May 2007 - Posts
Getting the news and information you want, when you want is a challenge these days --especially when you are pressed for time. TopStory is designed to help you “cut to the chase,” by making it easy to tailor information to fit the criteria that you get to establish. It is the perfect solution for anyone owning a Palm Treo or any other Windows based device that wants to keep informed while on the go.
TopStory works with the popular RSS (Real Simple Syndication) format that is the standard used by news websites, virtual magazines, and blogs to distribute streamlined content (often without graphics that tend to slow things down). RSS is ideal for the on-the-go reading.
More information here.
Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it had developed the world's largest storage-capacity memory card for mobile phones. The eight-gigabyte memory card, microSD, can store some 2,000 MP3 music files, 4,000 photographs or five DVD-quality movie files, the company said in a statement.
It is only a quarter the size of the widely-used and existing SD card but much faster in downloading and uploading multimedia data, it added. SD cards are largely used for data storage in digital cameras and televisions. Samsung, quoting market researcher Gartner Dataquest, said the global multimedia memory card market would grow 10 percent annually until 2010.
via Yahoo.
The Device Management and Security (DMSec) team recently produced a series of security booklets. Among the topics you will find:
- Security Risks in the Mobile Enterprise
- The Windows Mobile Security Architecture
- Security Considerations on the Exchange Server
- Security Considerations within the Corporate Network
There are 2 booklets available online:
Security Considerations for Windows Mobile Messaging in the Enterprise
Security Model for Windows Mobile 5.0 and Windows Mobile 6
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The Windows Mobile Business Value Calculator gives you immediate visibility into the impact of deploying mobile business solutions on the Windows Mobile platform. Using a company's unique information, such as number of mobile workers or types of applications to be mobilized, and summary data from IDC, the Business Value Calculator allows you to quantify the benefits and the direct and indirect costs of deploying mobile line-of-business applications, including measurable impact on revenue and income, operating expense savings, productivity enhancements, and other strategic business improvements. The resulting value metrics will help you build the business case for choosing Windows Mobile as the standard platform across your organization. |
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So, just how much of an impact can Windows Mobile have on your business? The answer is just a few clicks away. |
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Q8 you say? I’ve heard of the Q9, but what’s this with the Q8? The Q9 is the UMTS/HSDPA, probably soon to be announced on the new AT&T (and available in Italy soon), and the Q8 is the GSM/EDGE version. Why would an OEM release a GSM device today that is only EDGE capable, particularly when they are also releasing a UMTS/HSDPA version?
http://www.motorolalaunch.com/moto_q.html
Maybe someone who knows Motorola’s roadmap can explain why they did that. Price point?
RIM Senior Vice President David Yach told
eWEEK, "Our goal with Wi-Fi then is that Wi-Fi will just work. When you have coverage Wi-Fi will work, and when you don't you'll use something else,".
The company is working with wireless carriers to make the hand-off between an Internet connection via Wi-Fi and a connection via a cellular-wireless network as seamless as possible.
One of the primary comments I hear from Blackberry users is the battery life. When compared to a Windows Mobile phone, Blackberry’s just manage battery better. As RIM continues to add feature sets to the Blackberry (like multimedia capabilities in the Pearl), the battery will continue to drain just as fast as a Windows Mobile phone. Blackberry users will begin to figure out exactly what I’ve been saying for years. Windows Mobile gives you more functionality, and as you add functionality, battery has to go. For instance, the Blackberry Pearl now advertises a 3 hour talk time and a 360 hour standby. The Treo 750 Windows Mobile phone advertises 4 hours of talk time and 360 hours of standby. Where did the incredible battery life go for the Blackberry?
File synchronization with Windows Mobile 6 Standard devices is only supported by ActiveSync 4.5, not the new Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC). As Vista users have to sync their smartphones with WMDC, they don't have access to this feature.
Microsoft’s statement:
Currently, Windows Mobile 6 users can synchronize files between PCs and smartphones with Active Sync 4.5. Microsoft will update Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) on Windows Vista PCs to support file synchronization with Windows Mobile 6 by mid-June. We appreciate our customers continuing to use ActiveSync 4.5 for file synchronization until this update is available and are looking forward to offering the WMDC synchronize option very soon.
However, ActiveSync 4.5 will not install on Windows Vista, so in a round about way, if you have a Windows Mobile 6 standard device (like an upgraded T-Mobile Dash), you won’t be able to sync with Windows Vista until the fix is available.
