BerryBuddy review at Blackberry Cool

What a strange looking thing this is…looks more like some sort of ipod speaker system

Installation
The BerryBUDDY operates using two mini-USB connectors discreetly placed in the rear: one for your wall plug, one for your PC. We had to go fishing around to find our power plug, since we do most of our charging right from the desktop. Including one or both of the cables would have been a nice touch, in case users find themselves in the same situation. As for placement, the unique open-bottom design lets you put the dock over wires or other unsightly desk bits you might want to cover. The design intuitively made us want to dangle it off the side of a desk or shelf, but the lack of underside grip or mounts squashed our dreams.

Gtalk and Yahoo! BlackBerry clients updated

Link: Gtalk and Yahoo! BlackBerry clients updated | BlackBerry Cool.

A couple of items here from Blackberry Cool which are of interest. The first speaks for itself whilst the second, relates to Facebook improvements.

You can get home screen notifications now, get a full text view of
messages, wall posts and everything else, friends status and
information, and photo uploading and tagging.
Great little feature here: you can send messages even when offline,
it’ll just go out when a connection is established like your regular
e-mail. I’m one of those suckers who’s got a Facebook tab opened all
day long, just waiting for the BlackBerry to buzz with an SMS
notification, but now it’ll be right there on my home screen.

One of the odd things that strikes me about Facebook is the way it sends you an email to say you have a message so then you have to walk all the way across to the browser to launch the site to find out what it is…I wonder if this new thingy will stop this happening.

Podcasts

Having my new ipod with it’s excellent support for podcasts through iTunes has been good for me. Before, using the podcast player on the Curve was very limiting as the only way to get podcasts on it was to download them directly via the internet connection. Now, some of these files are quite big and as the Curve is non 3g then downloading them was a slow and oft painful experience.

Not any more. I just download them via the itunes store and with the home imac and broadband it is a doddle. So, I’ve been listening to quite a few over the past few days and the ones that I have enjoyed most are the Treocentral casts as they cover all things treo, both windows and palm, and Mobile TechRoundup which is done by the chaps at jkontherun. The latter has a wider angle on all things mobile but is equally interesting. I can’t find the actual links on the sites so would advise you just to do a search on itunes store itself. From there, you can subscribe.

The TreoCentral podcast is hosted by Dieter Bohn, the man behind WMExperts, which is a jolly good site for all things win mob..Deter uses a treo 750v so is very sympathetic to treo’s…and Mike.

Apple – Downloads – Imaging & 3D – MemoryMiner

Link: Apple – Downloads – Imaging & 3D – MemoryMiner.

About MemoryMiner
The award-winning Digital Storytelling application used to discover the
threads connecting peoples’ lives across time and place. Use it to
annotate photos in order to specify who is in the picture, where the picture was taken, and when
it was taken. Drag and drop audio, video, documents and URLs onto
photos to add greater depth and context. Each photo thus becomes a
frame in an endless storyboard which can be browsed by periods in a
person’s life, where people overlap, by place, by time, or any
combination. Share your libraries as self-contained MemoryMiner
documents, or export gorgeous web sites via automatic upload to your
.Mac account or other web server. Either way, MemoryMiner replicates
the experience of telling stories around a photo album, even when all
the people involved can’t be in the same place at the same time.

What’s New in this Version

– Leopard Compatibility

– Support for Quick Look.

– New, improved version of Media Browser

HTC close application for WM

As WM users will know, it can pay to keep an eye on running apps to make sure that having too many open doesn’t impair system performance. On my treo 750v this entails a rather long trip through the menu to get the Task Manager or Memory apps from where some or all can be shut down. It’s a bit cumbersome so having a 3rd party app on board which gives quicker access via the Today screen can be most beneficial.

