Overdrive - Authorize the App; Adobe ID

When using Overdrive to check out and read books, I would occasionally get a message that my App was "Invalid" and I could not open a book that I had checked out.

So the solution was to go to "App settings", type in my Adobe ID and password and "Authorize" the App. However, I was asked to authorize my App every few days or so, an annoyance. Why did I have to authorize every few days, why didn't Overdrive remember that I had already authorized the App?

After a few weeks, the annoyance became a problem....When I attempted to authorize the app, I received a error message saying that there was "Too many Authorizations". Blocked-the book would not open, nothing I could do...

Of course the problem happened when I was on vacation and finishing up reading the eBook Cutting for Stone, and I was almost at the end of the book, very frustrating.

I did some quick browsing and found that many people reported having the same problem, and the solution was to call Adobe and have them re-set the authorization count.

I was able to open a chat window with Adobe Support, and got a good support person who reset the count for me, and that allowed me to authorize the app, and finish reading my book.

Since that time, I have not had to authorize the app again...perhaps someone wised up and fixed the underlying problem.

Overdrive eBook renewals and the Default Checkout period

After checking out my first book, Cutting for Stone for 7 days, I wondering what was going to happen when the 7 days were up. {7 days was much too short a time for reading a book like Cutting for Stone.} In my previous post about Overdrive, I said that the book get deleted; here the rest of the story.....

There is no option for renewing the book! You must check it out again if it is available. {Check the FAQ about renewals...} If you are lucky there will be no holds on the book and you can check it out again.

Also buried deep in all the settings for your eAccount is an option for setting the default lending periods. The only options are 7 days and 14 days. I guess the default is 7 days. I re-set mine to 14 days a much more realistic lending period.

The odd thing is; this setting is not available for me when using Overdrive and my browser on the tablet!!! very strange....

On my Windows computer using Chrome browser, I found the default lending period setting here:

1. Log on to my library web site,
2. Click on "Electronic Library",
3. Click on "Overdrive Digital Media Catalog"
4. Sign -in
5. Click on "My eAccount"
6. Click on the Lending periods option. <-- this option did not appear on my G-Tab!!!

So I guess there is another mystery to investigate. Watson, the game's afoot!

Using Overdrive on Android to check out eBooks

One trend I had been watching lately is our local library support for e-readers. They have been using some Adobe software and a provider called "Overdrive" to allow you to check out eBooks, just like you do with physical books...

When I initially looked at Overdrive a few months ago, I could only run it on my windows computer, and the selection of books seemed very limited. But things have changed for the better.

Now Overdrive has an App for both the I Phone and Android. I installed the OverDrive App on my G-Tab last night, configured the account info {both an Adobe account, and my library account} and checked out my first eBook, Cutting for Stone.

Overdrive works well...but is no match for my kindle.

Kindle is so much better for eBooks than tablets...Tablets are so much better for news and web sites than Kindle.... so I'm glad to have both!

I'd like to see the libraries support Kindle directly.

My checkout of Cutting for Stone expires in 7 days! So I've got to get busy reading!

Voice Over IP on the G-Tab

I just set up the G-tab to make calls using voip...

I learned how to do this from Ray Waldo's web site. Thanks, Ray!

http://raywaldo.com/2011/01/gtab-works-for-regular-phone-calls/

Why would I want to do this you ask? Well, calls on my home phone or cell phone cost $.10/minute... I know I could use my computer to make voip calls, but the G-Tab will be more useful for normal use....e.g. I am using the G-tab more and the main computer less these days...

So how to do this:

1. Get an Google voice account. Google voice is required to be able to use the GrooVe IP App that actually makes the calls. These are many reasons to get a Google Voice account, here are a few:

- make voip calls

- call forwarding

- voice mail transcription service

- email notification of calls

- port your cell phone number over and terminate your expensive monthly cell phone service. {more on this later...}

If you have a gmail account already, it can be used as the google voice account. This is the default.

Head on over to Google voice and get it set up...I'm not going to go into how to do the setup, but

DO THE SETUP ON YOUR COMPUTER, not the G-Tab. I could not get the google Voice setup to work for me running the Google voice app on the G-Tab...but my phone setup is a little strange, so that could have been the problem.

2. Install the Google Voice app if not already on the G-Tab. It just has to be installed on the G-tab, NOT configured on the G-Tab.

