GUIDES [WM]: How to Increase Battery Charge Life (On Android - Pre"Android Guides") - General Questions and Answers

GUIDES [WM]: How to Increase Battery Charge Life (On Android - Pre"Android Guides")
DO NOT POST IN THIS THREAD BEFORE READING THE WHOLE POST
PLEASE ADD GUIDES TO COMMON ISSUES YOURSELVES
I decided to open this thread as i saw a lot of people having the same problems. this might help with the "search" issue.
I will try to be as precise as possible while writing the guides so that when you search for something you will find it.
I will dedicate 1 post per guide as to keep everything as neat as possible (if you have comments about any of the guides.. or want to add something, please pm me).
the thread will not be closed but i urge you to post only if you have a guide to post.
also, if you decide to post a guide, please keep the guide as neat as possible, with a title containing the common searched words so that people who look for it can find it easily. (if you can, use the same color (dark orange) and same size (4) and Bold.. for the main title.. tho that's not a must )
I volunteer in a community which helps deserted/hurt animals.
i ask you to open your hearts and donate if you find any of these guides useful. I will work hard on these guides and supply as many as i can to draw as many donations as i can. whoever donates will be listed in this very post.
all donations go to that service.. as my paypal is shared with them. THANK YOU
this donation link will be presented with each guide for your convenience:
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)
Hope this helps a lot of you.
cheers
post #2. Restoring Data/Recovering Data from Devices and Storage Cards (even pcs)
post #3. Automatically Syncing Through Bluetooth (ActiveSync) [UPDATED 8.6.09]
post #4. A Definitive Guide to Bluetooth Services + Bluetooth Stacks
post #5. Setting Specific File Associations
post #6. Drive Mapping or "how the hell can i see my PC drives on my PDA?"
post #7. Storage card as a Removable Device instead of ActiveSyncing or "USBtoPC"
post #8. "How to backup your contacts/messages/email/notes/data/system...etc."
post #9. "How to Toggle Bluetooth/Wifi using Hardware buttons"
post #10. "How to control my PC through my PDA?" or "Remote Controls" (Media and more) [UPDATED 8.6.09]
post #11. "How to show Network Info/Network Info using a Today Plug-in
post #12. "How to control my PDA through my PC?"
post #13. "How to make the grey lines between the today screen plugins disppear?"
post #14. "How to stop activesync from turning itself on all the time?"
post #15. "Which shell is the best shell?"
post #16. "Which shell is the best shell?" - continued
post #17. "How to enhance Messaging?" or SMS Applications
post #18. "How to install M2D and change M2D skins?"
post #19. "How to remap hardware buttons?"
Post #20. "How to upgrade my device?" or "How to flash a rom?" (Referances)
Post #21. "How to 'safely' remove applications?" or "Remove Programs"
Post #22. "How to remove unwanted SIP's (Input Methods/Virtual Keyboards)?"
Post #23. "How to retrieve CAB Files from PC Installation Files" or "Retrieve CABs"
Post #25. "Registry Tweaks for Volume" by Aegishua
Post #26. "Flashing ROMS from SD card/Internal Storage/Bootloader"
Post #27. an addition to "Setting URL Associations" by selyb
Post #28. an addition to "How to retrieve CAB Files from PC Installation Files" or "Retrieve CABs" by Farmer Ted
Post #29. "How to add your City to both manila 2d and 3d" by timmymarsh
Posts #30-33. "How to: Edit the registry" by wg5566

Restoring Data/Recovering Data from Devices and Storage Cards (even pcs)
A lot of people have had this problem lately.. where they were losing important information to defects and malfunctions.
Restoring from Storage Card:
1. first and most important thing is, after losing your data DO NOT COPY ANYTHING to your storage card or it will overwrite the current data (yes, the data still exists but the pointers were deleted)
2. download Active Recovery: http://www.file-recovery.net/
3. use a card reader to read the card through your computer. DO NOT FORMAT IT!
4. use active recovery to recover from Removable Device
Recovering from My Storage (internal storage)
1. first and most important thing is, after losing your data DO NOT COPY ANYTHING to your device or it will overwrite the current data (yes, the data still exists but the pointers were deleted)
2. download Active Recovery: http://www.file-recovery.net/
3. download nueMassStorage (or any other USBtoPC app. you can find a guide for it in this thread so you can choose the most compatible software for you if nueMassStorage doesn't work): http://www.nuerom.com/BlogEngine/page/nueMassStorage.aspx
4. go to start/settings/connections/USB to PC and mark Mass Storage (USB Drive) instead of Activesync
5. Soft Reset
6. connect your device to your comp. the device will be read as a storage card.
7. use active recovery to recover from Removable Disk
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Automatically Syncing Through Bluetooth (ActiveSync)
I've noticed that many people are looking for a solution to automatically sync their devices using ActiveSync bluetooth sync.
Setting up automated Bluetooth ActiveSync
[Update 6.8.09]
Solved! This new tools provides you with the ability to autosync to a specific computer through bluetooth, allowing you to set intervals, enable or disable the autosync and select which computer you'd like to connect to.
Auto Activesync via BT (when in range) by user dmkpoznan
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=530327
THIS IS FREEWARE
[/Update]
for this... you will need 2 tools and one script
1. MortScript - http://www.sto-helit.de/downloads/mortscript/MortScript-4.1.zip
2. BlueStarter - http://smartmobiletools.freehostia.com/drupal2/system/files/BlueStarterCab.CAB
3. BTSync script (written by le_cactus) - included in this post (downstairs)
these are the steps you need to follow:
1. install mortscript
2. install bluestarter
3. put the script file in a dir of your choice
4. launch bluestarter
5. set the bluetooth device you want to sync with (all should appear in a dropbox)
6. write the path of the script file (e.g. \\storage card\\BTSync.mscr)
7. go to menu/interval config and choose the way you want to sync..
8. (DONT FORGET THIS STEP) open the script file and change all NIR36-PC to the name of your bluetooth connection, that is to your comp's name.
A few clarifications.
- if you set the interval to "On Power Button Pressed" a BTSync connection will occur EVERY time you wake your device up
- if you set the interval to "Time Interval" it will sync every set amount of time.. and even if you're sleeping and your comp is on it will sync and stay synced.. so it may drain your battery.
- in any case, if your comp is off, it will try to sync but nothing will happen.
if you're looking for a normal BTSync without an interval you can just set one of the hardware buttons to run the .mscr
cheers
If you found this guide helpful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)
BTSync File

A Definitive Guide to Bluetooth Services + Bluetooth Stacks
This is an old guide i wrote about 10 months ago. might help you out.
After a lot of strugle with using Wireless Headsets, Serial Ports, Activesync over BT and Sideshow... i managed to have them all work.. on VISTA and XP.
So i decided to write a fully detailed tutorial for whoever needs it.
Bluetooth Services Guide (including repairing commom bluetooth sync problem)
1. Know your Stack.
if your stack is the toshiba one, when you right click on the bt trayicon you should see OPTIONS..
if your stack is the microsoft one, ... well.. you will not see OPTIONS
2. before starting to deal with services i suggest you download one of the stacks below, according to your demand, and install them. also install Windows Mobile Device Center (from now on WMDC).
This is WMDC6.1 x86...
http://rapidshare.com/files/120340376/MobileDeviceCenter6.1-x86.exe.html
These are both the LATEST versions of both stacks: (up until the day of posting this message of course )
TOSHIBA STACK:
http://rapidshare.com/files/120186967/TOSHIBA_BTSTACK.zip
MS STACK:
http://rapidshare.com/files/120187911/MS_BTSTACK.exe
i strongly suggest you keep both files on your comp as a cover for any services one might provide while the other doesn't.
to save you the trouble. (after a correction from Jadel):
MS Stack works with both Activesync AND sideshow.
TOSHIBA Stack is problematic although more userfriendly AND provides some different options which might come handy. i had to go thru a ****load of trouble to sync it with Vista... and syncing it with XP isn't a teaparty either.
3. after finding out which one you have we can begin.
AS - ActiveSync.
this will probably be the most problematic service to have working since a lot of times it DOESNT APPEAR AS A SERVICE. when you try to sync with the comp it tells you you have to pair it.. even tho the device is already paired with the comp.
XP might be more flexible with this but the solution is for both XP and VISTA.
To Async using TOSHIBA Stack do the following:
a. open Control Panel and open the BT Ports editor..
b. add a port and choose it as a Server.. (usually it rounds up to ports 6 or 7 but you may have to try others..)
c. go to WMDC/Connection Settings and mark "Allow connections to one of the following.." and choose the port you created.
d. on your device go to Bluetooth Settings and add a new device... put the desired passkey... and you should see a list of the services the computer provides the PDA.
e. now this is a bit tricky to deal with. sometimes ActiveSync might not appear there. if it doesn't, go to COM Ports (in bluetooth settings on your device) and add the COM port you added on your comp..
go back to Devices and choose your comp and click Refresh. if ActiveSync appears there, mark it. if it doesn't, you should delete your comp from your device and this time add the port BEFORE finding your comp. it that doesn't work, you should follow the links i will provide soon.
f. on your device, open ActiveSync and under Menu choose Connect Via Bluetooth.
To Async using MICROSOFT Stack do the following:
a. open Control Panel and open Bluetooth Devices
b. click Add and add your device. go to Options and mark "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer" and "Allow Bluetooth Devices to connec to this computer". you can also mark other options as desired.
c. go to COM ports and add an INCOMING port. it will choose a port for you automatically.
d. go to WMDC/Connection Settings and mark "Allow connections to one of the following.." and choose the port you created.
e. go back to Devices and choose your PDA. choose Properties and go to Services. there you should see all services your PDA provides. one of them should be Active Sync Bluetooth Service. mark it and click OK. your comp and PDA should connect and disconnect a few secs later.
f. on your device, open ActiveSync and under Menu choose Connect Via Bluetooth.
(if these methods don't work you should follow the reference links in the below post).
SP - Serial Port.
some services demand a serial port. for instance, if you're using the Desktop iGO8 and would like to connect a BT GPS receiver to your comp the serial port service must be enabled. i found TOSHIBA's stack to be much more flexible concerning port usage. in Control panel you have a BT Ports icon somewhere.. if you double click on it.. it will let you play with the ports and change them to help you adjust various devices as well as use the ports as Clients or as Servers. this is important for ActiveSync as well (depending on the device).
An example:
Ipaq's Desktop iGO8 supports a Bluetooth GPS receiver. to use it, you have to define a COM port (just as we did for activesync, depending on your stack)...
you will have to define a port for the receiver and make sure the Serial Port service is marked or the program will not identify the PDA. some programs might NOT need this service at all.
(of course, this is only for people who want to use their PDA's GPS receiver. people who have a seperate GPS receiver might get the port number automatically when pairing it with the computer or have to find the correct port themselves (in older receivers).
also, to use the Networking feature you have to use the Serial port service. (i will post links for this as well).
WH - I would prefer leaving this for later as i play with it a little further.
SS - Sideshow. (Vista Users)
i tried using sideshow on 3 different devices. Wizard, Polaris and Titan.
all 3 came out with nothing when i used the TOSHIBA stack. the devices didn't discover the SideShow service even tho it was installed on my comp and my device was paired with the comp.
now if you're using the MICROSOFT stack.. it's a whole different area.
Alright. so a little batch of detailed insturctions about using this:
(during the process make sure your device is DISCOVERABLE)
IMPORTANT! you should make sure the Sideshow software is active on your device while doing this. i tried syncing the service once with it on and once off and it sorta confused me. so we'll just agree on having it ON.
To use sideshow using TOSHIBA Stack do the following:
a. on your device, go to Bluetooth Settings
b. add your device.
c. look for the Sideshow service in the list. if it's there, Mark it, (on your comp) go to control panel, go to sideshow, and you should be able to mark V on the gadgets you'd like to use.
d. if it's not there, you should add a port on both your device and your computer. the ports should match.
e. go back to devices and refresh the Services list.
f. to my knowledge, if it doesn't work up to this point, give it up
To use sideshow using MICROSOFT Stack do the following:
a. open Control Panel and open Bluetooth Devices
b. click Add and add your device. go to Options and mark "Allow Bluetooth devices to find this computer" and "Allow Bluetooth Devices to connect to this computer". you can also mark other options as desired.
c. go to COM ports and add an INCOMING port. it will choose a port for you automatically.
d. go to Devices and choose your PDA. choose Properties and go to Services. there you should see all services your PDA provides. one of them should be Windows Sideshow. mark it and click OK. your comp and PDA should connect and disconnect a few secs later.
e. go to control panel, go to sideshow, and you should be able to mark V on the gadgets you'd like to use.
after syncing the service and choosing the gadgets you'd like to use from Control Panel/Windows Sideshow you can go back to your device and go back to the sideshow software and click Connect....... ................. ........
TP - Technical Port (this concerns only people who use ASUS's GXP Factory PDA so if you're not, just ignore this).
for the GXP to control Wireless devices such as ELTO's waterpipe controller and Applied Materials' connectors you HAVE to have a Technical port enabled as a service. other than Serial port this is the only service the GXP provides, so you won't have much trouble enabling it as it's part of the software.. it will always appear. MAKE SURE you DO NOT create another bluetooth port as it will use it instead of the default one and you will not be able to control ANY of the wireless devices around you.
If you found this guide helpful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Setting Specific File Associations
there were a few queries about setting file/url associations.
Setting Specific File Associations
1. download Schaps' Advanced Configuration Tool from http://www.touchxperience.com/
1a. thank Schaps for creating this unbelievable tool.
2. install it and soft reset
3. open the config tool from start/prorams/advanced config
4. click menu/more settings/file associations
5. a list will load containing all file association information on your device.
6. you can choose a specific file type from the list and assign a direct path or choose the Select Program... option to assign an app to run the file. REMEMBER to click SAVE after EVERY association.
7. click close and soft reset.
Setting URL associations
This issue doesn't contain much info.
Every browser (at least to my knowledge), contains the option to choose it as the device's default browser.
when chosen, every URL ran will be loaded using that browser.
for instance, if you are using UltimateLaunch and you set an icon to run http://www.xda-developers.com, it wil be loaded using the default browser.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Drive Mapping or "how the hell can i see my PC drives on my PDA?"
Before i managed to map a drive to my ppc i lost my mind.
eventually, thanks to a user named feanor512 i managed to have it work.
This guide will provide what you need to
Map a PC drive for access through your PDA
in this guide we will use JUVS HTC Network plug-in (attached below)
1. Install the "JUVS HTC Network Plug-in" cab
(if you're having problems you can try Schap's version.. also provided below)
2. Soft Reset
3. share a drive on your comp and setup the permissions. (this is done by right clicking on the drive, going to the Sharing tab, applying a sharing name and adding permissions. you should also (if applicable) go to the Security tab and add permissions there).
(usually this is done by right clicking a folder on your comp, clicking "Share..."" choosing the user.. and approving the share.
(in vista you have to remember to go to start/control panel/network and sharing center" and "enable Network Discovery and File Sharing" and disable "Password protected sharing").
4. on your device, go to "start/settings/connection/network plugin".
5. mark "enable network folder" and click "New..."
6. ENABLE WIFI
7. write the remote path: \\IP\sharedfoldername or \\COMPNAME\\sharedfoldername (i.e. \\10.0.0.1\apps) and write the name you'd like to assign to it in Local Name.
MAKE SURE YOU WRITE THE EXACT NAME OF THE SHARED FOLDER
8. click Map Drive. a message approving the mapping should pop up.
now you should be able to access the shared folder through you PPC. it should appear in /root/Network/sharedfoldername (you can see it in your File Explorer)
TROUBLESHOOTING:
my problem.. and apparently, not only mine, was that an authentication progress was flawed and i always got a message saying i can't map the drive.
so here's a solution to this problem. (both in Vista and in XP)
written by feanor512:
1.Start.
2. Run.
3. Type "mmc".
4. Ok.
5. File.
6. Add/Remove Snap-in.
7. Group Policy Object Editor.
8. Add.
9. Finish.
10. Ok.
11. Local computer policy.
12. Computer configuration.
13. Windows settings.
14. Security settings
15. Local policies.
16. Security options.
17. Right click on "Network security: LAN Manager authentication level".
18. Choose "Properties".
19. From the drop-down box, choose one of the first three options (you'll have to experiment). (i chose the 2nd one and it works)
20. Ok.
You're invited to pm me with questions.. if something isn't clear or if you're having problems.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"storage card as a Removable Device instead of ActiveSyncing" or "USBtoPC"
USBtoPC let's you choose whether you'd like to connect your device using USB in ActiveSync mode (a slow connection but let's you sync with your PC) or Removable Device mode (a fast connection which doesn't allow syncing but allows you to see your storage card as a removable device on your PC).
there are a few solutions our there.. but not all work on all devices.
I will try to address as many devices as i can.
SOFTWARE for USBtoPC or MassStorage (and WM5torage)
1. Softick Card Export
http://www.softick.com/cardexport2/
To my knowledge, this software works on all HTC PDAs but isn't free.
It's very easy to use once installed... all you do is enable it and once connected to your PC you will see your storage card as a removable device.
2. WM5torage (current version is 1.8)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=349143
This is a freeware.. very easy to use as well. It doesn't work on all devices... for instance, on my Polaris. it shows as a removable device but doesn't allow me to open it.
3. Tweaked WM5torage
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2031817
this is a version tweaked by "lover" for Polaris and Kaiser.
4. nueMassStorage
http://www.nuerom.com/BlogEngine/page/nueMassStorage.aspx
This is a freeware...an app created by "nue2chem". it supports Titan and Vogue.
all you have to do is install it and go to start/settings/connections/USB to PC.. and check the desired option. if i'm not mistaken, no soft reset is required.
5. HTC USBtoPC (from diamond)
http://rapidshare.com/files/122045574/HTC_Diamond_USB2PC_1.0.18143432.1.cab
this acts exactly like nue2chem's app... and honestly, i don't exactly know which devices are supported... you'll have to experiment.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Backup your contacts/messages/email/notes/data/system...etc.
another common question presented in the early days of the Q&A section and is presented still is "how do i back my stuff up?"
well...
How do I backup my Contacts/Messages/Email and/or my System?
Personally, and at work, I use 3 tools to back everything up.
I will review all 3.
1. PIMBackup 2.8 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299705 - the tool was created by dotfred
PIMBackup IS FREEWARE
PIMBackup is used to backup information only. that is:
- appointments
- call logs
- contacts
- messages (SMS, Mails, ...)
- speed dials
- tasks
No installation required.
To backup your info:
a. Load pimbackup
b. choose Backup from the dropbox
c. choose the info you'd like to backup, click next
d. click browse and choose where you'd like the backup file to be stored
e. you can choose other options from the list according to your preference, click next
f. a backup file will be created in the dir you chose.
To restore your info:
a. Load pimbackup
b. choose restore from the dropbox
c. click browse and look for your backup file.
d. choose the info you'd like to restore...
e. the rest is pretty clear.
2. SPB Backup - http://beta.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/backup/
SPB Backup IS NOT FREEWARE
SPBBackup is used to backup all info and data. it can also create an image of your system. The image is DOES NOT act like a regular PC image but an image of multiple files sitting separately in one file. It DOES NOT contain your ROM data... but if you need to restore to a previous state it works great. it can also backup network storage and storage cards.
To backup your info/data:
a. choose custom backup
b. choose the info/data you'd like to backup
c. click Menu/options and choose whether you'd like to create a stand-alone restorer or not. (the stand-alone restorer creates an EXE file while you can run from your file manager. If you don't choose a stand-alone restorer you will have to load SPBBackup and choose Restore Backup and choose the backup file).
d. write the file name and location where you'd like to save your backup file, click next
e. choose whether you'd like to have the info/data compressed... and encrypted.. and maybe add a comment.. (i usually write to which rom the backup fits)
f. the rest is pretty clear...
You can also backup the entire storage card using SPBBackup..
You can also choose to create a full backup which skips some of the above steps.
You can create a scheduled backup as well.. very useful.
3. SPB Clone - http://beta.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/clone/
SPB Clone IS NOT FREEWARE (putting it mildly)
UIwise, SPB Clone pretty much resembles SPB Backup in every aspect. it's straight forward and doesn't require instructions.
SPB Clone is more of an industrial tool. I use it at work to clone images of PPC's and restore them on different devices.
it seems that the differences between SPB Clone and SPB Backup are minor.. but there are a few relevant ones.
You can also backup the entire storage card using SPBClone..
-SPB Clone can be personalized to specific PPC IP's and owner names.
-SPB Backup doesn't depend on anything but the ROM and it less sensitive different rom versions.
-SPB Clone costs 299$
-SPB Backup costs 25$
-SPB Clone doesn't backup sync info meaning you can't backup your sync profile. this is usually how it's done in enterprises. This means that if you used SPB Backup you would be copying all sync info to another person in your company. something you probably wouldn't want to happen.
and the most important one.
-SPB Clone's restore period is MUCH faster. SPB Backup restores files individually while SPB Clone restores a complete image of the device.
I will probably update this guide with more backup tools in the future.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Toggling Bluetooth/Wifi using Hardware buttons
apparently, it is a very common question.
How do i toggle Bluetooth/Wifi using Hardware Buttons only?
well... i'll present the 3 solutions and add some flavors to spice it up.
Toggling Wifi
1. Extract Wifi_ON_OFF.exe to your windows directory. (file attached below)
2. Extract Wifi_ON_OFF.lnk to your windows/start menu/programs dir.
3. go to Start/Settings/Buttons
4. choose the hardware key you'd like to assign Wifi_ON_OFF to.
5. from the dropbox below, choose Wifi_ON_OFF (as shown in the screenshot below)
Toggling Bluetooth
1. Extract Bluetooth_ON_OFF.exe to your windows directory. (file attached below)
2. Extract Bluetooth_ON_OFF.lnk to your windows/start menu/programs dir.
3. go to Start/Settings/Buttons
4. choose the hardware key you'd like to assign BT_ON_OFF to.
5. from the dropbox below, choose Bluetooth_ON_OFF (same as in Wifi)
While you are at it, i would recommend using HButton as a keymapping software. It already has the options of wifi-toggling and bt-toggling built in, and many more options. you can also map more than one app to each button.
You can download HButton from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=306794
To map using HButton
1. go to Start/Programs/HButton
2. load HBSetup
3. Choose the delay between app switching (this is the delay which will be set between each app mapped to the same button)
4. choose whether you'd like to vibrate when an app is loaded
5. choose whether you'd like to beep when an app is loaded
6. choose whether you'd like to display the name of the app loaded.
7. choose the button you'd like to setup (there is no difference between HButton1 to HButton7... or 5.. or any other.
8. if you choose "cycle" keeping the hardware button pressed will endlessly cycle between the same apps mapped to the same button
9. if you choose not to cycle, pressing the hardware button will show the first app, and if you keep it pressed during the previous set delay, it will move to the 2nd app and load it directly.
10. from the dropbox below, choose the option/app you'd like to map and click add. you can do this to as many app as you'd like. you can also browse for any file/app desired.
11. up/down will set the loading sequence.
12. click ok.
that's it, you're set to go.
the below files were NOT made by me.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"how do i control my PC through my PDA?" or "Remote Controls" (Media and more)
"how do i control my PC through my PDA?" or "Remote Controls" (Media and more)
there are many applications created to control your PC using your PPC.
some contain features to control multimedia applications, some contain keyboard control, mouse control, system control.. volume and so forth.
[Update 8.6.09]
A new tool is presented in the following thread, allowing you to control an app or two and add normal keyboard and mouse support to your PDA which requires NO SERVERSIDE CLIENT!
MobileSrc MobileRemote
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=504730
THIS IS NOT FREEWARE
[/Update]
let's present a few solutions.
1. Salling Clicker
http://www.salling.com/clicker/windows/
SALLING CLICKER IS NOT FREEWARE
Salling clicker is what I currently use. There's one reason for that and one only. Salling clicker let's you use scripts to control your PC. you can write them or download them. you can shut your screen off or turn it on, manage volume and system state, control your mouse, control Winamp, Windows Media Player, BSPlayer, M2VPlayer..powerpoint.. i can go on and on. the list is long.
Salling Clicker isn't as finger friendly and good looking like Gremote, but it does let you control your comp using both Bluetooth and Wifi and it also has the coolest feature between all remote controls - one of the scripts is an OSD which shows you callerid and stops any media player currently playing when you receive a call. this is very useful for me as I listen to Trance all day long and can't hear my phone ringing pretty often.
To use Salling Clicker
a. go to the website mentioned above and download salling clicker.
b. install the client both on your PC and PPC
c. go to http://www.salling.com/forums/ and find the scripts you would like to use.
d. copy the scripts to your PC to My Documents/My Clicker Scripts
e. load Salling Clicker on your PPC
f. Turn WIFI/Bluetooth on depending on which connection type you'd like to use
g. click Menu and connect using that same connection type. (if you choose wifi you will have to put in the right IP address, if you choose bluetooth you will have to choose the computer to connect to from the list of bluetooth devices)
h. after connecting you can start playing with the scripts. you will need to experiment in order to gain full potential out of this magnificent piece of software.
2. GRemote
http://gbmsoftware.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=10|http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427097
GREMOTE IS FREEWARE
Gremote was created (and is still being updated) by GBM software (user named marbalon in xda-devs). The GUI is unbelievably cool and besides the fact that it makes the whole experience much nicer than in Salling Clicker it also is VERY finger friendly.
You can control your keyboard, media player, mouse, use some system controls AND, if you have a Gsensor, you can use it to control your mouse like, and i quote, "Logitech MX Air (not the same)".
Gremote is certainly the way to go if it meets all your demands and if you want something as user friendly as it can get.
The PC client doesn't require installation, you can just run it, which is nice, but you'll have to install a client on your PPC.
The major setback in GRemote is that it only supports Wifi thus making it necessary to have a router around or to connect using Ad-Hoc.
To use GRemote
a. download from the link above.
b. Install the client according to your device's resolution.
c. Run the PC client.
d. Activate your Wifi (You have to activate it BEFORE running the ppc client)
e. run Salling Clicker on your PPC and go to Profiles
f. You can create a profile manually or choose Find to find a comp running the PC Client.
g. after configuring the profile click Add. from now on, this profile will be saved on your PPC and you can run it every time you run GRemote by default.
h. Click Save
i. Click Go !!!
j. now you can start having fun with it.
You can also check out the PC client for other options like enabling/disabling vibrate on soft click... and so forth.
A new feature has been added recently letting you use your PPC as a Joystick.. or whatever you call it nowadays
3. Jerome Leban's Bluetooth Remote Control
http://www.jaylee.org/remotecontrol/
Jerome Leban's Bluetooth Remote Control IS FREEWARE
This application is the first remote control i've used on my PDA. It is somewhat old and doesn't have all the features of the other 2 apps presented above.
You can control your mouse, Mediaplayer, Winamp.. your screen... control your keyboard and even change bindings so that you can fit any key to whatever command you wish to execute. you can control powerpoint, itunes, PowerDVD.. and a few more regularly used applications.
This tool uses Bluetooth ONLY.
The mouse is not as responsive as you'd like it to be, making this app less useful and it is certainly NOT fingerfriendly.
I will not specify how to use it. you can download it and give it a shot. it requires both a PC and PPC clients to be installed.
If you need a remote for something specific, you will find it either in Salling Clicker or in GRemote, making this app obsolete.
You're welcome to try it tho and see if it fits you.
4. z2Remote2PC
http://www.z2software.com/Remote2PC.htm
z2Remote2PC IS NOT FREEWARE
It is pointless to start detailing the features of z2Remote2PC. this software is one piece of krazieass cement breaker. you can do pretty much anything you want using it. It isn't as finger friendly as GRemote, but i'll stop/start here and tell you that it differs from the other 3 since it's supposed to be a "far-away" remote control. you should use it to control your comp from outside your home.. you can see your PPC's screen on your PPC and do pretty much everything you can do using your PPC. it support Vista and even supports hard graphics (that doesn't mean you'll be able to play Crysis on your PPC.. )
You should download this and experiment as configuration is endless. you will need to install both a PC and PPC clients for this to work.
notice you will have to open a specific port in your router and/or windows firewall for this to work. notice it supports Wifi/Cellular connections.
z2Remote2PC has a LO-HOT to offer and you can spend a day just going thru all the options/features.. both client and server side.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

