Thoughts on Asus Zenfone Max Plus M1 ZB570TL

Asus Zenfone Max Plus M1 came out in 2017 December.  It costs less than 23% to Apple iPhone X.  Generally speaking, it is a good smartphone given its inexpensive price.

Compared to Google Nexus phones in the past, apps seem less stable compared to running on Nexus.

The wide angle camera is very useful.  But auto-focus and lighting detection for both lens are sometimes less than perfect and would require multiple shoots to get it right.

Between March 2018 to July 2018, the phone received three OS updates.

The idea of having a larger battery is to prolong the time between charges.  While the phone does last longer than the previous phones, but its battery is less than 50% for a similar usage pattern.  In the end, it still needs to be charged daily.

Must-Nice-Divided-Alternative-Avoid: Nice+

Utilize Hidden Drive Bay on Asus L402WA-EH21 by Reinstall Windows 10

Asus L402WA-EH21 14" laptop has an unused hidden 2.5" hard drive bay as drive 0 while its 32GB eMMC is drive 1.  After inserting a 2.5" drive to the laptop, it would add a D drive to Windows.  While it is possible to install new apps and store new file to D drive automatically, users' program data and cache still default to C drive and leads to ever decreasing space in C drive.  It seems the only way further reduce C drive usage is by hacking registry keys.

As such, reinstall Windows 10 on the added hard drive seems like a better and more stable solution to address the space issue.  

Windows license key is stored in BIOS so reinstalling Windows 10 is a relatively straight-forward process after creating the USB media through Microsoft download site.

After this, existing 32GB eMMC drive becomes D drive and just ignore it afterward.

Minecraft Save File

Minecraft save file location for Windows 10:

C:\Users\<userid>\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\

Change Android Auto Temperature Display to Celcius

To change Android Auto temperature unit in widget, some posts suggested to talk to OK Google directly by saying "Change temperature to Celcius."  However, that does not work all the times and most likely will perform a Google search on the "Celcius" topic instead.

To change the temperatue unit in Android Auto:
1) Start Android Auto,
2) Settting,
3) Google Assistant,
4) Perferences,
5) Weather,
6) Then set the desire temperature units.

Universal USB Installer took a longer time to create persistence drive

When using Universal USB Installer i.e. PenDriveLinux, to create bootable Linux USB drive with large NTFS persistence drive, e.g 29GB, the process took a very time (hours) without completing and the dialog stated there will be no progress update until persistence creation is done.  When using Task Manager to check, the process still consumes relatively high CPU usage.

No detail was given for the problem.

Try to make sure Windows hard drive has large free space to create persistence drive file on USB.  Once that is done, the creation should take about 5 minutes. 

BLU T192 Tank II Quick Reference

To lock keypad: Press centre key then *
To unlock keypad: Press centre key then *

To turn on flashlight: Press and hold centre key
To turn off flashlight: Press and hold centre key

To change auto keypad lock setting: Press centre key, Settings, Security settings, Auto keypad lock

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS Notes

* Install Chrome for Ubuntu 16.04:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/765037/why-does-google-chrome-not-install-in16-04-ubuntu

* Add Missing Chinese Input Method under Text Entry Setting:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/455682/14-04-chinese-ibus-input-no-options

* Comodo AntiVirus requires libssl 0.9.8 which is not available on 16.04, pick an alternative:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Antivirus

* Sophos Linux Command Line:
https://community.sophos.com/kb/en-us/118879

Windows Context Meun on the Left i.e. Wrong Side

Somehow, the feeling of context menu opened on the left side seems to be on the wrong side as it covered important information of the current application and therefore losing context of current action. 

This is a Table PC Settings which assumes the user is holding a pen and needs to see the context menu without moving the hand compared to using a mouse has nothing blocking the view.

To change the setting:
1) Windows Run
2) shell:::{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E}
3) At Tablet PC Settings dialog, change to Other tab and change Handedness setting.

Earthquake Preparation

Emergency Earthquake Preparation
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=emergency+earthquake+preparation
****

Food:

3 Meals X 3 Days X 6 People = 54
Core 48 cans
Bean 36 cans
Vege 24 cans
Fruits 24 cans

(Minimum 3 day, or 1 week if possible)

****

(in progress)

iOS App Icons Randomly Flickering / Flashing

When looking at iPhone Home screen, iOS app icons randomly flickering or flashing without any indication what was the purpose. 

Some threads suggested the app icon with "Cleaning" text was attempting to clear cache.  In this case, no "Cleaning" text was displayed.  Also saw a thread indicating there might be a log file called Panic under Diagnostic and Usage Data that was affecting the app.

iOS version 11.1.1, Settings > Privacy > Analytics and turn off Share iPhone Analytics.  (So far, this seems to solve the mystery.)