yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[XPERIA X10 General] pshdo:
Oh, and x10 will never get REAL mt anyway...

Reader S/E blog and you will see that...;)

Sent from my Commodore 64, with Dolphin Dos B-)
[XPERIA X10 General] iead1:
Use compass mode and move the phone around... things will tilt.

It's getting the same multitouch as the fapped over Nexus One, which works well enough.
[Android Themes] syrenz:
I've started fooling around with photoshop and started making custom icons and launcher pro docks. Here's a sample of some of the stuff I've made, I just wanted to get some opinions on these (kind of new at this) as I continue working on stuff and post them. Thanks!

1.Phandroid. 2.DolphinHD. 3. Appbrain. 4. Angry Birds. 5. VoiceSearch/Vlingo start listening action. 6. SkyMaps 7. Camera

I put them on my screen using desktop visualizer (1x1 for the icons 2x1 for voice actions) since just replacing shortcut image makes it look too small (on my screen at least).

+Here's a bonus lp dock (I'll probably be making one to match the icons sometime):

So yeah, any thoughts/critiques on what I've made would be appreciated :D.

EDIT:

Here's that matching dock
[Android Themes] killakarl:
That dock is hot but I am not a fan of the box icons
[Android Themes] syrenz:
Thanks for the feedback. :)

I'll continue to play around with photoshop and see what else I can come up with. Is there something specific about the box icons you don't like (i.e. shape, size, color, etc...) or is it just not your thing? (I decided to make the background around the icon since I was having trouble finding properly sized icon pics to work with -just copied from appbrain) I want to get an idea of what people want and don't want to see.

Thanks!
[Android Themes] killakarl:
Just looking for something different than the iphone looking icons. Just not my bag of tea. The icons do look nice though. I really like the color scheme also.
[Epic 4G General] warlar12:
Currently I am using a 2.2.1 rom and which the kernel does not support rndis for wired tether. I looked around and found a thread that has patch to enable it for the DI28 system. It is a zimage file 4.3 mb, there is also a zimage in the rom of 5.5 mb (located in /kernel/update/) Would it be possible to replace the 5.5 with the 4.3? Or would there be a problem because the smaller file was from a DI28 vs a DK28
[Epic 4G General] Koadic:
I am going to make the assumption that you mean DI18 instead of DI28, which is a 2.1 Eclair kernel, unlike the DK28 which is a 2.2 Froyo kernel. If your currently running a Froyo rom, then you cant use an Eclair kernel. You more than likely going to have to wait til the source code is released for Froyo before it will be available, or you can Odin back to DI18 and use a custom kernel.
[Epic 4G General] warlar12:
Lol yeah I meant the DI18.

I just looked up zimage and found out that it is the kernel...damn it...time to figure out how to modify it
[Epic 4G General] Kcarpenter:
I think the only modifiable part of the z image is the init, could be wrong...please prove me wrong so we can have over clock
[Epic 4G General] warlar12:
Ive been staring at my computer screen and getting more and more confused...I can not find a program or a way to decompress the file. But apparently it is compressed by a zip program. And on the phone it decompresses it once you flash the rom. Other then that I have decided to call it a night on trying to find a way, (I am sure there is a way.) It is giving me a major headache lol.

The main problem so far is that the source has not been released. However I think it has in a way because it is on the rom, which means there is a way to get it off and mess with it. Just hasnt been discovered yet.
[Epic 4G General] Kcarpenter:
Its packaged by cpio I believe... Ill find something on it tomorrow for you...theres a dev thread that talks about it somewhere...but its probably not for the weak of heart or someone without a bit of kernel knowledge. Not sure how vast your skill set is.
[Epic 4G General] mkasick:
I haven't tried any of the Froyo leaks so I can't comment on whether the Froyo kernel has RNDIS support out-of-the-box or not. Once the Epic Froyo kernel sources are released I'll patch in proper RNDIS support if necessary.

Meanwhile, if it's the case that RNDIS can't be enabled in the stock Froyo kernel, then I'm afraid that nothing can be done to fix that without the kernel source code.
[Epic 4G General] warlar12:
I essentially want to get into the kernel to first start seeing what each file does then making smal tweaks to see the outcomes. So once I get some more knowledge I'll be able to compile my own.
[Epic 4G General] mkasick:
The kernel isn't comprised of files but linked executable code (except the initramfs image, but that's not actually the part of the kernel, it's just included inside it).

