My newest toy.

I got a Galaxy Tab from T-Mobile last week, and today my keyboard for it came in. Very trick.

The Galaxy Tab:

http://mobile-broadband.t-mobile.com/tablets/samsung-galaxy-tab?uid=Discover_1_9

The Keyboard:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-ECR-K10AWEGSTA-Galaxy-Full-Keyboard/dp/B004DB3RZ2/ref=pd_cp_e_3

I tried using my Tab in place of the laptop sitting next to it (Dell XPS 1340), but I found that I still need the laptop for some stuff with school. I hope to address those issues in the future.

And we're thawed...

Around noon the wall warmed up enough for the water to start flowing freely. Running water is handy, strangely enough.

This could be a promising new toy...

Dreamplug is the low-powered, lilliputian PC for people with really boring dreams

I could see using this as a small server. Or just as a waste of money and time. :-)

Water Outage in the Neighborhood.

Single digit temps in the desert affected water delivery for us this morning, and later someone came around and opened some service taps. I wonder if these are backflow from the houses or actually from the water utility.

Blogger for Android, finally...

So I just found out today that Google has released an official app for Blogger, and now I'm using it on my new Samsung Galaxy Tab I got last week from T-Mobile. So let's see if this makes me actually blog more often...

Cleeki - The world one click away

Cleeki - The world one click away: "Cleeki can capture keywords anywhere on a screen with as simple as one click, search it on the Internet, and preview the results immediately."

Oh very sweet! I was getting used to the Accelerators in IE, but Cleeki will just use the directly and do the same thing in Firefox. Nice...

List of the keyboard shortcuts that are available in Windows XP

List of the keyboard shortcuts that are available in Windows XP:
Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)"

And even more keyboard shortcuts. ;-)

Table of keyboard shortcuts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Table of keyboard shortcuts - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Handy listing of keyboard shortcuts for Windows, Mac, and Linux (KDE and Gnome).

Free remixes from the Beastie Boys

http://www.doublecheckyourhead.com/

Nice...

An update on my new ride

So, it just got back from its detail at the dealer (the detail guy wasn't there the day I bought it) and here you go. The ride is fantastic, and overall I am quite impressed with the vehicle. I would not have picked a Kia as my next vehicle, but in comes this little badboy to save the day.

Annoyances: Thin, thin, thin doors. I am convinced that I left the windows down each time I start it and can easily hear the engine exhaust. However, it's pretty quiet on the road (haven't been on the highway yet) and you don't know how loud the horn is until you honk it with the remote; noise forward of the bulkhead is very quiet.

Cheap inner moon roof cover. When you close the doors, you can hear it kind of "bounce" within its track. But, if you keep that slid back you don't hear anything.

Bright white gauges. The numbers are very, very white. This is the first vehicle where I have to dim the gauges. That stated, I love the red everywhere else and it's all very easy to see.

Tire bounce. I love the look of the 18" wheels, but since this is the "+" it came with these 16" alloys that I kind of dig. Also, after driving a WRX that I used to autocross with 17" wheels, I wasn't looking forward to the harshness of such a low profile tire when going on occasional dirt roads. That stated, I hate the undamped oscillation I get when pulling in over the curb in the background. The suspension is fantastic, and I recognize this "slop" as being soft sidewalls. Once I change out the tires (or maybe go to 17" wheels and tires) I plan on selecting something to control this a bit better.

Hitch? I have no idea where a receiver would mount up under the vehicle, but I hope someone has this handled.

That's all stuff you can get over, especially with my favorite items:

Solid feel. Yes, even with thin doors the vehicle still has a nice, tight feel to it. I like it.

Tight handling. While I wouldn't take this out on my next autocross, I definitely appreciate the design and thought that went into road feel on this thing. It's the first car in a long, long time that I wanted to just go for a drive in.

Stereo. I used to work for Kenwood a long time ago, and was really big into aftermarket car stereos. Now, I just don't want to bother with it but at the same time I want it to have a lot of features and sound good. I highly recommend the audio upgrade package, as you get a ton of bang for the buck. I am still tuning it in, but the USB functionality alone is better than many headunits I've seen and used. It supports large drives (I'm using 8GB right now) and will resume from the same spot in the track when you change sources or start the vehicle. Also, the voice control for dialing out is phenomenal, and the stereo will sync with the phone at each start to make sure its contact list is up to date. I do wish there was an option to defeat the "synchronize completed" that she says a couple minutes after starting the vehicle. The interface is fantastic, as are the steering wheel controls.

Drivetrain. The engine is a touch harsh, but I am waiting to see if it smooths out over time. Compared to the 2008 Fit I have, this thing is fairly quick and doesn't need to shift all the time (I have the automatic; bad knees). In fact, the Fit has a 5 speed automatic which should be desirable, but with the low horsepower and rev-happy motor, it needs to drop to 4th or 3rd a lot on our highways around here. This feels like it might just unlock the torque converter occasionally and be done with it.Seats. They're pretty good, but I haven't driven more than half an hour continuously yet. I might go to Tucson this weekend and see what's up. :-)

Fun. Yep, I like to show this off. I didn't really care about showing off other cars I've had (even my WRX), but this one is a lot of fun. I'd get another one.

