Windows 10 Clip Board "bin"

For years Windows users have had to install third-party software to be able to store more than one item on their "clipboard" (where things go when you cut-and-paste [Ctrl]-C or [Ctrl]-X).  But with a recent update to Windows 10, Microsoft has finally implemented a multi-item clipboard "bin."

The usual cut-and-paste shortcuts still work as they always have, but now you have the option to [Win]-V (windows key + v) and a pop-up will present you with a list of all the things you've cut or copied since turning on your machine last.  This means that from one page, you can cut or copy many items and have access to ALL OF THEM when you go to the location you want to paste those things.  No more going back and forth from various tabs or documents to cut and paste.

This is an incredible time saver.

And not only can you access things you've previously cut or copied during your current session, but you can PIN items to the clipboard for permanent access!  This is a major boon to my daily workflow.

Now instead of having to create a document with commonly used bits of text (common correspondence, various signatures, common strings, etc.), I can pin those things to the clipboard and access them straight from Win-V anytime I wish!

That is an even bigger time saver.

When you open your clipboard, each item will have the ubiquitous "triple dot" next to it.  The options from that menu are "delete," "pin," and "clear all."

If you use multiple Windows devices, you can also choose to sync your clipboard so the items are accessible across as many devices as you wish.  Just type "sync clipboard" in your Windows search bar and follow the instructions!

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Bluetooth Problems with MacBook Pro Running Bootcamp (Windows)

For as long as I've been using my MacBook Pro, my Bluetooth has been abysmal. I run Windows via Bootcamp, but my wife uses her MBP as a Mac and she has the same problems (maybe worse). She got a nice little Jawbone Jambox Bluetooth speaker for Christmas and never even used it, because she couldn't ever get it to connect to her MBP (and for me to get it to work, it took some serious effort, and even then the performance was sub par).

I have several audio solutions set up around the house and studio, and Bluetooth is a fairly substantial part of the system(s), so today I decided to finally figure out what is going on, once and for all.

For those who come across this post with the same problem looking for a quick-fix answer, try this:

1. Go to Device Manager > Network adapters > Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter
2. Right click and select Properties.
3. Click the Advanced tab, go to Bluetooth Collaboration, and select "Enable" from the Value drop-down menu on the right.

 

After a lot of research, this seems to be the solution that works for most people.  And while it did help my problem, there are still major problems with my Bluetooth connection.

What it boils down to?  ANYTHING electronic (yes, I understand the computer is electronic, and that actually IS a factor!) will interfere with the Bluetooth Adapter's signal.  It really is just a matter of the Bluetooth hardware in earlier MacBook Pros being utter and total shite.

After I completed the steps above to enable Bluetooth Collaboration, I still had issues. I tried rebooting.  I tried altering other settings with both the network adapter and the Bluetooth devices (drivers on the MacBook as well as the devices themselves).  Then I remembered reading previously that a lot of people had problems with actual signal interference.  The MBP power block was sitting on the table (not near enough for me to think it'd be an issue, but still... on the table).  I moved it, and like magic, the music streaming over Bluetooth stopped stuttering.  But as soon as I started using my mouse (connected via wireless), the stutter started again.  So I unplugged the mouse receiver, but that didn't seem to help... and then I actually turned the mouse off via its physical switch, and the signal was smooth again... until I tried looking something else up on the web (using the MBP track pad instead of my mouse), when the stuttering started again.

So I am now better than where I started.  After enabling "Bluetooth Collaboration" for the network adapter, I can at least walk away from the laptop and stream a smooth music signal to my Bluetooth receiver and stereo.  However, if I touch the computer or put anything electronic anywhere near the MacBook, the signal will be interrupted and stutter like crazy.

