David Pollitt

Run LogMeIn with Windows 7

// January 19th, 2009 // View Comments // Software

Update – From what I can tell, if you install the newest version of the LogMeIn desktop software, you shouldn’t have any problems on Windows 7.  Thus, this is now outdated and might be useful to a few for reference purposes.
How to use LogMeIn Free with Windows 7 Beta:

1. Download the LogMeIn software to your desktop from this site: https://secure.logmein.com/logmein.zip

2. Unzip the folder to a new folder on your desktop named “logmein”.

3. Go to the start menu and search for “cmd. When you find the Command Prompt entry, right click it and select “Run as Administrator”, and Click through the warning prompt.

4.In command prompt type “cd\users\\desktop\logmein\x86” without quotes and press enter. (If you are running 64-bit Windows change the ‘x86′ to ‘x64′)

5. In command prompt type “logmein install” without quotes and press enter.

6. The installer will run and you should then see the tray icon when it’s finished. Right click on the icon and select “Open LogMeIn…”

7. Firefox will open and you’ll get an error box. Just click “OK“.

8. Copy and paste this address into the address bar: https://127.0.0.1:2002/

9. Click through if you get a popup warning you about a certificate. On the page itself you will see something to allow an exception. Click on that and then click ‘Get Certificate‘ in the next box. Again you will probably get another warning but just click add anyway.

10. You should see the familiar LogMeIn screen. UPDATE- Make sure to login using COMPUTERNAME/USERNAME, then your regular computer password.  For example- davidscomputer/david as the username.  There are comments below outlining this as well.

It is a pretty straightforward process, but does take a bit of workaround to get it setup. Hopefully over the next few months LogMeIn will add support to Windows 7 for its installer package.

Thank you to user doober for the directions via the LMI forums.

-DPollitt

Minnehaha Falls from Above

// January 18th, 2009 // View Comments // Photography

Minnehaha Falls from Above, originally uploaded by dpollitt.

Taken June 2008, I shot this waterfall from above. I shot with a slower shutter speed – 1/2 second to give the water some life.

-DPollitt

Blackberry Storm Keyboard Settings: Key Rate, Tap Interval, Hover Period, Swipe Sensitivity Explained

// January 15th, 2009 // View Comments // Blackberry, Popular

There are quite a few keyboard settings on the Blackberry Storm that are easily misunderstood. I’ll go over the most confusing ones here. These can be found in Options> Screen/Keyboard> Key Rate, Tap Interval, Hover Period, and Swipe Sensitivity.

Key Rate:

Key rate determines how fast the key repeats after holding it down. The two uses that I have found for this on the Storm include how fast it will capitalize a letter, and how fast it will delete characters. To test this turn it all the way up to fast, type something, then hold delete. I like setting this to fast to allow me to capitalize letters quicker. (Fastest:Fast, Slowest:Slow)

Tap Interval:

Tap interval determines the amount of time between clicks to register as a double tap, similar to double clicking on a PC. A higher value will allow you to double tap slower and still get the effect. Try using the browser and double tapping to zoom in to test this. (Fastest:100, Slowest:500)

Hover Period:

Hover period determines the amount of time you can place your finger on a hover object before it is registered as a hover. A higher value here will make the period longer, and require you to hold your finger on an object longer before the action takes place. An example of this is when you hover on a message in your inbox it will filter out all messages from that contact. You can also see the change when modifying text with the cursor. (Fastest:100, Slowest:1000)

Swipe Sensitivity:

Swipe sensitivity determines how sensitive the device is to flicking or swiping across the screen. You can test this by flicking or scrolling through images, or messages. A higher value will make this faster, and allow you to scroll and flick faster. (Fastest:(High)6, Slowest:(Low)0)

Recommendations:

What do I recommend to set these at? This is currently what I have setup:
Key Rate: Fast
Tap Interval: 100
Hover Period: 100
Swipe Sensitivity: (High)6

Explaination:

Fastest key rate, fastest double tap, fastest hover register, greatest sensitivity.

-DPollitt

Blackberry Storm 9530 Running OS v4.7.0.86

// January 12th, 2009 // View Comments // Blackberry

There have been multiple ‘leaked’ OS releases for the Blackberry Storm. I got my hands on the most recent one and gave it a shot. Here are my initial thoughts:

-No issues with VZW Screen
-No issues with Media Card Inserted message(I had this many times before)
-New camera transparency is GREAT
-Entire device is more responsive
-Browser is faster to load initially, and pages render faster
-Accelerometer is actually becoming fast, this .86 update makes it work great
-Scrolling through emails or contact lists is faster
-Camera time to take photo is getting faster with each update. Now I notice the box for the photo gets highlighted when the focus is done being set. Not sure if this is new, but I believe it is.
-Highlight on hover is still disabled on home screen
-I have 39MB File Free after update(forgot to check before)
-Keyboard has very little lag, I can push the limit but you have to be typing pretty fast to notice it.

Running
9530 v4.7.0.86 Platform 4.0.0.108

-Update 1/15/09- After four days of running this update full time, I’ve only had a few minor issues. The “Media Card Inserted” message came up once after about 10 regular battery pulls, but it went away with one pull. Overall I feel that this is a very stable release. The device runs considerably faster compared to older leaks.

-Update 1/16/09- I’ve had on and off small issues- the backlight gets stuck on and does not turn off till a battery pull from time to time, and the “Media Card Inserted” message has come up a few more times. I am still happy with this release, and recommend anyone interested in beta Storm OS’s to check it out.

-DPollitt

Christmas Cookies – Peanut Butter with Kiss

// January 9th, 2009 // View Comments // Cooking

Chocolate Peanut Butter with Kiss

½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup margarine or butter, softened
¼ cup shortening (Criso)
½ cup peanut butter (Creamy)
1 egg
1¼ cups all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Bag Brach’s chocolate stars – Or Hersheys Kisses

1. Heat oven to 375.
   Mix sugars , margarine, shortening, peanut butter and egg.
   Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.
2. Shape into small balls (about the size of a nickel I’d guess)
3. Rolls balls in granulated sugar.
4. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
   Use the bottom of a flat glass to press the ball down slightly.
5. Bake until light brown, remove from pan and immediately place a
   Brach’s chocolate star in the center of each cookie, pressing it down slightly. Allow to cool.
6. Freeze in single layer on cookie sheet for 15 minutes, then you can layer cookies without ruining the stars.
   This makes 3-4 dozen.

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Christmas Cookies – Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

// January 9th, 2009 // View Comments // Cooking

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

16 ounces creamy peanut butter
1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, combine peanut butter, powdered sugar and butter. Beat until smooth. Scoop out spoonfuls and roll into 1-inch balls. Arrange on baking sheet and refrigerate 30 minutes.
2. Line another baking sheet with waxed paper. Place chocolate chips in top of double boiler. Melt over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Using wooden picks, dip balls into chocolate to coat completely, letting excess drip back into pan. Set balls on prepared sheet. Store in refrigerator.

-DPollitt