Windows Mobile 6.1 Firmware – Sprint Mogul

I updated my phone with a developer version of the firmware.  The production release was issued 8.6.2008 and the link below matches the exact rev I have installed on my phone.

I found the following benefits of the firmware:

• NO SYSTEM RESETS.  None, since the firmware update.
• Device certs for ActiveSync support (future requirement for my company for security)
• Longer battery life (this is more qualitative, but it is noticeably better)
• Text messages conversations are threaded
• Eliminated occasional problems I had answering calls when phone locked
• Java updated – Google Mail application works
• GPS application support enabled – works with Google Maps real time
• Did I mention NO SYSTEM RESETS?

There are probably some other issues, but these are ones I know off the top of my head.

Also, I had a local problem with ActiveSync that I resolved with help from Sandy Dahri.  Details on link below .  The root cause appears to be a beta release of Microsoft Desktop Search 4.0.

Windows Mobile 6.1 for Mogul - Sprint

http://www.htc.com/us/SupportDownloadList.aspx?p_id=75&cat=all

ActiveSync problem fix

http://www.paulbegley.com/2008/07/office-2007-and-activesync-45-problems.htm

Technorati Tags: HTC,Sprint,Microsoft,mobile,firmware,ActiveSync

New approach to my web site

I’m taking a mental health break because I should be working on an RFP that is due at noon tomorrow.

Moving forward, I am taking a different approach to my Blog.  I’m not even sure I like the term Blog anymore (although I like the Blogger software/system).  I will still link to sites that have content that interests me, or that is thought provoking, but my new focus is to publish original content or observations for all future posts.  I think it’s the election, but my content will be a combination of politics, technical, personal, and productivity.

I will target 500 words (212 so far), but this will not be a requirement.  The web has reached the point where five people post original content, everyone links to them, and the MLM people still think they can be millionaires working part time from home.  I have reached a  point in my life where I want to add value and not just follow others.

My web sites are hosted on a server I share with friends.  I will be migrating this week and there may be an interruption in service while DNS updates, but the new server is bigger, better, faster, and I am looking forward to the transition.

 

Technorati Tags: personal,blogging,hardware

END_OF_NT_EVALUATION_PERIOD

Sarah is taking the HP TX1110US laptop back to school in August.  Last week she mentioned that the system was mysteriously shutting down after about an hour or so.  I tried to ignore the problem, but I wanted to image the system before I installed XP.

I reset the System configuration so it would not automatically restart.  An hour later, the BOSD shows the event END_OF_NT_EVALUATION_PERIOD. 

This can’t be a Good Thing.  I Google (yes, it’s a verb).  Don’t find much, but I dug around TechNet and found that this can be generated if you installed a beta of Windows Vista SP1.  Crap.  Yeah, I did that, and never updated (well, I thought I updated…).

I uninstalled SP1, restarted (three step count down to complete the uninstall).  After restart, I used Vista Windows Update and painfully re-installed the pre-SP1 fixes, SP1, post-SP1, and just for good measure the latest security fixes as well as some HP specific hardware driver updates.

NOW the system is up and running.  I will image (Acronis is my friend), and install XP (yes, a legit license I have from my IBM Z-Pro workstations which are now running Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows 2008 Server.

Technorati Tags: Vista,backup,BSOD

Office 2007 and ActiveSync 4.5 Problems

ActiveSync stopped doing a bi-directional synchronization with my Sprint HTC Mogul a few weeks ago (naturally before I went on vacation). 

I never discovered the root cause of the problem, but it may have been a combination of Microsoft Desktop Search 4.0 beta, my Outlook profile, and my being very busy and not sorting out the problem when I noticed the synch stopped working.

Around the same time, Outlook generated an error on opening that stated it was not the default Mail Client, even though the option was properly set.

Problem: ActiveSync would not synchronize Outlook with my HTC Mogul.  Period.  End of story.  Not even thinking considering it.  ActiveSync would connect properly, display the proper count for Contact items (934!), the count would jump to 100/934, then complete and go to Calendar without any Contacts being copied.

I reset the phone, still no joy.

Finally, Sandy suggested I delete the contents of \Windows\Messaging on the device. 

This worked!

Resolving the default client error was resolved by a re-install of Office 2007.  All my settings were saved, including my Outlook Profiles, it was just inconvenient.

I also upgraded the HTC Mogul to Windows Mobile 6.1 (Developers build downloaded from third party site, not HTC or Sprint).  It’s a very nice upgrade and I’ll post after I have it running for a few weeks.

 

Technorati Tags: Microsoft,Office,ActiveSync

Zune for Christmas

Originally, I saw the re-furb and brown 30 Gb original Zunes on sale, but I waited a bit too long.  Then while I was on my road trip to pickup Sarah from Tech, I found a white, refurb Zune at buy.com for $109, so I jumped.

I could not be happier.  Initializing the Zune, it automatically installed the latest client on my desktop and upgraded the firmware to the 2.3 release.