For a while, I had been using DinoSoft’s HandySwitcher which puts a small icon on the Today screen to enable quick closing of running apps. It’s a great wee application. I reinstalled it on my 750v but it seems tied to a previous win mob device I was using so I can’t use the existing registartion code. This would entail me having to email the developers (again) to request a new code. I know they would but I’m slighlty embarrassed about having to do so again so I had a look around the web to see what else is on offer.

I came across this…HTC Task Manager…this is actually bundled with most recent HTC smartphones but can be downloaded from here for free. It sits in the top menu bar on your home screen and works a treat. From reading various forums, it doesn’t work on every device but it does work on my 750v. It won’t actually appear though until you soft reset your device. It makes closing down running apps very easy and gives much quicker access too.

Leopard and Missing Sync don’t mix

This is a pity and at the same time surprising, you would have thought that Markspace would have been given an advance copy of Leopard to check that their products still work with it…after all they are a big mac supporter…and that would have given them time to get their products updated to work with Leopard.

Looks like updates could be a few weeks away which leaves Missing Sync customers sync-less if they have upgraded to Leopard.

iPod Classic 80gb…’tis goodly indeedy

Bought myself over the weekend a black ipod classic, 80gb model, as that will be plenty sufficient capacity wise. This thing is about the same size, width and height wise as my Curve but is even thinner. I was surprised at how heavy it is, it feels really solid too. Already, I have loaded on 500 pics, 400 songs and 5 movies, synced my contacts and I have only used about 5% of the capacity so that should mean I will never fill it unless I try really really hard and go out of my way to do so, which is unlikely. I’ve even been able to use the "hi-res" settings in Handbrake to convert dvd’s to ensure better quality as there is so much space. On another note, I downloaded and installed the latest Handbrake update and it now seems to be incredibly slow at ripping dvd’s…has anybody else noticed this?

I gotta say that syncing with my home imac is a dream. I just plugged it in via the usb connector and it appeared as a drive in iTunes. Click on the ipod listing in the left hand pane and it brings up the menu in full screen with the tabbed options at the top. From then on in it’s just a question of ticking which playlists, pictures and films you want to sync across. It’s so easy and I was surprised at how quick it managed to sync everything across….it’s way faster than dropping files directly onto a sd card or via Missing Sync. I’m sure I’ve made the right decision here to go for a standalone music and movie player….things have been so simple to set up so far and the music quality on the ipod is better than on any previous smartphone.

I’ve enclosed a pic to show you the relative size of the ipod with my Curve and treo 750v, it’s most noticeable obviously thickness wise and the 750v looks a trifle lardy in comparison.

Having the ipod has made the whole process of listening to podcasts much much easier too. These can be downloaded directly within iTunes itself and then the "podcast" tab option takes care of the rest. Having so much free space on the ipod means I can download loads more too. You can also sync it directly with iCal if you use that to manage day to day events, I don’t but I’m sure plenty do.

In the "extras" section on the ipod there are other useful features such as "alarms" and a Notes facility whereby you can copy txt files over by placing them in the Notes folder in disk mode. It also comes with some games and stopwatch. The interface itself is very nice, simple but clean and it has that palm simplicity about it. If this is the same sort of interface that is on the iphone then it makes me want one a little bit more, especially if they can add on the extra functionality features and apps in the same vein. It’s a feelgood factor device, it looks and feel quite special in the hand and the menu system is nicely designed.

Halo 3 review-ish

Halo 3 is amazing in three respects:

• it’s amazingly short
• it’s amazing nay astonishing that it took Bungie nearly 3 years to bring the game out in view of the above, certainly in respect of the single player campaign anyway.
• it’s amazingly easy on normal setting

Is it good? Yes, of course it is as the game is basically a blast and is huge fun but in this day and age gaming wise, I’m not sure that just being "huge fun" is enough. Wisely, Bungie have reverted more to the familiar scenery and gameplay of the original and the levels are generally less murky graphically which for me spoiled Halo2..there were times it was difficult to see where you were going. Compared to the likes of innovative 360 titles like BioShock it is all rather basic, you just blast your way through levels, shooting familiar enemies in familiar surroundings but there is something strangely comforting about it all.

