Archive for the ‘mobile computing’ Category

13 Oct

Copying files from Mac to Android- 2023 Edition

Posted by ssmusoke in android, mobile computing, mobile technology usage, tips and tricks.

I just got a new phone, and I needed to copy some files over from my old phone SD card onto my new phone’s self storage. There did not seem an easy way so I decided to do it old the fashioned way

  1. Copy files to my Mac
  2. Copy files to my new phone – a Samsung S23

I had not done this for a couple of time, and Android File Transfer tool was not working for me. So I searched around for options to do this.

The approach that I used

  1. Enable USB debugging on your phone
  2. Install Android Debugging Bridge (ADB) that is part of the Android platform tools package using homebrew
    brew install android-platform-tools
  3. Search for devices using adb devices which returns something below
    daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
    daemon started successfully
    List of devices attached
    R5CW8168GDX unauthorized
  4. As you can see this is the first time the device has been seen by adb so needs to have its fingerprint stored, all you have to do is open your phone and accept the prompts.
  5. When the prompts have been accepted, you can see the device is now available
    List of devices attached
    R5CW8168GDX device
  6. Find the path where you want to copy the files:
    • Connect to the phone
      adb shell
    • Navigate to the path where you want to put the files mine was /storage/self/primary
    • Thus I have the
  7. Push files from the computer
    adb push <absolute_local_computer_path> <absolute_remote_phone_path>
  8. Pull the files when on the phone
    adb pull <absolute_remote_phone_path> <absolute_local_computer_path>

Voila and there you are …

Are there any GUI tools that you have used in 2023?

22 Feb

Wish List: My Telecom Service Provider Needs

Posted by ssmusoke in internet, mobile computing, technology. Tagged: , , , .

Looks like the economy is back in the open, but the lingering effects of the COVID19 pandemic have driven a more digital focus on life and work. Looks like our local service providers have not really made any moves over the last 2 years

Here is my checklist based on my exposure across the places I have lived

  1. Having a buffet of services that are paid off at a regular cadence (rythmn)
    • Voice minutes for on-network and off-network – removes the need for multiple simcards
    • Data – mobile data and broadband data
    • SMS messages (yes I still use them)
  2. Family plan to help me manage my household telecom needs (I have teenagers who are due to get their own phones and numbers)
    • Ability to add and remove numbers to a plan, I would be happy to pay for batches of 5 numbers
    • Happy to pay a service fee for each number added to the plan – I already do this when gifting airtime and data
    • Shared pool of minutes across the plan both on and off network
  3. Tax invoices as they are required by URA for tax purposes and/or clients for reimbursements
  4. Weekly/Monthly plan options since this helps manage cash flows and cater for usage pattern changes like school and holidays
  5. Ability to measure usage by different members – who is using the services the most, this is by the default account on the plan. Better if it is an online dashboard so that I can check it regularly and adjust accordingly
  6. Unlimited Internet access in the suburbs outside the CBD with fairly high FUP (350GB and above per month)

What are your telecom service needs – what are they doing right or not?

23 Apr

Agile driven requirements wishlist for Integrated Telcom Service Provider Packages

Posted by ssmusoke in alternative approach, mobile computing, musings, productivity, technology. Tagged: , , .

I am constantly frustrated by having to remember voice, data and SMS bundles not only for my own use but for my family and dependants, and I am envious of family data plans in the rest of the world.

Being an agile practioner here is my user story

As a telecom service customer I would like to purchase and track a single package for the users in my household and dependants

Acceptance Criteria

  1. The package includes the following services at a minimum
    • On-net voice calls
    • Off-net voice calls (same country)
    • SMS messages
    • Internet access
  2. All phone numbers on the package use the services transparently
  3. The package is paid for monthly, with the ability to purchase additional optional services as need
  4. Ability to add and/or remove numbers at will
  5. Ability to pay for additional batches of numbers e.g., 5 numbers – the service fee helps the telecom cover losses due to the service discounts
  6. Weekly and monthly payment options – to help manage cash flows
  7. Generation of tax invoices for the service payments
  8. Web/app based monitoring of service usage broken down to a daily usage
  9. Ability to set usage thresholds for all user at least 2 levels – I know individual thresholds may be difficult so nice to have
  10. Reminders to pay for services before they expire

What do you have on your wishlist for your telecom provider?

26 Feb

Crowdsourcing Validation Rules for Uganda National ID

Posted by ssmusoke in database, enterprenur, mobile computing, opensource, software delivery, software development lifecycle, styx technology group, tips and tricks. Tagged: .

I am curious about the ability to validate that the Uganda National Identification Number (NIN) is well formed. However this does not validate that the NIN actually belongs to the person presenting it or that it is correct.

The rules that I have been able to gleam are:

  1. Must be 14 characters long
  2. First character is a letter of the alphabet. C seems to be a common letter – does it stand for citizen?
  3. Second letter is either M or F – male or female
  4. Characters 3 and 4 are numbers, which are the year of birth. Cannot be after 00 since that would make a person below 18
  5. Characters 5, 6, 7 are numbers

How can you help? Which of these rules do not match your NIN? Share any additional patters to build a repository of rules that can later be mapped to programming language validations – Regular expressions and validation frameworks

25 Jul

TechTip: Installing Airtel Uganda Huawei E3131 on MacOS Sierra

Posted by ssmusoke in internet, mobile computing, tips and tricks. Tagged: .

If you are like me, there comes a time when you need to whip out old tech tools to solve a need. In my case it was Internet access in Hoima, which has MTN and Airtel as useable networks.

I have an old modem, which intially had a data simcard gone bad (that is a story for another day) however it was discontinued in 2012, so there were no drivers for Mac. The installation package terminates with errors so I was stumped.

Step 1 was finding the model which involved opening up the modem as below

img_20170725_110050.jpg

Step 2 was to find an installation package, which after about an hour of Googling and reading involved using an Huawei Mobile Partner (https://www.dropbox.com/s/v33lsoe7qok0zsl/MobilePartner-MAC-V200R003B015D16SP00C983.zip?dl=0)

Once installed you can now use your modem readily. Hope this saves someone else some pain…

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