Windows Mobile 6 upgrade service is only provided to Glofiish X500 and M700 users. Three languages are available: English, French and Russian. Please follow the instructions below:
1. Please register for your Glofiish X500 or M700 before you start the WM6 download process.
2. An Action Key will be sent to your registered email address by the system.
3. Enter your IMEI number and Action Key to start the download.
If you have an X500 or M700, go here.
SQL Mobile Manager
Monitor, diagnose and manage performance from a PDA or Windows Mobile Device
- See performance metrics, process status information and event logs
- Create and receive custom alerts
- Take action to quickly fix issues including:
- Execute TSQL scripts
- Execute any “cmd”
- Start and stop services, jobs, or agents
- Reboot a server
Download a 14–day trial or get more information here.
And with that purchase, HTC says to expect 100% growth in Southeast Asia.
SMARTPHONE designer and manufacturer HTC is betting that its acquisition of its customer Dopod International Corp will help double sales of its devices in the region this year. Speaking to the regional press at a briefing last Friday, Peter Chou, chief executive and president of High Tech Computer Corp (HTC), said: 'I would not be surprised with 100 per cent growth in South-east Asia this year.'
According to Mr Chou, the Asia region currently accounts for some 10-15 per cent of its revenues. Last year, HTC reported some US$3.16 billion in revenues. Mr Chou expects Asia's contribution to overall revenue will grow in the coming year to about 20 per cent, helped by its acquisition of Dopod. Last week, HTC announced that it will pay up to US$14.5 million to take over Dopod International's subsidiaries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, India and the Philippines, on July 1, 2007. Notably, Dopod's China operations were excluded from the deal. In May last year, HTC said that it will pay no more than US$150 million for a more than 50 per cent stake in Dopod, including its China operations, and that the deal will be finalised before the end of last year. However, there were no further updates on the deal until last week's announcement.
I’ve been using WeatherPulse for a long time. Probably one of the best desktop weather programs available due to high customization options, plus it’s free. A couple of days ago, they released a beta update that works better with Windows Vista.
2.10 Build1 Beta
New Requirements: Javascript enabled in Internet Explorer
Bug Fixes:
Should now install fine in Windows Vista
Memory use dropped substantially with new Image Viewer
Changes:
New update.exe
Updated Web Browser components
Image Viewer completely rebuilt
Image viewer now supports dragging image with mouse
Image viewer can now zoom
Can now turn on and off scroll bars in Image Viewer
Now Compiled with Delphi7
Using IE7 browser now
Requires Javascript enabled in your web browser.
Plugin Support finished
Updates and New Installations:
1.) Backup your current WeatherPulse before installing.
2.) Download the new FULL Setup below and install
3.) Load WeatherPulse and go to the settings and double check all fields, TURN OFF AUTO UPGRADING and save.
4.) DO NOT use the upgrade options, since this is a pre-release beta, old files will download.
THIS IS A NEW FULL INSTALLATION FILE
DOWNLOAD NEW BETA
RIM CEO (or co-CEO) Jim Balsillie said in an interview with EWEEK:
“… the event that shut down e-mail for BlackBerrys in the United States for hours last month was due to "a process thing," and that steps had been taken to ensure that it could never happen again.”
NEVER use the word “never”. There is no such thing…
What was also interesting in the interview…
“Balsillie did note, however, that it's the responsibility of an enterprise to make sure they have continuity plans for times when important communications paths, including the BlackBerry e-mail, are out of order. He pointed out that RIM was working with customers immediately upon learning of the blackout.
"We had literally hundreds of our top customers on open bridges with ongoing collaboration and communications. So those that were affected had ongoing communications," he said about RIM's support efforts.”
Excuse me? It now leaves me wondering who the “hundreds of top customers on open bridges” are, and what “immediately” means, because we didn’t get squat. We heard nothing from them except through press releases. He’s lost in Alice in Wonderland, or following the white rabbit. Someone fed him a load of…
The Windows Mobile 6 docs have been posted. Read about what’s new, development tools, getting started with development, deploying mobile apps, programming techniques, features, code samples, huge assortment of topics.
Go here for the lot of them.
Do you use One Note? Getting the most out of it? Dan Escapa has put together a good comprehensive list of how to get the most out of One Note.
http://blogs.msdn.com/descapa/archive/2007/05/09/onenote-training-links.aspx
For those of you that have switched to Windows Vista, you may or may not have noticed Outlook Express is gone, and it’s been replaced by Windows Mail. Well, according to PC World, they’re both out thanks to Windows Live Mail Desktop.
