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[From Keith] T-Mobile Dash - I got my first smartphone a while ago and I couldn't be happier. I use it to make sure I don't miss appointments. That was the main reason I got it. Of course, being able to use my free time wherever I am to beat Super Mario Brothers 3 has been loads of fun. I also enjoy using it to hop on Wi-Fi so I can pull up my Google Reader feeds.
[From Eric Mann] "Yahoo’s board of directors plans to reject Microsoft’s $44.6 billion hostile bid with a letter Monday saying the offer undervalues Yahoo, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday. The decision to reject the bid was taken following a board meeting Friday in which directors explored ways in which to respond to Microsoft’s week-old bid. The board heard presentations from Yahoo’s management and its bankers, according to people familiar with the discussions. Several people argued that the company was worth more than what Microsoft offered, this person said.
The board was also presented with various options for maintaining Yahoo’s independence, including an advertising partnership with Google that could improve Yahoo’s bottom line, this person said." The New York Times has the full deets.
[From Mike Keeble] For our Win Mob friends who want to keep an eye on their battery levels then Mike Keeble emailed in with a software recomendation for this little freeware gem, it's a program called Batti. Batti is a small application which shows you remaining power of your battery. "Batti takes very few space of your PDA memory. The battery indicator itself takes about 30 KB and the whole application is less than 100 KB. Batti is highly configurable to suits your needs. You can set up the update interval of a indicator, its height, all colors are customizable and more. Batti is designed in modern manners, it is ready for VGA displayes.
You can set colors for foreground and background, colors for low and critical battery level. You can also set the color for indicating your battery is on AC power source or that your battery is being charged. Batti can show detailed information about your battery such as temperature, voltage, chemistry and some information about your backup battery as well.
As always donations are welcome and you can get the download here.
I've been doing sound both as a hobby and professionally/semi-professionally for almost 20 years now. There's been a lot of changes to the business and to how I've operated over the years, and much of my changes have included Palm OS handhelds and smartphones.
Much of my work has been as a Sound Designer and Front-of-House mixer for musical theatre productions. There's always a lot of paperwork, with Mic input lists, FX and board patch sheets, Intercom patch and distribution, and cue sheets galore! DocsToGo spreadsheets and documents cover all those bases nicely, and allow me to make changes on the fly at rehearsals while juggling my script book & score and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the other members of the production team in the busy rehearsal hall. A laptop just wouldn't fit in that kind of situation, since you don't really have a table to put stuff on; you're sitting on a folding chair in a row with a dozen other people, with your bind perched precariously in your lap. Datebk6 and it's template and copy appointment functions allow me to schedule rehearsals and production meetings for the next few months with just a few taps. The built-in contacts and phone mean that production team members are just a few taps away when any details need to be settled, and the rental shop can be on speed dial for when you need to get a hold of them. The speakerphone or a Bluetooth headset com in particularly handy when you're up to your armpits in gear and cables, troubleshooting.
The media features always come in useful; I can take sound effects in on a memory card and audition them for the director at rehearsals or production meetings. I can also record stuff I might need to use or refer to later. There are also a plethora of musician & sound oriented tools, like metronomes, tuners, even a Spectrum Analyzer! Combine all that with portability and ease of use, it's easy to see why a smartphone should be on every sound techs belt, right next to your Leatherman.
Pretty much every electronic gadget has a remote control these days. The fancier ones have a status light or backlit keyboard, so you know if the batteries are still working. But what about the remotes that don't have the fancy features? Here's where your Treo or camera equipped handheld or mobile comes in...
Fire up the camera app on your device, and point the remote at the camera. Start pressing buttons on the remote. You should see a bright (or dim) pulsing light depending on the strength of the batteries. You can also use this trick to test individual buttons on remotes that have suffered accidental drops or beverage spills (or toddlers/pets chewing on them).
If you need to get fancier in your reception of IR signals, you can use a Palm application called IR monitor on any IR enabled Palm device. It let's you observe the actual IR modulation, so you can really see what's going on with your remotes. And don't forget, you can always use your handheld or Treo as a remote, using software such as Novii Remote.
[From Arthur Roolfs] One of the most important skills for musicians of any kind is the ability to correctly identify intervals by ear. Ear training is therefore a substantial building block in music education. Practicing this skill happens mostly during class or with a private tutor and takes quite some time. With EarMan students are now able to take these lessons when and where they like. The program can be used as a full curriculum by itself or in addition to the lesson plan. The application fully supports RoGame sound libraries and comes with the outstanding grand piano library. EarMan grades ear training sessions and keeps track of progress made. It is the most patient teacher and allows to squeeze in a brief session while waiting for the bus or the tea water to boil.
