My Technophilic Musings

Update: Modified the “Oxios Hibernate” app as well on public demand. Please redownload the below mentioned package. It now has Oxios Close as well as Oxios Hibernate.

Oxios developed a very useful tool for Windows Mobile (WM2003/5/6/6.1) called “Oxios Memory” sometime ago. On running it, it’ll flush your RAM (kind of) and recover substantial amounts of memory that can be used by the currently program. It is so good at this that many people run it regularly on their phones, and most of them want to run it in an automated mode (through a scheduler or a script). But the problem (so far) was that it generates a Message Box at the end for which the user has to press “OK” button to make it go away. There is no known way of disabling this message box and many attempts to work around it by scripting the “press OK” action have been very unreliable at best. Hence, it took it upon me today to remove this nagging problem and 5 minutes later we have a “clean” Oxios Memory.

Yes, no more nagging prompts

Download it here: Oxios Memory Hacked By Shantanu Goel

(Feel free to spread the message but please don’t hotlink to the file as it is anyways disabled. Provide a link to this page instead)

If you like it, then DIGG IT by clicking here or choose your favourite submission engine from the links below the post

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: Hack, Oxios Close, Oxios Hibernate, Oxios Memory Cleaner, Remove Message Box Prompt, Windows Mobile, WM2003, WM5, WM6, WM6.1

If you have ever needed to share files between your Linux and Windows computers, you have obviously used Samba, and have been quite happy with the way it seamlessly provides access to and from shared folders/files from Windows and Linux. However, many people complain that although their smb/Samba shares are accessible from Windows, they are not able to do the same with their Windows Mobile devices. e.g., using a tool called “Resco Explorer” on Windows Mobile, all they get while searching for their linux based Samba shares is the following screenshot:

Well, there is no big magic trick to get an access to those shares, as they are already accessibly. You just need to do one more teeny little step to access them.

Continue reading »

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: Access Shared folders from Windows Mobile, CIFS, linux, Resco Explorer, Samba, shared folders, SMB, Total Commander, windows, Windows Mobile, Windows Mobile File Explorer, WM5, WM6

ShantzTodayChanger is a little tool written by me for your Windows Mobile based phones (WM5/WM6) which will cycle ur today background or theme after a set interval of time. It has a lot of features and options and you can even use it to achieve something other than changing wallpapers as well (e.g. running applications at set times) but that depends on your imagination.

Changes in this version:

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

For more information about this tool, queries, feature requests, updates and downloads, please visit ShantzTodayChanger Home Page.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: cycle themes and wallpapers, extensible application, interval based cycling, run applications at set times, ShantzTodayChanger, themes, Wallpapers, Windows Mobile, WM5, WM6

Perdida = Missed Call (in Spanish)

Missed Call = Ubiquitous Necessity (atleast in India)

Enter: cPerdidas -> A Windows Mobile program (works with WM5 as well as WM6) that will allow you to make missed calls to anyone you desire. Just config your country code, select the contact and “Hacer Perdida!” (Make the missed call) and your contact will get the missed call on his device. The only change is that the program will cut the call even before he can hear his phone ring. So, whenever he looks at his phone, he’ll know that you called. Hmmm, pretty useful for times when you just want to send your loved one a note that you missed them, without disturbing him/her in a meeting and, of course, without spending a penny, or waiting with your fingers clenched onto to End button tighter than a F1 driver’s fingers on the pit lane speed limiter.

Note: Though the original app is in spanish, it has support for adding other languages, so for English support (and easily installable cab format), look at this page.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: application, cperdidas, missed call, Windows Mobile, WM, WM5, WM6

This is a post about irresponsible/careless journalism/bloggism. For Gizmodo, getting that post about HTC’s latest press release out the door took precedence over actually reading the release properly and then commenting over it. The gizmodo poster’s comment is:

……but HTC’s finally released a statement saying that a fix is coming. They say that the video acceleration will be supported in the future, and will be included in software upgrades for current devices…….

I’m still puzzled, after reading and rereading HTC’s (pretty short) statement 10 times over and I can’t find where it is mentioned that they will provide video acceleration for the current devices. My point is that if you don’t read it yourself, then better not release it to your readers, (or atleast refrain from commenting on it improperly, if you must be ahead in the “race”).

