So, with the recent rash of issues with my Telus HTC Touch Diamond (speaker died, Messaging App would stop responding after sending a few text messages, odd lock ups).
So, Telus currently has a deal on to help clear out their soon-to-be discontinued stock of the Blackberry Curve 8330. I picked up on this and have some mixed feelings initially about my first exposure to the Blackberry world.
But first, while trying to familiarize myself with the device I quickly learned of some..quirks that are set at the factory.
Problem #1: Google Maps does not seem to actually be using the internal GPS, but relying on some odd bouncing technique of estimation using the cellular network. Even worse, BlackBerry Maps was crazy slow. What was going on?
Solution? I found it on Howard Forums. It turns out that several Cellular providers like to cripple the internal GPS in their BlackBerry smartphones in order to push customers to use their proprietary navigation service. The fix is not for the faint of heart, but with a little work you can get your GPS responding in seconds and actually quite accurate.
Tips: WinHex is a lot better than HexWorkshop for finding the MSL/SPC (they are the same thing) in the memory dump. QPST built 215 was the only version that worked for me to access the Firmware on my Curve, following the instructions posted by FireAngel here. I was also required to downgrade my Curve’s firmware to the oldest 4.5 release available in order to capture the memory dump using UniCDMA.
Problem #2: Deleting calendar items. Every time I’d try and sync my Curve with Microsoft Outlook using BB Desktop Manager, it would try and delete all my old calendar items prior to December. No matter what setting I had set in the conduit. Well, this was unintutive.
Solution? After messing around and doing some reading the solution is kinda silly. The conduit does NOT change any settings on the Blackberry. So, the Blackberry itself is not aware that I wanted to keep all of my calendar items. In order to rectify this situation, I had to go into the Calendar app -> Options -> General Options, scroll down to under Actions and set Keep Appointments to “Forever”. Then you have to set the conduit for a one-way sync from Outlook to the BB. Once that is finished, you can then set the conduit back to two way sync and rock and roll.
Problem #3: Blackberry Browser seems to have locked the home page settings under Browser Configuration.
Solution? Turns out, this is a bug in certain releases of Blackberry OS 4.5.xxx and in order to unlock the settings and have them actually apply, you have to follow the extended instructions provided by i_hiker here.
Problem #4: Facebook Application is unable to upload photos directly via the Media “Send to Facebook” option.
Solution? Visit http://www.facebook.com/mobile/ to find out your Facebook account’s personal email upload address. You can email your pictures there and they will be automatically added to your mobile uploads album. Apparently it is a bug in the app itself and if you can find the legit copy of Facebook 1.5 for Blackberry you’re fine. 1.7.0.18 fixed it, but it was broken in the next release. Apparently it is a problem affecting only some users. Go figure.
Problem #5: Blackberry spontaneously turns off Cellular Radio.
Solution? I don’t know for sure if this IS the solution, but since I spoke to the Telus rep at Kildonan Place. He went into Options -> Security Options -> Memory Cleaning. Then he ran the cleaner and it resolved my radio shutting off problem quite nicely. Whether it lasts, we shall see. For some more information on the Memory Cleaner built-into the Blackberry, check here.
I think that’s all the tips I have for now. If I come up with any more, I know where to post them!
Troy
So, over a week ago, I received a replacement graphics card for a Radeon HD 4850 that suffered from overheating issues when the internal case temperature rose during a long gaming session. I had luckily purchased an in-store product replacement plan in case the card had Any problems. That is a story into itself.
The replacement was surprisingly the barely available Radeon HD 5750. I was quite happy-till I tried to use it. Then began late nights and desperate conversations on online support forums trying to find a solution. From un-informed moderators making accusations about insufficient power and avoiding placing blame on pre-release drivers, to issues with the big selling feature of the 5xxx series: Eyefinity. I cannot, for the life of me, get this card to hit 3360px by 1050 to sufficiently use my 2 monitors to their fullest.
So, my conclusion is, simply, ATI, either get better moderators who know what they’re talking about or make your technical support easier to find.
Today I was working on the DVD for a project I videotaped earlier in the year. I decided I’d fiddle with the Copy protection features built into Encore, just to familiarize myself.
I then discovered a fun little bug after trying to turn it off.
Every time I’d go to create a disc image or burn a disc I’d receive a warning about sector headers and how I’d need to remove them.
In the end, it turns out if you turn them on and simply start un-checking boxes, it doesn’t actually disable it (assuming you set the drop down box).
Fix? Simply re-enable it and set the drop down box to none. Not intuitive, but it works.