A kernel can't be compiled without the source code, that's what we're all waiting for.
[Epic 4G General] warlar12:
Ahh so really there is not a way to change it besides building a new one from source
[Captivate General] jz3:
I greatly improved my GPS performance by doing this: First, a brief background: I was always curious about the two electrical contacts mating to the aluminum battery cover; if they were a ground plane or part of the antenna. For the heck of it I tried improving the connections by cleaning the small square contacts on the inside of the cover with a pencil eraser (they looked like they had a thin coating on them) and then gently, slightly prying up the contact on the right with a small screwdriver (the left is spring-loaded) and thats it. I was surprised to see an immediate improvement in signal strength resulting in locks within a minute and spot-on navigation. As a side note I noticed a better signal if I held the phone by it's sides vs cradled in my hand. It may be my imagination but I also seem to get a better signal (more bars) on the phone itself. This was probably an issue with my specific unit but I thought I would share.

Edit: Wow! Looks like many have had a similar experience. Still seems too good to be true, would like to know if you see sustained results. I'm curious if oxidation may eventually occur on the bare metal contacts in the cover, might be beneficial to re-clean with an eraser periodically. Be careful, as there has been a report of a broken contact, pry gently! Keep posting your results and thanks to those who gave me a thanks!
[Captivate General] alphadog00:
Could be - everyone tried to see if the contacts effected cell signal - But i don't remember anyone checking GPS signal with them.
[Captivate General] qwertyaas:
Interesting. I will check this out tomorrow and see.

The thing is though, there are times when GPS would work great and some when it won't. It's usually in different areas though. For instance, around NYC area and where I live, it always works. When I went to Mass over Thanksgiving, I could barely get anything. This is without touching the casing and having a hard plastic case on.
[Captivate General] msinkovich:
can you post pics of what you did?
[Captivate General] gtg465x:
Interesting. Scratched some of that top layer off the contacts on the door and used a screwdriver to pry up the contact on the phone a bit. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Got a much higher mobile speed test result than I usually do, but that can vary wildly so it could just be coincidence.
[Captivate General] gothpunk4christ:
I am very much interested, please do provide more test results and pictures, please. Ever since reverting back to eclair (with the minor update that "fixed" tethering... I mean GPS signal, it was horrible. I needed it badly today and lucked out when I just had barely caught enough to get me to my destination. Thank you.
[Captivate General] bames:
how much did you pry up the contact on the right? A small paper clip works well as your can actually slide it into the rounded up portion and use leverage from the side to lift up. I lifted it a little bit but i mostly settled back down into original position..maybe slightly lifted from original position. I can tell they have been making connection because there are worn spots on the corresponding contact points on the door.

The coating on the contact spots looks possibly to be some kind of spray coating similar to a thermal paste only dry? Wonder if the connection would be better without it or if it was removed and replaced with a very conservative amount of quality thermal paste. (Also when you cleaned them with eraser was the white film removed or still present?). Mine is still present although there are small worn spots where you can see the metal from where the contacts were touching.
[Captivate General] jz3:
I pried it up just a hair worrying that it might break off. Mine looked like it was not making good contact as there was no wear marks. I first removed the film by scraping it with a knife then using an eraser. Underneath the film it is just the bare aluminum.
[Captivate General] Phoenix-Lead:
You could just move to Axura if you want great GPS without messing with the contacts.
[Captivate General] alphadog00:
That assumes there is no hardware issue. Due to the huge variations in GPS success with people on the same software, there is probably more involved. One possibility is antenna, another likely culprit is "disk" IO blocking GPS functions.

