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Wayfinder UIQ version 5 is out

After downloading and installing the latest Wayfinder software on my P910i, it seems that the moving maps are the biggest improvement. Apart from this, a lot of the buttons have changed - not always to their advantage, I must admit. Some buttons were harder to read while driving, I found. The full list of improvements for version 5 is here:

• New graphical user interface


• Improved traffic information visualisation




• Traffic disturbances are visualized in the map with an icon
• Click on the traffic information icon and get more information about the traffic disturbance, e.g. type of disturbance, duration, traffic fluidity etc




• Audio and visual speed camera warnings




• Wayfinder indicate with beep as well as a visual symbol when you are approaching an area with speed cameras


• Visual speed camera warning in include in the map view and guide view




• Save route functionality




• Save frequently used routes in advance and load the route when needed


• Simulate routes
  
  
  
  • Calculate a route and follow the route "live" on your mobile phone display
  
  
  • Show your friends and family that mobile GPS navigation works! You can demonstrate navigation with voice instructions in the living room, without any GPS connection
  
  
  
  
• New user interaction in map view




• An improved cursor. Drag and drop the cursor to point on a location in the map


• Move the map by dragging the cursor to the edge of the screen




• Street names, points of interest names etc are displayed in a new section of the map, when following a route or using the cursor to point on the map

However, one feature I was waiting and hoping for has still not been implemented: using your contacts as start or destination for a route - can this be so difficult? Another one would be a button to calculate alternative routes (a bit like choosing between distance, time with / without traffic info. At least that's how I do it, but do you want to try changing your settings whilst driving?) - a bit more tricky, granted. But the latter is standard functionality in most SatNav systems these days...

More soon.

New Wayfinder UIQ version out soon

Wayfinder support have confirmed to me last week that a new version is due to come out soon. I only spotted it because I was checking for a software upgrade on myWayfinder.com. Current version is 4.57.

There was no information as to what this new release might contain.

Wayfinder UIQ on Sony Ericsson P910i

I have been using Wayfinder UIQ (vers. 4.55.2077) for about a week on my P910i now. I decided to buy Wayfinder UIQ for my P910i phone because I was simply not willing to fork out about £250 - £500 for any of the Garmin or TomTom devices. Also, I refuse to carry another gadget around with me when leaving my car. In addition, I liked the idea of having an in-phone navigation system.

Since the P910i hasn't got any GPS receiver capabilities, I needed to find a GPS receiver first - preferrably Bluetooth.. After some research I decided not to go for the Wayfinder package and by doing so saved about £30-£50. Instead, I found a OEM Socket GPS Bluetooth receiver at Expansys.com for about £70. All in all, SatNav for my P910i therefore cost me about £130 (the cost for my phone obviously not included) - €99 for the software (12 month contract) plus £70 for the receiver. The socket receiver comes with a simple car charger (no power charger, I am afraid).

So what is Wayfinder like? Well, I have to say that it works pretty well for me. I have recently returned from a trip to Germany and used Wayfinder to guide me from the Midlands to Aachen and back. Before we left, I made 2 additional, important purchases though: 1. a cigarette plug/USB adapter for my USB charger to be used with my SE USB charger and 2. a mobile phone holder for the car - very important so you can easily see what Wayfinder displays whilst still keeping the eyes on the road.

But lets start from the beginning: I initially trialled Wayfinder for 5 days as I wanted to explore its capabilities. The trial version is easy to install and is (almost) fully functional. The only bit that is disabled is the option to access Wayfinders portal myWayfinder.com - which enables you to download maps, plan trips online and download contacts . Whilst I can understand that Wayfinder has no interest in offering this service to those who trial their software, I think it would be a lot easier if this would be mentioned somewhere on their website that myWayfinder.com is not accessible during the trial.

My Socket GPS BT receiver arrived on my last day of the trial and once the unit was charged I was able to pair/connect the P910i and GPS receiver with miniumum hassle. Once, the satellite fix is there (takes about 15-60 secs with the Socket in my experience), Wayfinder displays GPS signal strength on its little button symbol. Clicking on the button takes you to the map view of where you are. It's great that the GPS functionality is enabled even in the trial version.

