Borland's answer to Microsoft's Express

Okay, for the uninitiated, first some clarification (those who understood the blog title can skip to the next paragraph). Firstly, Microsoft's Express refers to the set of free development products Microsoft has released called Visual Studio Express - which includes Visual Basic Express - and SQL Server 2005 Express. These free products are stripped-down entry level versions of their Visual Studio (.Net) 2005 Windows and Web Development suites, as well as a stripped down version of Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 database. Borland, previously known as Inprise before changing its name back to Borland, makes world-class development tools, very popular in Europe. Delphi is a Development tool which was first released after Visual Basic, but was always ahead with innovative features which appeared in later Visual Basic versions.

Borland has announced the availability of the "Turbo Explorer" family of products (see this review in PC Magazine), which includes Turbo Delphi, Turbo C++ and Turbo C# among others. According to Borland's press release, the "Turbo Explorer editions, available as a free download, are fixed, all-in-one solutions that let programmers learn and develop in a single language and platform environment.". The development tools are available here. I can't wait to start "playing" with Delphi Turbo, it will be interesting to compare it to Visual Basic Express.

Borland first released a free version of Delphi, called "Delphi 6 Personal Edition", way back in 2001, and also released an open source version of their Interbase database server.

Battery Malfunction

After all the news about the exploding notebook batteries, I remembered that I had a similar experience with a Dell. It was a Dell Axim Pocket PC, and the battery was not from Sony. I had bought an extended battery for my Dell Axim from a highly rated seller on eBay. When I tried to put the fully charged battery into the Pocket PC it ignited. Fortunately the handheld wasn't damaged. After sending the photos below to the seller I got a full refund (for the battery):

First Picture

Second Picture

The Browser that could

A few months back I realized that my web browser of choice had become Firefox. This was despite my desire to avoid hype and stick to Mozilla's original "Seamonkey" browser suite (not to be confused with the new Mozilla Seamonkey browser suite!). Trying to identify how this happened, I think it was when Firefox improved to the point that it could handle most websites. Also, I finally had found enough add-ons to customize Firefox the way I wanted it. Even when add-ons were not updated to keep compatibility with newer versions of Firefox (like PrefBar), there are so many out there that finding a replacement is easy. The built-in password manager works with most sites and is free.

The only web browser which may have a chance of dethroning Firefox as my browser of choice is Opera. Completely free since version 8.5 or so, Opera features everything Firefox has and more. Since version 9 Opera has a built-in BitTorrent client - useful for downloading "Virtual Appliances" for VMware, which are often only available in BitTorrent format. Also, you can sign up for the free Opera Community which allows you to create a website and a blog, among other things. There is also a version of Opera for cellphones and other mobile devices. My Sharp Zaurus Linux-based handheld came with Opera pre-loaded. Opera for Pocket PCs really rocks. Although not free, it is the fastest browser for Pocket PCs, and easily displays websites which choke Pocket Internet Explorer.

Smart and smarter

In my previous Blog "Returning the Q", I was not knocking the Motorola Q so much as highlighting some of the confusion caused by the Windows Mobile Operating System on cellphones. It seems like there are two distinct flavors of the Windows Mobile 5 OS: Pocket PC (which can also run on some cellphones), and "Windows Mobile powered smartphones" (Microsoft's terminology)

On the Microsoft Windows Mobile Website, one of their FAQs tried to answer the question:

Q: What'’s the difference between a Pocket PC and a Smartphone?

"A: Pocket PCs come with mobile versions of Office applications in addition to Microsoft Outlook Mobile. Though there are different Pocket PCs, many come with Wi-Fi to enable you to connect to the Internet when you are in a wireless hotspot. With a Pocket PC, you'll be able to use Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile and browse the Internet if you have a device with Wi-Fi and are in a wireless hotspot.
You can compose e-mail messages and send them by synchronizing with your desktop computer or wirelessly when you're in a hotspot. You can do everything with a Pocket PC Phone that you can do with a Pocket PC with the addition of wireless access to the Internet and cellular phone capabilities. If you have a Pocket PC Phone, you can access the Internet through your wireless connection - you won't need to find a wireless hotspot.
You can add a wide variety of software titles to your Pocket PC and Pocket PC Phone..."

