Monthly Archive for March, 2006

My web hosting nightmare: Part 1 of 2

Published on March 28, 2006 in Info Tech. 5 Comments

CONCLUSION
 I’m serious here folks. Take my advice and avoid pretenders the next time you’re looking for a reliable web hosting company that can “deliver” your precious digital cargo throughout Cyber Space. (pun intended)

If first impressions are the ones that last, then, for Pete’s sakes, go with a company that has a well-deserved reputation. Save yourself some time and aggravation by checking out these 4 review sites:

I think we all learned a very valuable lesson over the past 6 days, and you can be certain that this will never happen again. Hey, do you remember that old saying? “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Don’t be a fool. :-)

The ‘weakest link’?
Could your web hosting company be the weakest link? I mean, could it make the difference whether your new baby (a web startup) flies high like a reliable Boeing 777, or crash-lands like those very “old” jets from the Iron Curtain (er Soviet Union…er Russia)? Well, the answer is unequivocally, “Yes!”

Background.…
So, I’m here in Nairobi (Kenya) writing some delicious web content on my pal’s laptop. Now, everything’s going according to schedule – more or less. The graphics/Flash dude is creating some sexy web page layouts, and the back-end dude is plugging away successfully on a home-grown CMS (content management system) for the online Pharmacy section of the portal, which will also be tailored for the Bazaar, Art gallery, and Motoring sections. Heck, if needed, I won’t even hesitate to roll up my sleeves and do some PHP/MySQL coding either. My ASP/SQL Server/Sybase background should permit me to jump aboard if a helping hand is required. Besides, PHP5 has some nice features (OOP, SQLite, XML goodies, etc.) that I wouldn’t mind taking for a spin, and it’s way more portable than ASP will ever be unless Dollar Bill (Gates) and his “yes” men don’t sabotage Mono. {Kidding!}

But honestly, I just feel like writing some kick-ass web content, and strategising on future projects cooking in our Labs at the Beta Zone with the site’s brain trust.

Then, suddenly…

Arghhhh…sh!t has hit the fan
Okay, so we’ve got a live demo site hosted allegedly on “Africa’s ultra fast, most reliable and cheapest web hosting…” according to this page: http://afrohosting.com/Terms.html. Oh, I forgot, they’re still bloody offline. Here, you’ll see this when you do a search on Google for Afrohosting:

Africa’s ultra fast, most reliable and cheapest web hosting …Africa’s cheapest web hosting and domain registration,cheap domain registration, .co.ke, .co.ug, .co.tz, .dj, .fm, .tv kenya, uganda, tanzania, south africa …
www.afrohosting.com/Terms.html – 52k – Cached – Similar pages


Anyhow, we try to load the home page last Tuesday evening, and realise the blimey website returns an empty CPanel screen (see demo). Right then and there, my spidey senses {hey, I was a big Spiderman cartoon fan growing up as a kid!} kicked in and I knew we were in deep doo doo. At first, I was sure we got hacked since these guys were using Linux, which is pretty good with security (well compared to Windoze), but no cigar compared to the legendary BSD projects (FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD) which needs no introduction.

Customer dis-service
So my pal calls the owner from Afrohosting, who calmly states that there appears to be a mechanical problem with the server, and that the host, Rackforce, should have it back in operation – “soon.” So now it’s Wednesday morning and my pal, Sam, is getting totally annoyed with this unprofessional nonsense.

{Observation: Holy sh!t. It’s 4:00 AM. I gotta catch some Zzzzs. BRB – in like 6 hours since I’m +8 hours ahead of EST zone. I’ll explain the rest of the details as you’ll be pleasantly surprised.}

Go to Part 2 of 2

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BellSouth does WiMax, wireless news

Published on March 24, 2006 in Info Tech. 0 Comments

Wow, WiMax is alive!
With all the talk and grandstanding by some wireless manufacturers over standards, it appears that BellSouth – one of the largest telephone companies in the USA – is going to take the WiMax plunge and roll it out in test trials later this year. This could have huge implications if done properly.

