Database Info

Public Beta for Norton Smartphone Security Premier Edition

Anyone interested
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/beta/overview.jsp?pvid=nssp1beta

Thanks, I needed a laugh.
I am particularly curios as to how they identify SMS as SPAM (with no subject or formatting to rely on)...
I'd say a few words on the antivirus part too but I don't want to give them any ideas ;-)
Oh almost forgot - it would be a super neat trick to hack in to smartphone via the internet (given utter lack of server components in the OS)!

i never heard about anybody who irl had a virus on their pda
much less of anybody who had a firewall
and yet plenty of people are willing to have both firewalls and virusscanners on their pda's
hope they overclock to make their pdas allmost as fast as if they dident

I read some news article (didn't save the link) about a very "good" spyware app for blackberry.
Not only could it monitor all mail and SMS on the device as well as phone calls but it could also turn on the microphone on without a call to turn the device in to a "bug" (as in surveillance device not the stuff MS software is full of).
One thing I couldn't figure out is how did this super dangerous program (which needed to be installed by user despite being referred to as a "Trojan") transfered all that data back to the source without the user noticing and without interfering with device operation.
How much upstream bandwidth does BB have?
Can it do data and voice at the same time (can it do voice at all?).
Any way I am sure that one of these days we will see a real virus for WM platform (a proof of concept file infection has been developed - that does not work with signed files of course).
But until than - if you have nothing better to do with your phone might as well keep the battery draining with a good antivirus / firewall.

[Q] Office Mobile fully functional?

Hi guys,
I've searched this forum and haven't found an answer to my question, so I'm gonna post it here. (Hopefully I did the search right and didn't commit the felony of a double post. )
I'm planning on buying a new phone, mainly because my old HTC Charmer (WM 6.1) doesn't support SDHC cards and the maximum of 4GB of the cards I can use with it is just not enough any more.
So far, I've read quite some disappointing details about Windows Phone 7:
- No more "free" apps (by which I mean apps programmed by someone and offered somewhere, now it's the same sh** as with an iPhone or an Android phone)
- No direct USB-sync, which means you have to send your private information to the cloud in order to sync
- No "real" support for SD-Cards (and getting more storage space is the whole da** point here, otherwise I'm quite happy with my Charmer)
So, basically I thought about getting a second hand HTC Touch Pro II running WM 6.5 AND supporting NORMAL SDHC cards (meaning ALL cards which comply with the standard, not just the ones "certified by Microsoft").
But there might be one killer feature which could make me, well, not really forget, but maybe turn a blind eye to WP7's SHAMEFUL flaws: The new Microsoft Office Mobile. Often, I have some Excel spreadsheets which I need for work at different places. This is the only reason I have to take a laptop computer with me, apart from that my phone would be fine.
Office Mobile in WM 6.1 (or 6.5) couldn't display / make use of all the features the Desktop-Version offered (like extremely complicated formulae or spreadsheets and of course macros), and, moreover, after having worked on and saved an Office document on a phone, the features would even have been removed from the file in the conversion process, so the file was useless on the desktop as well.
Thus, I'm asking the following questions (which surprisingly haven't been answered on the net so far, or am I just too stupid to google it right?):
- Is the Office in WM 7 fully functional, meaning you can work on Excel sheets with the most complicated formulae and macros, or, asked more simple, can you do everything you can do with the Desktop version on your phone as well?
- If it doesn't offer everything the desktop versions offers, does it at least keep everything that was there in the original file after you change and save it on your phone? I mean, even if I can't use macros on the Windows Phone, it might still be helpful to open an .xls file on the phone, make a few changes (which don't require macros), save the file on the phone and after putting it back on a desktop computer having the file "unharmed" (meaning except for the small change I made on the phone everything else is as it was)?
Hopefully, I made my point clear enough, if not, I'm happy to answer questions on what it is exactly that I want to know. I think many users here already having a Windows phone will have tried working on Office documents on their phones and I hope those will share their experiences with me.
Many thanks for reading my post and even more thanks for answering.
Peter

