19 Oct 07 Why do you need a laptop? Try PortableApps.com

Ok, it will not really replace your laptop, but it is really useful, and can even be fun

The picture above is a screenshot of the PortableApps installed on my flash drive, I can use any installed software at any windows machine I’m using at the moment.That is great, because I love my Kubuntu box at home, but in most of my clients the machines I need to use (most do not allow me to use my laptop at their networks) do not have my preferred softwares, so I carry them with me.

OpenOffice 2.0 – this one is very useful at speeches and trainings.
7-Zip – The best windows archive manager
GVim – My Ruby On Rails editor of choice, I use it on linux, and now I carry it on my pocket to use when I’m in a windows machine, the only problem is that it was not compiled with omnifunc support, so it does not have code completion.
Firefox – Simply because I can’t use IE, it is not for me
Putty
WinSCP
VNC Viewer
Sumatra PDF (A very lightweight PDF reader)
VLC
MPlayer

Now I can bring every thing I need with me (ok, almost every thing)

So, if you liked the idea, take a look at PortableApps.com download it, choose what software you want with you all the time, and be happy!

Versão em portugues aqui.

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Tags: freeware, mobile, opensource, postable, productivity, windows

Filed in productivity, windows with 1 Comment

18 Oct 07 Use your mobile phone to control your presentations with Open Office

Most people when doing any kind of presentation that use slide, prefer to use a wired or wireless mouse to control the flow of this presentation.
Others prefer to ask some one to control it and have to make some kind of sign during the presentation to ask for the next slide (in my last experience the sign was: next slide please!).
I use my cell phone to control my presentations, using this great piece of free software: mOOo Impress Controller

The Software was developer using:

Open Office UNO (Universal Network Objects)
Java Micro Edition
Marge Project

What do you need to play with it?
Mobile:

at least CLDC 1.0
at least MIDP 2.0
JSR-82 (just the package javax.bluetooth). If your mobile has Bluetooth, it does not mean that it implements JSR 82. You can check if it has the btapi at http://www.j2mepolish.org .

Desktop:

OpenOffice.org 2.2, BrOffice.org 2.2, or compatible.
Java SE 5.0
Bluetooth USB Adapter or any other Bluetooth hardware.
Bluetooth Protocol Stack in your OS (Operating System).

Ok, it is cool, but what are the real benefits of it?
Think about, when people see that you are using your cell phone to control the presentation, you can talk about any shit, they wont hear you, they will be looking at your cell phone
Well, at least if your public is not reading it right now

I tested it here and it just worked like a charm!

After you test it, please give the developers some feedback using this form, event if it did not worked within your environment, this will help them a lot to improve this very cool thing

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Tags: bluetooth, cool factor, freeware, mobile, openoffice, opensource, presentation

Filed in mobile with 2 Comments

01 Oct 07 It is getting easier to sync your cell phone with your linux box

Very long time without posting, but a good one now, it is getting easier
to sync your cell phone with your linux, I have just upgraded my Kubuntu [bb]
to gutsy (7.10) and just got a very good surprise, not it comes with the
new version of Kitchensync, this one makes it really easy to setup the
synchronization, and you do not need to touch a single configuration
file, you can do everything from the great KDE GUI.

When I open Kytchensync (K Menu, Utilities, KitchenSyncFilter), I can
see the list of all “Sync profiles” I have already created, to sync my
phone I need only to click on the Synchronize button at the tool bar, or
in the “Synchronize Now” at the bottom of the selected profile.

Lets take a look at the setup I use to sync my Nokia N80 with Kontact
(you can use it with any symbian device).

I just clicked in the Edit Group, but you can create a new group, and
just add a KDE PIM and a “SyncML over OBEX client”.

You have lots of possible endpoints, I have just a few installed on my
machine, but Kitchensync uses opensync as its backend, so it has support
for Evolution2, Google Calendar and many more client/server points. The
great thing is that you can sync more than two points at a time.

The KDE PIM member does not need any configuration, the only problem is
that you need to close Kontact before synchronizing, the OpenSync group
tells that when KDE 4 is out this problem will be fixed.

Now I need to configure the connection to my Nokia N80, configure the
MAC address of your symbian smart phone and select channel 13 (for the
N80 13 is the right channel, for other models this can change), you can
use Konqueror to discover the MAC address of your cell phone Bluetooth
port (I do not know if there is any key combination to show this number
in the display).

In the Data Bases tab, make sure your contacts database is named
“Contacts”, your calendar and tasks database is named “Calendar” and
your notes database is named “Notes”, if you have changed this on the
cell phone, change here according,

In the options tab, configure the same username and password that you
configured in your cell phone to the “PC Suite” synchronization profile,
I could not make it work without a username and a password, so you need
to choose one.

I had to choose the version 1.0 of SyncML for synchronization because in
the tests the synchronization freezed 3 times when I tested the version
1.1, and I cound’t even connect to the cell phone using the version 1.2.

Make sure the application identifier in this screen is “PC Suite” I have
tried some other names but for some strange reason this one is the only
that seems to work (yes, I created the other test profiles in the cell
phone too).