Why? Well, since it’s allegedly cheaper to set up customers with wireless access, it could eat into the company’s high-margin DSL business. Also, DSL technology depends on telephone companies, but wireless does not. So if you have access to a big fat alternate pipe running through your home or office, you can say “goodbye” to the telephone (and cable) company once and for all. Thus, if BellSouth’s customer really like the WiMax service, then what’s stopping other competitors from offering something cheaper – assuming they’re not a bloated monopoly? :-)

By the way…AT&T Agrees To Buy BellSouth For $67 Billion

Wait and see…
Well, I’m just going to sit back and see how this thing pans out. This blurb was interesting:

“BellSouth, which recently agreed to be sold to AT&T Inc., already sells city-wide wireless broadband services in five markets including New Orleans using a proprietary technology. It is looking at Wi-Max to lower costs and expand its subscriber base.

The No. 3 U.S. regional provider plans to test Wi-Max equipment in its labs in the coming months and expects to run a live network trial in the second half of the year. It said it has not yet decided whose equipment it would use for the tests.

Wi-Max, designed to blanket whole cities with high-speed wireless services, is expected to provide an improvement to Wi-Fi, the dominant wireless technology used in laptops today, which is confined mostly to places like coffee shops.” Read more…

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Is Africa ready for e-Business?

Published on March 23, 2006 in Info Tech. 8 Comments

News flash: I’m right here
So, I keep getting all these emails from the West (Canada, US) asking when I’m coming “home,” or if I’m still in Africa. My reply to everyone? Yes, I’m still over here in Nairobi, Kenya and I’ve gotten involved with a hot, upcoming e-Business community web portal, which I truly believe is going to make a lot of noise in the East Africa region; heck, the entire continent if things go as Sam (a local Nairobi businessman) and I envision. By the way, the concept for this site is totally awesome. Read on.

Connect & prosper
I mentioned here that there are “tons of business opportunities” in this region. However, I perceive that Western entrepreneurs are a bit slow when it comes to taking a bite out of the dark continent – relative to other parts of the globe. I recognise this, but I don’t agree with it. I will say this though. By this time next year (2007), there will be a dramatic transformation in East Africa thanks to a 20 Gigabit under-sea fibre optic link (called EASSy) that’s supposed to lower telecom and ISP charges considerably. I also read somewhere that this link has the capacity to handle 640 Gigabits of data should the region require it. Once everyone starts connecting, more dollar $igns will flow – just like black gold (oil).

For example, take a look at Rwanda’s boom thanks to the digital magic of fibre.
{note: Click on pic above to see workers laying fibre in Rwanda}

Rwanda ahead of Kenya in affordable DSL
Quick, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Rwanda? Come on, be honest! Well, for me, it sure isn’t cheap high-speed Internet access or economic development. But that’s exactly what’s taking place there right now. In fact, they’ve surpassed Kenya – a country who’s capital is the economic hub of East Africa – in the cheap DSL department, and they’re not looking back. And because of this affordable bandwidth, quite a few overseas companies are either headed to Kigali to set up lucrative call centre operations, or they’re giving it some serious thought. I’m glad this is happening though because it’ll put a sh!t load of pressure on Kenya to smarten up and stamp out corruption lest the country falls further behind. In this case, the potential loss of economic opportunity is going to be a big wake up call for Kenya’s leadership. I hope they don’t screw up because there’s a lot at stake to lose in this competitive game they call “globalisation.”

Did somebody say e-Business?
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve become so dependant on the Internet that I’d be lost without it – seriously. Look, you can take away the idiot box (TV), my land line or even the radio, but pleeeze don’t mess with my Internet access (or my free digital music). All that other “stuff” I can get on the Net thanks to revolutionary technologies like IPTV, VoIP a la Skype, and streaming media. Thus I predict that when the proposed fibre link arrives, all sorts of wonderful things will begin to happen digitally – like e-Business. That’s why I’m tickled pink about this project (business opportunity) that landed right in my lap – literally. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. You see, the dude who encouraged me to come down here talked a good game, but he couldn’t deliver the business goods, and he left empty-handed.

