I have noticed that the battery seems to run down by itself when I do not use the tablet for several days. After a bit of thought, the solution seems obvious. With a SSD drive, the hibernating the system only takes a few seconds longer than sleeping it.
In sleep mode the system state is stored in RAM and the computer remains powered on (albeit with much lower power consumption). Your battery will gradually drain. If you use and charge the computer every day, you do not notice this power loss.
In Hibernation mode, the system state is written out to the hard drive and the power is turned off. The speed of the Solid State Drive is fast enough that you do not notice the extra time that it takes to write and read this info from the disk.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Black Friday Deals
I don't know if this is a limited time offer, but Amazon is offering MaximumPC for $5 per year.
In other news, the case for my slate that I ordered from Best Buy for Business is delayed.
Friday, November 18, 2011
On the Case
If you have been looking for a case for your slate, you can find it at Best Buy for Business for the MSRP with free shipping. (Not at an inflated price as certain other online stores will charge.)
The Samsung part number is AA-BS2N11B/US
The BestBuy for Business SKU is BB11647617
Use coupon code FREESHIP to get the shipping deal.
I am working on a hardcase to hold the slate, power supply, dock, keyboard, and other accessories. I will report on my progress later.
The Samsung part number is AA-BS2N11B/US
The BestBuy for Business SKU is BB11647617
Use coupon code FREESHIP to get the shipping deal.
I am working on a hardcase to hold the slate, power supply, dock, keyboard, and other accessories. I will report on my progress later.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Update to Microsoft Ink Crosswords
As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is fairly easy to force the installation of Microsoft Ink Crossword to your slate.
One thing you will notice, though, is that with the wide screen display, you may not be able to see all of your puzzle collections. To fix this, you need to install two dummy collections that will appear at the bottom of the list and force your files into view. Here are my steps:
<id v="xpkZFill2" />
<cats>
<c1 v="ZFiller 2">
<p1 t= "FROM SPHERE TO ETERNITY" a= "By Clint Avery" m= "fcxFF0101-data.xml" />
</c1>
</cats>
</packcontents>
Change the appropriate info to match the puzzle that you copied and the appropriate directory name.
One thing you will notice, though, is that with the wide screen display, you may not be able to see all of your puzzle collections. To fix this, you need to install two dummy collections that will appear at the bottom of the list and force your files into view. Here are my steps:
- Create two new directories:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Ink Crossword\data\xpkZFill
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Ink Crossword\data\xpkZFill2 - Copy a single puzzle into each directory.
- Create a text file named PackContents.xml in each directory.
- Edit each of the PackContents.xml files using Notepad so that they contains the following lines:
<id v="xpkZFill2" />
<cats>
<c1 v="ZFiller 2">
<p1 t= "FROM SPHERE TO ETERNITY" a= "By Clint Avery" m= "fcxFF0101-data.xml" />
</c1>
</cats>
</packcontents>
Change the appropriate info to match the puzzle that you copied and the appropriate directory name.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Screen Separation
Like many others have posted, I have noticed a VERY SLIGHT screen separation on the lower left edge. It seems to be < 1mm so I am not too worried about it for now. Since it is past the 14 day easy return period, I would have to send it back to Samsung, or have the MS store do it for me. With the incredibly high demand for these slates, who knows when i would get it back! Given that mine was one of the first ones out of the factory, I expect some growing pains. Once things have settled down and I can afford to relinquish this computer, I will see about getting it fixed/replaced.
All Keyed Up
I just received my new keyboard today. I order the Microsoft Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 from Amazon for $57. This is the model with a portable number pad included.
It even comes with a grey flannel bag to hold the number pad.
The number pad has a Num Lock button, but I can't see any indicator lights to show which mode it is in. The state is flashed on your screen when you switch modes, so this is not much of a problem. With Num-Lock off, the keys behave as you would expect (except they aren't labeled):
What is interesting is the Extend Key. In Excel, you can press this key followed by the arrow keys to select a range of cells. In Word, the key reverts to dash. To get the Insert key to work properly in Word, you need to go to "Options" ==> "Advanced" and select "Use Insert key to control overtype mode". [This is a fix for all keyboards, not just this model.]
[I am awaiting my Microsoft Arc Touch mouse and will add my impressions here once I receive it.]