New car to replace the Subaru Impreza 2.5RS

Say hello to my little friend! More to come on this 2010 Kia Soul I picked up last Saturday.

A couple of good deals in town

Yesterday, I found the APC 10Wh USB Power Pack for $20 (normally $50) at Staples.  I didn't find it on their website, but the local store had it where you get wireless accessories (basically, a big shrine to Palm stuff; you'd love it ;-)). 

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=UPB10

Today, I got a Logitech Driving Force GT wheel at Best Buy for $99 (normally $150).  It wasn't marked at that price, but it came up at the register with the correct name but much improved price.  I found it on the website after I bought it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8781213&st=logitech+driving+force&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1205246213512

Updating Dash firmware

Quick note, but a freshly flashed T-Mobile Dash has around 47MB free, while my G1 has 74MB free.  Hmmm...

Taskbar with Thumbnail Preview Faltering in Windows 7

As I use Windows 7, I grow to love it even more.  However, I've run into a few issues like UPnP/DLNA failures with Nero MediaHome, lack of HomeGroup functionality (even if it claims to be working), and now the intermittent loss of active thumbnails from the taskbar.  I think the first two might be addressed by some switch-based testing (taking the router, and therefore the UPnP gateway out of it), but the last one is probably most annoying as I've grown accustomed to seeing what an app is doing from the taskbar, rather than switching to it.  Any ideas?  Logging off and back on seems to address it, but tweaking the performance settings (what Windows will render, like drop shadows and animations) doesn't change the issue.

This is courtesy of the "Solarize" filter in SnapPhoto (a camera application for Android). Oh, and it's a photo of the Mii avatar my wife was setting up. Check out the sweet reel-to-reel beneath it.

Using HomeGroup in Windows 7

Anybody have issues with getting this to run?  After a few hours of fiddling, I got two systems to "join," but they never shared anything.  I am still trying though, but it doesn't look promising considering the issues others have had with no answer on what to do.

Problem installing Office 2007 (or updates) on Windows 7?

It took me a while of trying different ways to install Office 2007 SP1 (or other patches through Windows Update) to no avail.  Then, I got this prompt right when I was going to forcefully remove Office from my install:

Solve a problem with Windows 7 beta

An issue with the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) client in Windows 7 beta is causing Explorer and some MSI-based installers to stop working properly.

To solve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button , click All Programs, and then click Accessories.

2. Right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. In the User Account Control window, verify that Program name is Windows Command Processor, and then click Yes.

3. In the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type or paste the following text at the prompt:

   reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions /va /f

4. Press Enter to install the solution.

5. If The operation completed successfully displays, close the Administrator: Command Prompt window to complete this procedure. If "ERROR: Access is denied" displays, repeat this procedure from the top, making sure you clicked Run as administrator in step two.

Problems with ATIO Disk Benchmark?

If you're getting the following:

"cannot open file benchtst.$$$"

You're probably running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7.  You probably have UAC running normally as well (good for you!).  To get around it, right click on the application binary (or your shortcut to it) and select "Run as Administrator."  This will give you the permissions you need to create the initial file for the benchmark to run.

Dark Side of the OS

Nice rendering? I thought so. So, I thought I'd throw it up here. Mostly, this is just so I can follow through on my resolution to be more aggressive on my posting. I have more stuff to throw up here, like my fun with Vista on my Dell Mini 9 (netbook) and Vista x64 on my Inspiron 530 quad core.

I did get some toys recently, including an interesting watch and a couple Logitech MX Revolution mice from Best Buy on sale. I got a couple Mosquito 4x4 micro-copters from Radio Shack, and I might throw up some interesting stuff on those too. Or not.

Another good reason for a netbook

Interestingly, many geeks like "slow" computers as much as they like the newest ones. One part of this is finding out just what will run on the slow one. In my case, I have been putting all sorts of things on my Dell Mini 9, and the newest thing has been OpenArena (open source version of Quake 3 Arena with Team Arena functionality) and my favorite game: Forsaken. I used to play this all the time when it came out in '98, and it works quite well on my Mini 9 with 2GB of RAM and Vista Ultimate. Also, I have an emulator on it thanks to my cubemate, and we play co-op Contra over a Bluetooth PAN (Personal Area Network) at work (he has a Mini 9, too). Colin Mcrae 2005 isn't that smooth on it, so there are limits to what the unit can do. However, nVidia plan on creating their own platform using the Intel Atom with a low power 2D/3D accelerator to replace the Intel graphics adapter that's part of Intel's Atom chipset. It might not run Crysis all that well, but the netbook platform uses a small display (1024x600 in my case) so most games will run great at that resolution with just a bit more power in the graphics department.