Paul O'Brien
Norfolk, UK - http://www.modaco.com
Founder of MoDaCo, father of one, husband of one and a mobile obsessive! Twitter: @paulobrien
Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Mobile Minute, Browsers
Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile released
Pushing the mobile browser closer to a desktop grade experience is the promise of Opera's latest release, Opera 10 Beta for Windows Mobile.
The Opera Mobile 10 Beta overhauls the look and feel of it's predecessors and is similar in design to the Opera 10 desktop browser as well as the Java based Opera Mini 5 beta. The UI overhaul brings Opera's offering across all of it's platforms in line, as well as providing a great range of features from the desktop platform including Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, a password manager and Opera's server side compression technology, 'Opera Turbo'.
I've had a try of the new browser and it does indeed feel more consistent in style with Opera's Java based offering, no bad thing as Opera Mini has always made excellent use of the available screen real estate. Performance seems great and the UI seems intuitive. Some features found in previous releases don't seem to have made it into version 10 yet - we spotted a lack of device rotate support and no support for multitouch zoom on the HTC HD2, but Opera does look set to maintain it's class leading position on the Windows Mobile platform.
The Opera Mobile 10 Beta is available for free download now from the Opera website.
Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Microsoft
Windows Live Sync finally gets an update for Snow Leopard
by Paul O'Brien Nov 3rd 2009
It's been a long, long wait for Snow Leopard users (myself included) who are dancing with the devil and using Microsoft's Windows Live Sync (formerly Foldershare), but Microsoft have finally announced an update for the application that resolves a long running compatibility problem with Apple's finest.
Wearing version number 14.0.8096.0903, the new release fixes a problem with internal security certificates that completely prevented Snow Leopard users from logging into their Windows Live Sync account.
Announced on the Windows Live Sync blog, the update only includes the aforementioned fix and does not include any new features - existing users who have not migrated to Snow Leopard do not need to upgrade.
I'm pleased to report that i've installed the update and it works great!
Wearing version number 14.0.8096.0903, the new release fixes a problem with internal security certificates that completely prevented Snow Leopard users from logging into their Windows Live Sync account.
Announced on the Windows Live Sync blog, the update only includes the aforementioned fix and does not include any new features - existing users who have not migrated to Snow Leopard do not need to upgrade.
I'm pleased to report that i've installed the update and it works great!
Filed under: Linux, Open Source
Tell DLS: What are your top 10 must-have apps? - Linux!
by Paul O'Brien Oct 16th 2009
It's time for the third installment of our 'Tell DLS' feature and today i'm sharing my top 10 must-have apps for Linux with you, our lovely readers.
I confess to not really being a Linux expert, generally using OS X for the majority of my working day and using Windows and Linux only when the need arises. With that said, I think I have some great applications in my list!
Of course, being a 'Tell DLS' feature, we want this to be all about sharing your experience too - so please post your chosen top 10 in the comments.
Read on after the jump for my top 10 (how many can you identify from the icons above?).
Filed under: Commercial, Mobile, Android
Astraware Solitaire and Sudoku titles now available for Android
Astraware - long time software developers for Windows Mobile, Palm and more recently iPhone, Symbian and Blackberry - have now entered the rapidly growing Android software market with the release of two of their top titles - Astraware Solitaire and Astraware Sudoku.
Astraware Solitaire features 12 different single player card games in the one download, with the ability to customise each game to play 'your way'. A wide choice of card backs is included, together with an optional 'clear' card face. The application also features unlockable rewards.
Astraware Sudoku includes some great features including smart hints, pencil marks, hold-and-highlight to help beginners, a downloadable 'Puzzle of the Day' from the dedicated companion website (which also includes tips on solving techniques) and a puzzle solver to help you complete those troublesome puzzles in the newspaper!
Available for immediate download from the Android Market, both games are priced at $4.99 each and feature design and controls optimised for Android while still retaining an 'Astraware feel' that will be familiar to anyone who has used Astraware products before.
Filed under: Macintosh, BlackBerry
Mobile Minute: BlackBerry Desktop for Mac released
by Paul O'Brien Oct 2nd 2009
After a long, long wait, RIM have finally released their Blackberry Desktop sync product for Mac OS X.
The application allows you to sync your iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts, notes and tasks with your BlackBerry, manage applications, apply software updates and backup and restore your device (with support for scheduled updates and encryption).
Blackberry Desktop for Mac can manage multiple BlackBerry devices and is a free download.
djay for Mac hits version 3, look great, sounds even greater
by Paul O'Brien Oct 2nd 2009 {4 comments}
Mac OSX application djay, pitched as 'the world's sexiest DJ software' (I'm inclined to agree), has been updated to version 3. Featuring a user interface that is likely to make Windows users cry in the corner and a featureset to match, djay reads your iTunes library and turns your Mac into a full on DJ system that is well suited to both beginners and professionals. djay's range of functions ...TrialPay launches 'TheBigBundle' charity bundle
by Paul O'Brien Oct 2nd 2009 {2 comments}
Trialpay, specialists in providing commercial software for free in return for completing partner offers, have launched 'TheBigBundle', a $29.99 / $49.99 bundle of software / discounts in which 100% of the profits are donated to the American Cancer Society. The bundle - which is priced at $29.99 with an optional additional $20 donation - includes a somewhat strange mix of benefits worth a total ...Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala Beta now available
by Paul O'Brien
Oct 2nd 2009 {7 comments}
The Beta release of Canonical's new baby, Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala', is now available for download.
As well as the usual host of version updates to each of the components (including Firefox finally getting an official update to 3.5), changes in 9.10 include a visual refresh, a boot sequence improved in both appearance and performance, inclusion of the new 'Ubuntu Software Center' (which ...Offline sync now enabled for Spotify Premium subscribers
When online streaming service Spotify released their mobile clients for iPhone and Android, many users commented on how the offline synchronisation features provided for mobile users would also be useful in the Windows and Mac offerings, particularly for laptop users. Well, what do you know, Spotify have just added the exact same feature to their desktop clients! Manifesting itself as a nice ...NetNewsWire reaches version 3.2, finalises Google Reader support + ads
NetNewsWire, the Mac OS X RSS client from Newsgator, has reached version 3.2, bringing out of Beta the application's Google Reader support. Formerly used to connect to Newsgator's own servers, NetNewsWire entered a period of rapid change on 30th July, when it was announced on Newsgator's blog that the consumer back end service was to be discontinued on August 31st 2009. Although NetNewsWire ...
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