Speaking of maps: Wayfinder either downloads maps from the web (via GPRS), accesses them from its buffer from already downloaded maps (configurable to up to 10MB) or from pre-installed maps that can be downloaded from myWayfinder.com. The bad news is that downloads via GPRS cost you additional money, based on the contract you have. The good news is that there are many ways how to minimise your GPRS downloads (clever download of maps that are frequently used, larger memory buffer - or simply not displaying the map whilst driving and instead switching to the Guide view). I don't understand why the memory buffer can only be up to 10MB - it would be helpful if this could be increased depending on free space on your memory card (the P910i takes up to 1GB Memory Sticks thee days). Also, I think Wayfinder should also offer a complete list of UK maps. Currently, only town maps are available for download from their online portal, which is of little help for someone in a rural location. But then, Wayfinder and their map provider have to make some money one way or another, right?

The myWayfinder.com portal gives you access to all UK and European maps as a download for your phone. In addition, you can sync your favourites from your phone via GPRS to the portal, which makes it very easy to calculate a route whilst your logged into the online portal on your PC/Mac. It is however not possible to sync any favourites back to your phone.

The best thing to do is to make all you preparations prior to setting off on your journey. Make sure you have a Satellite fix - this depends on your GPS BT receiver and can take between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Also, it is of some help if you store your destination as a favourite. By doing this, you have all required parameters already stored in your phone. Once you have the satellite fix, connect the receiver to the phone (indicated by a little signal strength button in Wayfinder). Select "Start from GPS" to start from your current position. Then select your destination from your favourites, select "Calculate Route" and about 5-10 secs later (GPRS connection to the Wayfinder server!) you receive your first command.

Voice commands are clear and easy to understand over the little loudspeaker on my P910i. You obviously do not -like in built-in car nav systems- have the advantage of your car stereo volume going down for each routing command, but you soon learn to live with that. More importantly, all commands come in a timely manner. I even think they are adjusted to your speed, ie if you go faster then the commands come slightly earlier, giving you enough time to make that turn or take the exit off the motorway.

Whilst on route, I found route re-calculations to happen pretty fast. As soon a the GPS finds you "off-track", it only takes a few seconds until the new route is found. Also, it is possible to change the route settings to "distance", "time" or "time with traffic info"

If you include traffic information into your route calculations, GPRS traffic data is additonally taken into account when the route is calculated. I found this to be working perfectly whilst driving back from Germany to England. On two occasions - once in belgium and once in the UK - I was rerouted to avoid the congested parts of the route. Moreover, in the UK I was even redirected before the congestion had been announced on BBC Radio 2!

On the whole, I have used Wayfinder for about 30 on-road hours so far and must say that I am still impressed that such functionality is available on a device like the Sony Ericsson P910i. There were some occasions then GPRS was not available and an alternative route could only be calculated when the connection was back. On one single occasion Wayfinder fell over after a failed GPRS connection, but after an app restart and a recalculation of the route from the current GPS position everything was fine again. This took less than 60 secs, but had to be done whilst driving unfortunately.

My verdict on Wayfinder:

Pros:

• affordable, easy and simple solution


• clear voice commands


• online maps provide up-to-date info


• fast route re-calculation


• traffic news integration


• user friendly


• gives you access to MyWayfinder.com portal


• ideal for those who need in-car navigation on a sporadic basis


• different purchasing options (1 year or lifetime version) are available



Cons:

• additional GPRS costs (depends on contract and provider)


• UIQ device Sony Ericsson Pxxx or other Symbian UIQ device required for this particular version


• route calculation always needs GPRS connection

SAP TechEd - booked !

After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing I finally booked myself a place for the SAP TechEd in Vienna. I still do not know if certification will be offered at this year's instalment of the conference which takes place in the Austrian capital.

SAP TechEd - unfair treatment for european developers

As some of you might know, I earn a fair amount of my daily bread rolls through SAP development. Now that I do freelance work, I decided to invest into my skills and visit one of SAP's developer conferences: TechEd. Like every year, there are TechEds all over the world: this year Vienna, Boston, Tokyo and Bangalore were chosen. Since I am based in the UK, visiting Vienna is the obvious decision (unfortunately it is also the most expensive option, but that's fair enough). When I started researching each of these conferences a bit more, I soon discovered that SAP offers certification courses for their developers too. Part of the offer is that -included in the registration fee- SAP offers certification exams for their Netweaver product whilst visiting the conference. "What a marvellous idea!", I thought. But when I clicked a bit further into the individual conference descriptions, I found that not all parts of the SAP development world are equally treated by the software giant. In fact, Vienna -and for a while Boston, too- did not offer any certification opportunities for their visitors. So far, only Bangalore and Boston (which looked like a late certification entry) offer the valuable extra exams. There is no information available on Tokyo just yet - Vienna will definitely not have any certification opportunities.

