Wondering what your state allows this Fourth of July? Gizmodo did an excellent article on it. Check it out on the link below:

Article on Gizmodo

Thanks for sharing, Gizmodo! It definately helped me out!

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Fireworks: Which States Allow What is a post from: thekruser.com

Just a word to those who have not yet heard, this site has been hacked. I am correcting the issue. Please be patient with me and know that I would never attempt to hijack, infect, or otherwise exploit my readers. Once the issue has been corrected, I will post more.

Thank you for visiting thekruser.com. I hope you return.

UPDATE: I am still working this issue, but the virus appears to be gone. There will continue to be glitches for a while.  My sincerest apologies for any inconvenience. I am thoroughly scanning each and every file before posting, so it may take a while to get everything back up and running in its entirety. Thank you for your continued patience.

I was Hacked is a post from: thekruser.com

Happy foursquare Day

Get the 4sq Day 2010 badge by checking in with (or shouting) “Happy Foursquare Day” without the quotes. Good for today, 16 April, only! Be sure to hit the retweet button to the right to let your friends know!!

Thanks for the info, Nan Palmero: BlackBerry Power User!

-Posted from my beloved BlackBerry!

Get the 4sq Day 2010 badge! is a post from: thekruser.com

I recently was hooked up with a copy of Tether for BlackBerry by a buddy of mine. I will refrain from listing his name here so he doesn’t get inundated by people begging for a hook up. To my friend…thank you! I had no idea what I was missing!

Here’s the deal. I had heard about Tether many times before. I actually looked into purchasing it more than once, but I just couldn’t justify the price. Especially since I have a non-3G phone. There is little in life as painful as loading a full web page over a 2G connection. If you ever do have the chance to load a full web page over a 2G connection, jump off a f-ing cliff. It will be far less painful.

Due to my stance on paying for an insanely slow internet connection, I opted to go with the even more painful solution of tethering my BlackBerry manually. Great idea.

And, by the way, I got it to work exactly one time.

Now, as I stated before, I only have 2G, so my connection speed is roughly half the speed of a slug, especially at work where I only have GPRS coverage. I can get full EDGE signal from the parking lot 50 feet away, but not at my desk (you figure that one out). However, despite the speed, I can still access my email. I know…kind of pointless since I have a BlackBerry, but this post is not about what I can accomplish at work or my connection speed, it’s about the app itself.

As I installed Tether on my PC, I marveled at the ease of installation. No complicated network connection settings. No dreaded modem strings. Just as simple as installing Solitaire.

I downloaded the BlackBerry app. Simple. When I started both of the apps, again I was amazed at the ease. Just start the app on your PC and BlackBerry, select your connection method, and you are done.

From someone who has attempted the manual connection, I must say Tether is the only way to go. Manual connection involves creating a connection, adding a startup script to the modem launch, pairing the device, and combating the urge to either slit your wrist or gouge out your eyeball with a spoon.

Tether takes that all away. It is literally as easy as installing the app and hitting the “do it to it” button. The only “technical” part is setting up the APN on your BlackBerry, which will differ from carrier to carrier.

For T-Mobile, in case you are wondering, the APN is wap.voicestream.com.

Take this for what you will, but Tether is worth the investment. Like I said before, the speed of your connection is not the determining factor here. The time, stress, and money you will save is. If you travel a lot and just need email access, there is no better money saver than Tether. After one airport layover and a two night stay in a hotel, the app will have already paid for itself — assuming there is no free WiFi.

And no, I am not saying that Tether is only good for email. It creates a full internet connection. I am just too impatient to wait for 2G to load pages. If you have 3G (or even better, 4G) or a lot of patience, you will have the interwebs anywhere your phone has signal.

Long story short, buy Tether if you need mobile connectivity. You won’t be disappointed.

Published from my beloved BlackBerry.

Tether: What an Awesome App is a post from: thekruser.com

Just when I was ready to hit the rack, my friend Nan: BlackBerry Power User let me know about the newest version of the foursquare for BlackBerry Beta. So…thanks, Nan, for letting me know about the newest update; THANKS NAN, NOW I HAVE TO WRITE A NEW POST! Ha ha ha! I am starting to see double at this point — I am rather tired (thank God for spell check) — but if I didn’t post at least something, I would feel like I am letting my readers down. so, without further adieu, this is what I noticed on first glance.

The first thing I noticed was a bit more detail in the design: better use of the real estate, nicer icons, etc. But most importantly, the timeline is now split by location. Before, at least from what I have noticed, the timeline was split by time only (Last 3 hours, Today, Yesterday, and so on). Now, I can see today’s check ins not only ny time, but by location (listed as “Friends in Other Cities”). I also notice gold-colored mayor-indicating crowns by the names that I do not recall seeing in previous versions.

The ‘Places’ tab now shows the category icons that have recently been implemented — a nice feature — but I am still a bit disappointed that the venue screen does not include an option to add/update tags/categories.

I also noticed a feature that may or may not have been present in previous versions: the ability to scan my address book for possible foursquare users. Not that it is all that useful to me — most of by business associates are not in to the “techie” movement. If it was there before, it would have been easy for me to miss. Either way, it is a nice feature.

On the ‘Check in’ screen, I noticed some changes as well. Now when I search for a venue, results include tag matches whereas before it only returned venue name matches. The results are sorted accordingly. A very nice touch. Now when I travel, I will be able to use this function in place of the dreaded Poynt service — nice idea, but a bit too “advertisy” for my taste. I also noticed that the venue screen includes mayor information, something I had not seen before. Hey, look at that! I am the mayor of thekruser’s Bar and Grill!

If anyone who works for foursquare happens to stumble upon this article, can we please do something about the lack of content in the menu? When I hit the menu key in most al BlackBerry apps, I am inundated with choices. With the foursquare app, it is basically Help, Refresh, Check-In, Log out…basics. Can we get a few more options? Why do I have to scroll to the top and then to the right, only to scroll down again to add a friend. There should be a menu option for that.

While we are on the subject, how about a way for us to add tags when we add a venue? With the fact that many badges rely upon tags, it is difficult to remember to add the tags once I get back home. Isn’t the idea to not have to update from home? I feel you would get much more accurate information if we were allowed to add tags from the field, thus eliminating the, “Damn, did that place have a photobooth? I can’t remember. Oh well, I still need my Photogenic badge, so I’ll just tag it as such anyway.”

Well, that is all for now. I am sure there are things I have missed, especially as applied to device/carrier specific changes. All I have is an 8900 on T-Mobile. If you noticed any other changes, please leave a comment below!

Foursquare for BlackBerry Beta Gets an Update is a post from: thekruser.com