2008 – Page 10 – Just thoughts

April 3, 2008July 29, 2014

Duh!

Got caught on the BB this afternoon; thought I’d lost my password and locked myself out. Didn’t realise that I’d somehow got Caps On. Just shows – any computer literate user (I claim to be such) needs some hand-holding! [Also needs a manual – so I’m printing one off now!]

Got my Contacts on the device now – whew! Needed an install of BlackBerry Desktop manager on top of the Notes install, and even though I had to provide a BES server location, it actually downloads from my aging iPAQ sitting on its cradle – USB->USB. Really makes a difference and with all the different modes of contacting them at a click; it makes contacting them so much easier. I do like that! Really neat feature is clicking on an address and getting a map from Google Earth – no excuse for getting lost. As it has onboard GPS as well, I don’t even have to talk to strangers.

March 28, 2008July 29, 2014

Cooking with gas … or maybe not!

Been asked to evaluate a BlackBerry with Lotus Notes. Seemed a good idea at first, then the keyboard eccentricities kicked-in; found I hadn’t got signal at home – not surprising really it was the same for my mobile phone; and I found I hadn’t got my contacts in the device.

Now to me, the only real value for a PDA-type thingie is to have your Contacts with you. The calendar and email access are of course what the BB is all about, but no out of the box way of getting my Local Contacts from Notes through the BES server – big drawback.

So … I find myself scouring CDs, RiM websites, manuals, etc. and doing downloads just to get what I consider basic functionality added to a device that is meant to make my life easier! I really am becoming a grumpy old man.

I’ll try and document any other experiences – hoping for an improvement soon.

iPhone session January 16, 2024
I’ve been toying with the idea of more extensive use of my iPhone 14 Pro with its three lenses; and I’d also come across and purchased Halide – a Camera app for the iPhone, along with Spectre – another app from the same stable that utilises the Live functionality on the iPhone to give silky […]
That red kite again!!! September 19, 2023
A number of things have happened since I took the image of a Red Kite looking down at me at The Red Kite Centre at Llanddeusant back in 2011. It was the first outing of a new 70-300mm lens on my old Sony DSLR-A700 which only had a 12Mp Crop Sensor. Those images are shown […]
Fun with Photoshop September 19, 2023
Just occasionally I can breakout from the mould of my photography, and this image shows just one such occasion. The challenge set by the local u3a Photography group was selfies – but with a difference. I must admit I faced the challenge with quite some reticence. It seemed silly; I didn’t want to take photos […]

Browsers and Search Engines – 2022 November 20, 2022
It’s always worth reviewing which search engine you should use, as it is the browser of choice to “surf the web”. The reasons you might wish to consider which search engine you might wish to use are greater privacy, enhanced security, minimise adverts being displayed, or to get more meaningful pages being displayed, but first […]
Stolen phone & SIM locking November 20, 2022
A rather disturbing incident involving a stolen phone and credit cards and the ability of a fraudster/thief being able to reset a user’s password/pass-number for a high-street bank occurred in September involving a journalist called Charlotte Morgan. She described what happened to her (and it transpired others) when her phone and credit cards were stolen […]
Switch-off of analogue PSTN February 4, 2022
This article will record the progress of the planned switch-off of the analogue PSTN (public switched telephone network) by 2025, and its implications to all of our generation, as Openreach moves to implement a fully digital service. The issue was brought to the attention of the Cardiff u3a Computer Group by Jenny Sims, a group […]