stuff inside my little mind

Countries banning the use of Blackberry.

Blackberry is being banned because it can’t be monitored.   Apparently, in the US, we have the same type of laws based on “The Patriot Act”, but it’s not affecting the Blackberry usage in the US as far as I know.  RIM’s encryption is a closely guarded secret, and they apparently will lose a whole country’s worth of usage before they let that go.  With statements like this in the news:

“The company faced obstacles recently in Pakistan, where the national telecommunications regulator said it blocked Internet browsers on BlackBerry handsets, citing concerns over blasphemy.”

Blasphemy?  Seriously?  You ban Blackberrys because of what people need to believe?  What kind of brain-dead minds are in control here, anyway?  Somebody needs a serious wakeup call.

RIM, encrypt your stuff.  People don’t like it, tough.  We’re made of freedom here in the US, don’t let anyone ever change that!  (Even though you are Canadian, haha!)

I took a little trip, ran into my brother, and my friend, Mr. Right Hand Photographer, took this shot:

I noticed this when I looked at the picture:

BLACKBERRYS ARE EVERYWHERE!  A Curve, I believe.  Amazing.  This wasn’t a “planned pose”.  Blackberry taken with a Blackberry.  I actually use the BB camera more than the new Canon I got for Christmas.  Why?  Because, within seconds, whatever I take is either sent via MMS, or posted on Facebook for all my friends and family to enjoy.  Sure, it’s “low res”.  You know, the old camera rule of how to take good pictures used to be “F8 and be there”.  Now it’s “Fresh charge and be there”.  More people are out there, with phone cameras, taking great pictures, and many, many terrible pictures.  The phone cameras are getting better, but they won’t save a failing photographer.  A book I read (and loaned to my daughter, I think) is Bryan Peterson’s “Understanding Exposure”.  The latest copy is taking a twist to digital besides film.  I really should get a copy of this one.  Understanding how the camera works, how to position yourself, and how to illuminate the scene will become a habit.  The technique works with any camera.  There’s a few things you need to know about your camera, but in the case of the phone cameras, many of them are pretty darn good snapshot cameras, and knowing how to position them is really all you need to do.  There’s things you can and can’t take pictures of with the mini cams.  Also, resolution is everything!  For instance, in my pic above, I took a decent picture, right?  However, the clip and zoomed image is from my lower resolution photo posted on Facebook.  The actual clip from my phone picture is here:

The first one was zoomed about 250%, the second one is not.  It’s an actual clip from the photo, unresized.  If you have to post something important, or vital, use the best resolution.  While I still can’t read her screen, I can see the keys.  Keep in mind this was an unzoomed Blackberry from about 5 feet away.  That’s not bad.  My native pics size is 2048 x 1536.  It’s a 3.2 mp camera, the same resolution I have been using on my old Canon for the last 5 years!  Get the book, practice your shooting.   Post the best!

Got a new version of the OS for the BB 8900.  Wile waiting to download THAT, I ran across a hybrid Os that has been making the rounds for a while.  It’s the “Willyboy” hybrid.  Mostly the same, but he seems to throw in some better stuff from other phones OS, stuff that should work better, like faster internet, better battery usage, and other stuff.  Also, I found a new utility… well, new to me.  I have no idea how this has been hidden from me!  What you should look for is “Shrink-A-OS”, found in the Willyboy distribution, or can be downloaded separately.  I’m test driving this installation right now.  From the Shrink A OS, I gained about 20 or so mb on my install!  Not too shabby.  We’ll see how the gadget holds up after this.

I finished another “e” book this week.  It seems now that my need for new ebooks is enhanced!  So far I’m not buying any, there’s tons of free ones.  Try Baen books, or even Kindle for the free ones.  I’m using mobipocket and the Amazon Kindle software for the Blackberry, and they work great. Oh, and I should add, I bought a Real Book, with a hardcover and everything!  Leo Honeycutt’s new book on “Edwin Edwards”.   Signed by the author and everything!  We’ve known Leo for what, 26 years?  Wow.

I also upgraded Brenda’s BB 9000 to the latest “unofficial” software.  “PL5.2.0.57_A5.0.0.610″ is in the filename.  Pretty nice!   Nothing else is new.  Haven’t found any more “keepers” in the Blackberry world of software yet.  I have spent a lot of time on this blog trying to display pictures in a way I like, and so far it ain’t happening.  Stay tuned!

Maybe it’s not a secret. Something happened this week that totally amazed me. We went to Stephanie’s “Mrs. Oklahoma” pageant (she WON!) and I took about 50 pictures. When I got home, I shrunk them a little, then threw them into a zip file. Windows zip, nothing strange. Two people who got the pictures had issues. One, with an Iphone, could not unzip the file. Iphone won’t do that. The other person couldn’t view the zip file at all, so I referred them to a winrar download.

Well, I forgot to send them to Brenda so she could have them. So, I sent the same file to Brenda’s email. Lo and behold, about a minute later she comments on the pictures – from the recliner. Apparently Blackberry will view the contents of Windows zip files with no effort at all! She’s using a 9000 with the 4. something operating system so this should not be a question for anybody with a Blackberry.

Amazed I am. It’s the little things that make the Blackberry world go ’round.