MeanSquare's Miscellany

Keyboard Tips & Tricks

Sticky Keys & Sticky FN: Especially when typing one-handed, it makes things easier if you don't have to press more than one key at a time. The OQO has a custom function on the keyboard that allows this. To do the same on the UX, you use Sticky Keys and Sticky FN. Sticky Keys is built into Windows. Pressing the SHIFT key five times quickly will trigger a dialog box that asks if you want to enable it. Once enabled, pressing CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT once will "hold" the modifyer key until the next normal key is pressed. That also allows you to "stack" the modifyer keys so tapping CTRL, ALT, and then Delete, one after the other, will call up the task manager. Pressing any of the modifyer keys twice in a row will "lock" the key on until it is pressed again.

Sticky FN is a similar function, added by Sony to the UX software. To enable Sticky FN, you press the FN key five times quickly. Once enabled, pressing FN once will hold the FN until a normal key is pressed. Pressing it twice will hold it until you press FN again.

Screen Tips & Tricks

Intel Graphics Media Accellerator Driver for Mobile: (A very long name for a very useful utility) This program allows you to manipulate the display characteristics, color quality, screen resolution, and refresh rate, on a specific display. It also allows you to set whether the display will expand the desktop image to match the monitor, center the desktop, or maintain the aspect ratio. The third option allows you to show the 1024x800 UX display on a monitor that otherwise would not support that vertical over horizontal scale. You will get black bars at the top and bottom of the display, but the text and images will be clear. You can also adjust the color correction parameters to get better color representation on a particular monitor.

When you are using the built-in display as well as an external monitor, the IGMADfM also allows you to set whether both displays show the same image (cloning) or whether the the desktop is expanded to cover both monitors (extended desktop). You can also select which of the two displays is primary and which is secondary.

The IGMADfM also supports "schemes" that save all of the above settings, and also allow you to automatically run a particular application when you start a particular scheme. As an example, you can set up one scheme for simultaneous display of video on both the LCD and external monitor and another for display to an external projector and automatically run your presentation program when the scheme is used. To switch between video schemes, you do need to have an external display attached. Then you click on the IGMADfM icon on the task bar and move to the "Select Schemes" pop-up, which will display all currently available video schemes. Simply select the one you wish to use.

Auto Display Switching or Plug and Display: Another function of Intel's Media Accellerator Driver is "Auto Display Switching." When the UX detects that you've plugged in an external display, it will trigger this function and automatically change the display resolution to a pre-selected setting. The default appears to be 800x600, but you can change it to whatever you wish simply by switching the display resolution once it has been plugged in. The auto switching will remember the setting when you plug in the next time. When you plug in a monitor, a balloon will appear over the task bar that, when you click it, will call up a special settings dialog for Plug and Display.

Power Tips & Tricks

VAIO Power Manager: Sony includes a fantastic utility that allows you to quickly switch all the various settings that affect how your UX uses power. The VAIO Power Manager uses and allows you to set up your own "power schemes," containing the settings for battery life, enabled devices, fan control, LCD brightness, and performance, The VAIO Power Manager shows you graphically how your power is distributed in each of those categories, allows you to adjust the individual settings, and allows you to create your own schemes. Once the schemes are created, you can quickly switch to a different scheme by left-clicking the battery icon on the task bar and selecting the desired scheme.

Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks

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