New in Version 2.0:
• choice of clefs and grand staff
• improved feedback
• new configuration options (i.e. auto playback)
• example songs for intervals
• new display options (i.e. Show Interval)
• updated interface
• Centro compatible
• improved Sound Libraries support
EarMan is also available at a discount as part of Music Bundle Gold.
[From Roy, Northglide] Hi Sammy, I wanted to let you know that I've just created two new Dropairs Pair Boards
that should help me practice reading music notation. I figured it's about
time I learn how to do that, so with the help of Google and later Dropairs,
I think I'm getting there. Maybe someone else will find them useful. (I
really hope they are accurate! :) ).
The boards can be downloaded from the Dropairs Pair Board Gallery.
There are now 70 free different boards available listed on the gallery page. The game itself, the Pair Boards and the Pair Board Maker (the tool that allows you to create Pair Boards) are all completely free of charge.
[From Knaak
(the Netherlands)] Is it me or are we witnessing a proliferation of mobile browsers.
First, there was the fantastic news that Firefox is working on a
mobile version of its browser. Although the user interface isn't set
yet, it is rumoured to look a lot like its desktop version, including
the possibility to use extensions, if I am not mistaken. Secondly
there is Netfront 3.5 beta (link), which is eye catching in my
opinion. Great to see a company getting rid of the scrollbar and
instead creates a very good user interface and a great favourites
screen. Than there is Opera of course, which I have been using for a
while now and which is still my favourite mobile browser. But with all
the alternatives being released, I am not sure how long that will last
….!
[From JC
Iowa] My first go into the Palm Realm was the Life Drive which was great but it could not make any phone calls. So Now I have the 700WX from Verizon and I use it daily. I have a child with autism and I use my phone to stay in contact with home when I am working on autism reform in our state. I check emails quite often and use the mapping tool quite a bit. I also am able to take word docs, music, and photos with me to keep me in touch with my wife and kids. So how do I use my Palm I use it as a life line to my life.
Well I just went to pick up the three Macbook Air notebooks one for personal use and the other for use in the office and I have to say, wow, these things are gorgeous. It is so much thinner than what I anticipated, I knew it was going to be thin but we were amazed, because when you see it in reality you cannot help but amazed when you see it for real. I also have to say that it is ultra light too, one thing that does worry me is that I think the aluminum casing may either get dirty ort a little scratched so I will have to be careful and I am scared of dropping it but I do love it. You may wish to take advantage of the Waterfield Cases that they have just introduced for the Macbook Air, in fact I think is going to be a pretty safe bet to help protect it. However the device is going to be my travelling notebook of choice I think.
Anyway I'll talk you through it more in the coming days and why do I have three, well two for the office and the other one for....well you will have to wait and see ;-) but in the meantime it's sure is beautiful
[From Eric Mann] Sad news for those of you fans of Polaroid Camera's as it abandons its old ways and it seems very much like the company is struggling to keep itself going and embrace the digital era, this according to CNN. "Polaroid is dropping the technology it pioneered long before digital photography rendered instant film obsolete to all but a few nostalgia buffs.
Polaroid is closing factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands and cutting 450 jobs as the brand synonymous with instant images focuses on ventures, such as a portable printer for images from cell phones and Polaroid-branded digital cameras, televisions and DVD players.
This year's closures will leave Polaroid with 150 employees at its Concord headquarters and a site in the nearby Boston suburb of Waltham, down from peak global employment of nearly 21,000 in 1978." CNN for the full deets.
[From Lazrhog] You'll remember last week I was talking about the iZoo game for those of you with iPod Touch or iPhone devices and with that in mind, Lazrhog the developer let me know of some of the features in the forthcoming edition of the game, which is a Bejeweled Clone [on the same lines as the Astraware Bejeweled] and is very very good. You can watch the video below that Lazrhog has put together with some of the cool features coming in 1.2 which should be released in the forthcoming week.
[From Handmark] [SAMMY Another Press Release in overnight for you guys to take advantage of] mywaves, the largest mobile video destination, announced today expanded distribution of its popular mobile video service to the BlackBerry(R) Pearl 8130 smartphone from Research In Motion (RIM), the Apple iPhone(R), Symbian S60 platform and four Palm(R) handheld devices. Additionally, Handmark(R), a global leader in the development and distribution of mobile media, will distribute mywaves' mobile videos to mobile devices through its global distribution channels.
