My Technophilic Musings

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
—-

HTC announce their shiny new Touch Diamond recently. Everyone ooh’ed and aah’ed while ogling at it until they realized that HTC has taken a step back (or forward towards matching Apple’s iPhone crap) by removing the expansion card slot from the phone. Yes, it has 4 GB of internal storage but I’d rather have an SDHC card slot with the ever falling prices of solid state memory (an 8 GB Class 6 SDHC card is worth not more than around 60$ these days). With a history of ultimate-gift-to-mankind phones like HTC Tytn, HTC Tytn II (Kaiser), iPhone, etc that excite so much on the first look and then start becoming dimmer and unwanted as the euphoria settles, we are left to wonder when will we see the real “Super Phone”. The do-it-all-be-all-end-all phone.

Well, my prediction is (Nostradamus style) : NEVER. No sir, you are not going to see your dream phone any time soon, or any time at all, for that matter.

Why do I say that. The reasons are pretty obvious, once we take off our wishful thinking hats and don the smart thinking ones.

1. A new dream every day: Around 8-10 years ago, I wished I had a cell phone. Around 6 years ago, I wish I had one with a camera. Around 4 years ago, I wish I had a phone with Mp3 player and expandable memory. 3 years ago I wished for a smart phone. Now, I wish for…. You get it. By the time something comes out, our dreams have already moved on. After all they  aren’t called “dreams” just like that

2. Where is the money: You might be ready to give a fortune (and your first born son) for that ultimate phone, but the evil-phone-conglomerate wants much more than that. They want you to be slaves. They don’t want the world to spend a huge amount in one go and then stop. They need to mint more money and too much more frequently than you’d like to spend. This is why the strategy works. Give out a phone that has slim form factor, nice UI, wi-fi, but then make the processor crappy (Touch), then lure them with a better processor but take out the wi-fi (Touch Dual), Add the wi-fi back and slap in a keyboard too, but keep’em wanting for better graphics (Kaiser), give ‘em a shiny new toy, but then lock it down in every possible (iCrap). So, you’d be stuck in the vicious circle of “upgrades” and keep the phone factory churning.

So, my dear fellow phone lovers, stop wasting your time waiting for that ultimate phone, and go “upgrade” at once, because “that” phone with just “that” one more feature…ISN’T COMING…

—-
If you liked this post, then you can Subscribe to my feed
Quote of the day: “Stan, what did I tell you about watching the Osbournes? It’s going to make you retarded!” — Stan’s Mom

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: Apple, HTC, HTC Diamond, iPhone, kaiser, PDA, phone, smartphone, super phone, Touch, Touch Dual, TYTN

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
—-

Stuck in another boring meeting? You have a way out now, because connectivetools have released their app CallJockey, which can simulate fake incoming calls. What’s more, you can select the name, phone number or one of your saved contacts from whom the fake call will appear to be coming, plus you can define the time when you want it to ring. The only limitation is that it is available only for WM5 smarphones (WM6 Standard), i.e., windows mobile phones without a touchscreen.

AND, it is FREE but only till March 1 under a promotion they are running, so go get it.

 

—-
If you liked this post, then you can Subscribe to my feed
Quote of the day: Ralph: Me fail English? That’s unpossible.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: calljockey, connectivetools, fake calls, fake incoming calls, smartphone, Windows Mobile, WM5, wm5 smartphone, WM6, wm6 standard

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
—-

Intro:

This is a little tool for your Windows Mobile based phones (Compatible with WM5/WM6 but not WM2003) which will cycle ur today background or theme after a set interval of time. It has a lot of features and options that you can discover by reading the text below. And you can even use this options to achieve something other than changing wallpapers as well but that depends on your imagination.

Update: I’ve added a cab file as well to the download zip file above to make the installation easier for many people.

Usage:
1. Make a folder on ur device (preferably not on storage card.) and extract all the files (mainly ShantzTodayChanger.exe, TdyChangerCfg.exe, gsgetfile.dll (might not be visible to u depending on ur explorer settings) and Readme.htm) to this folder.
2. IMP: Do not rename any files.
3. Run the TdyChangerCfg.exe.
4. Set options through the dialog that opens and press apply button (Pressing the native WM OK button will discard all your changes)
5. Options:
i)Choose image type (.gif\.jpg\.png) or theme(.tsk) to be cycled.
ii)If the input files (images or themes) are not in the folder where exes are kept, then you can check the box (underneath the .gif option) and give the “FULL and ABSOLUTE” path of where the files are kept. You can either input the path thru keyboard or choose it graphically by pressing the button (…) next to it.
iii)If you want to run a file after every cycle interval, check the corresponding box and provide the “FULL and ABSOLUTE” path of the file to be run. You can either input the path thru keyboard or choose it graphically by pressing the button (…) next to it.
iv) If you want some files to be avoided during cycling, put a file mask. The program will look for this mask to appear anywhere in the name of the files and will avoid it if found. (Wildcards are not supported. Choose time option has to be checked for this to work)
v) Choose the period for which mask option has to be used. If you choose a time period and leave mask as empty, then during that time no cycling will be done. If you want to avoid some files all the time, then time period should be chosen to cover all 24 hrs of the day.
vi)enter the desired interval between cycling of images\themes.
vii)If you choose a period for the mask, another check box (Consider mask period for exe also) will be enabled. Checking this box will mean that the specified exe will be run only if an image\theme is changed during that cycle. If you dont check this, then exe will be run after every cycle even if there is no change in the image\theme.
6. When you want to stop the cycling, press “STOP Cycling” button.