Bungie have introduced new weapons and new vehicles into the Halo3 arena and this spices things up nicely but overall I was left wanting more. As usual, some of the levels are wonderful, I especially liked the ones which were similar to those in Halo 1 as it was like being reacquainted with old friends and renewing old rivalries but unfortunately, for a much shorter time. I have read reviews and comments about the graphics being not up to scratch but I found it to be excellent in this department.

It’s just far too short but this is to be expected these days. Single player campaign mode seems to get pushed to the side as some developers focus on instead beefing up the multiplayer and online modes. Fair enough if you are an xbox Live gamer as you can spend weeks and months playing the game online and get your money’s worth that way but for the rest of us, I can’t help feeling that Halo3 has short changed us single player campaigners here big time. Part of the problem is they just haven’t taken any chances with it in terms of format…you just sort of know what to expect and what is coming next. Whereas the original Halo had huge sprawling levels with epic battles, this one feels like it has been squeezed and constricted in comparison.

I was amazed (again) at the game’s ending. The original Halo took a lot of justified stick for the flaky last level, a driving one against the clock, which was at odds with the rest of the game and which, for many, ended a fantastic game in a rather unsatisfactory manner. For reasons known only to themselves Bungie have decided to finish off the whole epic in a similar fashion except this time there is no time factor involved….a truly disappointing and unsatisfactory way to go out. Those expecting some sort of earth shattering finale to the Halo riddle will be sorely let down. I’m kind of glad now that the series is over as Bungie seem to have run out of ideas to make gameplay fresh aside form bunging in a few aforementioned weapons etc etc.

It’s still not nearly as good as Halo 1 but is better than Halo 2. It’s certainly nowhere near being the best 360 game I’ve played as I would rank BioShock, The Darkness and Prey above it. Tellingly, after finishing it, rather than starting to play it again instead I slotted the original Halo into the 360 and have had more fun and a bigger challenge running through that again.

Overall then, it is good but leaves you feeling short changed and wanting more.

Treo 750v WM6 updater…with HSDPA

As expected, curiousity got the better of me today and I ended up installing the WM6 updater despite it probably not being completely 100% official.

Now I have a WM6 Treo and things seem to be working just fine. Of most interest to me is that I seem to now have an HSDPA equipped treo as the "H" signal has appeared. Updating my RSS feeds was extremely quick, much quicker than 3g.

One strange thing though and I don’t know whether this has anything to do with WM6 but it seems a conincidence that it has appeared here for the first time….when setting up my email accounts and more specifically my .mac email, I was unable to send email using the settings I have always used on any previous or indeed this mobile device. I had to change the smtp out address to that of t-mobile (the carrier) before it would send email. In the past I have always always used the smtp.mac.com address and that has worked fine up until now. Gmail seems to still work with the smtp gmail setting oddly enough.

The update also adds HTML facility to email which is not that useful really as it still downloads non-image emails and you have to manually add in the pics if you wish to see them. It also replaces the "new" soft key with a "delete" button. The screen bars and menus seem a bit glossier and of course there is the updated Office apps. Some extra bits and bobs have been added behind the scenes and it seems a bit quicker.

I was pleased to note that this updater did not destroy the amount of inbuilt memory and memory for running apps as the WM6 updater did for my HTC P4350…that was a big relief. All in all then I reckon it is a valuable update but it hardly makes earth shattering changes to the look or feel of the underlying o/s. It’s still very much Windows Mobile with its inherent flaws and good points.

Morning Paper: REVIEW: The Missing Sync for Palm OS, v6.0.1:

Link: Morning Paper: REVIEW: The Missing Sync for Palm OS, v6.0.1:.

I was thinking of doing a mini-review of the MS for Palm as it is unquestionably their best product…then I noticed this over at Morning Paper and I thought…that’s a darn fine review, there ain’t any point in me doing it too.

