CommsBlog

Hi All,

I’ve just upgraded my iPhone to 3.0 and was alarmed to see that to utilise Internet Tethering (which frankly, would be a ‘last resort’), I would need to pay O2 an additioanl £14.68 a month on top of my existing data connection!

Fear not humble iPhone users, there is a solution out there. Browse to this URL from Safari on the iPhone:-

http://www.iphone-notes.de/mobileconfig/

Select your country and carrier,  and download the Tethering profile (ignore the warning message)

Note: This doesn’t mean you get data for ‘free’, but if you already have a ‘data package’ it should be included within that, rather than paying a separate ‘Tethering’ charge (like O2 are trying to get you to do!)

When you go back into Settings, General, Network you will now see that the Internet Tethering is ‘Off‘ (as opposed to ’set up’)

If you now tap on the “Internet Tethering“, you get a new screen that allows you to enable it

Just as a footnote – if you are wondering how I captured the screens on an iPhone, simply press the top power button and the home button at the same time, and the current screen is saved to the camera roll.

Last Update: 11th Jan 2009

Hi all,

As a developer I tend to install an awful lot of freeware, shareware and paid-for applications on my PC in order to assist me with the day-to-day development of applications.

However… over the years I have noticed a trend where Microsoft themselves release a lot of ”applets’ under the guise of “Microsoft Research”, “Technet” or “SysInternals” (www.SysInternals.com is now part of Microsoft Technet)

I have compiled a (not exhaustive, so please contribute) list of my favourite utilities and applications which are mainly from Microsoft (with a couple from other sources) that enhance Windows XP and Windows 2003. I haven’t tested them on Vista (as I still don’t use it!), but I suspect most of them will still work.

SysInternals Applets

• Process Explorer – A proper replacement for Windows Task Manager. This improved applet allows you to explore each process properly (instead of just showing 20 copies of RunDll32.exe like Windows Task Manager does!)

Process Explorer in Action

• FileMon – This shows all real-time file activity (with the ability to filter). Without this application I never would have fixed the album artwork issue I had on my Media PC (everything showed up as ‘The Searchers’ !!!)
• TCPView – This displays a list of all open TCP sockets, their destinations and the application that opened them. Essential for tracking trojan or malware infections.
• ADExplorer – Ideal lightweight tool for exploring Active Directory or LDAP servers. Fast, portable and free!
• BGInfo – Great applet for Server Installations. You can use this tool to display the configuration (machine name, IP address, MAC address + much more) as the desktop background. Great when you are using a KVM to access multiple machines.

BGInfo in action

Powertoys / Control Panel Tweaks

• Sequoia View – An excellent tool for visualising the contents of your hard disk (and where all the space went!)
• ClearType Tuning Control Panel – ‘Tunes’ the ClearType fonts to make them work with your LCD Display
• Command Prompt Here – Add’s an ‘Open Command Prompt Here’ option to Explorer’s right-click menu
• TweakUI – this is the ultimate Windows XP powertool, letting you change *lots* of system settings…

Fun Stuff & Utilities

• Webcam Timershot – Takes a picture of from your Webcam and saves it to your hard disk at preset intervals
• Virtual PC – Lets you run Windows, Linux or even Windows Server on your PC as a ‘Virtual Machine’
• Zune Desktop Theme – Get a nice tidy ‘Black’ look to your Windows XP desktop
• Mount ISO’s – This applet works like Daemon Tools, allowing you to mount an ISO as a virtual CD Rom drive

System Application/Applet Replacements

• Notepad2 – Everything that Notepad should have been! Line numbers, syntax highlighting, plus much more…
• 7Zip – Everything that PKZip used to be…. the ultimate Zip/unzipper, and even supports all those nasty .gz and .tar unix formats as well!
• PuTTY – Forget Hyperterminal, PuTTY is a *tiny* Telnet application that also supports SSH, Serial and just about every terminal type you will need. Ideal to put on your USB key.
• UltraVNC – This is a cross-platform remote control application that works in the same manner as PCAnywhere or GoToMyPC, except it’s ‘Free’, fast and works with all the VNC protocols. This means you can effectively control a Linux box from Windows (and visa-versa) or even your server from a mobile phone!

I will be updating this list periodically, but please feel free to comment with some more suggestions!

Paul.

Hi All,

I’ve had my trusty Samsung i600 for some time now, and I feel that I finally have it working to the point where everything I actually use is now installed on it!

So, here are my top 10 downloads / purchases for the i600

1. Windows Mobile 6

Yes, if you bought your phone a while ago, then you definately need Windows Mobile 6. It’s faster, more stable, and has a few new features. You can upgrade this yourself on the Samsung website, or (if like me) if you have Orange UK, follow my guide [here]

2. SDA_ApplicationUnlock.exe [sda_unlock Download]

This smart little applet allows you to run ‘unsigned’ applications on your Windows Mobile device. Obviously care should be taken, but generally, as long as you know what you are doing, all should be fine. I’ve tested this unlocker on the HTC Touch, HTC Touch Diamond and the Samsung i600 without any issues.

3. BirdieSync (commercial, but worth it!) [http://www.birdiesync.com/]

This applet basically crowbar’s itself into Microsoft’s ActiveSync, and thereby allows you to syncronise your Windows PocketPC / Smartphone with Thunderbird. Not only will it sync emails &  contacts, it will also sync with Sunbird and Lightning! Well worth the €19

4. Google Maps [www.google.com/gmm] (See item 10 as well!)

Ok… I know that i600 doesn’t have GPS built it, but as a ‘quick hack’, you can use an external GPS mouse, and armed with Google Maps, get a rudimentary Sat Nav. Obviously there are limitations dues to download speeds, and of course data costs need to be taken into consideration, but as a stop-gap this works well.