 

Goodbye Windows Live Writer, Hello Open Live Writer

I use Windows Live Writer to compose my posts (it’s a much more robust desktop blog composition interface than anything else I’ve been able to find).  A couple of days ago I tried to post here, and I got a log in error from Google (The Invisible Blog is hosted on Blogger).  This has happened (a lot) in the past (basically everytime Google changes any log in protocol), and I didn’t really have time to troubleshoot at that moment, so I revisited the issue today.  Turns out the problem is going to be permanenet.

Microsoft hasn’t really updated Live Writer since August of 2012.  Since Google updated their API at the end of 2015, Windows Live Writer will never work with Blogger again.  Luckily, Microsoft turned Live Writer over to .NET Foundation (which includes a bunch of Microsoft employees working as volunteers) and they are working with Google/Blogger to make Blogger and Live Writer play nice.

There are some things that they’ve done away with (spellcheck –won’t work on Win7 but will hopefully work on Win8 using the OS’s built-in spell check, albums –which I’ll miss because it was an easy way to upload a group of photos), and there are some things that just aren’t supported yet (categories –hopefully they are able to get this back up and runnning, plug-ins –I don’t use any, so this doesn’t really affect me).

A current annoyance (but minor, in comparison to the possibilty of not being able to use Live Writer at all) is that Open Live Writer doesn’t seem to be able to open any Drafts that are online (it only has the option to open local drafts).

I am happy to know that there are people keeping Live Writer alive, especially since no one seems to be interested in creating decent blog composition software (which seems REALLY weird, since the internet has become basically one giant blog).

Kudos, people of .NET Foundation.

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Format Large SD Card for Android

I’ve got several older devices laying around that I use for various things (media players, cameras, etc.).  Recently I tried to upgrade the Micro SD card in my HTC Droid Incredible (ADR6300) running Android 2.3.4 from 8GB to 128GB and I had a heck of a time getting it to recognize the 128GB card.

Formatting via Windows for anything over 32GB can’t be done using Disk Tools (you can only format as exFat and NTFS).  Thus, if you’re going to format with what you’ve got in Windows, you have to use a command line.  Using the “quick” format command in the command line ( format <drive letter>: /FS:FAT32 /Q) almost always causes failure for disks over 32GB, and when you don’t do a quick format, it almost always pretends like it’s formatting for a couple of hours, then fails.

I actually got the Droid to recognize and format the card using its own utility at one point, but then the phone just went into boot loop and finally hung on the HTC screen.

I am loathe to download and install programs from weird locations around the web, but after about an hour and a half of trying all the routes that DIDN’T involve installing software, I finally broke down and installed FAT32Format from Ridgecrop Consultants, LTD (a guy in the UK).

Here is their fancy logo.

While their graphic design may leave something to be desired, their code rocks.

Lemme tell you… I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out “other ways” when I could have just done this in the first place.  The executable is tiny (76KB), and the disk was formatted and working in my droid in less than 60 seconds.

Kudos, Ridgeway.

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Windows Doesn’t Always Load ICC Color Profile for Monitor

I recently installed a new EVGA GeForce 750Ti video card in an older machine.  I had some points on a credit card that would make a card in the sub $200 range “free,” so I did some research on video cards and upgraded my rather ancient GTX 260 (which I actually used while cutting our feature film in 2009!) to decrease my rendering times and allow for a bit more oomph when utilizing CUDA processing for effects and on-the-fly rendering in Adobe Premiere.

The GeForce 750Ti is basically the “sweet spot” for cost/power in gaming cards, which are the poor man’s video-editing cards (though, as of this posting, NVIDIA has released the GTX 960, which is the new sweet spot in this category).  I would have loved to install a higher-end “Adobe Approved” Quadro card(s), but this option is cost is prohibitive at the moment (we’re putting money into camera equipment), so this is a decent band-aid for this particular editing rig.