Showing Network Info/Network Info Today Plug-in
i've been asked about the possibility to show network information several times already
Showing Network Info/Network Info Today Plug-in
This is very straightforward. a today plugin called Connstate can show you details on ALL current connections.
You can see the Router's/Access Point's name, your IP Address, Type of connection (ActiveSync/Wifi/Cellular) and which network you are connected to.
Connstate was created by a user called dpduser and can be downloaded from this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=322058
all you have to do is install it and connect somewhere. you will see something like this:
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"how do i control my PDA though my PC?"
"how do i control my PDA through my PC?"
to take screenshots, create video tutorials, or just control your PDA from your PC just because it's faster... you can control your PDA from your PC using a few applications.
Generally, they are all the same. i will review 2 common ones.. the rest are pretty much the same.
1. SOTI Pocket Controller PRO - http://www.soti.net/
SOTI Pocket Controller PRO is NOT FREEWARE
This is what I'm currently using... it is nice and useful.. the GUI is cool and very easy to deal with.
As you can see in the screenshot below, there are many nice and useful features and you can even use a skin to see the screen inside an image of your device.
You can explore your device's storage card and app storage, copy and delete files.. get system information, see the tasks running, registry, sync your device... you can rotate the screen, draw on it... and create screenshots or videos of your device... and much more.
connection is done by either ActiveSync or Wifi and you will have to set properties for it to work properly using Wifi.
to use SOTI Pocket Controller Pro
a. download the application from the above link and install it. it will also install a client on your PDA
b. run the app on your PC
c. click the Play button on the upper left side of the app and create a new connection profile and choose activesync
d. connect your device to the PC USING ACTIVESYNC and you will be able to connect.
to use it using wifi you will have to
a. go and click the upper left round icon WHILE THE DEVICE IS CONNECTED in activesync and go to settings
b. click settings
c. create a new profile and choose TCP/IP and leave the IP field blank
d. click ok
e. in Security choose Configure and choose to accept inbound TCP/IP connections.
that's it. when you click the play button you will be given the choice of either connecting using ActiveSync or using Wi-fi. if you choose wifi you will have to write the correct IP of your device. (you can use the previous guide in this thread to see your IP).
there are many many many many other features and options which you should play with.. give it a shot.
2. MyMobiler - http://www.mtux.com/
MyMobiler IS FREEWARE
MyMobiler is much lighter and consists of basic features. a full guide to mymobiler is supplied by Menneisyys
in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=318425
there have been a few updates since he wrote the guide but it's generally the same.
you can download it and experiment. if you don't need much, mymobiler is the way to go as it's light and doesn't require a serverside NOR clientside installation. Mymobiler supports ONLY activesync connection.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"how to make the grey lines between the today screen plugins disppear?"
saw a lot of users pissed of by the annoying grey lines in the today screen separating the today plugins.
a user named "nothin" created a cab to annihilate those annoying lines...
so
"how THE HELL do i make those annoying lines between the today screen plugins disappear?"
this is what "nothing" wrote:
Code:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Today]
"HidePluginSeparators"=dword:1
it works on
21014
20954
20764
20757
19972
19965
19608
19588
and more..
question is, if it works on lower/other ones...
damn, it is so useful.
----
reg found in 6.5.
----
of course, soft reset is needed after reg import to see if it works...
btw, tweak has NO effect for HS++ dividers, so hs++ dividers may be still used between hs++ tabs, if needed.
upd: cab in attachment, need info, if it's properly made.
you need to make manual soft reset after installation.
Code:
attachment:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=150025&d=1232892977
I'd add a donation link for nothin but... he doesn't have one
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"How to stop activesync from turning itself on all the time?"
"How to stop activesync from turning itself on all the time?"
This is a guide created by "markqld"...
(I've rewritten this for the HTC HD and I works Brilliantly well).
Active Sync can start again by itself via various scheduling routines. There is a way to prevent this known as the "Fake Server Trick":
This 'server trick' was discovered by an Aximsite forum member known as Invid
This post originally created by IamNotMe fourpages.co.uk (Adapted by me for HD)
"1. Turn on your Device
2. Go to Start > Programs > Activesync. This will open the Activesync program.
3. Tap Menu at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This will bring up the Options Menu. Notice the option Schedule... is greyed out? This is the all-critical option we need to get access to. But as it's disabled we can't change Activesync's default synchronisation schedule.
Ok, so how do we enable the Schedule option? Easy!!! Fool Activesync into thinking there is an Exchange Server to sync with:
1. From Activesync's Menu tap on Add Server Source.
Enter any email and untick box then click next.
2. In the following screens you can enter any old garbage. It does not matter, but just in case your unsure, just type the following in the indicated boxes:
Server Address: fake
Leave box ticked and Tap Next
User name: fake
Password: fake
Domain: fake
Leave box ticked and Tap Next
Untick all of the 'Data you want to synchronise' options
Tap Finish
3. Ok, we're done creating the server. You should now see in Activesync's main screen your normal Activesync connection(s), and a new connection called Exchange Server.
4. Go back into the Menu, and lo and behold the Schedule option is now enabled! Go ahead and tap it!
5. You will see that both options in the Schedule screen may be set to Every 5 Minutes
6. Using the drop downs, change both the Peak times and Off-peak times boxes to Manually.
7. Press the OK button at the top right of the screen.
Congratulations! Activesync is now gagged from opening on it's own and ruining your life! Your work is not done just yet though – time to clean up and get rid of the now unwanted fake Exchange Server.
1. Go back into Activesync's Menu, then Tap Options.
2. Highlight Microsoft Exchange, then tap Delete. A warning message will appear about removing files etc, but as you have no files associated with the fake Microsoft Exchange, it's nothing to worry about – just tap Ok.
3. The list will now only show your remaining PC Sync connection(s). Obviously do not delete these!"
Note: some users say it works better if you leave the fake server there (undeleted). Not the case for me, however, it does no harm to leave it undeleted as it is totally inactive and has no effect.
PS. If you connect your HD to your PC with USB cable, ActiveSync will start automatically and everything will sync up as usual (I tried it). But after you disconnect, click the Task Manager button at top right corner of HD Flo home screen and tap the X next to ActiveSync to close active sync.
My Results: Processor & working memory usage is significantly decreased, battery lasts longer and ActiveSync is not trying to sync all the time.
another solution by bradipo.xda
I found that many of the latest ROM cooks of WM6.1 have the annoying issue of Activesync always starting itself every minute... i searched a lot and found the best common solution is the fake account with manual settings...
After playing around with the registry i managed to find a better way.
Just open your favourite registry editor and set the value:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\ActiveSync\KeepAlive
to 0

