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(Useful) Stupid BlackBerry Tricks?
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He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion
He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion
What the fuck? (Score:5, Funny)
I thought Slashdot was exclusively iPhone oriented?
I feel betrayed. BETRAYED I tells ya.
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Re:What the fuck? (Score:5, Funny)
Very short thread, that... *mutters something about hardware lock-in and DRM*
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I think you've confused the iPhone with the BlackBerry.
Sorry, since I won't eat it myself, I had to feed that load to a troll.
Re:What the fuck? (Score:5, Interesting)
Use the GPS and accelerometer for tracing the trajectory of a rocket [lolife.com].
Re:What the fuck? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:What the fuck? (Score:5, Interesting)
I've said it before [slashdot.org] and I'll say it again.
I have a suggestion. I find these threads quite interesting, but they hardly qualify as news and I don't think we want to see them every day (we're just going to exhaust all decent ideas if we do). Why not do something like this on Fridays instead of the stupid mailbag?
Does anyone agree?
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Hit it with a hammer (Score:5, Funny)
Then jump on it.
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Good one. I, for one, have always been adapt of the old 'throw it in the toilet' fashion.
I like the 'running it over with the car after it fries my MicroSD card.'
Re:Hit it with a hammer (Score:5, Funny)
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All these years I thought people were saying cell phone! It's foam!
Re:Hit it with a hammer (Score:5, Funny)
one of the sales people dropped their blackberry into a vat of industrial acid
Holy shit, you make your sales people work next to vats of industrial acid? That's quite the high pressure sales technique...
Re:Hit it with a hammer (Score:5, Funny)
That sounds like a tragic story that could have ended otherwise.
In the future tethers should be issued with all Blackberries, so that if such an incident occurs again, the chance increases that the sales-type person will also pulled into the vat. It's just a shame that a Blackberry had to be sacrificed with no net benefit for the incident.
(trick) How to make them bounce (Score:2, Funny)
The trick is to drop them from at least the 3rd store of a building w/concrete pavement. The 2nd store just isn't always high enough, unless you purposely peg them at the ground.
Entertainment the whole family can enjoy.
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My local mall has over 30 stores but they aren't numbered. How do I determine which store is first, second, etc?
Would the cashier at RadioShack know;-)
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Crackberry Forums (Score:5, Informative)
Maybe ask in the Crackberry Forums [crackberry.com] (a Blackberry user site)
Re:Crackberry Forums (Score:5, Informative)
Just some little tips that people can find at CrackBerry Forums...
1) To quickly create a new calendar appointment, just highlight the date/time for the appointment and start typing the subject.
2) If you turn off the option to dial from homescreen on full QWERTY devices (in Phone > Options > Dial from home screen) you can use shortcut keys to open applications (look for the underlined letter in the application name (like M for messages).
3) Typing "mypin" will put your PIN into your message, and "mynumber" will put your phone number.
4) In your message list, pressing the U key will jump to the oldest unread message. Holding ALT and pressing U will mark a message Read/Unread.
5) Holding the 1 key down will automagically dial your voicemail.
6) To highlight Text, hold ALT and click the trackwheel/trackball. You can then scroll left or right (holding ALT makes it go up and down for trackwheels) to highlight text, and the menu will then give you the copy option (beat that iPhone).
7) On SureType devices, holding the # key will switch from your current profile to Vibrate, and back.
8) Using the T and B keys (on QWERTY keyboards) will go to the Top and Bottom of the message/item you are in. The 1 and 7 Keys will do the same on SureType devices.
9) Calendar/address book doesn't seem to be wirelessly synchronizing properly? Go into the application, then into options. Turn off wireless sync, save the change, then go back in and turn it on to restart the wireless sync process.
10) Address book not sorting/displaying properly, go into Address book > Options, and change the sorting order. Save the changes to rebuild the index. Go back in and change it back to your preferred setting.
These are just some small ones, but there are MANY more little tips n tricks all over that can make your life better.
