a Flo + a Blog = a Flog » Electronics

Blackberry upgrade 4.2.2 to 4.5

Florian — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:41:37 +0000

I have had my BlackBerry Curve aka 8300 for quite a long time and I have been using it heavily from telneting/sshing to server to maps and calendar syncs. I thought I had done it all. I rejoiced when I've read while looking for something else that the OS revision 4.5 was available from my carrier.

There's a lot of awesome stuff here, with multimedia streaming support, Microsoft Office document editing and HTML e-mail support at the fore. I am still waiting for RIM to tune up its Web browser, though—it's falling behind the options available on Windows Mobile, Symbian, and the iPhone.

Some of the new features are handheld-only; some require server upgrades. If you're on BlackBerry Enterprise Server, your IT department will need to upgrade; if you're on BlackBerry Internet Service, you'll need to wait a few months for your carrier to upgrade.

bberry-upgrades

I have read a lot of posts and things about how to upgrade its BlackBerry and it sounded somehow dangerous and scary as some users reported some bricking... In fact, it is very very easy. I got tired reading all the bad stories and warnings on forums and decided to get the information from the source. The download section of the blackberry.com site had a comprehensive listing of the good stuff.

My upgrade followed these steps:

Download and install the latest BlackBerry Desktop Manager. This was the first time for to use it and I found it pretty neat, never had the need for it as a BES user.
Reboot
Download the OS update from the very same site. It even checks your PIN so you download the right one.
Install the OS update. Once done connect you BBerry and follow the update instructions.

I ran into a few issues while upgrading but nothing was relate to the upgrade itself. I got scared when it fails during ROM upgrade. In fact, my usb drivers for my devices were not installed properly and it would not connect to the device as the device "was not working properly" as per windows. this said, the install retry went well as I installed those drivers once and for all - it probably asked me 3 times for the very same drivers.

The only bad things about this upgrade it that it is very slow, if not very very slow. While the ROM upgrade itself is fast (10min), the first boot up after upgrade is painfully slow and it took my Blackberry about 35 minutes to come back from the upgrading dead.

So what's new in this new OS revision?

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8100 or BlackBerry 8800, you'll get:

Spell check
BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
Improved media player with play list support and automatic playlist generation
Voice note recording
Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player
Bluetooth stereo music
Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have a BlackBerry Pearl 8130, you'll get:

Automatic play list generation in the media player
Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have any BlackBerry Curve or the BlackBerry 8820 or 8830, you'll get:

BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
Improved media player with play list support and automatic playlist generation
Voice note recording
Video recording on Curve models
Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player
Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

If you have a BlackBerry 8700 or 8703e, you'll get:

Spell check
BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
New pictures and ringtones applications
Voice note recording
Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo

Also there are a bunch of BES advantage that I was not able to test as I don't have full BES authority at work but they list as below:

Native format attachment downloading
HTML e-mails
Over-the-air device upgrades
Free/busy calendar lookup
Searching the server for old e-mail messages

iPod without iTunes

Florian — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:17:39 +0000

A few days ago I bought a iPod shuffle. You know one of those tiny things with 1 Go of memory on it with no LCD display of any sort to see what tune is playing but eh that's enough.

I was a bit annoyed when I asked the sale lady if I had to use iTunes to upload my songs on it. Indeed, not that iTunes is not a nice piece of software, I found it pretty intrusive and not so friendly to me, it controls too many things in my view. Plus if doesn't really put the files on the devices in a nice UMS (universal mass storage) should be. You end up with folder and renamed songs on your device making it unfriendly, especially with something like the most simpliest of the iPod: the shuffle. Not to mention that you cannot use our iPod with more than one computer using iTunes... bad...really bad. Well then you end up buying 2 iPod..NOT!
Anyhow I have found a few solutions:

1. Winamp 5.2
2. vPod
3. iShuffle
4. Play with iTunesSD

1. I realized quite with surprise that my good old winamp (version 5.2 and up only, you'll need a plugins for earlier versions) support iPod devices and other music devices. So you can use the media library to drag and drop your tunes to the podpod. Quite Handy no hassles and I am sure Winamp is a good party - always get the minimal version tho! Well it will still use the Apple iPod format of your songs.
2. When I first tried to find something to use my iPod without iTunes I found this: vPod. This piece of software reads the iTunesSD and shows for you the content of the iPod, plus allows you to download tunes into your device. Easy, simple I like that. You can also removed your tunes from the podpod off course.

