Real World Computing

Obviously these instructions apply to other Blackberry Models too. I've listed all of the steps that I followed but you can probably skip ahead to the second URL (step 5); Note that these instructions assume that you already have a MySpace account. Start the Blackberry browser and go to; http://www.myspace.com/blackberry Click Send to My Blackberry . Fill in your name and your Blackberry email address (it doesn't have to be the same email address you use for Myspace). After this, you can close the window (Don't bother with the link, just exit the browser). Your blackberry inbox will soon receive a new email. It contains the second URL I mentioned earlier. http://www.blackberry.com/email/myspace2 Click the button marked Download . Another download button will appear... Click this one too. A quick Bar Graph will draw and then you can click Ok and close the browser . Look in the Downloads folder for the App. For ease of use, you might want to press the blackberry button on i...

Why would you need to do this? Sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes you accidentally restore a bit too much of your CEO's old Blackberry 8800 over the top of his new one (and then you re-activate it on the network). Sometimes your CEO mentions to you that he now has four calendar entries... Yep. It happened to me. Erasing the device without deleting the extra applications allows you to redo the restore and activation tasks properly. The Procedure Press the Blackberry Button Choose Options (Spanner Icon) Choose Security Options Choose General Settings Press the Blackberry Button Choose Wipe Handheld from the Popup Menu Click Ok At the Message: Warning all application data will be lost! Message service and other services will be turned off. Make sure that [_] Include third party applications is deselected Click the Continue button type the word blackberry when prompted and press the Enter key. Wait for about 90 seconds while the blackberry whitescreens and reboots Getting Star...

Blackberry Professional vs Blackberry Enterprise Server One of my greatest disappointments with RIM's recent "downgrade" of the Blackberry Enterprise Server to a Blackberry Professional Server for small business customers was the loss of Lotus Sametime. When I first read about this, I was really miffed. After all, we hadn't yet got around to using Sametime on the blackberry and they were going to block it. The other thing that I couldn't understand was exactly how the version of Blackberry Server affected the use of Sametime anyway. After all, blackberry messenger still works and Google Talk works extremely well on the Blackberry. The Blackberry server has no impact on these applications so why should it affect Lotus Sametime. The answer is I don't know and it doesn't. It certainly doesn't affect Sametime in any way that I can see however perhaps I'm not using all of the features that were once available. Installing Sametime for the Blackberry...

The Problem The Blackberry bold is going well for me but the one thing that I missed from my 8800 was the game Ka-Glom. It was seriously addictive. In any case, I figured that I could just go to http://mobile.blackberry.com/ and get them again.. right? wrong... It seems that the site doesn't properly recognize the Blackberry Bold and as a result, it doesn't offer any games for it. The Solution The solution was easier than I expected, you just need to know the full path to the JAD files and enter it into your blackberry browser. Be warned though, these games can be addictive and if you install all of them, you'll probably run out of space on your blackberry device. Coping with Change Also, Blackberry change the links sometimes when they reorganize their site. If the links don't work, find some free games there which DO have working links and then try their URLs with the .JAD file names listed below. You can also do a google search for specific files (eg: KaGlom.jad). ...

The web browser in the Blackberry Bold is very much improved but I've still found a few places where it doesn't work as expected. When that happens, you want a different browser. You want... Opera Mini. Use the web browser to go to http://mini.opera.com/ Click on the link marked Download Opera Mini . The Blackberry bold is currently downloading the OperaMini 8830 version but I've found it to be very compatible. (Had no problems so far). Choose Download . You might get a message about the applications signature but this isn't a problem, just a scary message. Click Ok . Click Ok when the application has been installed.

The Problem Recently we moved some of our people onto Blackberry Bold. As part of the process, we've had to delete them off the BES Server and re-add them. It's not only their device PINS that have changed. It's also their SIM Cards (as the older cards didn't always support 3G). I discovered that if you do this, email will still route nicely after activation but the number of past message brought over to the device is quite small. You won't be able to get all your messages but you can increase the window backwards from 5 days before activation up to a maximum of 14 days. Here's how to do it. The Procedure On Your BES (or in our Case , Blackberry Professional) Server, Start the BlackBerry Manager . Click on the Tab Marked Home . In the Tasks box (top left corner), Click the link marked Edit Server Properties . A Dialog box will appear. In the left hand panel of this dialog box, click Messaging . Scroll through the right hand panel of the dialog box to find the...

I had been fretting recently about the Shift+Alt+Delete keystroke not working on the Blackberry Bold 9000. For those who don't know about this keystroke, it's essentially the same as removing the battery (ie: a hard reset) but without the hard work associated with it. The blackberry device is very particular about hard resets - and there's often a reason why you need to do one instead of a soft reset (which is just turning the device off and then on again). In any case, the keys still work but now only the right shift key can be used. I've also heard some users complain that they have to do the key combination twice before it takes effect.

The Blackberry Bold 9000 has gotten a bit more serious about how things are stored on it with the new software. The Blackberry folder and its special sub-folders (documents, music, pictures, ringtones, videos, voicenotes) have always been there - well, there are a couple of new ones. Unfortunately now the blackberry media player makes it difficult to play talking books. In particular, it now tends to play everything out of order and it mixes my songs folders up with the talking books folders. Luckily I've found a solution. I've now created two folders above my blackberry folder, one for eBooks and one for Talking Books. I can now point my applications MobiPocket eBook Reader and Mobiola xPlayer at those directories. This means that I can play my talking books using xPlayer and I can play my songs using the Blackberry media player. Even better, I don't have to keep switching from one playlist to another.

I'm still continuing with the development of a SOE for our corporate Blackberries. Next up, the Facebook application. Sure, I know it's not necessarily "corporate" but I'd rather that IT does a standard install than the users try to do it themselves. Open your blackberry web browser up to http://www.blackberry.com/facebook Choose Download this program . Scroll through the massive legal disclaimer and choose I Accept then click Next. Choose Download and wait for the Bar Graph. You'll be dropped back in your web browser but should find the icon in the downloads folder.