iMito MX1 - the mini pc

Upon the advice of my buddy - Roy, I purchased a TV stick online while I was traveling in the Silicon Valley visiting my son. I didn't know much about this gadget and I was simply tempted by the headlines which said: " iMito MX1 Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Dual Core TV BOX RK3066 1.6Ghz Cortex A9 1GB RAM 8G ROM HDMI Silver ".

Two and half weeks later, this gadget was delivered registered to my door. I had to say I was surprised to receive it in such a short time considering the unit was shipped all the way from Asia. The TV stick was nicely packed in a hard-box, very much like an iphone box.

The TV stick is not much bigger than an thumb drive. It has a hdmi out at one end, an extension cable is provided, just like an usb out on an thumb drive. The other end it has an micro-usb port for power and an regular usb port for attaching accessory like a mouse. On one side of the stick it has a micro sdhc slot which can accept up 32gb card and another micro-usb port. It should be noted that there is a conversion cable from micro-usb to regular usb is also provided.

The following is a log of what I have done to this device so far:

December 13, 2012 - Firmware Update

I remember when I was browsing on the vendor's website, there was an new update from the manufacturer on Nov.29, 2012. So this became my first task. The update can be downloaded from here:

http://blog.geekbuying.com/index.php/2012/11/30/imito-mx1mx2-new-stock-firmware-release-on-29th-nov/

The installation procedures of the update was explained on the webpage.
For some reasons, the update couldn't finish from image stored on the micro sd card. Before I tried for the third time, I decided to reformat the micro-sd card using FAT32 file system and then put the image on the card again. This time the update did finish and the device was updated to Android 4.1.1

December 16, 2012 - Rooting The Device

Rooting iMito MX1 requires a pc/laptop connection.  If a pc is used, it would be much easier if the pc is connected to a separate monitor rather than sharing the tv that iMito is connected to so you don't have to keep changing the input which can be confusing at times.

The instructions in rooting the device can be found at the following website:

http://yourdeal12.blogspot.ca/2012/11/how-to-root-imito-mx1-android-tv-box.html

In a nutshell, you download two files:
MoboroboSetup_V2.0.7.501(Moborobo_En_official).exe and
TPSarky-VonDroid-Root.rar which you unrar into a folder.

My pc is installed with Windows 7 64bit O/S.  When I ran MoboroboSetup, it found the android device but fail to connect!  Instead when I connected iMito MX1 to my pc, Windows 7 installed the drivers automatically.

 Also, when I ran TPSparkyRoot.bat, iMito MX1 indeed rebooted 3 times but each time I had to click the mouse to boot up the device =>  Rebooting is NOT an automatic process.

Finally, "SuperSu" app had to be installed from Play Store but "Root Explorer" was installed by TPSparkyRoot.bat

Installing XBMC

After firmware updated and the device is rooted, now is the time to install some useful apps to enjoy this TV stick device.  The most interesting app that come to my mind is XBMC which is something I heard a lot but don't know much about. Here's the link:

http://www.xbmcandroid.com/2012/12/10/how-to-install-xbmc-nightly-with-external-player-on-the-mk802-stick-or-other-android-tv-devices/

The article has very detail step-by-step instructions. By following 51 steps in total, I was successful in installing XBMC on iMito MX1.

Connecting 32bit Windows XP to 64bit Windows 7

It has been very frustrating in the past couple days trying to make a 32bit Windows XP pc talk to a 64bit Windows 7 pc. The first objective to accomplish by talking to each other is to share a common printer and the secondary objective is to share files. As it turned out, the fix was quite simple. Besides the usual same workgroup name and file sharing feature was turned on for those folders you wanted to share, the Node Type of the 64bit Windows 7 pc has to be "Hybrid". To find out the Node Type, open a command terminal and type "ipconfig/all|more" on the Windows 7 pc. If the value is not Hybrid, then you have to change it using regedit. From the Start button, type "regedit" in the search box. Navigate to "\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT" and change the value to 8. That's it.

False Sense of Security Using WEP Encryption

Couple weeks ago, I accidently stumbled upon BackTrack Linux (http://www.backtrack-linux.org/).  By following the how-to tutorial, I successfully installed BackTrack 5 on a persistent usb thumb drive http://www.infosecramblings.com/backtrack/backtrack-4-usbpersistent-changesnessus/).  The logical thing to do after that was to try out different tools they offer.  The following is the write-up of my attempt to crack my own network which is secured by basic wep encryption.  The result of my test concluded that I was able to decrypt the key used to SECURE my router in no time at all.  I think it is about time I should upgrade my network security to WPA2.

The cracking program I used is called aircrack-ng which consists of a set of tools for auditing wireless networks.  I used a total of 3 separate terminal sessions simultaneously to crack the wep encryption key.

