Friday, April 04, 2008

Growing up I always loved Mad Magazine, and one of my favorite parts were all the Mad Fold-Ins, in the back of the magazine, that Al Jaffee created.

The New York Times has a special online article that has many interactive Mad Magazine Fold-Ins on topics ranging from Presidents, War and the Military, Pop Culture,  to Sports.

Fold-Ins, Past and Present - The New York Times

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Friday, April 04, 2008 3:00:39 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

Microsoft has published a marketing site for Windows Mobile 6.1, and I'm glad they used Silverlight to create it.

Check it out:

Windows Mobile 6.1 – New Windows Mobile Software for Pocket PC and Smartphone

  • imageInstant messaging-like texting
  • Improved Internet browsing
  • Simpler e-mail and Bluetooth setup
  • New Home screen interface
  • New Getting Started Center
  • Security enhancements
  • Easier Wi-Fi connection
  • More personal choice

[Source: DevHawk - Morning Coffee 160]


Friday, April 04, 2008 3:00:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

imageDuring my "Welcome to the World of Windows Mobile" presentation at the Atlanta Code Camp 2008 I used Remote Display for Windows CE to allow the attendees to see my device, on my desktop, on the presentation screen. After my talk was over, a few people from the audience approached me, and asked me how I was able to run Remote Display on Vista, and connect with it to my Windows Mobile 6 device.

They told me they had tried to do the same thing, but all they ever got was a "the OS or CPU of this device is unknown to this application" error. I explained that this wasn't due to Vista, but actually was caused by a missing file on most newer Windows Mobile devices.

In order to use Remote Display the first thing you will need to do is download the Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys, and install the ActiveSync Remote Display application.

Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys

ActiveSync Remote Display - Display Pocket PC applications on your desktop or laptop without needing any device side configuration.

Work Around:

Copy the cerdisp2.exe file from the desktop's "\Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys\ActiveSync_Remote_Display\Devices\wce400\armv4\" folder, and paste it into the device's "\windows" folder of your Windows Mobile device.


Friday, April 04, 2008 3:00:06 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [1]  |  Trackback
Thursday, April 03, 2008

By default, Outlook does not show holidays on the calendar. If you would like to have holidays show in Outlook 2007, you can do the following quick steps:

  1. imageOpen Outlook 2007.
  2. From the tools menu, click Options.
  3. Click the Calendar Options... button.
  4. Click the Add Holidays... button.
  5. Place a check beside any appropriate locations.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click OK to close the Calendar Options dialog box.
  8. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:00:49 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

By default, most of us, see the following screen in Vista's Windows Mobile Device Center when we dock our Windows Mobile devices.

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There's nothing wrong with this design, but Microsoft designed it so OEM device manufactures could customize this dialog with an image of the connected device.

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The only problem is most new devices, and all older devices do not have the necessary image included on the device to make this feature work.

Here's how you can change your Windows Mobile Device Center device image:

  1. Create an icon image file of your device. I recommend including an image that is 256 pixels by 256 pixels. My image is 256 high, and 128 wide, with 64 pixel side borders.
  2. This icon must be named sync.ico, and it must be located on the Windows Mobile device in the "\Windows" directory.
  3. Note: Windows Mobile Device Center only checks for the sync.ico file when the device is connected for the first time.
  4. If the device has been connected previously, then it is necessary to Uninstall the Portable Device\Pocket PC entry from the Windows Device Manager.

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If you follow these simple steps, then you should have changed your device image in Vista's Windows Mobile Device Center.

One last thing to note is that not only do you get the updated image in Windows Mobile Device Center, but you also will see the device image inside File Explorer, where appropriate.

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Note: Most OEM device manufactures have high resolution images available for any devices they produce on their Web sites for magazines and the press to use.


Thursday, April 03, 2008 3:00:48 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

image You can download the Windows Mobile 6.1 emulator images here.

Download Size:
184.9 MB - 457.1 MB*

*Download size depends on selected download components.

