Apr 08 2009

Best Way To Slow Down A PDA?

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 1:54 am

Try setting a 1×1 BMP as the background image, on a Windows Mobile device. That will teach me…
(Yes, I now realise a 240×320 image makes more sense, I was hoping to save some memory by having a tiled 1×1 black background, but it didn’t work too well.) Also finally got around to installing the latest Barcorama install (see previous posts or pop over to XDA Developers, or just google ๐Ÿ™‚ ). Will have a play and report back later.
Hmmm, problems with the transparency level I set in Resco Photo viewer now not being accepted, and also 240×320 is the resolution for the whole screen, not the area the today screen actually uses for displaying a photo. If I don’t use a custom background, I’m stuck with the one embedded in the TSK file, and I want to use the colour scheme from a TSK, but not the author’s image.
Finally… a 213×320 JPG that was slightly off-black seems to have done the trick – the 240×320 BMP exhibited some strange vertical banding as a background image, don’t know if that was an original colour/dimension/filetype issue, but all seems fine now.

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Feb 09 2009

9th February – T Minus ?

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 1:36 am

Today is the day. If you believe that doctors can ever predict with any sort of certainty, when a child will be born, then you would expect our daughter to be born some time today. As it is, I’m just glad that we’ve reached some sort of milestone that at least signifies you are officially close to giving birth ๐Ÿ™‚
All the bags are packed, the technology has been mostly tested and pared down where necessary. I still need to sort out YouTube uploading from my phone, and if I had some sort of Sony MS <> Micro SD adaptor, I could post all the details, pictures and videos on the phone alone. As it is, you’ll have to make do with a tweet, text or call ๐Ÿ™‚

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Feb 09 2009

Anyone know a good Windows Mob…

Category: Tweets,Windows MobileChrisM @ 1:27 am

Anyone know a good Windows Mobile Twitter client? Fring causing problems, time to move on… Finally uploading Amsterdam photos from 2007/8

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Dec 29 2008

Cradle Snapshots

Category: Personal,PicturesChrisM @ 10:47 pm

As a little taster for the review, here are a couple of shots I took whilst checking out John’s new camera. I know the quality isn’t great with the sun glaring down, and that the windscreen is somehow still filthy, despite it being cleaned for a good 1/2 hour or so, but this hopefully will show how the cradle is used right now.

TyTn II Running TomTom In Cradle

TyTn II Running TomTom In Cradle

TyTn II Running TomTom In Cradle Pic2

TyTn II Running TomTom In Cradle Pic2

I have just finished upgrading the HTC TyTn II to Windows Mobile 6.1 (well a cooked up variant of it, anyway), and have been fine tuning the interface in an attempt to have everything I need whilst travelling easily to hand. TomTom has finally been upgraded (the app version that is, the maps are the most up to date available for v6 users) and also had fully 7/8 digit post code searches enabled.

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Oct 28 2008

Everywhere You Go

Category: WiFiChrisM @ 2:19 am

I have been playing around with a program on my Windows Mobile powered HTC TyTn II. The basic idea of this Heath Robinson particular approach to mobile routers is that your phone uses an 3G/EDGE/GPRS/Dial Up (if necessary) connection to establish a working internet session, and then shares this with others via bluetooth or WiFi. If the other clients (laptops, other mobiles, pdas or even desktop PCs) don’t have their own connection to the internet, in the event of a power cut or not having a SIM card that works in that territory etc., then you can certainly enable them to work on the essentials as long as they stay in range of your phone. Obviously bluetooth connections need v.close proximity, and WiFi signals are very reliant on each device’s antennae, but it is good to know what can be achieved in emergencies. There are other more permanent approaches to meeting this sort of need, so feel free to click the link above.

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Jul 16 2008

PPP Weren’t Down!

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 2:33 am

I meant to update the situation since my PayPerPost And SocialSpark Down Again? post. It turns out the problem was at my end, as many other sites were also not available. The sites resolved OK, but they just hung with the connection established, not even timing out. After running through the obvious preliminary checks, I asked Ira to contact our pseduo-ISP, and check what the problem was. Nothing at all apparently, the fault must lie with our setup.

I sent this letter, and was happy to receive a reply, quite quickly, on a Saturday afternoon!