Here's the smartphone which is not a Pocket PC phone:

"A smartphone has phone capabilities and comes with a smaller set of applications. though you can add third-party software titles to your smartphone, the smaller keypad and screen are designed to give you quick one-handed access to important data. A smartphone is a good choice for business users who need to check e-mail, keep track of their calendars, and take voice notes, but who don't need the added functionality of Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, and PowerPoint Mobile. If you find yourself wanting more functions after you've purchased your device, there are good third-party software titles designed to extend the capabilities of a Windows Mobile powered smartphone."

A few weeks back I spent some time with a Sierra Voq smartphone. Although it wasn't running the latest version of Windows Mobile. I soon realized that it was a smartphone and not a Pocket PC phone. I could "extend its capabilities" by installing some applications (like SplashID for Windows Mobile Smartphones), but other's, like DayNotez, only have a version for phones running the full Windows Mobile Pocket PC, not the smartphone edition.

So, when hunting for a smartphone, some smartphones are smarter than others, so smart that they are Pocket PC smartphones. Of course, at the moment Palm OS based smartphones are extra smart, and who knows about Sybian-based smartphones. Linux based ones will naturally be smarter...

Returning the Q

Verizon is experiencing an unusually large percentage of Motorola Q returns, according to MobileWhack

Verizon had the following answers to customers complaints:

"The Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition does not come with and WILL NOT run Microsoft Office for Pocket PC (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). The Motorola Q will however open email attachments for viewing only. These include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDFs and many graphic files. It CANNOT create or modify attachments or any documents."

The Touch Screen Does Not Work:
"This Motorola Q, unlike all Windows based and Palm based devices currently in our lineup, does not use a stylus or have touch screen functionality. This is by design to provide one-hand functionality."

The Treo 700w which is not nearly as slim and sexy as the Motorola Q runs Windows 5.0 Mobile Edition, and features a touch screen, as well as Pocket Office - a pocket version of Microsoft Office. Palm-based Treo's also have this functionality which the Motorola Q lacks..

Free Virtual PC

I wasn't surprised to read on the StrongCross blog (which seems to be temporarily down) that Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 is now free. This is the way Microsoft has dealt with competition since the "Browser Wars". The competition in this case is VMware, who have a free VMware Player and VMware Server. VMware also has a full range of virtualization products which run on both Windows and Linux.
Virtual PC 2004 is similar to VMware Workstation in that it allows you to create Virtual Machines on Windows 2000 or later Operating Systems.

Okay, after that techno-speak explanation, basically both products allow you to run another Operating System in its own environment. So you could have Windows 98 running in a window on Windows XP, and install programs on Windows 98 which would not know about the Host Operating System (Windows XP in this example). Virtual PC officially supports DOS and most flavors of Windows. Unofficially it also can run some Linux distributions and other Operating Systems (see "What works and what doesn't in Microsoft Virtual PC 2004" here).

It's a great way to have a test box to try out programs - when you shutdown an Operating System in Virtual PC you have the choice of keeping any changes or discarding them. There is also a choice to keep changes separate and merge them later.

Virtual PC 2004 is easier to use than VMware Workstation, but that comes at the price of flexibility and powerful features. Virtual PC doesn't emulate USB ports, whereas VMware Workstation does (although only USB 1.1). VMware Workstation of course isn't free, but VMware Player is. VMware Player allows you to run Virtual Machines (called "Appliances") others have made.

LG VX8300, one month later

The Verizon LG VX8300 after a month:



Initially I had tested the phone, and really liked it. My wife said we could swap, and I was really tempted. However, apart from having to transfer our cellphone numbers, I didn't want to jeopardize the Amazon rebate for the Motorola RAZR V3c. I had read that they make sure that a phone is still activated to the buyer before actually sending the rebate.
Anyway, my wife says she hasn't liked a cellphone so much since the Ericsson (T series?) phone she had in South Africa about ten years ago. Ease of use is one of the great aspects of the LG.

