June 23
Podcast 1- Palm vs Windows Mobile
Audio:Podcast 1
by lulugirl896
by lulugirl896
Hurray! Its my very first podcast! Please bear with me on the sound quality- I need to experiment to figure out the best settings using Resco Audio recorder. Enjoy!
No Podcast Luck yet
Last night I thought I'd try to do my first podcast and boy, it was
hard! I couldn't believe how much like a space cadet I can sound!
Anyway, I finally grouped together 3 minutes of the salvagable parts and
attempted to upload the mp3 file I created using Resco Audio recorder
and my Jasjar and to my sad surprise, the file refused to play once
uploaded to my Bolt account. I suspect it could be because it was on the
lower volume side but still. So I guess I'll have to give it another
shot...perhaps tonight.
June 22
Faith Restored...Well Kind of!
I'm having one of those rare afternoons when everything just seems
to be going my way- I ended up sharing a subway ride with a colleague I
actually enjoyed, my frayed heel was fixed within a few seconds at the
cobbleshop in Penn Station for $6 (and they accepted credit cards-double
score!). All in all it looks like this afternoon is poised to make up
for the horrendous night/crack of dawn we had to endure when for no
apparent reason our neighbors' tenant's car alarm went of for 2 hours! I
almost had to physically restrain Dean from going over there to bitch
slap them, and considering he gets home before I do, he may still
proceed with those plans! So if you see a man being arrested on the
evening news tonight with his wife carrying a Jasjar-that's us!
June 21
Separated at Birth?
You decide:
RuPaul
More WM Entertainment
Well, the latest development is that I will be getting together my
very first podcast soon. Nothing major, but we are certainly a-buzz
about it over here! In fact, after discovering www.bolt.com Last night, I am seriously considering a videocast later on.
The thing that has brought on this desire for further blog development is definitely Hubdog. This is seriously the best application and most useful on a day to day level. I have been searching for an application that would allow me to download good video or even comic content daily and I am so glad to have found one that can do both and is free!
Hubdog's entertainment channel include video clips of Best Night Ever, MTV News Daily report and CommandN which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine In fact, last night I was surprised to see that it had downloaded the entire 19min episode of VH1 Best Week Ever! How cool is that?
What I love is how quickly the information downloads considering it contains video clips, and how the video clips are just the right size to enjoy on my Jasjar screen.
Since the days of my Treo 650 I have been looking for an aplication that would allow me to enjoy a daily fix of comics. Most recently on WM I had found Pocket Comics. Now the issues I had with P.C. were:
1. There was no way to set the system to just downlod all the comics I wanted. I had to select the date of comics I wanted to view (within the past 30 days) then seect the strip I wanted to see then it would download it. I had to do that for each comic I wanted to view.
2. The navigation was horrible. Instead of using the left and right hard button on the device I had to use some odd arrows on the screen to move the strip for full viewing.
3. No real offline support. Because of the odd way the system would download comics, I couldn't really use it as the offline solution I had hoped it would be. This is huge issue for me now as I am stuck with only GPRS.
Take a look at the screenshot below and you can see that the rendering of the comics from my personally created page at DarkComic.net. All the data is on one screen, making it even superior to eGress in my opinion.
If there is anything in particular you would like me to go over during my podcast, please let me know. For now some of my tentative ideas are my pda history, and my detailed comparison of Palm versus WM.
The thing that has brought on this desire for further blog development is definitely Hubdog. This is seriously the best application and most useful on a day to day level. I have been searching for an application that would allow me to download good video or even comic content daily and I am so glad to have found one that can do both and is free!
Hubdog's entertainment channel include video clips of Best Night Ever, MTV News Daily report and CommandN which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine In fact, last night I was surprised to see that it had downloaded the entire 19min episode of VH1 Best Week Ever! How cool is that?
What I love is how quickly the information downloads considering it contains video clips, and how the video clips are just the right size to enjoy on my Jasjar screen.
