DXHI1/XXHI2, the best Samsung Omnia i900’s ROM for me so far

By today, it is more than 2 weeks, my Samsung Omnia  running on DXHI1 (for PDA) and XXHI2 (for phone). The performance is just beyond my expectation.

The battery performance is great, more than 2 and half days which I can claim the longest compared to other Windows Mobile phones that I used before.

Functionality and voice clarity are almost perfect.

You may get the download links for the ROM in modaco.com website. The direct link to the ROM download thread can be found HERE.

Just a note, please make sure you hard reset the phone right after you upgrade to the new ROM.

Sync Windows Mobile Contacts to Thunderbird Address Book

I am still recovering from fever today, but my passion with Windows Mobile seemed to defeat my fever.

I just completed another important trick for Windows Mobile. To sync Windows Mobile (WinMo) contacts to Thunderbird Address Book.

My Windows Mobile is synced to my corporate Exchange Server. So all my emails, contacts, calendar, tasks are synced perfectly with my Microsoft Outlook in my office PC. There is no issue at all since Windows Mobile is Microsoft and Exchange Server is also Microsoft.

It is a different story when I want to sync my contacts in the Windows Mobile to my personal notebook which is using Thunderbird as the  mail client. I just can not afford to buy a Microsoft Outlook. To have an original copy of Microsoft Office Student & Home edition is good enough for me. In fact I managed to buy the copy at a promotional price of RM199 only during last Ramadhan (September 2008).

There is a freeware for you to accomplish this task. It is called finchsync.

The good feature about this application is you can sync wirelessly or using USB cable from your WinMo to the notebook (the notebook must be switch on though). For wireless, you need to use Wifi from your wireless router where the WinMO and your notebook can reach each other using the Private Address Range (IP address that start usually 192.168.XXx.XXx).

If you want to sync using the USB, the IP address could be something different (169.254.2.2) on for your PC while the WinMo will have the IP of 169.254.2.1)

It works by setting-up a server in your host pc/notebook and your Windows Mobile will act as the client to access the finchsync server.

The finchserver will connect to your Thunderbird Address Book (the address book with *.mab extension resides in C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Application Data\Thunderbird\Profiles\uwlfu7s8.default\abook.mab) while thee finchsync client on the Windows Mobile will get your information from the device PIM database. Then the application will sync to one another.

First you need to download the PC server application HERE. Notice that the file is *.jar mean it is a java application. So make sure you have Java Runtime Environment installed in your PC.

Next you need to download and install the client application. You can directly download the CAB version directly to your Pocket PC from HERE.

ON THE PC SERVER

It takes just three steps to install the server on your PC:

1. Create a directory ‘FinchSync’ (or what name you like) on your hard drive.
2. Download the jar-archive ‘FinchSync.jar’ from the download area.
3. Store the file in the created directory.

That’s all. No registry entries, no DLLs spread over your system.

Now browse to the directory where you keep the finchsync and open it.

Notice the IP address correctly because that is the IP address that you'll need when configuring on the client side

If you sync using the wireless method, make sure you configure your firewall (Kaspersky, Windows standard firewall, or any other firewalls) to accept incoming/outgoing signal from your Windows Mobile device.

Now, let configure the PC server.

Server Setting

Click File and go to Server Configuration

Enter the port number (can be from 0 to 65535 and only one application at a time may register for a single port.) To be safe, just use 8080

A good choice for alternative port numbers is the range from 8080 to 8087. Try any of these numbers until FinchSync starts without an error message. Remember, you must restart FinchSync to use the new settings.

If you are using a Firewall on your system, you must open the specified port. If you get a message from the firewall, that ‘java’ or ‘FinchSync’ is trying to open a port, you MUST allow this action, or a client will not be able to connect to the server.

Setup the administrator account

The server FinchSync has a (very small) web-interface. If you have trouble connecting your PocketPC with the server, you might first try to access the web-interface with PocketOutlook.

