstall apps one by one
    I've saved this one towards the end because it's going to be pretty tedious. If you've made it this far and your phone is still inexplicably slow, you can try disabling or uninstalling apps one by one and seeing if that changes anything.

  12. Factory restore
    I wouldn't recommend doing this more than once a year, because you're going to have to set your phone up from scratch after doing it, but just like formatting your computer and reinstalling everything, a factory restore can help speed up your phone. First, back everything up (I recommend rooting it and using Titanium Backup). Once you've backed everything up, you can do the factory restore by going to Home → Menu → System settings → Backup and reset → Factory data reset (specific location varies by device). Again, in case you weren't paying attention, this will erase everything on your phone, so make sure you've backed up everything that's important first.

  13. Downgrade Android
    Sometimes the device manufacturers release software updates that end up making the phone slower. The solution in this case is to downgrade Android. This is not a trivial task, and will vary by device, so you'll have to Google this one. Honestly if you get to this point, you may just be better off buying a Moto G.



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