Re:Crackberry Forums (Score:4, Informative)
Here's another little tip.
I have many full-length movies on my Pearl, and one of my pet-peeves was that seeking in a video was fixed at so many steps - something like 25 steps from the beginning to end. For a full-length movie the steps were then really large, like 5 minutes each.
By trial and error I finally discovered that holding down SHIFT while rotating the scroll wheel will go by very small increments - just a few seconds at a time.
So seeking in a video has the best of both worlds, if you know the keyboard modifier.
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Blackberry Linux Connectivity (Score:5, Informative)
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A better guide to connecting your blackberry in linux, as well as using it for internet is available at http://imog.us/articles.html [imog.us]
Of course by "better", I mean that's my website.
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It's also your bandwidth bill. Probably your repair bill, too.
Good job.
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I stopped using a blackberry because of poor linux support, it's imap support is pretty poor and it has no support for caldav or ldap, plus to get all the features you have to run their proprietary server which is windows-only.
I moved to an iphone, which is a significant improvement (i have to configure it on a mac, but it can sync using activesync which has an open source implementation z-push, and it does imap much better)... And it's also unix based, so i can mess with the underlying OS and port some of
Don't let the battery run out (Score:3, Informative)
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I thought the days of losing data when the power goes out where long gone.
Apparently not :D
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Re:Don't let the battery run out (Score:5, Informative)
Theres a setting in the blackberry server you can set to kill the handset on power failure. Your IT department set this. Smack them, its something they are doing to you, not RIM.
PS: IAABSA (I am a Blackbery Server Administrator)
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Wrong.
Blackberry's do not lose data services or enterprise connectivity when the power dies. This holds true for all 7250's and newer, and probably holds for even more ancient devices.
What does happen when the battery dies, is that the wireless antenna turns off - only the stupid users come to IT to have that fixed. The rest recharge the device, then click on the wireless switch that's on their main screen.
my environment has 2000 devices or so. That does not make me an expert, but it does mean I have all
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Cool, I never knew about that. I see that setting defaults to disabled, but I guess some IT department could turn it on...
Job security thru tedious, anti-business oriented support issues FTW!
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I don't think so. I have this happen occasionally (usually at the end of a long weekend) and never have the problem you suggest.
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I read it for the articles, I swear! (Score:4, Funny)
Slashdot is starting to read more and more like a Monty Python script these days.
Please Stop (Score:2, Insightful)
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I have proposed a "database FS"-like "object system" in which one uses tags instead of FS paths to organize stuff (well, certainly not a new idea, but in my version it would replace FS at the OS level). Here is my
I'm pretty sure
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but what is with the recent spate of "_____story" tags? Why is the word "story" being added to the ends of tags now? Seems kinda redundant and/or useless.
Because tagging stories as comments would be dumb. (check out the firehose, you will understand then)
Useful and missing Blackberry applications (Score:5, Informative)
The most useful Blackberry applications are Google Maps and Opera Mini (not a true web browser, so it can't access http servers on your local network, but works well for the public Internet).
Those are both proprietary. I have been looking for something to let me use the builtin GPS together with OpenStreetMap data, but after installing several different programs none of them works. I also couldn't get MidpSSH to work, although the payware ssh client from rovemobile.com is as good as could be expected given the tiny screen. (They also make an RDP client to which the same comments apply.)
Re:Useful and missing Blackberry applications (Score:5, Informative)
As of BlackBerry OS 4.6, the built-in browser has actually gotten pretty good. I'd even say its better and more usable than Opera Mini at this point.
BlackBerry OS 4.5 has a better browser than you're used to, but 4.6 is where it truly becomes useful. (FYI, right now 4.6 runs on the Bold, and 4.7 runs on the Storm)
Of course your cell carrier probably wants you stuck on 4.2 or 4.3 until the end of time, even if your device currently is currently supported by 4.5 (and might be supported in the future by 4.6 or 4.7) At least there are tons of pages online explaining how you can use an OS build not from your carrier.