Firstly,in terms of the functionalities of the excel,I don't think WP7 is suitable for you.
Furthermore,personally I prefer USB drag and drop the documents to my device,maybe you can call me old school.I just find the office useless for me since I don't have sharepoint,I don't want create a dropbox account just to upload my file to cloud and download it to my device again and I don't have a data plan.Therefore,until now, I still didn't use the office app once.
In your situation,I think you need an android phone to handle your job this moment,you can just purchase quick office,docs to go,depends on your personal preference.In addition,the only office app available is just microsoft office,no other choices.furthermore,as you said,you want transfer it back to your desktop unharm,therefore it is good to have drag and drop file transfer function rather than rely on dropbox,upload to the cloud and download on your desktop again.
On the other hand,there is no clear information about the mango updates which add more features to the office.So,I'll would suggest you to go with Android or iOS for this moment.

Thank you for the answer.

No more "free" apps (by which I mean apps programmed by someone and offered somewhere, now it's the same sh** as with an iPhone or an Android phone)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Free, in cost, there are plenty. Free as in not first checked by MS, kinda but no. You can developer unlock your device and sideload apps. However, that being said, MS are pretty good, they're only blocking apps which don't meet quality control standards (which I think is a good thing) or, somewhat contentiously, are "adult". They're not playing the same game as Apple.
I'm confused by you saying Android though. You can easily download and install programs (apk) on your device from any source (you just have to choose that option in the settings).
Office in Mango is improving - specifically:
1. Better support for formulae
2. Skydrive sync
So, yes, formulae can be created and manipulated in Excel, though I wouldn't say it's a replacement for the real Excel. It certainly can't run macros.
Skydrive is still "in the cloud" however, you're automatically registered to the free account by the virtue of having a live id. I still believe we should have USB file transfer but at least this is better than nothing.
Casey

[Q] Help me pick a phone. Please.

