J.D. H. | J.D. Hodges

Author Archives: J.D. H.

Lenovo X220 ThinkPad Long Term User Review

Wednesday, 2012.01.04 J.D. H. 2 comments

This is a placeholder for additional content as the review is added to… X220 purchase date: 2011.12.17 Specs: Processor Intel Core i7-2640M Processor (2.8GHz, turbo 3.5GHz, 4MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) Operating System Pre-installed Windows 7 Professional 64 – English Keyboard/Pointing Device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Total Memory 8GB PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM). Hard Drive 320GB, 7200RPM Serial ATA 2.5″ Hard Drive Display USB 3.0 12.5” Premium HD WXGA (1366 X 768) LED (IPS Panel) Yes Graphics Intel? HD Graphics

35mm vs 50mm Nikon DX lenses! (and telephoto too)

Monday, 2012.01.02 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Question from longtime friend RW: Hey JD, I’m settling in with the Nikon D5100 and have been using the 18-55mm kit lens to get a feel for using the camera, and I think I am ready to upgrade and buy 1-2 more lenses and wanted to get your opinion. First I am looking at a decent portrait lens for snapping shots of the little one when she arrives and am either going with a 35mm or 50mm. I am kind of

Read more Ask J.D., camera tips, photography

Easily copy a bunch of links from a webpage

Monday, 2012.01.02 J.D. H. Leave a comment

If you ever need to copy a bunch of links for a project it can be very tedious to right click ever single link and select “Copy link address” then paste that into notepad (or wherever you are storing the links) over and over 🙁 Thankfully there are some simple, and free, plugins to help make this task MUCH easier: Copy Multiple Links to Clipboard with Link2Cliphttp://www.nirmaltv.com/2010/05/10/copy-multiple-links-to-clipboard-with-link2clip/About the Blog NirmalTV.COM is a daily updated technology blog which was founded in

Swap the Lenovo X220/X230 ThinkPad Ctrl and Fn keys

Sunday, 2012.01.01 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Thank goodness you can swap the ctrl and fn keys on the X220/X230! Just go into the BIOS (press F1 at boot) and adjust the Keyboard/Mouse settings 🙂 Step-by-step instructions: Turn on the laptop, Wait for the ThinkPad screen, and then press F1. Enter BIOS Navigate to the Config screen using the arrow keys Choose Keyboard/Mouse Set Fn and Ctrl Key swap to enabled. Press the Esc (escape) key and go to the Restart screen Choose Exit Saving Changes Top Search Terms:lenovo

How to cancel Verizon cell phone service

Tuesday, 2011.12.27 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Surprisingly, as of 2011.12.27, Verizon does not allow you to cancel your wireless cell phone service via their website. If you try to contact them about canceling your account, you will receive the following message: If you wish to cancel your service, you will need to speak to someone at Customer Service. Please call us at 1-800-922-0204 and press prompt 4. So, to cancel service your best bet will probably be to call that number! Top Search Terms:how to cancel

Real world review: the Armstrong Pullup Program

Thursday, 2011.12.22 J.D. H. 2 comments

Over the years I’ve tried a variety of pullup programs. The Armstrong Pullup Program is the best of the bunch for me. Simple, effective and free. You can’t really beat that! Here are some links to versions of the program: (links removed b/c they don’t have the original [and best IMHO] version of the program, comment if you need the best version. thx) If anybody out there would like more info about how the program works and what kind of

Really good iOS apps: example 1 [Wild Fables]

Wednesday, 2011.12.21 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Developing an iOS app is not that hard. Developing a good iOS app is surprisingly hard. It is always nice to see a developer doing things right and really creating a valuable app for the end user. Therefore I was very happy to come across some good coding tips here: How to Write an iOS App That Uses a Web Service | Ray Wenderlichhttp://www.raywenderlich.com/2965/how-to-write-an-ios-app-that-uses-a-web-serviceIn this tutorial, you’ll get hands-one experience with using web services, by writing an iOS app that communicates

Info about WildBlue and ViaSat-1 upgrade availability

Tuesday, 2011.12.20 J.D. H. Leave a comment

As a current WildBlue subscriber-living way off the grid-I am particularly interested in their new ViaSat-1 satellite and the faster speeds / enhanced capabilities that it will provide. As such, here are some articles on the topic: UPDATE: from what I have read, WildBlue ViaSat-1 residential availability has started in Colorado (or will start SOON… like late Dec early Jan) and then nationwide rollout in February. If anyone else has better/updated info, please post in the comments… thanks! ViaSat’s