3. Go to the Android Market and purchase GrooVe IP app. {$3.99}

4. After GrooVe IP is installed, run it and configure GrooVe IP with your Google Voice account login and password.

That's it, you can now make VOIP calls from the G-Tab using the GrooVe IP app , {you don't need to run the Google Voice app...}

Note that your contact phone numbers from your Google account are available in the GrooVe IP app, great!

NetFlix streaming now works on the G-Tab!

Hooray! When I ran NetFlix last night to add a movie to the queue, it told me that there was an update available. I installed the update and it said that streaming was now available. Viola! it works!

G-Tab OS -- Vegan-Tab

NetFlix version -- 1.3.0 Build 246-91 {found at the very bottom of the home screen...}

Viewsonic G-Tab USB port and SD cards.

What I think I know about the ViewSonic G-Tablet, USB port and Micro-SD cards.

After I got my ViewSonic G-Tablet and installed the Vegan-Tab ROM,

{See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245 for setting up the G-Tablet...}

I wondered how to use the USB and Micro-SD port to expand the disc space of the tablet, e.g. put movies, music and TV shows on SD cards for viewing on the G-Tab while traveling.

Two posts in the on-line Android G-Tab forums were also of interest to me:

1. Files were being deleted unexpectedly from the micro-SD card, and

2. How to use the G-Tab to backup and view photos while traveling, e.g. using the USB port to read SD and other photo cards.

So after hours of experimenting this is what I think I know...comments and questions are welcome!

1. Confusing naming. The "SDCard" directory on the G-Tab as set up for the Vegan-Tab is the internal 13 gig or so of the 16 gig memory. "Internal device storage" is the second partition of the 16 gig and contains probably the Android software or OS. "SDCard2" directory is the micro-SD card, and "USBDisk" is whatever is connected to the USB port. So... don't be fooled, "SDCard" does not refer in any way to an actual SD memory card through a USB connection.

2. The micro-SD card slot works, and I could read media files from the card. But files are being deleted from the card. I think this is caused by media programs like Gallery and JustPictures having files on the card open, and me doing some action like powering down the G-Tab or removeing the card. I have not narrowed this problem down.... bottom line I probably will not use the micro-SD card slot as I have a work around for this problem. {See 5 below }

To get the micro-Sd card to work, powerdown the G-Tab, insert the card, power-up and the files should be visible via a file manager program like "Astro" in the SDCard2 directory. Do not remove the micro-Sd card, until powering down the G-Tab.

3. Under settings, "Unmount in progress" is a confusing term.... it does not mean what it says, e.g. no unmount is in progress! And clicking on this will unmount the SDCARD partition {e.g. your 13s gig of storage!}

I have not run into any situation where I need to use this...conversely, "mount SD card" does not have any thing to do with an actual SD card, or thumb drive connected to the USB port.

4. I was able to use a USB "Thumb drive" and a Thumb drive with a SD Card slot in the USB port with no problem...but note that older USB devices may have issues handling SD cards larger than 2 gig. Bottom line make sure your USB device is working on a computer first. I was also able to use a Creative Zen5 8 gig music player connected to the USB port, so if needed I could use it as a storage device. I was not able to connect a disc drive {160gig} to the USB port successfully...more experimentation is needed....

I could insert and remove the Thumb drive at almost any time and have it recognized by the G-Tab.

5. I will use a SD-micro SD adapter in my Thumb drive to read micro SD cards due to the file deletion problem.

6. I was able to use a multicard reader connected to the USB port to read various cards, e.g. XD and SD cards... but I needed to have the card in the reader when connecting the reader to the USB port in the G-Tab. Otherwise it seems the G-Tab could not find the card "on the fly".

7. I travel frequently and take a lot of photos. I want to use the G-tab to view and backup my photos on the road. The solution for me is this:

- use the multicard read to read my XD cards from my Olympus SLR camera, and copy the files to the internal memory of the G-Tab e.g. to "SDCARD". A file manager like "Astro" allows you to select and copy files...

- use my Thumb drive with SD slot to read my SD cards from my Cannon cameras.

I took my G-Tab and Cannon camera on a reunion trip this last weekend and it was great fun to be able to view my photos on the G-tab and share them with everyone there. Worked like a charm!

That's enough for now.