Installed apps not showing in Android Market My Apps screen?

Something weird happened to my normally rock solid LG Optimus V this week. My installed apps disappeared from the My Apps screen in the phone's Android Market app. Update notifications were being shown in the Notifications tray, but when I tapped on the notification, all I saw was a list of pre-installed apps like GMail, Google Maps and YouTube. The only recent new software was that the phone had recently updated its Android Market app.

Weird huh?

I started searching online to see if others had experienced something similar, and it turns out there are way too many people out there who have had I-would-never-want-to-go-through-that experiences with the Android Market app. None of them matched my situation so I'm adding the solution for my issue here, and fortunately mine was actually really simple.

Somehow, possibly when the latest Android Market app update installed itself, the primary Market Google account on my phone got flipped around. It's one of those set once and never touch settings. Instead of looking at my normal Android Market purchasing account, the phone was looking at purchases for another Google account on the phone - which had made no app purchases. So the Android internals were detecting updates for my installed apps and the Android Market showed nothing. Makes sense...if you're the kind of person who digs under the surface to troubleshoot these things! If you're not, it would probably just be one of those mysteries for a long, long time!

All I needed to do to get things back to normal was open the Android Market app, push the Menu button, choose Accounts and set the phone's primary Android Market account to the correct one again. I hope this helps anyone who might be experiencing a similar issue!

Why do I use the LG Optimus V, given that it's far from the state of the art? Simple. It's one of the Android phones that works really, really well. No frills, no slowdowns after a few months and it runs stock Android for the most part. It's rock solid. They just need to make me one as reliable but with a 4 inch screen, also running stock Android. I think that's called the "Nexus S on T-Mobile's new no annual contract plans", but that's a subject for another post...

Sometimes, you don't need a new computer

Overheard in a local (not named) computer store: "We can come and install a replacement wireless card for $150, but since your laptop computer is over three years old you might be better off buying a new one".

I winced.

Firstly, charging $150 in 2011 to install a new wireless network card is insanity unless the computer has a serious problem. These network cards cost about $30 at retail computer stores and can normally be installed in under 30 minutes. That means the typical total cost to one of our customers for this service is $60.

Secondly, while many companies buy new computers every three years (and computer stores like it when that happens), home users might not need to. Computers do slow down over time as they get full of applications and other important things, but if the computer's fundamentals are good then the lifespan can be much longer than three years. Even if it has fallen a little behind the modern performance curve, giving it a tune-up, upgrading the memory or installing a larger capacity hard drive are smart cost-effective ways to extend the life of your computer.

I'm not just saying this because we offer these services, and sometimes computers cannot be upgraded because certain components are fixed or the case is sealed. However if economical upgrades are possible, these can give computers a whole new lease on life.

I recently upgraded my 2007 Apple MacBook by replacing the original 120GB hard disk with a 320GB hard disk. I installed a new Mac operating system onto it to bring it into 2011. The hard disk cost $50 and saved me from replacing the laptop for year or two.

I installed the MacBook's original 120GB hard disk into one of my Windows laptops that was full. The process only took two hours, including removing the original hard disk from the Windows laptop, cloning the data from the old hard disk onto the new one and then installing the new hard disk. This is a $150 service at TheONbutton, including the cost of the new hard disk, and saved me from buying a new Windows laptop just because the hard disk on the old one was full.

We'll return to this subject at a later time to describe some other things that can save you from having to buy a new computer. Until then, if you're in Durham call us if you think you need a new computer. We can tell you if you really do.

Back to basics for RIM's BlackBerry service

I was a BlackBerry user, a serious BlackBerry user. I wrote articles for a dedicated BlackBerry blog. I loved the BlackBerry Bold 9000, which was only surpassed in greasetness by the 9700. Bright screens, superb keyboards and rock solid messaging features were hallmarks of the BlackBerry Bold family.

But then something happened, I suffered through a BlackBerry service outage a couple of years ago. It lasted a number of hours and I hoped it was an isolated incident. However, other occasional outages followed and it started to seem like the BlackBerry service model of routing all messaging and Internet traffic through RIM’s servers might not be the best way forward.

The idea of having RIM in charge of how messaging and Internet service data gets to and from BlackBerry phones is appealing. There’s a promise of reliability and resiliency, which is why enterprises and individuals have relied upon their BlackBerry phones for so long. But when the recent outage of one BlackBerry infrastructure switch in the UK caused so much havoc to regional BlackBerry services in other countries, this promise gets called into question.

