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Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Screens and Digitizers
Had some bad karma with my T|E today. Main problem was the DataMangler: Memos was not creating MemoDB.pdb (needed for other apps to interact with the Memos database) and when pedit created it, it was corrupted. Many hours (well, I am in bed with a chest infection) fiddling and I eventually came to the conclusion that the Memos database was corrupted. I exported all the Memos to pedit32, deleted the pdb, then re-imported them. All was fine. There were two upshots. The first is that Resco Explorer is worth paying for. I have tried and used Filez (I prefer version 5), FileProg and 3xCom, all of which are free, so I did not expect Rexco Explorer to do anything other than add eye-candy. I was wrong - it is a real power tool and a morning with a corrupt database lets you explore all its features to the full! Plus they are having a 30% sale at the moment, so it costs very little. The second is that I did some analysis to define some digitizer problems I am having: 1. The lower half of the right edge (about 2.5mm width) needs a really hard press to register. 2. The top right hand corner of the graffiti area is out by about 1mm (you would need to use FitalyStamp to spot this). 3. The lower left quadrant of the screen is out by about 1.5mm. Since I had had 3 hard resets and about 50 soft resets today (see above!) I knew this was not something that could be dealt with by a little recalibration. I wondered if it was to do with the fitting of the screen protector I was using, so I removed taht. It wasn't, so I conclude that my digitizer is on its way out after only 16 months. The silver lining: after removing my UltraClear Screen Protector, I decided to re-fit my original Brando screen protector. I trimmed it a little to fit with the FitalyStamp (it is a T|C model but a bit large) and one the 5th attempt had a perfect install. And am I pleased to have it back. I had not realized quite how obvious the reflections and tiny specks of dust were on the UltraClear until I went back to this one. I had got back into the habit of 'dusting' my screen, and giving it a wipe for finergrease, several times a day instead of the oweekly clean needed with a matt protector. Also, it feels rather calm after the glare of the other. HOT TIP: to fit a 'removable' screen protector, take off all the backing then place it adhesive side up in a table. Cover it in overlapping strips of sellotape with about 1cm at each side. then apply it two-handed: one hand smoothing down while the other progressively peels back the tape. Sellotape is better than the provided backing because (a) it is thinner and thus peels back easier, (b) it is tackier and catches more dust particles. And expect to take several attempts - which is worth it since once in place a good quality screen proetctor will stay there for 9 months or longer. Domain Updates
Well, my dmain name is still out of action, so if you are reading this it is probably becaise you get the RSS feed. The real URL for this page is: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~twcs1/Blogger/ which explains why I have a rediection service! For those who are interested, my domain was due for renewal on the 1st December and I forgot but, by the coincidence of changing ISP at the same time, stumbled across the fact on the 2nd. I immediately whipped out the credit card, and since the domain was not de-registered but merely on hold, I expected everything to be up and running in a few hours. 24 hours later nothing had happened so i emailed the company I deal with (and have had good service from for 4 years). No reply. Three weeks later, my credit card has not been charged, the company is not responding, and the domain is not restored. Because it is on 'Hold' for 40 days I cannot register it elsewhere. So I sit and wait. |