HP Compaq Notebook PCs - SYSTEM ROM UPGRADE REQUIRED: Certain Intel Processors May Cause Unpredictable System Behavior
NOTICE: The information in this document, including products and software versions, is current as of the Release Date. This document is subject to change without notice.
DESCRIPTION
CAUTION: This System BIOS upgrade is considered a critical fix and is required to correct the issue detailed below. HP strongly recommends immediate application of required critical fixes. Neglecting to perform the required action could leave the server in an unstable condition, which could potentially result in system lockups or failures, or data corruption or loss. By disregarding this notification, the customer accepts the risk of incurring future related events.
Intel has provided a microcode update to HP as a critical software fix. This Intel microcode update addresses an improper Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) invalidation that may result in unpredictable system behavior such as system hangs or incorrect data. HP is making available a System BIOS upgrade that integrates a new version of this Intel microcode to address this potential but extremely rare issue.
While the occurrence of this issue is extremely rare, HP strongly recommends upgrading the System BIOS to a version dated April 06, 2007 (or later). Intel has indicated that the microcode update has no known measurable performance impact and provides a complete and comprehensive resolution to this issue.
This issue was identified in a synthetic test environment during rigorous quality control testing. To date, HP has not observed this issue in a production environment This issue will be documented in an updated version of the Intel Processor Specification Update for all affected processors.
To access this Intel information, refer to: http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/specupdt/314079.htm (T5000 & T7000)
NOTE: One or more of the links above will take you outside the Hewlett-Packard Web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside of the HP Web site.
IMPORTANT: This condition is NOT specific to HP Compaq Notebook PCs and can affect any Notebook PC that uses Intel Core2 Duo mobile processor T7000 and T5000 sequence processors. It is not restricted to HP systems and can occur on other manufacturers´ Intel-based systems.
While the implications of the issue are difficult to quantify, any of the following symptoms can occur:
- The system may stop responding to keyboard or mouse input.
- A system operating in a Microsoft Windows environment may generate a blue screen.
- A system operating in a Linux environment may generate a kernel panic.
- A system operating in a Novell NetWare environment may ABEND.
SCOPE
Any of the following HP Compaq Notebook PCs configured with a System BIOS dated earlier than April XX, 2007:
- Compaq Presario V3000 Notebook PC series
- HP Pavilion dv2000 Notebook PC series
- HP Compaq nx6310 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nx6320 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nc6320 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nc8430 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nx8420 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nw8440 Mobile Workstation
- HP Compaq nx9420 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nw9440 Mobile Workstation
- Compaq Presario V6000 Notebook PC series
- HP Pavilion dv6000 Notebook PC series
- HP Pavilion dv9000 Notebook PC series
- HP Compaq nx7400 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nc2400 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nc6400 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nc4400 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq tc4400 Tablet PC
- HP Compaq nx6330 Notebook PC
- HP Compaq nx7300 Notebook PC
- Compaq Presario V5000 Notebook PC series
- HP Pavilion dv5000 Notebook PC series
- HP Pavilion dv8000 Notebook PC series
RESOLUTION
To prevent the unpredictable system behavior from occurring due to this issue, upgrade the unit with a system BIOS to a version dated April XX, 2007 (or later). System BIOS' dated April XX, 2007 (or later) include the required Intel microcode updates to address this issue. Applying the latest System BIOS ensures that the most current version of Intel microcode is installed in the system.
MEDC Europe registration ends in one week (May 18th). It will be in Berlin on the 25th and 26th of June. Lots of great sessions if you missed MEDC in Las Vegas.
OK, here it is in all of its glory. The Microsoft oPhone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WazA77xcf0A
Based on information from HP, there will be no Windows Mobile 6 upgrades for the 6500 or 6900 series Mobile Messenger. They have yet to make any announcements on their roadmap through December of this year.
Palm Developer Network has successfully kicked off the Treo™ Windows Mobile® Challenge Contest
at MEDC 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Enter and win an exciting prize package as we search for the hottest new Windows Mobile applications that run on Treo™ 700w, 700wx, 750, and 750v smartphones! Utilize Palm’s ease of use with Windows Mobile’s feature-rich mobile experience to showcase your application at its best.
