How to stop Facebook Messenger from automatically downloading images in Android

Well, if you haven't noticed, Facebook Messenger has been automatically downloading images from conversations to your phone. Here's how to turn it off:

The general idea is to block FB Messenger from accessing your storage in the Application Settings of your phone.

1. Go to your Android phone's Settings > Applications > Application Manager > Messenger
2. Tap the Permissions option

3. Turn off the Storage option.

It should look like this:

Done! You're Welcome!

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How to run bluestacks with Android Studio (seriously)

How to run or connect BlueStacks emulator with Android Studio:
1. DO NOT touch any file or adb or whatever in your android studio.
2. !important! Close Android Studio first or make sure that it is not running.
3. Open BlueStacks

• Wait for the BlueStacks to load. You might see splash screens like this but do not touch anything.

• For first time use you need to set-up the emulator by choosing a language and logging in to your Google account.

4. Open Android Studio

• Wait for it to fully load and create/open your project.
• Go to Run > Run App
• Select the new emulator. It comes in many names! Mine is set as Samsung device. Just select it and click OK and wait for the project to compile.
• Go to the BlueStacks window and click the app you created. The name of the app is the name of your Android App project.

I will upload screenshots shortly!

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How to (really) resolve or fix Gradle project sync failed error in Android Studio

I've installed Android studio recently and got this frustrating gradle sync error. Clicking the Try Again link on the error message a million times did not help. I've tried different approaches from different blog posts including those that asked to install the Gradle manually but to no avail. I've thought, Android Studio should be intelligent and self-sustaining so let me try fixing it their way. 

So what I did was (or were *wink*)
*drum rroooollllssss*

1. I uninstalled Android Studio. Because f**k.
Kidding! I just wanted to restart and have a fresh version.

2. Installed Android Studio again because I needed it. Mobile Development, why not? I also opened the software via Run As Administrator. I don't know if it makes a difference but I did it anyway.

3. Waited for project to try gradle sync. But of course this will yield error again so proceed to next step.

4. Look at the error message and click the link(s) to install missing files or whatsoever. Look at the screenshot below:

I initially had 3 error messages there. I just clicked the links for installation, waited for Android studio to download and install them and waited yet again for the project to refresh.

!Important: You need to be connected to an internet connection. Your internet speed should be relatively faster. Believe me.

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My ideas for thesis papers for under grads

I have lots of ideas regarding students' projects, some I really thought about while others just came pass my mind. Here are some of them:

1. Water bill counter-checker
This involves a device and a software. The idea is to check the actual consumption of a household versus the billed consumption. Maybe a device could be installed in all of the water outlets in the house, including the toilet flush, to check how much water are discharged and if it reflects properly on the billing. The goal is not to bill the consumer since water districts add other fees in the bill. The goal is to just check if the amount of water recorded in the billing is close to the actual amount discharged. This can help check if there are tapped connections or leaks that the household is unaware of.

2. Street lights auto switch
I've seen some street lights that are still on even thought it's already noon time. What a waste of electricity! So I thought, why not have an automatic switch that turns them on at 5:30pm and turns them off at 5:30am? Of course a manual override should still be possible.

To be continued...

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How to access MySQL database of your website using SQL Yog

To be able to do this you should have the following:
- permission to set-up and configure your hosting database
- username and password to access the database

1. Login to your web hosting control panel and select the option for Remote MySQL.
*You need this because we want to access the database remotely, using SQL Yog.
If you're using SiteGround's hosting, the icon for Remote MySQL looks like this:

2. Add an access host.

You can get your public IP Address and put it as access host. This means that your IP address will be recognized by the database so that you can access it. If you're not sure of your IP address, you can put the percentage (%) which means "wild card". This will allow ANY IP ADDRESS to access your database. This will work but is DANGEROUS so better set your IP instead.

3. Set-up SQL Yog to access your website's server.

Just input the credentials and you're good to go. Be careful with your live data! Make sure to BACK-UP first before touching anything. And oh, secure your backup in a proper location too!

The values are as follows:

Saved Connections - this is the name of your connection just for you to easily recognize it. Any name will do.

MySQL Host Address - this is the name of your website (ex. www.example.com) where your database is located. Note that if the database is in a different server you may put a different name here. You can also put the IP Address instead.

Username - your database username. The one that you used to access your database.

Password - your database password.

Hope this helps.

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How to put icon on the tab of your website

Let's keep it short!

This icon is called FAVICON. Here are the steps to put an icon or image of your website that will appear on the tab of the browser, just before the website title:

1. Create an image sized 16x16 and save it as png.
2. Put this code snippet on the <head> part of your website.
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="favicon.png">
Note: Make sure that the image name and location in your href is correct.

Example of implementation is:
<head>
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="favicon-juanreview.png">
</head>

I implemented this in my website JuanReview (www.juanreview.com)!

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Review on PLDT Home Ultera

Q: Why did we get PLDT Home Ultera?
A: We didn't. We had a SMART Bro connection at home for 999 per month. One day, a technician from SMART went to our house and said that there's a mandatory "upgrade" which means faster internet for the same price. Of course we availed! Who didn't like upgrades right?

P.S. If you look at it, Ultera is offered at 699 at the market now and we're still freakingly paying it for 999 a month because we're still with our previous SMART Bro Plan 999. Unfair.

Q: So how was it?
A: Let me count the ways:

1. Our bandwidth increased BUT we have this limit of something-Gig worth of download per month. If we reached our limit, the bandwidth will decrease. Talk about Torrent downloads, we cannot maximize the connection unlike when we we're still on SMART Bro.

2. We cannot change our own router's user name and password. Which sucks! We have this theory that our router is connected to a "mother" router where all Ultera users in our area are connected that's why we cannot change the router's username and password.

3. We're getting a LOT of captcha every time we browse. Which sucks, again!
Whenever we click a link from facebook or even going directly to a site, a page for captcha needs to be answered first. Every. Effin. Time. When you browse, you need to fill up a captcha. When you want to read an important article, you need to fill up the captcha. What the?!

Most of the time, the captcha is like this:

Q: Will you recommend it?
A: No. Our internet got slower. Sometimes the internet connection gets lost. A million captcha needs to be filled up before you can browse. Just No.

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