It even comes with a grey flannel bag to hold the number pad.
The number pad has a Num Lock button, but I can't see any indicator lights to show which mode it is in. The state is flashed on your screen when you switch modes, so this is not much of a problem. With Num-Lock off, the keys behave as you would expect (except they aren't labeled):
| Num Lock | / | * | Extend |
| Home | Up | Pg Up | + |
| Left | n/a | Right | |
| End | Down | Pg Dn | Enter |
| Insert | Del | ||
What is interesting is the Extend Key. In Excel, you can press this key followed by the arrow keys to select a range of cells. In Word, the key reverts to dash. To get the Insert key to work properly in Word, you need to go to "Options" ==> "Advanced" and select "Use Insert key to control overtype mode". [This is a fix for all keyboards, not just this model.]
[I am awaiting my Microsoft Arc Touch mouse and will add my impressions here once I receive it.]
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Fresh Off the Dock
I just picked up the Dock for my Samsung slate from the Microsoft Store. (If you order your slate online from Microsoft, they are currently giving you a free dock.) It is a well made, brushed aluminum stand that has five connectors on the back:
Windows 8 Developer Preview seemed to work just fine with this device.No apparent differences.
- DC Power Jack
- Wired LAN port
- HDMI
- USB
- Headphone Jack
- It is recommended that you turn off your slate before installing or removing it from the dock. You cannot hot-swap it. Putting it to sleep is not enough, you need to actually shut it down. The system seems to behave in a strange manner if you just sleep the device. Since the Slate powers up and down so quickly, this is not a problem.
- When you are using the dock, only the full-size HDMI connector on the dock is usable. The micro-HDMI connector on the edge of the slate is inoperable. I haven't actually tested them while using the dock since my extra monitor is at the office, but the manual that comes with the dock seems to be clear about this.
- When you use the dock, initially, the default speaker device is the USB audio in the dock (the headphone jack). You need to go into the Sound section of the Control panel to switch the default sound back to the Realtek drivers if you want to use the on-board speakers. Once you change this, it seems to stick for succeeding sessions, you will not need to change it again. There does not seem to be a way to use both sets of speakers simultaneously. You can change the effects for both while in the control panel, but the system seems to only use one set for normal operations.
- Yes, both USB ports will work at the same time. I was worried that one would be disabled like the HDMI and sound devices, but I tested them with USB sticks and had no problems. I would have liked more USB ports, but you take what you can get. An eSata port would also have been nice.
Windows 8 Developer Preview seemed to work just fine with this device.No apparent differences.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Angry Birds!
Angry Birds works great on the Slate! It costs $4.99 on Intel AppUp site.
Note, the AppUp site claims that it is NOT supported on Windows Tablets, but it seems to work OK. The paid apps on the site all have a 24 hr. trial period, so if you find one that does not work, you can just cancel the install and get your money back.
There seem to be a lot of games and other small apps, many of which are free.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Sugarsync - File Storage in the Cloud
One of the best data storage/backup/file syncing systems out now is SugarSync. You get 5 GB storage on the web when you sign up for the free plan. You get an additional 500 MB if you use my referral link. (see below for URL) If you install the software on two different computers, you can designate folders on each system that will automatically be synced between each computer. You can use your files offline since they are stored locally on your machine. When you next connect to the Internet, it automatically posts the changes. The system keeps a limited number of backups of the files, so if you accidentally write over that important memo, there is a reasonable chance that you can get it back without much effort. I use it to sync my project folders between my computer at the office, my home computer, and a laptop. That way, I can get to my work no matter what computer I am using at the time, and the data is backed up in case of disaster. (This has saved my bacon several times when computers died.)
It works on Mac, Windows, and mobile devices including, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile. It seems to work just fine on the Windows 8 Preview. One thing that it doesn't do is sync folders on removable drives. Since this slate has only a 128 GB disk drive, I am storing my documents on the 32 GB Micro SDHC card. I am trying to find a way to make the system think that this is NOT a removable drive (since I don't plan to ever remove it), but I have not had success yet. Other mobile devices may also have this storage space problem. SugarSync says that they are looking into fixing this.