We use Xrite EyeOnes (i1) with EyeOne Match 3 (v.3.6.2) software to calibrate our monitors.  However, after installing the card, I kept getting the dreaded “pink screen” hue almost every time I’d reboot the machine after calibration.  The most common cause for this malady is a bad video cable (I’m using a super-thick (24AWG) and fairly long 15 foot DVI Cable, so this was definitely a possibility).  However, I checked my cables (using DVI, HDMI, and even Display Port), and the cable was not the issue.

I also checked my system defaults to be sure Windows was calling up the custom i1 color profile as the profile for the monitor.  The profile was marked as the default and appeared to be the active profile in the color settings, so I assumed it was being used.

I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I thought maybe it was the card.  I RMA’d the card, and Amazon sent a new one.  p.s. I really appreciate their policy of sending a replacement before they require you to send the defective unit back.  They give you a month to return the item once they send out the new one, so I didn’t have to go without a video card while waiting for the replacement (yes, I could have put the old one back in, but I was enjoying the decreased rendering times too much).

The new card arrived. I installed it and ran color calibration on the monitor.  For a couple of days, everything seemed great, until one day… the dreaded pink screen had returned.  I spent three more days researching the issue before I finally came across the solution.

It turns out there are not one, but TWO places where Windows 7 64-bit has settings for loading the monitor’s ICC color profile.

Yes, you can set your monitor’s ICC color profile at Control Panel>Appearance and Personlization: Adjust screen resolution>Advanced settings>Color Management (tab)>Color Management (button), but there is another place you need to do some tweaking in order to tell Win7 to actually USE these settings.  How stupid is that?!

So on the Advanced tab where you can select your defaults, there is a button at the bottom called “Change system defaults…”

In that panel, there is an “Advanced” tab, and at the bottom right of that panel there is a box called “Use Windows display calibration.” You must tick that box to get Windows to actually use your ICC monitor calibration setting each time it starts (even though it would appear, from the previous panel, that Windows IS using the default).  Unbelievable.  Why even have the option to set a default if the system isn’t going to USE that default without this “secret setting?!”  It’s not really a default if you aren’t using it, is it. Grrrrrr.

Many thanks to user “badspell68” for posting the solution to this problem in this thread:

http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/162431-color-profiles-calibration.html

p.s.  I think it’s worth nothing that the “pink hue” we experience when the EyeOne custom ICC profile isn’t properly being utilized is a result of the physical monitor settings.  I usually just calibrate the monitors using the “easy” setting in the EyeOne software, but at one point I actually went through the “advanced” setup which involves calibrating your calibration device to the ambient light in the room (our room is currently fairly warm on the color spectrum) as well as adjusting the physical settings on the monitor (not just changing the settings using software).  When I did this, EyeOne had me set the red hue of the monitor higher than it had previously been (higher than what looks good to the eye), thus when the custom color profile is not being utilized (when the monitor is displaying “as physically set”), the screen has a pink (red) hue in the white areas.

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Blogger (Blogspot) Posts Mysteriously Converted to Drafts (and no longer live)

Recently nearly 100 of my posts stopped appearing on this blog.  When I accessed the dashboard directly (on blogger.com), all these posts (some with more than 15,000 views) had been converted to “drafts,” and thus no longer appeared live on the blog.

What the hell?!

Putting them back up was a simple matter of ticking the box next to them in the “Posts” view and then clicking “publish,” but how long have they NOT been accessible via the web?!

Super lame.

The only thing I can think of is that I updated Windows Live Writer (the program I use to actually compose blog posts, since the Blogger compose window is so abysmal), so perhaps that had something to do with it?!

Whether is was Microsoft’s fault or Google’s, it still sucks, so I’m posting this in case it happens to anyone else.

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Word 2010 Can’t Open Documents Larger than 512MB

 

Bet you didn’t know that, did you?  In fact, I bet you didn’t know it until you placed an image in your Word .doc, clicked save (or Word autosaved –which is an even MORE startling situation), and then Word 2010 took a giant dump on your desktop, and finished off by telling you it can’t open the document you were JUST WORKING ON.

