• homebrew,  hp,  pixi,  pre,  web os

    Glass Effect Launcher webOS Patch

    August 23, 2010 /

    One of the cool things about Palm’s webOS is that they are pretty cool with the third-party developers and home Homebrew applications.

    Having said that, Glass Effect Launcher is my favorite webOS patch to date.  It is also the first patch I’ve ever applied to my Sprint edition Palm Pre.  As the name applies, when you apply the patch, the stock grey background in the webOS app launcher is replaced by a Windows Vista looking smoked glass background. 

    The photos above show what my app launcher and Universal Search screens look like after applying the patch.  I think that patch give webOS a more refined and finished look than that boring grey background.  Hopefully HP and Palm will add some more refinements in webOS 2.0 that will give our favorite little OS that could a more grown up and professional feel to it.

    To learn more about Glass Effect Launcher, check out the patch’s thread over on PreCentral.  If you want to learn more about Homebrew apps and how to get them installed on your Palm webOS smartphone, check out PreCentral’s Homebrew Apps Gallery.

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  • android,  apple,  blackberry,  facebook,  google,  hp,  iphone,  rim,  web os

    More on the New Facebook Places Feature

    August 23, 2010 /

    Last week, Facebook introduced a new feature called “Places” that allows you or your friends geo-tag your location using the GPS in your mobile phone or location aware browser.  Naturally, people either hailed this as a super cool or flipped out and had kittens because “Big Brother” had found a new way to keep tabs on where you go and what you are doing.

    The New York Times, has a good article on the new Places feature in Facebook, which is also available in the latest version of the mobile application for Apple’s iPhone.

    Moments after Facebook introduced a new feature called Facebook Places on Wednesday that allows its users to share their location and find their friends, advocates raised flags over online privacy.

    The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California cited concerns over the new product, saying Facebook neglected to include several crucial privacy features.

    “Places allows your friends to tag you when they check in somewhere, and Facebook makes it very easy to say ‘yes’ to allowing your friends to check in for you,” read the statement, released late Wednesday night. “But when it comes to opting out of that feature, you are only given a ‘not now’ option. ‘No’ isn’t one of the easy options.”

    The A.C.L.U. also expressed concern over the integration of Facebook’s Places feature with third-party Web sites and applications.

    The Facebook Places privacy settings can be configured via custom settings in your privacy controls.  Android Central has a quick set of directions posted which I linked to last week.  iPhone users who want to keep their locations on the down low can tap the Don’t Allow button that pops up any time an iOS app tries to access the GPS on your iPhone.  (You know, I’m really glad that Steve Jobs insisted on that pop up!)  As of this posting, the Google Android, RIM BlackBerry, and HP Palm webOS clients haven’t been updated to use of the Places feature; but it is only a matter of time before they are updated too.

    You can read the full article on The New York Times website.

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  • apple,  ipad

    Magazine Subscriptons Coming to Apple’s iPad

    August 21, 2010 /

    It’s about time, seriously!  I have subscriptions to MacWorld, Time, and Entertainment Weekly and I’m looking forward to reading all of them in print and electronically on my iPad.  I have no idea if/when MacWorld and EW are coming to iPad.  So far, only People and Time are confirmed.  More electronic magazine subscriptions are likely to start showing up soon on the iPad if a report in Fortune is correct.

    AppleInsider.com writes:

    According to Philip Elmer-DeWitt of Fortune, Time Inc. broke the impasse  that has existed for months between publishers and Apple. He said that Time’s other publications are expected to follow the same path as People in the next 30 days, including Fortune, Time, and Sports Illustrated.

    “It’s not clear what took so long,” Elmer-DeWitt wrote. “Publishers who were encouraged to build iPad apps by Steve Jobs himself say they were ready from the start to make them free to subscribers. Until now, however, Apple would neither give them the tools they needed, nor explain what was holding them up.”

    He added: “The publishers still can’t sell subscriptions through the App Store, which is how they would prefer to do it.”

    If you have a subscription to People magazine, you can get the digital subscription goodness right now. [App Store link]

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  • blackberry,  blackberry os,  bold,  curve,  torch,  tour

    Getting To Know BlackBerry Messenger

    August 20, 2010 /

    Hey BlackBerry addicts!  Are you using BBM?  Don’t know what BBM is?  It’s BlackBerry Messenger an instant messaging app specifically for BlackBerry users!

    So what can you do with BlackBerry Messenger?  It allows you to send IM messages to other BlackBerry users in your contacts list.  Some of the features include being able to send messages without character limits; receive real-time notification when a message is delivered and read; send pictures and videos to multiple BBM users; and share what music you are listening to on your BB.

    Hit the Read more link to see a video of BBM in action.

    Ready to get started?  Head over to the BlackBerry website to install the software on your phone.

    Before you can get started with BlackBerry Messenger, your BlackBerry must be running BlackBerry OS 4.5 or later.  That means that most BlackBerry Curve and later devices will be supported, however, you may need to update your phone’s operating system before you can install.

    If you really want to learn the ins and outs of BBM, you can download the manual from the BlackBerry support website.

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  • apple,  iphone

    Quickly Identifying an iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3GS

    August 20, 2010 /

    This just goes to show that you really can learn something new everyday!  Today I learned how to tell an iPhone 3G and an iPhone 3GS apart without having to look at software, hardware rev numbers or any thing else.