I am satisfied with SugarSync's security, but given the recent turmoil over DropBox,
you should remember that, potentially, anything stored "In the Cloud" is vulnerable. Be careful about storing anything that could cause problems if it were to become public knowledge. Keep your blackmail files separate!. ;-)
Here is the referral link:
It works on Mac, Windows, and mobile devices including, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile. It seems to work just fine on the Windows 8 Preview. One thing that it doesn't do is sync folders on removable drives. Since this slate has only a 128 GB disk drive, I am storing my documents on the 32 GB Micro SDHC card. I am trying to find a way to make the system think that this is NOT a removable drive (since I don't plan to ever remove it), but I have not had success yet. Other mobile devices may also have this storage space problem. SugarSync says that they are looking into fixing this.
I am satisfied with SugarSync's security, but given the recent turmoil over DropBox,
you should remember that, potentially, anything stored "In the Cloud" is vulnerable. Be careful about storing anything that could cause problems if it were to become public knowledge. Keep your blackmail files separate!. ;-)
Here is the referral link:
Really Safe Internet Browsing
I just heard about a interesting way to surf the web that seems completely safe.
Developed by the DOD, you boot off the CD and it loads a stripped down version of Linux that does not mount your hard drives, so there is no way for malware to affect your system.
The Deluxe version comes with Firefox, Adobe Reader, and OpenOffice pre-loaded. If you want save your data, you will need a USB stick.
It is not Windows, but if you want to access the Internet on a strange computer and are concerned about trojans and other malware, this might be the ticket.
[Note: Right now, the servers are VERY slow. I suspect that they are overloaded because of the publicity over this product.]
Developed by the DOD, you boot off the CD and it loads a stripped down version of Linux that does not mount your hard drives, so there is no way for malware to affect your system.
The Deluxe version comes with Firefox, Adobe Reader, and OpenOffice pre-loaded. If you want save your data, you will need a USB stick.
It is not Windows, but if you want to access the Internet on a strange computer and are concerned about trojans and other malware, this might be the ticket.
[Note: Right now, the servers are VERY slow. I suspect that they are overloaded because of the publicity over this product.]
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Favorite Free and Cheap Apps
These are some of the programs that I install on just about any machine that I use.
First, the Free Ones:
Calibre - eBook management and conversion
Mobipocket - eBook reader and authoring software
mp3DirectCut - Direct cutting and recording of MP3 files without re-encoding them
mp3tag - Editor for mp3 file tag information
Notetab Light - Notepad/Wordpad replacement
WinDirStat - Graphical display of your disk usage
WinGrep - grep for Windows - Powerful file search program
WinMerge - Differencing and Merging tool for Window
And now the non-shareware apps:
AnyDVD - Removes Region encoding for DVD. This allows be to watch DVDs that have been released in Europe and Asia.
DiskAnalyzer Pro - Hard Disk Space Usage Analysis and Management Software
Finale Guitar 2003 - Music Transcription software
Ipswitch WS_FTP Pro - FTP softwareused to upload/download to webservers
Readerware - catalog software for Books, Music, and Videos
Transcribe - "Automatic" music transcribing tool
Other Interesting Programs and websites:
Direct Note Access - part of Melodyne editor, it allows you to view and edit individual notes in recorded music
Simple Satellite Tracking from Spaceweather
First, the Free Ones:
Calibre - eBook management and conversion
Mobipocket - eBook reader and authoring software
mp3DirectCut - Direct cutting and recording of MP3 files without re-encoding them
mp3tag - Editor for mp3 file tag information
Notetab Light - Notepad/Wordpad replacement
WinDirStat - Graphical display of your disk usage
WinGrep - grep for Windows - Powerful file search program
WinMerge - Differencing and Merging tool for Window
And now the non-shareware apps:
AnyDVD - Removes Region encoding for DVD. This allows be to watch DVDs that have been released in Europe and Asia.