Since the days of my Treo 650 I have been looking for an aplication that would allow me to enjoy a daily fix of comics. Most recently on WM I had found Pocket Comics. Now the issues I had with P.C. were:
1. There was no way to set the system to just downlod all the comics I wanted. I had to select the date of comics I wanted to view (within the past 30 days) then seect the strip I wanted to see then it would download it. I had to do that for each comic I wanted to view.
2. The navigation was horrible. Instead of using the left and right hard button on the device I had to use some odd arrows on the screen to move the strip for full viewing.
3. No real offline support. Because of the odd way the system would download comics, I couldn't really use it as the offline solution I had hoped it would be. This is huge issue for me now as I am stuck with only GPRS.
Take a look at the screenshot below and you can see that the rendering of the comics from my personally created page at DarkComic.net. All the data is on one screen, making it even superior to eGress in my opinion.
If there is anything in particular you would like me to go over during my podcast, please let me know. For now some of my tentative ideas are my pda history, and my detailed comparison of Palm versus WM.
June 20
Quick Laff
This is the funniest thing I've read all week!
http://www.bestweekever.tv/
http://www.bestweekever.tv/
Only 4 more days till Vacation
Perhaps I am showing off just a bit, but I am pretty thrilled with
the way my Today screen looks. I get excited every time I turn on my
Jasjar! I am definitely one who appreciates the aesthetcs of the device.
I mean, look at what a difference changing your iLauncher icons can
make.
The question I probably get asked th most is how does my Jasjar stack up to my Treo. In my mind, there is no comparison. After a month of using my Jasjar I would be really hard pressed to use a Treo. Even the one-handedness argument is now, for me, superceeded by the easy-to-view screen and legibility aspect. The connection issue bothers me less and less as I find more hotspots where I can access Wifi. And there is just no comparing the skinability of the 2 devices- granted I had ZLauncher looking right hot back in the day, but then once I left that screen it was back to the same humdrum Palm GUI.
I also love the ohhh factor of the Jasjar...the sidelong glances even by the IT dept team members makes me feel like a techno-celebrity. I know, I know, its a cheesy reason and all...but not one person has ever confused my Jasjar for a Blackberry!
As an update to my brief review of Hubdog yesterday, today I updated it and got all new content delivered (video and all) which I think is pretty awesome. The one problem I have with Hubdog which I hope they will resolve soon is how it uses resources. I notice that each time I close the app, there is a healthy 2-5MB chunk still left in the memory which I must manually 'kill' using Memmaid. Aside from that issue, its absolutely a delight.
The question I probably get asked th most is how does my Jasjar stack up to my Treo. In my mind, there is no comparison. After a month of using my Jasjar I would be really hard pressed to use a Treo. Even the one-handedness argument is now, for me, superceeded by the easy-to-view screen and legibility aspect. The connection issue bothers me less and less as I find more hotspots where I can access Wifi. And there is just no comparing the skinability of the 2 devices- granted I had ZLauncher looking right hot back in the day, but then once I left that screen it was back to the same humdrum Palm GUI.
I also love the ohhh factor of the Jasjar...the sidelong glances even by the IT dept team members makes me feel like a techno-celebrity. I know, I know, its a cheesy reason and all...but not one person has ever confused my Jasjar for a Blackberry!
As an update to my brief review of Hubdog yesterday, today I updated it and got all new content delivered (video and all) which I think is pretty awesome. The one problem I have with Hubdog which I hope they will resolve soon is how it uses resources. I notice that each time I close the app, there is a healthy 2-5MB chunk still left in the memory which I must manually 'kill' using Memmaid. Aside from that issue, its absolutely a delight.
Bra Codes
June 19
FreeFind-HubDog
Today I found an excellent free application that fills a void that
PocketStreamer has not quite successfully filled. One of only 2 gripes I
have with my Jasjar is the lack of Edge, or UMTS for use in the US.
