How to install native Spotify in elementary OS

elementary OS is by far one of the most beautiful Linux distribution I have tried. And to put icing on the cake, you can improve your listening experience in elementary OS with Spotify native Linux client.

Spotify is a music streaming player that gives you access to millions of songs for free. Over 20 million total users, five million of whom pay the monthly subscription fee. The online library has over 20 million tracks, everyday 10,000 new tracks are being added to its song library.

To install Spotify for Linux Preview, enter the following commands in Pantheon Terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://repository.spotify.com stable non-free"

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 94558F59

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install spotify-client

Spotify in sound indicator applets

Install Android x86 4.2 Jelly Bean on USB flash drive

The Android-x86 project is a project that aims to deliver the Android supports to various X86 platforms.

The features of Android-x86 Jelly Bean 4.2 test build 20130228 includes:

• Linux kernel 3.8.0 to support more drivers.
• OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets.
• Multi-touch, Wifi, Audio, G-sensor, Camera and Backlight control supports.
• Simulate SDCard by internal storage.
• Auto mount USB drivers and SDcards.
• Multi-user support (Max 8 users).
• Support Ethernet (DHCP only).
• Support VM like Virtual Box.

However, the test build 20130228 does not support ARM translator which means you cannot use many Android applications and games in Google Play. To have ARM app compatibility and much stable Android-x86, you have to go with the older version Ice Cream Sandwich RC2.

Things you need are 2 units of USB Flash Drives - at least 256MB flash drive as Android USB installer, and preferably 1GB or more flash drive storing Android OS will do.

Steps:

Bug: Apple iPhone Does Not Auto Lock

After updated to iOS 6, my iPhone 4S screen cannot auto-sleep consistently. When it won't sleep automatically, the screen will stay awake consuming battery life which is like a nightmare you do not want it to happen.

I have searched through the Apple official discussion and found many iPhone 4S owners are having this issue after software upgraded to iOS 6. Some claim Apple iPad 2 is also affected. The root cause of this issue is the iOS AssistiveTouch feature. The screen will not auto lock after tapping the AssistiveTouch's home button.

The temporary solution is after tapping AssistiveTouch home button, swipe or touch anywhere on the screen, it will start countdown to auto lock. Not the best solution as we might forget to swipe the screen at times but it works.

Fix: iPad Auto-Brightness Not Working

The iPad auto-brightness is not working according to the surrounding light? This is a common issue Apple has yet to fix on iOS 6. While wondering why this hasn't been fixed, there is a simple way to fix it ourselves:

Steps:

1. Tap on Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper.
2. Turn on the Auto-Brightness.
3. Slide the screen brightness to the lowest level.
4. Put your iPad to sleep mode.
5. Wake it up and your iPad has re-calibrated the light sensor and should be working.

This fix works for me. I'm still hoping Apple can fix it in next iOS version, although it doesn't bother me at all.

How to fix screen brightness in Elementary OS Luna (low brightness every startup)

I have a HP mini 210. The screen brightness settings of this HP netbook has been an issue on various Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Mint, and Deepin. The Operating System cannot save the brightness settings and resets to minimum brightness every time it boots. It is no surprise to me, the same brightness settings issue arise in elementary OS Luna Beta as it is build on an Ubuntu core.

To solve this problem on elementary OS Luna,

1. Enter the following command into slingshot.

gksu scratch-text-editor /etc/rc.local


2. Insert the following code above exit 0.

echo 7 > /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/brightness


Note: Number 7 indicates the brightness level of the screen. You may change it to your own preference. Your maximum screen brightness level can be viewed here: /sys/class/backlight/acpi_video0/max_brightness
3. Close rc.local file. Scratch text editor will auto-save the file. Done.