Man… there are just SO MANY opportunities to hate Microsoft.  I mean, I realize when you make EVERYTHING we use, it’s just simply “math” that there are going to be more things for us to hate you for, but why in the EFFING WORLD would they do this to us?!  At least give a pop-up dialog box that says “are you sure you want to do that?” (preferably with an explanation of why it’s a bad idea) before letting you do something you had NO IDEA would render your ENTIRE DOCUMENT COMPLETELY UNUSABLE –UNOPENABLE even.  Not to mention the fact that if your document is that big, you’ve probably been working on it for quite some time.

I stayed calm.

I went to trusty Google.

I love a German named Uwe82 right now.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I’d have gone ballistic had it not been for the fact that he posted on a forum somewhere how to fix this FUCKING INSANITY. Uwe82, I could kiss you.

1. Rename your Word document extension to “.zip” (no quotes).
2. Using Windows Explorer, open the zip file (just double click it) and navigate to the sub directory marked “word” and then “media” under that.
3. Delete a few images in there.  It’s helpful to open the files you are deleting so you know what you’ll need to replace later.
4. Name the zip file back to “.docx” and when you open it back up there will be placeholders for the materials you deleted.

I wasn’t aware that Word was actually placing FULL SIZE copies of every image I was inserting in the Word Document.  At first I was hoping that Word was simply linking to the files I was placing, but after the document got pretty long I started regularly checking the file size, and I noted that it was increasing pretty dramatically each time I dropped a photo into the document, even when I was making those photos much smaller.  I thought Word was at least resizing the image (downsizing) when I clicked “save,” but no, it was simply placing an exact copy of the full-sized original image inside the document.  Sure, this is great if you go back later and make the image larger in your layout, but simply linking to the original image is a far better solution.

There is a way to “link” instead of placing actual files/images, and I would suggest everyone follow this method (I haven’t poked around yet to see if it can be set to “default,” but hopefully that’s an option).  When you click “insert” to place an image, there is actually a drop-down in the lower right corner of the dialog box.  “Insert” is the default, but you can select “link” from the drop down instead.  You can do the same thing (or fix an existing problem) by right clicking on an image, selecting “change picture” from the menu, and then making sure to select “link” from that same drop down when selecting the new (or same, as it were) image.

I would suggest making a folder that contains all the images in your document, and linking to the images/files in that location (vs. scattered around your hard drive(s)).  Not only does it keep the photos separate (and thus the Word Doc file size down), but your images are all in one handy place if you need to have the document printed from a different computer than the one you’re working on.  Simply take the Word document along with the folder containing all your photos/files, and you’re good to go.

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Sync Folders Across Multiple Computers

In their continuing brilliant renaming schemes, Microsoft has replaced and/or renamed Live Mesh (beta) with Windows Live Mesh 2011.  What happens in 2012?  Why use “Windows” in the title?  Of course it’s Windows, you dumbasses.

Anyway… I had been using Live Mesh (beta) to keep just a few folders synced (both between computers and to the cloud).  I’ve started using WLM2011 to keep folders synced from my home (main) machine to my laptop (skipping the cloud part, as I’m syncing huge folders that would quickly decimate the 5GB’s allotted for my SkyDrive).

Until today, I used SyncBack for keeping folders synced.  Every time I left for a trip, I would select the folders I wanted to sync and click run.  This was a huge pain in the butt every time I was going somewhere.  Yeah, I could have mitigated some of the annoyance by setting up a “container” folder within SyncBack to run multiple syncs, but I still would have to run the sync manually.  I could have set up scheduled syncs, but what I’m really after is “live” syncing.

SyncBack also always made me nervous that I was overwriting or copying something that I didn’t want to.  Furthermore, if you make changes to folder structures on one machine, then run a sync, the files that you moved will be recreated in their old location.  This sucks big time when you’re an OCD freak and reorganize your files/folders all the time.

