Time to Blog… Again!

/ General /

So I logged into my blog knowing it must be a while since I’d put anything up – nearly two years – and what do you know he last thing I put up was a blog about my then new smart phone. Well I wore the HTC out and just before Christmas I got an iPhone 4 and the reason I am now posting is that it has an app for WordPress.

I never remembered to post – the HTC phone was good but not great for using on the web – and by the time I got back to my PC the moment had passed and I had work to do. With this app I hope I will be able to post more. I have a long interest in mobile computing and love walking and photography and that is what I want to talk about.

So watch this space and let’s see if it works out.

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New PDA – Phone – GPS – Camera…

/ General /

In a previous post I discussed the tech stuff I carry when walking or just for work – and especially the number of devices and chargers I have to pack. Well just before Christmas I got an HTC Touch Pro – and it was great to have only one device in my pocket – which does everything.

I got the extended battery pack, which is essential if you use it as much as I do and want to get a full days use from it, the supplied slim 800mAh battery is just not good enough. I also added a 16GB memory card.

Great Points

  • Excellent camera, which includes a flash light, exposure compensation and auto-fucus.
  • The ability to photograph documents and even business cards – very useful for me as I am always losing bits of paper when I am at work, and as a Director in BNI I get dozens of business cards each week.
  • The keyboard is very useable – and illuminated
  • Exceptional screen – it is small, but sharp and very easy to read. I can easily use the Memory-Map navigation software on it, edit word documents using TextMaker and read books.
  • The supplied RSS Hub application is very good – downloading content in the background when there is  data connection – and even able to download on request podcasts – which can then be played from the application or saved to the storage card.

I hve always thought that the Windows media player, supplied with Windows mobile devices, lacks flexibility. On previous PDAs I have used the free TCPMP player – but that does ot work in WM6.1, so I bought a copy of its commercial replacement Core media player.

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Anatomy of a malware scam | The Register

/ General

Anatomy of a malware scam | The Register.

I was sent this link by a friend – this XP Antivirus 2008 program has been causing me a number of headaches over the past month, at work.

We all see the “helpful” mass emails that well intentioned people send out when they are sent a virus warning – they run to many pages all including many email addresses, just waiting to be farmed – yours among them. The emails cluter the mail systems and are usually of little value. Of course they do include the dramatic statement from the big anti-virus company and a warning not to ignore this email.

However if you read this blog – the message is simple. Do not install XP Antivirus 2008.

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PDA = A Good Read!

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I have used my PDA as a “book” all the way back to my Series 3 Psion. I have no trouble reading from a screen – which is what most people complain about, however I suspect many have not tried using a modern PDA screen and reader program.

I was at a party last night and got talking about electronic books – so I passed my X51v round and everyone said how easy it was to read, and use.

Using a handheld is a green option,

  • Ÿ You already own the device – if you have a Windows Mobile phone – so no new purchase needed
  • Ÿ The electronic book is not printed on paper, bound, transported etc – a great saving in resources
  • Ÿ Storage of ebooks is very efficient – so you can carry a large library with you at all times
  • Ÿ Do you like reading at night? – If so you need a light on to see the text, however a PDA has an illuminated screen, no bedside light required – I know the device needs charging but I am sure that is not as much energy as running a lamp
  • Ÿ Paper books can be recycled but so can the PDA – eventually
  • Ÿ One downside is that you cannot lend DRM secured ebooks to friends – this is something the industry will have to sort

One bit of advice, I would not bother with the Microsoft Reader ebook program. I tried it out on my first WinCE handheld where it worked OK, but the real problems came when I changed my PC (and then my PDA), something I do several times a year because of my job. The program counted how many devices I had it installed on, and as I had it on my PC in the office, and on the one in my office at home, and a laptop, and maybe the office development machine etc it threw a wobbly and I stopped using it. Now the people from Redmond may well have solved those issues or not, but why bother going back and trying again when there are other reader programs out there. As I said eReader pro (www.ereader.com) is my favourite – and I regularly buy books from them. Mobipocket Reader is another option (www.mobipocket.com). Both offer versions for PCs and handhelds but eReader does not yet have a version for Blackberrys but they are promising one soon.

Both the readers can read the long established doc (not .doc by Microsoft word) format books – and it is easy to make your own ebooks from text files – there are a number of places on the web to find freeware ebooks, use Google or start your ebook collection by searching for Project Gutenberg.

An issue arises when it comes to commercial ebooks because both companies use different (incompatible) DRM systems – so once you buy into one system you are committed, so think carefully before you buy into a system. (Microsoft of course uses a third DRM system and I am sure there are other ebook companies using still other incompatible systems!) Have a good look at the various companies catalogues before you commit, so make sure they offer a selection of the books you like. Of course you could always put all the different readers on your handheld and buy from everyone.

This article is sponsored by Octagon Technology of Lincoln, England

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BBC Click – and Mobile Friendly Web Pages

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I have just watched the BBC News programme, Click (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm) and they have reviewed a web site www.ubik.net. This site enables you to create web site suitable for display on a phone or PDA. So I have just been over there and got an account and here is the link http://octech.ubik.net. Light on content at the moment, but what an excellent idea for putting more content onto your PDA or phone.

There was also a service shown that helped find PDA friendly pages online – I have not looked at that yet, although it seemed to be for phones and will require call charges to work. The service is zabidoo.com/push.

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New PDA

/ Technology /

As the holiday season draws to a close – it is time to plan the upgrade of my PDA.

At the moment I have a Dell Axim X51v PDA and a Blackberry Curve for email & telephone – and until now I have always had a separate PDA and phone as I have never found a phone with the capability of a high end PDA – until now.

PDA History

Over the years I have had a number of PDAs.

  • Ÿ Psion Series 3
  • Ÿ Psion Series 3A
  • Ÿ Psion 5
  • Ÿ The original Palm Pilot – with 2 MB memory upgrade from TRG
  • Ÿ TRG Pro Palm – with CF card slot, I had a 32 MB CF card and a CF wifi card for it, clip on modem and a full sized remote keyboard
  • Ÿ Palm Tungsten – I got probably the best folding keyboard with this PDA
  • Ÿ HP Jornada WinCE – worse PDA I ever had
  • Ÿ Dell Axim X30 – with wifi but only wep encryption
  • Ÿ Dell Axim X51v – first one – this suffered a major memory failure so I bought the current Dell Axim X51v. I bought a second Dell X51v as I had invested in several sets of dedicated leads and accessories for the unit, and although it had failed I did not want to waste that investment.
  • Ÿ The phone I had before my Blackberry was an MDA Compact from T-Mobile running Windows Mobile – but it had many short comings (however it is still in my desk as a spare unit).

The new phone / PDA combo I am looking at is a HTC Touch Pro (for the spec see www.htc.com) – it looks almost perfect for my needs, combining all the things I want in a single package. I will get the largest SD card I can for it and a spare battery but as it uses regular mini USB cables for charging and syncing, no more expense on dedicated cables and chargers. The last folding, full size keyboard I bought was bluetooth, so I am hoping that will work with the new handheld.

I am going to buy it (and insure it) sim and contract free. I have had really bad service from our telecoms supplier here in Lincoln, they even messed up my Blackberry contract, having promised it was a fair deal following a previous “mistake”. No names at the moment as I am looking into the options of reporting them for miss selling.

The plan is to but this sometime around the end of November – hopfully the prices will drop a little by then.

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