Archive

Archive for March, 2008

Airborne cellphone use is closer on U.K.- registered planes

March 31st, 2008
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Oh no – this nightmare may become a reality soon….

Ofcom has been reviewing proposals for the use of Mobile Phones when a plane has reached 10,000 feet.

Ofcom, which has been examining the proposals since last year, said that the plans would be subject to approval by the relevant British and European aviation bodies. The regulator said that the decision had been developed with other European Union countries and that the system could be used in European airspace.

Last week Emirates of Dubai became the first airline to enable mobile voice services on flights.

I am dreading the day when this becomes the norm.. having to listen to someone jabber away on their phone for hours.

I think the best compromise would be to allow texting but with the cramped conditions in planes I think this is really going to upset a lot of people!

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Dashwire beta goes public!

March 31st, 2008
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A couple of old colleagues left Microsoft to startup Dashwire.  It’s a very cool service that allows you to synchronise your Windows Mobile device to a web service that you can then view via a web browser bringing all your mobile and web content together in one place!

The beta will give you access to some very cool capabilities such as:

-      Open access to the Dashwire service – you sign up, you get in
-      Media sharing to social networks (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Bebo)
-      Instant status updates (Facebook, Twitter)
-      Threaded SMS
-      Automatic phone-to-phone transfer (contacts, phone settings)

They are also working on a whole host of improvements…..

PHOTO SHARING
-      Easy sharing of photos captured on your phone to friends via:
o     SMS
o     E-mail
o     Social networks (Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Bebo)

INSTANT STATUS UPDATES
-      Update your Facebook and Twitter status from Dashwire.com or (coming soon) the Dashwire Mobile client on your phone.

INSTANT MESSAGING-STYLE THREADED SMS ON THE WEB
-      Improved SMS experience through conversation threading by contact

PHONE-TO-PHONE TRANSFER
-      Automatic transfer of contacts and phone settings (bookmarks, speed dials) when Dashwire Mobile is added to your new phone
-      Currently only supports transfers from one Windows Mobile phone to another, but will enable WM to S60 transfers when we launch our Symbian client.

IMPROVED PHOTO VIEWING
-      Easier and faster to browse and title photos on Dashwire.com

OVERALL PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS
-      Load time and usability improvements on the web and mobile client
-      IE7 usability improvements

IMPROVED NAVIGATION AND ACCESS TO FEATURES
-      Context specific menus when hovering over messages, calls, or contacts, allowing actions like reply via SMS, call via Skype, or share photo

CONTENT SEARCH
-      Spotlight-style account search
-      Improved tile search  

VISUAL VOICEMAIL
-      Visual voicemail and voice to text transcription via CallWave iFrame (for US Customers only). Exploring additional voicemail solutions for customer choice and global coverage.

MOBILE CLIENT IMPROVEMENTS –build 299 on http://m.dashwire.com
-      Added progress bar
-      Added sync on/off for roaming  – you were the first to ask for it! :)
-      Added ability to select items that are synced
-      Support of phone-to-phone transfer
-       Manual or automatic sync, though manual sync doesn’t currently support sending SMS from Dashwire.com
-      Improved sync messaging
-      Faster performance

You can check out a great video of the service HERE

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A Month Full of Windows Mobile Webcasts

March 31st, 2008
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The month of April brings a huge wealth of Webcasts on Windows Mobile which myself and a number of colleagues are delivering.  I’m pretty sure you can find something in the huge list below to satisfy your needs and curiosity!

