Using ADB to install apk files (sideload) onto a Nook HD

A typical android device allows you to install any android setup file (apk).
But my Nook HD has a restriction imposed by Barnes and Nobles that prevents me from installing an apk files. The only way they want you to install files is from Google Play.

So below are instructions for installing Android applications from apk files on the Nook HD. 
You will need to a usb cable to connect the Nook HD to your PC.

IMPORTANT: BELOW WAS VERIFIED ON WINDOWS 7.
ALSO VERIFIED that it DOES NOT WORK ON WINDOWS XP FOR ME (23:06 19/12/2013)



1) From your PC, ONETIME Download ADB + FastBoot + Drivers from http://four-nineteen.com/veronica/XDA%20Developers/Nook%20Tablet/DRIVERs/ADB%20+%20Fastboot%20+%20Drivers.zip and extract to a subdirectory..

2) In your Nook HD settings (goto Settings->All Settings->Device Information->Developer Options), make sure "Enabled ADB" is checked".

3) Make sure your Nook HD is not plugged in to your PC.

4) In your PC, double click on runmefirst.bat from extracted files.

5) The new command window will warn you again to ensure your HD is not connected to your computer.
Press any key to accept.
Then it should say you already have an ID or USB ID has been setup. And it will ask you to install your Nook Drivers. THis can be done as follows (ONETIME STEP):
    a) Plug in your device and open device manager.
    b) If drivers arent installed, your device will shows as a failed state with a name like BNTV400 or BNTV600 (WARNING - even if it shows up in Device Manager under "Portable Devices" as MyNook but nothing appears under "Android Phone", that means you have not enabled ADB on your Nook. FOllow instructions in Step 2).
    c) Double click on your device to open its properties and select Update Driver.
    d) In windows 7, choose Browse my computer for driver software. THen choose Have Disk or again choose Let me pick from a list of devices. Then choose Have Disk.
    e) Browse and select the android_winusb.inf in usbdrivers directory.
    f) select ok and choose Android Composite ADB Interface. Select ok again to confirm and if prompted that it has not been signed, click ignore.
    g) FInally, your device should show up in Device Manager under Android Phone as Android Composite ADB Interface (it should also appear under "Portable Devices" as MyNook)!

6) Now open a command prompt window and navigate to the current folder where adb is available. (in administrator mode).

7) In the command prompt window, enter "adb install yourfile.apk" (replace yourfile.apk with the full path of your apk file).

8) After the "successfully installed" message, reboot your Nook by entering "adb reboot".

9) After the Nook has loaded again, enter "adb kill-server" (to stop adb server). Disconnect your Nook from computer.

Solution for View Source menu opening Desktop

Problem

Out IT team had do downgrade Internet Explorer on one of the system from IE8 to IE6.

Strange things began to happen after that. One frustrating issue was with clicking on the View -> Source menu in Internet Explorer 6. Instead of opening the page source in notepad, it was opening a new explorer view and showing the Desktop!!!

Googling didn't help - there were plenty of people with the same problem but no solution.

Thankfully, I knew it was a registry corruption issue and was able to identify the fix indirectly from some sites.

Actual Fix

1. Open regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer.
3. Here, there should be a key called "View Source". Simply delete this key (if you feel unsafe, you can backup just this key before deletion).
4. Restart your internet explorer and the problem is solved!

Actual Cause
In HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer, IE 7 and 8 has a key called "View Source". This contents of this key is used to define which Editor will open when you select View Source from the menu. Unfortunately, when IE 7 or IE 8 gets rolled back to IE6, the contents of the "View Source" key is deleted from registry but not the key itself.
So when IE6 starts, it finds the key and incorrectly expects the editor settings there.
Deleting the "View Source" registry key causes IE to use notepad.exe to display the source by default!

Google Sky Map Review

I finally found the ultimate app out there for Android - no surprise its from Google!
You just point the phone at the sky and it shows you the names of the heavenly objects on screen!!! Stars, planets, constellations, galaxies even! Also, in case you cant find it, you can type the name, eg: moon, and voila, it guides you to which part of the sky that object currently is.

And there is a new feature called time travel, whereby you can view the sky forward or backward in time - so u can see historic eclipses or plan your future ones.

Another nice thing is that, though it uses GPS to automatically find your current position, in case your GPS is slow, or you dont have GPS, or you simply want the sky details of another point on the planet, you have an option to directly enter the coordinates (latitude and longitude - which you can find out from wikimapia). Combine this with the cool Time Travel feature, and you can plan when to take your girlfriend to the beach so u wont miss the sunset next week for super brownie points ;)!