How to change Android keyboards or input methods

This week's tips series is all about Android, highlighting some the operating system's built-in utilities, and better ways of getting stuff done. For other technology tips, check our Tips index.

When I first started using my Android devices, one of the most frustrating things I had to figure out was how to switch keyboards, or input methods. I don't just mean input languages, but switch to a completely different keyboard, such as Swype.

Well, it turns out it's a two-step process:

1) First you have to enable the keyboard (or "input method"). You do this by going to Settings > Language & keyboard and checking the box next to the keyboard's name. Android will make sure you know what you're doing, and once you confirm, it will enable the keyboard.

2) Next, go to any text field (for instance, start composing a new text message or email) and long-press the text-field. You will get a pop-up with all sorts of actions, one of which would say Input method. Press that, and you'll get the long list you can see in the screenshot. From here it's just a matter of tapping the name of the keyboard you want, and then merrily typing along.

How to change Android keyboards or input methods originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/25/how-to-change-android-keyboards-or-input-methods/

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Skinny Cameras Can Have Grips Too [Cameras]

Camera grips are quite useful for one-handed camera wielding, but when it comes to point and shoots, they come at the cost of portability. This patent here indicates Sony found a way to have their cake and eat it too. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2Y7g4HqYYB8/skinny-cameras-can-have-grips-too

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ZMP's City Simulator Experiment takes the driver out of the car, keeps the helmet just in case (video)

ZMP has done some great things in the past -- well, except maybe Miuro, the roving iPod dock that ensured your PMP would always be just out of reach. Lately the company has been focusing on self-driving cars like the RoboCar MEV, and while this little one most certainly does have a driver, that driver is not actually in the car. It's a potential roadway revolution. Just imagine being able to partake in your morning commute from the safety of your own home! Right now it's just a little RC car (not unlike Malte Jehmlich's telepresence Wipeout from last year) being steered by what looks like a Logitech Driving Force GT, making us hope that the next Gran Turismo offers a mode just like this -- minus the headgear.

Continue reading ZMP's City Simulator Experiment takes the driver out of the car, keeps the helmet just in case (video)

ZMP's City Simulator Experiment takes the driver out of the car, keeps the helmet just in case (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Xx2eNrXvM5M/

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Everyone's Robbing Vending Machines [Trendwatch]

In these troubling times, have you found yourself breaking into and robbing vending machines with a greater frequency? Join the club. Countless Americans are going to absurd lengths to obtain a handful of change and some deliciously criminal Snickers bars. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3vTUXfPuStY/everyones-robbing-vending-machines

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Ubuntu 11.04 switches to LibreOffice in latest daily builds

Back in September 2010, when Google, Novell and others announced the LibreOffice fork of OpenOffice, Canonical frontman Mark Shuttleworth said "The Ubuntu Project will be pleased to ship LibreOffice from The Document Foundation in future releases." In recent 11.04 Natty Narwhal daily builds, the change has finally taken place.

Download yourself a new Ubuntu 11.04 daily build .ISO, and you'll have LibreOffice installed from the get-go -- no PPA required. Natty is currently in the early stages, of course, so expect a few bumps in the road if you decide to take it for a test drive.

Ubuntu 11.04 switches to LibreOffice in latest daily builds originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/20/ubuntu-11-04-switches-to-libreoffice-in-latest-daily-builds/

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Desert Moon is an impressive tower defense Time Waster

If you look at the type of time wasters I normally cover, you'll mostly find physics games, a platformer here and there, and maybe a puzzle or two.

One genre I almost never cover is tower defense games. I guess I normally don't enjoy them all that much - it's purely subjective. But this is one thing that makes Desert Moon all the more remarkable: It's a tower defense game, but I actually had fun playing it.

You're commanding a troop of soldiers stranded on an alien planet for five days. Each day, multiple waves of incoming beasts are going to run at you, and try to get past your defenses. Your job is to place your soldiers before each wave so that their fire pattern (and weapons) effectively cover the surface, and keep the beasts from getting past them.

Once a beast touches one of your soldiers, the soldier dies and there's a gap in your defenses. When enough beasts manage to make it through, you die. Later on in the game, beasts don't have to touch the soldiers - they explode when they're near enough, so you need to start using longer-range weapons to keep the beasts away.

There are six different types of weapons, as well as four types of power-ups you can use during each wave. It's Flash, but it still took a couple of minutes to load on my DSL connection. This is one game you may find yourself spending quite some time with.

Desert Moon is an impressive tower defense Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/11/desert-moon-is-an-impressive-tower-defense-time-waster/

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Teen Glued 5,800 Mirrors Onto Satellite Dish For SOLAR DEATH-RAY [Video]

There's something very incongruous about Eric Jacqmain's video where he demonstrates a solar death-ray with the intensity of 5,000 suns (or so he claims)...backed by plip-plop music you'd normally find in a day-spa. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/cspdzr0C4Po/teen-glued-5800-mirrors-onto-satellite-dish-for-solar-death+ray

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What's the Difference Between the Human Eye and a Camera? [Cameras]

Pixiq has a great write up on the similarities and differences between the human eye and a camera. Apparently, we're the same in image focusing and light adjustment but different in lens focus and sensitivity to light. What else? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/FrFgXUMThpM/whats-the-difference-between-the-human-eye-and-a-camera

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