Taking care of business
So, what is this e-Business website that I’m involved with entail? Initially, it will offer the following features:

  • An online Bazaar that aims to have almost every consumer product and service under the sun thanks to our affiliates – eventually.
  • A unique online lifestyles magazine that promises to engage the minds of its readers, thus guaranteeing repeat visitors.
  • An innovative DVD movie rental service with an online presence that has no equal in Africa – so far.
  • A bricks and mortar Pharmacy with an online presence that makes deliveries.
  • An eye opening Art gallery showcasing art (paintings, sculptures, jewellery, etc.) from talented grassroots artists throughout Africa.
  • The most innovative online Motoring experience in the region that will allow auto dealers, buyers and sellers to conduct business.
  • …plus many more cool ideas that are cooking at our Labs in the Beta Zone

As you can see, the above website features are a good blend of online and bricks and mortar services thanks to our partners who came aboard. But that’s just a tip of the iceberg. There’s loads of other remarkable services that we plan to put on the site. But one thing at a time. Right? Of course offering top-notch customer service is very high on our list, too, since I find the concept lacking in many businesses I frequent here in Nairobi.

To conclude, East Africa is definitely ready for e-Business thanks to all the wonderful developments that are taking place as we speak. And I intend to take advantage of this one way or the other. Oh, I’ll fill you in on the website once it’s fully operational.

Happy computing.

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Microsoft’s Origami Ultra Mobile PC, Google Finance?

Published on March 21, 2006 in Info Tech. 4 Comments

Enter the bittersweet zone
Ya know, I always give credit where credit is due. In the computer industry, Micro$oft has received a lot of negative publicity – and rightfully so – mostly of it’s own doing. How? By trying to stifle “innovative” competition, or by shipping “virusware” in their bratty, overweight kids (Windows 98/ME/XP, Office and Internet Explorer) who depend on a monopoly in order to survive. Heck, in terms of security, if Windows and OpenBSD were 2 pet dogs, the former would be a prissy, overweight toothless poodle while the latter would be a cross between a ferocious German Shepherd and a Rottweiler. Now, if you’re a crook, who’s house are you gonna attack? Psst…take a peek at OpenBSD’s legendary mascot, which is the epitome of, well, security. You can see more cute mascot images here which ship with each new release. Oh, Mac OS/X is based on BSD code but it’s not free like OpenBSD, NetBSD, or FreeBSD.

But let me just say this right now. The SOHO (small office home office) PC user owes Dollar Bill (Gates) and company major props for making computing truly affordable. How? By bringing much needed standards to the industry. I mentioned here how the word “affordable” didn’t exist in Big Blue’s corporate culture back then. I wonder if they’ve changed today.

Revenge of the M$ Nerds? Oregano or Origami?
Well, it looks as though the Redmond posse might be on to something exciting in the hardware category with the introduction of the much hyped (this is soooooo Micro$oft) Origimi. This is being touted as an ultra mobile PC (UMPC), which means it’s bigger and more practical than a PDA (Ipaq, Palm, etc.) yet much smaller and just as powerful as a low end notebook. According to Razib Ahmed over at LaptopGamers.com, the device “runs on Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system and it can do many works including playing games, digital music, mobile communication, and surfing internet, checking and responding to emails and so on.” {Oh for Heaven’s sakes! What kind of a bloody quote was that? Do authors not read their own writing before pressing the upload button? Oh well…moving right along.}

By the way, the Origami will also run Windows Vista in the future. As for hardware specs, I was able to grab this right from the horse’s mouth: Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 OS, Approximately 7” diagonal display (or smaller), Minimum 800 x 480 resolution, Approximately 2 pounds, Integrated touch panel, WiFi- and Bluetooth-enabled.