Additional Notes:
1. The GUI for configuration has not been optimized for square screen devices, so you need to make some guesswork and use hardware keyboard for input but the changer program itself will run fine.
2. Doesnt have to be running constantly. So saves resources when not active.
3. Survives soft resets as well.
4. Even takes care of the situation if your phone is off when the time to cycle is reached. Will cycle as soon as ur phone comes back on in this situation.

Planned Updates:
i) Suggestions invited. I have a lot of updates in mind but will incorporate those only which are requested by you.

Known Issues:
i) If the mask option is selected, then in a very particular situation, the app will miss a cycle.
This can be taken care of but not in my priority list because this can be fixed only by rewriting the complete cycling code which is quite a bit. So, will fix it if I get some time from my other projects.
ii) If after maknig the configuration, you see the screen flash for a second at the right times, but the backfround doesn’t change, then do this:
- Go to : Settings…today….appearance
- un-check “Use this picture as background”
- start the program using “startTodayChanger.lnk” or TdyChangerCfg (Apply button)
(Thnx to CWKJ for reporting this bug and fix, and to eric for reminding me about it)

End Note:
Like every software, this one is also bound to have bugs, please report it asap.
Though ShantzTodayChanger does not run continuously but sometimes some apps that close all processes automatically (like SPB backup) might clash in schedule with ShantzTodayChanger and close it when it starts to run. In such a case (which is quite unlikely), the app might not be able to set a notification for next cycle, so if u face this situation, then run the config again.

Version History:

1.53 - 23-March-08 -> RECOMMENDED UPDATE
i)Theme Color Detection has been improved a lot. Should work much more accurately now.

1.52 - 11-Aug-07 ->
i) Fixed another bug for the “time period” option.
ii) Made a little optimization in the code.

1.51 - 05-Aug-07 ->
i) Fixed a bug which prevented the “time period” option from working properly.
ii) Fixed a bug where wallpapers might not change if certain particular themes were installed before change cycle happens
iii) Fixed a bug where the time period option was not remembered properly by the GUI.
iv) Added option to allow user to choose whether to run the user specified file (exe\lnk) after every cycle interval only if there was a change in image\theme during that cycle.
v) Made a few small changes to the GUI to prevent users from making incorrect settings.

1.50 - 29-July-07 ->MAJOR UPDATE
i) Added option to specify a mask to avoid files having that mask
ii) Added option to specify the time period during which the mask has to be considered
iii) Added code to ensure that if mask is empty and a period is chosen, then no rotation is done during that period.
iv) Added option to run a user specified file after every cycle interval.
v) Fixed bug where the jpg and png options were not working earlier.
vi) Clicking help button now opens help in Pocket Internet Explorer.
vii) Fixed many more subtle bugs that manifest themselves and very peculiar situations.
viii) Optimized the code a bit at a few places.
ix) Also see “Known Issues” section above.
x) Removed the “append to previous info” box as now the app remembers old info correctly.

1.33 - 18-July-07 ->
i)Added code to select the input path graphically. It is a bit of workaround though. To select an input folder, just select any file inside it in the select folder dialog.
ii)TdyChgrCfg now shows you the previous settings.

1.32 - 21-Jun-07 ->
i) Fixed a bug where sometimes on cycling themes, colors change but images do not change.
ii) Added a measure to avoid running multiple instances (just as a precaution)
iii)Added code to avoid losing notifications if phone is reset too early after running the program

1.31 - 20-Jun-07 ->Fixed 2 bugs:
i) A notification bug where old notification is not deleted
ii) A bug where cycle interval value is not correctly read from the GUI

1.3 - 19-Jun-07 ->
i)Added option to make partial changes to previously entered information.
ii)Fine-Tuned the Theme Color support algo. Now, theme colors should be almost 95% same as calculated by windows mobile while applying theme.
iii)Did some code optimization

1.2 - 19-Jun-07 ->Major Update:
i)Added Theme Support. Changing of system colors as per theme is also supported (which is not done by any other program IIRC)
ii)Added option to keep input images\themes in a separate folder
iii)Provided a GUI Configuration module
iv)Provided option to choose between gif\jpg\png\tsk to be cycled.

1.11 - 12-Jun-07->Fixed another bug with notification queue

1.1 - 12-Jun-07 -> Fixed the bug that causes WM5/WM6 devices not to cycle wallpapers in certain conditions

1.0 - 10-Jun-07 -> Initial Release

Credits:
daxliniere/wacky.banana -> For asking to make the tool and their inputs
SeanFromSoCal/200mpx -> For their inputs

—-
If you liked this post, then you can Subscribe to my feed

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: cycle theme, PDA, PocketPC, ShantzTodayChanger, smartphone, TdyChangerCfg, Theme, tool, Wallpapers, Windows Mobile, WM2003, WM5, WM6

My Sites: My Blog | My Tech Blog | Follow me on Twitter
—-

if buying cell phones on ebay wasn’t annoying enough already, with a bajillion things that you should know, it’s about to get a lot worse - at least if you’re thinking of purchasing a Nokia N95 phone. Learn how to spot the fake Nokia N95 in this How-To.

Came across this post today, now even your N95’s aren’t safe. Make sure to check this guide to identify if your latest boy-toy is a fake or not.

Beware of Fake Nokia N95 Cell Phones, Pirated by Chinese.

—-
If you liked this post, then you can Subscribe to my feed
Quote of the day: “Too bad drinking scotch isn’t a paying job or Kenny’s dad would be a millionare!” — Cartman

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: cell phone, chinese, e-bay, ebay, fake, nokia, nokia n95, phone, piracy, smartphone