My opinion of the LG VX8300 has not changed, and I'm looking forward to trying it out with a microSD Card soon. In the meanwhile I use the RAZR, its only highlight being its small size.

LG? No, give me Cadbury

Okay, so Cadbury's chocolate is edible (very edible!), and LG Chocolate is a cellphone aka the LG VX8500.



PC Magazine has gone nutty and given the LG Chocolate its "Editor's Choice" award. This for a cellphone without a speakerphone, crippled by Verizon and according to PC Magazine's otherwise too sweet review: "The Chocolate's buttons take some time to get used to".
CNET is more to the point and their review says "The LG Chocolate's unique touch pad and controls entail a steep learning curve, and the phone suffers from poor streaming video quality and low talk-time battery life. The lack of a speakerphone is disappointing."

If I read it right, this is a cellphone with awkward buttons, poor battery life and worth considering only if you must have the latest, coolest gadget. Okay, but no thanks.

Yet another fake Apple iPhone?

This one, from Engadget, is apparently a fake picture:



I'd like to see what the Apple (i)Phone will look like if and when it does come out..

Updated Cellphones getting smarter

The only thing I've updated here are the example cellphones

First a cellphone with a keyboard which is almost a smartphone, but not quite, the LG VX9800 (aka the V):



When opened it has a full QWERTY keyboard:



This is a text messaging and music phone on steroids, and has a calendar with scheduler, an alarm clock, a calculator and a notepad. But it is not a smartphone.

Then there is the T-Mobile SDA, called the HTC Tornado elsewhere:



PCWorld listed it as one of the Top 10 Standard Cell Phones in this article , but CNET rightly referred to it as a "Windows Mobile 5 smart phone" in their review.
It doesn't have a keyboard, but runs the Windows Mobile 5 Operating system.

Cellphones getting smarter

Cellphones are getting smaller and smaller but also getting smarter, while adding features which were previously only found on smartphones - To Do Lists, Calendars with appointments, synchronization with PCs, World Clocks, email and now playing MP3 Music files.

According to this Wikipedia definition, a smartphone is "any electronic handheld device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or other information appliance."

However, in the same article, they go on to say "It is increasingly difficult to define exactly what qualifies as a 'smartphone'. Nearly all new mobile phones have some rudimentary PDA functionality such as phonebooks, calendars, and task list"

Even an assumption that a smartphone should have a keyboard can be wrong. Take the case of the Nokia 6810:



When opened it has a full QWERTY keyboard, interesting:



It is not a smartphone, but instead is a text messaging phone.

Then there is the Motorola MPx200:



No keyboard, but it runs Windows Mobile 2002, and is therefore a smartphone (see Wikipedia's article)

I'm sure there are other, better and more up to date examples, but I couldn't think of any. Maybe Engadget Mobile will help me.

By the way, thanks to the General for pointing out Engadget Mobile, which surely must be the mother of all Mobile Technology sites.

Big and Smart

Unlike the svelte Motorola Q smartphone, some early smartphones were really big.

I got to thinking, what is the biggest Smartphone out there? Is it the Sierra Wireless Voq A11 with dimensions of 5.25" x 2.16" x 0.96" (133 x 55 x 24 mm) and weighing 5.11 oz (145 g)?



This smartphone has neither a camera nor Bluetooth, but does have a cool flip open QWERTY keyboard:



But it is easily overshadowed by the huge Hitachi G1000 Pocket PC Phone, which weighs in at 8.4 oz (238 g) with dimensions of 5.8" x 3.3" x .9" (147 x 84 x 23 mm).



The Hitachi G1000 has a 3.5" 320 x 240 pixel color transflective display, a standard QWERTY keyboard layout and an integrated VGA digital camera.

The first GSM Pocket PC 2002 Phone from T-Mobile weighed in at 6.80 oz (193 g) and was 5.08" x 2.87" x 0.71" (129 x 73 x 18 mm), with no keyboard:




To get away from Microsoft OS based smartphones, the first Treo Phone, the Treo 270 weighed 5.40 oz (153 g), and was 4.20" x 2.80" x 0.82" (107 x 71 x 21 mm).



