Ever since we first laid eyes on Android Ice Cream Sandwich’s look, we fell in love hopeless and completely, which is why we are craving for an Android 4.0 gadget of our own. But what if you could have that simple and elegant ICS look on your Windows 7 desktop right now, without the need to purchasing the Asus Transformer Prime or a device of its kind?

I know it sounds impossible in theory, but with the help of Flickr user David Molina and the guys at Lifehacker.com, you can now do just that pretty easy. Well, it’s not exactly easy, as you will need no less than ten apps and components to get to the final cool look that you can see below, but it’s doable nevertheless.

The first thing you need is an Ice Cream Sandwich wallpaper, which can be downloaded from WallBase. Secondly, you will have to tweak the taskbar with the APPOWS2010 theme for Windows 7 from DeviantArt, and then you are only eight steps away from mixing the Android 4.0 simplicity with the Win7 functionality.

I’m not going to walk you through every step of this delicate operation, but if you are interested and/or intrigued by the pic below, you can hit this article’s source link and get all the instructions you need.

I myself don’t think I’m going to go through with this whole process and operation, even though I am a big fan of ICS’s look, for one simple reason. I’m lazy as heck and don’t want to install and download ten different apps and components!

What about you, are you tempted to go through with it (and diligent enough?) or aren’t you as impressed as I am with the desktop combining Android 4.0 and Windows 7 shown below?

Via LifeHacker.com

The entire reason that Amazon and Barnes & Noble sell their Android tablets for such low prices is because the companies intend to lock buyers into their systems and sell content. But because Android users aren’t much for being locked in, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that someone would find a way to get content beyond the gardens of Amazon and B&N.

The Amazon Kindle Fire can actually install the Android Market. A rooted Fire can sideload apps, including the Vending.apk file that serves as the Market. BriefMobile has a guide explaining the process of getting Vending.apk onto a device, so follow the instructions here. Keep in mind that the full weight of the Android Market may not be available to you, but this could be a nice workaround for getting apps not in Amazon’s store or downloading the apps you already purchased on another Android device.

On the Nook Tablet side of things, you can also sideload apps, including the Amazon Appstore. Members at XDA discovered that the Nook supports downloading apps through the web, so users can download an .apk and enable “Unknown sources” for installation. Since the Amazon Appstore is an .apk, that means you can actually put that on the Nook Tablet. (I’m guessing you can try to get the Market on there as well but I’d wait for confirmation before trying.) The Digital Reader has a step-by-step guide with instructions here.

I can’t help but wonder if companies expected this or will try to proactively block this from happening with updates. Amazon and B&N don’t make money by selling the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, but they do make money when you buy apps, books, magazines, and videos. The root community should be a small enough audience for them not to hurt too much, but you never know. Either way, enjoy your new device that’s suddenly become a lot more powerful.

A slowly growing number of Android app developers  have chosen to adopt AirPush, an advertising system that places ads in the Android notification window. I won’t get into a long-winded argument about the pros-and-cons of doing this or how tough it is for developers to make money. The bottom line is that users don’t want it and they want a way to get rid of it.

Android users can get rid of AirPush notifications in a few ways. The most obvious is to remove the offending app, something that most people have done. If an app you like begins sending ads to your notification area, simply uninstall it and let the developer know. That’s the most effective way of getting the message across. However, this may present a problem if you install several apps and can’t figure out which is pushing the ads. AirPush Detector searches a device’s installed apps list and points out which apps have the advertising system built-in. From there, the user can easily tap to uninstall.

What about the middle ground? You may despise AirPush but want to continue using the apps that feature it. AirPush Permanent Opt-out is a simple app to place on the phone and not have to worry about further notification ads. The app installs on a device and then prevents any Airpush ad from loading. It’s as easy as those set it and forget it commercials.

Editor’s Note: I’d like to take the time to remind people that AirPush exists because it pays developers more for advertising than they earn from their in-app ads that pay far less and practically no one clicks on purpose. Don’t be afraid to reward developers who release quality apps by purchasing premium or donate versions of worthwhile apps.

Airpush Permanent Opt-Out

Airpush Detector

One of the features that most has me excited about HTC Sense 3.0 is the ability to turn Wi-Fi and other features on or off from the Notification drop-down menu. Of course, I’ve already done this on Samsung Touchwiz phones I’ve briefly used and it’s a feature built into many custom ROM’s, including CyanogenMod.

But what if you want to toggle settings without rooting your phone? Well, that’s when you download an app called Notification Toggle. As the name implies, this allows you to toggle (turn on or off) common Android phone settings like Bluetooth, Brightness, Flashlight, Flight Mode, Rotation, Sound/Silent/Vibration, and Wi-Fi. Rather than press Menu > Settings from the home screen and dig through the list of options, Notification Toggle provides a one-tap solution to flip the switch on certain features.

