Live Mesh

I came across a new Windows Live component the other day called Live Mesh
when searching for a way to synchronize my favorites. In IE7 you could synchronize favorites with Live Favorites. It worked pretty well, although by no means perfectly. This functionality was removed from IE8, which annoyed me somewhat. I work from home most of the time, but occasionally go into the office and take a laptop. Virtually all documents I use are checked into SharePoint, so I don’t lose any data when I switch machines, however there are always useful bits and pieces that I pick up on the Web and I usually just add these to favorites. This is where the upgrade to IE8 is giving me problems. Not insurmountable, obviously, but I want everything to work smoothly. A blogger called Laurent Duveau has used Live Mesh to do just this. Looking further into Live Mesh made me realise its other capabilities. It interested me through a connection with the Azure Services Platform, of which it is a part, and through its data synchronization and remote control functionality.
Live Mesh allows you to synchronize folders with the cloud. You set up a device and then simply right click a folder to begin synchronizing data. This sounds a bit like functionality already provided by Live Sync and SkyDrive, however Live Sync requires both computers to be connected at the same time and SkyDrive is just online storage with no more advanced functionality.

So what more does Live Mesh offer? Well, for a start, the whole process is automatic and painless. You add a folder and the folder is synched. You can add another device and keep the data synched across multiple devices. These devices will include Windows Mobile and Apple Macs in the future. The data is both held locally, so that it can be accessed offline, and in the cloud, so that it can be accessed anywhere. This solved my favorites problem, but also made me curious as to the capabilities of Live Mesh.

Other features include remote desktop. Now not only do I have all my data synchronized, I can also connect to my desktop PC from anywhere. So far, these are all features available with the use of a few tools, but there is another trick up the Live Mesh sleeve. There is a Live Framework with various APIs including .NET, Silverlight and JavaScript to use Live Mesh services. This not only allows you to share folders as you normally would with Live Mesh, but also allows any data to be stored and synchronized between devices. I’ll leave the Live Framework for another day, but it appears to offer interesting possibilities.

Of course, this is a beta, but when the minor errors are ironed out this could be a valuable data synchronization tool.

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SlidEscape S60 3rd Edition with acceleration sensor

In SlidEscape (SlidersEdge), the player interacts with the mobile phone through a special tilting game control that has never been used before in such a game. Tilt your mobile device in the neccessary direction to turn the environment, get past obstacles and finish the level.

Your character is a ghost named "Snoey". He is searching for the lost "Black Mirror", which is hidden at the end of the level. During the trip, Snoey can collect items, which add points to your highscore.

Free Download: SlidersEdge.zip

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Upgrading Debian Etch to Debian Lenny

Ensure your Etch installation is up to date (aptitude update; aptitude dist-upgrade). Edit your /etc/apt/sources.list and change all non-local mentions of "etch" or "stable" to "lenny". aptitude update; aptitude install aptitude; aptitude safe-upgrade; aptitude full-upgrade.

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warning: SASL authentication failure: cannot connect to saslauthd server: Permission denied

The solution to this problem is as follows:



adduser postfix sasl

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FreeCaller for Nokia S60 3rd edition

FreeCaller is a Symbian application for Nokia phones, that can show you the full screen caller photo on incoming calls. It replaces the native symbian incoming call bubble, with a full screen dialog containing the picture and details of the caller.

Current Version Includes:

• Display of full screen photo on incoming / outgoing calls
• Custom ringing animations
• Autostart Support
• Supported Languages: English, German, Italian, Hebrew, Greek

Free Download: FreeCaller_105_selfsigned.sisx

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Samsung NC20

Samsung NC20's 12 inch size, which blurs the line between typical Netbooks (and we're even hesitant to use the term in reference to a 12 inch display) and more full featured ultraportable laptops. The key to Netbook satisfaction is keeping one's expectations realistic, and with a larger screen and keyboard, the NC20 looks and feels more like a traditional laptop, but still struggles, as all Netbooks do, with multitasking and video streaming.

Our test unit was an imported Korean version of Samsung NC20, but when it's available in the U.S., we expect it to sell for between $500 and $600, based on prices in other markets and current exchange rates. We'll update this review when we get our hands on the American version of Samsung NC20.

As most 12 inch laptops are high end ultraportables built around expensive ultralow voltage processors, you may be expecting a slim, highly designed system along the lines of Lenovo's U110 and Toshiba's Portege R600. But at about a third of the price, you instead get a thicker, heavier system with a plastic chassis that looks and feels like a grown up version of Samsung NC10.

