http://davidsterry.com/blog Better than bad, it's good Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:19:06 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Motorola’s dual-core 1GHz Android-based phone, the Atrix, is notable because it’s the world’s first dual-core phone. Add to that the option to connect it to an optional laptop dock and the product is pleasantly unique. After more than 4 weeks of use, here are my impressions: 1. The phone is fast. This comes as no surprise [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2011/04/7-observations-about-the-atrix-4g-android-and-laptop-dock/ A number of years ago I purchased a Yangqin for a relative but never saw it properly tuned. The yangqin is pronounced yawng followed by the word ’seen’ but started with a t sound. Today I learned a method to tune this instrument and since I couldn’t find any similar info on how it should [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2011/01/howto-tune-a-yangqin/ The NOOKcolor from Barnes & Noble is an Android tablet computer that’s been turned into an e-book reader with the capacity to show pictures, store contacts, browse the web and play some video files. B&N has released an SDK and plans to compete simultaneously with the iPad and Kindle with this one device when they [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/12/free-software-for-a-rooted-nookcolor/ Thunderbird 3 brings one rather annoying change: the default search delivers confusing search results formatted into separate tabs sorted by relevance rather than date. To use the old style search, just click the icon on the left of the search box and choose anything other than the top option(“Search all messages”). Whew. That was a [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/09/old-search-in-thunderbird-3/ The following is what I did to get Ubuntu 10.04 x86(32-bit) running properly on a Sony VAIO VPCF121GX PCG-81114L. This laptop is currently sold at Costco but shares the same body with many other VPCF12***X models. Sony has an annoying way of putting two model numbers on their laptops. I had more luck once I [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/09/ubuntu-10-04-32-bit-on-sony-vaio-vpcf121gx/ After 22 comics and graphics released, I’ve decided to name this webcomic Simple Pen Art. It’s a pretty general title because I like the freedom to do comics on whatever without format contraints. Hopefully you find them thought-provoking, interesting, or sometimes just funny. ]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/07/simple-pen-art/ This new webcomic is here: http://www.davidsterry.com/webcomic http://www.simplepenart.com If and when it gets a name and it’s own domain, I’ll update this post. For now, I’m building the webcomic and the back-end to support it in php/mysql right here. My model for this endeavour, at least starting out, is xkcd. It’s early yet, so I don’t expect [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/06/an-as-of-yet-untitled-webcomic/ ]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/05/needed/ ]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/05/two-lane-highway/ Most laptops that don’t have a CD drive can boot from USB but not all. This I found out with the Toshiba Portege 3500 Tablet that I recently was tasked to get up and running with a new operating system. I chose Fedora 12 after having seen some compelling footage of Fedora on a tablet. [...]]]> http://davidsterry.com/blog/2010/05/install-gnulinux-without-a-cd-or-usb-flash-drive-just-a-spare-computer/