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Mine is a BlackBerry 8310 v4.2.2.146 (Platform 2.5.0.16). I suppose that means it has OS 4.2. Which is strange, because I got it only recently (a few weeks before the Bold was announced).
I'm looking for how to upgrade, but it looks like you have to put the file on your PC and install the crappy Windows link software (which I have never touched) to get it onto the Blackberry. I've never understood why you can't just download a file directly on the handheld... then again, there are lots of stupdities in th
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I have an 8100 and an 8310, and the browser on it is pretty lousy, certainly vastly inferior to safari on the iphone...
Haven't used a newer version so can't comment on that...
Will these devices support any newer version, and how difficult is it to update (and will doing so wipe out my settings?)
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I can't say what devices will support which versions, but that can be found all over the various BlackBerry websites. One thing I can say, is that 4.5 will work on many current devices. Its just that the US carriers seem to be dragging their feet on rolling it out. (and I've heard RIM mention that even newer ones may work in the future, but aren't out yet for older phones)
Updating is actually pretty easy, and you won't lose any of your settings. The trick is that you have to get a build from a less stuc
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i'll second the better browser on 4.5. I updated mine to 4.5 to address an RSA issue (which didn't work) but I like the update. For one, I can now use my 6gb microsd chip. Not much changed just a bit nicer look/feel.
get the OS for your carrier here:
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/downloads/download_sites.jsp [blackberry.com]
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Also, the forums at Crackberry.com [crackberry.com] have a section for each phone, and I believe that there is a sticky in each that tells the latest official OS from RIM, along with instructions on how to update your phone to that version - whether your provider has rel
Re:Useful and missing Blackberry applications (Score:5, Informative)
In 3 seconds on Google:
http://www.blackberryforums.com/rim-software/1871-blackberryos-4-x-download-faq-upgrade-downloads.html
http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/05/12/howto-upgrade-your-blackberry-os/
http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-blackberry-discussion/2279-howto-install-reinstall-blackberry-os.html
But basically, you download a version from a carrier that isn't lagging behind, install it on your desktop PC, then delete this file:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\AppLoader\vendor.xml
Then you connect your BlackBerry, launch the desktop software, and it'll take you through the upgrade process.
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I also couldn't get MidpSSH to work,
AT&T? Me either. It's pissing me off. I can't find any information about a> why it doesnt work, or b> how to unfuck it.
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Install opera (Score:5, Informative)
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From "The Tao of Programming" (Score:5, Interesting)
The novice bolted to attention and handed the device to the master. ``I see that the device claims to have three levels of play: Easy, Medium, and Hard,'' said the master. ``Yet every such device has another level of play, where the device seeks not to conquer the human, nor to be conquered by the human.''
``Pray, great master,'' implored the novice, ``how does one find this mysterious setting?''
The master dropped the device to the ground and crushed it underfoot. And suddenly the novice was enlightened.
Re:From "The Tao of Programming" (Score:5, Funny)
Yet, it is also written:
A master was explaining the nature of Tao of to one of his novices. ``The Tao is embodied in all software - regardless of how insignificant,'' said the master.
``Is the Tao in a hand-held calculator?'' asked the novice.
``It is,'' came the reply.
``Is the Tao in a video game?'' continued the novice.
``It is even in a video game,'' said the master.
``And is the Tao in the DOS for a personal computer?''
The master coughed and shifted his position slightly. ``The lesson is over for today,'' he said.
Exclusive blackberry tip! (Score:5, Funny)
It will improve your social life, relieve some stress and you might stop looking like a pedantic ass.
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I have no issue with people who take a phonecall or two while having a beer... It's only annoying if there's just 2 of you there (and therefore you sit bored while the other uses the phone) or they spend all the time on the phone (thus defeating the point of going out for a drink together).