Terminal Session #1

1. First, I want to find out the status of my network interfaces, both wired and wireless by typing the following command: 

          ifconfig

     2.  Alternatively, if you are only interested in wireless interface, you can use

          airmon-ng

          Pay special attention to see whether you have wlan0 or wlan1.  For the
          purpose of this discussion, we will use wlan0.

     3.  Next we want to bring up the wlan0 in monitor mode:

          airmon-ng start wlan0

     4.  Then, we start scanning the available networks in our neighbourhood:

          airodump-ng mon0

          wait for 1 minute and then stop by monitoring process by typing CTRL+C

     5.  From the output in 4, identify the wirelss network with wep encryption
          that belong to you and write down the following information:
          - channel #
          - bssid #
          - essid #
          - station #

     6.  Start capturing data packets of your network into a file to be feed into
          cracking program:

          airodump-ng -c xx -w wepcrack --bssid xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx mon0

          Wait for 1 min and make sure the values of power and beacons are
          constantly changing.  We need about 15,000 data packets to have a
          successful crack. (Note: c = channel, w = write to)

Terminal Session #2

     7.  In order to speed up the capturing process, we start up 2nd
          terminal session while the 1st terminal still running and type
          the following command:

          aireplay-ng -1 0 -a xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx -e xxxxx mon0

          (Note: -1 = fake authentication with AP, 0 = deauthenticate once,
                      -a = bssid, -e = essid)

     8.  After successful fake authentication and deauthentication, start
          standard ARP request replay as follows:

          aireplay-ng -3 -b xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx -e xxxxx mon0

          After a short while, it begins to send data packets at an accelerated rate.
          To achieve our target of 15,000 should take no time at all.
          (Note: -3 = Standard ARP request replay)

Terminal Session #3

      9.  Once we have enough data packets ( > 15,000 ) captured, we can start
           our cracking process by starting a 3rd terminal session while terminal
           session 1 & 2 are still running and type the following command:

           aircrack-ng wepcrack*.cap

         

Increase Icon and Text Size for Nook Color - CM7

Every time when I use my NC, one thing that bothers me the most is the icon size and text size.  This must be a common problem associate with old-age.  When comparing Nook Color CM7-built to Ipad, the appearance of the icon and text are just too small.  So my next mission is to make them bigger and larger which involves changing ro.sf.lcd_density=161 to ro.sf.lcd_density=200 in the file build.prop stored under /system directory.

However, before you can make the change, you have to change the file system access for /system from read only to read and write.  The easiest way is to download and install ES File Explorer app which allow you to change the file system attribute under settings.  Once the ES File Explorer is installed, tab the icon to open the app. Tab the Settings and then Root options.  Select both Root Explorer and Mount File System as writable.

Once you have the write access, you can easily open the build.prop in text mode and make the change from 161 to 200 as above.

"Beef-up" B&N NookColor Android Tablet

On April 25, 2011, B&N sent out email to all registered owners about the firmware upgrade from 1.1.0 to 1.2.0.  More importantly, this firmware upgrade includes Android OS upgrade from stock 2.1(Eclair) to 2.2 (Froyo), access to a broad selection of Nook apps, free full-featured email client to access webmail and support for Adobe Flash Player.  I would consider this to be a major upgrade and take NookColor to the next level closer to a tablet.  Since this upgrade would require an unrooted NookColor, I decided to give Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread) and overclock the cpu a try first before I choose the official update.

Android OS 2.3 Upgrade



The OS upgrade is rather simple.  You need a software called Clockwork Mod Recovery which can be downloaded from ( http://legacyschool.us.to/nookdev/clockwork/0.7/ ) .  Be careful to download the correct compressed file correspond to the size of the microSD card you are going to put software on.   You then use 7zip ( http://www.7-zip.org/download.html ) to extract the image file onto your desktop.  Finally, you need another software called Win32Imager( https://wiki.kubuntu.org/Win32DiskImager ) to burn the image onto the microSD card. 

There is a popular Android 2.3 OS called CyanogenMod 7 (CM7) available in a zip file format.  This can be downloaded from here http://forum.cyanogenmod.com/topic/20138-cyanogenmod-7-for-barnes-noble-nook-color-v702-25-april-2011/ .  While you are there, it is also worthwhile to download Google Apps addon, which is also available in zip file format.  After these 2 zip files are downloaded onto your computer, copy them onto the microSD card and it is time to work on the NookColor.

Insert the microSD card into the NookColor and press the power button to boot up the device from the microSD card.  First, you need to wipe out the cache partition followed by Dalvik cache partition.  Next, you want to go back the menu once by pressing the power button.  Here, the NookColor would freeze-up.  DON'T panic, just power down the NookColor and then power up the NookColor again.  On the main menu, scroll down to select install zip from SD card and then select the CM7 zip file to install.  After the CM7 installation is finished, select the Google Apps addon zip file to install.