The no frills chassis contains a reasonably comfortable keyboard with slightly tapered keys and a shortened space bar. The large touch pad is a big improvement over the ones we've seen on smaller 10 inch Netbooks, but the single wide rocker switch that takes the place of left and right mouse buttons feels cheap. There are no media control or quick launch buttons, which, while we wouldn't expect them on a Netbook, are common on more traditional 12 inch laptops.

The 12.1 inch wide screen LCD display offers a 1,280x800 native resolution, which is the same as you'd typically find on a 13 or 15 inch laptop. That lets you view more of a Web page than the 1.024x600 resolution we've seen on most 10 inch Netbooks. Even though it's the right resolution for watching 720p HD video, the system showed typical Netbook style stuttering when trying to stream HD content. Via's integrated graphics chip also includes an app called Screen Toys for monitor management, screen rotation, and other option tweaks.

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HP Mini 2140

HP Mini 2140 shares the same basic silhouette as the earlier Mini 1000 and Mini Note 2133 systems from HP. Because it has an aluminum case, like the 2133, it's a half pound heavier than the plastic Mini 1000 it's a trade off that may be worth it, however, as the metallic Mini 2140 feels as if it'll stand up to the rigors of the road better than a plastic Netbook. The biggest selling point for HP's Netbooks has always been the fantastic keyboard, which HP claims is 92 percent of the size of a full size laptop keyboard.

Other Netbooks have been plagued by tiny Chiclet like keys, which make typing a pain and typos plentiful. By expanding the keyboard right to the edges of the system, HP is able to fit bigger keys into the tray than other Netbooks (and even ultraportable laptops). The result is a comfortable typing experience that takes a tiny bit of adjustment (as the keys are very close together), but one that is, thus far, our favorite on a sub 12 inch notebook.

The touch pad has an unusual shape, stretched into a letterbox like wide rectangle and the mouse buttons have been moved to the left and right sides of the touch pad. This permits the system to have a minimal amount of wasted wrist rest space, but it's a somewhat awkward compromise, especially if you do a lot of vertical scrolling or right clicking. The 10.1 inch wide screen LED display has an unusual 1.024x576 native resolution, which is a few pixels shy of the 1,024x600 we typically see in Netbooks.

The end result is largely unnoticeable, but a Windows XP pop-up window expressed concern that we weren't running at a standard resolution. Besides its big keyboard, HP Mini 2140 has one major selling point that no other Netbook currently offers a full ExpressCard 54 slot. Lenovo's S10 has a half size ExpressCard 34 slot, but there are fewer options for add on peripherals in that size. We rarely find that we actually need an ExpressCard slot for anything, but some rely on them for mobile broadband modems, memory card readers, or even TV tuners.

HP offers a handful of fixed configuration versions of the 2140, but we're perfectly happy with the basic $499 model, which has an Intel Atom CPU, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive. For $50 more, a smart upgrade might be an identical version with 2GB of RAM, but that comes with Windows Vista Basic. Adding an XP "downgrade" to that model adds another $80 onto that (but also includes a faster 7,200rpm hard drive).

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Conficker Worm: Panic Passes

I posted early about the intended Conficker C virus that was set to wreak havoc on computers across the world yesterday, April 1. Well I am pleased to announce that the doomsday affects that were reported to take place didn't happen, yet.

But even though it didn't happen like predicted, doesn't mean it won't happen at all. People should be aware that this nasty virus is still out there and could attack at any time. This worm was no small disruption. It was supposed to disrupt the internet, has already worked its way into 12 million computers, and was feared worldwide. The virus is no actively looking for instructions on the internet. Either its creator hasn't delivered harmful instructions yet or the attempts to raise awareness has scared of the creators. Whatever the cause, the full effects of Conficker C have yet to be experienced. Conficker has infected anywhere from 12 million to 15million computers since early 2009 which includes everything from Windows 2000 to the Windows 7 Beta and Windows Server 2000 and 2008.

Things even got so bad in Europe that the French Air Force, Royal Navy Warships and submarines, the Sheffield Hospital network, the UK Ministry of Defense, the German Bundeswehr, and Norwegian Police saw affects from the virus which shows the severity of the worm.

The worm is programmed to evolve into multiple versions and has a sophisticated way of avoiding eradication. However, Conficker is not likely to cause massive internet crashes for one specific reason: it would be counter productive to its programming and the creator, who more than likely is out for money. It is designed to infect multiple windows based computers and create a botnet. The botnet would then function in concert to work as a supercomputer. From here it could do anything like generate large amounts of spam emails.