I think Windows Live Mesh 2011 (what a STUPID and ridiculously long name) is going to work well for my needs.

My biggest gripe is not being able to sync two pre-existing folders.  To set up a folder sync with a folder that already exists on the remote machine you have to first sync an entire folder to the remote machine, then deselect it from your synced files on that remote machine (it will automatically be placed in your “user” folder –nothing you can  do about that), then move the folder to where you want it (and let the folder write over everything in the folder that already exists there if you’ve already been syncing the folder), and click sync again.

This is a pretty big pain in the ass.  I would MUCH prefer to be able to simply enter a folder path manually, or better yet be able to “explore” to it from the machine you are using to set up the sync.

From the WLM2011 help site:

If you want to select where the contents of the folder sync on a computer, don’t select the computer in the list. Instead, click OK and go to the [remote (this is important)] computer, click Sync this folder, and then select where you want the folder contents to sync [select the already existing folder that should sync to the other]. Note that if you select a folder that has files in it, these files will be included in the synced folder.

Nifty.

The biggest thing I really, really, really wish you could do with WLM2011 is set it to sync over your local network instead of having to send everything over your internet connection.  This seems like a no brainer.  Why in the hell would I need to send all that data “out into space” when the two computers are sitting right next to each other and are connected with a Gigabit ethernet connection?  I understand syncing over the internet is necessary if you are syncing to your SkyDrive (the cloud), but if you’re not… it just seems like Microsoft wants to sift through your data. Boo.

One more wish: I’d like to be able to rename the root (synced) folder and have it also change on the other machine.  Currently, if you change the name of a synced folder, it will be recreated from the other synced machine, and then you’ll have two of the same folder on the same machine.

Finally, I’m hoping I can find an Android app that will allow me to bring my phone into the mix.  I don’t have my hopes set too high though.  Worst case scenario: I’ll set up a “mobile” folder to sync between all my machines, and then just set up a separate sync (using Double Twist or some other Android program) between that folder and my phone.

One more thing… I wish you could organize your folders in the WLM2011 interface.  Currently, all of your synced folders are just listed alphabetically.  I’d like to be able to organize synced folders into categories (photos, artwork, video, documents, etc.)

[update]  The ability to organize the folders you are syncing is ABYSMAL.  In other words, there is NO WAY to organize your synced folders.  This is a massive over site on the part of Microsoft.  Your synced folders are simply listed in alphabetical order in your Windows Live Mesh window.  You cannot organize them in any other way.  If you have hundreds of synced folders, you simply have an alphabetical list of hundreds of folders (you can’t group them in any way).  Very, very, very stupid.

Also, I really miss the visual differentiation of synced folders that the old Live Mesh had.  It used to be that synced folders turned blue when you synced them.  Now there is NO VISUAL INDICATOR that a folder is synced.  You could manually change the folder icon, but that’s not realistic for hundreds of folders.

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AVG Massive Fail is a GO!

Thousands of people woke up this morning to a beautiful BSOD.  Anyone who ran the AVG update last night on their Windows XP or Vista computer woke up to a non functioning computer.

The important parts of the message I got (what you need to Google) were:

stop: c0000135 msvcr80.dll

The problem I found (after hours of my day wasted) was that an AVG update is hosing people’s computers.  Here’s the fix:

1. Get thee to a command prompt (easiest way is using your Windows Install CD).
2. c: (or whatever your boot drive is)
3. cd program files (x86)
4. cd avg
5. cd avg10
6. ren avgrsa.exe x_avgrsa.exe
7. ren avgchsva.exe x_avgchsva.exe

Yes, I know you can get all the way to the final “avg10” directory by typing in the full, direct file path, but I like going this route to be sure I’m not overlooking another directory.  Your location of AVG could vary, depending upon where it’s installed (for instance, not “AVG10”).  You just need to be sure you’re finding your active install of AVG, and then finding the avgrsa and avgchsva files.