3. this iPod shuffle is simple, it is just a media storage with a mp3 playing chipset. A nice guy created a clever soft to manipulate the iTunesSD music DB of the suffle to point to somewhere else. Simply drag your files in to a directory of your shuffle, synchronize your DB with this soft and voilà! That is what I call nice and clean.

4. I started to have a look at this DB that tell your iPod and iTunes where the songs are. Well I have not been playing with it a lot (only 1 hour) and here is what I found, a nice website with the explanation of the content it. I dont have time to play with it, but it could be interesting, especially as I have seen a few ipod class for some programming stuff.

New Lens / Sigma 55-200 4-5.6

Florian — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:24:20 +0000

It has been some time since I bought my dSLR now, but I never really used it. I have been using the kit lens (18-55) more or less without pushing it to the limit - noticing for flares against the light from time to time. But when shooting at events like festivals or such I felt so distant from the scene not able to shoot faces and do some fancy close up on clothes.

I needed a lens that goes beyond 55mm. Something covering 18-above, is really pricy. So when I saw this 55-200 for $150CAD, I jumped on it. A very mint sigma less about which I have read a lot of good things about.

Well it is not a high end lens of anything, just good for me to shoot more covering with 2 lenses 18 - 200mm!

Check out a review here.

And the recall goes on!

Florian — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:39:22 +0000

After those guys from Dell and Apple using the Sony batteries on their laptop, it seems that afther the Thinkpad explosing in LAX last week unveilled some worries at Lenovo...

Dear Lenovo Customer,

Lenovo and IBM Corporation, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies, have announced the voluntary recall of certain lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Sony Corporation. In the interest of public safety, Lenovo will offer customers free-of-charge replacement batteries for all recalled batteries.

IBM and Lenovo sold these Sony batteries in systems listed below between February 2005 and September 2006. Customers who bought one of the following systems may have a battery subject to this recall:

ThinkPad R Series (R51e, R52, R60, R60e)

ThinkPad T Series (T43, T43p, T60)

ThinkPad X Series (X60, X60s)

Additionally, since these batteries can also be used with ThinkPad T4x Series or ThinkPad R5x Series systems, customers who ordered an extra battery or received a replacement battery for any ThinkPad T4x or ThinkPad R5x Series notebook PC between February 2005 and September 2006 may also have a battery subject to recall.

Go check your batteries here.

Sanyo’s CG6

Florian — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:28:32 +0000

After a not so good Xacti C5 and C6, Sanyo comes back with an upraged Xacti CG6. More good features and better light sensitivity. I quote a few comments:

SDHCカードスロットを備�?��?�MPEG-4ムービーカメラ�?��?「Xacti C6�?�?�後継モデル�?��?�る。CCD�?�有効画素数約600万画素(�?画素数約637万画素)�?�1/2.5型�?�従�?��?��?��?��?��?��?外形寸法�?�C6�?�68×23× 108mm(幅×奥行�??×高�?�)�?�ら�?67.7×34.5×100.3mm�?��?�若干スリム�?��?��?短�??�?��?��?��?�る。

�?�止画撮影時�?��?�新�?��?��?感度ISO 1600�?�利用�?��??るよ�?��?��?��?��?�。�?��?��?動画�?��?�従�?��?�9画素混�?�技術をより強化�?�る�?��?��?��?暗所撮影能力�?��?�上。「ランプモード�?�?�設定�?�る�?��?��?��? フレームレート�?�30fps�?�ら15fps�?��?��?��?��?��?最低被写体照度約2ルクスを実�?�。「�?�?��??�??�?��?�程度�?�明る�?��?�も撮影�?��?��??る�?�?��?��?�。