Although Conficker hasn't unleashed its fury yet, people should still take precautions. The most at risk are small to medium sized businesses that rely heavily in their computers but may have poor disaster prevention strategies. People should take as many precautions as possible to prevent infection from the virus. They should update everything related to their operating system and do everything possible to update their anti-virus and anti-spyware protection.

Since we were all in a big worry about this hitting on April 1, it might be safe to say that most of us are prepared. But even though the events originally set to take place yesterday didn't happen, doesn't mean they won't. Conficker C is still at large and ready to attack, so do like the Boy Scouts do and "Always Be Prepared."

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HTC S743

HTC is all about offering different styles of handsets to meet individual needs, and as we mentioned earlier the HTC S743 falls somewhere between the Touch Diamond and the Touch Pro. The handset is smaller than the Touch Pro, measuring 4.5 inches tall by 1.7 inches wide and 0.6 inch deep and weighing 4.9 ounces, yet still manages to pack in a full QWERTY keyboard using a slider design, so it's a good device for the mobile professional who needs to keep on top of email, appointments, and such.

The HTC S743 (pictured next to the T-Mobile G1) keeps a slim design while packing in a full QWERTY keyboard. The thinner profile makes it feel more like a regular candy bar style cell phone in the hand and when on calls, but the S743 is still on the thicker, longer side so it might make for a tight fit in a pants pocket. It's a solidly constructed handset, however, and has a pretty sleek look with its classic black chassis and mirrored face.

The smartphone also has a similar geometric design on the back like the unlocked GSM version of the HTC Touch Diamond, but it now features a soft touch finish so it's not as slippery or smudge-prone as the Touch Diamond. On front, you'll find the 2.4-inch QVGA non touch display with a 65.000 colors output and 240x320 pixel resolution. The S743 isn't part of the Touch series, so you don't get a touch screen or HTC's TouchFlo interface.

Instead, you get the more traditional Windows Mobile UI. It's not as flashy as TouchFlo, but at least with Windows Mobile 6.1 the Home screen offers more of your information right at a glance. For example, you can preview new email, scroll through bookmarked Web sites, launch your media player, and more. You can also choose from other Home Screen options under the Settings menu.

Below the display, you get a standard navigation array of two soft keys, Talk and End buttons, a Home shortcut, a back button, and a four way toggle with a center select button. Overall, the controls are pretty easy to use, though we're not huge fans of the tiny Talk and End keys. Fortunately, the alphanumeric keypad features large buttons, so we didn't have many misdials or errors when composing simple text messages. Overall, the S743's full QWERTY keyboard is easy to use, but we wish the spacebar were bigger.

For longer emails, you'll probably want to use the four row QWERTY keyboard, which you can access by pushing the face of the phone to the right. The sliding mechanism is smooth and securely locks into place, and the screen orientation also automatically switches from portrait to landscape mode. For such a compact phone, the keyboard features good size buttons so we think most users won't have too many problems. The one thing we do wish for is a bigger spacebar.

Though we appreciate the inclusion of extra SMS or MMS shortcut key on the bottom row, we'd much prefer that was taken out to make the spacebar larger since we had to stretch to reach it as is. That said, the smaller size and lighter weight of the S743 over the Touch Pro also makes it more comfortable to hold while typing messages, since it doesn't feel quite as top heavy from the slide up screen. We found the location of the microSD expansion slot to be inconvenient, since you have to remove the SIM card to get access to it.

On the left side, there's a volume rocker and a camera activation or capture button on the right. The power button is located on top, and on the bottom of the unit you'll find a Mini-USB port and headset jack. We're once again disappointed by the lack of a 3.5mm standard headphone jack, though you can get an audio adapter so you can use your own headphones. Another annoyance is the location of the microSD expansion slot.

It, along with the SIM card slot, are located behind the front cover, so the phone needs to be in an open state to access it. Our gripe isn't its location but rather the fact that the microSD slot is located under the SIM card so you have to remove the SIM card every time you want swap a memory card. Granted, you probably won't do this often, but it's still an annoyance. Last but not least, the camera is located on the back.

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iPhone-style sms chat software for S60 3rd&5th–Free-iSMS

Free-iSMS is an iPhone-style sms chat software for S60 3rd&5th.

Free Download: Free-iSMS_v1.01_unsigned.sis

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