But a phone in the cinema is just unforgivable, it should be mandatory to keep your phone on silent in the cinema, punishable by being kicked out if it's heard making any noise. Modern movies even have a commercial at the
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or better yet, set the auto on/off to be your work hours.
I prefer mine to automatically turn off when I leave work and not turn on until I get to work.
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Not to be overly metametapedantic* with my reply, but the definition of pedantic applies more to a post pointing out the misuse of "pedantic" (i.e., your post) than a post misusing it (the GP).
* Actually just metapedantic, since your post was only pedantic (due to the OP's not being pedantic). See above.
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Not to be overly metapedantic with my reply, but the definition of pedantic applies more to your post than the behavior you are posting about.
Bet he posted that from his Blackberry ...
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You don't get to find out until you're married.
Cool Apps for the 'berries (Score:5, Informative)
These are some of the best free apps I've tried:
1. Google Maps - Several others have mentioned this, will use cell phone tower triangulation if your model doesn't have a GPS or it's locked like my Verizon 8330 Curve.
2. MicroSky - Nice constellation/sky object finder, if you whip out your berry you can identify that bright planet just above the moon! (It was Jupiter!) You have to register, but it's free.
3. Vlingo - This is really nice - it extends voice commands to the entire phone instead of just the autodialer. You can launch commands, records notes to self, etc. Very nice general purpose speech to text analyzer/converter. The only downside is it seems to transmit and analyze the sample to a remote server so there is a few seconds lag in getting text output.
Those are the best of the best I've seen so far.
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Viigo [viigo.com] is the app that I find I have a hard time with out. It's a slick little RSS feed app that pulls feeds from anywhere one the web. It's a gratis app, but you do have to sign up for an account.
It's way more convenient that using slashdot.org/palm when I have a few minutes for my fix during the day.
Push weather updates are awesome as well.
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MicroSky is okay, but what I really want is Planetarium [www.aho.ch]. That program alone is why I keep my TE2 charged. It's good enough to buy an old Palm just to run it.
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Torch function (Score:3, Informative)
Set the video camera to have the light always on. Then set the side button to activate the video camera.
Congrats, you now have a very expensive torch.
Re:Torch function (Score:5, Funny)
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Finally a device to combat trolls!
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I think you may be confusing it with the Have-Fun-Storming-the-Castle function.
good app (Score:3, Informative)
Re:good app (Score:4, Interesting)
Ping a Blackberry from any e-mail account (Score:5, Informative)
For users of older models, update the OS (Score:4, Informative)
I surprised that this topic made it through - not surprised at the flaming response. I mean, the damn thing does not even run Linux...
More seriously, there are a few 'standouts' like Google maps and Opera, but that's about it. Probably because it is closed architecture, and the Java implementation can be buggy.
What I've found helpful is - as a user of an older, non-GPS equipped model Pearl - to update to the latest OS. Instructions can be found on web. You get genuinely improved functionality.
Same thing goes for Google maps - they update it regularly so you need to re-install often. For example, they recently added positioning without GPS, using tower trangulation. Works surprisingly well.
Re:For users of older models, update the OS - RSA! (Score:4, Informative)
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More seriously, there are a few 'standouts' like Google maps and Opera, but that's about it. Probably because it is closed architecture, and the Java implementation can be buggy.
Closed architecture? Really?
RIM gives away free SDKs and full documentation without restrictions and without onerous EULAs. What more can you want?
I meant as in terms of the OS - of course it's not the iPhone, but it's not running Linux either.
Still, let's not get carried away - it's not designed to be a hacker's toy, and as an enterprise-grade messaging tool, it's great.
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Meanwhile, the iPhone is perhaps one of the most closed and restrictive platforms out there. The only difference is that it is the iPhone, and people will climb over each other just for the chance to lick Steve Jobs boots.
Seriously, whenever I hear someone mention that they do iPhone development, they usually follow up with "And I don't really feel comfortable talking about it, because of the agreements Apple made me sign."