This means that most of my day in the absence of WiFi is to find areas
for offline browsing. I already have an excellent Rss reader (Egress)
and a fine page converter for offline reading (iSilo), however, I wanted
something that could download and store other types of data on my
memory card (i.e. TV or Video).
This morning while reading PocketPC addict on Egress I noticed a blurb about a new(ish) offline reader that called HubDog. I took a look at the HubDog website and decided to give it a try...for the price it seemed like I had nothing to lose.
I absolutely love HubDog. It is a nice, feature rich application that allows you to download full video clips of content that you specify (tech, comedy, movie trailers, etc). And it stores it in a beautiful VGA enhanced page. You can select the connections that you want it to use (obviously, I have excluded GPRS seeing as how I do not have a week to update my content!) and you can update each channel manually-which is always my preference.
The pictures below show the initial HubDog page, the view of specific content and the link clicked to watch a videocast. It uses TCPMP to play its content which is the first hint that the developers of this program really know their stuff!
It also features some naught content, but alas they have not yet seen fit to add any male eye candy.
The other really cool thing I figured out is that the content you select for your acount then becomes your own specific page. So you can browse to wwwhubdog.com/lulugirl896 to see my feeds. (And if you do happen to stumble upon any naughty content, clearly its only there because I am doing research for you all! ;)
If you have a PocketPC device I strongly recommend you check this great application out. It stores all of its content and the core application on the memory card extremely well and updates in a snap using Activesync or WiFi connection.
This morning while reading PocketPC addict on Egress I noticed a blurb about a new(ish) offline reader that called HubDog. I took a look at the HubDog website and decided to give it a try...for the price it seemed like I had nothing to lose.
I absolutely love HubDog. It is a nice, feature rich application that allows you to download full video clips of content that you specify (tech, comedy, movie trailers, etc). And it stores it in a beautiful VGA enhanced page. You can select the connections that you want it to use (obviously, I have excluded GPRS seeing as how I do not have a week to update my content!) and you can update each channel manually-which is always my preference.
The pictures below show the initial HubDog page, the view of specific content and the link clicked to watch a videocast. It uses TCPMP to play its content which is the first hint that the developers of this program really know their stuff!
It also features some naught content, but alas they have not yet seen fit to add any male eye candy.
The other really cool thing I figured out is that the content you select for your acount then becomes your own specific page. So you can browse to wwwhubdog.com/lulugirl896 to see my feeds. (And if you do happen to stumble upon any naughty content, clearly its only there because I am doing research for you all! ;)
If you have a PocketPC device I strongly recommend you check this great application out. It stores all of its content and the core application on the memory card extremely well and updates in a snap using Activesync or WiFi connection.
June 17
MishMosh
Apparently, in the seventies and early eighties my hubby was a big Boy George fan. Honey, here's your former Idol...
I spent this evening updating my theme to one I found in the SBSH forums. Its called Expea2 and I think its quite picturesque. I also took the time to update my I-Launcher icons to the ones I have always drooled over. I love the shiny, hi-res look they have.
I got an email today from Rob regarding bluetooth headsets...well, I have used the GlobalSat bluetooth headset with caller with much success. I generally don't like having a big thing in my ear and the Globalsat is perfect because it has a small standalone unit that attaches to the earbud. So it makes it possible to view the callerid while the bud is still in the ear.
I spent this evening updating my theme to one I found in the SBSH forums. Its called Expea2 and I think its quite picturesque. I also took the time to update my I-Launcher icons to the ones I have always drooled over. I love the shiny, hi-res look they have.
I got an email today from Rob regarding bluetooth headsets...well, I have used the GlobalSat bluetooth headset with caller with much success. I generally don't like having a big thing in my ear and the Globalsat is perfect because it has a small standalone unit that attaches to the earbud. So it makes it possible to view the callerid while the bud is still in the ear.
June 16
Happy,Happy Friday!
Finally its Friday!
