Picasa Thumnails Stop Displaying after upgrade to Android 3.2

On my Toshiba Thrive, I noted that the thumbnails for the images I have in Picasa Web Albums stopped displaying properly after I upgraded to Android 3.2. I was able to get them working properly again, and this is how I did it.

Open the gallery.
Then go to Apps/Settings/Applications/Manage Applications. Select the All option
Scroll down to Gallery
Select Force Stop
Select Clear Data. You'll get the dire warning about everything is going to be deleted, respond OK
Restart the Gallery. The blue sync circle will start running at the top, and the thumbnails will reappear. They will link to the pictures as they should.
I rebooted the tablet afterward just to confirm it would survive a re-boot, and it did.

If you have a Toshiba Thrive, and you want to interact with other Thrive users, have a look at The Toshiba Thrive Forums

Lenovo Laptop with Dual Boot

I have always liked the IBM/Lenovo Think Pad line of laptops. They are not flashy, but they are build solidly and it is easy to obtain the manuals for them to replace or upgrade parts should the need arise. The T61p I have has the convenience of a Think-Light that allows you to see the keyboard in low light situations, and a fingerprint reader for added security and convenience. The unit I have has the 1920x1200 resolution panel in 15.6' size, and the Core2Duo processor at 2.2Ghz. This technology comes at a price though, so to save considerable money, I went to the off-lease segment to obtain one.

I got this unit off a seller on Ebay for $500. It was less than 2 years old at the time of purchase, and it was still under the Lenovo warranty. The seller had plenty of pictures of the actual product, so I was confident in buying this unit. Other than some slight keyboard wear from use, there are no visible scratches or other imperfections anywhere on the unit. The screen has no blemishes or dead pixels, and everything works fine. But not being one to settle for good enough, I set out to make the machine into exactly what I wanted.

The first thing I upgraded was the hard drive. I purchased a 640GB 7200RPM unit for $65 on a special promotion. At the same time I upgraded the installed RAM from 2 to 4GB for an additional $54. Since the unit was under warranty, I was able to obtain the factory recovery disks for Windows Vista Ultimate from Lenovo at no cost. I partitioned the drive 120GB for Windows, 100GB for Linux, and the remainder I formated as storage for both operating systems to access. I installed Windows first, then Ubuntu 10.10, and I have a dual-boot machine that allows me to choose either Windows or Linux at startup.

My Linux install works very well. I had to do some modifications to get the volume up/down buttons on the Lenovo to echo on the screen, but that was very simple to do via the command line. The other functions invoked by “FN” worked just fine. Also my computer hibernates properly when the lid is shut on the Linux side. I use Samba to access my Windows shares on my other computers. I was able to install and use a wireless Epson printer/scanner in Linux with a simple driver download. Windows of course works as it did from the factory, as I used the Lenovo image to install it. Both operating systems have no problem accessing the storage partition I created. I am very pleased with this machine, and I use it more than any other laptop I have.

So for $619, I have a Think Pad with 4GB RAM and 640GB of storage and 1920x1200 resolution. That price is significantly less than the cost of a new one, and I have a dual-boot machine for the price. It was very easy to upgrade parts in this machine, and it has been working just fine for over a year now.

Finally Got a Tablet

After sitting on the sidelines for a couple of years, I finally got a tablet. At first I did not think I would have a need for one since I always have a laptop around, but then I thought of the convenience it would provide. The ability to check mail and do basic things on-line while watching TV, and not having to open a computer were definite factors in my decision.

Once I decided that I wanted a tablet, I did some research and read a few articles about what the various models had to offer. I knew I wanted maximum resolution, so I did not consider any models under 1280x1024. That helped eliminate a good part of the field. I also wanted to be able to just use the product as intended, but get under the hood if I desired to. So this made the Android operating system my primary choice. There are several good Android tablets out there, so to further separate the contenders I decided that full-sized ports (USB and SD) were also important. I take a lot of pictures, and most of my cameras use the SD card for storage. I want to be able to take the card out of the camera and place it in the tablet to view images without using an adapter or dongle. Also I could back up the SD card in the camera to a USB stick with the tablet.

I ended up purchasing the Toshiba Thrive tablet. It has the 10 inch screen at 1280x1024 and the Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) OS installed. It has the full-sized ports that I want, as well as a user replaceable battery. Also the back cover is removable and changeable to different colors. That cover is textured to afford a better grip on the device. The full-sized ports make the unit a bit thicker than other tablets, but not so much that it is a problem.

So far my experience with it has been very positive. It updated the software and installed applications without any problems. I have it connected to my Wi-Fi network and surfing the Internet is quite responsive. I have a Gmail account so setting up the unit and synchronizing it with Google was a breeze. I was surprised at how easy it is to compose messages on the tablet. I have the input set to suggest words as I type, and most words need only one or two letters pressed and the correct word shows up on-screen. The choices for words are below the message, so it is easy to pick the one that you want. I have downloaded and played a few games on it without any issues. Also the screen responds quickly to rotating the tablet. I have no problems using it all day on a single charge; the battery is advertised to last about 6.5 hours with Wi-Fi enabled, and I don't doubt that claim.

There have been some complaints about the indicator lights on the front of the tablet, but I see no problem with them. In fact the power switch is located on the side between the battery and network lights, so that makes it convenient for my finger to find the switch when I want to wake it up or put it to sleep. The volume rocker is there and I have never pressed it by accident. The speaker volume is quite adequate for games and video. The camera is average but do you really want to haul a tablet around specifically to take pictures? It does what it's supposed to do. Of course the screen collects fingerprints, but that's the nature of a touchscreen.

Overall I am very pleased with the Toshiba Thrive. I would not hesitate to purchase another one or recommend it to my friends.