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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Tagged: pleasecontinue (Score:2)
As much as I loathe meta-discussion, I'll just say that IMO these useful (topic) tricks threads are fantastic. Keep them coming!
Auto On and Off + Blacklists (Score:5, Insightful)
Two Top Tips to Improve your Work/Life Balance.
1) Want to make sure you're not disturbed once you've left work?
Options - Auto On/Off. Set the BlackBerry to switch itself off after 1830 and automatically on at 0830 (adjust for your work patterns).
2) Sick of getting Every. Single. Fricking. Email?
Mail - Options - Email Filters.
My BlackBerry is set only to receive emails from my immediate boss, his boss, my wife, family, and anything with the subject "Urgent".
Sadly - you can't automatically switch them on/off. But at the weekend, you can go in and switch off the work filters. Hey presto, you'll only get the email you really care about at the weekend.
T
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filters for some addresses (certain bounces for example) suck. these being the message exchange doesnt have a user for but calls them 'system administrator' and then in the bb when you create rule based on sender it just a EM: or similar goofy sender that will never match anything.
Most important app didn't require software (Score:2)
midpssh & google maps are the most useful apps that are free. There are good pay for apps for folks that are in specific businesses - like the hot sauce trouble ticket system.
Personally - one of the best apps already comes with the phone - a back lit screen. One late evening I was in need of some heavy equipment and being on a construction site began going through several front end loaders, tractors, dozers looking for one that had the keys left in it. If it wasn't for the BRIGHT screen on my berry,
Read RSS and Manage Remotely (Score:3, Informative)
Useful trick? The most useful item on my BlackBerry is my Viigo RSS reader [viigo.com]. Viigo has scores of built-in channels, as well as custom channels. I use it to read dozens of InfoSec blogs and, of course, Slashdot. Viigo delivers literally hundreds of posts to my BlackBerry daily.
Viigo's free but, if you have a few dollars, consider spending it on Rove mobile management [rovemobile.com]. Rove (was Idokorro) allows you to remotely manage Windows and *nix hosts from the BlackBerry. Typing command line on the BlackBerry can be a pain, so be prepared to combine Rove with some custom scripts.
PIN Messaging (Score:4, Insightful)
I have a blackberry for personal use. For friends who also have them, I use PIN messaging instead of SMS. For more involved conversations, I point them to the blackberry messenger app that does IM type messaging (including audio notes, images, other attachments) rather than make them install something like jivetalk.
PINs are really nice for a few reasons:
1) direct berry to berry messaging
2) you know when the message has been delivered
3) they can have a separate alert from regular SMS messages
4) they don't eat up messages from the expensive monthly SMS bucket. Heck if everyone you need to SMS has a blackberry, you don't need to add sms to your plan at all. This assumes your data plan is unlimited and your SMS plan is ridiculously expensive.
Drawbacks:
1) must have a data capable cell signal, whereas SMS works anywhere a phonecall works.
2) for whatever reason, PINs don't automatically move your highlight to the latest in the BB messages list like SMS messages do.
3) the blackberry messenger alerts are wonky. There is no "first message" vs "everything else" option, so you either have an alert each time or never. Alerting when friends are on or not must be set after every conversation, vs. the 'buddy pounce' feature of jivetalk. Messenger would be a lot more useful if they'd fix those two things.
A Wanted Useful trick.... (Score:2)
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I'm not sure how close it is, but the BlackBerry OS does actually have some built-in VPN capabilities.
Options -> Security Options -> VPN
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WeightWatch (Score:2)
Not specifically for BlackBerry, but it's a j2me app so...
if you're monitoring your weight for some reason (usually trying to get rid of it), you might find WeightWatch [cachapa.net] useful.
It's a small application which will record your weight daily and display it in a chart with an error-correcting tendency curve, like the one in the Hacker's Diet.
You can even create a diet plan that predicts when you'll reach your desired weight, and display the plan next to your chart.