So I just want to talk briefly about the idea of the Sp3i as my backup phone. That was seriously one of the most brilliant ideas I have ever had. In light of the recent stabbings that took place in NYC subways, this has been a particularly tense week for all public-transport techies. In fact a colleague of mine who lives in Brooklyn was exiting the subway when a ruffian approached him and asked him for his iPod. Tom, being quite the diplomat, did not wait to see if the guy merely wanted to check out his musical selection but gave him the iPod and ran. If I did havean ipod I think I would be in constant fear of having it stolen and having my (often questionable) musical selections broadcast over town. I could see a thief actually hunting me down to issue a smack for having a mix of 'Nasty Girl' and 'Get Down Moses' in the same playlist!
I have been quite restrained with regards to adding applicatioms to my Smartphone. A few games, ListPro and iSilo are really just about the only things I've added.
I wish it had WiFi. There, I said it. I know its my backup phone and all but I wish it had either Edge or WiFi to satisfy my online cravings. Luckily most placs that do have WiFi I feel comfortable enough to whip out my Jasjar. Opening up my Jasar elicits the same reactions I expect being beamed to the mothership would have. Because it is such an unusual design and device, people who aren't even technically inclined are in awe. This is where I'm glad to have left the Treo...seriously, everyone and their brother has one now.
If I could change anything in the Jasjar it would be only 2 things. I'd add some softkeys (seriously, who made that bright choice, eh?) and I'd make it Edge compatible. Or I'd make Cingular 3G compatible. Either one. I read an article the other day which, in a nutshell seemed to imply that even when Cingular rolled out UMTS it would not be on a frequency that the Jasjar would be able to take advantage of. BooHoo. This is where being an early adopter really blows. And then I had a bright idea about the T-Mobile Mda pro (i.e. Get an unlocked one and I should be able to get some high speed data speeds, right?) Wrong. Turns out that the Mda Pro is only sold in Europe so the frequencies would be the same as the imate Jasjar.
I read a lot of the forum discussions regarding the difficulty in transitioning from Palm to WinMo and I really cannot understand what is so difficult in this. I look at my screen and how aesthetically pleasing it is and how many apps I can run simultaneously and there is no comparison for me.
So I just want to talk briefly about the idea of the Sp3i as my backup phone. That was seriously one of the most brilliant ideas I have ever had. In light of the recent stabbings that took place in NYC subways, this has been a particularly tense week for all public-transport techies. In fact a colleague of mine who lives in Brooklyn was exiting the subway when a ruffian approached him and asked him for his iPod. Tom, being quite the diplomat, did not wait to see if the guy merely wanted to check out his musical selection but gave him the iPod and ran. If I did havean ipod I think I would be in constant fear of having it stolen and having my (often questionable) musical selections broadcast over town. I could see a thief actually hunting me down to issue a smack for having a mix of 'Nasty Girl' and 'Get Down Moses' in the same playlist!
I have been quite restrained with regards to adding applicatioms to my Smartphone. A few games, ListPro and iSilo are really just about the only things I've added.
I wish it had WiFi. There, I said it. I know its my backup phone and all but I wish it had either Edge or WiFi to satisfy my online cravings. Luckily most placs that do have WiFi I feel comfortable enough to whip out my Jasjar. Opening up my Jasar elicits the same reactions I expect being beamed to the mothership would have. Because it is such an unusual design and device, people who aren't even technically inclined are in awe. This is where I'm glad to have left the Treo...seriously, everyone and their brother has one now.
If I could change anything in the Jasjar it would be only 2 things. I'd add some softkeys (seriously, who made that bright choice, eh?) and I'd make it Edge compatible. Or I'd make Cingular 3G compatible. Either one. I read an article the other day which, in a nutshell seemed to imply that even when Cingular rolled out UMTS it would not be on a frequency that the Jasjar would be able to take advantage of. BooHoo. This is where being an early adopter really blows. And then I had a bright idea about the T-Mobile Mda pro (i.e. Get an unlocked one and I should be able to get some high speed data speeds, right?) Wrong. Turns out that the Mda Pro is only sold in Europe so the frequencies would be the same as the imate Jasjar.
