Jan-Piet Mens

Bill writes that BlackBerry 4.2 devices have a built-in RSS feed reader; I found it, although it is well hidden.

Open the BlackBerry browser and enter the URL to the feed:

You then get the RSS feed displayed. Here is my current feed (minus this post obviously).

If you click on an entry and Show description you get the content of the posting.

It works. I don't think I'll switch from using Piconews, but the builtin BlackBerry feed reader can help in a pinch.

During dinner the other evening, Christoph asked whether it is possible to disable e-mail reception on a BlackBerry device; he wants to use the phone and the address book whilst on holidays, but he doesn't want to see loads of e-mail messages which might distract from quality leisure time.

It is possible. The setting is in the Email Options, accessible from a mail account on the device.

Change the option Send email to handheld from Yes to No to avoid the BES delivering email messages to the handheld device. Messages can still be sent. In my setup, BIS messages are still delivered.

Peace at last.

I had intended doing the migration via SyncML but wasn't able to because the new SIM hasn't arrived yet. Instead I whipped up a small Perl script to get the data directly from the database and massaged that
into a text file that I imported into the Señora's Lotus Notes address book with a COL definition file, a bit like this one.

All that under six weeks. Twenty one minutes actually.

Señora Mens has condescended to accept a BlackBerry Curve as a replacement for an aging Nokia 62–something.

Upon offering to transfer her mobile phone's address book to the new device (I'd be using SyncML naturally) she said I shouldn't bother: she'd be willing to enter all contact information manually again.

WTF?

I've heard that before. Why is it that (some) women don't mind spending hours doing tedious stupid work like re–entering contact information onto a new mobile device, whereas (some) men use any means to accomplish the same task "electrically" ?

(Even if it takes (some) men the better part of six weeks to do… )

Ich habe heute Morgen versucht den hiesigen Geschaeftskunden T-Punkt zu erreichen. Warteschleife gefolgt von Anrufbeantworter. Name und Anliegen hinterlassen. Keinen Rueckruf.

Mail an den Geschaeftskundenvertrieb mit der Bitte um Ueberpruefung ob im o.g. T-Dingens ein BlackBerry Curve zur Ansicht steht. Nette Antwort vom GK-Vertrieb:

gern möchten wir Ihnen weiter helfen. Leider ist es uns auch nach 3 Versuchen nicht gelungen, persönlichen Kontakt zum T-Punkt herzustellen. Wir haben daher per Nachricht um Rückruf zu Ihnen gebeten

Es trifft uns also alle.

Update: Der Anruf kam dann doch. Aufgrund der Gewaehlten Nummer weiss ich, dass es wg. des GK-Vertriebs ist.

Another silent update from Nexthaus: SyncJE 2.23 for BlackBerry. I've been using SyncJE for some time now, and I'm very pleased with it.

Even though they have an OTA installer, you have to install the Windows executable to find the change log. I've done that for you:

Changes to Version 2.11
* Added option to set client timeout in settings
Version 2.20
* Added option to choose between WAP, MDS or BIS-B Internet connection method.
Version 2.21
* Fixed problem with local time and reminders
* Fixed wrong number of recurring events for week and month
* Added X-RIM-DCID field to contacts for PTT or DC support for iDen phones
Version 2.22
* Fixed registration problem
Version 2.23
* Fixed all day events problem with certain servers

If you look at their News page, the last update was in February of 2005! Why? What is the point? These guys make good software. Why don't they publicize it better? A few months ago, I even went to the trouble of writing them a message to this effect, but I was rewarded with silence.

I took the plunge and installed OS 4.2.1 onto my 8700g BlackBerry handheld. Volker had announced its availability a month ago.

The upgrade went smoothly, and the result is optically pleasing:

I have the impression that the responsiveness of the device isn't as snappy as it was with 4.1, but that just might be my imagination. Contacts can now have a photograph attached to them (which is nice), but I haven't yet seen those pictures appear anywhere else, i.e. on Lotus Notes, so their usefulness needs checking.

Supposedly 4.2 allows dial-up networking over BlueTooth, so I'll be attempting that sometime soon.