If you want to sync another point with your cell phone and Kontact, for
example google calendar, just add the member and configure it as in the
screenshot bellow (if you want to know my password, it is 10 stars

)

Well, I think now you can get your cell phone to sync to your linux box
too.

I’ll make some tests with gnome and evolution and will post here the
step by step.

If any one of you test this procedure with any other cell phone please
let me know if it works and what changes to this setup ware needed, then
I’ll keep here an updated list (or if you want to give-me a cell phone
to test I’ll be very happy

)

Thanks for taking time to read this.

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Tags: cool factor, freeware, network, office

Filed in linux with 20 Comments

22 Jul 07 What do you think about automatically coping your pictures from your N80 when you get home?

What do you think about automatically coping your pictures from your cell phone when you get home?
If you are using Kubuntu or any other linux with KDE as your UI you can do it very easilly.
I’m very happy with the integration I’m getting from my Kubuntu with my N80 …
And if you use any other linux flavor, you can configure it too …

Here is a step by step for you to get your pictures copied from your Symbian based device to your linux box, if your device is no a N80, you may have to change some little settings, but if it has bluetooth you can do it too …

All you need is the kdebluetooth package installed, and a bluetooth dongle on your linux box (or builtin support for BT).

First open “System Settings” from the K menu.
Click on the Bluetooth settings.
Then on Device Discovery, then on Add New Job.
Select Photo Copy
And type a name for it, I’ll use CopyPhotosN80.
The name can not have spaces on it.
Click OK
Then select the Job, and click the Configure Button
It will open the generated script with KEdit (so, if you do not have it installed, you will have to install it first)
You have to ajust the following settings on the opened script.

TARGETFOLDER – for me it is TARGETFOLDER=’/home/urubatan/Pictures’
SOURCEFOLDER – I have configured the default for my N80 to save the pictures in the miniSD card, so, for me the setting for this is: SOURCEFOLDER=’:11/E:/Images’

You can easily get this setting by browsing your device with Konkeror, and copying all the path after the device address.

TARGETFILEPREFIX – this is optional, but I have set it to: TARGETFILEPREFIX=’Image’

Save the script
Make sure the job you just created is checked.
Select it, and click Execute this job now. to test it.
Now you can select the Job, Select the option Listed Devices Only, and Add Device
Select your cell phone, just to make sure this will run only for your cell phone.
That is all …

Now, every day when you get home, all your pictures will get automatically copied to your home computer.
If you have read the other script names, you know that this KDE interface have a lot more options …
I’ll talk more about this later, but you already know that with the same script, you can copy any kind of files from your cell phone to your computer, and with a little more work, you can do the opposite too …

I hope this tip to be helpful for any one that takes the time to read this, if you have any doubt just ask …
And if you do not know how to do some thing with your cell phone and your linux box together, please let me know, I’ll try to solve the problem for you

PS.: if you comment more, I’ll post this tips more frequently …

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Tags: built-in, cool factor, freeware, multimedia

Filed in linux with 1 Comment

15 Jun 07 I’m back, and with a cool thing to tell you (Your S60 phone is linux friendly) :D

I have not posted here for a long time, sorry for that …
Last week I had to format my notebook, and after a little problem with windows, I decided to change my environment to linux, and my choice for distribution was Kubuntu.
After that, I spend about 3 days looking for a way to sync my N80 with my brand new linux OS installed.
And the great news is that a have found a way, the bad news is that you will have to use the console for that (yeap, no UI) at least for the configuration, after it is working you can use the multisync0.90 gui for start the synchronization process …

So lets go with the little tutorial …
for the sync process you will need the opensync tools …
in kubuntu to install all the needed you need just to type:

$sudo apt-get install opensyncutils opensync-plugin-kdepim opensync-plugin-syncml multisync0.90 multisync-tools

That is all, you have all installed and ready to go …
now
lets do some configuration …

$msynctool –addgroup kdeN80
$msynctool –addmember kdeN80 kdepim-sync
$msynctool –addmember kdeN80 syncml-obex-client
$msynctool –configure kdeN80 2

and in the text editor that will open, replace all the text with this:

<config>
<bluetooth_address>XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX</bluetooth_address>
<bluetooth_channel>13</bluetooth_channel>
<identifier>PC Suite</identifier>
<version>1</version>
<wbxml>1</wbxml>
<username>the configured user name</username>
<password>the configured password</password>
<type>2</type>
<usestringtable>1</usestringtable>
<onlyreplace>0</onlyreplace>
<recvlimit>10000</recvlimit>
<contact_db>Contacts</contact_db>
<calendar_db>Calendar</calendar_db>
<note_db>Notes</note_db>
</config>

now you are really ready to go …
to start syncing just type:

$msynctool –sync kdeN80

for the next syncs you can use the multisync0.90 gui.
I hope you enjoy it, because I have not found any help on the web looking for this information …

the coolest thing about this way of syncing is that with almost no change, you can sync your cell phone with google calendar, you will just need to install the correct plugin for opensync:
$sudo apt-get install opensync-plugin-google-calendar

or you can sync directly your phone with your palm.