"which shell is the best shell?"
people tend to ask a lot of questions about different WM shells while the most popular one is "which is the best shell?"
honestly, it is very hard to answer this question if not impossible. customizing your today screen depends solely on your individual preference.
of course, there's the issue of usability. some shells are heavy on weak devices... some shells are more into the looks rather than being as usable as one wishes.. and so forth.
so in favor of redepmtion...ing you from this constant dilemma, let's elaborate on this issue.
I obviously forgot about a few shells.. i will edit this guide until I get the majority of them
"Which shell is the best shell?" (this is written mainly for search purposes)
I will specify the most popular shells, some created by users from xda-devs..
downstairs you will find a link to a file containing some photos of the shells.. just so you can get a feel of them.
1. Ultimate Launch AKA UL
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=389019
official website: http://www.ultimatelaunch.de/
UL IS NOT FREEWARE
resolution support: not resolution depedent
The reason for which i'm starting this list with Ultimate Launch is single and pure. Ultimate Launch is a "naked" and endlessly configurable shell. People who want to be 100% specific about their today screen looks, should use it.
Ultimate Launch consists of different tabs (or one only, if needed) while each tab can contain either icons, separators, or - yes, OTHER TODAY PLUGINS in it. This makes ultimate launch immensly usable as you can pretty much put whatever you want in any of the tabs.
You can move between tabs either by sliding the screen or by clicking the tab icons - that is, if you want to save screen space, you can have the tab icons at invisible and switch tabs only by sliding - this simulates a regular today screen .. doubled.. tripled.. quadrupled.... you get the drift.
To create a fitting today screen you will have to do some work, that's where my advice comes: if you want something work-ready, don't use UL.
In the picture below you will see only 3 tabs of the tabs in my UL setup.. just as a demonstration. The first tab contains FEWidgets, the 2nd contains contains contact icons, the 3rd tab contains app shortcut icons..
2. SPB Mobile Shell AKA SPBMS
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=389106
official website: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/mobileshell/
SPBMS IS NOT FREEWARE
resolution support: theme dependent
SPB Mobile shell is definately one of the most popular shells as it is nicely customizable, fast, responsive and very nice looking.
Unlike UltimateLaunch, SPB Mobile shell is not directly customizable. you can change some of the options directly, but to completely customize the today screen you will have to download and install a skin (a lot of themes can be found in the xda-devs thread URL above). SPBMS works differently than UL. It doesn't allow different plugins and icons. SPBMS is independent and although it provides tabs for different information, it doesn't allow the same customizing power UL does.
What SPBMS does tho, is allow you to have an extremely sleek, fast and easy to use today screen, and since it is so popular, you will find endless amounts of skins for it.
3. rlToday
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=1601960
official website: http://rotlaus-software.de/projects/rltoday/
rlToday IS FREEWARE
resolution support: theme dependent
rlToday is much simpler than the previous shells. It consists of one screen, no tabs. Thing is, that rlToday is good for different purposes as well. the skin files are read from an XML file, which makes things megaeasy. you can write an XML file to view images, read registry data.. pretty much do everything you can do in an XML file.
Think of it this way, you can put rlToday as a today plugin inside UltimateLaunch if you want a tab to read information from a specific xml file.
4. FEWidgets AKA FEW - by nicodega
xda-devs app thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=430190
xda-devs widgets thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=450668
FEWidgets IS FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA/VGA/WVGA/WQVGA/WWVGA/WWPGAPGA.. lol.. you get the point
FEWidgets is wonderful. I'm sorry that i can't hide my personal opinion of it.. but FEWidgets is... wonderful It uses flash widgets (just like the omnia.. and better) which can be moved across the today screen. you can create your own widgets using FECommands in flash (instructions supplied in a doc file in the app thread).. AND, AGAIN, you can integrate it into Ultimate Launch if you want it to be contained in one of your tabs (that's what i did).
currently the built in widgets are.. a flipping diamond clock (looks even better than the TF3D one.. and is good for people who want to get the feeling of TF3D's digital clock without actually having TF3D).. there are shortcut buttons, analog clock, weather check, tasks widget, appointments widget, calendar widget, wallpaper changer, automatic SMS popup, unread messages and calls indicator, battery and signal indicator... and many many more. You need to have flash 7 installed for it..
here is the cab for flash 7 for mobile:
http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flash/devices/pocket_pc/installers/fp7_ppc_en.cab
5. ThrottleLauncher AKA TL - by APBilbo
xda-devs thread: not needed
official website: http://www.throttlelauncher.com/portal/
TL IS FREEWARE
resolution support: theme dependent
Throttle Launcher is the closest shell you can use to get the TF3D feel.. without actually having TF3D. That's if you use the TF3D pack. there are other packs as well. you can remove tabs, use a flash clock instead of a regular one, use flash widgets (a bit less customizable than FEWidgets.. and slower), use Rumball's weather pack (you can find it here) to get the exact feeling of TF3D's animated weather effects and more, you can use different contact interfaces, like the TF3D's contact swaper.. you've got a music tab, pictures tab, a new stocks tab (created by Rumball as well), a settings tab.. and more. You even have the scrolling feature in the home tab just like in TF3D. Even if you end up using something else, I suggest you at least try TL. it's definately worth the 15 minutes it'll take you to install and look thru.. and you might not want to let it go.
6. Manila2D AKA M2D AKA TouchFLO2D - ported from HTC by herg and others.
xda-devs app thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=398173
xda-devs VGA thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429224
xda-devs skins thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=451702
M2D IS FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA/VGA(partially)
Manila2D was created by HTC for the latest set of touch phones like the HTC Touch 3G and the HTC Touch. it consists of a specific number of tabs (now changable by a customizer created by mpenguin14 (found here), it has a Home tab with a clock, alarm status, missed calls status and next appointment status, a speed dialer tab, sms tab, email tab, internet tab, photos tab where you can slide thru your photos, music tab where you can play music and view album covers and an app shortcuts tab. In the last version, there's a Footprints tab. Footprints lets you take a picture of a place, and save it with its GPS position, a video, phone number, googlemaps shortcut.. and more.
M2D fits most HTC's devices today thanks to our lovely forum members who ported it. tabs can be removed and change a bit using the customizer.
7. TouchFLO3D AKA TF3D - ported by Chainfire
xda-devs app thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=2758694&postcount=240
customization thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=437777
TF3D IS FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA/VGA
TF3D is different than all other shells as it requires a good gfx engine to run properly. most devices can't run TF3D.. so unless you have.. a Kaiser and up (Polaris, Touch3G, Diamond, Raphael...) don't try it. I won't give anymore details. whoever wants to use TF3D will have to dig in deeper into the forum and read about it.
Currently, the new Touch HD TF3D is being ported to fit HTC devices other than the Touch HD.
8. iFonz - by ssj5trunks
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=436656
official website: http://thedogcorner.blogspot.com/
iFonz IS FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA/VGA
iFonz is the best way to turn your device into an iPhone.. as much as possible.
nuf said
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHELL PHOTOS:
http://rapidshare.com/files/192258550/Shell_Previews.zip.html\
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"which shells is the best shell?" - continued
9. HTC Home AKA HHC - thank you SaltyDawg for reminding me
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=319308
official website: http://www.pocketemu.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewforum.php?16
HHC IS FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA
HTC Home is setup for work. It is a tab adjustable plugin. when you install it.. no adjustments will have to be made in order for you to use it.. it's very straight forward.
of course, you will have to choose speed-dial contacts and apps.. but that's it.
you can use 6 tabs. Home,Apps,Speed-dial,Weather,Sound profiles and Media
the home tab has a clock and sms/mail/missed calls indicators
the apps tab has 9 buttons for 9 apps
the speed-dial tab has 9 speed-dial buttons
the whether button.. well..
the sound profiles button lets you choose different profile settings.. such as vibrate, mute and so forth
the media button controls either Media Player or Audio Manager.
you can also use the HTC Home Customizer (link provided above) to change some of the options and replace skins (you can also remove tabs).
HTC Home will take about half of your screen and leave the rest for other plugins. you can, of course, use it with ultimate launch for maximized usage.
10. Touch Commander - by mchapman007
xda-devs thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=395150
official website: http://www.touch-commander.com/
Touch Commander IS NOT FREEWARE
resolution support: QVGA only (I think)
Key Components
•Touch Control - you can scroll list, open and minimize applications by finger sweeps
•Today Plugin shows clock, weather, launcher and more
•Cube-like Multipage Launcher starts applications and makes quick calls
•Touch Task-manager allows to close or activate running applications
•Finger-friendly Start Menu is a menu with big icons
•Touch Menu is finger-friendly popup menus
•Titlebar Battery Indicator
you can find screenshots of the shell in the official website.
generally, Touch Commander is sort of an HTC Home but more configurable and changes many other GUI elements as mentioned above.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

SMS Applications or "How do i enhance messaging?"
well, the new threaded messaging feature introduced in WM6.1 was certainly a refreshing idea..
personally, i like it. it's simple, doesn't require much attention, and it compresses a long long list of messages i have from the age of 7 (?) to a nicely sorted list which i can work with so here is
SMS Applications or "How do i enhance messaging?"
then there's a but. that new threaded messaging feature is nice, but not nice enough..
so in my eyes, there are 2 options.
one is called:
1.SmileySMS - created by "roozbeh"
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=328363
SMILEYSMS IS FREEWARE
There's a reason for why smileySMS is brought here first. the reason is, that i can't see why anyone would need more than what smileysms has to offer.
after installing it, you suddenly see your threads become alive, containing smilies (duh), speedclouds like on the iphone (yes, the quality depends on your screen, but it's really nice), every thread displays the photo of the person you're chatting with (assuming you have it of course), your sms notifications contain the photo as well and are a bit more interactive..
SmileySMS also supports skinning, animated smilies, disabling of the application, sounds, zoom, different sound notifications, vibration, disabling of the threaded sms option (which some people are looking for), links inside the messages (you can also click the senders name to see other options) and more.
now the catch is, that there is no catch. what's so great about SmileySMS.. and probably its best feature, is that it intergrates with poutlook. you go thru the regular sms routine for reading and writing.. no additional software.
moreover, SmileySMS is free, which makes it extrasupercool.
please make sure to thank roozbeh after downloading this cool piece of .. plugin?
the other is called:
2.VitoSMS
http://vitotechnology.com/
VITOSMS IS NOT FREEWARE
VitoSMS is nice. I used to use it once when i needed to send tons of SMS at work. VitoSMS is an application. Unlike smileysms, it has to load.. and if you have a massive amount of SMS it will take a few seconds for it to sync.
Thing is, that VitoSMS reads from poutlook.. so the database stays synchronized all the time.
VitoSMS is nice (did i say that before?). it looks better than smileySMS (at least in my opinion), it supports all sorts of links, you can send multiple SMS, see different options for the sender including deletion, addition and more.
go ahead. try both and see what you like best.
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

"How to install M2D and replace M2D skins?"
It seems that people are having a hard time installing Manila2D skins.
So i'll just start from the beginning.
"How to install M2D and replace M2D skins?"
1. Download M2D's latest edition from (thanks herg):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=398173
2. Download M2DC's latest edition from (thanks mpenguin):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427392
3. Install M2D (you can also install any fixes you see fit from the package).
4. Install M2DC
5. By now, M2D is supposed to be running on your device (that is, any other today plugin, after the M2D installation, should be disabled and only TouchFLO2D (M2D) enabled.
6. either search for skins or go to (thanks albert and twolf):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=451702
7. download your favorite skin.
8. If the skin is in zip format:
a. launch M2DC.
b. click Add
c. search for your theme's zip file.
d. after adding it, click on it and choose apply theme.
e. after a while you will be asked if you want to switch weather icons and/or tab icons. choose whatever you want...
f.. that's it. you can also browse thru M2DC's tabs.. .it's full of options.
If the skin is in cab format:
a. install the cab
b. soft reset your device.
Thankfully, M2DC doesn't require soft resets.
There are loads on loads on loads of themes for M2D.. you can also change backgrounds, clock tabs, weather icons... and more.. depending on what you're downloading.
IMPORTANT (somewhat): if you want to combine different themes, you can apply one, and then only change the clock... and apply one and choose to NOT switch tabs.. and change backgrounds seperately..
If you found this guide useful please Donate.. (all donations go to TZABACH Wounded Animal Service)

How to remap hardware buttons?
Saw a few threads regarding this issue... so here we are
"How to remap hardware buttons?"
There are several applications for this purpose, and the default WM app (which is completely useless).
1. WM Builtin App
1. go to start/settings/buttons
2. You will see a list of your hardware buttons (some may not appear.. as not all are considered as remapable.
3. Choose the button you'd like to map
4. Assign a program to it from the dropdown menu below
This is as basic as it gets.
now for the real stuff.
2. HButton
Official Website - http://hbutton.dyndns.org/
HButton IS FREEWARE
HButton allows you to map all KNOWN MAPABLE hardware buttons on your device to run different applications or perform different event based actions.
One of the best features of HButton is that you can map an endless amount of actions for each buttonl. You can also set the delay between each action (that is, if you use a hardware button to "run iContact" and then "Close Active Application" you can set the delay until it moves from one to the other).
You can also have it cycle between the actions so that it's an endless loop.. or have it run only one cycle, you can have it beep, vibrate, display the action performed when performed..
to use HButton.
1. Download HButton
2. Install
3. go to start/programs/hbutton/
4. click on the setup icon (there are several icons there..)
5. choose your preferences
6. choose a button (i.e HButton 3)
7. from the dropdown menu, choose the action you'd like to perform
8. click add
9. choose the next option (if required)
10. setup the running order (you can move actions up and down on the list)
11. choose th button you'd like to map to using the upper arrow
12. click ok
13. move on the the next HW button
You can see that in the default WM App the mapping of the desired HW button will appear as "mapped to HButton #X"..
No reset needed.
3. AE Button Plus
Official Website - http://ae.inc.ru/aebplus.php
AE Button Plus IS NOT FREEWARE (altho there's an older version which IS freeware)
AE Button Plus will do more than map hardware buttons and the mapping option will map more than only the KNOWN MAPABLE hardware buttons. You can map the Red/Green buttons and the volume buttons as well.
AEB allows you to change the delay as well, change power off levels, screen orientation, backlight settings.. and lots more.
Of course, the main issue here is the mapping. You can map a hardware button for Single Click, Double Click, Triple Click and Long Press. You can also choose the "Unbind Only" option which will unbind a hardware button from it's existing action.
I will not go over all mapping options because it's korazie.. but i'll just let you know what you need to do to map a button and you can play with it (you SHOULD play with it).
To map an HW button using AEBP
1. Download AEBP
2. Install
3. Run AEBP
4. Choose a hardware key from the menu
5. Click the below screen (where it says "Do not touch button")
6. From the dropdown menu, choose "Handle by AEBPlus"
7. Choose your desired key press sequence
8. You can choose between many many, many... MANY.. many options. the first one is to run an application. you can also "press enter", "press esc", simulate the dpad buttons, activate wifi, bluetooth, phone, cut, paste, Alt-Tab... and much more.
9. Click File/Save and Exit
10. Soft reset (not always a must.. but recommended)
4. Dredsensor - created by Dredger97
XDA-Thread - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472280
Dredsensor IS FREEWARE
Dredsensor is meant for the Diamond and Touch Pro devices as it's purpose is mainly to let you remap the annoying Home and Arrow HW buttons which are COMPLETELY useless if not mapped.
You can use it to also map the Green/Red buttons.
Mapping options are not as broad as in AEBP but good enough.
You can choose which screen the mapping will be applied to (i.e if you want to map a hardware button to perform a specific action while the screen shows a specific application, that's what you should use). You can also create a general mapping profile to use the hardware buttons similarily in all windows.
You can map to Double Tab, Click and Long Click.
the default option is to vibrate when an HW is pressed. you can disable that option. You can also block the scrolling wheel's option.
There are many options here.. like running applications, events, simulating HW or Soft keys... and more.
to use Dredsensor
1. download and install
2. run dredsensorcfg
3. will continue later.. gotta go.

"How do I upgrade my device?" or "How to flash a rom?"
"How do I upgrade my device?" or "How to flash a rom?"
As this is an EXTREMELY long subject, I will post links to major threads/sections concerning this issue and leave it at that. You will need to dig in a bit to find exactly what you're looking for.. and read a bit, that is, to understand the risks and the necessary steps. There is no point in asking questions like "how do I flash a ROM?" in the Q&A thread as we will just return a link pointing to the Wiki.. or something of that sort.
You can also go to the XDA-Wiki and look for information (there is ****LOAD of information there about ROMs..)
To save you the trouble i will first tell you that flashing a rom consists of a few stages.
1. CID Unlocking
2. Hard/Soft SPLing
3. Flashing
This is very general. some devices need different things.. you will have to dig it out.
Wallaby - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=268
Blue Angel - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=386
Himalaya - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=428469
Alpine - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=287
Magician - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=231410
Wizard - http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Wizard Windows Mobile 6 for newbies
Universal - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=357
Prophet - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=377545
Atom - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=388
Charmer - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=363882
Hermes - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299462
Trinity - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=359
Artemis - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=362
Herald - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=361
Athena - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=429013
Kaiser - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=433835
Elf - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=406721
Vogue - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=391
Nike - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=367370
Diamond - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=416211
Opal - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=444
Blackstone - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=453
Polaris - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=399
Titan - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=384
Gene - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472169
Pharos - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=398726
Juno - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=426
Sedna - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=434
Shift - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=395
Raphael - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=448008
Rose - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=459
Jade - http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=463
X1 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=446070

Related

TUTORIAL: Create links to the programs in your Settings menu

TUTORIAL: Create links to the programs in your Settings menu! A full explanation & never-before-published, full comparison list
An often-asked question concerns how you can set up direct links to the control panel applets (CPL's for short) in Start/Settings.
What's the point in all this, you may ask. Why not simply tap Start and, then, Settings and, finally, the icon you want to execute?
Yes, for a casual user, there's not much need in creating self-standing links to these files. There're, however, cases when this can prove really useful – for example, the case of including them in Today launcher plug-ins that, otherwise, don't let access to any of these applets otherwise. A well-known example of plug-ins like those is Resco File Explorer's excellent Today plug-in or in the free cLaunch. (Please see this (alternatives: iPAQ HQ, AximSite, PPC Magazine, FirstLoox, BrightHand) for more info on these excellent applications and the alternatives.)
Most of these settings are invoked from a central dialog file, \Windows\cplmain.cpl. Some additional, custom settings may have been put in a separate file, \Windows\mycpl.cpl. Finally, third-party applications that install their own settings dialogs create their own .cpl files inside the \Windows directory. For example, SOTi Pocket Controller (see this article on it) creates a file DeviceConfig.cpl, Mad Programmer's FileDialogChanger (see this article on it) uses a file named filedlgchg.cpl to offer the user the File Dialog Changer settings, Mad Programmer's Force Hi-resolution tool (see this article on it) puts a ForceHires.cpl file in there etc. The same stands for Spb Pocket Plus, MS Voice Command (please see this article for a full roundup of all voice controller apps) and XCPUScalar.
What should I do?
It's simple: create a .lnk file with the following contents:
33#ctlpnl.exe cplmain.cpl,X
OR
33#ctlpnl.exe mycpl.cpl,X
where X is a number that I'll promptly elaborate on.
As has already been pointed out, only one file, cplmain.cpl (or, with some device, mycpl.cpl in addition) contains most of the settings accessible in Start/Settings. One file containing many small applets also means that you need to choose a particular one in some way. That's why you must index the file; this numeric index (1, 2 etc.) tells cplmain.cpl which particular applet you'd like to access.
As far as the possible values of this are concerned, there're standardized ones. If you check out the "iPAQ 3660" column in the comparison chart available here (and disregard the 3 - Power record and everything starting with "MyCpl – 0"), you'll see what you can expect from any Pocket PC 2002+ Pocket PC.
Note that WM2003 added the standard 22-Manage Certificates and WM5 the standard 24-Error reporting and, with most WM5 Pocket PC devices, 25-GPS. Also, Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, regardless of their operating system version, also use the 20 - Phone Settings index. Finally, all Pocket PC's with the Microsoft BT stack use 23 – MS Bluetooth too. (Devices with the Widcomm BT stack use the separate \Windows\BTConfigCE.cpl CPL.)
It's also very important to point out that 3 – Power and 6 – Backlight is not necessarily available in all devices. For example, the iPAQ 2210 lacks both, the iPAQ 3660 lacks 6 – Backlight , while all the other listed devices have them all.
Also note the records starting with MyCpl are, as you may have already guessed, non-standard ones. It's there that the two iPAQ's have some essential applets (Backlight and, with the 2210, also Power) and some additional goodies.
Please note that lists compiled by others (for example the XDA-Developers one) are not generic enough and may contain several mistakes. Therefore, it's best not to rely on them at all. Also remember that you can freely test any indexes – you won't crash your Pocket PC if a particular index is unused.
You don't want to manually create .lnk files?
No problem, I've already done it for you! Just download this file and extract the link file(s) you'll need.
Note that the root directry of the ZIP file only contains CPL links that are guaranteed to work on all PPC2k2+ devices. I've put the additional ones in subdirectories – for example, links belonging to later operating systems (directories FromWM2003 and FromWM5), the 3 – Power and 6 – Backlight PCL's, the MS BT stack link and the PPC Phone Edition Phone Settings link.
Also, there's a separate subdirectory 'mycpl' for (unnamed – as you can also see in the comparison chart, indexes are wildly different between different devices) MyCpl link files.
Hope you'll find this information / my files useful. I really hope you'll like the new ability to include all this functionality in the Resco Today plug-in and/or cLaunch – or, for that matter, your operating system-level scripts!
Also a little bit more info on this subject + an icon extractor:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?p=223602#223602
V
When I put the link in my /windows/startmenu folder it's deleted after soft-reset of opening my start menu. What can I do about this and why is it happening?
What icon are you putting in there?
V
vijay555 said:
What icon are you putting in there?
V
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a file I called Running.lnk with the following line:
Code:
22#ctlpnl cplmain.cpl,4,0?shellres.dll,-13900
I noticed that after soft reset or clicking the start menu this file is moved to the /windows/startmenu/programs folder. And thus appears in my programs list. But what I want is this link in my Start Menu.
Very odd.
Try making the shortcut as you've done, put it in your normal start menu, and then make a lnk to the lnk. Put the lnk to the lnk in your startup, and see if that makes any difference.
You could try my program VJBrisk as well. I can't even think what it does now, but it might help.
V
I tryed making another link to the first one and putting it in the startup but it didn't make any difference.
After this i tryed putting the lnk in the startmenu folder and at the same time removing another lnk file. And voila , it workt. Seems that wm5 keeps track of the amount of lnk files that should be in the startmenu folder. Makes sense because there is a limit to how long your startmenu can be.
Thanks for your help
ps. I changed the line in the link file to the following. This way it has the memory icon.
Code:
22#ctlpnl cplmain.cpl,4,0?shellres.dll,-13900