I read a lot of the forum discussions regarding the difficulty in transitioning from Palm to WinMo and I really cannot understand what is so difficult in this. I look at my screen and how aesthetically pleasing it is and how many apps I can run simultaneously and there is no comparison for me.
June 15
Flashback
The guys over at PalmAddicts recently ran an article flashing back
to the history of devices they've used. I spotted this picture of the
original Wizard that my mother had when I was a kid! It was my very
first look at a pda device and I remember she used to tote it everywhere
she went...and I mean everywhere! I was so amazed by the seemingly
endless functions it could perform that I vowed I would get myself one
as soon as I was an adult.
Its interesting to see things as an adult and remember the impact that they had on you as a child. I became addicted to pdas because I watched how my mother's Wizard made her life easier. I became addicted to smoking because as a child I thought that the Virginia Slims "You've come a long way, baby" models were the most glamorous women in the world.
Its interesting to see things as an adult and remember the impact that they had on you as a child. I became addicted to pdas because I watched how my mother's Wizard made her life easier. I became addicted to smoking because as a child I thought that the Virginia Slims "You've come a long way, baby" models were the most glamorous women in the world.
June 14
Cybill Shepherd
Remember when Cybill Shepherd was the 'It' girl? When she was extremely hot in 'Taxi Driver'?
What happened?
What happened?
June 12
The DaVinci Code
This weekend I finished reading the DaVinci code and once I did we headed to the theatres to see the movie version. I will say, the ending of the movie was far more fulfilling than the book. However, I felt at times that the movie was too rushed and did not explain important nuances that were then difficult to understand. For example, in the book the vital part of the story was what Sophie had witnessed and the impact it had on her relationship with her grandfather. The movie reduced it to a 20 second monologue with the random black and white flashback. The book built the suspense so that at the point of revelation it was shocking and yet totally explicable that she would ex-communicate Sauniere.
However I did like the character development in the movie, especially of Sophie and Robert. I loved how they expatiated on Robert's claustrophobia and made it an integral part of the storyline, unlike the book where it was mentioned briefly in the beginning and then never again. I also must confess that I love Audrey Tatou and was really impressed to see her in the second English speaking role I've ever seen her in (the first was Dirty Pretty Things). I can take or leave Tom Hanks but I'm glad that they didn't give the movie the Hollywood treatment and reduce it to a love story between Robert and Sophie.
For anyone who has only done one, I'd recommend both reading the book then watching the movie for a more fulfilling ending.
June 11
Fun New App- Plusmo
I've recently come across an excellent free program called Plusmo. Its an rss type program but it lets you add specific Myspace pages to view, it also comes with unique widgets like Starbucks locator and lowest gas prices.
I think its cool, but I will probably uninstall it because it is not a vga app, and also it does not store the channels on the card. But, hey, check it out if, unlike me you have more than 5mb on your Pocket PC. Go to www.plusmo.com
June 09
SP3i First Impressions
After the first few days with my new I-mate Sp3i I can say it is a
small wonder that definitely has me impressed. I should probably start
by saying that this is my first WM Smartphone and I find it quite
decent.
The hardest adjustment or learning curve is the navigation, but even that was not terribly impossible. Smartphone edition does not use a touchscreen so that the entire navigation experience consists of the number pad to select the desired menu items.
I have decided not to completely overload the phone as its primary use is to be my 'safe' phone and mp3 player, however I did go ahead and install the smartphone version of some of my MVP applications. In that group are ListPro, eWallet, TCPMP and iSilo. Its interesting to see how the smartphone runs these apps using a smaller screen real estate and no touch screen yet in a completely useful manner.
The screen in bright and vivid and even playing a movie clip on it is not completely impossible to watch.