�?��?��?iTunesを介�?��?��?Xacti�?�撮影�?��?�MPEG-4動画をiPod�?�転�?�?�能。Web-SHQ/HQ/S�?�解�?度�?��?��??�?��?��?��?�??れ以上�?� モード�?��?�iTunes�?�QVGA�?�変�?��?��?��?�ら�?生�?��??る。�?��?��?第6世代�?�iPod�?�640×480ドット�?�動画も�?生�?��??る�?��?三洋�?��?�「新 iPod�?��?CG6�?�撮影�?��?�640×480ドット�?�動画�?��?生�?��??る�?��?��?��?��?�?��?�動作検証�?�終�?�?��?��?��?��?��?�?��?��?��?�る。

Sanyo's site

Impress

Sony UX50

Florian — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:38:57 +0000

Well I just came across someone asking for the availability of a particular device, yes the UX50 in English. Curious as I am all the time, I could not refrain myself from checking review for this nice device.

To sum up: I think this is the way to go for future hand pc. Bring it with you and work and dock for full input performance use. Too bad it is Sony, they suck with their all proprietary everything.
Well I dont own this toy (yet), so I am just quoting a review and providing a link.

The good

So far, I’ve given just general impressions of the UX50, so let’s move on to look at the little things it does really well. Firstly, as a mobile email device it’s unparalleled here in Japan. (Remember, we don’t have any Treos or Blackberries.) Being able to log onto a public hotspot and reply in brief to messages from the office without having to resort to a laptop was a pleasure.

The dual webcams embedded in the front and back of the screen part of the case are most definite plus points and make videoconferencing a breeze. Sony has even preinstalled Skype and a Japanese videophone application. I’ll leave the typically junky startup PC clutter aside (that’s what msconfig is for, right?).

Perhaps tellingly, one of the outstanding features of the UX50 is its fast wake-up from standby. Check out the video below (sorry about the shakes; the aircon was pumpin’ in the office today) and you’ll see exactly what I mean — to get up and running from a cold start in around six seconds is both impressive and useful.

Source

My new free toy

Florian — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:52:27 +0000

Words cannot express how nifty the iriver U10 is. Between playing your music, videos, photo albums, and games this ultra-portable flash based player stands its ground no matter the occasion. Oh wait, I guess words CAN describe the U10 (512MB ). You better read some full review out there on the net or read the mini review of mine.

The interface...
is pretty intuitive, I was able to find out where to do thing quicky enough. However the lack of documentation by iRiver is impressive. There are tons of shortcuts undocumented. Some combination of long short press of a button have different action. The four side of the device is in fact a button (4 way), it also has 2 buttons for the volume and 1 as the power button and a last one as the multifunction button. Its default behavior is to switch to Landscape or Portrait mode.
Yes, it is cool to be able to display things the way you want.
And yeah, it is simple.

Tips! Speed up your interface: Disable the Menu display control. Settings> Extra>Menu Display Control to Off.

Things to do when you receive it

Oh yeah it comes as a MTP device, you may want to change it right away to UMS for more capability and flexibility. Check the iriver support site and download the firmware upgrader to switch to UMS and also upgrade your firmware.
You may also want to download the management sofware iRiver has. IriverPlus 3. not version 2. It is now availalbe from the iRiver english site but from the korean one.

Good things compared to version 2:
Simplified and easy-to-use interface (especially with regard to file transferring).
iriver plus 3 implements video conversion as a frontend for mencoder.exe (cygwin compile).
iriver plus 3 converts the video files automatically when transferring them.
iriver plus 3 now supports audio conversion to Ogg Vorbis.

And the nice feature it the Flash Lite 1.1 support. You can find tons of games, applications for your little friend device.