Lastly, take out the microSD card from the NookColor and restart the tablet and you should have Android OS 2.3 loaded on your NookColor.

Overclock The CPU

The installation of CyanogenMod 7 above already includes 950 MHz overclock from 800 MHz stock speed.  If you want to take it further, you can download the Darlingrin's OC kernel from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=925451 .  This particular kernel will max out the CPU @ 1100 MHz.  When you download the OC kernel, make sure you choose the one correspond to your Android OS.  Once the zip file is downloaded, you would then copy the zip file to the microSD card that you have akready prepared from the step above.  Put the microSD card into the NookColor and power up.  On the main menu, scroll down to install zip from SD card and then select the OC zip file.  Once the installation is complete, take out the microSD card, reboot the NookColor and your are basically done.

In closing, I am pretty much finish with what I start out do with my LG Optimus One and B&N NookColor.  Thank you for tuning-in to my blogs and all the encouragement I've received in the past few weeks.  I think I will take a break for now until I can think of something interesting to write about.

My LG Optimus One Has Transformed Into An "OFF-LINE" Navigation Device

After unlocking my LG Optimus One and constructing a VOIP infrastructure to make free outgoing calls, my next project is to turn this cell phone into a r-e-a-l GPS.  LG Optimus has a built-in gps chip in the cell phone, but the stock gps software - "Navigation" requires a data plan and could become very expensive when you are travelling south to the States.  As I understand it, most cell phone navigation software requires a data plan in order to download the map as you are travelling during your trip.

To accomplish this project, the first app I try is MapDroid which is a free app from the Android Market.  Mapdroid allows you to view maps which can be downloaded free from OpenStreetMap.  OpenStreetMap claims it covers the whole world through collaborative effort from the public at large.  The viewing of the download map using MapDroid is static.  It is not interactive with the user and does not give you any directions to go from point A to point B.  However, I think it is still nice to have a city map on your cell phone that does not cost you anything.  For more information about this app, just follow this link below:

http://www.mapdroyd.com/

The second app I try is called CoPilot Live.  This paid app has different maps of the world and the North America edition would cost about $20 U.S.  If you download the apps from the Android Market, the installation is very simple.  On the other hand, if you install it from the sdcard, you have to make sure "allow installation of non-market applications" is checked under Unknown Sources <- Applications <- Settings. This apps has premium voice-guided turn-by-turn GPS navigation with USA & Canada street maps stored on your phone so you can navigate "offline" without a data connection. CoPilot Live is packed with advanced navigation features including 3D maps, Lane Assist arrows, millions of POIs, multi-stop trip planning and more.  So far, I am very impressed by this apps and the 3.2" display screen of the phone seems quite adequate for this navigation software.

The developer of this navigation software has a video on youtube for your viewing pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LBClgC-Bcg&feature=player_embedded

Before I come to any conclusion, I would like to try out one more app called iGO My Way.  Hopefully, I can do that in the not too distant future when I can get hold of it on the internet.

How BN Nook Color Becomes BN Android Tablet

Barnes & Noble Nook Color

Rooting is my first project in turning the Barnes & Nobel Nook Color into an Android Tablet. Without any modification, Nook Color is just an ordinary color eBook reader offered by Barnes & Noble. However, with a little bit of work, you can easily turn this device into an Android tablet which would normally cost about $500. Given the vast amount of information available on the internet, it's only a matter of time before you know how to do it.


What you need for this project is a micro sdhc card and an Auto-Nooter 2.12.25 rom image for your Nook Color. The rom image varies depending on the firmware version of your Nook (i.e. 1.0.0, 1.0.1 or 1.1.0). You also need a Win32DiscImager software to burn the auto-nooter rom image onto the micro sdhc card using your computer


  

Nook Color Before Rooting

After this is done, next you put that micro sdhc card into your Nook Color and connect that to your computer. After several minutes, the NC would power on by itself. You then touch the Android icon in the middle of the screen to begin the initial setup.

Nook Color After Rooting

After pressing the "Skip The Introduction", you will come to Google sign-in screen. Put in your username and password and then press "Done". If you come back to the Google account sign-in screen again without any error messages, that means you have succesfully sign-in to your Google
accout. Now press "back" icon will return you to Google Account set up screen. Since you have already sign in, just press the "Skip" button and you will end up in "Use Google Location" screen. Press "Next" and then "Home" will take you to the normal Home screen

Lastly, power down the device and take out the micro sdhc card and you are done.






So, after all these steps, what have you really gained? The Android Market. With access to Android Market, you can download all the apps you need and install onto this devise to make it a truly tablet.