Ricky Says

Question: How do I access files on my Samsung Instinct using a USB data cable, or how do I put ring tones on my phone that are on my computer. Also, what folder do i put them in, and what format should the ring tones be in?

Answer: Spring provides a Media Manager program that lets you retrieve, manage, and synchronize your pictures, video and music between your PC and the Samsung Instinct. You'll be able to use Media Manager to transfer ring tones from your PC to your cell phone, and it will automatically put them in the right place.

You can also assign a different ring tone to each of your contacts, so you can give your significant other a special ring tone that lets you know who is calling even before you look at the caller ID (or you could know it's your boss and could send the call to voice mail before accidentally answering it).

Step 1: Update your phone's firmware

The latest version of Media Manager addresses an issue experienced with the inability to activate the application upon first time use. To take advantage of this fix in media manager, you must have the latest version of firmware installed on your Instinct.

You can check to ensure you have the latest firmware installed on your phone by going to Home >> Settings >> General >> Update Software. If you do not have the latest version, you will then be prompted with instructions to upgrade the firmware.

Step 2: Download and install Sprint Media Manager

Once your firmware has been updated, then download the latest version of Sprint Media Manager from the download page:

http://www.nextel.com/en/software_downloads/phones/samsung_instinct.shtml

Note: you'll need to click "More Details" on this page to view the download link.

Step 3: Connect your phone to your PC

Question: I just purchased a BB Curve with sprint. According to the specs this phone supports an 8gb card. I actually only have a 4gb card but as soon as i put in the card into the phone the phone stops working, it takes about 5 seconds to move from window to window; the scroll ball doesnt respond normally and basicly whatever could possibly go wrong goes wrong.

The card is a good card (I Think) i used this same card before in my 8830 and it worked pretty good; though also a little slower then without the card, while the 8830 takes only a 4 gb card and it worked all right, i assumed that the curve that has the capacity for an 8gb shouldn't be killed by a 4 gb card.

Answer: The size of the memory card shouldn't have anything to do with the slowness that you're experiencing. It's possible though that the memory card itself needs to be reformatted, which you can do right from your phone.

Options >> Media Card >> Blackberry Menu >> Format Card

First, click the Options icon on your BlackBerry icon screen (the one that looks like a wrench in most default BlackBerry themes).

Inside Options, scroll to Media Card and click the trackball.

Next, while on the Media Card screen hit your BlackBerry Menu key (to the left of the trackball).

Choose Format and select "Yes" when the prompt asks if you're sure you want to format the card. After about 10 seconds, you'll see another prompt that tells you your card has been reformatted.

My wife and I bought a Sony Handycam about a decade ago, to capture video of our kids as they grew up. It records on Hi-8 video cassettes, and I needed a way to convert these analog recordings into digital movies and save them to DVD.

The Sony Handycam (model number CCD-TRV22) has RCA outputs for video and mono audio, and I found an EasyCAP USB2.0 Video Capture VHS-to-USB Adapter that converts the analog Hi-8 recordings into digital movies.

The Easycap adapter plugs into the RCA jacks on the Sony Handycam (I used the white line for the single audio jack), and the USB jack plugs into my laptop. Also bundled with the adapter is a licensed copy of ULead Video Studio 8.0 for creating and editing movies.

I had to use an RCA patch cable between the female adapter jacks and the camcorder, just like you would between a VCR and your TV. In fact, this adapter could also be hooked up to a VHS VCR (yep, I still have one), to make digital copies of old VHS movies.

Once I hooked up the camcorder with my laptop using the EasyCap usb adapter, I ran the Ulead Movie Wizard software and selected the "Capture" menu.

I put the camcorder in Player mode, loaded the video tape and pressed play. Then I pressed "Capture Video" in the Ulead program, and received an error indicating that no input signal could be found.

The reason was the video capture options are set by default to record from Video Tuner and I was using a video camcorder with RCA (composite) outputs. I clicked "Options" and then selected "Video and Audio Capture Property Settings" to change this setting:

Question: Most of my friends on Facebook are awesome, but there are a couple that I don't want to follow any longer, and one who tends to post offensive comments. How can I remove them as my friend, and will they know I've removed them?

Answer: You can remove friends from your Facebook account at any time using the instructions below, and the good news is that your friend won't be notified that you've removed them (and neither will your other friends).

Here's how to unfriend or remove someone from your Facebook account:

Step 1: Find your friend

The easiest way to find your friend on Facebook is to click "Friends" on the Facebook menu at the top of your screen, and then click "All Friends".

There you can look through all of your friends, and can also search for your friend by first and last name.

Step 2: Remove your friend

Once you've found your friend and are viewing their profile, scroll down the page and look in the left side bar for a link titled "Remove from Friends".

Click this link, and you'll be asked to confirm that you really want to remove this person as a Facebook friend.

Facebook won't send them an email notification, and your decision to remove them as a friend will go unnoticed (unless they try to view your profile or contact you, in which case they'll see the "Add as a Friend" link and realize that they're no longer your friend).

That's all it takes to unfriend someone on Facebook, and if you change your mind then it's easy to add them again as a friend.

Question: Have you any info on formatting the memory chip for a camera after deleting all the photos? I tried to make an 8x10 enlargement of our family photo.

Do you have any input on this? The photo is great but if you look close, it definitely could use better resolution.

Answer: This question has been heroically rescued from the Open Questions forum by Greg Woosley. You can view his reply below, and stop by his website at http://codenoter.blogspot.com/ for some useful tips on "tricky geek things he's figured out once and doesn't want to figure out again later".