Alternatively to renaming the above files, you can also just delete avgrsa.exe and avgchsva.exe, but I like to leave things intact to make restoration easier.  Many of the “solutions” I found suggested renaming the whole AVG directory (or even simply removing it), but just renaming the two files above will allow you to continue to download AVG updates in the off chance that they fix this mess (they haven’t as of 1pm today) .

Once my machine was back up and running (booted without issue once the above steps were completed), I was still able to run an AVG update using the tray icon.  The update found definition updates, etc., so we’ll see if AVG is on it enough to correct the problem with this morning’s update.  If not, I’m finding a new anti-virus software.

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Windows Live Essentials 2011 listed as “important update”

It’s extremely annoying to me that Microsoft is listing the Windows Live Essentials 2011 update (basically a bunch of bloatware) as an “important update.”  In no way do I want to install 160MB of garbage (Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, and Windows Live Mesh, Bing Bar, Messenger Companion, Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector, Microsoft Outlook Social Connector Provider for Windows Live Messenger, and Microsoft Silverlight).

So you know: you can right-click the update in the update installer list and select “hide update” to discontinue receiving notifications about the update.

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Windows “Restart Computer” Pop-Up Dialogue Sneak Attack

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, frustrates me more with the Windows experience than the “take focus” aspect of a Windows Update “restart now” dialogue box.  I realize there are more than a few frustrating things about Windows, but this is the one that has consistently been the biggest pain in my ass for the past decade plus.

The scenario: you’re typing away at an e-mail or other document, you see a momentary flash on your screen (what the eff was that?!), and suddenly your entire system is shutting down because you hit “enter” while typing just as Windows popped up a “restart your computer now?” dialogue without your knowledge.

WHAT THE FUCK MICROSOFT?!  This is a HUGE problem with the way the Windows system dialogue works and has always worked (or NOT worked, as it were).  Do people not complain about this ALL THE FUCKING TIME?!

This would be such a simple fix… SO FIX IT.

There are a few “solutions” posted on the web that purport to fix this problem, but in my experience none of them work… at all.  If you know of something that actually does work, please post it in the comments!

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Yet Another Reason to Jump Ship for Android (Mozilla Halts Development of FF Mobile for WinMo)

I love my Omnia i910.  I’d love to stay with it.  But Microsoft just makes it INCREDIBLY hard.  And they keep doing things to eff it up even worse, making it more and more likely that I’ll be switching to Android any day now.

Mobile Opera isn’t my favorite way to browse the web (tabbed mobile browsing is great, but it just doesn’t seem to deliver like I feel it should).  Skyfire, though touted as the second coming of the lord, is even worse.

So I went digging around to see how long it would be before Mozilla finally released Firefox mobile for the WinMo OS.  I knew they had released a stable version for Maemo (and by the way, are there really SO MANY people using the Nokia n900 that Mozilla would focus ALL their efforts on that single phone?!).  Mozilla is actually on release candidate THREE for Maemo, so what’s up with FF Mobile for WinMo?

BAD NEWS.

Evidently MS has been particularly nazi about locking third-party developers out of Windows Phone 7 (or whatever they’re calling the always-stupidly-named platform these days).  Since Mozilla knows they are locked out of development for the upcoming new WinMo OS, they see no reason to continue developing the FF Mobile version that would run in WinMo, essentially saying, “Fine, assholes.  Good luck with your platform.  We’ll be taking our browser to Android (and the six people using Maemo).”

Like I said, yet another reason to drop my Omnia and switch to the Droid.

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Chopping Off the Number Pad (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000)

Well, I finally got fed up enough with the pain in my right shoulder to take the time and effort to cut off my keyboard’s number pad.  I’ve never understood why an “ergonomic” keyboard would dedicate so much physical real estate to a number pad, when that’s obviously where the mouse needs to be used.  Ideally, the number pad would be on the left side, or moveable and attached by a flexible cord.