Now if they can produce these sexy devices for around US $700 to $800, I could see a huge consumer demand; any higher and I’d simply purchase a more powerful notebook with a huge hard disk along with all the other trimmings.

In other news…
Wow, it appears that Google is now going after the lucrative finance web portal market where Yahoo Finance currently reigns supreme. Although I’m also a big fan of Yahoo, all I have to say right now is this: “Go Google, go!” :-) Again, we the consumers are the ultimate winners here thanks to competition. Oh, just between the 2 of us, I lost my Internet virginity to Yahoo! when I was in CompSci thanks to their well-organised web directory along with Netscape Navigator as my interface to this new world. For that, I will always have fonds memories of both companies because I haven’t been the same person once I ventured into Cyber Space – usually at Taylor Library, Middlesex College or Western Science Centre. It’s just too bad that Google and Yahoo didn’t merge though. Both companies have excellent technologies with employees who really understand the Net.

There’s no doubt that Google drew first blood in the Web 2.0 (aka AJAX) realm with scintillating products like Google Earth and GMail. Ditto for searching. Now it looks as though they’re tightening the screws on my first web love according to Jack Schofield of The Guardian. :-)

“Google also improves on Yahoo by offering some cute Web 2.0/Ajaxing features. For example, go to Google’s income statement on Yahoo and you have to load two pages for the quarterly and annual figures. On Google’s version, the page stays while numbers change in a fraction of a second.“

Wow!

Jack also noted this observation:

“I’m a pretty heavy long term user of Yahoo Finance, but it looks as though using Google involves loading far fewer pages to get the same info. That’s the kind of thing that could make me switch….”

All I can say is try both financial sites out for yourself and choose the service that you’re most comfortable with. Hey, they’re both FREE, which would’ve been unheard of before the Net went mainstream. Do any of you remember Bell Canada’s over-priced iNet-2000 or Envoy 100 service during the AOL, CompuServe, BIX and bulletin board era? I heard the rates to obtain financial data was ridiculous back then.

Take care.

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Red alert: PayPal Phishing Scam Exposed

Published on March 20, 2006 in Info Tech. 0 Comments

This is just a quick post to warn all of you ECommerce peeps about some very ingenious phishing scams.
All I’m going to say is to be very careful about the web links you click on when you receive email from an “alleged” financial institution or a popular e-shopping site.

Please take a peek at this article. And for heaven’s sakes, learn from other people’s mistakes (OPM). PayPal Phishing Scam Exposed

Quick, can you “see” the clever deception before your very eyes in this JPEG image?
If you can, that’s great! If not, open your eyes, people. After all, this is Cyber Space – a never-ending digital world filled with unlimited possibilities both good and bad.

For some more insights on computer security and how to avoid Internet fraud, I suggest you take a peek at a recent blog entry of mine from last month’s archive: Red Alert: Your Bank Account is now EMPTY $0

This other blog entry should come in handy for you too: Tip: Free AVG, Outpost firewall rocks. Why re-invent the wheel? Learn from my experience.

Oh well, I’m outta here!

Happy computing.

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Download your Hotmail messages via POP3: FREE

Published on March 13, 2006 in Info Tech. 3 Comments

Do you feel trapped?
I don’t know about you guys, but I gave up on Hotmail a looooong time ago because it became a spam-infested stomping ground. I remember reading the news quite a few years back that one of its departing developers “borrowed” (er stole) the company’s entire email address database. And thanks to that wonderful concept of capitalism, he sold it to a spamming company for mucho dinero. :-)

The good ol‘ days
I remember when I was studying Computer Science in the mid-90s, and literally got hooked on HoTMaiL. Yes, that was it’s name back then – short for HTML mail. Get it? Back then, Hotmail was fast as hell thanks to its use of the FreeBSD (not Linux!) operating system on all its servers. For those in the know, FreeBSD is regarded as the best web hosting O/S on the planet because of its blazing-fast speeds. Yahoo, arguably its biggest user and a major financial donor, can attest to this.