- Develop a hot new software solution OR Port an exciting software solution to the Windows Mobile platform
- Submissions may include freeware, shareware or commercial software applications
Contest runs through June 5 and the winners will be announced at TechEd. $10,000 cash is up for grabs, not bad for prize money!
More details here.
First Palm OS Based Treo Device with Built-in Microsoft Direct Push Technology for Email and Integrated Google Maps for Mobile
SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 09, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Evolving the Treo(TM) product line to keep mobile professionals connected, productive and entertained, Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) today introduced the Treo 755p smart device, a new Palm OS(R) Treo for Sprint. The CDMA Treo 755p is the first Treo device to offer built-in Microsoft Direct Push Technology email support; Google Maps for mobile; and the latest Treo design, with integrated antenna, slimmer form factor and mini-SD slot.(1) Sprint is the first carrier selling the next-generation Treo 755p, which is available for as low as $279.99 with a two-year service agreement and a $100 mail-in rebate, and is available starting mid-May in two fashionable colors - midnight blue and burgundy.
The new Treo 755p brings customers quick, wireless access to web, email, business, multimedia applications and instant messaging (IM) for Sprint customers nationwide (standard text and Vision charges apply where applicable).(2) The Treo 755p runs on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, the nation's largest mobile broadband network - reaching more than 206 million people across the country in more than 11,000 cities and 1,000 airports.
Not sure why he didn’t mention it at MEDC. I didn’t mention Daniel Moth in my conclusion, but he did present three great sessions during MEDC, particularly the panel discussion. Well, I was browsing mobile books at Amazon and stumbled on to this one (or you can click this link).
Microsoft Mobile Development Handbook (Pro - Developer) (Paperback)
by Andy Wigley (Author), Peter Foot (Author), Daniel Moth (Author)
Book Description
Learn the essentials for developing mobile applications for any device. Focusing on proven techniques and practices, this guide addresses the real-world needs of experienced Microsoft Windows® mobile developers. Users are growing increasingly dependent on mobile devices, and with innovations that make it easy to manage data synchronization, this proliferation will continue. Developers need to respond to this evolution with more than simple adaptations of the user interface--they need to implement mobile solutions for most of their applications. From expert authors with years of real-world experience, this book addresses this evolution, covering key mobile-development topics, including design, debugging, deployment, performance optimization, security, and globalization. It also covers mobile applications that use Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0, Microsoft SQL Server(tm) 2005 Everywhere Edition, and Microsoft Windows Mobile® 5.0, running on devices such as Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile Smartphones. In addition, it includes extensive code samples in Microsoft Visual C#®, with additional code sample in Microsoft Visual Basic® on the book's companion Web site.
Product Description
Learn the essentials for developing mobile applications for any device. Focusing on proven techniques and practices, this guide addresses the real-world needs of experienced Microsoft Windows® mobile developers. Users are growing increasingly dependent on mobile devices, and with innovations that make it easy to manage data synchronization, this proliferation will continue. Developers need to respond to this evolution with more than simple adaptations of the user interface--they need to implement mobile solutions for most of their applications. From expert authors with years of real-world experience, this book addresses this evolution, covering key mobile-development topics, including design, debugging, deployment, performance optimization, security, and globalization. It also covers mobile applications that use Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0, Microsoft SQL Server(tm) 2005 Everywhere Edition, and Microsoft Windows Mobile® 5.0, running on devices such as Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile Smartphones. In addition, it includes extensive code samples in Microsoft Visual C#®, with additional code sample in Microsoft Visual Basic® on the book's companion Web site.
Should make for some great reading.
Wireless week conducted an interview with Pieter Knook, Senior Vice President of the Mobile Communications Business for Microsoft, during CTIA. The interview was conducted by Brad Smith, Technology Editor for Wireless Week. Some interesting notes from that article:
- Windows Mobile has more than 120 enterprise deployments of more than 1,000 units with 30% of these being competitive wins from existing RIM customers.
- In FY06, Microsoft shipped over 6 million phone licenses in a year. During the first half of FY07, they shipped 5 million Windows Mobile devices.
- According to second quarter 2007 earnings, licenses for Windows Mobile based phones exceeded 3 million units, and grew more than 90% over the prior year (didn’t RIM report that their ENTIRE install base is approximately 8 million???)
- Windows Mobile has established itself as the fastest growing mobile OS in the world with a rate of growth more than three times that of Symbian or Research in Motion.
This is a great interview. I wish I could send the link, but I can’t. You’ll have to go here, and click the Day 1 edition of CTIA, then scroll to page 54. If you can figure out how to send direct links, please let me know!