By cutting off the number pad, you can bring the mouse closer in to your body and avoid the strain of holding your arm and hand out to the right side.  This will greatly reduce the amount of stress incurred over the course of a day in front of the computer.

The process of removing the number pad is quite simple, and rather than reinvent the wheel, I’ll point you to this webpage outlining the process.  The only real difference between the older keyboard on that page and the newer 4000 series is that there are a couple more screws to deal with on the top side of the keyboard, and the “faceplate” of the keyboard is built to hold onto all the keys so they don’t fall out.  Because of the way the keys are incorporated into the top side of the keyboard, it’s actually an easier process.  As to the extra screws, there is one screw (like the coarse-threaded black ones on the back of the keyboard) under each palm pad, and then two small silver screws under the space bar (you just have to pop off the space bar to unscrew these very obvious silver screws).  Once you do that, it’s as easy as lifting the top off the bottom.

I have run into some issues with the right “ctrl” button being permanently active when wrapping the number pad membrane around the back of the board, so for now I’ve just placed a mouse pad over the membrane and it works fine.  Don’t forget to put tape over the exposed metal areas in between the three sheets of plastic.

I’m sure anyone with some soldering skillz could figure out how to actually solder wire to the circuit-board-like membrane that would allow you to keep using the number pad, separated from the keyboard with a cord.  Maybe some day I’ll get ambitious and give it a shot.

For now, the mouse is closer to the keyboard and my shoulder is thanking me.

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Backing up your Windows Mobile device

Here's a question: how in the FUCK does Windows Mobile Device Center not have a full back up feature?!

I'm not talking about syncing photos.  I'm not talking about syncing music.  I'm not talking about syncing contacts.

I'm talking about, God zaps you with a bolt of lightning or you're hit with an EMP and you lose EVERYTHING on your phone so you need to just restore the whole damn thing from your computer, maybe even on a replacement phone.

Microsoft's response?  Sorry, you're SOL.

Typical.

Evidently, it was a feature that USED to be in Active Sync, but for some reason MS decided to eliminate such a useful and important feature from their newest software.  This just seems WILDLY irresponsible.  It's things like this that get me closer and closer to jumping ship and going with the Droid.

So there are pretty much three options: SPB Backup ($24.95), PIM Backup (free, but currently MMS backup doesn't work) and Sprite ($29.95).

I'm not convinced that the free route is the way to go here, as it appears that PIM Backup only backs up specific things (schedule, contacts, messages, etc.), not your entire device.  So I'm not sure this is really a viable option.

I want to be able to do a complete system restore point for my phone (like you would with your computer).

On Sprite's web site there is a phone compatibility page, but under Samsung only the i900/i908 is listed (NOT the i910), so I don't know that I'm willing to risk it.

Looks like SPB is the only real option!

Thanks for leaving us out in the cold YET AGAIN, Microsoft.

...

DO NOT install Broadcom's bluetooth driver software update to Windows 7

I was messing with syncing my Omnia to my laptop via Bluetooth, and my MSI Bluetooth dongle didn't seem to be working properly. I decided to download and install the update from Broadcom's site.

Everything seemed to be going well, until...

Suddenly my machine seemed to be possessed. I watched in horror as the icons from my desktop started disappearing. An error popped up saying the install couldn't find the cab file it needed. The popup dialog said I needed to verify that the file existed. I looked, and the file DIDN'T exist. I was offered no help and no alternatives. The only two choices were find the file (that didn't exist) or cancel. So I canceled, and then the computer completely crapped out. When I went to reboot, the machine told me I was fucked.

I am currently trying to repair via a restore point with my Windows 7 disk, but I'm pretty freaking unhappy about this.