I was and still am very disappointed about this state of affairs and the unfair treatment of european developers and turned to Shai Agassi's (member of SAPs executive board) weblog on the SAP developer network. Shai writes on there about "fighting the common enemy" and Outsourcing/Outtasking. I took the opportunity and posted a comment. He kindly replied:

Michael,

Fair point. We are trying to establish TechEd in India, as an entry to the market we have to behave like the rest of the market behaves in India. In the future we will probably need to re-evaluate this policy of no-charge.

As you can imagine, I wasn't really happy with this response, as it still doesn't tell us european developers why there are no certification opportunities at the european edition of TechEd and if SAP will start to treat us all equally again.

Lastly, I have also inquired about the registration fee for TechEd in Bangalore, as SAP does not mention it on their website: 15,000 Rupees (ca. $350). In comparison, the Boston registration is between $2045 and $2345. I leave it up to the reader to form an opinion about this. Of course you can argue that salaries and cost of living in India are lower as well, but when I spoke to a SAP developer from India about this, he only shook his head and said: "15000 Rupees is peanuts.".

SanDisk Mobile Mate MS+

Just had a first play with my new Memory Stick Pro Duo card reader from SanDisk. It's an amazing little reader/writer, which works flawless under XP, OS X and (tadaaaa) Suse Linux 9.2 !

Java con leche, bitte !

Slowly but surely I am fighting my way through my Java tutorial book - it is hard, I must admit, since I am still getting to grips with "real" OO programming. All these years of ABAP have left their traces...

I am amazed how flexible and compact a language Java can be (once you've come to grips with it). However it will take me a while until I am more used to Polymorphisms, Casting and Constructors.

SymMobile screen protector for P900

I have been using the P900 screen protector from SymMobile for about 4 weeks now and must admit that it was a good investment. I was getting worried about dirt and scratches on the screen and the protector does a good job in keeping dust, dirt and grease at bay.

The ordered item arrived after only 5 days straight from Hong Kong - very impressive. As far as screen brightness is concerned, I must say that I can hardly see a difference. Same goes for screen sensitivity - all within acceptable bandwidths, I think.

Firefox 1.0 Preview

I've had a play with the latest Firefox 1.0 preview release and must say that my first impressions are very convincing. I spent some time playing with the RSS button, which I find very nifty. I now have a RSS bookmark on my bookmark tab to go directly to my favourite feeds.

Firefox certainly has the power to grab some market share off the huge MS IE chunk.

creating my own ringtones

I read a post from a guy the other day who said that all he uses GarageBand for is to create his own ringtones.

"Of course", I thought - "why didn't I think of this earlier?". Wanna hear my first attempts? I actually think that the track names I chose are more hip than the tracks themselves.

Soleil d'Aix, Thought I Heard You or Decker's Revenge. All tunes are in .mp3 format and obviously require a phone that can play those - like my SE P900.

P900 and AvantGo UIQ Beta

I can now confirm that the connection of P900 of AvantGo's UIQ version works well. I managed to install the AvantGo app on the device without any trouble and then synced via Blarg software's Blueshare with one of my Macs. Whenever there was a problem, then it was Blueshare playing up and not establishing a connection. I will have time next week to see how easy it is to sync using the USB cradle linked to a PC. However I do expect this to be even less troublesome.

Syncing speed for AvantGo via Bluetooth could be a bit faster, but this obvioulsy depends on the number and kind of sites you selected in your profile. I also expect this to be faster via the USB cradle when hooked up to a networked internet connection.

I must say that I prefer AvantGo over any UIQ-based RSS Newsfeed reader. Simply because of the way how pages are represented and some sites even allow for pictures. The RSS feeder are not far off, but haven't got the edge just yet, me thinks.

me and my P900 - review after week 1

It has been exactly one week since the long-awaited parcel from O2 finally arrived. Contents: one P900 plus Southwing Bluetooth headset.

I was very excited when I first received it and still am - although after a week the gimmick and gadget feeling usually slowly dissapears and you start using a Phone/PDA in a much smarter way.

The UI is brilliant and very intuitive. Both Sal and me didn't have any problems to use applications right "out-off-the-box" without browsing through the fairly large manual (printed thankfully).

So what have I done so far with it and what am I using it for? Well, since I have been terrible with remembering dates etc. the P900 now finally has taken the place of my old (and recently almost unused) Palm m100. It's just great not having to carry 2 devices around with you (phone and organiser), but to have both in one device. Making calls with the P900 is a quite different affair when you are used to a Nokia phone. As far as phone functionality is concerned, I think Nokia has it down to a T - they're the best. However, if you're using a phone/PDA, your talking a completely different ball game. I'm not saying that the P900 is complicated to make phone calls with - it's just different. I'm failry used to the "applications" button now to access most functionality when the flip is closed. So far, I have not made up my mind whether to remove the flip or not (Sony supplies a tool and cover should you want to remove it). I think over time it might actually go, as I very rarely key in numbers into the phone, accessing numbers through the address book instead.

