Author Archives: Evan
Getting a grip
For the past several years, my firearms interests have centered mainly around defensive handgun shooting, using calibers common for self defense such as .38 special, 9mm, .45ACP, etc. It’s been quite a while since I’ve picked up my .22 caliber plinker. But I have a good reason to now.
I have an opportunity coming up to help some others learn a little about shooting handguns (more on that later). It’s always good to start new shooters out with a small caliber and not-too light or small gun in order to ease the uninitiated into the experience with little shock from noise or recoil.
Looking through my collection, I found my only reliable .22 caliber handgun happens to be a Sig Trailside competition model.
This model has adjustable right-handed grips that work well for me shooting one handed. You can shoot them two handed, but it’s not an ideal setup to do that. In the picture below you can see how the thumb-rest and flat left side might interfere with a good two-handed grip and make left-handed use impractical.… Continue reading
Drupal to WordPress
Phew! I just got everything converted over to wordpress from drupal. It was an old version of drupal 5.0 and I didn’t want the hassle of updating to the latest 6.x. … Continue reading
Enabling Floating TIP for Java Swing Apps on Tablet PCs (Part 1)
I became a Tablet PC user this past summer when I acquired a TabletKiosk i7210 eo (an Ultra Mobile PC) running Windows XP Tablet Edition. My primary job is as a Java developer and I have done a fair amount of development using Java’s Swing windowing toolkit.
I very quickly learned that apps written using this windowing toolkit don’t work like regular windows apps on a tablet PC. They don’t offer access to the floating text entry window (Floating TIP) forcing the user to enter text via the text input panel at the bottom of the screen, a more cumbersome method of entry.… Continue reading
igfxpers.exe really IS required on my UMPC
If you’re somewhat tech savvy, you may periodically look into the long list of processes that is running on your Windows PC. Google them by their “image name” or the name of the executable that’s running and you often can find entries in windows process databases like
this one, this one, this one, this one, etc. that describe the process as
It is a legitimate program, but it isn’t required.
After receiving my replacement eo from TabletKiosk recently to correct an issue
with the usability of the TouchStyk I found that it had a whole bunch of processes running that I didn’t recognize. One of them, igfxpers.exe, was described as “legitimate, but not required.” So in an effort to reclaim resources that “unnecessary” background programs are using, I removed the string entry for it it from my registry’s
\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
key without much thought. Only after about half a day, I discovered that it really was doing something useful and should be running.… Continue reading
Wireless Adapters That Periodically Disconnect on UMPCs
In the UMPC realm, a number of people have commented about their wifi connections periodically disconnecting. Apparently, owners of the Asus R2H and some owners of Samsung Q1s have had a lot of problems with their wireless connections periodically dropping. I’ve had my TabletKiosk eo i7210 for almost 4 months now and have noticed occasionally that the wifi connection would drop and reconnect occasionally. It never seemed to cause any inconveniences to me, so I ignored it. But when I read DanDar3′s story on the issue and how he upgraded the Intel drivers in his UMPC and improved his situation, I decided to look into the issue further.… Continue reading
CB Install in H2
Original Project Date: February 2006
Project Summary: I show how I installed a permanent CB antenna and radio in the H2.
CB are a commonly used
to communicate with others on the trail. They’re fairly inexpensive and don’t require a license to use. Since I really only plan to use it recreationally, I opted for a lower priced all-in-one/handheld CB model from Midland, 75-822. I can wire this to the vehicle antenna most of the time. But if necessary remove it and use it with AA batteries and a with a removable stubby antenna if I need to use it outside of the truck.… Continue reading
“Turning Off” the display on a PC
I recently mounted a TabletKiosk eo i7210 in my Hummer H2. I quickly realized that when using it at night, it would be very handy when I’m not actively using it to turn off the display without turning the machine off or putting it in standby/hibernate. With the screen dimmed all the way, it is still bright enough to reduce visibility out on the road and is also annoying to anyone who might be trying to sleep in back like my son.… Continue reading
Mounting a TabletKiosk eo i7210 in a HUMMER H2 – Part 2
Summary: Mounting of a TabletKiosk oe i7210 UMPC in a HUMMER H2
In Part 1, I mention how Ram Mounts was the only mounting component vendor (at the time) to have a UMPC holder that was sized well enough to hold the TabletKiosk eo i7210. Given that, I decided I’d go with an all Ram Mounts based solution to mount the eo in my HUMMER H2.
This is the full list of requirements I had in mind when planning this mount. Some were missing from my first post.
- allow for quick insertion/removal of the UMPC into vehicle
- don’t obscure air vents
- don’t obscure shifter or cup holders
- don’t obscure center console stereo, climate controls, transfer case, e-locker, and traction control buttons
- don’t encroach on passenger space
- securely hold it in off-road driving situations
- position at convenient location for use by driver, i.e. don’t have to stretch or bend to reach or read it
- allow for repositioning for use by passenger
- minimize visible impact to vehicle – while I own the H2 and don’t plan to get rid of it until it dies, I’d prefer not to mar parts of the dash that are in plain view
This is a pretty healthy list of requirements. I decided that, to fulfill them, I had to use some sort of mounting arm that’s attached near the floor in a carpeted area where holes are out of sight, where the arm can be adjusted after installation, and the eo sits in a cradle at the end of that arm. It probably wasn’t going to be the cheapest or most turnkey solution.… Continue reading
TouchStyk Misaligned on my TabletKiosk eo i7210
I’ve mentioned in earlier posts that I’ve had a few problems with my new TabletKiosk eo i7210 UMPC. We’ll I’ve had questions via email from a few people about it so I’ll describe some of them.
One of the first things I noticed after getting the device was that if I tried to use the TouchStyk controller to move the mouse, it really only wanted to go to the right and down. Attempts to move it to the left resulted in the mouse moving very slowly or not at all.
After a while looking around for some sort of software configuration options, I discovered that the dish shaped stick on the right side of the i72xx is really just a slip on cover over a rubbery/plastic stick that is mounted in a hole in the front cover of the machine. When I pulled it off, I immediately saw the problem.… Continue reading
