Category / Technology

by dmacias

Sprint HTC Mogul Update to 3.35.651.2

Well, HTC had promised to release a ROM update for the Mogul early Q1 2008. Well, it’s late Q1 2008 and we have ourselves a new ROM. So far, this is the fastest link to the ROM coming from the Sprint servers Link. All the instructions you will need will be found here. Finally, I recommend you check out the read me once you start installation. It has a bunch of great screen shots. I’ve had around 12 hours of usage with this ROM so far and it seems a lot better. Finally got GPS working with Google Maps. The keyboard seems a lot more responsive and the volume seems louder. So far so good.

A few screen shots of my upgrade process:

phone1.JPG

phone2.JPG

phone3.JPG

phone4.JPG

phone5.JPG

~david

by dmacias

Firefox Add-on Webmail Notifier Stuck Gmail

So, I’ve been using this great extension/add-on called Webmail Notifier. I use it to check my Hotmail, Yahoo, and Gmail accounts. It works great. However, lately I noticed that when it checked Gmail, it gave me an incorrect number of unread messages and I was never able to clear that count. Well, after some research I figured out a solution to this problem. GMail likes to archive old emails and while you will not seem in your inbox, they might be unread and you never know it.

To find out if you have any archived unread message, log in to Gmail, in the search box type in “is:unread” and search mail. This will give you every unread email in your account.

~david

by dmacias

SecureCRT Replacement PuTTY Connection Manager

Well, I’m a huge fan of SecureCRT. It is great when connecting to two gate keepers, two gateways, etc and keeping all it’s information tabbed and saved for quick access. However, this fine piece of software does come with, what I believe to be, a steep price. However, thanks to Ciscoblog.com I have an alternate solution. I just started playing with it, but so far it looks great.

Link to PuTTYCM

~david.

by dmacias

Cisco Unified CallManager… err Communications Manager

So, lately I’ve been playing around with CUCM (yes, that’s the new name) 5.x. First, the OS installation is very sleek and works like a champ in VMWare. Something which was never very easy with Windows 2000 as the underlying OS. Finally, upgrading is very easy to do and it seems to work great too. Here is a screen shot of an upgrade from 5.1.1 to 6.0.1. So far so good.

~david

CUCM 5.1.1

by dmacias

Fix HTC Mogul freezes when using Opera Mini 4

Ok, so I’ve posted about Opera Mini 4 freezing after a few minutes of usage. Well, I thought I had fixed it by just reinstalling Opera Mini, but that was not the case. However, it seems that I’ve run into a solution. Thanks to this post which points to download a file from the XDA forum. Basically it comes down to using a different MIDlet manager.

One thing which the post does not talk about is how to use it. Install the cab just like any other program. Then go to your programs > Esmertec Jbed > Applications > Opera. It will look a little different but it works just like before. Do this at your own risk. I’ve had no problems with my Mogul. Finally, if you want to download the file here it is.

Esmertec Jbed

~david

by dmacias

Sun buys MySQL

Well, this pretty much sums it up. Sun Microsystems has just purchased MySQL which is interesting considering how much Sun has pushed for PostgreSQL the past. Oh well, we shall see how it goes, MySQL has some issues which need to be addressed and hopefully this move helps MySQL more than helps Sun.

~david

PS: I love how the announcements has certain phrases in bold, I guess they are supposed to stand out:

it may take some time to digest what this means
This deal is about addition, not subtraction.
don’t
MySQL grew with LAMP and MySQL without LAMP at its core is simply unimaginable.
Sun is a safe haven for MySQL. Sun knows Open Source
add
together
our founders, Michael “Monty” Widenius and David Axmark
I can see their heritage being in good hands at Sun.
are
I cannot imagine a more ideal buyer from a founder perspective than Sun Microsystems.
congratulations, MySQL users, community members, customers, partners and employees

I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

by dmacias

Opera Mini 4 Sprint HTC 6800 Mogul

Well, since upgrading to the latest HTC firmware I’ve had random freezes while using Opera Mini 4. So, a couple of weeks ago I decided to remove it completely. Yesterday, looking around the Opera Mini website I decided to install it again and see if anything had changed. And so far so good. One thing I will point out is that the build date of my new Opera Mini installation is v. 4.0.10031,20071217. This leads me to believe that it is an updated version different than the one I had installed previously. One key difference is that when you first launch the program is asks for random key strokes or stylus movement in order to set up encryption.