One thing I started enjoying already is to be able to synchronise my contacts and calendar entries over Bluetooth onto my Macs. It's great to know that you constantly have all addresses etc at hand when you need them. The only problem I now have outstanding is to migrate all "unregistered" email addresses into my Addressbook on my Macs and then sync them across all devices. Reason for this are those email addresses that I never added to my contacts and simply enter the first letters of their names when writing a mail using Apple's Mail app.

Bluetooth in itself is not as seamless as it seems though. I might have to do some more investigation and research some support forums, but whenever I switch the d-link bluetooth dongle to the other Mac for syncing, iSync is not having it. I have to un-pair and re-pair both devices - eh voila, the whole thing works again. I also had the P900 Bluetooth app crashing on me a few times. Before I had a Task manager, this usually meant powering the P900 on and off, but now I can simply end the hanging task. One great thing about Bluetooth is Blueshare from Blarg Software though. It enables you to share a internet connection via Bluetooth with a Mac using Opera. Shame is though that there doesn't seem to be a way of downloading you email via this connection. I'm still looking for a Newsfeed app such as AvantGo - which I used on the palm and loved - but have not been successful so far. I tried a Newsfeedreader called FeedBurner, but didn't like it. Mainly because it only opened links to the actual feeds in the standard browser (which always connect over GPRS) and not in Opera, where I could use the Bluetooth connection to the ADSL line. Also, I was not sure if reading newsfeeds in such a way will really be somthing I want to do. I'm still keen to get AvantGo working (currently in Beta version for Symbian UIQ) - I therefore emailed AvantGo and was told that AvantGo *should* sync over a shared bluetooth connection. However, I haven't had the time to test this yet Watch this space.

All in all, I'm more than satisfied with my new little pal and would always buy it again.

security risk iPod ?

Finally the MOD and other organisations realise how dangerous iPods can be.

Ahem, excuse me: doesn't this apply to ANY of these small external USB and Firewire media sticks etc ? It always surprises me how these issues are suddenly "discovered" by the media. This topic has been around since yesteryear.

absolute beginner

The other day, I had to get my work ID pass updated and went to see one of our guards in his office. Unknowingly, I had interrupted a little computer training session this guard received from one of his female colleagues. She tried to show him the way around this ID card updating app and after a few minutes told him to fly the system himself.

He was about my age (33), and after he sat down in his chair I watched him battling with the mouse. It was all too obvious - he had never or hardly ever used a mouse in his life and therefore tried to move the navigation tool in an area on his desk occupying about 2-3 square centimetres ! His colleague and me gave him some help and support how to best use and move the mouse and it did the trick.

I got my ID card updated in the end, but it made me realise to what extend we all take computer skills for granted these days - especially with people at a younger age. However I tip my hat to this chap for having the courage to enter the lion's den.

ImageWell version 2

Xtralean Software released version 2 of ImageWell, a new release of its Mac image manipulation tool. I raved about IW before and would like to give you a brief overview of the improvements coming with release 2.

At the time of this review I'm running version 2 Build 214. I should mention straight away that the current version can't be run as a toolbar app - I have been assured however that a toolbar variety of it will soon be available.

So what's new in v2 ? Well Xtralean must have listened to its users and crammed the following improvements into the next release:

• IW is now Apple-scriptable


• Drop shadow effect for your images


• Watermark feature


• Multiple server locations can be added and stored to your locations list.


• URL History means you can paste multiple images/links all at once.


• Image Preview


• Image Rotation


• Check for Overwrite on server


• Improved Graphic User Interface


• Plus over 20 reported bugs in Version 1, now fixed

The most useful feature for me by far are the multiple server locations. I regularly post images to different FTP locations and always was a little bit annoyed when I had to change the FTP parameters for each location. Another appreciated newbie is the drop shadow functionality and the watermarks.

When using the "More" menu, you're now greeted with some new, helpful additions such as image rotation and a launch button of Apple's Grab tool. The only disadvantage is that Grab only allows you to perform full screen shots when launched from IW. I do prefer to use the Capture variant of Grab - which still forces me to launch the app the old fashioned way.

Xtralean must have heard my demands for a JPG image quality manipulation. Version 2 now contains a little slidebar in the "More" section to change this. Wunderbar !