Browsing the Web on MS Smartphone (WM Standard) devices & Review of Opera Mini 4 beta

Browsing the Web on MS Smartphone (WM Standard) devices & Review of Opera Mini 4 beta
UPDATE (08/17/2007): a new version is in the brand new, general Smartphone forum HERE. That is, go there to read the latest version of the article. I, however, keep this version of the original article because of the responses.
(end of update)
In my recently-published, well-known Windows Mobile Web Browsing Bible I’ve elaborated on how Pocket PC’s can be used to browse the Web. Please make sure you DO read the review even if you don’t have a Pocket PC. You will learn a LOT from there and, in addition, I do NOT elaborate on many questions like Web standards compliance or additional Opera Mini features in here. In the current review, I “only” elaborate on questions ONLY concerning the MS Smartphone platform. The only exception is the review of Opera Mini 4, which is a generic one and can be used by Pocket PC users as well.
Now, it’s time to review
how you can do the same on MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard) devices (SP for short); what browsers you should use, what bugs you should be aware of etc.
the brand new and REALLY NICE, HIGHLY recommended Opera Mini 4 platform. This section will be of interest to not only SP users, but also those of the “big brother”, the Pocket PC – and, for that matter, any Java-capable mobile phone.
As you’ll see, on the SP platform, there’re far fewer really usable browsers and there are (currently) absolutely no Java and real Flash support. This, fortunately, makes one’s life far easier – generally, you only have three browsers to select from: either Opera Mobile, Opera Mini or the really promising newcomer, jB5. The two Operas are, as you may have already guessed, generally superior to the built-in Internet Explorer Mobile.
However, let’s start with the latter as it comes built into the operating system of all SP devices.
1.1 Internet Explorer Mobile (IEM)
Unfortunately, the SP version of the built-in IEM, even as of Windows Mobile 6 Standard (that is, the latest SP operating system version), is considerably inferior to the Pocket PC (PPC) version shipped with WM6. For example,
while the PPC version of IEM has received file uploading capabilities some two years ago (with the initial release of WM5), not even the latest, just-released, WM6 version of IEM is capable of the same as can be seen in HERE (showing the results of my traditional file upload test page – see the previously linked page for more info on what the screenshot should show). Note that the SP version of Opera Mobile has no problems with file uploading (1 2 3 4)
it also has major problems with some HTTP / scripting constructs never having caused any problems to the Pocket PC brother; most importantly, it has problems with posting to Smartphone Thoughts and Pocket PC Thoughts forums from IEM. (The PPC port of IEM has no problems with posting to these sites; neither do Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on the SP platform.) Interestingly, this is NOT a problem on several models (even including WM6 ones) - and, in some occasions, it even worked on my Vox. I don't know why - it probably depends on the size of the message. Also see for example Mike Temporale's posts and links in THIS thread.
it doesn’t support tabs and, as you may have guessed, none of the known, Pocket PC-only PIE / IEM enhancers (MultiIE, PIEPlus, Spb Pocket Plus, ftxPBrowser etc.) work.
just as on the Pocket PC, you can’t make use of the hardware buttons (except for the “Back” button) AND the dialpad buttons (except for the 2/4/6/8 buttons for page scrolls) of your Smartphone. In this respect, both Opera Mini and Mobile are better. Fortunately, the most common functionalities are accessible, in general, with two or three (depending on whether you start from full screen mode) key presses. Fortunately, there are some registry hacks that - at least to a certain degree - fix this, which I’ll later, in a subsequent section, elaborate on.
download-wise, it’s really different from the Pocket PC IEM: it’s only CAB files that can be downloaded (if at all – see later), nothing else. This is in stark contrast with both the PPC version and Opera Mobile on the platform, which uses the same, vastly superior download-specific code as the PPC version. You must do some manual, extensive Registry editing to fix this problem - and, even then, you will need to do this for each file type you'd like to see downloaded. I too address this issue in a later section.
Note that isn’t not only files that have no local, associated programs to operate on are refused to be downloaded, but EVERYTHING, even registered and, by default, supported file types like ZIP and PDF files (fortunately, Office files are supported if your device does contain Office Mobile – an example of an XLS file is HERE).
Some examples of these cases:
non-associated RAR files (for example THIS). Upon trying to download files like these, you get THIS error message (unlike with Opera Mobile).
PDF files with the, on the HTC Vox, associated, built-in Adobe Reader LE. An example PDF file is HERE
ZIP files, like THIS, associated with Resco File Explorer.
Furthermore, the old problem with CAB files served as of unknown type is present in this version too. For example, while THIS CAB file is server as binary and, therefore, offered for download, THIS one, which is returned as of unknown (text/plain) type, results in the well-known, useless textual representation (while Opera Mobile downloads it just fine). The CAB problem has always been a major problem with the PPC version as well, as is also explained in the Download Bible.
Note that I’ve also had downloading problems on my WM5 HTC s310 (Oxygen) upon trying to download a 2.5M Byte CAB file (the Smartphone version of Opera Mobile HERE) via an EDGE connection. No matter where I tried to store it (the device had about 10M free built-in storage), the transfer would stall at 300-600 kbytes (I’ve tried to download the file several times), while, under exactly the same circumstances (the same network coverage, the same file etc), my WM5 HTC Wizard Pocket PC downloaded the file without problems. I haven’t encountered similar problems on my WM6 HTC Vox (s710). I don’t know whether this was a temporary problem or generally a problem with WM5 SP IEM’s over slow(er) connections and large(r) binary (in this case, CAB) files. Just keep this in mind if you have similar problems.
As far as the WM6-specific fixes are concerned, the WM6 SP version of IEM, fortunately, supports iframes as can be seen in HERE. (It’s suffering from the same width problem as with the PPC version, though – even in Single column mode. This isn’t an issue on Opera Mobile and Mini.)
All in all, I do not really recommend IEM for regular Web browsing on SP’s if you don't apply the above-mentioned (and below-explained) registry hacks. Go for either Opera Mobile (which is, as far as the new, 8.65 beta is concerned, free until Oct. 1. Of course, being free until October doesn’t mean you shouldn’t support the company – do purchase for example their 8.60 version to support their continuous efforts to give us the BEST Pocket PC, Smartphone and, in my opinion, desktop Windows browsers) or the absolutely free and excellent Opera Mini.
1.1.1 Fixing the binary file download problem
The difference between the SP and the PPC version of IEM is pretty simple. While the latter doesn't require a given file type to be registered in the local Registry to be downloaded, the former does, and also requires a specific flag (the fifth "bit" in EditFlags) to be set to one.
This is why "unknown" file types like RAR or known file types that don't have the EditFlags value are refused to download. You can, fortunately, fix it. In here, I describe both the manual and the automatic, much easier way of doing this. The former includes heavy Registry editing, but might prove useful in cases you'd like to allow for downloading more file types than the automatic way offers.
1.1.1.1 Manually enabling downloding a given file type
Let's assume you want to enable ZIP file downloading. To do this, first, you have to fire up a registry editor (I recommend that of Resco - it's well worth the price).
First, as ZIP files end in .zip (that is, have the file extension 'zip'), you need to navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.zip to see what full name it references (it's the latter that you will, later, create a new EditFlags DWORD in). As can clearly be seen in THIS screenshot, it refers to another Registry entry, Resco_zipfile.
Go to the given extension, still under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and select Menu / 1 File / 1 New / 5 DWORD Value
enter EditFlags in the “Name” field
enter 65536 (that is, hexa 10000) in the DWORD Data field; press Done (left softkey)
now, the new entry should be visible and the ZIP download working (Similar screenshot with EXE files HERE and with PDF files HERE)
Incidentally, if you've read my past EditFlags-related remarks & explanations (for example HERE), you know the uppermost "bit" has a special download-related meaning. If it’s 1 as in HERE, the file will ONLY be downloaded to the main memory and you’re not presented the usual download screen where you can also set the target – instead, the download will start at once. That is, make double sure you don't set it to 1!
Wasit complicated? Certainly it was! Rejoice: now comes the much easier / safer, automatic way! If you're a newbie to Windows Mobile (and/or Registry editing), you will want to prefer THIS registry import file I’ve created for you. It sets the PDF, ZIP and EXE download associations. Note that the latter assumes you’ve installed Resco Explorer and PDF requires the Adobe Reader LE 2.1 (for example, the one shipped with the Vox). You will - after installing Resco Explorer, along with its Registry support - just click the file once you've transferred it to your PDA. After (re)starting IEM, the changes will be visible - and the files downloaded.
Finally, should you need support for even more (not just PDF, ZIP and EXE, but also rar, doc, mpeg, mpg, mp3 and avi) file types, you will want to check out THIS MoDaCo thread (the CAB file installer by rcperez). All you need is running the PIEPlugin.cab file (note that the Download Plugin for PIE Updated.zip file contains the same PIEPlugin.cab also separately downloadable file) linked in the first post. You won't even need to have a Registry Editor. (Note that there are some, similar threads for only one extension type: ZIP, EXE. However, make sure you prefer rcperez's hack.)
1.1.2 Adding more functionality to the phone dialpad
MS Smartphones have something that (most) traditional Pocket PC's don't have: a phonepad: consisting of 10 numeric keys, the # and the * buttons. Knowing the most common functionality a Web browser user wants to have access to (quick scroll up/down, to the top/bottom of the page; reloading; - with multi-document browsers - switching to the previous / next tab; quickly switching between the different rendering and layout modes; quickly changing the character size / zoom percentage), many of this functionality can be quickly accessed by making use of the 12 extra buttons.
As has already been pointed out, IEM only makes use of the '2' and '8' keys by default. These two buttons can be used to do page scrolls, as opposed to the link scrolls accessible on the D-pad, combined with fast scrolling introduced in later WM5 AKU's, should you continuously depress the D-pad. You can, fortunately, assign (some) functionality to all the other remaining ten buttons.
Unfortunately, there are far fewer functions you can assign to the buttons, but even this is definitely a step forward. Let's have a complete list of the functionalities that can be accessed (note that I'll explain the numbers later, when discussing how the Registry should be modded):
Functionality (Registry values):
1 - Page Up (default under (later?) WM5 / WM6)
2 - Page Down (default under (later?) WM5 / WM6)
3 - Top of page
4 - Bottom of page
5 - Page Left in non-one column view / modes
6 - Page Right in non-one column view / modes
7 - Page FULL left in non-one column view / modes
8 - Page FULL right in non-one column view / modes
9 - Default Layout
10 - Desktop Layout
11 - One Column Layout
12 - Full Screen Toggle
13 - Show Pictures Toggle
As can clearly be seen, there're no goodies like "Refresh" in here. However, even then it's pretty much useful.
Now, let's see what these numbers are for. To understand their meaning, I elaborate on how the Registry stores the keypad button - functionality pairs.
In the Registry, it's the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Internet Explorer\ KeyMaps] key that stores values (NOT subkeys!) connecting keys with functionalities. In general, it's done in the following way: the value name's the keycode and the value of the value is one of the above-listed functionalities.
The keycodes are as follows (that is, the Registry value names):
48: 0
49: 1
50: 2
51: 3
52: 4
53: 5
54: 6
55: 7
56: 8
57: 9
119: *
120: #
I've created a registry import file that assigns most the available functionality (except for "Page FULL right in non-one column view / modes"). All you need to do is importing it (with, say, Resco Registry Explorer) and (re)starting IEM. The effects will be seen at once. The registry import file is available HERE and has the following key assignment:
0: full screen (12)
1: Show Pictures Toggle (13)
2: Page Up (1)
3: top of page (3)
4: Page Left in non-one column view / modes (5)
5: Page FULL left in non-one column view / modes (7)
6: Page Right in non-one column view / modes (6)
7: default layout (9)
8: Page Down (2)
9: bottom of page (4)
*: Desktop Layout (10)
#: One Column Layout (11)
For more (not mandatory) info, also see THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS.
1.2 Opera Mobile
(a QVGA screenshot; note that, as with IEM and Opera Mini, Opera Mobile is perfectly usable on low-resolution, 176*220 Smartphones too)
Currently, this really excellent browser is even more usable on the Smartphone than on most Pocket PC (that is, Pocket PC’s without a dialpad on the face of the phone – an example of PPC models with a dialpad is the ASUS P525) because of the functionality shortcuts assigned to these buttons. As has been pointed out in the Web Browsing Bible (which is a good read even for people that don’t own a Pocket PC), currently, it’s not possible to assign any otherwise assignable functionality – for example, page up/down, jump to beginning of page etc. – to Pocket PC hardware button. The situation is entirely different with the Smartphone platform.
This is all topped with the traditional Opera Mobile strengths: speed, standards compliance, being multi-tabbed (of course, tabs aren’t displayed in the SP version; however, it’s very easy to quickly (!) switch between loaded pages), no binary download-related problems, upload support etc.
There are some minor (!) bugs with the SP version, as opposed to the PPC one. These are in no way as bad as the problems with IEM, though.
The Register can’t be browsed without zooming out and/or switching to Landscape mode on QVGA screens. This is because, for some reason, one-column mode is just hidden when browsing The Register. Screenshots: 1 2
The standard Smartphone "Back" button doesn't work in the cache setting text input field, which makes it impossible to change the value (other than adding, say, a new number in front of it, which is NOT recommended in any way for a reason I elaborate on later). The "Delete" key on built-in QWERTY keyboards (when they exist), on the other hand, do work. This is a minor problem on models with no built-in QWERTY thumb/keyboard. Tested on both the Vox (has a QWERTY keyboard) and the Oxygen (no keyboard). Note that you can always manually edit (with a file explorer tool) the Size value in the [Disk Cache] section of \Application Data\ Opera\ opera.ini if you want to change this value.
If you install Opera Mobile to a storage card, the file associations won’t work with HTML files and URL’s (for example, links in e-mails) as can be seen in HERE. The problem with PPC version 8.60 was the same; unfortunately, the registry script (see THIS article) I’ve created for the latter doesn’t help with the Smartphone version.
Has some minor problems with image handling. When the browser is presented with more than, say, 7-8 images in a page, it may not download them all (or, for that matter, any of them). Give a try to THIS page to see this in effect - on my QVGA Vox, it didn't render any images. The situation was pretty similar on the old(er) Oxygen (with other pages).
When you manually enter a URL into the "Go to" text input field on the Vox keyboard, you can't enter a string longer than the screen estate size (give a try to entering, say, the above link!) This problem can only be fixed by trying to visit the part that can still be entered and, then, returning to Action / Go to, finding the first part of the URL already entered and going on with entering the latter part(s). Dunno if this problem is caused by the OS or Opera Mobile.
If you define a HUGE cache (to bring down data usage costs), the responsiveness of the browser REALLY decreases. For example, on my Vox, I had a cache with about ~10M files (in the main storage). With that, Opera takes over a minute (!) to start and, after loading a new page (WITHOUT images!) about 10-15 seconds to flush it to the cache, during which you can't for example scroll up/down to go on reading. That is, you need to stick with the default 2M cache to get rid of these problems.
If there is little RAM memory left, the Smartphone dialpad keys (2, 6, 9 etc.) stop working. Instead of their default functionality, they result in reloading pages / moving elsewhere. In these situations, an error message like "Due to RAM memory shortage, the requested action couldn't be done." could be shown.
Again and again, this is more of nitpicking – Opera Mobile for the MS Smartphone still stays THE best Smartphone Web browser. For example, it still supports even saving images (in the Image mode – see the explanation in the usage chart).
Probably the only really annoying bug is the fact that, as of 8.65 beta released on 06/01/2007 and usable until October this year, it only remembers HTTP proxy servers during the first page request after starting; the other requests are directly sent to the HTTP server. To test this, give it a working (for example, at the time of writing, 82.204.47.120:8080 was one of them) proxy address in \Application Data\ Opera\ opera.ini (as is explained in the Toonel-related section) and, then, after restarting Opera, go to WhatIsMyIP.com. Upon the first invocation, you’ll see the proxy’s address as the originating address. Upon later invocations (for example, after just refreshing the page), however, it’ll switch to direct access – and the IP address it displays will also reflect this.
This, unfortunately, means currently you won’t be able to local proxy-based bandwidth usage reduction solutions like Toonel with Opera Mobile. Neither will you be able to use external proxies to either conceal your real IP or get outside of a corporate network.
1.3 Opera Mini 4.x
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
(VGA PPC screenshot running under the Intent midlet manager (hence the non-used command bar at the bottom); a QVGA Smartphone screenshot HERE)
I’ve often reported on Opera Mini, which, as of the current 4.x series beta, has become a serious contender to even native Windows Mobile Web browsers, particularly on the touch screen-less Smartphone platform, where the lacking features of Opera Mini (for example, lack of context menus or copy / paste capabilities) aren’t a problem because of the lack of the touch screen. (That is, you couldn’t use these features on IEM either – it’s only Opera Mobile, with its excellent link / image context menus even on the SP platform, that still offers a bit more functionality than Opera Mini.)
1.3.1 What’s new with the brand new, 4.x Opera Mini series?
Nokia’s having pioneered the quick zoom functionality in their excellent S60 series 3 Web browser, Windows Mobile browsers quickly followed suit: first, NetFront in the second Technical Preview of their forthcoming 3.4; then, Microsoft in their (beta-stage and still far from being finished) DeepFish.
Opera, the, in my opinion, by far the finest (give a try to their desktop browser, particularly if you have an (W)SXGA+ or (W)UXGA screen – you’ll love it!) browser developer company, soon followed suit. In addition to announcing the forthcoming Opera 9, which is a native Windows Mobile application, with similar capabilities, they have also added full page view & quick zoom capabilities to the brand new series of Opera Mini, their Java Midlet-based, small, but still VERY powerful multiplatform browser.
Just visit THIS page (the SWF file, should you want to directly download it, is HERE) and see what Opera has come up with. It’s indeed very cool, isn’t it? All this in a VERY small package (90 kbytes), with almost unmeasurable runtime (dynamic RAM) memory consumption. Compare this to the memory consumption of traditional Web browsers – yes, they consume orders of magnitude more memory. Note that there are a some other, cool videos on Opera’s homepage running the browser in reality – those videos are far more instructive than my static screenshots.
This browser, as has also been pointed out in the Web Browser Bible, runs great on Windows Mobile, on both Pocket PC’s and MS Smartphones, in both common factory-default midlet environments, the Intent (the industry standard on almost all WM5-based PPC and SP phones, except for the Esmertec-based HP iPAQ hx6915) and the Esmertec (shipped with many natively WM6 phones like the HTC Vox / S710) midlet managers.
It’s by far the best J2ME (Java midlet) browser: other Midlet-based browsers are far worse in every respect. For example, jBrowser can’t even display middle-sized pages like the PPCMag blog page, the PPCT main page as can be seen in HERE and, for smaller pages, it will never finish loading.
As has already been pointed out, the best new feature the new version offers is Zoom-in / full page view functionality. Its “let’s crunch the text into the viewable screen estate” works just great – much better than I’ve expected or what most of the other browsers do.
You’ll REALLY love the new page view functionality if you want to check out for example
THIS is the desktop rendition of the Finnish stock exchange in a tabular form. Now, let’s take a look at them in the default, pre-series 4 one-column mode:
and this is how the new, full page layout mode renders it (zoomed in):
and zoomed out, showing the entire page:
A big difference in usability and readability, isn’t it?
Of course, in most cases, if you don’t want to browse tabular data like this, you won’t necessarily need the new mode. Then, you may safely stay with the old, one-column mode.
In addition to providing a page view & zoom-in mode, the Opera folks have come out with something unprecedented in the Windows Mobile world: smart text finding. Let me show you an example with an XDA-Developers thread:
In THIS screenshot, I’ve just started browsing and, therefore, the selection frame is in the upper left corner. Now, let’s press the Down key several times (or, even better, 8 for much quicker navigation downwards). As soon as I’ve reached the body of the text, the selection was automatically (!) scrolled to the right so that no screen estate remains unused on the left side of the screen as can be seen in HERE. Pretty smart, eh?
Now, let’s press Action to read it. As can indeed be seen, the text is very intelligently flowed in a way that no horizontal scrolling is necessary. It’s also really-really superior to how most other browsers handle non-one column modes. Thumbs up Opera, you’re indeed the BEST Web browser developers out there – and this is stated by somebody that knows a LOT about Web technologies and protocols!
1.3.2 Shortcuts
Opera Mini is pretty much similar to Opera Mobile in that it makes extensive use of the phonepad (dialpad) common on all SP models (and, as has already been stated, also available on some PPC models). Unfortunately, the default hotkeys are different, which you, if you often switch between the two browsers, will find pretty inconvenient. (But, then, just edit \Application Data\ Opera\ input.ini to make it similar to the Opera Mini shortcuts. See my other, Opera Mobile-related articles on how this can be accomplished.)
Please see section 1.5 (Shortcuts) to see what shortcuts the two browsers (and, in addition, IEM) offers. They REALLY make browsing MUCH faster – it’s really worth using the dialpad to access them.
1.3.3 Bugs, annoyances in Opera Mini 4.0 beta
The new, 4.0 series being in beta state, it has some, in most cases (if you DO use a compatible Midlet environment), non fatal bugs / annoyances not present in previous versions:
Big minimal font size (as opposed to the current 3.1.* version) and (comparatively) huge gaps between rows. A lot of people have complianed about this; in my opinion, this doesn’t hamper the usability of the client.
Cookies are not necessarily kept (as opposed to the current 3.1.* version – you may end up having to logging into your account much more frequently than with the 3.x series)
You may encounter crashes on Pocket PC’s and on Smartphones running other Midlet managers than that of Esmertec. On my Vox, using the factory-shipped Esmertec midlet environment, I haven’t encountered ANY crash over the last month of active (!) usage. See for example THIS XDA-Dev thread on PPC users’ reporting shutdowns / crashes. Most (if not all) of these users use the Intent midlet manager (which, again, is also the default midlet manager on many Smartphones.)
Let me, again, emphasize that while on my brand new WM6 HTC Vox (s710), using the Esmertec Jeodek 20070115.1.1 midlet environment, I have never encountered any Opera Mini 4.0 beta crash (while having been using it at least 2-3 hours a day!), other midlet environments may behave differently. For example, the Intent midlet manager common on most WM5 Smartphones AND Pocket PC's is known to frequently crash on OpMini4 users - it did once on me too when I (quickly) tested OpMini 4 on my HTC Universal (the latter running the 10/1/7/554 / 20060502 version of the Intent manager.) Should you encounter crashes like this, consider switching to either the IBM J9 midlet manager (according to holg HERE, it works just great with Opera Mini 4) or look around in the XDA-Developers forums for help in getting the, again, stable and reliable Esmertec Midlet manager. (I don't know whether it's separately sold; I seriously doubt it.)
The full page layout takes a LOT of memory. If you stay with the one-column mode, unless you load HUGE pages (say, hundreds of kilobytes originally), you, in general, will be able to make use of all the 30 page slots without having to reload any of these pages. If you, on the other hand, switch to the original page (as opposed to the one-column one) layout view, this will be reduced to two or three concurrent pages at most, regardless of the size of the original pages. If you often switch back to already loaded, just-browsed pages and don’t want to reload them because of the time / bandwidth requirements, you will want to stick to the traditional, one-column mode.
Note that the two versions can easily co-exist with each other. That is, if the first three problems become annoying, you can just switch back to the old versions. Unfortunately, as the favorite lists aren’t shared between the two versions, favorites that you add / edit in one version won’t be visible in the other.
1.3.4 Other (non-4.x-specific) problems
There’re still some problems with Opera Mini that may be a showstopper for you.
It’s still unable to render ANY kind of italic text (see for example THIS for a more thorough elaboration and my demos showing displaying italic text is indeed possible on Smartphones, regardless of the midlet manager in use). This is a MAJOR pain the back. I’ve already contacted the Opera folks on this matter; hope they fix this problem.
Binary download support-wise (as it’s using the IEM engine to do the “dirty” stuff; that is, to download files off the Web), it’s suffering from exactly the same problems as IEM:
CAB files with text MIME type are just rendered as text (like THIS); bigger ones (like THIS 1.5M CAB file) result in an out of memory error
non-CAB files with (correct) binary MIME type (like THIS PDF file) are correctly passed to IEM. Unfortunately, as the execution is fully supervised by IEM, you won’t be able to download any of these files because of the well-known problem already outlined in the IEM section.
Finally, CAB files with the binary MIME type (like THIS) are both correctly recognized by OpMini and, then, correctly downloaded by IEM.
And, of course, the other minor annoyances / restrictions (no file upload, no any kind of access to the IEM / Opera Mobile favorites, no URL copying etc.) – you can see them all in the original Web Browser Bible.
1.3.5 Verdict
Currently, while Opera Mini 4 is at beta stage (as is also emphasized in the documents), it’s already highly recommended if you have a SP model.
1.3.6 More information
Opera Mini 4.0 wishlist thread
Opera Mini forum
1.4 jB5
(another screenshot, now with an image)
Now, this is a really promising browser! While decidedly slower than even IEM and lacks highly useful features like FastBack (upon pressing Back, rendering the page from the local memory cache and NOT downloading it again, unlike both jB5 and NetFront) and does NOT offer multiple document capabilities (unlike the two Operas), it’s (as of the current, tested version, 5.0.56) already pretty powerful (for example, it's the only Smartphone Web browser to offer in-page text search: see it in action: 1 2 3) - much more usable than, say, the next-to-useless Minimo. What is more, it's free.
As it's in beta stage and will surely receive an ever better version, I do not thoroughly review and compare its features / standards compliance to the alternatives because the info would be outdated VERY soon. I will, however, definitely review it as soon as it gets into final (or Release Candidate). Make sure you check it out and get your free copy - if you can put up with the somewhat slower page loading / scrolling speed and the lack of multi-tabs / FastBack, you may like it very much.
1.5 Additional technologies
In this section, I elaborate on the Toonel, Java applet and Flash support on Smartphones. Again and again, CHECK out the original Windows Mobile Web Browsing Bible for more info on them. In here, I only give you strictly Smartphone-related information, not generic one you might want to also know.
1.5.1 Flash
Unfortunately, unlike on the desktop, where there is a more or less solid and compatible (albeit pretty slow) official Flash implementation from Adobe (ex-Macromedia; from now on, I only refer to it as “Adobe”) itself (and the alternative, albeit a bit worse and much more CPU-hungry player integrated into NetFront), Smartphone users have always been left in the cold. Much as Adobe has been addressed several petitions (see for example THIS one at MoDaCo), the Smartphone still haven’t received a real Flash player.