The product is just soooooooo much better for mac users than the hand me down feel of Palm Deskflop.

SketchBox 1.3 for Mac

Link: Download SketchBox 1.3 for Mac – SketchBox is a multifunctional yet uncluttered Sticky Notes Manager for your Mac Desktop – Softpedia.

You can enter text or make drawings and set individual reminders for each sticky to use them as a visual alarm clock.

Arrange all your notes in the thumbnail view, create little storyboards
or comics – or just store your daily thoughts as searchable text.

Each Sticky consists of three layers: The drawing canvas, a little text
editor and an intuitive alarm timer that combines the best of analog
and digital clocks. While editing text you can still see your drawing in the semitransparent background and vice-versa.

You may select the active layer by clicking on one of the tabs at the right side of the note.

Each Sticky remembers its active layer, so that you can continue where
you left after closing the Sticky’s window. You can also set a default
layer for new Stickies in the preferences.

The official HTC Wings (S730) ‘Ask Paul’ thread – MoDaCo

Link: The official HTC Wings (S730) ‘Ask Paul’ thread – MoDaCo.

Grrrr…how come this guy gets a play with the forthcoming HTC Wings?? Probably because he’s a bit of a player in the windows mobile world whilst I’m very much stuck on the subs bench for the under 15’s. Despite being very much in the win mob camp, I”m sure he uses macs for proper computing stuff and if so, I’ll let him off!

Actually, looking at the photo on the site, the keyboard looks completely different to the initial pics I saw a few weeks ago as it was blue/black, like the ones on the HTC TyTn11.

Mobile gaming

Good review of sorts here from pda247 listing the author’s favourite 5 mobile games, most of which seem to be palm based. I don’t have any 3rd party sports games on any of my handhelds but may well give the Pool game a shot. I used to play Championship Manager on my home imac but it took over my life for 6 months so I’ll stay clear of the football sim game.

Even now, 2 years on from my CM days, where incidentally I led Aberdeen FC to European and World glory with 6 sucessive Champions League victories, I find reality getting distorted as I can be watching some European game on the telly and see some player that I "signed" when I was playing the game and I’ll think "oh he’s really good"…then I realise that perhaps there’s a difference between CM and the real world.

Generic 750v updater?

Listed over at Palmaddicts in their weekly review round up is a link to the purported mythical unbranded 750v updater…presumably to WM6. This comes from a Dutch Palm Club site where you can find some pics of the updating progress..

I have downloaded the zip file and extracted it but as I am at home and have no pc I cannot install it as it is an exe file. Is this thing for real? When I extracted it from the zip the folder that appeared is called "Scarecrow" and when you dig inside it changes to "tinman" then the exe file.

It seems to come from an official palm site but I am reluctant to use it until others, braver than I, do so without any hassles.

Buzzcocks – what do I get?

Ah…the sweet smell of early noooooo wave…ignore the feigned angry "punk’" type sneers and revel instead in the majesty of the punky poppy genuis of mid 70’s Buzzcocks!

Their sound still holds up well today, interested parties should check out their "Going Steady" compilation.

Edwyn Collins is back

Sir Edwyn is my all time musical hero, I named my son after him and this song was the first "wedding dance’ when Sarah and I got married. Edwyn was seriously ill a few years ago and it was touch and go for some time. Being the fighter that he is, he has made an amazing recovery and has just put out a new cd, made mostly before his illness.

Many will know him just through this song which was a big hit in the mid 90’s. Others will know that he was the frontman for legendary early 80’s Scottish popsters, Orange Juice. This single, as well as being wonderful, has the claim to fame of being the only song ever to have the words "allegorically" and "metaphorically" in it’s lyrics!

It’s good to have Sir Edwyn back.

Ipod’s!