Further you can shutdown the server from the web-interface, if you enter your admin login. If the server is running, you can access the web-interface using the url:

http://<ip>:<port>/status

Example:

http://192.168.1.1:8080/status

just to test that the server is running in the background. Finchsync.jar must be running for this to work

Sync sources provide contacts, tasks or appointments, which can be synchronized with external clients. A sync source can provide single types of items or a combination of multiple types of items. Typically an address book source provides contacts, and a calendar source provides tasks and appointments.

Before you can synchronize information with your Pocket PC, you must specify what information you’d like to synchronize. The Mozilla address book, for example, is able to manage multiple different address books. Each of those address books may be a single sync source for FinchSync.

To manage sync sources, select the ‘Sync Sources’ tab from the main-window:

The auto scan does not work for me, so I jsut browse the *mab Address Book manual to the directory that I stated earlier

Click Add



Next you will need to link the server to the right Thunderbird Address Book database which
has the *.mab extension. The directory is somewhere here: C:\Documents and Settings\XXX\Application Data
\Thunderbird\Profiles\uwlfu7s8.default\abook.mab

It is faster to access manually. In my case, the scan give nothing of the mab file.

Add a Client

Client is your Windows Mobile.

make sure the password have both alpha and numeric at least 6 characters. Do not click readonly if you want both side to write to each other

• Enter a new, unique name, using only characters and numbers. (The name can’t be changed, once the account is created.)
• Enter a password with at least 6 characters.
• Enter a description (optional).
• Press ‘Add’ to add sync sources to the client account. Only these sources can be accessed by the client.

ON THE CLIENT (Window Mobile)

Once you have install the application in your device, launch it and start to configure the server setting

The first screen once you launch the finch on your pocket pc

Click Config to configure the server

Here you need to enter the IP address and the port number that your server has.

Also enter the login and password that you have specify in the finchsync application on your PC.

To validate the setting, press “Test”

If everything is OK, you will get connected to the server.

Synchronization

The synchronization is initiated from the main window.

• Select a server from the drop-down list.
• Press ‘Sync it!’

First all running Pocket Outlook applications are closed (PocketOutlook is just one application running on your PocketPC, but it is shown to the user as four different applications: Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Email windows).

This is necessary, because Pocket Outlook will not reflect changes made in the database while it is running. You should finish work with these applications, before you start the synchronization. This may fail in some cases. See FAQ topic nr. 5 for more details.

Then all items are read from Pocket Outlook database (PIM) and checked for changes. This may take some time, especially if there are many items in the database.

Then the selected server is contacted and the synchronization is performed. At the end a success-message is displayed or errors are reported.

For details, choose ‘Config/View log’ to open the synchronization log:

Good Luck!

Malfreemaps.com, the real FREE Malaysian maps for Garmin

I just learnt that, several senior mappers (antyong, sunn, dynamix) have parted away from Malsingmaps.com and setting up www.malfreemaps.com

Few reasons were discovered from my investigation using google for the split. You may read my discoveries from the URLs below:

http://9w2fzr.blogspot.com/2008/09/malsingmaps-splitted.html

http://www.shc-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=152468&sid=40466360a039328f313696ccebb434b5

What ever it is, now with malfreemaps, you can really get a free Malaysian maps for your Garmin GPS devices. Unlike malsingmaps, no need for you to contribute to be entitled for the latest map in malfreemaps. That is the principal different between the malfreemaps and malsingmaps. In malsingmaps, you have to contribute at least two Point-Of-Interest (POIs), new tracks or corrections of in the existing maps for you to be entitled for the next coming map release.

Nevertheless, for malfreemaps, I still hope users can contribute so that the maps would be further updated. More mappers lead to much detailed maps.

It must be noted  that malfreemaps is still not yet as details as the malsingmaps since those mappers in malfreemaps try to build the maps almost from zero.

How to configure SSH client to bypass proxy or firewall

I assume you already install and run the OpenSSH in your DNS-323 using the fun plug. With that, your DNS-323 NAS is effectively can accept any incoming SSH session from any client computer (e.g. from your internet access in office, school, airport, etc).