A couple of recent announcements from RIM. One, RIM announced Virtual Blackberry for Windows Mobile. I’m sure in the grand scheme of things RIM’s purpose is to better leverage the infrastructure behind BES and the RIM Operations Center, however this is great news in my mind. Why? It will help me in my goal to move away from RIM. It will allow users to stay with a familiar interface while we transition, getting them used to Windows Mobile in the process. Thanks a bunch RIM. Of course, we all know how long it took Blackberry Connect to come to fruition, and Virtual Blackberry for Windows Mobile may have the same slow to market release.
The second announcement is the related to the plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio. This only confirms for me what I suspected based on the crowds and MEDC. Visual Studio and the .NET tools are taking over leadership from a development standpoint, and RIM is trying to backfill a gap so they can take advantage. My only issue is it is only a “plug-in”. It’s still a proprietary OS, still Java based, the J2ME. Once you see the true interaction with Visual Studio and .NET running on Windows Mobile 6, you will understand what I mean by the limitations of a plug-in running on Java. With SQL Compact Edition 3.1, .NET CE 2.0, SP1, and Async JavaScript and XML (AJAX) shipping in WM6 ROM, this is only the beginning of the end unless RIM comes up with something pretty quick. A plug-in for Visual Studio just won’t cut it.
I’ve been watching traffic on several mobile blogs (including some real popular blogs). Apparently some hackers were able to extract the new Pocket Office apps from a Windows Mobile 6 smartphone, and they’ve made it available for others to install, including Windows Mobile 5 smartphones, by posting the files to a rapidshare. Should blogs publicize something like this? Is it the right thing to do? If so, why is it ok to do this, and why is it not ok to share install keys from other software downloads, or links to books that you should pay to have in electronic format? Maybe you think it should all be free. No doubt that because of other blogs picking this up, someone will download the Pocket Office apps and the files will end up in other places. Again, it that ok to do? Pass around software that didn’t come with the device, is not standard for the device you have, and that you certainly didn’t pay for? If that’s not ok, why is it that some think it’s great to blog about it and post the links to the files? Get it before they take it down type of posts.
Granted, there are sites on the web that make their living off of “cooked” ROM’s for PDA’s, ROM’s that the OEM’s or wireless carriers are not supporting or have not provided due to licensing and other constraints. One well known site was asked to remove them from their site, and they complied, now the files are showing up in rapidshare and wiki’s rather than in the forums, so nothing was really accomplished other than keeping the files out of the forums.
Again, is that really fair to OEM’s, developers, and wireless carriers? I really don’t think it’s right to post something like that out on the web (breaking several licensing agreements in the process for those that are downloading and installing), and then advertising where to find them and get them installed. That’s software piracy, plain and simple, and shouldn’t be done.
If your development workstation is based on Windows Vista™ then this service pack will:
- Help address some areas of the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 toolkit product on Windows Vista™
- Install the following Windows Embedded CE 6.0 toolkit improvements:
- eXDI 2.0 support to help with your debugging efforts at the boot loader and hardware abstraction layer level.
- Remote Tools Framework Support to help lay the foundation for 3rd party development of diagnostic tools.
- CEDebugX to help find and help resolve deadlocks.
If your development workstation is based on Windows XP Service Pack 2 then this service pack will install the following Windows Embedded CE 6.0 toolkit improvements:
- eXDI 2.0 support to help with your debugging efforts at the boot loader and hardware abstraction layer level.
- Remote Tools Framework Support to help lay the foundation for 3rd party development of diagnostic tools.
- CEDebugX to help find and help resolve deadlocks.
Download here.
digg_url='http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jgormly/archive/2007/05/06/windows-embedded-ce-6-0-platform-builder-service-pack-1-available.aspx';digg_title='Windows Embedded CE 6.0 Platform Builder Service Pack 1 available';digg_skin='compact';digg_bgcolor='transparent';
Quick and painless, and probably the fastest upgrade I’ve ever done on a mobile phone, and now my Dash is running the WM6 version for the HTC Excalibur/Dash. I’ll provide a review later on how it operates under WM6.
As I mentioned earlier, TMo has released the WM6 upgrade for the Dash.
Go here.
The Windows Mobile Team is conducting a survey. If you have a few minutes to spare (about 5), they’d like your input.
https://live.datstat.com/MED-Collector/Survey.ashx?Name=MEDC2007_CPub_Survey
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