On top of this mess, the whole "deleting icons from the desktop" thing REALLY FUCKED ME, because it deleted files from my Microsoft Mesh environment. How in the world does a driver update ERASE YOUR DATA?! I am worried that I am not going to be able to recover some EXTREMELY important files that this "update" deleted from my Live Mesh folders (stupid me for thinking something "in the cloud" was safe --I thought because it was synced to three computers I was OK, but since those computers were all on when this happened, Mesh "synced" them by deleting all the files that were erased from my laptop).

So... DO NOT install the Bluetooth driver/software update from Broadcom's website. It will KILL your computer. Thanks, Broadcom. You suck. Bad.

[UPDATE] This is much worse than I'd thought. Not only is my machine completely out of commission, but when I plugged the system hard drive into another machine to simply retrieve my data before having to do a complete new OS (and all programs) install, I found that the VAST MAJORITY of my data has been wiped clean. Music folder, Pictures folder, Videos folder, Documents folder... all GONE.

I would say that the file SetupBtwDownloadSE.exe hosted on the Broadcom site is a virus, not a Bluetooth driver update.

I'm not sure how Broadcom can defend hosting a file that will completely destroy your computer and all your data, especially when they are purporting that it is a Bluetooth driver update. I am astounded (and at a total loss).

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Again: Why Microsoft Sucks (trying to sync contacts with Vista and WinMobile)

[see updates after the original post]

Somebody please explain to me why Microsoft has to make it so incredibly fucking difficult to sync my computer contacts and my mobile contacts.

My phone is WinMobile 6.1. My laptop is Vista. Both programs are Microsoft, and Microsoft continuously brags about how awesome both programs are (unlike WinXP64, which they pretend doesn't even exist). If you plug the goddam phone into the goddam computer, you should be able to sync the contacts from one to the other.

NOT SO! Evidently Microsoft feels you should have to go through an online Exchange Server in order to sync contacts (and e-mail, and calendar, etc...) Why in the world would you have to sync "out there?!" Why can't you just sync from device to device?!

The only thing you can sync between Vista and your mobile device are individual files (not your contact folder) and media. WTfuckingF?!

I am so sick of blowing countless hours on trying to make Microsoft software work like it should in the first place.

All the "how to's" and pages devoted to syncing your contacts state: "Simple! Use Outlook!" Well here's a problem, assholes: Vista doesn't have Outlook. It has "Windows Mail," which is, as Microsoft states in their Vista literature and help, "the successor to Outlook." If it's the successor, why in the HELL doesn't it work to sync your WINDOWS MOBILE contacts?

If somebody knows a good way to sync your Windows Contacts with your mobile device NOT USING OUTLOOK, please post it in the comments for this thread.

Also, if somebody knows how to set up multiple Exchange Server relationships, please let me know. I want to sync my phone calendar with Google Calendars using NuevaSync, but I need to be able to sync my contacts (evidently ONLY by an Exchange Server, since that's all WinMobile allows) to something other than Google's contacts. [because]>>> Why won't Google add more than the measly few contact fields it supports? Only one name field (no first and last)?! Are you freaking kidding me?!

[/grumpy old man rant]


[UPDATE, Feb. 18, 2009 (three more days of searching for solutions): To reiterate, it's INSANE that Microsoft is replacing Outlook with Windows Mail in Vista (their words, not mine) yet ActiveSync WILL NOT sync contacts to your mobile device unless you have Outlook. INCREDBILY INFURIATING.]

[UPDATE, Feb. 20, 2009: Guess what? Windows Mail (Vista's default mail program) is already obsolete! Wheee!! Evidently Windows Live Mail is now what you're supposed to use. I love how Microsoft changes entire lines of programs willy-nilly.

p.s. The crap workaround to the original problem is exporting your Vista Contacts as a .csv and importing them into your Windows Live (Hotmail -awesome how MS has thirty names for everything, and they change them every day, no?) account. You can then use Windows Live for your mobile device to sync contacts with your device (like an exchange server). I just wish they would make it more complicated. ]

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