Project Fi recommendation

I’ve been a Project Fi customer for over 2 years. We went from a Verizon bill of $140+ per month for 2 phones with 800 minutes, 100 texts, and unlimited data to Project Fi with unlimited talk and text and $10/GB on data, with an average bill of $50-55/mo. There’s bill protection, too, so if you go above 10GB (with 2 lines), they won’t charge you any more than $135. If you’re always on Wi-Fi, it’s a no-brainer.

Project Fi uses towers from Sprint, TMobile, and US Cellular, switching when the signal from the current carrier gets low. Also, Wi-Fi calling and texting works flawlessly – I’ve even taken calls over satellite Internet.

The only caveat with Project Fi is that you pay for your phone up front (which is becoming more common, anyway), and it has to be a phone that gets its updates directly from Google: the Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL, Moto X4 Android One edition, Pixel, Pixel XL, Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X. That’s because traditional carriers do not include the network-switching software piece in the handsets they sell.

Here’s a referral code to get a $20 credit when you join Project Fi! Redeem it at https://g.co/fi/r/JFD22V

Android cannot delete emails from IMAP server

I’ve been having an odd problem with being unable to delete emails from the Inbox of my self-hosted email account from my Android phone, using the Gmail app, using IMAP. When I would delete a message, a copy would be created in the Trash folder, but the original would remain in the inbox – when viewed from webmail. When I refreshed the inbox, the original would reappear on my phone.

At first, I thought the problem was permissions on /var/mail – so I did various changes such as chmod 1775, but to no avail.

I then remembered that I had recently re-setup my mail account on my phone, and realized that maybe it wasn’t using IMAP previously. So, I deleted the account, set it up again as POP3, and enabled server-side deletion. It worked!

It turns out that most mobile IMAP clients do not support the ability to achieve true server-side deletion. Using POP3 is an easy alternative and there is no harm. Yes, POP3 is an outdated and cruddy protocol, but in the end, it works.

Android Pay not working on Nexus 6P with Android Oreo

After sideloading Android 8.0 Oreo on my Nexus 6P, I found that Android Pay no longer considered my device secure. There’s apparently a bug in the OTA version Google posted publicly on their website, OPR6.170623.017. Luckily, the OTA that went out to most people, OPR6.170623.019, does not have this bug. You can wait for an OTA notice from Google, which might take a couple of weeks, or you can sideload OPR6.170623.019.

Here’s the download link: https://android.googleapis.com/packages/ota-api/google_angler_angler/fa6c32666b341b882089fc8e1207f435921723f9.zip

If you are running a version of Android other than OPR6.170623.017 DO NOT install the above-linked update

Crouton and Steam on a Chromebook Setup Guide

Update: I recently updated this walkthrough for Ubuntu Xenial instead of Trusty because that’s what I’m using now.

Update #2: A Chrome security update necessitates running a command on the Crouton script before running it the first time.

You might think that ChromeOS cannot run games that aren’t browser-based, and by itself you would not be wrong. But, with Developer Mode, a script called Crouton developed by a Google employee in his off-time, and a bit of effort, you can have a low-end laptop that runs both ChromeOS and an Ubuntu Linux desktop at the same time – without dual-booting. The way this works is that your device is always using ChromeOS’s Linux kernel, but you’re running a chroot (essentially a fake root file system) that contains everything needed to run software from Ubuntu.

This should be possible on any Intel-based Chromebook. On my Acer R11 CB5-132T-C1LK with an Intel Celeron N3150, 4GB RAM, 32GB Flash storage, I can smoothly play:

  •  Crusader Kings II
  •  Gemini Rue
  •  Papers, Please
  •  Pillars of Eternity
  •  Tyranny
    I haven’t tried anything twitchy, but I would assume only older titles will perform well. The newer (and cheaper) model of the Acer R11 has an Intel Celeron N3160 with Intel HD Graphics 400, making for a cheap, fast, long battery, netbook-like device that can still play games on the lower end of the spectrum.

Getting Started: Developer Mode

Note that Developer Mode completely wipes your Chromebook, so back up any files to Google Drive or elsewhere before getting started.

  1. Power your Chromebook off. Then press and hold ESC+Refresh+Power until you get a screen that says ChromeOS is missing.
  2. Press CTRL+D. Then press Enter. This turns OS verification off.
  3. The next screen will say that OS verification is off. You will see this screen every time you boot your Chromebook in Developer Mode. If you are concerned that another person will press the Spacebar and then Enter and destroy your little experiment, press the left arrow key a few times to change the language on this screen to something like Korean – this change will be saved for future boot-ups. Now only you will know how to boot your Chromebook and there won’t be instructions on the screen. To restore your Chromebook, all you need to do is press Spacebar then Enter on this screen.

