McGuider Navigation Software on a Nokia N73

June 5, 2008 | 2 comments

For a while now I have been using TomTom navigation software on my Pocket PC but have always wanted to reduce the number of devices I carry and wanted to get some GPS software on my phone. So when I saw the McGuider navigation software advertised on an eXpansys emailer this week along with a £10 discount I couldn’t resist.

When it arrived came the first shock. You get an mini-SD card containing the software and NOTHING else. No nice box, no manual, no quick start or installation guide, nothing. I guess this is how you keep the costs down. … Read the rest

How Do You Solve a Problem Like My PC?

June 1, 2008 | 1 comment

Under normal circumstances I feel pretty well equipped to sort out most problems with a PC whether they are hardware or software related, however, this latest one has got me stumped. For the last couple of days the machine has started turning itself off without any warning whatsoever – no error message, no blue screen, just no power. It is this sort of problem that is hardest to resolve – where do you start to look?

I have uninstalled anything I added recently but that doesn’t seem to be it.

I have checked the event logs but there is nothing … Read the rest

Asus EEE PC and Mobile Broadband

May 30, 2008 | Comment

Got one of these? Then get one of these (but only one of these, a Huawei E220, as this is, apparently, the only one that works out of the box with the EEE).

Currently UK mobile operator 3 are doing an offer for existing subscribers where you can get a mobile broadband dongle for free and a contract for 1gb of data for only £5 per month. What a bargain! And, even better, it is wonderfully simple to setup on the EEE and even easier than on Windows. See below for instructions:

1. Insert the dongle and open the … Read the rest

Console Access with XP SP3

May 21, 2008 | Comment

It seems that in Windows XP SP 3 the command MSTSC /CONSOLE, that allowed you to connect to the console session, has been removed and replaced with MSTSC /ADMIN. The same also applies to Vista SP1 and Windows 2008.

The reasons for this are outlined in the article below from the Microsoft Terminal Services team blog. I am repeating the details here to save you having to spend hours working out why you aren’t seeing what you might expect.

http://blogs.msdn.com/ts/archive/2007/12/17/changes-to-remote-administration-in-windows-server-2008.aspx

Thanks to Andy at Plus Development for the tip.… Read the rest

Disabling Windows Update Automatic Reboot

May 15, 2008 | Comment

What must be one of THE most annoying features of Windows is that, post Windows Update, the constant reminders to reboot your PC. What is worse is that if you don’t do it then Windows will do it for you after five minutes. So if you have, say, popped off to make a cup of tea when you come back you will find your machine rebooted and that whatever you are in the middle of, such as burning a DVD, aborted.

This can all be incredibly frustrating as I found this morning. Fortunately there is a solution in the form … Read the rest

Your Computer – Jargon Cruncher

May 13, 2008 | Comment

Having a clear out of some old books recently turned up the above bookmark given away with 80’s computer magazine Your Computer. The cover of the first edition, which I still have, is shown below featuring the then state of the art Sinclair ZX80, ZX81, BBC Micro and something I can’t identify right now. What’s interesting is what was considered jargon then. So, for example, we have “interface” that includes “A centronics or RS-232 interface [that] allows you to plug in most printers or disc drives”.

My particular favourite though is the advice on “an ordinary cassette recorder” … Read the rest

BlackBerry Bold

May 12, 2008 | Comment

I received one of these devices about a month ago as part of AppSwing’s membership of the BlackBerry Alliance program. This allowed us to check that our software was going to be compatible with the new device (it is) and to develop new services for it. Unfortunately as we are under a NDA I haven’t been able to talk about it until today when the device was officially launched.

The unit itself has been known as a number of different things before launch including the 9000 and Meteor (which I much prefer to Bold) and is physically larger than … Read the rest

Working in the Dark

May 11, 2008 | Comment

Here’s a simple yet effective solution to working in the dark. I am currently sat outside with no lighting and without this USB powered LED light I wouldn’t be able to see the keyboard and would have to retreat inside. The light is a bit uneven but perfectly useable.

You can get one from here for only £4.… Read the rest

Skydrive and Folder Share

May 8, 2008 | Comment

Microsoft has a couple of similar services that help you access your files (documents, pictures, mp3s etc). These are Skydrive (stupid name, I much preferred Windows Live Folders) which is an online document storage facility with 5gb of free space and FolderShare that allows folders between multiple machines to be synchronised. However, there is one area of clear overlap and that is in that they both allow you to share documents in a folder with multiple people – the difference being that with Skydrive they are held in the cloud and with FolderShare they are on you PC.

I have … Read the rest

Peter Gabriel Disappears

May 6, 2008 | Comment

Oops! This is the message that is currently being displayed on all of the websites related to Peter Gabriel. AS you can see it seems that someone has stolen the servers his sites ran on from his ISP – not very secure it would seem. The Register is also reporting that the ISP is ultimately owned by the Carphone Warehouse so yet more bad publicity for them.… Read the rest