Overview

The Windows Mobile 6.1 Emulator Images package adds emulator images to Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 that let you test applications for Windows Mobile 6.1. For general information about writing software for Windows Mobile, please see the Windows Mobile Developer Center.
The emulator images can also be used as standalone without Visual Studio. They can be accessed through the Start Menu shortcuts.


Available locale:
0409 USA English
New emulator image resolutions:

  • Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
    DPI: 131 - Resolution: 320 x 320 pixels
    DPI: 131 - Resolution: 400 x 240 pixels
    DPI: 131 - Resolution: 440 x 240 pixels
  • Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
    DPI: 96 - Resolution: 240 x 400 pixels
    DPI: 192 - Resolution 480 x 800 pixels

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 3:00:49 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

imageOf course, I would get this on April Fools Day, but I've verified it and it is for real!
Dear Chris Craft,

Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2008 Microsoft® MVP Award! The MVP Award is our way to say thank you for promoting the spirit of community and improving people’s lives and the industry’s success every day. We appreciate your extraordinary efforts in Device Application Development technical communities during the past year.

This is a great honor and privilege for me to have received. Thank you Microsoft, it means a lot to me!

What is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional, MVP?

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/

Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) are exceptional technical community leaders from around the world who are awarded for voluntarily sharing their high quality, real world expertise in offline and online technical communities. Microsoft MVPs are a highly select group of experts that represents the technical community's best and brightest, and they share a deep commitment to community and a willingness to help others.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008 11:52:53 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [3]  |  Trackback

So you have a Windows Mobile device, and you would like to use it for listening to music, but you don't like the default Windows Mobile Media Player skin. What can you do?

Here are a few I've found so far:

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Tweak Windows Media Player 10 Skin

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New iPod Windows Media Player Skin

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Plastic VGA Windows Media Player Skin

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iWMP Windows Media Player Skin

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G.amp Windows Media Player Skin

 

Hands down, so far, my favorite one is the one that comes with Microsoft Windows Mobile Voice Command. You can see a screenshot below:

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008 3:00:43 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

imageWindows Mobile 6.1 is coming!

What's new? [from MSMobiles.com]

  • both Silverlight and Adobe Flash are included in the operating system!
  • new version of Internet Explorer Mobile included with full-screen web browsing
  • threaded text messaging
  • several existing phones will get upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.1 (see original source of the story [above])
  • improved support for enterprise mobility thanks to compatibility with System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008
  • new feature: Getting Started Center - that is supposed to help with configuration of WiFi, email, Bluetooth, etc.
  • more functionality built-in into home-screen, including music playback

Windows Mobile 6.1 Screenshots: PocketNow.com, Gizmodo.com, BoyGeniusReport.com


Tuesday, April 01, 2008 3:00:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Monday, January 14, 2008
image

Ars Technica has a great article on something new developing at Yahoo.

From the sound of it, Yahoo Mobile Developer Platform may be a lot like what many are expecting from Apple's iPhone SDK. Developers will be able to write a single mini-application that will be made available through Yahoo's Widget Gallery, where users can cherry-pick their favorite widgets to use on their phones. There are already a handful of widgets available from big names like MySpace, MTV, and eBay, and Yahoo said that a full SDK with guidelines would be available "soon."

Yahoo! Mobile Developer Platform

Yahoo! Mobile Developer Home

Yahoo! Mobile Developer Blog

Hopefully this will encourage Microsoft to release SideShow for Windows Mobile, before someone else does it first.


Monday, January 14, 2008 5:00:34 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Sunday, January 13, 2008

imageWhat a cool idea. I remember before built in GPS were common in devices, you could pick up a Bluetooth GPS device and use it just the same.

Technically with WiFi and high-speed cellular connections you could still do this sort of thing with drives on remote machines, but sometimes you really need additional "local" hardware storage.

msmobiles.com has a good write up of the device here.