There are a number of smartphones reviewed at MobileTechReview.com

Ubuntu #1

Ubuntu Linux 6.06 is the number one Linux distribution according to DistroWatch.
The All about Linux Blog refers to the "Kubuntu" variant of Ubuntu as "An excellent Linux distribution"

Microsoft's planned iPod Rival

From My Way News - Microsoft Confirms Plans for IPod Rival. According to this article, and the BBC News article "Zune challenge beckons for iPod", the name of the new device is the "Zune".

Somehow Listen to a tune on a Zune is not that catchy...

Spyware!

I was going to call this entry "Spyware Begone!" but that is the name of a dubious-looking spyware scanner.

I recently tested a trial version of an AntiSpyware program from Ashampoo. Firstly, the company is aptly named, because although they produce some good utilities, it is a shame how they use spamming to sell their products (pooh!). They are generous with their trial periods though - usually 10 days, and then if you give them your email address you get another 30 days for a total of 40 days. Unfortunately the Ashampoo AntiSpyware program refused to update its definitions as it was a trial version. That sucked, as most other AntiSpyware programs will update to the latest definitions during their (admittedly shorter) trial periods. Then the program to over an hour to do the scan - okay, it was running on a 500MHz machine, but I have read complaints elsewhere that it is slow. Finally it found 800 plus cookies. I wasn't impressed. The program is advertised for $29.99. Not too long after registering for the extended trial I got an email advertising the program for 50% off, if I buy it now. If I ignore this email (which I will), I'll get another offer in a few days time for about 40% off the full price (better buy it now, the discounts are getting less!).

I bought ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite from ZoneLabs. During its 15-day trial on another machine, I got rid of a pesky folder which opened with Windows on every startup, no matter what I tried, as well as some other less innocuous spyware. Much better than Ashampoo AntiSpyware,

To Ashampoo's credit I have bought several of their software titles - Ashampoo WinOptimizer Platinum is one I use almost every day.

LG VX8300 thoughts

"The recipient" read the"No end in sight" blog entry over my shoulder and let me order the LG VX8300 cellphone.

Before I get to the cellphone some mild gripes about Verizon's online ordering service. Although I supplied an email address they didn't send any order confirmation. They also didn't email me when the phone shipped. However it arrived on the Tuesday after being ordered on Saturday evening.
What always amazes me are how small the boxes are that cellphones are packed in. The Verizon boxes seem particularly small.
Okay, the contents, I know, I know.

I'm not going to do a full review as there is a fairly good one (albeit badly in need of a spellchecker) with pictures at HowardForums.
Admittedly it is bigger and thicker and doesn't look quite as cool as the RAZR.
However, unlike some other LG cellphones I have seen though (notably the VX5200), it looks professional.

Okay, first my doubts - I'm not sure how good the RF would be it borderline areas with patchy coverage. In pseudo-scientific tests, when one bar of signal strength showed, conversations tended to break up a lot.

As a counterpoint, when the signal strength is two bars or more, conversations are clear. The microphone also doesn't pick up as much wind noise as that of the RAZR.

Customization is a pleasure with the VX8300. I liked being able to silence the Verizon power on and power off jingles. The backlight of both the main screen and the keypad can be set to "Always On". Unfortunately the brightness of the main screen cannot be adjusted though. This would make it more readable in sunlight, but it is already miles better than the screen of the RAZR.
The Flash Lite interface offers two animated interface themes in addition to Verizon's standard interface themes.

I prefer the way that LG handles messages (showing unread/total), as well as the way speed dial numbers can be assigned to numbers after the fact. The keypad is easy to use, and it didn't take long for me to get used to the layout.

Although the LG VX8300 is bigger and bulkier than the RAZR, I would swop in a heartbeat

Windows 98 Permanent Shutdown

Microsoft shuts down Windows 98 from The BBC

No end in sight

This hunt is tiring me out. If it was for a cellphone for myself I would have ordered my top choice today just to get it over with. However since the recipient has said I should wait another week...
At the moment my top choice is the LG VX8300.