DiskAnalyzer Pro - Hard Disk Space Usage Analysis and Management Software
Finale Guitar 2003 - Music Transcription software
Ipswitch WS_FTP Pro - FTP softwareused to upload/download to webservers
Readerware - catalog software for Books, Music, and Videos
Transcribe - "Automatic" music transcribing tool
Other Interesting Programs and websites:
Direct Note Access - part of Melodyne editor, it allows you to view and edit individual notes in recorded music
Simple Satellite Tracking from Spaceweather
General Windows Patches
I often get shanghaied by friends, family members and clients to "Tune-Up" their computers. The following is a brief, incomplete list of what this often entails:
Initial Setup
I like to see the menu, path, and extensions when I use Windows Explorer. The fixes below are much easier to implement if this is set properly in the "Folder Options" window. To get to there, open up Windows Explorer. [If the menus are not visible, click the ALT key to bring them up.] Click on "Tools" and select "Folder Options". Switch to the View tab and set the check boxes as shown in the picture below. In my mind, the "Hide extensions for known file types" is the most important one to fix.
Using Hosts file to block adware/spyware
One of the best tricks that I have picked up over the years is to use the hosts file to block malware and other annoying sites. A remnant of the Unix operating system, your system goes to the hosts file for DNS lookup services before asking the DNS servers on your network. By adding entries in this file to block malware/advertising IP addresses, your computer will not send requests to these sites. I like to use the list compiled by MVPs.org. Their site gives a more complete description of the process:
You can download the hosts file directly at
Once I load this table, many of the advertisements on web pages disappear, and the number of popup windows decreases dramatically. There can be some problems with the approach, however. Some webpages depend on one or more of these servers. College Humor, for example. To accommodate these, I have added two shortcuts to my desktop to turn this filtering on and off.
First, download the zip file and unzip it. Rename the HOSTS file to hosts.new and move it to
BlockHosts.bat consists of two lines:
copy "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.new" "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
ipconfig /flushdns
ClearHosts.bat consists of:
del "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
ipconfig /flushdns
[The ipconfig command in each file is important. It flushes out the cache and forces windows to query for the IP addresses anew.]
Right click click on the icons and select "Run as Administrator" to swap the hosts file in and out.
Specifying DNS servers
I have noticed that one of the most common ways that Wi-Fi network connections fail is due to DNS requests not properly being served by the router. As a solution, I add two public DNS servers to my network setup, rather than depend on the router being setup correctly. [Note: If you are on a corporate network, you may have to stay with the default settings because internal mail servers, printers, etc. may be defined by your system router and this fix could disrupt these services.]
I like to use OpenDNS and Google as my servers.
Changing DNS server settings
ipconfig /all
This will give you all the gory details about your network configuration.
Stop Flash Autoplay in Firefox
Have you noticed that when you surf around the web, pages insist upon automatically loading and play Flash videos? Netticat had created a Firefox addon that blocked this. Until recently, his addon could be found on the Mozilla website. To get a copy now, you need to go to his website and install it directly. (It appears that someone else has taken over maintaining it.) This StopAutoPlay link is ¾ down the page at
I only wish that they had something like this for IE.
Initial Setup
I like to see the menu, path, and extensions when I use Windows Explorer. The fixes below are much easier to implement if this is set properly in the "Folder Options" window. To get to there, open up Windows Explorer. [If the menus are not visible, click the ALT key to bring them up.] Click on "Tools" and select "Folder Options". Switch to the View tab and set the check boxes as shown in the picture below. In my mind, the "Hide extensions for known file types" is the most important one to fix.
Using Hosts file to block adware/spyware
One of the best tricks that I have picked up over the years is to use the hosts file to block malware and other annoying sites. A remnant of the Unix operating system, your system goes to the hosts file for DNS lookup services before asking the DNS servers on your network. By adding entries in this file to block malware/advertising IP addresses, your computer will not send requests to these sites. I like to use the list compiled by MVPs.org. Their site gives a more complete description of the process:
First, download the zip file and unzip it. Rename the HOSTS file to hosts.new and move it to
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\
Second, create two batch files on your desktop, BlockHosts.bat and ClearHosts.bat.BlockHosts.bat consists of two lines:
copy "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.new" "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
ipconfig /flushdns
ClearHosts.bat consists of:
del "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
ipconfig /flushdns
[The ipconfig command in each file is important. It flushes out the cache and forces windows to query for the IP addresses anew.]
Right click click on the icons and select "Run as Administrator" to swap the hosts file in and out.