5. Ilium Software’s Screen Capture [http://www.iliumsoft.com]

This great little application allows you to take screen shots of your Windows Mobile device for inclusion in Blogs (I use it here a lot) or just for tech support purposes.

6. Mobile Registry Editor [Mobile Registry Editor Download]

This is probably one of the best registry editors for Mobile devices that I have come across. It runs on your PC (rather than the device), and uses ActiveSync as a conduit to access the registry. It’s fast, and easy to use. What more do you need?

7. BTCrawler [btcrawler-v110-beta Download]

This tool allows you to go a bit of Bluejacking on your Windows Smartphone or Pocket PC. The author of this software (http://www.silentservices.de) had to withdraw it after Germany brought in anti-hacking laws. Unfortunately some useful tools, such as this, suddenly became illegal. In any case, you can download it here (among other places), and it is great for diagnosing issues with handsfree kits etc.

8. BTARouter – Commercial [http://www.chartcross.co.uk/]

This commercial application (costs about £5) allows you to route all the Audio from your mobile device (MP3’s, games etc) into your Bluetooth headset.

9. Quickmark[http://www.quickmark.com.tw]

You will notice that there is a 2d ‘barcode’ on the home page of my blog – these are call QR Codes. You can see similar ones on other websites (I think Makezine used to have them…). The applet makes use of your Smartphone’s camera in order to ‘read’ the barcode. Once decrypted, it will then give the the ability to visit the site (for URL’s) or dial the telephone number. The applet is suprisingly fast (takes about 1/10th of a sec to pick up the details) and works flawlessly on my i600. Each screen capture is stored in the ‘My Documents’ folder on the mobile device as serialised BMP files, e.g. sshot000.bmp, sshot001.bmp etc.

10. GPS Test (Free) [http://www.chartcross.co.uk/]

This is a handy free took from Chartcross that gives you the means to test an external GPS mouse on your Windows mobile device.

Feel free to comment with more useful tools for us Windows Mobile 6 users!

Hi Happy readers,

Those of you that have a WM5 or WM6 device know the horror of Picsel – yes that interminable wait as you watch the spinner on your screen whilst it loads.

I have a nice easy solution for you!

This registry hack reverts all image views back to the default WM5/6 built-in viewer.

I suggest using “Mobile Registry Editor” by Breaksoft for this.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\bmpimage\Shell\Open\Command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\bmpimage\Shell\DRMOpen\Command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\gifimage\Shell\Open\Command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\gifimage\Shell\DRMOpen\Command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpgimage\Shell\Open\Command

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\jpgimage\Shell\DRMOpen\Command

Change the "Default" value from “picselifv.exe” “%1" компютри втора употребаto “pimg.exe” “%1"

This takes instant effect, and makes for a much happier user )

Paul

6th June 08

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Hi All,

Well once again I have a new phone!

It seems that Orange UK wanted to upgrade my business account (saving me £2000+ per year) and give me 6 new phones in the process!

The one I decided to play with is the HTC Touch, and obviously I had to get under the bonnet and have a little ‘tweak’ )

Unlocking

Ok, this is pretty straighforward. All you need to do is run two apps on the HTC, and one on your PC to recover the 8-digit lock code.

Here are the exact steps:-

• Download HTC Unlocker (Google to find it!)
• Connect your Phone and establish the usual Activesync Connection.
• Browse the the ‘My Documents’ folder on the phone and place the Cert_SPCS.cab and the EnableRapi.cab in there
• Run Cert_SPCS.cab and EnableRapi.cab by using “File Explorer” -Click through any warnings
• ON YOUR PC: Run Touch_Unlock.exe
• A few moments later you will seea file appear in the folder called Unlock_Result.exe
• Open HxD.exe and drag Unlock_Result.exe onto it.
• Look for your IMEI Number (its under your battery) and find it in the Hex File. The 8 Digits that appear after it are the unlock code.
• Place a Sim card from a different provider in your phone, and enter the 8 digit number when prompted (I had to do this twice on my phone)

As you can see, my unlock code was 55644428, but obviously that is tied to my IMEI number (before you try it!) – you will also note that I wiped out the last 4 digits of my IMEI (didn’t want the world to know that info!)

Bluetooth DUN (Dial Up Networking)

As you will know from my previous experiences with trying to get my TomTom working on the Samsung i600, it is almost impossible due to the BT DUN being removed from WM6. Well all is not lost my friends – it seems that on the HTC Touch (and maybe other HTC phones as well), you can install a .cab file that restores this functionality.

Instructions again:-

• Download the WM6 BT DUN Cabinet File [WM6 BT DUN]
• Unzip to Desktop on your PC
• Browse your HTC through ActiveSync and place in “My Documents” on the phone
• ON THE PHONE:Using File Explorer, run the WM6_BT_DUN.cab file and click through any warnings
• Reset your phone
• Run TomTom’s “New Phone” process.

I would recommend updating your TomTom using the TomTom Home application first. These updates seem to really help when it comes to setting up phones, and mine even downloaded the (600 contact!) telephone directory off my HTC without a hitch.