During the initial setup, I pointed it to existing folders for my audio, video, and podcast folders.  The synch was pretty quick and after it sucked up everything, I still had 19Gb free.  The only

The only problem I had was synching NPR podcasts. By comparing file MP3 ID tags on files that synched correctly and the NPR files, I determined the Zune filters based on the Genre tag.  Genre = Podcast to synch to Zune. I updated using a Sourceforge MP3 tag editor massid3lib.  It worked like a charm.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/massid3lib

Technorati Tags: MP3,Zune,Microsoft,Sourceforge,podcast

Macs are more expensive

I frequently have this discussion with "Mac People".  I don't argue that Apple has a great design group, but I don't believe they offer the value for money I receive from other vendors.

Dave Winer is a pretty savvy guy, and a big Apple fan, so I was pretty surprised when I read his article detailing his Mac Book repair.  It's just my nature, but I would probably have my hands around the throat of the Mac support person.  At a minimum, I want a new drive in my system and some assurance, in writing, that data on my original drive will be scrubbed, or the drive destroyed.

The other factor that keeps me away from Mac stores is the "Genius Bar".  Let's face it, these guy (and women possibly) aren't geniuses and calling a 20-something college student (or recent grad) working in retail a genius just sets unreasonable expectations from a customer and dilutes the term 'genius'.  None of these folks have an IQ higher than mine and they don't think out of the box because Apple doesn't want someone like that working in retail in the first place.

The last time I was in an Apple store the little freakazoid manager (Marlton, NJ for anyone interested) asked me to stop taking pictures.  Bugger off, Apple Boy!  I have shoes older than you.

Technorati Tags: Apple,Mac,fanboy,hardware

(Scripting News) " href="http://www.scripting.com/stories/2007/12/22/macsAreEvenMoreExpensiveTh.html">

Windows XP Memory Leak - NOT SP3

UPDATE:  I had a comment asking about problem resolution.  The memory leak was resolved by updating the Dell Wireless 1370 WLAN driver (reference below).  The updated version of the driver is an 89 Meg download: http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R174291.exe

=========================================

After removing SP3, my memory leak issue re-surfaced.  I used Process Explorer, configured it to display Page Faults, Private Bytes, and Virtual Size, and I found the culprit.  The Dell Wireless driver had something like 8MM page faults. 

This process (BCMWLTRY.EXE) was visible from Task Manager, but I overlooked it.  Killing the process from Process Explorer, it re-spawned, and immediately started spewing page faults.  The new drivers was issued 18 Dec 2007, details are below and it's available for download from Dell Support.

 

Title      : Network:Dell Wireless 1370 WLAN MiniPCI Card, Wireless 1390 WLAN MiniCard, Wireless 1395 WLAN MiniCard, Wireless 1470 Dual-Band WLAN miniPCI Card, Wireless 1490 Dual-Band WLAN MiniCard, Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Mini-Card, Wireless 1505 Draft 802.11n WLAN Mini-Card Desktops Driver
Version    : A17
OEM Name   : Dell
OEM Ver    : 4.170.25.12
Computers  : Dimension - DXP061, DXC061;
Inspiron - 1520, 1720, 1420, 1521, 1721;
Inspiron Desktop - 530, 530S, 531, 531S;
Latitude - D430, ATG D630, D530, D531, XT, D631, D620, D630, D830, D420, D620, D520;
OptiPlex - 745, 320, 740, 755, 330;
Precision - M2300, T7400, T5400, M6300, M4300, 390, 690, 490, M65, M90, M60, M70, M20;
Vostro Desktop - 200, 400;
Vostro Notebook - 1000, 1500, 1700;
XPS - MXP061, MXG061, XPS 720, M1730, 420, M1330
Oses       : Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC EditionWindows XP x64 Professional Client

Technorati Tags: Dell,wireless,drivers,download

32 bit Windows memory support

This subject has come up on several occasions, so I'm posting a note with several references on the topic.

Basically, 32-bit Windows desktop operating systems (XP, Vista) will not address more than 3 GB of installed memory.  You can add the /3GB switch to your BOOT.INI file, but hardware constraints, including your video card and BIOS will limit how much RAM above 3GB is available for the operating system. 

NOTE:  This is particularly an issue for high end video cards because the amount of video RAM is deducted from the 4GB theoretical limit for 32 bit operating systems, so even if you have 4GB installed, a 512 Meg video card could reduce your available ram to under 3GB.

Microsoft MSDN article: Memory Limits for Windows Releases

Microsoft MSDN article: 4-Gigabyte Tuning

Dude, Where's My 4 Gigabytes of RAM? - this article includes a nice Intel map of the 32 bit address space memory allocation details.

eneloop batteries - eneloop is a rechargeable battery.

Sony is offering a special PowerPack at Costco that includes a four position charger, 8 AA, 4 AAA, as well as two C and D size adapters (you can put four AA batteries into the adapters and use them as C and D batteries).

The neat thing about the eneloop over traditional NiMH batteries is they retain their charge longer on the shelf.  I just started testing  (AA in a digital camera and AAA in my voice recorder).  I will post a follow-up after I have some real world experience and stats.

del.icio.us Tags: gagets , hardware , recommendations