(long post warning...I'm placing the summary first for those who don't care to read the whole thing)
***
In summary, I want a mobile platform that I can tweak until I get it exactly as I like it; that will sync with Windows desktop and server platforms (this is a strong preference, not a "must"; upon which I own things and don't have to worry about them being stolen or broken; that doesn't tell everyone and their mother where I go and what I'm doing; and on which I can listen to Sirius radio; and to which I can transfer data back and forth via USB without any permission based cloud interface. It must also be compatible with Slingplayer software and I have a strong, strong, preference for a slideout QWERTY keyboard, but I'd sacrifice that if I have to for the above functionalities. I'm currently on ATT, but it doesn't have to be that way
***
I am thinking about purchasing a new phone. But the market is a bit more complicated than when I purchased my current phone (HTC Diamond), so I hope that you guys can give me some advice.
I have been a Windows Mobile user since 5.0. What I loved about WM is that I could come here and read about the various hacks, mods, and custom roms and generally find something to address any problems I had, or find a way to modify the phone to meet my preferences.
I love the mobile version of Office and I use it constantly for work purposes. I especially like being able to sync outlook contacts on both phone and device, and that I can make presentations from the phone, and can open and manipulate Word and Excel.
I was also using SiriusXM 6 by tcbush over on Geekstoolbox to listen to satellite radio. Unfortunately, Sirius has taken down their legacy servers that streamed content to third party providers. So it does not appear that I can listen to satellite radio any longer via my mobile device.
It is this turn of events (Sirius radio) that is my main motivator for seeking a new phone. I could listen to Sirius via the web, but that requires a Flash player and I can't find a version of flash for WM 6.1. I have both Opera Mini and IE. So, if any of you know a way for a WM 6.1 device to listen to Sirius, you will have solved my immediate problem and saved me some money. I would really appreciate that.
But on the larger scale, I know that one day I will have to replace my beloved Diamond. Her slideout QWERTY is starting to jiggle, there are a few scratches on her beautiful face even though she hasn't gone a moment without a case and screen protector. Every now and again her D-Pad loses its way, and I have to reboot. Alas, I fear the end is near. *sigh*
So, in looking over the current landscape, I see three options: iphone, Android, and WM7.
Apple products to me are out for personal preference reasons.
That leaves Android and WM7.
Problem 1:
I enjoyed my prior experience of owning a WM phone supported by a network of generous, friendly developers who found ways that we could modify our phones to our hearts' content. I also like the fact that I own my phone and all its content. Once I install or tweak something, then that's it unless I decide to change it.
But the current market seems to be based on a top-down control model. From what I've read, owning a phone with the current tech is like owning a home on leasehold property or in a HOA: You pay full price for ownership but you do not enjoy the rights of control normally associated with that ownership. It seems that the devices are locked, difficult to unlock, find ways to re-lock, and that a Nanny-server may at times uninstall or disable software that it doesn't like.
I just don't get it. Has the culture embraced a model where a user pays a provider only to be told by that provider what he can and cannot do with the property he has purchased?
Of course, my perception of these issues could be incorrect. I recently went back to school and have unplugged from most external things. I haven't been following the "insider info" on xda for nearly two years. If I'm wrong, please tell me.
Problem 2:
User tracking. Sounds Orwellian.
I get it that the cell provider can locate you. I understand the technology reasonably well for regular Joe, and I understand that the network needs to know where you are. But until recently, the cell provider could not release those records without a warrant or some emergency confirmed by law enforcement like a lost person, etc. I actually worked with Sprint in conjunction with the police to attempt to track a stolen phone. However, it now appears that the manufacturers themselves and many app developers are bypassing the law by tracking users without their consent. Am I right on this?
I've read a number of articles on the Apple and Android tracking problems - generic apps tracking you and reporting your movements to Apple, Google, etc. Apps turning on the mic or camera at intervals and tracking your surroundings or conversations. Route these concerns through the awfulness of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Patriot Act, and the fact that both the post-digital presidential administrations (Bush II and Obama) seem intent on eroding what remains of our privacy, and it makes me uncomfortable. To make it worse, Google and Zuckerburg are both in bed with the Obama administration, and stories of their privacy infractions are epidemic.
Yet none of the progs I use on my WM 6.1 device use tracking (that I know of). So, in a very short time, it appears that the culture of mobile communications has gone from an ownership model with Constitutional protections to a free-for-all where you essentially pay big brother to track you.
I have heard many of my younger friends who have grown up in the big-government era use the default: "If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about." But that's exactly backward. The law presumes your privacy and allows infractions only after due process. The current culture seems to presume lack of privacy, and treat privacy-seekers as an anomaly. And the tech seems to reflect the culture rather than the law.
Am I crazy? Even if I am crazy, is there a way to block this tracking? And, if so, does Android or WM7 better lend itself to blocking this tracking?
Problem 3:
USB data transfer.
WM7 doesn't support smart cards. But, the devices seem to have adequate on-board storage for my needs. However, from what I've read, I'll need to use Zune (on WM7, don't know about Android) to move data back and forth. Is that correct?
I currently use Windows Mobile Device Center to transfer files back and forth via USB or Bluetooth, and I really want to keep that functionality.
Thank you if you have read this far. And, given those criteria, what are my best options?

Droid X2. Get it.

Droid X2
Droid X2. Get it.
+1

Thanks for the responses. I've done a bit of research on the phone you recommended, and some research in general. I really need to spool back up
It looks like there are apps out there like WhisperMonitor that will help with my privacy concerns. Actually, it looks like there are Android Apps to address most of my concerns.
I'll keep researching that to determine how much functionality I'll have to sacrifice. And I appreciate the responses. Love the dual core structure of this phone. From what I've read, the benchmarks don't differ too much from single core phones, but it looks like the dual core really helps with load distribution and multi-tasking.
It will be hard to leave Windows...been with it since it was Pocket PC 2000. But atm, it appears that Android may work best for me.

I agree Droid X2, although VZW is expensive, its the best network

Off the basis of wanting a slide out QWERTY and Windows Phone 7, I would go with the HTC Arrive for Sprint. You still have Windows Phone, you can get Sling Player from the Marketplace, and it has a slide out QWERTY that when it slides out, angles the screen for better typing the way I look at it.

samsung galaxy s2
or atrix

If you QWERTY I'd wait till my4g slide if it launches with s-off. I don't imagine you'd be keeping the os in tact.
The g2 is also a beautiful phone. Amazing specs for the good hardware.
T-Mobile is also cheapest, I find, of the four carriers.
The epic 4g seemed nice. Hummingbird (Samsung 1ghz processor) is very nice and has a great gpu.
If you're looking to use google talk video chat, avoid nvidia tegra 2 chips.
Google's suite of software is pretty sweet. Google docs works nice, and there's an app for that.
As long as you download from android market you're good from malware. (If you do get it from market, google does pull the app from the store AND your phone, that's the only time I heard them doing this, and that was once instance.)
Besides... Supporting your developers is a great thing.
Did I miss anything?
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