Specifying DNS servers
I have noticed that one of the most common ways that Wi-Fi network connections fail is due to DNS requests not properly being served by the router. As a solution, I add two public DNS servers to my network setup, rather than depend on the router being setup correctly. [Note: If you are on a corporate network, you may have to stay with the default settings because internal mail servers, printers, etc. may be defined by your system router and this fix could disrupt these services.]
I like to use OpenDNS and Google as my servers.
- Go the Network and Sharing Center, either through your control panel or by clicking on the network icon in your system tray. (In Windows 8, you get there by selecting More Settings from the
- Click on the network connection that you want to adjust. (You can also select the "Change Adapter settings" link to view all connections.)
- Click on "properties" and select the select the "Networking" tab.
- Select "Internet Protocol Version 4" and click "properties"
- Select the "Use the Following DNS server addresses" radio button and fill in the new server addresses. (If these have already been filled in, make sure to write the existing settings down before proceeding.) Google and OpenDNS both provide two servers, I like to use one of each so that if one fails, the other is there to back them up.
Google servers:
8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4
OpenDNS servers:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
So I use 208.67.222.222 and 8.8.8.8
- Click OK and the repeat this process for Protocol Version 6" but use the IPv6 servers
Google servers:You can check your settings by opening up a command window and typing:
2001:4860:4860::8888
2001:4860:4860::8844
OpenDNS servers:
2620:0:ccc::2
2620:0:ccd::2
ipconfig /all
This will give you all the gory details about your network configuration.
Stop Flash Autoplay in Firefox
Have you noticed that when you surf around the web, pages insist upon automatically loading and play Flash videos? Netticat had created a Firefox addon that blocked this. Until recently, his addon could be found on the Mozilla website. To get a copy now, you need to go to his website and install it directly. (It appears that someone else has taken over maintaining it.) This StopAutoPlay link is ¾ down the page at
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Windows 8 Developers’ Preview
Go to
and download the 64-bin copy with developer tools. The installation is straight forward, just install it on the second partition that you created earlier. I found that the easiest method was to burn a dual layer DVD-ROM and boot off of that. You can select which OS will load by default once the computer boots up after the installation is complete. I recommend that you choose the Preview OS, since the startup option screen for Windows 7 is fairly plain and it is confusing to switch back.
Manually check for updates as soon as you get it installed. There have already been several important improvements. Go to "Control Panel", "More Settings", "Windows Update" to get the familiar Windows Update panel.
[I noticed that the “Microsoft Confidential” message appears and disappears from my desktop with no rhyme nor reason:
“Unauthorized use or disclosure in any manner may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment (in the case of employees), termination of an assignment or contract (in the case of contingent staff), and potential civil and criminal liability.”
How this applies to something that is readily available to the public puzzles me.]
You will want to turn on file name extensions and show hidden files. In Windows 8, you find these options by opening up Windows Explorer, opening the ribbon, and selecting the “View” tab. The appropriate check boxes are on the right.
"Missing" Buttons
One of the most important “hidden” items in the new OS is the shutdown button. You can find it by swiping the right edge and tapping the Settings icon. A better solution is to make your own icons and add them to the Start Menu.
You will need to go to your desktop and create three shortcuts, Shutdown, Sleep, and Lock.When you create the Shutdown shortcut, use as the location:
shutdown.exe –s –t 00
The location for Sleep is:
rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState 0,1,0
and the location for Lock is:
rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Select appropriate icons for each. Runell32.exe does not have interesting icons. You can find better ones in
%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll
[These instructions and others came from: http://www.howtogeek.com/77061/how-to-add-shutdown-restart-sleep-to-the-windows-8-metro-start-screen/ ]
Changing Start Menu
Another useful tweak is a program to switch between the Metro Start Screen and the Classic Start Menu - w8smt.exe. I placed a copy in the “Program Files” directory and pinned it to my taskbar. You can find it at:
I haven’t figured out yet the relationship between programs on your classic start menu, and those on the Metro Start Screen. Most of your familiar ones, like Notepad, Paint, Journal, etc. are still there but don't seem to show up on Metro. This app gives you access to those that don’t automatically appear on the Metro screen.
It is FAR easier to arrange the tiles on you Metro Start screen using a mouse or pen. I had just about given up on tailoring it using my finger when I discovered this.
It is FAR easier to arrange the tiles on you Metro Start screen using a mouse or pen. I had just about given up on tailoring it using my finger when I discovered this.