If the contacts and antenna are an issue on a phone, changing OS or tweaking softrware will not make things better.
[Captivate General] tron702:
I think you stubbled on something here, I'm picking up sat. in my home, have not tried it on the road yet, but I am excited to test it out. I've been fighting this

GPS problem since day one. It is the only problem I have with the phone. Thanks for posting your discovery. Man, I think everyone should at least try this and post your results, because I am getting extraodinary results.
[Captivate General] Phoenix-Lead:
I am not saying Axura will help everyone but boy has it helped quite a few. Check the poll I put on the OP.
[Captivate General] snyder650:
If you're gonna do this, use an INK (white) eraser. They work much better at cleaning electrical contacts.
[Captivate General] skinien:
nm... I can't count. :o
[Captivate General] sclRanger:
I cleaned off the 2 contact points on the lid using my pocket knife. There seemed to be some white coating on it. My gps is working real well now.
[Captivate General] seaquan:
1 sat in an office building (no lock but actually see's it) .. 5x5 bars 3g download 1889kbps/ up 517kbps (was lucky to get 900kbps before..) so yah it is both the Cell ant which is the spring loaded one and the other is the GPS. The coating isn't actually a coating just the oxidation at assmb. emery paper prob works the best just don't try to make it too shiny or remove to much metal.
[Captivate General] tiltAdmin:
Wow!! You may have really got something here. I just spent 2 minutes cleaning off and prying up the contacts and the results were instant! As soon as I booted the device back up my 3G signal strength increased by two bars! Not only that but I got a GPS lock in record time - only a few seconds. YMMV

Thank you for posting this!!
[Captivate General] NascarFastcar:
Long time browser here. Just made a forum account to post my results of doing this.

Let me first say that you might really be onto something here. I powered my phone down then scraped the white coating on the cover contacts to bare metal using a pocket knife. Then pyred the right contact up to about a 45-50 degree angle. About putting it all back together and powering the phone up and killing all the apps afterward I launched gps test ap. I got 7 sats and a lock under 10 seconds sitting here at my desk. Beforehand I would've been lucky to ever see 1 sat sitting here and even more luckier to get 5+ or a lock holding it against the window to my right.

Haven t tried this outside but I will on my trip to the phili airport this even.

Thanks a bunch!

+Getting 7-10 locks with 32-49feet accuracy here at my desk. Never ever got a lock here before!

+5:30 est. Just did a speed test on 3g. Usually getting around 600-700kbs here at my desk. Getting 1.5-1.7k+ Now...

Also should I be concerned about scratching up the back tabs while removing the coating. Looks like I took sandpaper to them. I mean the its aluminum so rust isn't a problem. And nothing will be touching or getting on them to cause any type of corrosion.
[Captivate General] DemonWav:
Wow, I normally have 5 bars where I'm at so I couldn't see any change in that obviously, but GPS is perfect sitting here in my house, can't wait to try it out on the road! By the way, I gotta say this again, when I say GPS is perfect, when I zoom in all the arrow is sitting exactly on the portion of the house that I'm in. I'm amazed.

Edit - Just did a speed test and WOW immediate speed increase, ping was 100 below normal, did 1mb/s up AND down! This is definitely a nice little trick you've found.
[Captivate General] elsidd33:
First time posting. I just tried this, and am getting a lock inside the house for literally the first time.

However, I also got a lock while driving this afternoon for the first time (my GPS experience has been exceedingly poor), before I cleaned the contacts. Maybe it's just a good.day for GPS signal in my neck of the woods today.
[Captivate General] JohnnyDanger:
Hi everyone. This is my first message on xda. Just had to share my experience with this.

My gps experience on the captivate had been hit and miss but never great. I just tried this recommendation and went outside to try the gps. I got a lock almost instantly. Don't know if it would generally affect gps but its even cloudy and raining.

Next thing I tried was a speed test. I just pulled a 4.2 Mbps and 3.9 Mbps download speeds on two tests. I've never got anything close to that. So to the creator of this topic, that you. I now have new hope that my captivate can be an outstanding phone (better once froyo is released).
[Captivate General] ewingr:
Here's an interesting test for you to try, even inside.

Whether you have done the cleaning of the back or not, turn on the GPS Test, and hold your phone parallel to the floor, face down. Check the number of sats, and SNRs.

Then take the back off, and do the same thing.