(his name removed),

I believe you spoke to my wife, Irina, earlier today. These are the details of the problems we have, I look forward to hearing the solution.

Are our current internet problems because we are on the restricted speed connection right now, as we’ve gone over 10Gb?

This has been happening since Wednesday, possibly one or two days before that.

Problems include…

1) The following sites not working –

http://support.microsoft.com/
http://bitcast-b.bitgravity.com/websitedown/index.html
http://payperpost.com/
http://socialspark.com/opportunities

None of those sites will load, it just states ‘waiting for (name of site)’ constantly. All sites load if I use a web proxy service to test them.
Other sites load ok, the ones given are just examples I’ve noticed so far.

2) MSN Messenger can not connect, but Skype is OK.

3) BitTorrents cause complete failure with the internet connection – ALL downloads/uploads, not just torrents will stop for 10-20 seconds, start again for 10 seconds, then fail again in a loop. This has always been the case, not just since Wednesday.

Attempts to repair or specifically identify the problemโ€ฆ

Confirmed that no proxy server is set, Automatically Detect Settings unchecked, used both FireFox, Internet Explorer 7, Pocket Internet Explorer and NetFront.
I tried the same things on my wife’s laptop, with both a wired LAN connection and WiFi. Exact same problems occur.
I tried the same things on my PDA, using WiFi. Exact same problems occur.
I obviously tried restarting the PCs & the router (a Netgear DG834PN).
I checked the MTU is not set too high (currently 1492) and therefore causing strange fragmentation problems.
I removed the DNS servers I had assigned (OpenDNS, as the ones in this country are quite bad), and used the default ones supplied by Bazis, as well as defining the router itself as the DNS server (which would only cause the PC to use the default Bazis ones anyway). This was done both on the PC and the router itself.

The problems remain.

These issues occur on three different devices, with different DNS servers set, I believe the fault lies with either your or Kazakh Telecoms network hardware.
I did not think that resetting the TCP/IP protocol stack would be worth doing, as all three devices would be very unlikely to suffer from the same problem at the same time.

I used to work for an ISP in Britain, as a Senior Technical Support Agent, so I hope I have told you all the information you need to fix this problem. If there are other tests you want me to carry out, please tell me.

If you have a modem that you want to test in this flat to confirm the fault is not here, I would be happy to help.

Chris Merriman

Once I actually read their reply, I wasn’t exactly over the moon…

Chris,

Reinstall operating system Windows
or restore her(it) with help of the load disk. Probably after attacks virus she conked…
Earlier beside me was such problem, was not opened mail on www.yahoo.com
If you want that I came to you home and has tested on my notebook, I with joy to you will come…

About 10 GB… There is quota In Kazakhtelekom to speed on loading more 10Gb.
You it is necessary to call me 688-907

Krasnikov (name removed)!

I should point out straight away that they said they didn’t speak English (not a problem, it is to be assumed in this country), but I really hoped the letter I’d sent would give them enough information to not get a ‘reinstall Windows’ reply. Anyway, at some point last Saturday something happened that caused the sites to work again. Whether it was something corrected at Bazis, or further on up the line with Megaline (the real ISP) noticing that some of their hardware wasn’t working, I’m not sure. Anyway, sent this reply…

Thanks for your advice.

Reinstalling Windows really is a last ditch โ€˜fixโ€™ for any computer problem. The fact that these sites did not work on THREE different devices (XP desktop, Vista laptop, Windows Mobile 6 PDA) indicates this would not have done anything to remedy situation. All three devices are confirmed as virus, trojan, spyware, adware and, in general, malware free. Iโ€™ve not encountered any viruses in the last 15 years that prevented that sort of range of sites from loading.

Luckily, at some point during Saturday afternoon, something was fixed somewhere, and the sites worked again. Perhaps Megaline had a routing problem or flakey hardware that is now fixed?
Anyway, Iโ€™ll wait until the end of the month, when I get my โ€˜normalโ€™ speeds again (I understand the 10Gb limit, it is laughably small, but I understand it), before retesting to see if BitTorrents still cause catastrophic failures for all internet based traffic.

Thank you for replying,

Chris Merriman

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May 28 2008

GPS Equals $$$ ?