Altogether, I must say that Xtralean managed to produce an even better version of an already well-appreciated tool. Of course you can argue that all this functionality is available in other packages. What makes IW different though is that it is a "lightweight" app - extremely important if the job at hand doesn't require the usage of the heavy artillery of Photoshop and the likes.

I can only highly recommend ImageWell - My current version runs problem-free under Panther - I just signed up for a beta test version of the menu-bar app version of it (simply email Xtralean directly). You can also download the normal version here.

linkable

• Blogging service Blogger (owned by Google) relaunches with new functionality. There is also a BBCi news article about it.
• calling all webbies - a brilliant colour pattern tool
• some quite interesting shots from a Photoshop motion image competition
• Do you know what the Sauerkraut Cup is (german language)? It's a footie match between German language students of the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. This year, the former national team coach of Germany Berti Vogts ("Boeerdie Waughts") was present. I was told that the language students involved are hoping for the match to become an annual event.
• Pac Manhattan is the live variant of the arcade classic - played in NY using WiFied laptops. There is also an article in german in Spiegel.de about it.

ring, ring, ring

Mobile phones with self-recorded ringtones annoy me. It's not the tune itself that bugs me - it's the fact that a snippet of music is used for such an ordinary thing as a signal of a telephone to tell it's holder that there is an incoming call or message. Why can't phones just ring ? They rang for decades. Now they talk, bark and soon they probably smell, too. Oh it's just too much.

A colleague's mobile phone "jukeboxed" in the office yesterday - delighting all of us with a fraction of Coldplay's "Clocks". Obviously he likes the song so much he wanted it on his mobile. In the spirit of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" I am now trying to work out what the constant repetition of a song snippet does to the song itself. Does it get better or worse ? Well, I'll probably can't enjoy the song again, that's for sure - as it will now always remind me of a mobile going off.

We all seem to have become a society of "scanners and snippeteers". Taking in a full work (even just a 4 to 5 minute song) has become too tedious and long for most people. Everything has to be summarised, cut, edited, pasted and zipped. And I've had enough of it.

Last but not least I'll introduce you to the most abyssmal form of self-recorded ring tone: a voice saying "Ring ! Ring ! Ring !" - no comment.

Help ! I'm a blogoholic

Over time, I seem to become a "blogoholic" ! And one couldn't consider himself a proper blogoholic without using an RSS reader. Well at work I started using Feedster.com's "myFeedster" - simply because I wanted an online version rather than a frontend software. At home, I'm still trialling the Mac version of NetNewsWire Light.

I must say I'm more inclined to continue using the NetNewsWire - simply because of its impressive speed when used with broadband. Although I do miss the experience of viewing the indivdual blog's designs and layouts, I can spend far more time actually reading blogentries. Plus, I'm able to read more blogs as I spend less time clicking about surfing and searching. MyFeedster in comparison can be very slow at times - I also miss some functionality to customise the look and feel of the blog summaries.

The internet and the elderly

An interesting recent NY Times technology article - it shows just how important accessibility issues already are. Also, it made me contemplate how I will surf the net in years to come (admittingly a weird thing to think about when you're only 20 years old :-)).

IT workers demand greater flexibility

This article from The Register is no big surprise to me. In my own experience a vast majority of IT companies and departments are still maintaining a very old fashioned viewpoint when it comes to working from home (Teleworking).

It seems to me that managers rather give non-IT staff the right to work from home. There also seems to be a misconception that IT staff involved in analysis and coding are not eligible for Teleworking as it doesn't fit into their day-to-day tasks. Quite frankly, I think exactly the opposite is the case. As IT departments do more and more result oriented work, it should free up more staff to work and achieve their results in their own time and space.

Funny enough, as the article points out, most IT staff is too scared to ask for Teleworking options as it might squander their career perspectives. A viscious circle.

a Computer for Life ?

An interesting BBC technology article on computers and the failure of manufacturers to make them 'greener'. I remember many years back the media already warned us about huge piles of computer garbage we'll face in years to come. Seems to me that not a lot was done about it since then. Manufacturers of course are under such immense innovative pressure that there is no incentive for them to make their hardware greener. At the end of the day, that's what would increase the price tag for their offerings and hence push them out off their markets.

In my opinion the only way out here is by both law inforcement and changes in customer behaviour. Manufacturers should be forced by law to accept and re-use old hardware. Consumers should be given more incentives about changing and reconfiguring their existing machines rather than dicarding their old and simply buying a completely new one. "A Computer for Life" , maybe ?