In my case the difference is tremendous...in favor of having no cover at all.
[Captivate General] C.C.W.:
Outstanding results!
[Captivate General] cmdmzmjm:
Worked very well for me. I can get locks inside my house with in about 10 sec. AMAZING! thanks so much!
[Captivate General] msinkovich:
Not to be a jerk...but either Im not that smart of I havent taken the time to memorize the captivate schematics to know what everyone is talking about...can someone post some pics?
[Captivate General] qwertyaas:
Note: Image taken from: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=736363

Those 2 white spots on the back cover are the spots in which the 'eraser' is used. The contact on the phone is right by the sim card - the copper looking contact that's slightly risen.
[Captivate General] ewingr:
Would like to see someone try the above. I found NO improvment doing the eraser thing, but immense improvment w/o the cover on.

In the end, I guess it doesn't make any difference, as I'm running w/o cover (actually covered by use of Seido InnoCase), and having very good luck with GPS.
[Captivate General] qwertyaas:
Could just be the contacts on the back (or lack-thereof) is really killing the signal which is why when the cover is off or the contacts cleared that the signal is much better.
[Captivate General] JohnnyDanger:
Just a warning, be very careful. I forwarded this topic to a friend and he tried it. Unfortunately he wasn't careful and snapped the clip off. Funny thing is he says reception and gps are still the same as before the clip broke. He's going to use his insurance to get a new phone anyways to help prevent any future problems. Just wanted to let folks here know that apparently the clip will snap fairly easily.
[Captivate General] WickedStyx:
Holy crap! I'm going to give it a week before I believe it but I went from never getting a lock accurate enough for Navigation to work to almost instant lock. 9 satellites and 5 metre accuracy within 10 seconds.

EDIT: Tracking is still crappy (though still usable)
[Captivate General] stevesteveLA:
Almost too good to be true. I scraped the contact points on the battery cover a bit with a pocket knife, fired up GPS Test and locked with 15 seconds inside the house. It's rainy and overcast in LA tonight. I also saw that the device was using up to 12 satellites (I had never seen more than 7 or 8 before on this phone). I'm excited to test tracking and navigation tomorrow...

Kudos to the OP for trying something different and coming up with a unique solution! Given the sad state of affairs with the GPS on this phone, nice to know there is a bit of hope.
[Captivate General] dodaniels:
I did this exact thing as above, i just scraped a bit with small screwdriver on the contacts on the cover where I could see where the antenna points were touching on the back cover. I am also getting gps signal here in my house (where almost 90% of the time it failed.) I used the gps test app, google maps, and copilot live and they all locked within 5-10 seconds. I even turned the gps on and off in between and then used each app again and all apps still locked. I am going to test driving tomorrow. I hope this is a good fix. Crossed my fingers. My gps has never reliably worked before today. I also raised that little antenna a bit with a paper clip as a user previously stated. Be careful when you do it. Ill post tomorrow my results with driving and tracking...
[Captivate General] Jikx:
Wow.. I think OP has discovered something here!

I am reported significantly better GPS lock time :)
[Captivate General] evoic:
So, um....

I decided to take the back cover off, just scratch off a tiny bit from both spots on the back cover, and then put it on.

Before I did it, I ran a baseline test for my internet speed. 2:18am.

After I did it, I ran another test. 2:24am.

My internet speed went noticeably higher.

Then, kind of getting a laugh out of the random increase, I actually sat down and did it the proper way along with an eraser and lifting the little pin clip up.

I ran the test once again. 2:38am.

I'll go ahead and let the results speak for themselves.
[Captivate General] elsidd33:
after dramatic improvement yesterday, I'm back to normal. Yesterday I was getting 7 satellites fixed indoors within 10 seconds, today I'm seeing zero satellites (and obviously no fix).

I'm thinking seriously of sending this thing back to Samsung to see if they'll send me a new one that works.
[Captivate General] NascarFastcar:
gps worked and stayed locked perfectly on my trip to philly. Takes a bit longer to lock while moving as opposed to staying still. Which is near instant! Still getting quick and strong locks in my house.
[Captivate General] sfernandez:
I scrapped the white completely off and lifted the lever up a lil bit and by doing that has actually boosted my cell signal from -87dBm to -63dBm sitting in the same exact spot :eek: . Gps was a little better lock by about 10 seconds. But over all defiently helped improve cell signal
[Captivate General] mazink:
Thank you very much for finding this fix. I am now able to get a lock in less than 10seconds with accuracy of 49ft indoors.

