LepoLand - A Blog by Alan Lepofsky

Recovering From My Blackberry’s Meltdown

Alan Lepofsky — Thu, 2 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0400

I've been having big problems with my BlackBerry Curve this week. First, the battery would only last a few hours. Next, it pretty much stopped responding, taking almost a minute sometimes to highlight an icon. Then, email just stopped coming in.

Turns out, I was out of disk space. Not low. Out. 0 bytes available.

It would have been nice to have had a low space warning and some indication of why email stopped.

I was pointed to this article to help me clean up the space. A few tips on there I knew about, but others I did not, so it was well worth the read.

Now I have 1MB of the 55 free, and things seem to be going ok.

I don't have many apps installed; TwitterBerry, FaceBook, GMail, NewsGator Go, Google Maps, and Handango. I have a 2 GB SD card added, I wish more programs could be stored there, or at least their data.

Two Books For Your Collection

Alan Lepofsky — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

There are two new books out that I hope everyone buys. Yes, I am friends with the authors... so buy buy buy!

Bricklin on Technology by Dan Bricklin. I've been fortunate over the last year to not only meet Dan, but to work with him at Socialtext and become friends with this computing legend. Dan has forgotten more about computers, technology, and sharing information then I'll ever know. I love talking to him not just about the past, such as the days of VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3, but also about the future and how people will interact with computers, software, and devices such as phones and gaming systems. There are few people on the planet that can offer the educated perspective on technology than Dan does.

Twitter For Dummies. Love it or hate, Twitter has become a part of our daily lives. My Boston based friend Laura Fitton (better known as @Pistachio on Twitter) is joined by Leslie Poston (@geechee_girl) and Michael Gruen (@gruen, whom I've not met) in explaining not just the basics of Twitter, but also shedding some light on how businesses can use this new medium.

Small Companies Can Now Connect And Collaborate For Free

Alan Lepofsky — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:04:31 -0400

I'm excited to announce that Socialtext is now free for up to 50 users.
Imagine no hardware, no admins, no cost.
Just lots of sharing.

more...

My Ikea Hack

Alan Lepofsky — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:42:01 -0400

What does two Lack side tables plus a set of Rill casters (plus 3.5" wood screws) make? A bench chair, with storage underneath, on wheels!

I put together one Lack table, then mounted it onto the top of a second. I used two of the extra legs on one of the sides, providing a "back" for things I may slide underneath, like books, pillows, blankets, etc. Flipped it over, and screwed in the casters. Putting a cushion on the top turns it into a place to sit.

I may make four of these, and use them as seats for my kitchen table/island.

The New Notes Desktop?

Alan Lepofsky — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Nope, its Safari 4.

I've had a "start page" since the mid-90's for the links that I use. Its a hand crafted HTML page called starthere.htm, that I update manually using a text editor. I think the Safari version is a bit nicer.

My Mac OS Upgrade Saved Disc Space

Alan Lepofsky — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:30:00 -0400

This weekend I updated my Mac from 10.5.4 to 10.5.7, and my harddrive went from 127.93 GB used, to 126.72 GB used. That is kind of cool, A gigabyte savings after an update. Nice.

I guess they were making the space for Safari though. 200MB browsers, who would'a thunk it! ;-)

Step Away From Notes For A While And This Happens

Alan Lepofsky — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:30:00 -0400

Those that understand the true power of Notes have always preached the building of cool applications. Well, this app I could not have dreamed up in a million years. Great job Lotus 911.

More about it on Nathan's blog and Ed's blog.

I wish this was the next Star Wars movie

Alan Lepofsky — Tue, 2 Jun 2009 08:11:16 -0400

I (and a million other Star Wars fans) would love to see the next movie focus on the Old Republic, thousands of years before the characters we currently know.

I still prefer Palm

Alan Lepofsky — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:10:13 -0400

Palm trees, that is. Yesterday's addition to the loft decoration. (that is not the final colour for the doors, they still have to be stained)

The Doors Are Hung And Swinging

Alan Lepofsky — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:00:00 -0400

It took about 5 weeks to have them made, but this morning my 34" * 84" * 1 3/4" custom mahogany doors arrived. It took two of us to carry each door, and even then it was a challenge!

The carpenters spend 5 hours framing, hanging, and building the trim and baseboards. Since I don't have a garage, all the cutting was done inside. Thank goodness I covered my furniture. Still, the place was (is) covered in sawdust.

Tada... the doors are hung. Next up is painting the bedroom (behind the doors), painting the new wall, staining the doors, buying/install the door pulls, and having the custom blackout drapes (4 weeks) installed for the bedroom windows and the window above the door.

(sorry for the repost, looks like the images were corrupt in the one from last night)