History repeats itself
Once Microsoft paid Sabeer Bhatia (gasp!) US $400 million in 1998 for the rights to acquire Hotmail, everything slowly went downhill since Microsoft management wanted to migrate everything over to their baby, virus-infested Windows.

{Hello, you wanna freaking mail service used by millions to run on…Windows? Okay, intermission time…I gotta puke at that thought. BRB}

Boy did Sabeer (see pic) ever luck out – at the right time – long before the Dot Com bust. Now he’s a legend in his native home, India. The lucky bastard! Paul Graham would’ve been proud of him for sure. :-)

To make a long story short, Hotmail users “back then” were able to download all of their messages into any POP3 email client (ie. Outlook Express, Eudora, Pegasus Mail, Thunderbird, etc.). Actually, Microsoft used this honey in order to get Outlook and Outlook Express into the mainstream, and it was a slam dunk idea. Well, that’s all history now unless you’re a paid subscriber. In fact, Yahoo did the same thing, too, for all its freeloading users like yours truly. Et tu, Yahoo? :-)

Thankfully, I’m now with GMail, and although I can download all of my messages to my PC for FREE, I’ve never felt the need to do it. Heck, why would I do that considering the Big G (er Google) gives me a whopping 2,703 Megabytes (2.7 Gigs) of space? Yes, you heard me…2.7 Gigabytes of mail storage space on the most powerful grid computer network on earth. I don’t even think I’ll use 800 Megs, and I’m a bloody heavy email user. Click the image below to see how much storage space I have left in GMail. See, I wasn’t kidding around. :-)



How to download your Hotmail messages
* Step 1: Grab the last free version and more info of Hotmail Popper from this page: Download (1005 kB)

If you get it from Boolean.Ca, then you’ll have to fork out US $17 after the software expires. Plus, you’ll only be able to download 100 messages; then the software craps out on you. It’s up to you!

* Step 2: Install it as per the instructions (screen shots) here:

Conclusion
Well, that’s it for now! Again, if you really want an amazing web/POP3 email experience, just go with GMail. After all, you do use Google a lot, right? So you already know that it’s backed by a rock-solid company with great ideas.

By the way, 321Download.com has an excellent list of the last versions of many popular programs before they went commercial with a cripple-ware version. I suggest you take a peek at their Last Freeware pages to see if there’s anything that might be of interest to you.

Oh, since we’re talking about email here, I have another piece of information for you. Since using email and the Internet implies using anti-virus and firewall software to protect your PC, I figure this ZD Net review might come in handy. Why? Because there are tons of Norton Antivirus users out there.

Take a peek at this: Why you should ditch Norton AntiVirus.
I also suggest you take a look at this recent blog entry of mine where I talk about my recent ordeal dealing with Norton Antivirus all the way down here in Nairobi, Kenya: Tip: Free AVG, Outpost firewall rocks.

Happy computing!

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Various IT topics, news from around the globe

Published on March 9, 2006 in Info Tech. 2 Comments

Let’s go surfin‘
Today, I’m going to share with you some insightful Information Technology related articles I read, or products (demos) I took for a spin. Hopefully, these topics will pique your interest enough for you to explore a little more. Trust me, the knowledge (tips) you glean from the following links should give you a leg up on your competition.

So sit back, grab a cup of anti-oxidant tea (coffee is soooo passe!), and prepare to expand your mind. :-)

Here we go!

::Careers::
It is the age of mobility not 9 to 5 visibility 08/03/2006 16:32:31
Women in IT: Rebecca Dorries 07/03/2006 07:55:22
Quality and jobs will prevail in offshoring blitz 07/03/2006 11:38:15
Women in IT: Susan Webb 06/03/2006 10:30:41
Confessions of a Full-Time Telecommuter 06/03/2006 11:06:52

::Linux & Open Systems::
Ubuntu voted ‘Linux distribution of the year’ – 6 hours ago
The Debian-based distribution has won its latest accolade from a Linux community site.