"Our first order of business was to make mywaves available to mass market, video-enabled phones. Most smartphones can now deliver a great video experience for consumers, so now's the time for us to keep the momentum going and make mywaves available on as many platforms as possible," said Rajeev Raman, CEO and Founder, mywaves. "With their larger screens and higher resolution, smartphones provide the perfect consumer experience for mobile video viewing."
As the most broadly distributed, fastest-growing mobile video provider, mywaves serves more than 5 million unique visitors monthly by offering consumers around the world the ability to browse through more than 400,000 channels of video. Handmark offers unique distribution through mobile operators and device manufacturers, as well as Handmark desktop and on-device stores including http://www.handmark.com and Pocket Express(R) (http://www.pocketexpress.com).
The mywaves mobile video service is currently available for Palm Treo 680, 700p, 755p, Palm Centro and BlackBerry Pearl 8130, with Windows Mobile compatibility coming later this year.
mywaves is a free mobile video service that enables users to connect with their friends and the mywaves community, showcase their entertainment interests and share their favorites -- all from their mobile handsets. mywaves makes it easy for people to find and watch their favorite videos from around the globe, set up their own channels of premium, personal or user-generated content, and be entertained on the go with the latest videos on the Web. mywaves lets users create channels of favorite videos to include on their profile or share with anyone via e-mail or text message.
[From Hans] The WildCharge looks ultra cool. "WildCharge, the first wire-free charging and power solutions for consumer electronics and other mobile devices was selected as one of TIME Magazine's Best Inventions Of The Year 2007!! Available now, WildCharge presents its groundbreaking WildCharger™ charging pad. Also available are WildCharge™ adapters that allow most Motorola RAZR V3 phones to draw power wirelessly from the WildCharger pad. In the next few months, WildCharge will introduce adapters for other leading mobile phones, smart phones and music players. These include adapters for RIM’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone and iPod family of products and more." Get the details on the WildCharge after the jump.
[From Josh Staford] [SAMMY Another Press Release in overnight] Comstar Interactive (www.comstarinteractive.com), a leading provider of secure Mobile Payment solutions and electronic payment services, announces the release of Charge Anywhere® v2.0 Secure Mobile Payment solution for merchants using the Palm® TREO™ Smartphone devices. Charge Anywhere v2.0 Mobile is Visa Payment Application Best Practices (PABP) validated, and specifically designed to empower mobile payments for businesses seeking a comprehensive mobile payments solution. This announcement follows Charge Anywhere recently receiving the "Designed for Palm Products" honor, and its selection by Palm as "Windows Application of the Month".
Enabling the processing of electronic payments, virtually anywhere in the world, Charge Anywhere v2.0 mobile software transforms Palm TREO Smartphones into secure Mobile Point of Sale (MPOS) terminals. Charge Anywhere is compatible with the latest generation of TREO Smartphones including the 700w and 700wx models, and can be installed on the Windows Mobile 5.0+ operating system. Charge Anywhere supports other Smartphone and PDA platforms such as the HTC Touch™, BlackBerry® and Motorola's MOTO Q.
The power of Charge Anywhere Mobile solution improves business efficiencies and seamlessly integrates with QuickBooks® and other back office applications. With easy web-based ordering and over-the-air (OTA) downloads, Charge Anywhere Mobile reduces merchant's processing fees, risks and ensures PCI compliance. Users can also view, search and export transactional data and detailed business information; such as tax, tips, tolls, invoice number, employee ID, GPS, vehicle number, and more - in real-time via Comstar's ComsGate™ Transaction Manager.
Integrating ComsGate Payment Card Industry (PCI) Level I compliant Payment Gateway and Charge Anywhere Mobile is a winning combination for achieving PCI compliance and managing businesses' card data security with industry validated best practices.
Additional Charge Anywhere v2.0 secure mobile payments software for Smartphones key features include:
Supports any Wireless Carrier Supports any Bank Account and Credit Card Processor Supports battery powered Bluetooth enabled mobile printer with magstripe reader Web-based transaction management system that includes a free Virtual Terminal service Integrates with QuickBooks PRO, Premier and Enterprise applications - 2005 versions and later Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for enterprise and businesses Enhanced Level I PCI DSS data security and encryption technology Industry specific software for optimal business data management GPS, SMS, e-mail messaging and content delivery interface
Comstar offers a free demonstration and trial download of its Mobile Payments Solutions via their corporate website at: www.comstarinteractive.com
[From Lincoln distler, Florida] Well basically, I can't live without a phone that doesn't have a full
keyboard. Plain and simple. I text, IM, surf the web, I'm emailing you
right now from my shiny new sidekick(that I blew a ton off money on
lol). Most of my friends are now the same exact way, it seems the
easiness of everything in your pocket is just extremely appealing. The
future will tell the impact these high tech mobile phones truly had on
society, but the fact that most people nowadays can text faster than
they can type, is a clear sign showing that Mobile technology, remains
supreme!
