[ACS][How-To]Get Google+ Huddle On Your Computer[Easy Way + Alternatives]

All download links and the tutorial video can be found in my original thread on the ACSyndicate Forums.
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Howdy everyone, this is the thread I'm putting together to walk everyone through the step-by-step process fellow ACS member ShabbyPenguin and I have concocted to get Google+ Huddle on your desktop. There's a video, there's files, there's awesomeness! But first...

Shout Outs
If you Google search "Get Huddle On Your Desktop", there's a number of tutorials on getting Android to work on your desktop. We used these tutorials to get started and used user comments to help troubleshoot problems we had. I'd list individual links but we used pretty much all of them.

Shabbypenguin for getting the Market to work better, getting Google+ to work on the emulator and creating the file everyone will be downloading and using. I really couldn't have done this without his expertise. I linked his name to one of his posts so you can give him thanks as well

Me for getting the Market to work in the first place, getting interwebz to work in the emulator on a permanent basis, having the idea and writing this thread

JunkDruggler and Greenmuggy for the awesome on-the-fly graphics!

Lastly, of course, is everyone who helped by testing to be sure it worked. Thank you!

Why?
Huddles are a brilliant way for a large amount of people to keep in touch with one another. It uses social networking to make adding people to the chat easy, it doesn't use a lot of battery life and makes it convenient for getting a hold of people wherever you are. One massive, gaping problem, though, is no desktop client. Instead of trying to talk everyone I know into using Skype, IRC or other ways of talking to mass people on a desktop, it was decided that Huddle must be ported to be used on a desktop. It was the only logical conclusion.

With that in mind. We got Google+ running with full internet and market access. However, it was a hell of a process and took many hours of troubleshooting and collaborating. To simplify the process, Shabbypenguin exported the entire set up into a universally importable file so that anyone with Virtual Box can port it in (with a few tweaks made) and start using their Google+ Huddle on their computer. Once Virtual Box is installed and the .zip for the import is downloaded, it takes 5 minutes to set up. We are not the first people to get it to work, but we are the first to make it a painless, easy process to make it available to a mass number of people with minimal effort.


Features
*Android 2.2 (FroYo) emulated in Virtual Box (We had to use FroYo, it had the most stable internet connections)
*Market works...mostly.
*Google+ and Huddle work flawlessly
*Full internet usability (such as web browsing)

Specifications
*Has been confirmed working on Windows 7 and Linux. Since it's an environment run in Virtual Box and not on the actual OS, there's no reason to believe that it won't run on a Mac as well.

*According to my task manager, Virtual Box running this uses between 75MB and 90MB worth of RAM. There's no conceivable way you have less than that...but if you do, your computer is going to lag hardcore.

Installation Instructions
01. Download and install Virtual Box from their official website. Do a normal installation, no special instructions required.

02. Download the VHD (virtual hard disk..*snicker*) from the original thread at ACSyndicate.

03. Move the VHD you just downloaded somewhere where you won't forget it or accidentally delete it.

04. Use your favorite archive program (I prefer 7zip) to extract the contents right there in the folder.

05. Double-click (or otherwise open) the file that was unzipped entitled "Froyo". Not Froyo-disk1. This will open up Virtual Box and import our pre-made FroYo emulator into your Virtual Box.

Now it would appear as though you're done. However, because this was ported from a computer that wasn't yours, there's some stuff you need to check (and maybe change) to make it specific to your computer. Please follow the remaining directions as they'll likely solve your problems.

06. Before booting up, there's a couple of settings you need to change. So go to "Settings" (should be a button at the top), then select "Network" from the left margin. Make sure "Enable Network Adapter" is checked. Then select as follows:
Attached to: You want "Bridged Adapter"
Name: Use the drop down menu and select your primary network card / network adapter / whatever. Usually the first thing in the drop down menu.

Click *advanced* to drop that menu down if it isn't already.
Adapter Type: PCnet-FAST III (Am79C973)
It is very important that adapter type is set to PCnet-FAST III. Not sure if the numbers in the parenthesis are the same, but the essential part is PCnet-FAST III

Promiscuous Mode: Allow All (not sure this even matters, but it can't hurt to be sure)
MAC Address: should be filled in automatically.

Lastly, check the box that says "Cable connected". That was a long step.

From here if you double click "FroYo" in Virtual Box, it will boot up Android 2.2 inside the emulator. It'll get to a pre-boot menu asking about which one you want to boot, just select the top one (hdpi).

Important
Once you hit the Android boot screen, go up to where it says "Machine" and click "Disable Mouse Integration". This will allow you to move freely within the emulator using your mouse. You MUST do this on every boot. So if you close out, remember to do it again.

Lastly
When you go to sign into Google+ for the first time (you'll find it in the app drawer), it'll ask for your gmail and password like normal. Type in your username and password like normal. You MAY get some stupid error about using special characters in the email address. Hit "okay" and it'll go back to the prior screen. DO NOT RE-TYPE YOUR USERNAME. Just click in the password box and it'll auto-fill the "@gmail.com" part for you and work properly the 2nd time you do it.


Known Issues
*You will frequently get notifications that the system can't get updated Market data. Disregard, this is meaningless.
*Occasionally you'll get an error notification about signing into gTalk. Disregard, this is meaningless.
*You will get miscellaneous error notifications. Ignore them. This is for Huddle and Huddle only with a few other basic functions. We're not going to be troubleshooting (read: fixing) these.
*Sometimes it appears as though the battery is draining. Do not be alarmed, your battery will not die and the emulator won't crash.
*Sound does NOT work and, obviously, neither does vibration so you will not hear any notifications. You'll have to open up the window to check your Huddle.

Pro Tips
1. The "esc" key and right clicks on the mouse function like the "back" button. The "Home" key on your keyboard functions as the "home" button in the emulator.
2. Once you're all signed in and ready to go, back out to the home screen, open the app drawer and go to settings. Then navigate to display and change the screen time out setting to "never timeout". This will prevent the emulator from dropping back to the lock screen.
3. You will not be able to copy/paste things from outside the emulator to inside the emulator and vice versa. Don't try it.
4. If you stay in the Huddle app, it'll automatically put the focus in the text box when you open up the window so you don't have to click in it to start typing. Just start typing.
5. If you need to scroll up and down in a huddle conversation real fast, click in the text box then use the up and down arrows. much easier than using the mouse to click and drag.
6. The "tab" key will not ever work. Don't try it.
7. Personally, I never exit Huddle, so when I open the Window it's always right there. If you plan on using this as a Huddle-only thing (like you're supposed to), then it's recommended to just leave Huddle open.

Screenshots


Video
Video is an Android Creative Syndicate exclusive. Please to to the original thread to view!

If you'd like to donate, the link in my signature on the ACSyndicate Forums will let you...no pressure!​