There is some light on the horizon, though. Adobe is working on Flash Lite (current version: 2.1), which is already accessible HERE. (If you don’t have an account, make sure you check in “No, I will create one now” as the bottom so that you can register. Registering can be done quickly; only after that will you be able to access the downloads. Note that, should you not want unwanted Adobe mails, you don’t need to check in any of the “I’m a developer / content creator” radio buttons – you can safely set all of them to “No” instead of the default “Yes” – you’ll still be provided access for the download).
Both IEM and Opera Mobile supports this plug-in (see screenshots below). Note that it doesn’t run MOST currently available Flash animations. For example, most games out there won’t run (unlike under the Pocket PC version). Some examples of them are Bomberman and Play with fire (this is what you’ll be shown: 1 2; IEM screenshot).
Incidentally, I’ve tried to „hack“ Flash Lite (overwriting \Program Files\Adobe\ flashlite.dll with the original, “full” \Windows\ Macromedia\ flash.dll). However, the checking for being a genuine Flash Lite animation is done in another DLL (daxplayer.dll); therefore, this hack doesn’t work.
1.5.2 Toonel
Toonel, the transparent compressor proxy, is a GREAT way to save data usage costs. If you don’t have an unlimited data plan, you really should check it out by, first, reading my related article & tutorial HERE. I’ve published several articles and tips on Toonel; the just-linked one is the one to start with.
While, it seems, it’s not possible to make the native Windows Mobile version work, the Java versions does work on Smartphones.
As far as the native Windows Mobile version is concerned, according to the folks HERE (thanks for the link to the Toonel folks; it's Russian - Babel "translation" HERE), some people managed to make the native (.NET CF) version of Toonel run. I haven’t succeeded in this on either of my Oxygen or Vox.
Fortunately, the Java version works. In general, you’ll only need the (brand new) CrEme 4.12 (download the TI OMAP version of the 4.1 series if you have a TI OMAP-based Smartphone) and THIS JAR file (version 0.45 - do NOT use version 0.50!). Install CrEme (you can do this on the storage card too – then, however, you’ll need to modify the link file I give you), copy the JAR file to the root directory of your handheld (you can, actually, copy it anywhere – but, then, you’ll need to modify the link file I will give you soon) and, then, copy THIS link file to \Windows\Start Menu. Then, just click the latter to start Toonel in the background. Upon start, you should see THIS screen. If you see THIS (note the bind() failed message!), it shows Toonel is already running.
Note that the CrEme process takes quite a lot of memory (but, fortunately, little CPU time – about 1-2% - when inactive) as can be seen in HERE. Beware of this fact – the operating system may kill the CrEme (Toonel) process in the background, particularly if you start other, memory-intensive programs. Then, you will just need to restart the proxy by clicking the startup script.
As, currently, the SP version of Opera Mobile (as with old 8.60 Pocket PC builds) doesn’t have internal support for entering proxy servers, you must enter the proxy information in the config file by hand. However, as with the old PPC betas, you can easily configure the proxy server by just editing \Application Data\ Opera\ opera.ini and adding the following section:
[Proxy]
Use HTTP=1
HTTP server=127.0.0.1:8080
Enable HTTP 1.1 for proxy=1
A screenshot of the Web admin interface of the locally running Toonel on my Vox:
As can clearly be seen, there was about 80% (fourfold!) bandwidth usage saving during the active session. This alone makes Toonel really worthy if yours is not an unlimited data plan.
A quick visit to WhatIsMyIP also shows it’s through the Toonel server that you’re connected (85.25.148.242 is one of the IP’s of the Toonel servers).
It’s VERY important to remember that, currently (as of 07/10/2007), the SP version of Opera Mobile does NOT reliably support proxy servers. Therefore, if you absolutely must use Toonel (or ANY external proxy server), you MUST use IEM and forget Opera Mobile.
As IEM, as with the PPC version, also depends on the operating-system level proxy settings (unlike other browsers), you must also configure the system to access the Net differently than before. That is, do the following:
in IEM, go to Menu / 9 Tools / 3 Options / Connections, untick “Automatically detect settings” and select “Work” in the list as can be seen in HERE
in the system-level Settings, go to 6 Connections / 6 Proxy, press Action on New and create a new record as can be seen in THIS screenshot (as can be seen in HERE, just leave “Type” on “HTTP”). You can name the proxy setting anything; in here, I’ve called it ‘t’. That is, all you need to do is setting “The Internet” to “Connects from”, “Work” to “Connects to” and entering “127.0.0.1:8080” in “Proxy (nameort)”.
Note that, after this, you will need to configure your other programs also using the system-level settings to use Toonel instead of a direct connection. Unfortunately, I haven’t managed to configure the built-in Messaging to use the built-in POP3 proxy support of Toonel (as opposed to the Pocket PC Messaging). Also, remember that, should you have the built-in Live (or MSN) Messenger, defining the proxy will also render them useless.
Unfortunately, it seems it’s not possible to make these programs work with a proxy defined in the above way. That is, you will need to delete the proxy every time you want to access your mail. It seems there are no other ways of disabling it - for example, setting the source / target networks to something else doesn’t work.
Again, keep in mind that you can have Toonel activated for IEM (that is, using a system-level proxy setting) AND still access your mail (both compressed, via Toonel, and uncompressed) via other, Smartphone-compliant mailer clients; for example, FlexMail. With the latter, you can safely use the compression offered by Toonel too and the mails downloaded just OK.
1.5.3 Java applets
While the IEM plug-in of the just-released CrEme 4.12 (the only Java Virtual Machine to be compatible with the Smartphone AND have an applet plug-in) can be registered, it doesn’t seem to be working, unlike on the Pocket PC.
Neither the applet-based Radar Weather test nor the local demo applet (Cube) shipped with the system work: the JVM plug-in just keeps showing "loading applet". Example screenshots: 1 2 (Vox); 3 (Oxygen).
1.6 Keyboard shortcuts
I’ve compiled a chart of the three SP Web browsers showing how a given functionality can be accessed. As can be seen, in general, Opera Mini requires the least button presses to do something (assuming IEM and Opera Mobile run in full-screen mode, which also means double initial softkey presses instead of just a single one to access something in menus only – that is, not having a direct dialpad shortcut).
Keep in mind that, if you extensively use the dialpad (for example, to directly enter the number of the menu item you’d like to activate – these numbers are shown in all menus and I also reproduce them here), you can navigate MUCH faster than using the D-pad to scroll up/down a menu.
You can find the chart here - make sure you check it out, you’ll find it REALLY useful!
2. Non-working or not recommended browsers
2.1 Thunderhawk 2.0
Unfortunately, this browser wasn’t updated for WM5. This means neither the SP2003 (1 2) nor the SP2002 version (these are the two versions available for download) can be installed on WM5/WM6 SP models. All in all, forget about it for the time being.
2.2 NetFront 3.4 Technical Preview 007
No MS Smartphone (WM6 Standard)-compliance: while the CAB installer can be installed on a WM5+ Smartphone, the main GUI isn’t displayed when you start the browser. (tested on the HTC Vox/s710 in both orientations).
2.3 Webby
Unfortunately, it doesn’t run either. While it can be installed, it refuses to run (1 2 3).
2.4 Minimo 0.2
(the latter is a 176*220 screenshot; as can be seen, only the last, Menu (…) icon is invisible; however, transferring the focus to it will also work. Too bad it turned out to be pretty unreliable on my WM5 AKU3 s310 (Oxygen)– even more so than on my QVGA Vox. For example, it didn’t even finish loading the SPT homepage as can be seen in the above screenshot.)
While it can be installed on SP’s, on this platform it’s far from perfect and, in general, useless, for the following reasons:
it has HUGE memory usage (the biggest problem with the 0.2 version on the Pocket PC platform too). After loading, it consumes about 12Mbytes and, when you load additional pages, this decreases even more, leaving little (if any) RAM memory
accessing the icons (to, for example, bring up the address bar) at the bottom can only be done using the right softkey. This, on the other hand, first, iterates through ALL the links in the page (yes, ALL of them), and only after this moves down to the bottom icons. A mouse emulator like SPHelper doesn’t help (to directly click the icons at the bottom) – Minimo just doesn’t sense the mouse clicks (that is, left softkey presses)
the browser often crashes (mostly if you run out of memory) and is generally slowish
All in all, I don’t recommend it. Also see for example THIS and THIS for more info / user opinions.
Note that the other available version, Minimo 0.16, isn’t installable on Smartphones at all.
UPDATE (later the same day):
in THIS thread, MoDaCo forum member holg posted something definitely worth reading - it, for example, explains how you can directly start Opera Mini from the alternative, by me, often-discussed midlet runner environment, the IBM J9. It also shows how external proxies can be used with this environment.
SPT frontpage
UPDATE (07/11/2007): Article heavily updated: added the two IEM Registry hack sections; added the jB5 section.
The following is the brand new section I've just added to the original article. Sorry for not reposting the entire article again - I hate slicing it into pieces so that they become under 10k in size.
1.5.1.1 Hacking REAL Flash on Smartphones
I’ve tried to "hack" Flash Lite (overwriting \Program Files\Adobe\ flashlite.dll with the original, “full” \Windows\ Macromedia\ flash.dll). However, the checking for being a genuine Flash Lite animation is done in another DLL (daxplayer.dll); therefore, this hack doesn’t work.
Fortunately, other hackers had better luck. XDA-Developers forum member jockyw2001 has managed to hack the REAL Flash player onto the SP.
(IEM playing back a YouTube video in One Column mode on the HTC Vox)
(other screenshots: Opera Mobile on the Vox doing the same in Desktop mode with 50% zoom, with the SPHelper cursor for controlling the on-screen controls; the same on my 176*220 Oxygen, with 25% zoom)
His thread is HERE (you will NOT need to read it to complete the steps below!) Note that you MUST apply the hacks on an application unlocked phone - it won't work on locked phones. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to unlock your phone (see for example THIS article for some links). Also note that the hack worked just great on both my WM6 QVGA HTC Vox (s710) and WM5 AKU3 176*220 HTC Oxygen (s310). Some people, however, reported problems with other models (see the above-linked thread). I'm pretty sure it's because they have messed up something that the plug-in doesn't work on their devices.
First, get THIS file (it's a slighlty rearranged version of jockyw2001's original. For example, I've collected the registry import files into one file and separated the files into directories named after the steps you need to do). UnRAR it with, say, WinRAR. Now, do the following:
If you've already installed Resco File Explorer (along with its registry plug-in) and at least once started the latter, copy All.reg from Step 1 - Registry import to anywhere on your SP and click it from File Explorer. It will be imported into the Registry.
Go to the root directory of your SP and to the Step 2 - Windows directory copy directory on your desktop computer. Copy the Windows directory on your SP.
Go to the Step 3 - flash6 directory on your desktop and the \Windows\Macromedia directory on your SP. Overwrite flash.dll on your SP with the one on your desktop.
Go to Step 4 - regserv and copy regsvrce.exe anywhere on your SP. From inside File Explorer (on your SP), execute it to register Flash. To do this, enter \Windows\Macromedia\flash.dll in the Full pathname... text input field (176*220 screenshot). (To make this easier (to avoid entering the path on the phonepad / keyboard of your phone), I recommend for example Pocket Controller on the desktop. If you can’t use Ctrl-V to paste to there (the case with the version 5.06 + HTC Vox combo, but NOT with the Oxygen), use ViTO’s excellent CopyPaste on the Smartphone to copy the contents of the clipboard to the input field.)
Then, just press OK and “Yes” in the confirmation dialog. After some 2-3 seconds, you’ll hear another bell. Now, start regsvrc.exe again; you’ll immediately see a confirmation (success) dialog (176*220 screenshot).
On the desktop, go to Step 5 - Flash7 and copy flash.dll to \Windows\Macromedia on your SP in order to overwrite the in step 3 copied Flash 6 version with the new, Flash 7 one.
Now you can start enjoying REAL Flash content!
The plug-in works great (additional screenshot); you’ll need a cursor emulator like SPHelper to click labels / buttons like in THIS screenshot.
Note that both IEM and Opera Mobile are able to make use of the plug-in. The two programs have somewhat different strengths and weaknesses.
First, IEM can't make use the up/down arrow keys; that is, if you would like to, say, play a game depending on these two directions, they will be unplayable. In these cases, you MUST use Opera Mobile. Second, as far as playing back YouTube videos is concerned, while IEM (unlike on the Pocket PC – it’s pretty strange the SP version of IEM is better in this respect) you will want to prefer Opera Mobile because it’s slightly faster at playback. You will still want to overclock your phone - if it’s a TI OMAP-based one, with OMAPClock.
Under Opera Mobile (as opposed to IEM), in the default mode, the flash plug-in size will be really tiny as can be seen in HERE. (Therefore, you’ll want to switch to Desktop mode and use a Zoom level of, on QVGA machines, in general, 50%, and, on 176*220 models, 25%) Unfortunately, you will still have problems with scrolling down / right – in the default, link scrolling mode, you will only see the top left part of the page and won’t be able to scroll anywhere (not even clicking the scrollbars with SPHelper). To fix this (and to scroll down to the Flash animation), you MUST switch to Image (scrolling) mode. With Opera Mobile, the up/down arrows do work, unlike with IEM, as can also be seen in THIS screenshot (otherwise, I couldn’t have been able to go down).
UPDATE (07/18/2007): Upon popular demand, I've added a section on installing the Flash hack on a storage card.
Again, it's available at http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2084&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
1.1.3 MultiIE
The well-known Pocket PC IEM enhancer, MultiIE, is also compatible with (WM5+ only; sorry, no pre-WM5 compliance) MS Smartphones. The standard WM5 installer works on both Pocket PC’s and Smartphones. Let’s see how it compares to the Pocket PC version!
Unfortunately, it’s far inferior, feature-wise, to the Pocket PC version. Basically, you can only expect it to add multi-tab functionality.
1.1.3.1 Differences between the Pocket PC and the Smartphone version
1.1.3.1.1 Goodies missing - a generic overview
It’s fully impossible to save images in the SP version. The same stands for the excellent, additional features offered by, for example, address bar macros. They are ALL missing from the SP version, which is, more or less, only lets for multi tabs, softkey-based D-pad scroll mode and full screen switching, HTML saving and source viewing and keeping backlight on.
There are a LOT of features just not accessible in the SP version. In addition to basic functionality like the already-mentioned ability to open a link in another tab, the lack of saving images or saving full Web pages (as opposed to only saving plain HTML files without in-line images and, preferably, CSS/JS files), a whole set of other features are also missing: for example, address bar macroing, the excellent location-based services offered by the PPC version, the ability to quickly reformat a Web page through online Web compression / reformatting services like Skweezer etc. Fortunately, at least “Keep Backlight On” works.
1.1.3.1.2 Setting dialogs
Unfortunately, a lot of menu options accessible on the PPC are just not accessible in the SP version. For example, assigning shortcut buttons to MultiIE functions (PPC screenshots: 1 2) isn’t even offered by the SP version. On the Screen tab, it’s not possible to switch off the, on the Smartphone, useless (because you can’t tap them on a touchscreen-less device) corner icons (PPC SP).
1.1.3.1.3 Impossible to open a link in a new tab
While it’s available in the SP version of Opera Mobile (where you just traverse the focus to the link you’d like to open but, instead of pressing Action, press the right softkey and select “1 Open in new window”), it’s not possible to dynamically set where (in what tab) a new link should be opened to. This, of course, is also possible in the PPC version of MultiIE as can be seen in HERE.
You can surely try to redefine the default functionality in the Open link: Tap default action to, say, Open in new back window as can be seen in HERE, but it won’t work at all (and won’t stick). This means you can NOT open links in another tab in any way without opening a new tab in Menu / 9 MultiIE / 3 Open New Window and, in there, select the link you want to display in this tab.
1.1.3.2 Compared to Opera Mobile…
The inability to open a link in a new window, as has already been pointed out, is a big problem with MultiIE – as opposed to OpMob.
Switching between open tabs also requires significantly more button presses than in Opera Mobile. In the latter, you only need to press ‘2’ once to bring up the list of open tabs, where, after selecting the right one to switch to, you only need to press Action once. In MultiIE, you need to press Menu / 9 MultiIE and, if there are not more than 3 open tabs (in Portrait mode on QVGA devices; on 176*220 ones, even two open tabs will result in the same), select the tab at the top. If there’re more tabs open (QVGA screenshot with 4 tabs) or, you’re in Landscape, there will be another level of redirection (1 Windows), making it necessary to issue another keypress.
There is, however, something MultiIE is better at: saving web pages do work. Unfortunately, you can’t fine tune what should be saved – unlike in the PPC version, where not only the page HTML itself, but also all the related resources (by selecting a full save instead of the HTML-only).
1.1.3.3 Other bugs & problems
In addition to the already-mentioned ones (for example, the Open link: Tap default action settings’s not being sticky) it has several other bugs. For example, it sometimes hides the tabs (1 2) on QVGA devices (but not on 176*220 ones). This might particularly be a case with pages using frames, after maximizing one of these frames using Expand Frame (left softkey); for example, the MultiIE page itself.
The menus may be a bit messed up (but still usable) on QVGA devices because of the too large fonts. On low-res 176*220 ones, they’re OK (screenshots: 176*220: 1 2 3; QVGA: 1 2)
While the tabs can be re-displayed after a screen rotation (if the particular device supports rotating the screen – for example, the Vox does), rotating back to the original rotation will result in not using the entire screen estate. This won’t be an issue if you NEVER rotate the screen but stay in either Portrait or Landscape all the time.
As far as the options dialog screens are concerned, the “Plugin” dialog is also different: first, as it is lacking a scrollbar, you don’t see anything under Presets / Shown on open more menu on both 176*220 and QVGA Portrait phones. On QVGA Landscape ones, however, the scrollbar is displayed and you can scroll down, revealing the lowermost GUI widgets. Not that it’d be of any use: NONE of the features work in here. That is, you can’t even set the User-Agent to be used to “disguise” your browser as a full desktop Windows browser. This is also a very bad disadvantage, compared to how it behaves on the Pocket PC.
Still in this dialog, the address bar search configuration (PPC screenshots: 1 2) don’t work either: an “Option not available in alpha” is displayed.
1.1.3.4 Tips & tricks
By default, to view the source of a Web page, it tries to use \Windows\notes.exe, which doesn’t exist on any MS Smartphones.
Unfortunately (if you have a phone with a built-in keyboard – non-QWERTY phones don’t have this program!), if you redefine this link to \Windows\TextNotes.exe as can be seen in HERE, Menu / 9 MultiIE / 6(+) Page Tools / 3 View Source will not work either.
Therefore, if you have a Windows Mobile 6 Standard phone (which come with Office Mobile built-in), you’ll want to prefer Word Mobile (\Windows\pword.exe) to view the sources. To make this word, configure MultiIE to use it as the default viewer. With that, watching sources will work just fine:
1.1.3.5 Verdict
All in all, don’t expect much of the current version of MultiIE for Smartphone. It’s WAY worse, WAY harder to use and definitely more buggy than the Pocket PC version. The Smartphone version of Opera Mobile is far better thought-out (support for dialpad buttons; menu-based link / image context menu support etc., making it far easier to, for example, open a link in a new tab instead of the current one; far faster to switch tabs; allows for saving images etc.). If you, however, absolutely need to stick to IEM and do need a multitab solution for it with some goodies (for example, Opera Mobile still doesn’t support saving pages; MultiIE does; the same stands for quickly swapping between the three scrolling modes, should you want to exclusively use the D-pad for scrolling and leave the 2/8 phone buttons alone), currently, MultiIE is the only way to go.
UPDATE: Just added a new section on MultiIE in the IEM-related chapter. Worth a read!
UPDATE (10/20/2007): I've published a review of Opera Mobile 8.65 Final (PPC/SP), Picsel 1.0.5 (PPC/SP) and the brand new Spb Pocket Plus 4.0 (PPC). A new version of jb5 (PPC/SP) has been released and a brand new, albeit very simple IEM add-in Web Viewer for WM5 (PPC). Also, I’ve linked in some of my recent reviews of some new (not very important) Web browsers: TeaShark (PPC/SP) and UCWEB (PPC/SP). Finally, I've published some genuine, never-before-published tips and tricks on utilizing the Pocket PC hardware application buttons to control Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. It's a MUST for any serious Pocket PC user - you'll LOVE my new tips & tricks. See THIS. Cross-posted to: PPCT, AximSite, XDA-Developers - 1, XDA-Developers - 2, FirstLoox, BrightHand, HowardForums, SPT, MoDaCo.
UPDATE (11/12/2007): the final version of Opera Mini 4 has been released. I've written a VERY thorough tutorial on installing and using it; it's available HERE; cross-posted to PPCT, AximSite, XDA-Developers -1, XDA-Developers -2, FirstLoox, BrightHand, HowardForums - 1, HowardForums - 2, SPT, MoDaCo, official Opera Mini forum. Note that it also links in my brand new MIDlet Bible, which will be a god-send anyone wanting to run this EXCELLENT browser on his or her handset.
Menneisyys said:
Step 1 - Registry import to anywhere on your SP and click it from File Explorer. It will be imported into the Registry.
[*]Go to the root directory of your SP and to the Step 2 - Windows directory copy directory on your desktop computer. Copy the Windows directory on your SP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
REF: STEP2...
When I try to copy my WINDOWS folder from SP to Desktop, I get error: "Cannot copy index: There has been a sharing violation. The source or destination file may be in use." This error is while copying from "Content IE5" I feel I didn't understand that instruction correctly. There are 1136 objects in Windows folder on route.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
markanthonypr said:
REF: STEP2...
When I try to copy my WINDOWS folder from SP to Desktop, I get error: "Cannot copy index: There has been a sharing violation. The source or destination file may be in use." This error is while copying from "Content IE5" I feel I didn't understand that instruction correctly. There are 1136 objects in Windows folder on route.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you want to copy from there? To copy the local cache?
Menneisyys said:
Why do you want to copy from there? To copy the local cache?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Menneisyys, Thank you for your reply. I made reference to Step#2 of your post#9 on this thread in regards to installing/hacking Real Flash in order to view YouTube videos. While it is true that YouTube now has a mobile version, I still can't see the videos with their mobile version. Its why I was trying to follow your instructions to install Real Flash.
markanthonypr said:
Hello Menneisyys, Thank you for your reply. I made reference to Step#2 of your post#9 on this thread in regards to installing/hacking Real Flash in order to view YouTube videos. While it is true that YouTube now has a mobile version, I still can't see the videos with their mobile version. Its why I was trying to follow your instructions to install Real Flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OIC.
"Go to the root directory of your SP and to the Step 2 - Windows directory copy directory on your desktop computer. Copy the Windows directory on your SP."
This means you need to copy from the desktop to the phone, not vica versa.
(sorry for the misunderstanding - 1. my mother tongue isn't English 2. given that I write a *lot* (much more than anyone else) of Bibles /articles on Windows Mobile, I have very little time to actually double-check my articles before submitting them)
ERROR!
Menneisyys said:
The following is the brand new section I've just added to the original article. Sorry for not reposting the entire article again - I hate slicing it into pieces so that they become under 10k in size.
1.5.1.1 Hacking REAL Flash on Smartphones
I’ve tried to "hack" Flash Lite (overwriting \Program Files\Adobe\ flashlite.dll with the original, “full” \Windows\ Macromedia\ flash.dll). However, the checking for being a genuine Flash Lite animation is done in another DLL (daxplayer.dll); therefore, this hack doesn’t work.
Fortunately, other hackers had better luck. XDA-Developers forum member jockyw2001 has managed to hack the REAL Flash player onto the SP.
(IEM playing back a YouTube video in One Column mode on the HTC Vox)
(other screenshots: Opera Mobile on the Vox doing the same in Desktop mode with 50% zoom, with the SPHelper cursor for controlling the on-screen controls; the same on my 176*220 Oxygen, with 25% zoom)
His thread is HERE (you will NOT need to read it to complete the steps below!) Note that you MUST apply the hacks on an application unlocked phone - it won't work on locked phones. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to unlock your phone (see for example THIS article for some links). Also note that the hack worked just great on both my WM6 QVGA HTC Vox (s710) and WM5 AKU3 176*220 HTC Oxygen (s310). Some people, however, reported problems with other models (see the above-linked thread). I'm pretty sure it's because they have messed up something that the plug-in doesn't work on their devices.
First, get THIS file (it's a slighlty rearranged version of jockyw2001's original. For example, I've collected the registry import files into one file and separated the files into directories named after the steps you need to do). UnRAR it with, say, WinRAR. Now, do the following:
If you've already installed Resco File Explorer (along with its registry plug-in) and at least once started the latter, copy All.reg from Step 1 - Registry import to anywhere on your SP and click it from File Explorer. It will be imported into the Registry.
Go to the root directory of your SP and to the Step 2 - Windows directory copy directory on your desktop computer. Copy the Windows directory on your SP.
Go to the Step 3 - flash6 directory on your desktop and the \Windows\Macromedia directory on your SP. Overwrite flash.dll on your SP with the one on your desktop.
Go to Step 4 - regserv and copy regsvrce.exe anywhere on your SP. From inside File Explorer (on your SP), execute it to register Flash. To do this, enter \Windows\Macromedia\flash.dll in the Full pathname... text input field (176*220 screenshot). (To make this easier (to avoid entering the path on the phonepad / keyboard of your phone), I recommend for example Pocket Controller on the desktop. If you can’t use Ctrl-V to paste to there (the case with the version 5.06 + HTC Vox combo, but NOT with the Oxygen), use ViTO’s excellent CopyPaste on the Smartphone to copy the contents of the clipboard to the input field.)
Then, just press OK and “Yes” in the confirmation dialog. After some 2-3 seconds, you’ll hear another bell. Now, start regsvrc.exe again; you’ll immediately see a confirmation (success) dialog (176*220 screenshot).
On the desktop, go to Step 5 - Flash7 and copy flash.dll to \Windows\Macromedia on your SP in order to overwrite the in step 3 copied Flash 6 version with the new, Flash 7 one.
Now you can start enjoying REAL Flash content!
The plug-in works great (additional screenshot); you’ll need a cursor emulator like SPHelper to click labels / buttons like in THIS screenshot.
Note that both IEM and Opera Mobile are able to make use of the plug-in. The two programs have somewhat different strengths and weaknesses.
First, IEM can't make use the up/down arrow keys; that is, if you would like to, say, play a game depending on these two directions, they will be unplayable. In these cases, you MUST use Opera Mobile. Second, as far as playing back YouTube videos is concerned, while IEM (unlike on the Pocket PC – it’s pretty strange the SP version of IEM is better in this respect) you will want to prefer Opera Mobile because it’s slightly faster at playback. You will still want to overclock your phone - if it’s a TI OMAP-based one, with OMAPClock.
Under Opera Mobile (as opposed to IEM), in the default mode, the flash plug-in size will be really tiny as can be seen in HERE. (Therefore, you’ll want to switch to Desktop mode and use a Zoom level of, on QVGA machines, in general, 50%, and, on 176*220 models, 25%) Unfortunately, you will still have problems with scrolling down / right – in the default, link scrolling mode, you will only see the top left part of the page and won’t be able to scroll anywhere (not even clicking the scrollbars with SPHelper). To fix this (and to scroll down to the Flash animation), you MUST switch to Image (scrolling) mode. With Opera Mobile, the up/down arrows do work, unlike with IEM, as can also be seen in THIS screenshot (otherwise, I couldn’t have been able to go down).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest flash player.
...meaning NOT working.
Is this smartphone only?
Still no flash solution!