    All you have to do is to take a look at the back of the iPhone.  If the lettering of the word “iPhone” is in chrome like the Apple logo above it, then you are looking at an iPhone 3GS.

    Thanks to the good folks at DirectFix.com for point this out.  You can read their blog post on the subject here.

    By the way, I’m still looking to buy someones iPhone 3G or 3GS as long as it is still in good working condition.

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  • apple,  blackberry,  blackberry os,  bold,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod,  rim,  torch,  touch

    Facebook Updated for iOS, BlackBerry OS

    August 19, 2010 /

    Along side the Facebook website upgrade, the iPhone and BlackBerry mobile Facebook applications have also been upgraded to versions 3.2 and 1.8.0.49, respectively.

    Use the App Store and BlackBerry App World to install or upgrade your software now.

    If you don’t want to use Facebook Places, or you want to keep your friends from checking you into Places, be sure to update your Facebook privacy settings.

    UPDATE:

    The iOS edition of Facebook has been updated again.  This time to version 3.2.1.  This latest updates includes “bug fixes” and limited the Places feature to iDevices here in the United States for the time being.

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  • centro,  lifedrive,  microsoft,  palm desktop,  palm os,  treo,  windows

    HotSync Guidelines for Windows 7, Windows Vista

    August 16, 2010 /

    Since getting back to (almost) daily Palm support forms moderation duty, I’ve been reading a lot of posts from people asking how to sync their Palm OS PDA, Centro, or Treo with Windows Vista or Windows 7.

    The answer largely depends on what version of Windows you have installed on your PC.  If you are still running the insanely popular Windows XP, you can safely stay put with Palm Desktop 4.1.x or 4.2.

    If you are running Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you really should be using Palm Desktop 6.2.2 by ACCESS.  This version is compatible with Vista and unofficially compatible with Windows 7.  (Neither Palm nor ACCESS have gone back and retested Palm Desktop 6.2.2 under Windows 7, but it does work.)

    You can download Palm Desktop 6.2.2 from the Palm support website.  Be sure to read the release notes fully before installing the software on your Windows PC.  (By the way, Palm Desktop 6.2.2 does work with Windows XP.)

    The tricky part comes in when you are running a 64-bit version of Windows XP, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.  There are no 64-bit compatible USB HotSync drivers available, so you have to jump through some hoops to make your Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or IR enabled Palm OS device sync with your 64-bit Windows PC.

    The good folks over on the Palm Support Community forums have written up a good primer on how to make your old Palm OS handheld or handset work with Microsoft’s newest desktop operating systems.

    For more details on how to setup your Palm TX, T5, LifeDrive, Zire, Treo, or Centro syncing with Windows 7 or Windows Vista, check out the Palm Support Community forums thread: Windows 7 and Vista HotSync Instructions.  You’ll be glad you did.

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  • apple,  evo,  iphone

    iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo 4G

    August 14, 2010 /

    My friend Mark sent me a link to this video a few days ago and it is perfect for some weekend phone humor.

    Be warned that this is the clean version of the video. There is a not safe for family/work version floating around on YouTube.com also.

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  • blackberry,  blackberry os,  rim,  torch

    BlackBerry Desktop Manager 6 Rolls Out

    August 13, 2010 /

    I was greeted this morning to an upgrade notice on my Windows 7 PC that an update was available for BlackBerry Desktop to version 6.0.  The software was released earlier this week and the download comes in at just under 100MB.

    According to the BlackBerry Desktop 6 release notes, the new software has the following new features:

    • An improved, simpler design for the software
    • Added BlackBerry® Media Sync features to import and synchronize your media files (music, pictures, and videos) from one location
    • Option to synchronize your music by artist and genre
    • Support for the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 and the BlackBerry® Curve™ 9300 Smartphones
    • Wi-Fi music sync for devices running BlackBerry OS 6.0 when the PC and BlackBerry are on the same wireless network

    The update also includes some minor software updates.  Enterprise users will want to check with their IT administrations before installing the latest desktop software because “some features that will not be available which may affect some users.”  These features include Certificate Synchronization and Encrypted media card transfer support.  For more details, take a look at BlackBerry KB article 23745.

    The full BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0.0 release notes can be found on the BlackBerry support website.

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  • apple,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  itunes,  mac os x,  windows

    Apple Releases iOS 3.2.2, 4.0.2 Updates

    August 12, 2010 /

    Apple has released minor iOS updates for iPad (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G) and iPhone (4, 3GS, and 3G) and iPod touch (second and third edition) to address a Safari PDF security flaw.

    Hackers were able to use the Safari exploit to “jailbreak” iOS devices to run applications that had not been approved by Apple.  However, that same exploit could be used to allow an attacker to gain control of your iDevice remotely.

    If you are running a stock iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, connect your device to your Mac or PC running iTunes and hit the Update button on the Summary tab for your device.

    The update weighs in at about 457MB for my Wi-Fi edition iPad.  The package size might be smaller for the iPhone and iPod touch.

    If you are on of the folks that doesn’t like to be told how to use your device by Apple, and have gone ahead and jailbroken your device, you will want to wait until there is a new “adjective”sn0w update that allows you to patch your device and exploit a different vulnerability to load unauthorized applications on your iDevice.  Proceed with caution.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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