IMO almost any of the android phones would work for what you have in mind. As you pointed out in your follow up post there are apps out there for your privacy concerns. I've had a Moto Droid and now the HTC Thunderbolt. Both have been synced with my works exchange servers with no issues, google apps work great with Office docs, and the available roms and other customizations are almost endless.
Also, don't get hung up on a QWERTY keyboard. I swore I would never have a phone without one, but now that I do I actually don't really miss it.
Edit:
USB data transfer - very simple to do with android. Install a driver for the phone and then connect to your pc with a USB cable. Your pc will recognize the sdcard as removeable storage. Just select it in My Computer and drag and drop anything you want to move like you would for moving any file around in Windows.

Helping an old-timer

Hi.
As you can see from my profile, I've been a forum member since the days of O2 XDA devices (2007) and I used to flash other folk's home-baked ROMs often to improve the handsets and remove bloatware. As Android improved I found less need to muck about with what the manufacturers provided and my skills, no longer being used, became rusty.
Enough backstory though, I'm here today because I have a need to find a solution that is affecting the handsets we use in my company, and I suspect that flashing a custom ROM may be the solution.
I work for a small company who operate care homes. We use an app to record our notes, actions, medication administration etc. The app is on a 'ruggedised' android smartphone, with a remote management platform looking after our interests by locking down most of the phone's functions. I adminster this platform and manage the handsets and the software we use.
The problem we're experiencing, is that the handsets keep getting 'factory reset'. We're not sure if this is happening maliciously, or is the result of some kind of software incompatability. Disabling the factory reset option in the Android settings doesn't provide enough protection as the handsets can still be 'hard-reset' using the power+vol key combo.
The two handsets we use are:-
Wheatek BV6300
Oukitel WP5
Neither manufacturer is listed on the forum, so I'm hoping they are other devices that have been rebranded.
Questions.
How do I find out if any of the ROMs on the foum are compatible?
If they aren't compatible, how do I go about sourcing a custom ROM?
Any other suggestions/advice greatly appreciated.
TIA

Maybe limit devices to only vetted employees.
and/or
Pen/paper records then transcribed.

How much storage will a Full stack web development learner need?