Thank you very much.
[Captivate General] yourtvlies:
Has anyone been able to confirm that either of these contacts are GPS antenna related?

The reason I ask is despite seemingly having positive results yesterday afternoon, my signal levels look like they've dropped back down to where they were before.

In general, the GPS issue just seems too random (so far as when it works vs. when it doesn't vs. when it kind of works) to establish any one cause. That said, I'm speaking from the stock-rom perspective.

*edit*

Additional testing continues to show positive results...
[Captivate General] RocketSled:
If the clip wasn't making contact before he broke it, it's not making any less contact now that it's broken. Assuming better contact would improve signal quality (I tried on my S and it did not, if anything it got worse), it isn't all that surprising that breaking the clip made no difference.
[Captivate General] shoman94:
Funny thing for me..... I always had decent luck with my gps..... but I did it and noticed a touch better signal and a little better performance with gps...... same accuracy but more locked satellites. I did notice in my car today...... If I set the phone on my leg while driving I just about lose the FIX with gps..... then hold it or set it in the passenger seat and boom... 10 Locked (FIX) satellites. Funny how sensitive that is. IMO overall it is a bit better.
[Captivate General] bfara83:
Wow, this made a noticeable difference on mine too with GPS.

I pried up the gold contact beside the SIM card (using a small paperclip) and cleaned up the contacts.

GPS seems to lock a lot quicker than it did previously but the real test will be Navigation since I used to always get mixed results there. I got a lock in my basement within 10 seconds when that's never happened before since getting this phone in August.

Just have to wait and see over the coming weeks/month to see if this makes a difference.
[Captivate General] gothpunk4christ:
I did this last night along with my fiancee (she lives in the middle of nowhere) and for the FIRST time inside her house she's had full bars.

I live right next to a tower so I've always got 3-5 bars and usually always 5. The first speed test I ran came back 467Kbps down, 184Kbps up, at 2:30 am. I cleaned off the back plate a slight bit, and the results among 5 subsequent tests are this. Avg 2552Kbps down, and 343.4 Kbps down. I only wish I ran the non-cleaned contacts test a couple times before I cleaned off the connectors cause I only have 1 result for that. Judging from everyone elses results though, it would appear this does indeed make a huge difference.

As far as GPS goes, still no lock inside my house though it would see 4-5 sats, was no different than uncleaned. HOWEVER I IMMEDIATELY got a lock soon as I stepped outside, and hit 9-10 sats in view and 7 in use. I had trouble getting even the smallest lock a few days prior to going outside and driving around (when I needed my GPS the most) I ended up having to sit in a parking lot for 10 minutes to refresh my directions after it took that long for a lock.

Thank you, jz3. I will confirm this is a deffinite improvement.
[Captivate General] Clienterror:
I did this mod in the car about 15 minutes ago with my pocket knife so I'll do it better later... but I just saw 12 sats for the first time at 70 mph and locked 11 with the 12th in and out with the strength actually above 40 on a couple. This is nuts OP you rock.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897
[Captivate General] dodaniels:
Update to previous post. Driving around was great with the GPS now with both google maps and copilot. I didnt clean the contacts all the way on the cover, just roughed them up with a pocket knife. I am pretty stoked about this...
[Captivate General] xjav8r:
Finally a REAL SOLUTION

All I can say is WOW. Thanks for this suggestion. I've had extremely poor performance since buying the cappy for my wife almost a month ago. I'd only been able to get one lock EVER and I'd tried every method out there. This one is the real deal. Make sure you scratch up the metallic pads on the cover real well. It took me a few rounds of scratching and adjusting the bendable contact point to get a solid connection.

I went from only receiving one satellite on occasion to hitting 9 with a lock on 5 and good accuracy. Thanks again. Hopefully this will last until I can get my hands on Froyo.
[Captivate General] lyrad12:
hey i dont know but i tried it. it works really well than b4.also i noticed that the cache of my google maps is about 43mb already so i wiped it out to zero..
[Captivate General] phlunkie:
Thanks for the idea.will test out.
[Captivate General] chinesedevil:
First time poster, this fix is really easy and it seems to work, before I can't even lock onto 1 satellite inside my room, now i get 7 to 9.

Seems to be working, but I can't be 100% certain since I havn't really played around with the GPS.