Read the statement below (and for actual post on Gizmodo, click here)

Continue reading »

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: ATi, Blogging, careless blogging, careless journalism, driver, gizmodo, hardware acceleration, HTC, HTC Kaiser video drivers, irresponsible blogging, irresponsible journalism, journalism, MSM, performance, press release, software optimization, software upgrades, TYTN, video acceleration, video drivers, Windows Mobile, WM, WM6

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.

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

Just wanted to share some pieces that generated a variety of “hmmm”, “ahaa” and “wow” from me:

China Mobile set to trial LTE:

China Mobile said it will join Vodafone Group plc and Verizon Wireless in an ongoing trial of LTE technology…….The trials — which include three powerhouse network operators — underscore the momentum LTE is gaining as a leading 4G technology possibility vs. WiMAX and Ultra Mobile Broadband.

“HMMM” - U go LTE!!

Telstra Launches the i-mate Ultimate 8502 and 9502 in Australia:

Telstra and i-mate have today launched the i-mate™ Ultimate 8502 and i-mate™ Ultimate 9502. Telstra is the first operator to deploy these devices globally and both devices will be exclusive in Australia to Telstra customers. Building on a five-year partnership which has seen the successful launch of 10 i-mate™ devices on the Telstra network, Telstra has teamed up with i-mate™ again to release the Ultimate mobile devices.

“AHA” - So, they are not vaporware after all !!

Android SDK m5-rc14 now available:

*New user interface - As I mentioned when we introduced the m3 version of the Android SDK, we’re continuing to refine the UI that’s available for Android. m5-rc14 replaces the previous placeholder with a new UI, but as before, work on it is still in-progress.
*Layout animations - Developers can now create layout animations for their applications using the capabilities introduced in the android.view.animation package. Check out the LayoutAnimation*.java files in the APIDemos sample code for examples of how this works.
*Geo-coding - android.location.Geocoder enables developers to forward and reverse geo-code (i.e. translate an address into a coordinate and vice-versa), and also search for businesses.
*New media codecs - The MediaPlayer class has added support for the OGG Vorbis, MIDI, XMF, iMelody, RTTL/RTX, and OTA audio file formats.
*Updated Eclipse plug-in - A new version of ADT is available and provides improvements to the Android developer experience. In particular, check out the new Android Manifest editor.

“WOW” What else can I say?!!

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: 4G, android, android sdk m5–rc14, cellphone, china, china mobile, google, i-mate, i-mate ultimate 8502, i-mate ultimate 9502, LTE, mobile, mobile phones, Telstra, ultimate, verizon, verizon wireless, vodafone, Windows Mobile

As everyone knows, I’m an out-and-out Windows Mobile worshipper. It’s like a girlfriend, who is very difficult to manage and understand at first, but is a great source of joy if you know how to manage her. I don’t like any other phones now; the extensibility given by WM will do that to you.

I also “admire” Nokia because of the quality and reliability they provide with their phones. Having worked for them in a project (Nokia Networks/Nokia Seimens Networks actually), I know how much testing they put in before releasing something. That coupled with the recent crap-doings by even the largest of the WM Phone companies like HTC, have made me try to look elsewhere.

Now, if this news comes true, then we are in for a treat, as the two giants might just come together to give us a sweet little toy for our “smart” cravings . Read the news and let us know how you feel about it.

PS: Don’t even mention iPhone/iPod/iTouch or any other iCrap.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: HTC, iCrap, iPhone, iPod, Microsoft, nokia, nokia mobile, Windows Mobile, WM

The newly launched “Projects” section is hereby inaugarated with a Windows Mobile Tool developed by me, called “ShantzTodayChanger”. 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.

Head over to ShantzTodayChanger, for complete details and downloads.

written by Shantanu Goel \\ tags: automatic, cycle themes, cycle wallpapers, projects, ShantzTodayChanger, switch themes, switch wallpapers, themes, today, tool, wallpaper, Windows Mobile, WM2003, WM5, WM6, WM6.1

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

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