Setting up Crouton

  1. Install the Crouton chrome extension. This lets you share a clipboard between ChromeOS/Linux and open URLs in Chrome.
  2. Go to this page and click the goo.gl link toward the top to download Crouton. Do not ever delete this file from your Chromebook’s Downloads directory and do not overwrite it. I’ll show you how to update it below.
  3. Press CTRL+ALT+T to open a terminal window. Type shell and press Enter.
  4. Type this command to bypass ChromeOS’s security lockdown on the Crouton file:

    sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 ~/Downloads/crouton

  5. Type in the following command to install Ubuntu Xenial with some Crouton targets (sort of like parameters):

    sudo crouton -r xenial -t xfce,keyboard,touch,extension

This will install the XFCE desktop environment, which is very lightweight. The ‘touch’ target is for if your Chromebook has a touchscreen – if yours doesn’t, omit this target. The ‘extension’ targets allows Ubuntu to talk to that Chrome extension you installed in step 1. The ‘keyboard’ target lets you use the Chromebook’s function keys – you will have to press the Search key before pressing VolUp/VolDown/BrightUp/BrightDown keys. I had some trouble getting audio while in the chroot, so I added the ‘audio’ target after the fact in my setup.

If you have a beefier Chromebook, you could use Gnome or Unity instead of XFCE, but because you’re wanting to game, the desktop environment with the lowest memory overhead would be best, and that’s XFCE.

Here is a Cheat Sheet of Crouton commands, which includes adding targets to existing chroots, backing up your chroot, and updating Crouton. Bookmark this!

Linux aficionados might ask why I recommend Ubuntu – because it’s the most commonly used and widely supported in the Crouton community, and because game developers primarily seem to target Ubuntu for Linux game development. Personally, I prefer Fedora on my Thinkpad, but I use Ubuntu on my Chromebook. You might also wonder why I don’t recommend xiwi (X in a Window) instead of having the full overhead of a XFCE environment: game performance in xiwi is absolute crap. Only Papers, Please and Gemini Rue were playable in xiwi.

The Ubuntu installation can take a long time, depending on your Internet connection.

Starting Crouton and installing Steam

  1. Once your chroot is set up, from the terminal tab type in: sudo startxfce4
    You will need to type this into a terminal tab each time you want to enter Ubuntu!!!!
  2. Congratulations, you’re in Ubuntu! To switch back to ChromeOS, press CTRL+ALT+Forward on your keyboard. You can use this to switch back and forth from Ubuntu to ChromeOS.
  3. Disable the screensaver in XFCE. It can cause graphical glitches and resume problems.
  4. Download TrueType fonts by entering into Xterm: sudo apt-get install ttf-ubuntu-font-family
  5. Update Ubuntu’s software: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
  6. Install some basic tools (text editor, archive manager): sudo apt-get install file-roller gedit
  7. (Optional) Install VLC media player: sudo apt-get install vlc browser-plugin-vlc
  8. And Finally, install Steam:

 wget http://media.steampowered.com/client/installer/steam.deb

sudo apt-get install gdebi-core

sudo gdebi steam.deb

If you’re a Linux regular, you can also install games from .deb files, compile from source, or install Wine and run Windows executables, but I won’t cover that here because other guides on how to do this in Linux will cover it better.

Updating Crouton

You should update Crouton after each ChromeOS update. Since I’ve been using it, I’ve never had a ChromeOS update actually cause a problem with running Crouton, but it might and it’s best to keep it up to date. Because the developer essentially builds this on his free time, it might take a couple of days for an update to come out after a ChromeOS update with major changes. To update both Crouton and your chroot:

 sudo crouton -u -n chrootname

Adding Additional Storage

Most other guides don’t cover this, but I find it critical to running Steam games on a Chromebook. Your chroot environment is taking up a fair amount of space on your Chromebook’s internal storage, so you’re probably going to want to install your Steam games to an SD card. I’m using a 64GB SDXC UHS Speed Class-1 card and it performs fairly well, and was only about $25. Before you can add the SD card as a Library Folder in Steam, however, there are some hoops to jump through because ChromeOS does not mount SD cards in executable mode – so you can’t run games off of them.