Currently the application only supports metric un
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I know, I know, bad form to reply to myself* but I had to say that my [shameless_plug] tags were filtered in the above text.
* According to correct internet protocol, unless you start your post with saying exactly that.
Still a PalmOS junkie (Score:2)
I have an (admittedly older) Blackberry for work, and still find myself doing all the interesting things on my aging PalmTX.
The only things I use the Blackberry for, in order:
* Google Maps : Verizon disabled my built-in GPS, but I can highly recommend the i-Blue 820 bluetooth receiver / datalogger.
* E-mail : the only reason Blackberry is popular in the first place
* G-mail / Yahoo : limited and slow, but functional interfaces to your email accounts as well as some light news and flickr
* Opera Mini : For acce
MidpSSH Trick (Score:3, Interesting)
Forgive me if someone's already posted this, but in testing MidpSSH I attempted to connect to my server at home and being the security conscious person I am, immediately noted the IP address that I was connecting from was not from the Blackberry itself, but from one of the many FreeBSD proxy servers I maintain at work. It then dawned on me that since we operate our own BES servers, I attempted to login to the FreeBSD server via it's LAN address and lo and behold, I was actually logging into the FreeBSD server from the BES server's IP.
Regardless of all our security, RSA tokens, VPN access, secure gateways, etc, my Blackberry is now a backdoor into Pandora's Box. When I showed the LAN architect, he immediately freaked out. Since our BES servers aren't in the DMZ and actually goto the internet using NAT via a FreeBSD server (behind a netscreen and a router), the "flaw" is actually inherent to the design.
On a good note, I made $20 bucks on the bet that I could prove I could own the network via my Blackberry. :)
Saved searches (Score:2, Interesting)
Saved searches are also a very useful feature.
Messages > Search > Save
You can create a shortcut key to a search that can be targeted at any variety of:
Item type
Email account
Folder within an email account (mostly using BES)
Item status (read state, draft, etc)
For people with a large volume of email and little time, this is a great feature.
Activation without the BES admin (Score:2, Interesting)
If you loose sync (email, contacts or calendar) and are on a BES but don't want to bother with a support call you can try this trick to do your own Enterprise re-Activation. Go to the Options/Advanced Options/Enterprise Activation menu. In the email field type in CNFG while holding the Alt key. After typing this, you should have a new menu appear. From that menu, change the option for Wireless Sync from On to Off and then exit the menu while saving changes. Give the phone about half a minute and then g
Programs switching shortcut (Score:2, Informative)
Some shortcut keys and generally helpful things (Score:2, Informative)
Task switch: Alt+Esc
Reset: Alt+Cap+Del
Reorder or hide icons: Alt + Click(wheel / trackball)
Device info / Help screen: Alt+Cap+h
Event log: Alt+"LGLG" on home screen
Alt+"NMLL" toggles network signal level display between graphical and numeric
In the message list "t" goes to the top, "b" goes to the bottom, "v" goes to saved messages and "r" toggles through all unread messages.
Automatic Key Lock (Score:3, Informative)
Most of the holsters and cases made for blackberrys (and all of the holsters and cases made by RIM for blackberrys) have a special magnet in them that automatically locks the keys when the device is in the holster.
Blackberry Storm (Score:3, Insightful)
Initial thoughts, coming from an 8830, wow this keyboard is going to take some getting used to. Screen is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Youtube works! Full screen even. He had some quicktime trailers on it and those looked absolutely stunning (probably better than the iPhone).
It has copy and paste and multi-touch, though it cannot use apple's gestures (copyright). You can however place two fingers on either side of a line of text to copy it. Camera is very good, has autofocus, I think it had a flash as well.
ask me anything i'll try and answer the best I can. Oh pricing and availibility. All he would say is "pricing will be competitive with the iphone of course" and that it "will be out before november". So I assume 23rd is probably still close.
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Did I, or did I not clearly state that you're to get the hell off my lawn?
"Bedside mode" ... Pshaw!