I have overcome my dislike for LG handsets after spending a week with the low-end LG VX5200. Its main screen is readable in direct sunlight, and the phone is a lot more customizable than my Motorola RAZR V3c, allowing the power on and power off tunes to be turned off, something I would love to do with my RAZR. Still, I would not swap the RAZR for the LG VX5200.
Okay, so why the LG VX8300? Ease of use is one reason. It also appears to be the smallest and lightest cellphone featuring an memory card - this is excluding the RAZR V3m, which is not even in the running. The only "Con" from the CNET editors' review was "The LG VX8300's Bluetooth feature does not support file transfers." which of course applies to all Verizons cellphones. My second choice is the Samsung SCH-A930, its main disadvantages being the skimpy external display and unusual rectangular shape.



It may cool and different look different but oddly shaped phones are more difficult to hold.

Then there is the Motorola E815, which is unfortunately a bit too large and "long in the tooth".

No Rumors Rule

I'm not one for spreading technology rumors. Yet an interesting one about Microsoft has emerged : that Microsoft is working on an "iPod killer". This story has been spreading like wildfire - its even being mentioned in magazines like PC World "Next iPod Killer - From Microsoft?" (so far, there hasn't been an iPod killer, so maybe they mean next attempt at an iPod killer),
PC Magazine "Microsoft's iPod Killer Plan".
Even Fox News has a story "Sources: Microsoft's 'iPod Killer' to Hit Stores by Christmas" (Oh, it must be true!).
Of course the tech rumor site Engadget has "blurry pictures"

It sort of makes sense that Microsoft would go after the lucrative MP3 Player market. Time will tell though.

Y.A.C.H.

Yet Another Cellphone Hunt, and so soon.

No, I didn't return the RAZR V3c.

My wife's cellphone contract ends soon and I'm looking for the best deal I can get for her. The criteria is different of course, and now, so soon after the last purchase I'm hopefully a bit wiser. This time I don't want to buy a cellphone which is replaced by an upgraded model within a month. Also, my desire for high tech needs to be balanced with ease of use and practicality issues. The simplest route would be to get the Motorola RAZR V3m, as the V3c is quite easy to use - except outside in sunlight where the main (internal) screen washes out in bright light, and is totally unreadable.

Verizon's choice of phones is somewhat limited. Sure they have Smartphones, and Camera/Video/Music phones and simple phones. But there are no Sony Ericsson models and Nokia has stopped making CDMA phones. Basically the big names are Motorola and Samsung. Then there is LG, which used to stand for Lucky Goldstar, but now on the company's website it seems they prefer "Life's Good" (Good for the company's owners/shareholders or for their customers?).

At first my main criterion was for Tri-mode phones - in the CDMA world this means phones with analog roaming capabilities. The idea behind this is that the old Analog networks pretty much cover the whole US, so if you travel a lot (or surprisingly, just around Long Island) you should always get a cellular signal, even when their is no digital signal. Anyway, after owning three Motorola cellphones in a row (including the Motorola RAZR V3c), with a detour into smartphones with the Palm Treo 600, I naturally first looked at the Motorolas.

To my surprise, the only Motorola tri-mode cellphone currently available for Verizon is the Motorola V325. I don’t particularly like it, but it got added to the shortlist. The only other tri-mode cellphones were some LGs. Verizon has very few analog-capable handsets. Sprint, on the other hand, carries a large number of analog-capable handsets. However, from my personal experience with Sprint's customer service, or lack there of, I would not deal with them again.

The Sprint story:
The first cellphone I owned in the US was a dual-mode Samsung on the Sprint network. I didn't use it much, as it was mainly for emergencies (cellphones were regarded as a required safety device in South Africa). Then the earpiece stopped working. Of course the phone's 12-month warranty had expired. I phoned Sprint's Customer Service, who basically said "Sorry, there is not much we can do, come in and buy another phone and sign up for another contract". Instead I saw a free phone advertised with a years contract with AT&T Wireless, and signed up with them. Of course when I called to cancel my Sprint month-to-month account, they decided they could offer me a free phone. Too late, I told them.

To get back to Verizon, I read somewhere that they were scaling back their Analog network. So I began looking at their "All Digital" handsets.

Another cellphone hunt continues...