IBM will not use Windows Vista – but will move to Linux desktops – 12 hours ago
IBM switching to Linux destops in Germany according to a Linux Forum 2006 presentation by their head of open source and Linux sales in Germany. More… (94 comments @ NeoSeeker.com)
{Comment: Whoa, this is big news! I wonder how much in licensing revenue this is gonna cost Dollar Bill Gates? Get more info here}

Jon Maddog Hall on Linux, saving money and ruling the world 08/03/2006 15:00:39

Open source preferred in SME sector says study 07/03/2006 08:53:47
Open source software is used by 17.5 percent of New Zealand ICT (information and communications technology) companies, according to the 2005 HiGrowth ICT sector survey. More…

Users buying into free ‘express’ databases 07/03/2006 08:09:25
Missouri State University’s school of information systems and Web startup Savvica Inc. don’t have a lot in common apart from tight budgets. In the recent past, their spending limitations likely would have meant choosing open-source software such as MySQL or Postgres as a database. More…

McNealy pumps open standards at gov’t trade show 09/03/2006 08:22:45
Government agencies need to move toward open standards and managed services to cut IT costs and improve service to customers, Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Officer Scott McNealy said Wednesday. More…

Zimbra: Open Source Collaboration Suite Email, Group Scheduling Calendar
{Note: I went to their site and took the live AJAX demo for a spin. Wow, I have seen the alternative-to-Microsoft-Exchange future, and it is good!}

Linux Called ‘Garbage’ By Open-Source Rival 1:29 PM EDT Mon. Jun. 20, 2005
By TechWeb News
If there’s little love lost between fans of the Windows and Linux operating systems, there’s none lost between Linux and another open-source OS, OpenBSD. According to a report in Forbes magazine, the founder of OpenBSD, Theo de Raadt, pulled few punches when asked about Linux, the far more popular open-source operating system. “It’s terrible,” De Raadt told Forbes. “Everyone is using it, and they don’t realize how bad it is. And the Linux people will just stick with it and add to it rather than stepping back and saying, ‘This is garbage and we should fix it.’” More…

Zope and Plone blaze open source path at Epson Wednesday November 30, 2005 (07:00 PM GMT)
By: Tina Gasperson

64-bit Linux and BSD are maturing steadily Monday April 04, 2005 (08:36 AM GMT)
Most top-tier hardware vendors are selling AMD64 workstation and server systems these days, including Hewlett Packard, Sun Microsystems, and, more recently, IBM. Oddly enough, most of them are shipping with 32-bit operating systems installed by default. While the AMD64 architecture can comfortably handle both 64-bit and 32-bit software — even concurrently — it seems a waste of its potential to disregard the best features of the architecture. More…

::Software Development::
Sun Labs readies kits for sensor development 08/03/2006 11:50:15
Yahoo readies new and improved online services APIs 08/03/2006 08:26:32
Ruby shines over .Net for school portal 07/03/2006 13:38:41
AOL opens AIM service to external developers 07/03/2006 09:00:48
Software developer looks to .NET for mobile 06/03/2006 10:54:59
Developers are finding platform lines blurring Tuesday October 18, 2005 (12:01 PM GMT)
By: Jay Lyman
As cross-platform development grows, programmers are turning toward open source tools that are not tied to a single platform. Even Windows development is drifting toward open source, as more .Net developers look to tools such as Mono and PHP to develop software for the Microsoft platform. Read more at ITManagersJournal.com

::E-Business::
Customs turns attention to in-house ID management 09/03/2006 10:12:36
Google mulls ‘infinite storage’ idea 09/03/2006 08:26:41
CEBIT – RFID on all goods is 15 years away, says Metro 09/03/2006 09:53:12