My laptop is dell inspiron core i5 5567, 8GB RAM and 1TB Hard disk.
Background:
If I'd enough money, I'd just go and buy a new laptop. But that's the problem, I don't have it. I've seen my friends doing very perfect for be it web development or app development in 128GB SSD and 512GB Hard disk(even now, few months ago, to be precise).
I'm planning to learn web development, make personal projects(I Don't need to host them to public professionally, heroku will do the job. And backups of codes can be stored in github once the project is completed) so that I can apply for jobs. The jobs that I'm applying are the same that university graduate in USA does. (Only difference is that they treat you like sit and pay sit )
I currently have a 1 TB hard drive. I still have 650-700 GB of space left on hard drive. Problem is that I've used it for more than 10000 hrs and the disk health isn't looking great either according to crystaldiskinfo and crystaldiskmark(Although crystaldiskinfo said "GOOD" health). (These problems are being faced since long time but I didn't code for more than 2-3 weeks so I didn't care that much at that time)I faced problems like even VS code used to hang, 100% disk usage would make me suffer(in a fresh installed OS, this'd happen even while not coding, it'll randomly happen like that. But not forever. If I restarted, then it'd be gone. But again after some time, it'd come. I'd tried everything given on the internet and forums about it and it wasn't fixed permanently->the only conclusion that I found is "Get a SSD".), Pycharm repeatedly kept crashing(no matter how many times I re-installed and re-setted up) and a general perception that I built was "Applications are getting optimized for speed of SSDs, and everyone must have a SSD for their C drive". I ignored it at first, because I felt like why should I get it? My laptop is dell inspiron core i5 5567. The SSD that I can put here will have speed of 62.5MB/sec. And even my current hard disk has similar speed.
I'm getting more speed in my 5yo hard disk than that'd come from my new SSD. LOL. (It's done on Ubuntu on small sample though). BTW which company's SSD is great? Is TOSHIBA's SSDs good? Do tell about that as well.
View attachment 261142
I can share the link to all the details of the problem I was having, and various other details which will only make this post unread-ably long if I post it here, if you allow me to share. It is in superuser website.
HENCE, I'm switching to hybrid storage with SSD and Hard disk.
Every penny counts to me and I don't want any underutilizations as well as risking not enough SSD space. (Storings data like music, images, videos isn't a problem in this case, because I've very less of them).
I can get a new laptop once I get a job with 1 year of salary.
Requirements:
Here's my software requirements. The storage are just my guesses, your insights would be valuable here.
1) Windows 10/11.
2) Microsoft Office Professional containing word,doc, ppt, excel.
3) Brave browser (Not considering downloads for browser. Downloads can go to hard disk)
4) Chrome browser
5) Firefox browser
6) images2pdf softwares
7) IDE(probably VScode or pycharm whatever supports web development and is easy to use for beginners)
8) Web development installations (for 1 stack like MERN, MEAN etc)
9) Viber/Telegram Downloads (Can be removed regularly on unwanted basis)
10) Save codes and notes on Joplin while learning. Notes will contain images+codes+text.
11) Note taking app on Joplin
Windows 11 would need 64GB, I don't think my laptop would support windows 11 so at max my windows 10 can go upto 64GB
MS-Office could take 4GB.
While most browsers take 100MB for installing but for storing cache, bookmarks etc I'm not sure how much would they be taking!
images2pdf type software would take 500MB. (I use online tools mostly but sometimes for special files and situations, I use this desktop application).
I'll need Joplin for note taking. It'd take 500MB+(size of Notes pdf). If I can install it in Hard disk, No issues at all. Can I? Is it possible? I'm going t use caddy and use both Hard disk and SSD at one laptop internally. I'll do the same for Viber and Telegram so that the downloads stay at Hard disk as they're not very important and in very less quantity as I don't have tons of people out there in Viber and Telegram.
I've Never done any web development so I'm not sure how much space learning any of those stack would take. Like space taken by django, a SQLserver etc. I'm not talking about exe file size but the size taken by them after installation.
My files storage requirements (of current,for storing datas like videos, audios, pictures,pdfs etc):
1) Important docs 34.7MB
2) Study materials that needs to be saved forever 41.5 GB ( I can instead just index the name of the book and download it later as they're all downloaded from online. More than 90% storage can be freed up from 41.5GB)
3) Very important courses downloads 103.16 GB.
4) Unimportant courses 206.1 GB (I downloaded them online, It's very less likely that I'm going to use them. They're not very important. But I could need them if a course is really good or if the topic is really tough and I need multiple insights)
So, I need around 110 GB of files and multimedia storage. I really don't want to waste SSD space by storing them so I'm instead planning to get 128GB pen drive for it. It's because I won't use this course heavily but they are useful. But I'm hearing things that pen drives are sit. Losing pendrives isn't the problem for me but it could instead be quality and durability. Original pen drives aren't generally sold here so loosing data could be a big risk with that.
For those unimportnat 2016.1 GB of course, I'd just keep them where they're currently at-1TB Hard disk.
HELP Question:
In my region, If 1 TB hard drive costs x, then 128GB pen drive costs 0.307x and 256GB SSD 0.538x and 512GB SSD costs 1.153x. I'm not mentioning budget because I'm not buying from amazon or any American/International sites.
Can you share your ideas about what should I do?
As I said above, this is My view:
1) Get 128GB pen drive to store 103.16GB of "Very Important Courses"
2) Buy 256GB SSD. 64GB for OS(Windows 10 as I don't think windows 11 will work in my laptop) and 192GB for files.
Is there better approach to this?
Remind me of things that I'm not noticing atm.
Extra:
While I've said this for web development, I really would love information about android/IOS app development setup required (storage only).

It usually depends on the work of full stack developer that how, much space he needs such as if you are working in gaming industry you needs more than 1TB because you have to run heavy game engines as well with coding so if you want to learn deeply about laptop for full stack developer, it will help you to understand your needs more deeply.