Malcolm's Tech Tips

Printable Blackberry Sketch Book

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:35:35 +0000

Allows you to print a picture of several Blackberry devices including the new Playbook so that you can design your UI on paper first.

http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-App-World-Development/Printable-Blackberry-Sketch-Book/td-p/944479

Learn to program for the Blackberry Playbook with code samples. Intro.

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:36:41 +0000

I’m trying to teach myself ActionScript to be able to develop applications for the Blackberry Playbook.
After a bit of a false start when I was tried jumping in at the deep end and trying to pull information out of a SQL Lite database, I decided that I should probably stop, go back to the beginning and start with something simple, and then and work my way up.

I decided that as I went I would share my little code sample with everyone in a series of posts in case they help out someone else also.

Here’s what you need to follow along:

Install them in the order listed above. You also need to add the path to the Tablet OS SDK into your systems PATH environment variable.

BlackBerry Certification Program

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:15:48 +0000

Did you know that you can get certified to write Blackberry Apps, Install the software and Support Blackberry devices ?

Find out more via Blackberry Certification Program site at
http://us.blackberry.com/support/programs/certification

There seems to be only on place to get safe study guides though,
Self-Study Guides by element K
http://elementkcourseware.com/blackberry

How to use your Blackberry as a GPS tracker

Malcolm Chalmers — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:13:51 +0000

Most Blackberries come with a built in GPS. I think this is a great feature, but I haven’t found allot of use for yet.
One use I did find however was as a GPS tracker. This allows me to track where I go on my motorcycle tours.

First you need to get beGPS from Blackberry App World
This is the free version, there is also a paid version with a few more options.

Then get GPSBabel from here to be able to convert the data that beGPS writes.

Once you have used beGPS the first time there should be a beGPS.log file on you Blackberry SD card. Copy the beGPS.log from off your Blackberry to your PC.
Then use GPSBabel to convert the log file to a KML file like this,

GPSBabel screen, note the translation options

or by the command prompt like this.

gpsbabel -i nmea -o kml begps.log begps.kml

Then you need to go to google maps and login with your Google account.
Go to My Maps, create a new map, and then use Import to import the KML file.

Done.

Compile Blackberry Playbook Applications without using Flash Builder

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 09:42:47 +0000

Blackberry have some great info on how to develop applications for their new Playbook HERE but it uses Adobe Flash Builder. Which you have to purchase at a significant cost from Adobe.

However there are alternatives. First, you’ll need to read the basics in THIS support form post. You’ll need the AdobeAIR SDK, the Blackberry Table OS SDK and optionally Flash Develop

You don’t have to use Flash Develop, you could use a plain text editor. But it is a very nice IDE to write in and does give you syntax highlighting. And it can compile the SWF file for you. You still have to create the batch file to launch your application into the virtual Playbook, but you can add that into the project and run it from there.

Good luck with your coding

Setting a Caller ID photo on a Blackberry 8800

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:27:41 +0000

Go to Media > Pictures
Navigate to the picture you want to use. (simply highlight the picture or open the picture)
Press the menu/blackberry button.
Scroll down to "Set As caller ID"
Select portion of picture you want to use.
Select Caller you want to set the picture for.

Windows Multiple Remote Desktop MMC Snap-in

Malcolm Chalmers — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:33:25 +0000

You can now get an Windows MMC snap-in that allows you to easily manage multiple remote desktop connections at once.

However it can be a little tricky to find, especially if you are running Windows 7

The file you need to download is here :
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=E487F885-F0C7-436A-A392-25793A25BAD7
it’s the “Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Administration Tools Pack”

Which sound like just a service pack for the tools, but it’s the whole thing.

You then need to start MMC and then add “Remote Desktops” snap-in.
Then right-click on the “Remote Desktops” branch and choose “Add new connection.”

How to remove an IT policy from a Blackberry

Malcolm Chalmers — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:09:11 +0000

Upgrade your Blackberry to OS 4.5 or higher
Backup your device using the Desktop Manager and then close Desktop Manager.
Go to Start->Run and type CMD
(you can also find the command prompt in Programs >Accessories.)
In the command window type the following including spaces:
cd c:\program files\common files\research in motion\apploader
or if you are using 64-bit Windows 7, type
cd c:\program files (x86)\common files\research in motion\apploader
Now type: loader.exe/resettofactory
After your device has finished restarting, you can use the desktop manager software to restore all or some of your data.

from : http://www.blackberryforums.com/rim-software/67224-remove-policy.html

Set the convenience key on you blackberry 8800

Malcolm Chalmers — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:55:33 +0000

You can change the action associated with the convenience key on the left side of your Blackberry with this simple instructions.

Open Options
Scroll down to Screen/Keyboard, and click
Scroll down to Convenience Key Opens:
Click the scroll and a menu will appear.
Scroll up or down and the option you want.
Press the menu key.
Click Save.

Good Blackberry ebook reader

Malcolm Chalmers — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:36:51 +0000

I have recently got myself a Blackberry 8800 phone.
While it is not the latest and greatest model it is still a very good smart phone.

One of the first things I wanted to do was find a ebook reader for it. After some trial and error and I found the KOBO reader an excellent choice.

You can get it from Blackberry App World or from Kobobooks

Kobobooks has a fairly good selection of books to choose from and most are a good price.