VMWare: Synch with Blackberry at Last!

In my searching the past week I found many articles about how using VMWare and trying to synch a Blackberry using the Blackberry Desktop Manager failed. Many of these articles were 2006 and before - nothing more current. Well, I found the solution and present it here for others that are looking.

The best I can tell is that using any VMWare Workstation before version 6.5.x uses a very different method of attaching USB devices which is not direct. The Blackberry Desktop Manager uses a direct connection for security and other measures.

The good news is that I was successful 'out of the box' with Blackberry Desktop Manager 4.6 (current as of this writing) and VMWare Workstation 6.5.0 Build 118166.

I use Windows XP SP2 to run VMWare Workstation and I am running Windows 2000 with SP4 to run the Blackberry Desktop Manager.

Have at it! ... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.

Blackberry 8830 Shortcuts

Ok, so this doesn't have much to do with photography, but since I rely so much on my cell phone, I wanted to be sure that I kept this information should I need it again. Here, then, are a few shortcuts that I have found on the web for the Blackberry 8830.

Rebooting

Pressing the ALT + RIGHT SHIFT + DELETE keys simultaneously will peform a reboot. Even though you shouldn't need this very often, it does help if you are having connection or application problems. I have to confess, compared to my former Palm Pilot (which I used from the very first model through the Palm 700) had to be rebooted at least once a week. The 8830 I have been using for three months has only needed rebooted twice. I think this is why I forget the shortcut! (see this post).

Viewing the Log

Pressing the ALT + L + G + L + G keys will show the application / device log. This is helpful to see any errors that might be cropping up. While the information isn't as detailed as you might think, it gives the application and the date which can help you get to a solution. (see this post).

Other Shortcuts

I will update this section with more shortcuts as I find them useful. For now, here is a post that lists more shortcuts for the Blackberry devices.

Memory

Since memory leaks are the primary items that cause a need for a reboot, I'll share with you a program that I have found useful. Memory Up is not only a memory report tool that shows you used and available memory, but it also can do a memory defrag. A defrag can get back some of that lost memory. The trial works great and gives you a chance to see the full version. I found the price reasonable for getting such a handy program.



... Read More!

Don't forget to visit my photography web site where we sell museum quality black and white prints framed to last up to 175 years - Outdoor Images Fine Art.