Something that bothers me on windows mobile devices is the way audio is played. On the smartphone it seems that even though I have selected a 'silent' profile I still get audio any time I run a game or play audio. This is definitely not desired behavior. Today I went into each individual game and manually turned off the volume setting for each game but surely that can't be the easiest way to have total silence, or is it?
The hardest adjustment or learning curve is the navigation, but even that was not terribly impossible. Smartphone edition does not use a touchscreen so that the entire navigation experience consists of the number pad to select the desired menu items.
I have decided not to completely overload the phone as its primary use is to be my 'safe' phone and mp3 player, however I did go ahead and install the smartphone version of some of my MVP applications. In that group are ListPro, eWallet, TCPMP and iSilo. Its interesting to see how the smartphone runs these apps using a smaller screen real estate and no touch screen yet in a completely useful manner.
The screen in bright and vivid and even playing a movie clip on it is not completely impossible to watch.
Something that bothers me on windows mobile devices is the way audio is played. On the smartphone it seems that even though I have selected a 'silent' profile I still get audio any time I run a game or play audio. This is definitely not desired behavior. Today I went into each individual game and manually turned off the volume setting for each game but surely that can't be the easiest way to have total silence, or is it?
June 08
HTC Family
Here are some comparison shots of the Cingular 8125, I-mate SP3i, and I-mate Jasjar.
...enjoy!
...enjoy!
Imate SP3i
My SP3i arrived yesterday and I must say, its a darling. If I had
less pda needs (and addictions!) I could see this being my primary
device. I have attached some screenshots of isilo, tcpmp and my porsche
theme.
I will give you my impressions later on, however it seems that it will work very nicely as a makeshift mp3 player/rugged phone when needed.
I will give you my impressions later on, however it seems that it will work very nicely as a makeshift mp3 player/rugged phone when needed.
Stolen Sidekick Story
Wow. This is one determined dude.
There is an underground story floating around for the past 2 days of a 16 year old girl who stole a sidekick, took pictures of herself with it and then got busted when the pictures got uploaded to the online server...and the owners replacement sidekick. Evan is a friend of the victim and started the page www.evanwashere.com/
There is an underground story floating around for the past 2 days of a 16 year old girl who stole a sidekick, took pictures of herself with it and then got busted when the pictures got uploaded to the online server...and the owners replacement sidekick. Evan is a friend of the victim and started the page www.evanwashere.com/
June 07
Handmark PocketExpress
Pocket Express is arguably one of the most invaluable additions to my Jasjar. First I'll explain what its capable of then I'll go into what my reservations are.Pocketexpress is an information solution for your pda that allows you to have access to specific information by downloading or updating wirelessly when you have a connection then storing for offline perusal. Currently PocketExpress has a pretty wide selection of channels to choose from ranging from Movies in theatres to Dear Abby advice. There is also a dictionary for those times when you need to find the definition of a word. The logic behind pocketExpress seems to be to maximize space on your device by housing the information on their server allowing you to pick it up wirelessly as needed.
My 2 main issues with pocketExpress are the speed and the price. PE will cost you a subscription of $70 per year! While it may well be equitable for the services you receive, it is an undeniably obscene amount of money to have to pay for software...annually! The application is also slow...mainly in terms of loading. I store it on my memory card because its about 5mb, and it takes sometimes about 10 full seconds to load up. That,to me is an eternity, especially for an application that supposedly stores the bulk of its information at a remote location.
I also wish the application gave more options in terms of how much data to download at general sync. For example it downloads a brief news summary, but to get the full story and attached image I would have to go into each item to download the full information. This is not ideal when preparing for a long trip. I wish there were a way to automatically indicate how much data you'd like to download.
While the size issue seems unresolved to date (unless you have enough free memory to install directly to your device!), I have found a temporary solution for the price. Every year the folk at Handmark Express have a sale where you can get their application for half price! So this year I intend to renew when that sale comes around again. When it does, I'll be sure to announce it here!
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