[From Donovan Cox, Houston, TX ] Sammy, You ask to detail how I use my mobile device, well since i purchased my palm Treo in late december i have of course set it up to work with my gmail, Outlook, and my Hotmail. I've also setup yahoo, and googles applications for mapping, with an eye on picking up a gps receiver in the next couple of weeks. I use it as a notepad for my to do lists, and to set up reminders. I'm just getting into it, and still trying to find uses for it.
[From G.S. Kennedy, III] I carry two mobile devices, a Sony-Ericsson cell phone and my 16 GB
iPod Touch. The phone was included w/ the AT&T family plan we
recently upgraded to, and is a cheap model with a camera of little
use and a lot of features that I won't use because I'm to cheap to
pay extra for them and they are to hard to use because the interface
is a PITA to use. I sometimes dial numbers from memory than scroll
through the address book, which has no search feature AFAICT. I
don't make a lot of calls, and I don't get a lot of calls, either.
The iPod Touch, on the other hand, is a joy to use. The $20 upgrade allows me to check important things like the weather conditions and forecast, Google maps,3 of my 4 e-mail accounts, stocks, and use the notepad. But I don't use the notepad - for that I keep a small stack of index cards in a binder clip and a pen in my pocket. I've used the Touch to send e-mails to request meetings at school, to let my wife know I followed up on an action item, or to let friends know I can't walk in the morning. I have also synced an iPhoto album of shots to show off the children and the Touch to anyone who is interested. And of course the Touch is my portable entertainment center. I use the iPod with some decent earphones, and play games in the Safari browser. I can use Tooble to download YouTube videos into my iTunes and transfer those to my Touch. TV shows have also been transfered to the Touch for the children, which may be handy on our next road trip. Audiobooks may also find their way onto the device. Living in the city often allows me to take advantage of open Wi Fi networks in the neighborhood. I really would have liked an iPhone, but having separate devices hasn't been a burden. And I got the 16GB of storage to start with :-)
My phone is a blunt instrument, my Touch is a dremel tool.
[From John Howes] Do you ever find yourself using someone else's computer and you need
one of your passwords, but you can't remember it? My Treo 650 and
1Password <http://1passwd.com/> solve that problem. The Mac OS X
desktop client can export your passwords to the Treo into the
1Password Palm program. Your passwords and other information (credit
card, social security numbers, etc.) are encrypted so they are safe
in case someone else gets their hands on your Treo. Just one of the
many indispensable uses of my Treo.
[From Slava Markeyev from San Diego, CA] Hello PalmAddicts, my name is Slava Markeyev from San Diego, CA and I have to admit I am addicted to Palm. I previously owned a Palm 600p for roughly 2 years and now I own the 700p. Everyday I see people carrying around their lightweight phones with keypads the size of thumbs. While the palms are rather big what I love about them and what will not get me to switch is the large number of 3rd party applications available for palmos. I feel cellphone manufacturers such as LG, Nokia, etcetera, need to sit down and create a standardized OS for their phones which would allow applications to be loaded on across several different models of their phones. No I'm not talking about loading windows mobile on every phone. I can continue to rant on and on about that but bottom line is cross compatibility. Palm obviously got that concept but unfortunately they seem to be going downhill so we'll have to see what is to come in the future.
My palm is well-loved
[From Judy (Waterford, Michigan, USA)] In the past three weeks at work I have had four people come to me with various Palm questions because they know that I love my TX and use it constantly. A Tungsten E user had strange problems that were corrected when I recommended a soft re-set. A Zire user lost a bunch of apps from a strange phenomenon - I beamed some of my favorites like HandyShopper, Mobile DB Lite and others to her Palm. Another TE user was having hot sync problems so I checked it out and we got it to hot sync but things were missing and there were problems. I read the last rites and recommended that she purchase a TX. Another person lost his stylus but I had a spare in my desk drawer. In the meantime I totally rely on the datebook and contacts. I have said this before but I LOVE the American Heritage dictionary I purchased a few years ago. I use it all the time. It is so useful and essential to me. I also love Bejeweled 2, Text Twist and Slots. Fun and business - that's how I use my Palm.
2 Days until the end of the MacBook Pro giveaway 
