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’ :o)

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 this Zip file, and unpack into a folder on your desktop. [HTC Unlocker]
• 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.

Dear Avid Reader,

Since getting my Eee PC, I’ve been reading about the ability to overclock the FSB (Front Side Bus). This bus has the capability of running at 100mhz (as opposed to the default 70mhz). The net effect of this is that the CPU speed increases to 900 Mhz from the normal 630 Mhz (which is 70% of 900 Mhz of course!). You must if course be running Ubuntu to do this!

Once you have downloaded the scripts from [here], run the following commands from within the unpacked archive:

sudo ./tweak-gnome.sh
sudo ./install.sh all

Then reboot your EeePC

After doing this, Pressing Fn-F6 will automatically enable the FSB increase, and various other fixes for the EeePC will start working, namely;

• Asus Eee kernel modules
• ACPI support (suspend, hotkeys)
• overclocking code
• Wifi support
• Sound
• Boot speed
• Additional software sources
• Skype two way video

All this can be found on the Ubuntu Eee Wiki located here: http://ubuntu-eee.tuxfamily.org/

Now I know that I have already told you how to do a lot of this in my article about installing Ubuntu on an EeePC, but this does take a lot of the hassle out of it, and it definately gets the overclocking working!

Bluetooth

There has been lots of mods popping up lately that allows you to install a Bluetooth dongle inside your EeePC utilising the additional USB connections that are hidden on the motherboard… well you could of course use a tiny USB dongle like this. You can pick these up for £10, and its a lot less hassle than getting the soldering iron out! One supplier is Novatech [link]

Now as you all know, I *love* my Eee PC, and have spent some time making sure I could get Ubuntu working on it

But I have been totally blow away by the hacks that someone else has made to this diminutive laptop.

How about adding; GPS, Bluetooth, Modem, Flash Card Reader, FM Transmitter, 802.11N Wifi and more!

Well someone has done this, and documented it well. You can find all the internal upgrade details here [Link]

I may well be trying some of this myself, and will post an article with step-by-steps if I do.

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IMPORTANT NOTICE: It seems that a few users have managed to completely ‘brick’ their i600’s by putting i607 software on them (or visa-versa) - The two flash files are not interchangeable - if you use the wrong flash file on your phone, you may well permanantly ‘brick’ it. Please also note: The information provided here is based on my own experience of upgrading my i600. You use this information at your own risk. The instructions here are for a European i600 **NOT** a USA i607. If you try this on an AT&T i607, you *will* brick your phone.

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Dearest Fanboys (and girls),As you know; I am a great fan of my Samsung SGH-i600, but I have a little bad news for you… The *Free* WM6 Upgrade that is supplied on the Samsung Website [link] will not work on the ‘Orange’ branded units, or even those that have been ‘debranded’ :o( - I have tested this using the various methods (and wiping my phone on each occasion!) in order to prove that it can’t be done.

Curse you Orange, and curse your nasty branded interfaces….

However…. A look at the MoDaCo Wiki [Link] shows a WM6 Flash (not official) !!! - So… I downloaded the 60Mb File, and lo and behold, WM6 on my Samsung - Wooo Hoooooo.

Here are the instructions in Full:-

Please Note: This is entirely at your own risk, and any damage caused directly or indirectly by this information is entirely your responsibility. If you brick your phone, don’t come crying to me - you have been warned!

• Make sure you have ActiveSync 4.5 or higher installed.
• BACKUP YOUR PHONE -Use ActiveSync to backup the contacts, and browse to the phone for images / mp3’s etc.
  
• Download the Modem Driver (required for ‘Flashing’) [ZIP] and install it.
• Download the i600UXXGG2 WM6 RAR file and unpack [Link]
• Ensure that you ‘disable‘ the USB Connection in the ActiveSync Connection Settings whilst you attempt this.
• Place phone into ‘Flasher Mode’ (click on image for larger view)
• Run the WM6 upgrader - Ensure that you have a fully charged battery, and that you don’t interrupt the (rather long) upgrade process - it will say complete several times… wait until the ‘Flasher’ screen disappears off the phone. (NOTE: Can take up to 5 mins)
  
• Wait for phone to reboot - it takes about 5 mins to complete the process - be patient whilst its on the Windows Mobile Screen!!!
• Wait for the phone to reboot again… (normal startup speed this time!)
• Restore the USB connection in ActiveSync
• Restore all your images / mp3s and re-sync your contacts.

Once completed, if you should see version CE OS 5.2.1437 - i600UXXGG2

You’ll notice it says 5.2 - well that is the official internal version number for WM6!

Impressions;

Well… you’ll notice that some of the icons have been improved. There is a new ‘Windows Live’ screen (Search and Live login), a Live Messenger icon and it seems a bit faster. I’ll update this as I use it over the next few days….

Some more Blackjack / SGH-i600 goodies for you;

1. Samsung i600 User Guide [PDF]
2. Modem Driver (required for ‘Flashing’) [ZIP]
3. Alternative WM6 Upgrade Instructions (if you haven’t got a UK ‘Orange’ version… Grrr) [Link]
   

UPDATED on 18th Jan - Someone (somehow) managed to attack this page….

Dear Avid Reader,

Here we are once again with one of my ‘real world’ hack’s… This one gets used almost every day!

In my modest home in Latchingdon, Essex - England, I have a ‘Bar in the Garden’. This ‘Bar’ is approx 25′ x 18′ and has an indoor BBQ, Gas Heating and a Bar Counter with cupboards, fridges and glass shelves.

Clearly I needed to think carefully about the entertainment system!

My key requirements were:-

• Music, TV & Internet

Now the Music would obviously come from my huge MP3 collection (and even bigger CD collection), TV would come from Satellite TV via a dish on the side of the bar.

After messing about with Windows Media Edition, I decided on using Media Portal (www.team-mediaportal.com)  which is a fantastic open-source Media Center application. Not only does it provide the usual DVD/MP3/Pictures interface, but also supports TV Cards, EPG and even a TiVO-style recording facility.

All the sound hardware was derived from old HiFi amplifiers and surround-sound systems, and the TV was a £150 HD Ready no-name from Comets.

The app plays nice with Hauppauge TV / Remote combination cards, and has a very configurable interface (with skinning capabilities).

At the other end of my bar, I have the Guitar stuff - As you can see below, I’ve set up a 2nd LCD panel (using a TV Interface board I purchased off eBay), add a £20 DVD player from Tesco and you have a play-along-with-the-music system!