First steps with WM5 for Palm User (on French)

Here is my post on French
and here a quick translation :
Well, the step is again crossed. I say again because I had made an attempt with Ipaq a few years ago and had quickly made a return behind .
But this time Palm with Tréo (750) under WM5 help me to cross the river.
Here thus the report of my first steps of beginner under WM5.
I write this Post because I will have agreed to find some contribution for beginners.
Certain points will seem to you very basic and even useless but if I had had them under the hand that would have helped me a lot to begin.
Installation.
Relatively simple to install.
But a problem was obvious dice the beginning: how to recover my data managed by PalmDesktop (8 years of appointments and contacts).
Well I needed to invest . I bought PocketCopy from Chapura. Main issue at the beginning. The transfer of my appointments did not pass. An e-mail with the log to the support of Chapura and a very complete response in 12 hours which allowed me to solve it (I really recommand this support ), but sad to have to invest 25$ just for a one shot.
Until there all goes well but I very quickly realize that synchronization is not highly reliable . (very often my PC does not recognize any more my Tréo). After bad issues I downloaded ActiveSync V4.5 (it is the preceding one which is delivered out of standard) and since that seems more stable.
After the installation you have on your PC an application which opens when you connect the Tréo to the cable.
It is possible on a simple click to explore ithe Tréo (simpler than under PalmOs)
Two ways of installing a program:
• downloading a exe file, while launching it on PC and while validating its installation on the PDA,
• downloading a .CAB file, copy it in the MyDocument folder in the PDA and while launching it in the PDA (with the file explorer of the PDA)
First steps:
Dammed, why PalmOne did customise its Tréo without taking account of the advantages of ease of use of these past Tréo models?
Where are the icons? Where are the buttons which make it possible to telephone, to send a SMS in some clicks without stylus?
Well, very quickly learned how to appreciate the menu to start and the button X which closes the programs (or rather very often minimizes them) but at this stage I am still very disappointed.
Finally I quickly wanted to recreate me a Tréo 680 like.
To build me MY Tréo.
The calendar: it is as bad as the one of PalmOs. Thus I wanted to choose a good PIM. I tested PocketInformant, Agenda Fusion 8.07, diary one, Agendus (never been able to install it). For the moment I retain PocketInformant.
Then I wanted to recreate me a true telephone keyboard with simple buttons (mute, wait, etc).
I found a track here. I then downloaded the excellent Memmaid program and all these accessories (I could recreate me menu with my own shortcuts and the possibility to simply make softreset (and hardware) without opening the small trap door which hides the button reset of which I fear brittleness).
With Memmaid I was able to unsinstall the standard phone’s functions of Tréo 750 in order to install anew Dialer which I have chosen here. Be careful the manipulations are a little it “hot” and you must all backup well before .Danger !!!
I maid so many manipulations of this kind that I completely crashed my Tréo 750 (no more telephone, no more synch). I have to make a complete reset (more than an Hardware Reset) (pressing lengthily on the red button + button reset then pad upwards)
All returned perfectly in the order. It is really well done.
Other customization:
There exists as a native a tool of assistance to the writing of the words which proposes at the end of some letters the appearance of words to be clicked. Quite practical except that the dictionary of words is incremented automatically even for not desired words (careful with the confidentiality) or with mis-spellt words. I found a small freeware very practical Dictionary Editor and well done to remove or add words.
Another point: it is not possible (or I did not find) to protect a note as under PalmOs what posed Pb to me to protect from the leading notes. I thus installed another small freeware well fact which manages and makes safe the significant data: cryptocard.
Here I am now. At your disposal for your questions.
Have a nice Sunday

Opera Mini 4.1 beta released - TONS of goodies like page saving!