Further to my post yesterday, I popped up into town the other day, it’s only a 10 minute walk into the centre of Edinburgh from my work, with the intention of getting an ipod for dedicated music listening. Having had a look around at various sites I was thinking that the ipod classic would suit my needs just nicely. There are two models, 80gb and 160gb. I couldn’t justify spending the extra on the bigger capacity as I most certainly would never have enough to put on it so I had sort of pre-plumped for the smaller model as it seems good value at £159.

My first port of call was Currys as this was the nearest retailer. They were clean out of the Classic model but had some ipod touches. One was on display so I had a quick play with it. It looks and feels very nice. The screen looks superb, it would be great for watching videos on it but it’s quite pricy and quite underpowered, capacity-wise, in comparison to the touch. The two models have 8gb or 16gb storage.

Another thing that gnaws at me is that this is the first model and they are always more expensive and less featured than later ones. I just know that in 6 months time the capacity will be at least double and it will also cost less than the current model. In comparison, the Classic is a matured, probably near end of line model with hopefully any kinks/faults ironed out and is extremely well specced in comparison to the original ipod models. I don’t see how you could go wrong with it….

If you think about, they now represent very good value. A 4gb sd card for example, for using in a smartphone and filling with music, is around £30. So, you are getting 20 times that storage for only about 5 times the cost plus a free mp3 and video player thrown in. I reckon I will be able to get all my iPhoto collection onto it very easily and that will be a good second "back-up" solution.

Funny thing is, I haven’t even considered looking at any other makes purely on the basis I know how shitty support for macs is with other manufacturers and I want this to be a seamless, easy to use, no problem solution right out of the box. On that basis I excluded Sony and various others which may be wrong but I’ve had experience of Sony’s non mac compatability with other devices of late…once bitten twice shy and all that.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a Classic anywhere in town so will need to try some other places over the weekend.

Expansys Deal of the Day

I received an email from Josh, a long term palm os user, a few days ago and he was talking about finally going "converged". He had a mini hit-list of a treo 680, 750v and he was sort of considering a Blackberry Curve too.

As it turned out he has gone for the 750v and obtained it at a very good price via the Expansys "deal of the day" which I did not know even existed. Might be worth keeping an eye out for any future bargains. It seems to change every day at 3pm.

Win Mob stability and soft resets

One thing you may well read about windows mobile devices on various websites is the need to keep a fairly active watch on the available memory for running programmes. Many say that a soft reset a day keeps the spinning beach ball away and they may well have a point. My 750v has been super stable over the past week and has not crashed once which is a fairly typical occurrance for win mob devices, they really are more stable than their palm treo counterparts.

Yesterday, having not had to reset my device since last week, I was checking up on the available free memory for running apps. Once I had closed down all running software it was showing around 18mb which surprised me as it normally shows nearer 30mb with nothing going. Hmmm…I wondered where all the free space had gone. I did a soft reset and this seemed to do the trick as when it rebooted the space was back up to 30mb.

So, it would seem that the ocassional soft reset does in fact help with memory management and I must remember to do this more often. I suppose if the device was less stable and crashed more often I wouldn’t have to but I’m more than happy to accept this stability and do the manual sof resets instead.

no 500v’s on ebay yet

Well, it’s been available from Vodafone for a couple of weeks now and usually by that time there are some up for sale…"unwanted upgrades" etc etc as they are described.

What does this mean I wonder? Perhaps, they are so good that nobody wants to sell theirs or perhaps nobody has bought one in the first place and thus there are none to sell?

As for that silly "unwanted upgrade" nonsense…why do people always seem to put that as the reason for selling the latest phones on ebay? Are they implying that the carrier phoned them up and forced them into an upgrade…

"Hello, it’s Mark from o2 here"

"Uh yeah…eh hi"

"Your contract is up…time for for your unwanted upgrade"

"Uh yeah…right"

" You MUST take a treo 500v…we’ll send it out tonight"

"Uh yeah…right…eh…thanks"