Premier 100: Veteran CIO talks about agile enterprise 09/03/2006 11:25:26
CIO at large Michael H. Hugos Monday admitted to IT execs at the Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders conference that the term “agile enterprise” has a certain faddish buzzword quality. Then he went on to explain why corporations and their IT departments ignore its concepts at their peril. More…

The sweet smell of success 09/03/2006 11:30:55
If necessity is the mother of invention, then a skunk works is her creative big sister. And if you follow the logic of that family tree, necessity is also the mother of skunk works. More…

::Networking::
Fastest network in the world highlights promise of IPv6 09/03/2006 09:32:50

Internet speed record smashed 21 Jun 2004
840 gigabytes of data sent 10,157 miles in 27 minutes
{Comment: Wow, NetBSD really shines through here in the networking category.}

Oh well, I hope you enjoyed the links.
Remember, “knowledge is power” so cease the moment and CYOITD: Control your own IT destiny.

Cheers!

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Pocket PC How Tos, Tutorials

Published on March 7, 2006 in Info Tech. 0 Comments

Introduction
Some of you reading this blog already know that HP’s iPAQ line of PDAs are one of my areas of IT specialisation. Ditto for the company’s laptop and tablet models. Now, with regards to the current crop of Pocket PCs on the market, all I can say is that these wonderful devices are extremely powerful.

In addition, they have practical uses for both home and business users as opposed to being glorified address books. Thanks to the recent arrival of Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft has surprisingly turned into the mythical Fiery Phoenix in the fast-paced mobile marketplace.

So much to learn, such little time
Actually, one of my “gazillion” things to learn this year – if time permits – is how to develop serious mobile software applications so that I can separate myself from the competition (other IT pros). Oh, ASP.NET 2.0 for web development is looking pretty sweet too, so I’m afraid I’ll have to dive in before I get left in the dust. :-)

Well, being the Internet whore that I am, it looks like I struck gold with Go-DB, which appears to be a fantastic software development product from India’s Consign Tech. What blew me away is how effortlessly you can create programs for the Palm, Pocket PC, Symbian OS, Embedded Linux, Symbol and Win32 in one fell swoop. Hopefully the competition is not reading this blog entry. :-)

How do I…
To help you quickly get up to speed on using your new Pocket PC, I’m going to provide you with some web gems. I’m confident you’ll learn tons of new stuff just from reading these links. Bookmark em Danno!

VPN Setup (examples)
I’ll admit that it’s bloody hard as hell to find good VPN setup links. If I can find something better, I’ll re-edit this section.

Essential PocketPC software

SD Card problems?
Trust me, all SD cards are not created equal. Therefore I suggest you use the Flash Format utility to format your SD cards before using them. Get more info here: http://cnetx.com/format
You can download it from here: http://cnetx.com/format/download.asp
{Note: Choose Pocket PC then Desktop Installation}

Synching problems with Activesync 4.x? (added on March 24/2006)
I don’t know what the f#ck Microsoft’s developers were smoking, but I have to seriously warn you right now. If you move from version 3.8 to 4.1, you’ll notice a few more services in your Windows Task Manager that are required for your PDA and desktop to sync. If your firewall (Norton, McAffe, Trend Micro, Zone Alarm, etc.) is not aware of this, you will never, ever be able to sync. The solution is to follow the instructions here – carefully: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/help/activesync/

Mobile Printing help? (added on March 24/2006)
Well, it appears that HP has discontinued HP Mobile Printing for Pocket PC as of October 1/2005. If you’re customer or developer, you have until April 1/2006 until the clock strikes midnight and phone support is no more. :-) Try these alternate solutions as stated from HP’s site: PrintBoy for Pocket PC | PrintPocketCE

The Journey begins
The above links should be more than enough to help you master your new Pocket PC device. In my upcoming blog entries, I will give you some pointers on the following topics:

  • Connecting WiFi networks
  • Encrypting the wireless data traffic between your PDA and WiFi router
  • Sending/Receiving POP3/IMAP mail on your PDA – A sound Backup/Restore routine so that you’ll never lose your precious data
  • Using Protect Tools to prevent unauthorised users from accessing your data
  • Using SD cards
  • Connect GPS devices to your PDA and never ever get lost again
  • How to remove the annoying Nevo media server software from your PC…and much more

Any suggestions? Just post a comment here.