The new 4.1 beta of Opera Mini has just been released with TONS of new features. Get it at http://www.operamini.com/beta/ . Features include:
* Download and upload files directly in Opera Mini (wowz! UPLOAD!)
* Save pages for offline browsing (another WOWZ!)
* Autocompletion when entering addresses directly
* Find in page (WOOOOOOWZ!)
* Increased server speed during the last months
* Signed versions of Opera Mini (good news too)
Don't forget to download the latest, 3.1 version of Jbed (reviewed & linked to HERE at the bottom.)
(BTW, some of you have asked what I've been working on because I've been quite quiet. I'm
working on my Digital TV Bible, after having read dozens of related books and tons of online documents (I'll post a detailed review of them too)
I need to do some real work too
I'll make another W3C conference speech this month (on multiplatform mobile browsers) and need to update my related Windows Mobile / Symbian / BlackBerry stuff
All in all, I've been pretty busy
Opera Mini 4.1: FULL multiplatform tutorial & review
I don’t need to introduce Opera Mini for any serious mobile device user – it’s been one of the best browsers ever since the release of version 4.0 with all its goodies like favorite synchronization and full layout mode, the latter being excellent on (W)VGA Pocket PC’s and high-resolution Symbian devices like the Nokia E90. Note that I’ve written a review & full comparison to other browsers HERE – please DO read it if you don’t know what Opera Mini is or how it compares to other browsers, in which cases you might want to prefer it to native, fully-fledged browsers like Opera Mobile. Also, make sure you read my two Web Browsing Bibles, linked from the OM4 article, for additional info & comparisons. Finally, note that the linked article only discusses version 4.0; 4.1 is even better and more featureful.
The just-released 4.1 beta takes things even further and implements a lot of long asked-for functionalities. It’s REALLY worth upgrading; note that it can coexist with older versions (including 4.0) on the same handset. That is, if you, for some reason, find it useless, you can easily switch back to the older version without having to reinstall / reconfigure anything.
1.1 Availability; which version to go for?
Navigate to http://mini.opera.com/beta either with your phone’s WAP browser or, if you have Opera on your desktop, with it:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41DownloadPage.png
(mobile browser)
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41DesktopOperaDL.png
(Opera on the desktop)
and select any of the upper three links. On the next screen,
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41Deploy1.png
just press the left softkey (Continue); then, unless you want to put it in a self-created category, just click OK while it’s on root:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41Deploy2.png
On the following dialog,
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41Deploy3.png
just press OK; do the same on the one that follows:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41Deploy4.png
The file will be compiled and you can start it right away by answering Yes on the final screen:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41Deploy6.png
After this, everything is done in the already-known way: accepting the license, pressing buttons for generating a pseudo-random sentence etc.
Note that the 4.1 beta page linked from operamini.com, http://www.operamini.com/beta/, doesn’t contain the signed versions, only the unsigned ones. Therefore, if you only have Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer on your desktop, make sure you download the file from inside your Web browser on your handheld. The only exception is BlackBerry, where there isn’t a separate version on the only-handheld or desktop Opera page; then, you can safely download the ZIP file from http://www.operamini.com/beta/ with any desktop browser and use the BB Desktop Manager to quickly install it on your BlackBerry.
If you have a Windows Mobile device with Jbed 3.1, any of the signed versions will do. Note that some people state you need to go for the all-certificate version; that’s not true with Jbed 3.1. Make sure you DO download a signed version and not the unsigned one so that you can easily (without any hacking) can get rid of the security prompts.
Note that, should you still not have Jbed 3.1, read the second section of THIS for more info & the download links.
1.2 What’s new?
1.2.1 Custom text input field
With the new URL input field, address autocompletion works just great:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41AddressAutocomplete.png
Note that
1, unlike with Opera Mobile 9.5 (and just like any other browser, including pre-9.5 versions of Opera Mobile), the titles of these pages aren’t displayed, only the URL’s
2, copy / paste doesn’t work. If you do need it (and you do have a compatible JVM – it’s only the non-recommended TAO that isn’t), you’ll need to switch to the regular, native JVM URL editor by pressing Delete (right softkey, shouldn’t you have a device with a built-in hardware back key like MS Smartphones) once and, then, go down to highlight "Insert Symbol":
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/om4insertsymblhighlight.png
Then, just press Action on it to get into the traditional URL input field, with the traditional menus.
3, textual input may be problematic on keyboards with combined numeric and alphabetical keys; for example, on the HTC Vox. In there, the numeric keys will always be considered as keypad numeric buttons; that is, they’ll input a for 1, d for button 2 etc. However, as they’re treated EXACTLY the same way as keypad buttons, you can still input any character or (with long-pressing) number with them. You’ll need to know the latter for numeric input with devices that have a separate numeric row (like the HTC Universal).
4, the Input Address field being new also results in the old system-level browser invocation script not working any more. To fix this,
either switch off the new direct input by just unticking the, by default, enabled "Direct address input" checkbox in Tools / Settings:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41disabledirinut.png
or, alternatively, go for a modification of the current script version available HERE. (Incidentally, note that, now, there’s a full C++ implementation of the invocation script HERE. It’s still not compatible with 4.1 unless you untick "Direct address input" as explained above.)
1.2.2 Signing
First in Opera Mini’s lifetime, it comes signed. What does this mean? When deployed under a capable, compatible JVM (for example, Jbed 3.1), it’ll, upon trying to access the Net / the local file system for saving pages / downloading / uploading files, it’ll prompt you for permission:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PermissPrompt1.png
(reading the file system)
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PermissPrompt1W.png
(writing the file system)
In there, you’ll notice a (compared to the unsigned case) new "always, don’t ask again" menu item (I’ve highlighted it in the following screenshot):
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PermissPrompt2.png
Make sure you do select this before pressing OK. This will make sure you won’t ever need to answer this question any more.
Upon trying to saving pages, it even prompts you to switch to the signed version, should you still have a non-signed one:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PromptForSignedVersion.png
The link indeed takes you to a tutorial:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PromptForSignedVersion2.png
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PromptForSignedVersion3.png
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41PromptForSignedVersion4.png
(as can clearly be seen, there is not a single word on Windows Mobile. Note that the tutorial is also directly available HERE)
1.2.3 Page Saving
The new page saving feature allows for saving the current page, along with all its resources (images), to a file. The file is in the native (condensed HTML in textual mode + JPEG images) format of Opera Mini currently not readable by other applications. Should you still need some of the contents for copy/paste operations, you can still directly copy from the file with a text viewer. This also means this also allows for some kind of rudimentary copy/paste functionality if you use an external file viewer like that of Resco File Explorer. Then, based on the (latest) timestamp of the saved page (the saved pages have cryptic filenames; however, you can easily recognize them based both of their timestamp in the file system and their header, which contains the title of the page), you view it and look for the info you wanted to copy to clipboard (and, from there, to, say, Notes or Word Mobile). As you can see, it’s in no way so easy than, say, copying and straightforward than copying the full / the visible textual contents of the page into a text input field, where a user could already highlight anything and copy to the clipboard (unless she uses TAO Intent), though. Hope the Opera coders also implement this, otherwise, very simple-to-code feature.
Note that the page saving target dialog is only displayed once (upon the first page saving attempt) and is pretty much far away from being pretty and/or intuitional (and, of course, it has missing functionality present in, say, the standard OS file save dialog like creating subdirectories) but it still does the job. Just select the directory you’d like to save your pages to. Again, remember this can’t be changed later so select a directory with sufficiently large free storage.
First, you’ll need to select the storage type you’d like to save your pages to. In the following screenshot, I’ve selected Storage Card:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41SaveTarget1.png
After pressing Action, you’ll be shown the directories in there. You can select any of them (and, then, iteratively, any of its subdirectories etc.). Just press Select (left softkey) on the directory you’d like to save your stuff in. For example, in the following screenshot, I’ve stayed on Storage Card when pressing the key; this means it’ll store the pages in the root of the card:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41SaveTarget2.png
(note that, as the storage card roots can only have up to 128 files, this isn’t the best thing to do unless you’re absolutely sure you only want to save some pages.)
Finally, you’ll be prompted a "Page saved." message:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41SaveTarget3.png
Get rid of it with the Action button.
After this, all the saved pages will be listed in Tools / Saved Pages (and the latest three on the startpage):
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41StartpageSavedPageList.png
A VGA screenshot with more than one saved page:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41ListOfSavedPages.png
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/OM41ListOfSavedPagesVGA.png
1.2.4 Finding text in pages
Tools / Find in page implements something I’ve been asking for years: in-page text search. It not only iterates over all the occurrences of the searched-for word (see the "Next" left softkey), but also conveniently highlights all the occurrences. In the following screenshot, you can see the results of searching for the word "Opera" in the Opera Mini forums:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/41FindInPagesOpera.png
1.2.5 In-app file up/download
A lot of users have been asking the Opera folks for allowing for in-browser download and, even more importantly, upload.
1.2.5.1 Download
In-browser downloading, for Windows Mobile users, isn’t that important. It’s probably mostly MS Smartphone users that will find this useful because, as has also been explained in my MS Smartphone Web Browsing Bible (see section 1.1.1 Fixing the binary file download problem), the built-in Internet Explorer Mobile only downloads certain types of files. For Symbian users with, say, a Nokia N95 with a pre-20 firmware version, it’s more so because Symbian often killed Opera Mini when loading up Nokia Web for handling the download. This isn’t an issue with the new firmware version any more, of course – neither is with N95 8GB, N95-3, N82 or the soon-to-come, new, DVB-H enabled N-series models.)
Note that, while file system access is supported in the latest and most recommended Jbed 3.1, this isn’t necessarily the case with other MIDlet Managers. Therefore, you’re strongly recommended to upgrade to Jbed 3.1.
The new in-Opera download looks like this:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download1.png
If you select Save As, you’ll be presented the usual file selector; here, I instruct it to save the contents on the storage card:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download2.png
Then, the download will start:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download3.png
If, instead of Save As, you select Open:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download4.png
you’ll be taken to IE:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download5.png
which downloads the file:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/MP3Download6.png
Unfortunately, if you go for in-process download, you can’t do anything else during downloading – as is the case with regular page loading. That is, you end up staring at the download screen. If you absolutely hate this and/or the download takes too much time (for example, during fetching a looooooong MP3), go for downloading within Internet Explorer Mobile and switching back to Opera Mini for browsing. You can safely do this: IEM will just download the file in the background without problems. (Unless, of course, you haven’t registered the file type with the system. Then, you’ll need to stick strictly with the built-in downloader of OM4.1.)
1.2.5.2 Upload
With Jukka "Yucca" Korpela’s excellent article & tester suite File input (or "upload") in HTML forms:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/FileUpload2.png
Then, the usual Opera file handler will be shown (not that of the OS). Let’s upload some text file:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/FileUpload3.png
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/FileUpload4.png
and the results are as expected:
http://www.winmobiletech.com/042008OM41/FileUpload5.png
(note that it the (later?) 4.0 series it is rendered as can be seen in HERE but, of course, the "Choose" file chooser couldn’t be activated)
In this regard, Opera Mini (along with the commercial (!) Opera Mobile and [the, currently, severely crippled Technical Preview] NetFront) is the only browser to support file upload on the MS Smartphone platform. Let me point out that the built-in Internet Explorer Mobile (still) doesn’t support upload.
2. What’s still missing / problematic?
Now, in addition to direct copy/paste of textual contents, I only miss navigating (switching back) to any already-downloaded page while loading a new one. You can only navigate on the current page while fetching a new page but can’t use, say, #5 to quickly bring up the list of currently open pages and quickly switch to another page. There isn’t a "download page in background" feature either, which would be able for allowing this. This can be a nuisance, particularly on inherently sloooooooooow platforms like the current crop of BlackBerries.
Also, on Pocket PC devices with a built-in keyboard could benefit from some similar keyboard layout than on BlackBerries. On the latter, you can use the (wide and easy-to-reach) Space button to scroll a page down. I wish you could do the same on Windows Mobile devices. (In there, you still must use the "8" button, which is pretty much out of reach in two-hand, "bedtime" operation.)
The problem of "flashing", non-displayed pictures, particularly with pages heavily loaded with them, is still present.
Finally, the lack of italic support is (still) a big pain in the back. I don’t understand why the Opera folks don’t implement this (must be related to the additional storage the custom, smallest character set would require with added italic support, I don’t know – if that’s the problem, at least non-smallest characters should have this support) – after all, ALL major KVM’s do support rendering text in italics. (See my related tests in my MIDlet Bible.)
3. BlackBerry
The BlackBerry version doesn’t support signed versions; that is, as has already been pointed out, you MUST go with the unsigned one. I haven’t encountered any problems with it; page saving / loading, the new address autocomplete etc. all worked just great. I haven’t encountered the common bug with all OM 4.0 versions: that is, the BlackBerry (at least my T-Mo branded 8800) completely locking up upon loading pages. However, this doesn’t mean these bugs have been fixed: I "only" played with the new version on my BB for two or three hours and the aforementioned bug only turns up, say, once a day or two days, assuming actively using OM for at least 2-3 hours a day.
4. Symbian
I’ve also (quickly) tested the new (unsigned) version on my Nokia N95 v20. I haven’t really run into problems so far; neither have my fellow N95 users in the Opera Mini forum. I’ll later report on whether Opera Mini 4.1 still exhibits the well-known, but, fortunately, pretty rare problem of completely locking up the handset, which, as with the BlackBerry, can only be fixed by removing and reinserting the battery.
UPDATE (later the same day):
1. MoDaCo frontpage
2. note that the above-recommended Jbed 3.1 is NOT compatible with WM5 (or with even older operating system versions), only WM6. If you're still on WM5, use the old, "Cloudyfa" 2.1 version instead; or look around at XDA-Devs, where, according to THIS post, the 20080222 version of 3.1 is WM5-compatible.
i don't like the fact that opera mini is java.. which requires to launch java first before launching opera...that only makes the browser startup slower.. i can get to a website much faster with PIE because it launches faster.. sure it has a bunch of cool features but i guess im the only one that dislikes the fact that it's java emulated..
i'll wait for the REAL mobile opera version.
wow this new version of opera mini is great. i love the url input method. file download works great too. works perfectly on the kaiser. in fact im writting from it right now. go opera!
one thing-- the shortcuts method cooked up in the midlet bible doesnt work anymore. ill look into this at a later date. could be as simple as removing the old opera mini.
tft said:
i don't like the fact that opera mini is java.. which requires to launch java first before launching opera...that only makes the browser startup slower.. i can get to a website much faster with PIE because it launches faster.. sure it has a bunch of cool features but i guess im the only one that dislikes the fact that it's java emulated..
i'll wait for the REAL mobile opera version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read my 4.0 review - there, I've elaborated on crating shortcuts to OM so that you can avoid having to start up Jbed first.
UPDATE (04/05/2008):
1. I’ve tested the above (in the previous update) mentioned Jbed Java 3.1 20080222 (available HERE; mirrored HERE for your convenience). It runs flawlessly under WM5 (not only WM6). It supports 3D (tested with Need for speed carbon and Night Fever; neither of them run under the non-3D-capable Cloudyfa 2.1), (as usual, excellent) sound. It can’t be directly installed onto a storage card, however. (As with some older versions, it’s possible it can be hacked there, though, with some manual file copying and registry / start menu link rewriting – I haven’t tested this.)
I’ve also thoroughly tested JBed_20071119.3.1_3dMod_HeapSizeFix_v2_wm6(lovetz1) linked from THIS MoDaCo thread. As a plus, it can be directly installed on a storage card, as opposed to the version above. It, however, doesn’t support sound at all. Otherwise, it seems it’s pretty much the same as the version above – except for WM5-compliance: I haven’t tested the WM5-compliant subversion. I’d stick with the 20080222 (the first) version unless you really need every single byte in your built-in storage.
Note that neither version was able to run the s60v3 (Nokia) version of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, the latest-and-greatest real-time strategy from EA Mobile – upon loading the mission (and displaying the progress bar), it just locks up. (Needless to say, it’s working flawlessly on the Nokia N95 v20). It seems no Jbed version is compatible with this excellent game.
2. XDA-Devs user JZ SmartMort has released a very promising title making Opera Mini the system-level browser much simpler and offering a LOT of additional functionality. See his thread HERE. Note that he also posted a somewhat shorter post HERE (in THIS thread, should you also want to read the possible, future discussion of his app).
I've installed 4.1 and it looks great, However, a few points are anoying me.
When I start Opera and I type a new adres, the foll msg apear
"Untrusted application Opera Mini 4.1 wants to send or receive information from.... This will use airtime. Do you allow net access?"
Then the options to choose are:
o Yes, but ask me next time
o Yes, but ask me next session
There is no option: o Yes, dont ask me again ??
When I recall a saved page, I get the next msg "Untrusted application Opera Mini 4.1 wants to read data located on this device or removabl emedia. Do you allow read user data?
The only options are Yes or No. In the security option of Opera, there are settings about reading data. But there are only 2 options
o Ask
o Never allow
Also here, I miss the option: o Dont ask me again !
The next thing is the text input field. I have a HTC tytn (virtual and real keyboard). When I switch the option 'direct addres input' tot ON, I can only type the input via the real keyboard and not via the virtual keyboard (its dissapears).
If I can fix those items, I would be very happy.
I have reinstalled the same file and now the first 2 points are working fine !!
Leaves me to solve the text input field and the virtual keyboard...
UPDATE (04/06/2008): I have some very good news for you all.
1. Several of my readers have asked (see for example THIS) whether it’s possible to change the page save directory in Opera Mini 4.1 after you’ve set it first. Contrary to the popular belief (you must reinstall it from scratch), it’s actually very easy to do this:
a. if you have originally selected a removable storage card as the target media, you only need to remove it before trying to save any page on it. Then, you’ll be prompted an error message and, on the next page saving attempt, you’ll be offered the chance of setting the new save directory. That is, if you’ve originally given Opera Mini a storage card, you can change the save path without any need for hexediting files.
b. if you have provided it with a movable / deletable directory in the built-in storage (or, for that matter, on the storage card), just move (cut / paste) the entire directory somewhere else on your device – or on your storage card. That is, if you’ve given \My Documents to it, just cut it with the built-in File Explorer and paste it to in any other subdirectory. (Of course, you’ll need to paste the directory back once you’re ready with the – failed – page saving attempt if it’s a directory used by other apps too – like \My Documents.)
3, if, for some reason, neither of the above-listed ways works, you’ll need to do some hexediting. To do this, search for the in the name of the directory in the \Windows\appdb\s?__d?.db files with, say, Total Commander (Alt-F7) on the desktop Windows and just change this occurrence to another directory with a hexeditor. An example showing changing \My Documents to \Storage Card with a hexeditor:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Again, it’ll be FAR easier to temporarily remove / move the directory than hexediting – only do the latter if you simply can’t (temporarily) delete the directory because you’ve given it, say, \Windows or some other, undeletable directory.
2. the native C++ version of the invocation script has been updated to be compliant with 4.1. In addition, badbob001 has updated his MortScript to be compatible with 4.1 and he is also doing automatic (!!!) descriptor parsing & discovery to automatically find the current position of the OM deployment (just like the JZ SmartMort's brand new script I've reported on above), which, so far, needed to be done (once) by hand. See his updated script HERE. Both advancements are discussed HERE, starting with page 10 (post #91).
Menneisyys said:
2. the native C++ version of the invocation script has been updated to be compliant with 4.1. In addition, badbob001 has updated his MortScript to be compatible with 4.1 and he is also doing automatic (!!!) descriptor parsing & discovery to automatically find the current position of the OM deployment (just like the JZ SmartMort's brand new script I've reported on above), which, so far, needed to be done (once) by hand. See his updated script HERE. Both advancements are discussed HERE, starting with page 10 (post #91).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure if I understand this correctly. Does this make mi device able to use the virtual keyboard, even if the direct adres input is selected or does it has nothing to do with it?
Quatz said:
I am not sure if I understand this correctly. Does this make mi device able to use the virtual keyboard, even if the direct adres input is selected or does it has nothing to do with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean the SIP? You can always assign it to a HW button so that, upon a keypress, it's briught up. If this is what you meant.
Read my Button Bible for more info.
Menneisyys said:
You mean the SIP? You can always assign it to a HW button so that, upon a keypress, it's briught up. If this is what you meant.
Read my Button Bible for more info.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, dont know the term SIP!
Where to find this Bible?
Quatz said:
Sorry, dont know the term SIP!
Where to find this Bible?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A SIP is a software (on-screen) keyboard. SIP stands for 'Soft Input Panel'.
The Button Bible.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=337602
(Google search: "xda dev button bible".)
Thanks, this helps a lot.
I have installed HBsettup and indeed, now I can toggle the SIP on and off when i use Direct Address input.
I am very happy now with Opera Mini !!
having issues with setting up the shortcut to start OM
I have as follows:
"\windows\jbed.exe" -run s1_
OM is the only midlet installed.
also there are NO .jar files in the /windows/appDB/ folder
thanks
EDIT:
did a quick reset and everthings working excellent
Hey thanks for the share. Its really good, I am waiting for the stable version.
Apart from the intense marketing campaign of the moderator posting this thread, can someone give a brief comparison between this Opera Mini and the other Opera ("Opera Mobile"?) that runs on WM5/WM6? I don't get why I would want to run a java, stripped down browser when I can run Opera Mobile. Is it that Mini is intended for phones that can't run the full version, or should Mini be considered as a replacement for the other Operas that run on PDA phones (touchscreen phone/PDAs that run WM5/6).
Ideally an impartial perspective that isn't 5 posts long would be great