So, there you have it I’ve had one solid day of usage with Opera Mini and no freezes yet.

~david

by dmacias

HTC 6800 Sprint Mogul Firmware Upgrade

So, thanks to a random groups.google.com post I found out HTC released a new ROM for the HTC Mogul. You can find the information on the HTC website here. Now, most new phones come with image version 2.09.651.3 and this new version is 2.17.651.0.

This is taken straight from the HTC site and list some of the biggest improvements.

The software posted below provides several key fixes for your Mogul:

* Improves Bluetooth compatibility and performance. (*Hopefully no more registry hacks)
* Corrects keypad function when using On Demand. (*Useless)
* Corrects Alarm so it will ring when device is charging. (*Hallelujah!)
* Corrects several Sprint Music performance issues. (*Useless)
* Enables Sprint Music store to function on early production devices
* Adds new Sprint start up and sign off screens (*Useless)

Finally, the update takes around 10 minutes and it was rather painless. Good luck.

~david

PS: You will have to reconfigure your phone as if it was brand spanking new.

HTC 6800 ROM Update

12/29/2007 Update:

Since this is a very popular post on my website I figured I would let you know how things have been. It has been almost a month and my Mogul has been running like a champ. I highly recommend everyone upgrades their phone. I love the fact that I can now rely on my cell phone as an alarm clock.

Cheers.

03/11/2008 Update:

Check out my latest update posted today.

by dmacias

Google maps my location and the HTC Mogul 6800

Well, Google released version 2 of their mobile Google maps, you can find the download link here. Now, if you’re like me, a proud owner of the HTC 6800 with Sprint, you will be happy to know that this new software works great with this phone. It even seems to load a little faster. However, Google has a new feature called My Location, which uses cell tower triangulation to “find” your location. This seems to work for pretty much all other phones except for the HTC running Windows. Now, I’m still not sure if this is a HTC issue or a Sprint crippleware, but I’m working on it. However, if you’re curious why if this new feature works, the answer is no.

~david

12/05/2007 Update

So, there is still no working My Location in Google maps. However, take a look at this. The part of most interest is the following quote:

“Additionally, HTC is currently developing a separate ROM update which enables the EV-DO Rev. A and GPS capabilities that are already built into the Mogul hardware. Sprint and HTC plan to make this software ROM available in early 1Q 2008. Please bookmark this page for easy reference.”

Could this mean that the HTC Mogul will finally have true GPS capabilities?!? I sure hope so.

by dmacias

My Firefox Add-ons so far.

If you’re a Firefox user you should be very familiar with Add-ons. Here is a screen shot of the ones I use and absolutely love.

My Firefox add-ons

1. Adblock Filterset.G and Adblock Plus: These two add-ons make surfing an absolute pleasure. No ad splash screens, no huge banners, no AdSense, nothing. Yes, there is some questionable reasons for using this, but honestly some sites are just unbearable without these add-ons.

2. Forecastfox: When you’re on the road a lot, it is necessary to check the weather conditions of different places when booking travel. So, that’s where this add-on comes in to play. It takes two clicks to have instant weather updates or any city in your profile. And adding a new profile is quick and easy. Absolutely love it and use it a lot.

3. Greasemonkey: Google this add-on, this is a must for people who like to play around with the way some websites behave. The learning curve is steep, but once you’ve got it, it’s very easy.

4. Mouse Gestures: Being able to surf the web without moving your hand from the mouse make life so much simpler. You want to go back a page, right click, hold, and move mouse back. Reload page, right click, hold, up/down, etc.

5. SwitchProxy Too: My laptop ends up in multiple different networks, which all have different requirements when accessing the internet. Some times I need a proxy, some times I need a user name and password, SwitchProxy makes going from profile to profile quick and easy.

6. Tab Mix Plus: I usually have around 4-5 tabs open at any one time, this add-on allows me to configure how the tabs will function, how they close, how you can cntrl-tab over, etc.

7. WebMail Notifier: This add-on checks all of my email accounts and lets me know when there is email. currently I have it set to check Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail. Absolutely love it.

~david