The Seagate® D.A.V.E.™ (Digital Audio Video Experience) platform delivers the best way to move, store and connect your digital life, wirelessly connecting mobile devices with up to 60 GB of extra storage. It’s the best way for mobile entertainment device manufacturers and mobile network providers to help their consumers unify content management.

You know the more I think about it, the Seagate D.A.V.E. is missing something... I'm just not sure what... Maybe this technology is just too good, maybe it is too much...

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"Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you. It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage. But you'll look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle built for two."


Sunday, January 13, 2008 5:00:47 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Saturday, January 12, 2008

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If you want a solid Windows Mobile RSS application, NewsGator Go! is one of the best, and now it is FREE!

NewsGator Go! gives you the ability to track and manage all your RSS content on your mobile device. Get news, sports, entertainment and other information delivered to your Blackberry, Java Mobile Smartphone or PDA, and Windows Mobile Smartphone or PDA.

Windows Mobile: Free Download

Whether you are standing in line at a coffee shop or taking a stroll around the park, with NewsGator Go! you don't need to feel left out when the latest news breaks!

  • Get your news and information while on the go
  • Keep your mobile in sync with all NewsGator products
  • Email interesting articles to friends or co-workers
  • (Windows Mobile only) Play streaming video and audio

NewsGator Go! for Windows Mobile works on Windows Mobile version 5 or 6.

 

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Saturday, January 12, 2008 5:00:04 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback
Friday, January 11, 2008

90 Artists Remix Stan Lee's Best Characters

 

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That stained glass Spiderman is totally sweet! And magneto with duckies. That would be a good "Come up with the best story for this 'situation' contest".

"Magneto vs. The Duckies" or "No More Spandex"

Oh no! The evil Magneto has kidnapped the President's...   daughters'...   three little duckies: Huey, Dewey and Louie and has forced them to fight him to the death!

The duckies only chance was if someone could raise the $3,014,170,389,176,410 ransom Magneto demanded for their safe return. Unfortunately for the triplets, the president was a little short after spending over $611.5 billion.

Desperate Huey decided to contact their great uncle, who even though a bit of a Scrooge, surely wouldn't want to see his three grand-nephews end up on Magneto's dinner table. Their uncle was quite shocked, and embarrassed after having told most of the world that he was worth, "one multiplujillion, nine obsquatumatillion, six hundred twenty-three dollars and sixty-two cents", and telling his nephews that it was more like "five multiplujillion, nine impossibidillion, seven fantasticatrillion dollars and sixteen cents", he didn't have the heart to tell Huey now that it was really more like $137 billion.

Instead he chooses to tell them about how when he was their age he had to defeat villains far worse than Magento... every day... on the way to school... and uphill both ways... [Click! Huey hangs up]

Louie the youngest of the twins, decides to use a trick that their brother Phooey would always use when he got in trouble: cuteness...

Immediately Louie falls back into the curl of Magneto's right arm and stares back up at his "favorite person in the whole wide world". At first, Huey and Dewey think Louie must have lost his friggin' mind, but then they too remember their forgotten brother, and join Louie in his mastermind scheme. Dewey decides the only thing cuter than a little yellow fluffy duckie, is a sleeping little yellow fluffy duckie. He then hops up on Magneto's shoulder and begins to purr. Why? Because it is extra cute!

Huey, determined not to be outdone by his younger brothers, recognizes that Magneto has some kind of helmet fetish, and decides that certainly Magneto would appreciate him being his own personal hood ornament.

Right then, Magneto's heart grew three sizes larger, and he thought to himself, "How Cute!" He then proceeded to explode causing reality to turn purple, and time to stop.

[The End]

 

Your Turn

Don't worry your safe from my humor, with the entire Internet between you and me, you shouldn't suffer any long term effects. But if you liked, or didn't like, or think you can do better I'd love to hear your version. Feel free to post as a comment or link back from your blog. You could pick another picture as well, if you like.


Friday, January 11, 2008 5:00:38 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)  #    Comments [0]  |  Trackback

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