This synchronization tips can be used for any nokia symbian phone, the only thing that will probably change is the <bluetooth_channel>13</bluetooth_channel> setting.

Now you know that your N80, N70, or any other nokia S60 phone are Linux friendly.

I’ll write some more posts about N80 and linux integration in the next days …

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Tags: cool factor, freeware, mobile

Filed in linux with 15 Comments

12 Apr 07 The missing ones (Just freewares)

as I wrote in the last post, I have just hard reseted my N80, and there ware some missing applications here (there is one missing yet … )
I have installed some more apps here, and I think some of you might be interested in some good freeware apps for your Symbian S60 3rd edition

so, here is the list …

Log Export – A very cool application, that enables you to export your phone log, with all your call history, data transfers, …
Very usefull for me …
Nokia Mobile Search – Never loose a file on your phone again, this new version searches for files in your phone too, not only does web searches as the build-in version
Nokia Maps – this is the new name for the smart2go, very cool mapping application, and the best of it is that it have maps for Brazil too

Well, it is all freeware so, give it a try …

PS.: does any one know any call recorder for Symbian S60 3rd edition? I prefer freeware, but if it has a reasonable price, it is OK too …

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Tags: built-in, cool factor, freeware

Filed in mobile with 0 Comments

06 Apr 07 First "hard reset" in my N80

I just hard reseted my N80, I do not know if the “symbian people” use this words as I used in my “PDA times”, but this means “reset the phone to the factory settings”, before you ask how to do it, it is just write the code that you can find here.
But the reason of this post is to tell you, what softwares did I reinstalled after this Hard Reset.
Why?
well, because, these are the ones that I really use!
and it may be used as a tip for yu, if you are looking for smart phone software for your Symbian
so, lets go to the list …

Handy Expense – A great piece of software that helps me take control over my money (yes, I need help on that)
Handy Alarm – a tool that makes the “alarm clock” of my symbian obsolete, with this one I can schedule multiple alarms, three of them for the time I wake up for work every week day (yes, three because I have problems to wake up every day), and some other ons when I need
Quick Office 4 Premium Update – an update for the Quick Office suite that enables me to edit the files.
Y-Browser – a better file manager for S60

and that is all, these are all the software that survived my Hard reset, I know that I`m missing some thing, but I`m sure I`ll remember when I need it
The two Handy … you can find here.
And if you want the Y-Browser, you can take a look at this post.

PS.: yes, I have payed for all the commercial softwares, I do not approve pirate software.
PS2.: the only problem I`m having with my phone now, is that I can not format my mini SD card, and every time I try it says that the card is in use, and every time I insert the card it tries to install some thing and fails …

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Tags: built-in, freeware, office

Filed in mobile with 3 Comments

12 Mar 07 Good news for Mobile application Developers (.NET Compact Framework 1.0 for Nokia Symbian S60)

Since S60 does not support Java ME higer profiles (CDC/Personal Profile for example)
and Nokia seems to have forgotten about the availability of eRCP for S60 (that is being developed as is stated on the project website, but it is being developed since forever, it is almost a vaporware).

The Microsoft guis took it ahead and the long-time awaited .NET Compact Framework 1.0 for Nokia Symbian S60 smartphones has been released by Red Five Labs, with a no-royalties runtime.

red five labs The significance of this release is hard to deny, as it may bring more applications and developers to the S60 platform, which is known for its complexity. Furthermore, this may bring many of the existing Windows Mobile applications to the Nokia smartphones.

David Beers on its blog, Software Everywhere, has more information on the subject.

(original text from here)

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Tags: cool factor, dream, freeware, programming

Filed in mobile with 0 Comments

30 Jan 07 VoIP is cool, but what about clicking in a phone number in your desktop browser to dial it with your cell phone?

Ok, VoIP is cool, and you can spend less money with it, but I think it is not as cool, as if you could click in a phone number in your desktop browser, and call the number using your cell phone or send an SMS message …
And all this without any wires …
All you need it to read my previous post about an apache server running in your phone with support for python.
and after it you install the another library in your apache and a plugin in your Firefox, you can download it form this link.
Then when you are browsing the web, for example for booking a table at Restaurant Zetor in Helsinki.

and when you click in the phone number this dialog appears allowing you to call it with your cell phone.

You can add a contact from your browser …

Send SMS messages …

This is wat I call Cool Factor, I`ll have to show it to all my friends
and with a little more work it can become a perfect integration between your cell phone and your desktop

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Tags: cool factor, freeware, network

Filed in mobile with 1 Comment

23 Jan 07 Finally VOIP for N80

The N80ie owners does not understand this, but all the VOIP services until now works only in the N80ie phones, I could not find one that works in the plain N80 phones …
But now it is solved, you can install TiVi in your N80 and start talking for free (at least with other TiVi users). Or you can buy some credits to call landlines too.

The service seems to be great, the only problem is that the prices list is very confuse.
And the second problem is that the client is memory heavy, I had to uninstall almost all the services (even the Alarm Manager) in my N80 to run it without the Out of memory message.

Take a try .