Software Tweaks [Updated]
Take advantage of the Touch Login. You can find it on the Program Menu in the Samsung Folder. You will also find the User's Guide there. Read it cover to cover. There is lots of useful info there.
You can turn your Wireless and Bluetooth on and off (to save power) using the "Easy Settings" app under the Samsung Folder. (This setting does NOT carry over to the Windows 8 Preview. I am still searching for info on these settings in that OS.)
I have found that the adaptive Brightness Control on this Slate causes real problems. You can turn it off in both Win 7 and Win 8 in the advanced power options.
Samba Connections Problems
If you have ever tried to implement user/password validation on a RAID or other linux/samba based NAS product when using Windows Vista or later, you have discovered that it doesn't work as advertised. This is not a problem with storage box, it arose when Microsoft changed the default network authentication protocol starting with Vista. It is fairly easy to fix:
Now you can set the username/passwords in your RAID control panel to restrict access to the device. Any computer with an OS later than XP that wants to access the drive will need to make these changes. (Of course, if you do not password protect your drive, then this is not needed.)
Ink Crosswords
You can turn your Wireless and Bluetooth on and off (to save power) using the "Easy Settings" app under the Samsung Folder. (This setting does NOT carry over to the Windows 8 Preview. I am still searching for info on these settings in that OS.)
I have found that the adaptive Brightness Control on this Slate causes real problems. You can turn it off in both Win 7 and Win 8 in the advanced power options.
Samba Connections Problems
If you have ever tried to implement user/password validation on a RAID or other linux/samba based NAS product when using Windows Vista or later, you have discovered that it doesn't work as advertised. This is not a problem with storage box, it arose when Microsoft changed the default network authentication protocol starting with Vista. It is fairly easy to fix:
- Run secpol.msc either from a command prompt or from the run/search box on the start menu
- Open up "Local Policies" ==> "Security Options"
- Scroll down to "Network security: LAN Manager authentication level"
- Set it to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated"
- Exit from the Local Security Policy window
Now you can set the username/passwords in your RAID control panel to restrict access to the device. Any computer with an OS later than XP that wants to access the drive will need to make these changes. (Of course, if you do not password protect your drive, then this is not needed.)
Ink Crosswords
I don’t know if any of you had the Tablet Edition PCs, but one of my favorite applications was the Ink Crossword that came with the Experience Pack. Several years ago, Microsoft released an updated version of the Experience Pack for Vista, and with a little tweaking, you can get it to run on your Slate. Download it from
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=7529
If you try to run the installer, you will get an error message saying that it only works for Windows Vista. Don’t you believe it! First, create a directory to store the installation files. I used D:\Temp. Then open a command prompt as Administrator. In the window, type
msiexec /a ExperiencePackUpdate.msi
You will be asked for a network location for the files, just use the one that you just created, above (D:\Temp in my case). The data files will be found in
D:\Temp\EP\CmApFldr\Microsoft\Microsoft Ink Crossword\data
and the program is in
D:\Temp\EP\PFiles\Microsoft Experience Pack for Windows Vista\Ink Crossword
If you run the program, you get an error message when you try to download the Daily Puzzle. You can fix this by creating the needed path, and giving it the correct properties. Create the following path, and copy the contents of the data directory there.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Ink Crossword\data
You will need to set the user authorization to allow the program to access this directory.
- Right click on the folder, select “Properties”
- Select the “Security” tab
- Press “advanced”
- Press “Change Permissions”
- Select “everyone”
- Press “edit”
- give Full Control
- Press “OK”
- check the box “Replace all child permissions…”
- Press “OK” repeatedly, until you are back at the folder view.
Create a folder in C:\Program Files (x86) and copy InkCrossword.exe and InkCrossword.chm files there. Make a shortcut to the exe file on your desktop. I renamed mine to “Ink Crosswords”. You can then move the shortcut to its final location
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Games
(The OS won’t let you create the shortcut on the start menu directly.) After that, you can drag the program from the Games folder on your start menu to the Games icon on the right half of your Start Menu.
Similar steps work for Windows 8 as well.
The other apps from the Experience Pack seem to cause problems, so I only recommend installing Ink Crosswords.