Enjoy!

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Tip: Free AVG, Outpost firewall rocks

Published on March 1, 2006 in Info Tech. 4 Comments

Free AVG saves the day | The outpost is secure
Well, the past weekend was annoying on a PC (#1) here at my buddy’s place in Nairobi, Kenya.
Ditto for a machine (#2) at his pal’s apartment. I’m so annoyed that I’m not even going to get into too much nitty gritty here as I have a lot of writing to do. Suffice to say, it’s very important that you use a top-notch (and updated) anti virus program to protect your PC from malicious programs. You’ll be shocked that the virus on machine #2 was eradicated after I installed Grisoft‘s Free AVG. I did this after an updated (and paid) version of Norton Anti Virus Professional 2004 failed miserably to squash it. Now, more than ever, I’m convinced that the techies at Grisoft really understand their core competency: Building kick-ass anti virus software.

The word on the street is that Norton (Symantec) has become too big (and unfocused) for their own good. Hence the quality of their products (firewall, anti virus) are not top-rated any more. There’s an old saying: The best things in life are free. OTOH, I also know from experience that “you get what you pay for.” In the case of Free AVG, you’re better off keeping your cash if the software is being used in a non-commercial manner. Don’t get me wrong…you will get a great deal of protection using Norton’s products. It’s just that I truly believe Grisoft has superior technology.

BTW, it appears that Grisoft just created a combo anti virus and firewall application called AVG plus Firewall Edition. I did not get a chance to take it for a spin. However, I’m already in love with Agnitum’s Outpost Firewall Pro, which is by far the best firewall program in the Windows realm — and you can take that to the bank. You don’t believe me? Take a peek at the awards they’ve racked up. What’s scary is that their old, free download from 2002 would still put a lot of commercial firewall apps to shame.

I’m not kidding folks…the programmers at Agnitum are ingenious when it comes to building exceptional firewalls. Read what others are saying: Top 10 reviews | Sofotex.com | Download.com | Consumersearch.com | CyberCoyote.org. One familiar mantra from the above reviews is that Zone Alarm is more “popular” in North America whereas Agnitum is more well known in Europe. I’ve never cared too much about popularity when it comes to protecting my data, and neither should you.

Lost Dept.: Ou est Sonique?
Now, can anybody tell me where the heck Sonique disappeared to? Media Science’s awesome media player was under going some serious development, and those in the know were waiting for version 2 (see pic below) with the new Mantis engine, blah, blah, blah. Damn, more vapour ware I guess. This is worse than meeting a cute gal who promises to call you “soon.” I gave Sonique my undivided attention — right here on my desktop — and I get abandoned like this? LOL. :-)

Well, the CIA aren’t the only peeps blessed with the ability to “find” people quickly. I have a cheap secret weapon right here on my PC: Google Search. After I entered “sonique media player” in my trusty Mozilla Firefox 1.5 search box, I was horrified by one particular result:

Sonique (media player) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sonique (media player) … Sonique was originally developed by Media Science, but was later sold to Lycos for $38.8 million USD (as reported by The New York …en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonique_(media_player) – 14k – Cached – Similar pages


Bloody hell, I forgot all about that since Lycos was never on my radar screen – even during the dot-com boom. OTOH, who can turn down US $39 million? Well, I hope the programmers went out and paid cash for a new red ferrari.

To make a sad story short, Soniqe is no more.
Goodbye forever, Sonique! I will never forget you. :-(

{Note: OTOH = on the other hand | BTW = by the way}

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