  1. Insert your SD card and make sure it’s a format that ChromeOS can write files to. Format it if necessary.
    2. Eject the SD card from ChromeOS, but leave it in the slot. Enter Crouton.
    3. On the desktop, find the see-through icon for your SD card (they should be listed by size), double-click it to mount it. Open the SD card and make note of the mount location in the address bar. It should be something like: /media/[linuxusername]/[letters and numbers]
    4. Open an Xterm window and type: mount
    5. Find your SD card in the listing there by looking for the Device ID and where it mounts. The line looks like something like this:
    “/dev/mmcblk1p1 on /media/[your username]/[sequence of letters-and-numbers]”
    You want both the /dev/ information and the /media text!
    6. Back on the desktop, right-click it and Dismount
    7. Back in the Xterm window, type: vi mountsdcard
    8. Press the letter ‘i’ on your keyboard, modify the following to match your variables from above, and write it into the file:

sudo mkdir /media/[linuxusername]/[letters and numbers]

sudo mount -o rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,seclabel,data=ordered,uhelper=udisks2 /dev/[deviceid] /media/[linuxusername]/[letters and numbers]

  1. Press Esc. Press : and enter: wq
  2. Enter into the terminal window: chmod +x mountsdcard
  3. To mount your SD card, enter: sudo ./mountsdcard

So, to recap, the process you need to follow every time –  before launching Steam needs to be:

  • Dismount the SD card from ChromeOS
  • Press CTRL+ALT+T to open a terminal tab.
  • Enter: shell
  • Enter: sudo startxfce4
  • Open Xterm and enter: sudo ./mountsdcard
  • Open Steam.

From this point, you can create a Steam Library Folder on the SD card and install your games. Once you’re done playing your game, log out of Crouton and physically eject and re-insert your SD card to see it again in ChromeOS. If your Chromebook goes to sleep, it will dismount your card, so do not allow your Chromebook to go to sleep while Steam is running or otherwise you will have to close Steam, Dismount, run mountsdcard, and possibly re-add your Library Folders.

Please refer to the Crouton Command Cheat Sheet to learn how to backup your chroot. Backing up from time to time can save you if an update breaks something, but I’ve been running my chroot since December without a backup and haven’t had any trouble.

If you want help with your specific situation and setup, you can ask me here and I can try to help you, or you can ask the collective minds at the Crouton subreddit – they will probably be able to help with more complex questions than just me.

Review: Matias Ergo Pro

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been using this keyboard, the Matias Ergo Pro, for nearly 6 months now, as my daily driver at work. This keyboard sports Matias’ Quiet Click key switches, a fully adjustable split design, tilt and tenting, and a comfortable wrist rest. Unlike most ergonomic mechanical keyboards, the Matias Ergo Pro does not deviate much from the standard QWERTY staggered key layout, making it easy for newcomers and widening its potential audience.

It looks slick and it feels well-built.  However, I have two major complaints about this keyboard.

The bridge cable

The Matias Ergo Pro utilizes a 3.5mm audio cable to connect its two sections.  This is the same standard analog audio cable you can use to hook up PC speakers or headphones. Being an analog cable, it appears to be very susceptible to EMI. Why do I say this? Because, on occasion, I have keystrokes that either fail to register or send random number keys, all from the side of the keyboard connected by the bridge cable. On my desk, I have this keyboard near my docked laptop, which must be giving off some EMI and disrupting communication over the bridge cable. I could replace the cable, but being an analog audio cable, it will be susceptible to the same problem. The only real solution might be to rearrange my desk, but that may not solve the problem, either.

Key switches

For this keyboard, Matias opted for its new Quiet Click key switches. First, the positive: they don’t have the “wobble” to the keys found in Cherry MX switches. On to the negative: they require a lot of force to use. My fingers are pushing with the same, if not more, force than what would be necessary with rubber dome key switches. I’m regularly finding myself bottoming out keys by the amount of sheer effort I have to put in by pressing.  To compare it to Cherry MX, it’s somewhere near a Clear key switch.  I’m extremely surprised by how difficult these key switches are, given that this is supposed to be an ergonomic keyboard – these key switches will definitely cause some users fatigue. I feel like Matias missed the mark on ergonomics solely due to wanting to make these key switches “marketable” by making them quiet. I don’t doubt that these key switches would be a lot lighter to press if they didn’t have the “quiet” noise silencing. Unlike with Cherry MX keyboards, there are no o-rings for me to remove, so I can’t remove the sound dampening and get smoother keystrokes back.

The verdict

While I feel like this keyboard is a terrific value and fits the needs of the working professional who also wants good ergonomics, I personally enjoy typing on my Ducky Zero with Cherry MX Browns a lot more. Matias missed the mark by emphasizing the professional style of quiet clicking over good ergonomics. While I don’t believe I will try to return the keyboard, I do wish I had waited a little longer for an alternative that could have given me an easier typing experience.