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Providing Mobile Access to Corporate Data and Applications (Level 200)

Friday, April 4, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Improving Mobile Security and Management (Level 100)

Monday, April 7, 2008

9:30 A.M.–10:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How to Overcome the Top 10 Mobile Device Security and Management Challenges (Level 200)

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Device Management and Device Provisioning (Level 300)

Thursday, April 10, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Top 10 Features for Businesses (Level 200)

Monday, April 14, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Why Windows Mobile for Your Business (Level 100)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Messaging and Collaboration for Small and Mid-Sized Companies (Level 100)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Get the Facts on Comparing Windows Mobile and Blackberry (Level 300)

Friday, April 18, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Real-Time Messaging and Collaboration (Level 200)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobility and Windows Mobile (Level 300)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

1:00 P.M.–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Beyond E-Mail with Windows Mobile for Small and Mid-Sized Companies (Level 100)

Thursday, April 24, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: The Optimal Mobile Communications Solution (Level 100)

Friday, April 25, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Mobilizing Business Processes and Applications (Level 100)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

11:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M. Pacific Time

IT Manager Webcast: Windows Mobile Series: Mobility Infrastructure Optimization (Level 100)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

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Celio RedFly Review

March 28th, 2008
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The Celio Redfly is certainly getting a lot of coverage across the Blogosphere with many people confused about how it competes against Sub Notebooks and where it fits with devices like the Folio (RIP)

Ed Hardy over at Brighthand as written an excellent review of the device along with some great videos!

Check it out HERE

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Orange Partner Camp – 14-16 April 2008

March 27th, 2008
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I was talking with a few colleagues today who are headed out to the Orange Partner Camp which takes place in Faro Portugal on the 14th to the 16th of April.

Orange has been running this since 2004 and it’s always been very well received by the people I know who have attended.

Attendance does cost 649 Euros but does include accommodation :)

If you are interested in attending you can get more details HERE

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Alerting on new email in subfolders

March 26th, 2008

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Over the past few days I’ve been contacted by a number of people looking for an answer to what seems to be a very common question.

How can you get alerts of new email in subfolders and also when you get email from important people (eg your boss)

Well after much searching one of my colleagues (Jonathan) forwarded me details of the WatchFlag solution.

Watchflag compares incoming email and text messages against custom rules to provide distinct alerts based on sender, subject and more.

It works on Windows Mobile 5 and 6.0 devices too!

You can download a free 2 week trial from their site HERE

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HP Ipaq 614c review

March 25th, 2008
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Over the last week I’ve seen more and more people carrying the HP Ipaq 614c device.  With 3g and HSDPA as well as integrated GPS it is certainly well specified.  PocketPCSoft.net has written an indepth review which you can check out HERE

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Windows Mobile gets Common Criteria Certification

March 20th, 2008
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The Australian Financial Review 14 03 (3) (2)

Earlier this week I presented at our Chief Security Officer (CSO) Council Meeting and was VERY pleased to share that Windows Mobile just received Common Criteria Certification.

The Common Criteria is the driving force for the widest available mutual recognition of secure IT products. By meeting the security criteria for EAL2+, Windows Mobile 5.0 with Messaging and Security Feature Pack and Windows Mobile 6 operating systems are accepted under the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA) by 24 members worldwide.

Commenting on this significant milestone for Microsoft and the collaboration with the DSD, Peter Watson, Chief Security Advisor for Microsoft Australia, said: “Security is a top priority for us and the successful Common Criteria evaluation is a great result for Windows Mobile. Government agencies are now assured that Windows Mobile offers an appropriate level of security and protection for their information networks. We are extremely proud of the relationship we have built with the DSD, and this certification demonstrates both of our ongoing commitments to delivering more robust and secure systems.”

This is great news for Windows Mobile :)

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iNowCU – Let your Windows Mobile device access your webcams

March 19th, 2008
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Inca X iNowCU allows your webcam to become an intelligent motion detection security device that can send image and video alerts directly to your mobile phone or as email attachments.



You can also connect from your mobile phone and see in real-time what your webcams are viewing, start and stop webcams and adjust their settings so you can make sure you only receive alerts on your mobile when you want to.


It’s free to try and $20 if you want to buy it!


You can see more details in the video above or on the web HERE

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Windows Mobile Smackdown

March 19th, 2008
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Windows Mobility Smackdown at TechReady 6

Twice a year we have an internal Technical training event at Microsoft called TechReady.  Myself and a few colleagues run a session called the Windows Mobile Smackdown which is massively attended and a little ‘edgy’

Our Channel 8 team video’d the session this year and they’ve just published the video.  Check it out!

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