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 3:46 am

As readers will know from past posts, I got a new phone this Christmas to replace my old PDA, phone and bluetooth GPS unit. It has already been pretty useful for the obvious things like getting directions with route finding software, finding out where I was with Google maps, and marking places of interest for future visits. However, what about those people who don’t want a full on multi-system like the Kaiser? Miniaturized GPS units, like those that GTX Corp are producing could well be catalyst in a huge consumer boom in purchases. Whether it be a small belt clip for athletes, a discrete vehicle tracking unit, or simply anything with such a small GPS Tracking Device integrated into it, the potential uses are only just starting to be realised. The fact that the technology has improved so much means that size constraints no longer apply to what sort of existing objects can easily be redesigned by manufacturers to integrate location tracking, and with the increasing availability of the internet whilst on the move, you don’t even need to be in a centralized office to co-ordinate the data coming in. All this means that many people see GPS-based companies as the next wise move for investors looking to get in relatively early to a blossoming sector. Do I have enough money to invest in companies? Not yet sadly, but if someone asked me which areas were worth considering, it would have to be in my top 5.

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Apr 14 2008

424320 Seconds To Go!

Category: AmsterdamChrisM @ 5:08 pm

Well it is now just 118 hours until Irina and I leave for Amsterdam ๐Ÿ™‚
I still have quite a lot to do work to do before we leave, not least is working out what to take with us for both the Netherlands and our subsequent trip to Britain. In terms of lightweight equipment, I am trying to minimize on the gadgets and accompanying power supplies etc., and also working out the minimum amount of clothes we can take, considering we’re not likely to be using a laundry in Holland. So what am I taking? Well my HTC TyTn II is definitely coming along, as it serves as my phone, a PDA (for gaming in between flights, internet browsing whenever I can find a WiFi signal) and it also has a built in GPS device, so there’ll be no excuse for getting lost whilst stumbling from one coffeeshop tourist destination to the next.

(Yes, I know 118 hours does not equal 424320 seconds, but by the time I wrote out this post, a few more minutes had past ๐Ÿ™‚ )

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Mar 01 2008

Nerd Buddy Backpack

Category: VideosChrisM @ 5:28 pm

Thanks to Stargazer for bring this clip to my attention ๐Ÿ™‚

I’m just glad none of my friends or relatives could cope my weight on their back – I’m not really up for 24/7 tech support duties – its nice to be able to occasionally close the PC down, and disconnect my PDA from all IM clients – even geeks need sleep occasionally ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Feb 26 2008

Gilbert Goodmate on a WM6 Device

Category: Personal,Windows MobileChrisM @ 8:29 pm

Just got round to installing all the applications and games I have on my old (mostly broken) iPAQ 2210 over onto my HTC TyTn II (originally known as a Kaiser). I’ve run up against a few problems, with some old games informing me that I need to have a device with at least Windows Mobile 2002 before I’m allowed to run the program. As the device has Windows Mobile 6 (at least 3 major versions more recent), this error message is erroneous ๐Ÿ™‚ I have yet to find a way round this issue, however I did manage to sort a problem I encountered with updating some programs. I don’t remember having this problem on the old PDA, so I can only assume that perhaps the WM6 environment has caused things to go wrong. When attempting to update an application, sometimes all files are removed, instead of only those that will actually be updated. When you have separate updates (like having small updates from 1.0 > 1.02 > 1.03 > 1.04) instead of one leap (1.0 > 1.04), this can lead to a lot of critical files dissappearing.
Rather than giving up, I decided to think of a way of having a fully updated program installed. As an example, Gilbert Goodmate (if you’re old enough to remember the Monkey Island series, you’ll know its genre) exhibited this strange behaviour. So, I installed the main program, copied the directory contents to a separate temporary directory. Installing the next minor update caused lots of files to disappear, however it did cause the updated files to be placed in the original installation directory. So, copying this new version of the directory to another new temporary directory, I continued until all updates were installed. I then copied across the oldest temporary directory to the install folder, and repeated until the last temporary folder to be copied across was the latest update. This then left me with a complete, updated installation, at which point I could delete the temporary folders. Hope it helps someone out there…

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