Bare WM 6.5 Cooked ROMs with unnecessary items removed ~ Witschey (Now build 23071)

Bare WM 6.5 ROMs with unnecessary items removed ~ Witschey.
UPDATED on Sep 20, 2009 - 11:55am US Central Time
At the request of several members I am going to release all future versions of my Bare WM 6.5 ROMs on the same thread. This first entry on the thread will serve as the index, pointing you to the right page on the thread for the version you want.
ROM Objective
The ROM follows the principle of getting rid of unnecessary items in the Windows Mobile 6.5 source files in order to make as much RAM available on my Kaiser as possible after the installation of WM 6.5. However I didn't want to 'cripple' features that I needed/wanted to have installed.
What I may consider 'unnecessary files' may not be considered the same by others. Therefore for each ROM I am listing the WM 6.5 items that I remove, so that you can determine if this cooked ROM fits your needs. I am also enclosing a removed sources folder which will show you EXACTLY what was removed. If you miss one of the removed items, simply move it back (to the same directory) and cook your own version of my ROM.
Kitchen Used
All of the ROMs shown here were created with osKitchen (by OndraSter) which can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=540704
Rules of this thread
Since this thread will be used for the discussion of multiple versions of the WM 6.5 Bare ROM, I ask you to please state exactly which build of my Bare WM 6.5 ROM you are using, and I encourage you to please keep up with the new releases, since a lot of bugs are fixed in the most recent builds. No bulling or policing allowed in this thread. As the owner of the thread I will be the one that moderates the thread and when things get out of control I will call the xda-developers moderator/administrator. If you are one of those people in xda-developers who likes to police threads stay away from my thread. If somebody asks as questions that has been asked before either ignore the question or provide the person with a link to the answer post. DO NOT be rude with him/her. This thread is meant for people like myself who want to learn without being harassed or policed by those few xda-developer users who are seeking for trouble.
What I expect from YOU!
The only thing that I ask in return for my contribution is that if you find more space savings you share them with me. I left several items in the OEM and EXT folders because I know for a fact that some of those items ARE needed for the correct functioning of critical features such as movie file playback. However some of those items may not be necessary. If you find out that they are not necessary, or you find other files in the SYS folder that could be removed without affecting performance, please let me know by posting a message on this thread.
Quick links to the different versions of the WM 6.5 Bare ROM
Build 23071<-- The LATEST build and in my view by far THE BEST. (Number may be lower than 23409, but it is NEWER and better)
Build 23053
Build 23052
Build 23047
Build 23409
Build 23034
Build 23028
Build 23009
Bare WM 6.5 23409 Cooked ROM with unnecessary items removed ~ Witschey.
UPDATED on Sep 4, 2009 - 3:30pm US Central Time
Please read the overall description on post #1.
The result is a ROM that uses about 32 MB of RAM while the Kaiser is idle (and before you install your own applications). That means that you will have close to 70MB of free RAM with this cooked ROM. The size of the cooked ROM flash image (the NBH file) is: 51 MB, leaving 154 MB of storage space available on the Kaiser.
** General overview of what was removed:
- All of the non-essential OEM and EXT applications which normally ship with "Os Kitchen". I left only the OEM and EXT items which I found to be necessary for the normal operation of the ROM on the Kaiser. If through your own testing you find that one or more are unnecessary please let me know (as I would want to get rid of it as well!)
- Ringtones and other sound files which are not necessary for the normal operation of the ROM (if you miss one or more of those files you can easily put them in an SD card and access them from there)
- All files (CPR, Images, etc.) that relate to a resolution that is not supported by the Kaiser.
- The 'Calculator' application because there is plenty of great calculators for WM PPC out there, and I don't like to have software duplication.
- All "Windows Live" related stuff, because I don't use it.
- Microsoft Tag software because I don't use it, and you can install that on your own if you need/want it.
- All 'games' that come with WM 6.5 because I don't use them, and there is much better games in the marketplace.
- IPSEC related files because I don't use that type of 'virtual tunnel'.
- LiveSearch because I prefer Google.
- Unnecessary Mobile Office templates
- Remote Desktop (because I don't use that software. I prefer RDM+, which I install separately...not in the ROM)
- Task Manager (because I prefer to install Advanced Task Manager...separately, not in the ROM)
- Skybox (because I don't use Microsoft 'My Phone' and related services.)
- Skymarket (because I don't need a software store on my phone)
- All Themes except for 'Classic Blue' (because I prefer to install my own themes...separately, not in the ROM)
- VOIP (because no VOIP application comes with WM 6.5, and VOIP applications like Skype work without these files. So they seem to be a waste of space. If anybody disagrees and can explain the purpose of those files please let me know.)
- Welcome Center (Because I am experienced enough with WM 6.5 that I don't need somebody to guide me)
- All Windows Mobile Widgets (because I prefer to install my own ....separately not in the ROM).
- Zip viewer (because I prefer to install my own compression/decompression software)
- Microsoft Auto Data Configuration (before I don't need MS to configure my data. I do that manually).
- Lock Screen Media player icons and images (because that feature of WM 6.5 has not been enabled by Microsoft yet)
- Time Bomb removed. You can enjoy this ROM for as long as you like.
In addition to the file removals that I describe above, I made a few changes:
- I changed the boot screen back to the original HTC screen that says "smart mobility"
- I changed the animation screen back to the original HTC screen that has an animated HTC logo
- I changed the boot up sound to one that uses aprox 100K
- I changed the Windows start up screen to that of Windows Mobile 7
- I added software to fix the animation start up sound (which didn't work in the original build)
- I added software to fix the animation boot up screen (which was mixed with some other stuff that I removed)
- I added a registry entry that changes the default skin on Windows Media Player to Diamond Portrait.
- I added code to install 'Random Access' in the Contacts Screen. (allows quick access to people by clicking letter on the right margin)
- I added code to change the Start menu to a single column vertical list. I consider that MUCH more useful than the hexagon grid.
- I added a registry entry to remove the 'tap time' that is required when selecting items in WM 6.5 folders.
- I added a registry entry to allow two way phone conversations to be recorded with any 3rd party software.
- I added a registry entry to display 'Recording' in the phone menu (shows up in the menu only during a call)
- I fixed the lock screen background wallpaper alignment.
- I changed the lock screen layout so that the lock slider is at the bottom and the time/appointment at the top.
- I changed the background image of the soft bar so that it has same looks as in previous WM 6.5 versions (I don't like the gradient - greyish bar)
- In addition the "Chocolate" flavor has these changes:
- Replaced the battery indicator for one that shows the percentage remaining (in increments of 10%), and changes color (White/Orange/Red) depending on the amount of battery remaining.
- Replaced regular Comm Manager with a 6 item Comm Manager to replace the 3 item one that comes standard with WM 6.5
Screen shots of the "Chocolate" flavor are here:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
- This version of my ROM will have NO vanilla flavor because there is not enough demand for it. Most people download the Chocolate version which is also the one I use.
NOTE: For those who do not like the Chocolate flavor, I am making available the source files so that you can make any necessary changes to suit your taste. All my changes are in the EXT folder and are clearly labeled with "-PW" after the folder name. So you can choose to keep them or remove them based on your personal needs.
And here is an Spb Benchmark test on a fresh copy of this ROM. I don't know if this type of tests are trustworthy, and I have no benchmark to compare it with. All I can say is that the OS feels very fast and responsive. Don't base yourself on the benchmark. Try it and see if it works for you. It does for me.
Here are the files:
a) You can download the "Chocolate" flavored cooked ROM (which is ready to be flashed directly to your device) from here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/130267025/501249af/ROM_-_v23409_-_C_-_1.html
b) You can download the OEM, SYS, EXT, MSXIPKERNEL, and Bootup and Windows & "Bootup Start up Screens" folders (which have been purged of unnecessary items), and replace the respective folders that are in the "sources" directory of osKitchen from here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/130267970/52de72ea/Sources_-_23409.html
c) You can download the "Chocolate" flavor osKitchen configuration file (which you MUST use in combination with the OEM, SYS, EXT folders shown in item "c" to cook your ROM in osKitchen) here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/130255948/9a811b40/Configuration_Files_-_v23409_-_C_-_1.html
d) You can download the 'removed' OEM, SYS, and EXT folders (which you can use to verify what I removed....or to move back something that I removed but that you want) here:
http://www.4shared.com/file/130257293/1ea19bef/Removed_Sources_-_23409.html
Tips:
- After the ROM loads, go to phone settings (Start-Settings-Personal-Phone) and in the "Phone" tab select the Ring Type that you want to use. You can put Ringtones in any folder of your Kaiser and they will appear in the "Ring Type" pull down menu. I put them on external storage (SD Card) under a directory called "My Ringtones".
- Missing MMS Options. Standard Builds of WM 6.5 DO NOT come with MMS. To get MMS read other threads such as http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=500869.
- HTC Task Manager missing. The source files do not have the HTC task manager and I don't like it anyway; so I purposely didn't install it. If you want the HTC task manager please install it on your own, or cook your own version of my ROM.
- OEM/EXT folders - If you cook your own ROM using my files, you will be able to identify what OEM/EXT packages were added by me, because I follow each package with "-PW". Packages that do not have "-PW" came with the osKitchen, and they appear to be necessary for the proper functioning of the ROM, but I am unable to provide an explanation since I didn't put them together. Contact OndraSter (the maker of osKitchen) in case you have a question about an OEM/EXT package that do not have "-PW" after it.
- Aligning Screen - After you install the new ROM, remember to align the screen. You can do that here: Start - Settings - System - Screen and align your screen from there.
- SIM Manager - Left out on purpose. If you want one, read here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...2&postcount=79
- Migrating all your programs and settings - To migrate all your programs and settings use spb backup 2.0.2. Just make a backup of your Kaiser just before upgrading to this new build of WM 6.5, and after you install the ROM go to the place where you saved the backup and execute the file. Soon after you execute the backup file spb Backup will tell you that your ROM doesn't match and suggest that you use the "upgrade ROM" feature. Do it. If the restoration gets 'stuck' don't worry, it is normal. Just soft reboot your device and execute the same backup executable. This time it WILL finish. That's it. WARNING - DO NOT include Resco Keyboard Pro in the restoration. Resco keyboard is incompatible with build 23034 of WM 6.5 (see 'Known issues) below.
Known Issues:
- Small Fonts get blurry on Titanium / Today Screen, and sometimes images on Today Screen plug-ins (such as Artesea Twmr 6.5r) get distorted. - This issue has been confirmed by other people cooking WM 6.5 23028 regardless of the cook or kitchen used. It seems to be an issue related to the Microsoft code, and I am unable to fix it. All ROMs out there will experience the same problem.
- Dialog boxes of WM 6.5 have an unfinished selection circle as stated by me in the following post (picture also available) - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4385259&postcount=434. This is related to the Microsoft code which is not yet finalized. All ROMs out there will experience the same issue.
- Sashimi 8.0 Auto function doesn't seem to be able to select the storage card during the auto install process of cabs, which results in all software being installed on the main memory of the Kaiser. This is provably related to the 'under the hood' changes that Microsoft incorporated in this build. I have reported the problem to the Sashimi developer, but I haven't received a reply and he/she hasn't updated Sashimi.
- spb Keyboard Pro 5.22 - This new build of WM 6.5 is NOT compatible with spb Keyboard Pro v. 5.22. The installation seems to go OK, the logo on the toolbar changes to the spb keyboard logo, etc. However the keyboard can not be opened and other windows mobile 6.5 build 23034 applications stop working such as file manager. This is a know issue. I have reported the issue to the developer and they plan to update the software AFTER Microsoft releases the WM 6.5 (said to be Oct 1st). I recommend using FingerKeyboard 2.1 instead. That is my favorite keyboard. To that keyboard as the default use SKTools. Here is the link to get FingerKeyboard 2:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=501122
- Top Taskbar - It expands on this build ONLY on the Titanium screen, and the expansion does not work anywhere else. This is a known issue with this build and it is like that per Microsoft design. We hope that they fix that in a future build. All ROMs made from this build experience the same problem.
- X Button - The X button in the bottom bar minimizes (does NOT close) the applications. This is a known issue which comes from Microsoft's design. Therefore all ROMs made from this build of WM 6.5 will experience that issue. If you want to close to be able to quickly close applications instead of minimizing them, you should consider installing the e-Natives Showcase task manager. This application overlaps a close button on top of the taskbar (top bar), which only shows up when you press the top right hand corner. You can read more and download from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=530564
Fixes / Improvements:
- I have put together a cab file to improve the looks of the Classic Blue Pivot Background and Pivot Arrows. All you need to do is install the cab file in your system and do a soft reset to see the changes reflected in your device.
Here is a screen shot of what the improvement looks like, and below you will find the cab file.
----049
show me the link to download please
Download link
Download link?
ohhh new version
no download link.......
staying up a little longer.. hope it comes up soon
cant wait
Sorry for the delay in posting the download links, but uploading these big files takes a bit of time due to the slow servers of the download provider. I also had problems with xda-developer. The website kept on giving me connection errors. But anyway, links are up and everything's ready for you to start downloading. Enjoy!
An absolutely great! rom. Thanks, love the new look and feel. An upgrade to the 23037 build.
treo 750
can i flash this rom on treo 750.
sateshchand said:
can i flash this rom on treo 750.
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This ROM's WM 6.5 files were customized to work ONLY for QVGA devices (in another words ALL the non QVGA files were removed). The ROM directory of the kitchen and the MSXIPKernel directories are provably device specific. I am not sure about the details because I normally grab the source files from people who have a lot of experience on this topic and make the files available for cooks like me on other forums of xda-developers.
If you are an experienced cook, and your device has QVGA resolution then you could perhaps download the 'sources' directory and use the SYS folder (which contains the Windows 6.5 files). However you would need to get the MSXIPKernel and ROM files from somewhere else; so that would provably defeat the purpose of downloading the files from this thread.
So the safest bet would be to search for the ROM of your liking inside the tread of your own device (in your case Treo 750).
sateshchand said:
can i flash this rom on treo 750.
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PLEASE DON'T DO IT
ROm's are specific for devices, you can't use a Kaiser ROM in another device or you can BRICK it
Pisca said:
PLEASE DON'T DO IT
ROm's are specific for devices, you can't use a Kaiser ROM in another device or you can BRICK it
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Just want to echo this as it's a simple rule that anyone who flashes ROM's should know
ok, my first post in the kaiser thread this rom is fraking amazing!
nice job!
bug?
when pressing the Comm Manager HW Button, it says invalid shortcut, also i cant find the comm manager unless i click the SIM Icon in the task bar and launch comm manager from there..
Ather said:
bug?
when pressing the Comm Manager HW Button, it says invalid shortcut, also i cant find the comm manager unless i click the SIM Icon in the task bar and launch comm manager from there..
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I have never seem a hard ware button for the comm manager. Can you please indicate me exactly what you mean?
There IS a shortcut for the comm manager. You need to go to the start menu, select settings, connections and in there you will find 'comm manager'. It works perfectly on my Kaiser.
@ather
I guess you were used to that you had on one key Comm Manager right?
Now if you want it here too, go to Settings => Personal => Buttons and add it to the key ya want.
Sort order of the Start Menu
Just upgraded to this ROM from you last and so far really liking it. Might be a dumb question but can you sort the Start menu alphabetically? I created a new folder called Applications and moved the links to all the apps I installed into it. Trouble is Applications is located at the very bottom of the start menu, below System Tools. Pressing the link brings up the 'action menu' animation but no menu. (Typically you'd get a menu to move to the Top, or to the bottom). Is there a way to fix that?
mjcalvey said:
Just upgraded to this ROM from you last and so far really liking it. Might be a dumb question but can you sort the Start menu alphabetically? I created a new folder called Applications and moved the links to all the apps I installed into it. Trouble is Applications is located at the very bottom of the start menu, below System Tools. Pressing the link brings up the 'action menu' animation but no menu. (Typically you'd get a menu to move to the Top, or to the bottom). Is there a way to fix that?
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Yes, you can sort anyway you like; but unfortunately Microsoft hasn't included any automatic sorting options (would be nice...hope they are reading so they implement them).
To sort what you need to do is use a drag and drop approach. Basically you should use the stylus to select a program shortcut (or folder) of your choice. Select it from the top edge. After pressing for a bit you will notice somehow that it has been selected. Then drag the stylus (without lifting from screen) to any place you want. You may need to repeat several times if you want to lift way higher than what you see on the screen.
It takes a bit of practice to get the 'hang' of it, but very quickly you will manage the drag/drop of the start menu and be able to move items around very quickly.
Hey there...Long time flasher, first time poster. Weird question I have, but, my issue is pretty minimal..great rom by the way! More often than not, when I close apps, using the close button of course, they don't really close, they stay open, and I only end up finding out through task manager that they really didn't close. Any reason for this or possibly a fix? Thanks!

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