Notes on Initial Setup
Swap a white pen nib (included in the small zip-lock with your stylus) for the black one that comes pre-installed. The black one wears out faster and you probably will not notice the difference on the smooth screen. You can buy more nibs from Wacom. (http:www.wacom.com)
You will want a USB hub, wired mouse & keyboard, external CD-ROM drive, and external Hard Drive. These aren’t needed for day-to-day operations, but will be helpful when you install software, perform backups, etc. For maintenance purposes, a wired mouse and keyboard are preferred because they do not require the Bluetooth drivers and work with the BIOS.
Speaking of BIOS, you will want access to it so that you can change the boot order to boot off the CD-ROM. You do this by holding the home button on your slate down when you press the power button to start the system. The volume buttons and the rotation lock button are used to move about the menus.
BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP – I cannot stress how important this is. Something WILL go wrong and you will thank yourself. I backed up the entire drive using Acronis TrueImage. I booted off the CD-ROM so that I would get a clean copy of the drive. I stored it on two different archive drives. Next, I used the Samsung Recovery Solutions program to back up the System Software to a DVD. I then backed up the entire system to another Hard drive using the Samsung software, and finally backed it up again on to 6 DVD disks. You need to do this last because if your system goes completely belly up, you can boot off the DVDs and restore your system and the Recovery Partition. Validate your backups at every step!! (As you can tell, I am rather paranoid about backups.)
Once you have done all this, the next step is to remove the Recovery Partition. I know Samsung warns against this, but 30GB is a large chunk to take away from your 120GB SSD. If you have performed the above steps, then you can safely do this. I tested it for myself by disk, and then restoring from the Acronis backup. Deleting the Recovery partition is not easy, and Samsung Tech Support does not know very much about this unit at this time. Disk Manager will not let you touch it. Check the help instructions in Samsung Recovery Manager for full instructions. (Rather than risk steering you wrong, I leave it to you to get the latest instructions from your own slate.) Once this is removed, you can shrink/expand your system partition at will. I adjusted the space so that I had two 60 GB partitions and installed the Windows 8 Preview in the second. (More about this later.)
It's Arrived!
Wednesday, I picked up my Samsung Series 7 Slate from the Costa Mesa Microsoft Store. Yeah!!!
[Before I go further, I need to thank the staff of the Costa Mesa Store. I have bought several computers from the Microsoft Store over the past couple years (both for myself and for work) and Scott, Daniel and the rest of the sales staff there are among the best I’ve met. They know their products and go out of their way to assist you in finding the right computer for your needs. They quickly work through any snafus and they follow up with you after the sale to make sure that everything is going OK. The store is also really good about keeping you informed about upcoming events and sales.]
[I am writing this post to document what I am going through to set this up and to post my impressions. I do not claim to originate these steps, I will try to document where this info came from. I apologize in advance if I miss crediting anybody. I realize that I am starting this after the fact, but I wanted to make sure that I followed through enough to make it worth it.
I am also using this blog as a repository of information that I use when I set up new conputers.]
[I am writing this post to document what I am going through to set this up and to post my impressions. I do not claim to originate these steps, I will try to document where this info came from. I apologize in advance if I miss crediting anybody. I realize that I am starting this after the fact, but I wanted to make sure that I followed through enough to make it worth it.
I am also using this blog as a repository of information that I use when I set up new conputers.]
I bought a model XE700T1A-A04US. Here are the specs: (They differ from those on the Samsung Site)
· 11.6 in SuperBright LED-backlit HD (1366 x 768)
· Intel Core i5-2467M 1.60 GHz
· 4 GB DDR3
· 128 GB SSD
· Windows 7 Professional
· MicroSD slot
· 1 USB 2.0
· Micro HDMI
· Microphone input
· Bluetooth
I bought a 32 GB Micro SDHC card for my document storage and temp files. I also picked up a Micro HDMI to HDMI cable and I have the Dock on order. Fry's has an inexpensive 12" neoprene case made by Case Logic. I can hardly wait until they get the Slate layout added to their Skin design software and for third parties to make cases designed for this.
If you buy a Slate, make sure that you get one with a 128 GB drive. 64 GB is just not enough space, especially if you are planning to dual boot the Windows 8 Preview.
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