Sadly, other features like 4G and GPS cannot be toggled directly; however, you will get shortcuts to the settings page. While Sense, Touchwiz, and CM allow you to see 4 or more icons that can quickly be tapped, Notification Toggle has a long list of shortcuts that need to be scrolled to access them all. There is a way to set-up a horizontal group of shortcuts using the “All in one” option, but the large icons are ugly and take up space.

Notification Toggle isn’t a perfect solution for anyone looking to get quick access to their settings. However, it can be exactly what the user ordered if someone needs only to quickly get to one or two common functions like Wi-Fi and screen rotation. Most importantly, it does not require the phone to be rooted. Download the app for free and see if this app turns you on or off as well as it does functions.

Launcher Pro Plus recently added the ability to “skin” its widgets. The popular Android homescreen replacement app was already great because it allowed users to customize their dock icons and background, but now they gain even more control over the way widgets look.

Before the current version of LPP allowed skinning, modders would alter the app’s graphics and have users manually install the custom version of LauncherPro Plus to replace the Market version. This was great for customizing, but less than good because it required users to wait for those modders to re-skin the app every time an update was released by its official developer, Federico Carnales.

Re-flash and wait no more. Launcher Pro Plus allows users to change their homescreen’s look by taking the following steps. (Note: You must install LauncherPro and unlock the Plus features through the paid Android Market app or the old PayPal method for this week).

1. Download themes from the Android Market
2. From LauncherPro Plus, press Menu > Preferences
3. Tap LP Widget Settings > People Widget (or any widget you wish to change)
4. Tap Select Skin and choose a theme

A restart of LauncherPro is required to see the change, so press “Yes” if you only have one widget to change. Press “No” and repeat the process until you have changed multiple widgets. Changing one widget at a time is tedious and less than ideal, but it can be a good option for people who want to combine skins and have a different look for different screens.

The widgets that ship with Launcher Pro were obviously inspired by HTC’s Sense UI, but what if you want those widgets to shamelessly rip off HTC’s work? Well, now you can by purchasing the LauncherPro Sense skin developed by a third-party. However, I’d suggest that you’re probably better off using one of the more creative themes offered by by people like CLe or signals23. Here’s a look at a few options that have launched this week. Click the image to be taken to its Android Market or search the Market for other options.

P.S. Practically every review I’ve done the past month has asked me what launcher I’m using. The answer is LauncherPro Plus 99% of the time. Here’s more info on the particular set-up that I’ve used recently.

LauncherPro Plus s23 BLOCKS

signals23

Honeycomb for Launcher Pro +

CLe

LauncherPro Minimal White Skin

PhilipK

LauncherPro Plus s23 GTX

signals23

The Amazon App Store has introduced some features that make it better than the Android Market, but only U.S. Android users have so far been able to access them. This doesn’t sit well with many of our British, Canadian, and other international readers.

Good news, Android users of the world! It turns out that the Amazon store is “U.S. only” in a very limited sense. XDA users in Canada, Norway, and the United Kingdom have reported that they managed to browse the Amazon App Store through telling a few web-based lies to Amazon’s account registry.

That’s because the Amazon App Store doesn’t actually check your location when signing-up; it checks the home address and credit card number associated with your Amazon account. That means entering a fake U.S. address and credit card number should open up the App Store to anyone in the world. This “hack” will not allow you to purchase apps, but you will be able to download the free Amazon exclusive apps, as well as the Free Android App of the Day that has been available to U.S. Android phones since the App Store launched earlier this week.

Here’s how to do it yourself, courtesy of About Everything.

1. Register for an e-mail address or use a throw-away account. DO NOT USE your current email address tied to Amazon because entering fake information is grounds to have your account suspended.

2. Register for a new account on Amazon using the disposable email address. Again, DO NOT use your regular Amazon account or email address.

3. Enter information as if you were based in the U.S. Go to www.fakenamegenerator.com for help in this regard. Enter the name, address, phone number, and credit card number (Amex, Mastercard, Visa ).

4. Download the Amazon App Store apk to your phone. Follow this tutorial for help in getting it on your phone.

5. Browse the Amazon App Store from your phone! You will not be able to access paid apps, but you can at least get the free apps that are exclusive to Amazon.I’ve double-checked with a staff member based in Europe and it worked, so good luck.

About Everything via XDA Developers

My favorite feature of the custom Android ROM MIUI is its native file manger that can turn your SD card into an FTP server over Wi-Fi with the press of a button.

In early 2011, I started using vanilla Gingerbread instead and I really missed the wireless, hassle-free file transfers that didn’t require a USB-cable.

I decided to find an alternative, and I luckily discovered the app SwiFTP FTP Server. It’s not as slick as the MIUI counterpart, but it has even more functionality.

Here’s how you can manage the files on your phone from your PC with any FTP client.

1. Head to the Android Market and download SwiFTP.
2. Start the app, and you’ll see a setup screen. Enter the username and password of your choice, and tap Save. You can ignore the other fields if you want.