I still greatly admire the BlackBerry platform, there’s much to love. But with iPhone, Android and Windows Phone competitors offering such a rich app experience, RIM has to be beyond reproach in its core competency of providing a reliable and resilient messaging service.

Several commentators have called into question whether RIM had appropriate disaster recovery and contingency measures in place. I’m not going to go there because I’ve worked in that space and appreciate that even when good testing is performed regularly, unique events can occur that go unforeseen by even the most diligent testing teams. However the fact remains that the service failed, and it failed for an unacceptably long duration which has caused reputational damage to RIM.

When I came to Durham, I didn’t leave BlackBerry as a result of the outages that I experienced. I saw wider value in the services offered by a competing platform and chose to make that platform my ‘daily driver’. Following RIM’s unfortunate eperience with the PlayBook, the company is pinning its hopes on its upcoming QNX platform. I hope QNX is a great product, and I also hope it offers a unique new set of services or features that will drive further innovation across the market.

However, whether QNX succeeds or not, its development work and RIM's investment in new services may be in vain if the company fails to learn from last week’s service outage. The core BlackBerry messaging services must be beyond reproach for the platform to survive.

Durham Apple Store on iPhone 4S launch day

Here's the view at the Durham Apple Store on iPhone 4S launch day with plenty of eager customers waiting in line for the new iPhone. I was surprised that even by mid-morning the line for Apple's latest and greatest iPhone was still strong, but I suppose that just shows how strong the demand is likely to be, at least at this Durham store. Since customers were being allowed in, it also tells us that Apple made sure there was a decent amount of in-store availability of the iPhone 4S for people who chose not to pre-order for delivery in the mail.

Even though I currently use an Android smartphone, there's something exciting about being Apple Store lines. I lined up for both the original iPad and more recentlyy for the iPad 2 here in Durham; it's a great chance to meet other technology fans!

What's Going ON? Episode #2

Wow, what an amazing few weeks! It's been a wild time to be in the technology industry, and the pace of change shows no sign of letting up!

theONbutton free computer education sessions

As part of theONbutton's philosophy of serving the community, we would like to offer free computer education sessions at one or more venues in the Triangle area. If you know an institution that would be interested in hosting these for the community, please get in touch! These will be excellent educational opportunities and attendees will not need computers in the sessions, which will be packed full of helpful info!

The new iPhone 4S

Apple has released the iPhone 4S with completely updated technology on the inside. The iPhone 4 was already very competent but the new iPhone 4S is faster, has better battery life and a much improved camera. Most interesting however are its voice interaction features, which offer a level of natural language interactivity that is beyond what we've seen up to now. These features may be of particular interest to anyone who has difficulty reading the small text on smartphone screens, as in many cases the iPhone 4S will speak responses rather than displaying them on-screen.

Faster GMail with keyboard shortcuts

Did you know that pressing 'c' in the main GMail screen will bring up the 'compose new message' screen? There is a host of shortcuts that Google has built into GMail to speed up using their popular email app. You can find the GMail keyboard shortcuts here. Thanks to Charlie for the link!

There's still time to buy someone a lesson and save $25 off your next appointment!

If you know someone who would love to get more out of the Internet, or Microsoft Office, or a gadget like their smartphone, a personal lesson makes a great gift. Following an initial consultation, lessons are tailored to the recipient's specific needs. Lessons cost $50 for an hour and if you buy one as a gift for a friend before 10/31/11, we'll take $25 off the cost of your next appointment. That's like getting a free 30 minute house call!

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon's Kindle eBook readers are extremely popular and the Internet retailer has just updated the Kindle range. Most interesting of the new releases is the Kindle Fire, which is a 7 inch tablet that is designed to provide a great way to access Amazon's video, music, retail and Kindle book services. It also has a web browser and access to Amazon's small but growing app store. While it offers less power and fewer capabilities than Apple's iPad, at $199 it also offers a more accessible entry point into the tablet market.

Steve Jobs

The tragic news that Steve Jobs passed away this week was a moment of great sadness. Mr Jobs was famous for his visionary skills at Apple and "One more thing..." announcements at product launches. He truly changed the world and is a genuine example of entrepreneurial spirit, having taken Apple from its garage origins to the wildly successful maker of gadgets that many use today. Steve will be sorely missed by the whole tech community.

theONbutton referrals

Don't forget about theONbutton referrals, which are a great way to say thank you to customers who help theONbutton to find other people who need help! We love making our customers happy!

Have fun with your gadgets!