3. The next screen will show three buttons: Start, Instructions and Setup. You just have to press the Start button, and the FTP server will be launched. You need to have a Wi-Fi connection on your phone before doing this.



4. On your PC, launch your favorite FTP client. If you don’t have one, I recommend FileZilla. It’s both open-source and awesome.
5. With your FTP client, connect to the server listed in SwiFTP on your phone under Wifi URL. The default IP address is 192.168.1.64, and the port is 2121.
6. You should now see your phone’s contents in your PC FTP client: files can be copied, moved and deleted. No more USB-cables for file transfers!

One of the great features of Google TV is the “Queue” feature that will act as your audio or video podcast subscription tool. Google offers a way to add to the queue by typing in RSS feeds in the GTV search bar and pressing subscribe, but there’s actually an easier way to sign-up.

Quite a few people don’t use RSS, but I strongly encourage Google TV users to take a look at Google Reader after the first time they add a feed to their GTV. A folder labeled “Google Queue” will appear containing links to your subscriptions. From here, you can add to feeds from your Listen subscriptions or from new feeds added from the browser.

Rather than repeatedly type in RSS feeds, why not just copy what you already subscribe to in Google Reader? Keep in mind that your Google TV device must be logged into the same Google account that you plan to use for syncing with Google Reader. Follow these steps to quickly add your feeds.

1. Go to “Queue” on your GTV menu and click “Sync with your Google account.” Then add any of the many feeds available in the “Explore” section. The next time you visit Google Reader, there should be a new folder labeled “Google Queue.”

2. To copy your existing feeds stored in Reader, hover over the right side of a folder and press the down arrow that appears. Then press “Create a bundle” to make a copy of the folder’s content, and drag any non-folder items you wish to add (optional). Title the bundle “Copy” or pretty much anything and press “Save.”

3. A page of bundles should appear. Click on the “Email to your friends” link and email the bundle to yourself. Then log-in to your email, click the “Preview __ in Google Reader” link, and then click the “Subscribe” button. Click the “view it in Reader” link that appears.

4. When logging back into Reader, you will see the “Copy” folder. Expand it by clicking on the “+” sign on the left. Now you can drag all of the links from “Copy” into the “Google Queue” folder.

5. The next time you return to the GTV Queue, the list of all your new content should be included. To add more feeds, just continue adding subscriptions as normal and drag them into the Google Queue folder using Reader.

Note: If the data doesn’t sync after 30 minutes, take the following steps on your Google TV. Applications > Settings > Accounts & sync > Google account and re-check “Sync Queue.” I’ve seen it take a couple of hours to update the new links, so be patient.

I love Android wallpapers, but I hate having to hunt them down. That’s why I browse Android forums in which people show off what they have discovered and ask them where they got a particular background image. Sadly, people often don’t respond or wait so long that I never notice the reply. Google Goggles might speed-up the process.

A Lifehacker reader points out that Goggles can identify images by scanning a photo and comparing it with other images found on the web. By using Goggles to analyze the screenshots people post, I stand a chance of finding out where that person got the image. And I get my answer instantly, so I’m not at the mercy of another person’s schedule.

I just visited one of many “Post Your Screen” threads at XDA and went through scanning images to test out how effective this can be, and the results were positive. Icon-heavy screens or images full of widgets were almost impossible to use because Goggles kept identifying the text rather than the background image. I was more likely to locate images by avoiding text and trying to get at least 3×2 of just the background image. That’s not always applicable, but it can help when asking the poster proves to be a dead end.

The next time you’re looking to discover what background someone uses, just fire up Google Goggles and you may be surprised with the results.

Update: Annnnddd it’s blocked. nevermind

——-

People have always managed to get Hulu working on devices that the television startup didn’t intend to be compatible. And Hulu has generally found a way to quickly put an end to those workarounds. However, we just found out how to get Hulu on Google TV in a way that hasn’t been blocked…yet.

CrunchGear points out that Xfinity.tv recently began streaming video online for subscribers. The Comcast-owned Xfinity.tv is powered by Fancast.com, which is powered largely by Hulu. So in effect, Comcast subscribers with Google TV can get the same television episodes and movies stored on Hulu without ever having to access its blocked website.

At the time of this post – November 5, 2010, 1:21 am – this trick works if you follow the steps written below. According to CrunchGear, you don’t need to be a Comcast member to access all the videos. Some videos require a Comcast digital subscription (cable television service), so even if you only use Comcast for TV and AT&T for your Internet, you still have access provided you have a valid Comcast ID. It’s possible that Hulu will manage to block this soon, but in the meantime, have at it!

How to set it up:

1. Open Google TV’s Chrome app

2. Press Menu > More > Settings > Advanced

3. Press Mode and change from “Default” to “Generic”

4. Go to Xfinity.tv and log-in with your Comcast ID or e-mail information

5. Watch videos

6. Follow Androinica.com on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube so you can keep tabs on everything we do.