Now it is time for you to configure your SSH client. What you need is first to install SSH/telnet client called PuTTY. Download it HERE. From the site you will see other applications as well e.g.Bitvise Tunnelier which is highly recommended over PuTTY since it provides more intuitive ways to configure. But here I will use PuTTY only. Once you know how to configure in PuTTY, it is much easier to configure in Tunnelier.

Also you can see the Bitvise WinSSHD which essential an OpenSSH server meant for Windows. But in this case you are using the DNS-323 which run on Linux with OpenSSH already run in the background.

All the steps listed here assume you already configure your router configuration to allow SSH access to the DNS-323 which now act as your light server.Make sure you set the SSH application port for external access to 443 in the router setting. It is because most firewall will allow 443 port which commonly used for SSL (secure access).  By allowing this 443 port, that the reason that you are still able to access internet banking sites from your office pc.

So, essentially, what we are doing is actually use this 443 port to make a secure tunnel from the client computer to our DNS-323 which act as the SSH server. From the server then only it will go to where ever we want on the internet without restrictions.

Using PuTTY

1. Download PuTTY
2. Run putty.exe (No installation needed, so it is portable means that you can carry it in your USB drive to use in e.g. public computer, etc.
3. Enter the hostname which could be your IP address or registered dynamic DNS service e.g. xxx.myhome.com which you might from www.dydns.com. For this to work you need to configure your home router as well. Remember to choose SSH session not telnet or anything else. Also make sure the port is 443.
4. Click to the Connection>Proxy. Choose what is the type of the proxy (usually http) and enter the proxy hostname (you can see the hostname from the Internet Explorer Internet Option under Connection setting for manual proxy setup. The port usually 80 fot http proxy.
5. Click to the SSH>tunnels. At the Source enter the port number, just use 8080 to  be safe. Click Add. Then click the radio button of dynamic and Auto.
6. Go back to the Session page. you might want to save the configuration by click ’save’ on the “load, save or delete stored sessions” by giving any name for your session.
7. Click open.
8. Few messages might pop-up for first time login, just click yes to accept the session. the messages actually want to verify weather you are familiar with the SSH, to check that the ssh session is really what you want to connect.
9. A terminal windows now will pop-up asking you to enter as what user. Could be root user or any other predefined user name.
10. Enter the password.
11. Now you are connected to the SSH server in your DNS-323 NAS.
12. The next step is to configure your browser setting.
13. For Internet Explorer, go to the Internet Option>Connections>LAN settings>Proxy server>Advanced
14. Delete all existing proxy setting including the ports.
15. At the Socks, enter “localhost” or “127.0.0.1″ and port number 8080 (or any number that you have defined earlier in the PuTTY tunnel setting.
16. Click “ok”

Now you are free from any restriction of your office’s firewall! Try to enter known restricted website e.g. youtube, myspace, etc.

Good Luck!

Garmin release Mobile XT version 5!

I am a regular user of Garmin Mobile XT which is a GPS application meant for non-Garmin GPS hardware e.g. for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Symbian and Palm.

Garmin just release the new version for Mobile XT (version 5). The release, which is available here in the Garmin support site, offers the following benefits over version 4…

• Update the look and feel of the Garmin Mobile XT application.
• Add Google Local Search.
• Add Panaramio photos-get to see pictures geotagged to your nearest location.
• Add Flight Status- you can check all flight schedule (departure and arrival) for your nearest airport. In fact virtually all airports in the world!
• Add Speed Limit display to the View Map.
• Add ability to install and display custom vehicle icons.
• Modify ‘Peerpoints’ feature name to ‘Location Message’.
• Where I am function-give you easier access  to know your coordinates, the nearest junction of main roads, nearest hospital, police station and petrol stations.

…as well as a bunch of significant fixes / tweaks.

As for me, Mobile XT’s strengths have always been it’s excellent routing engine, great POI database and supplementary information and most of all it’s competitive price! In version 4 I felt this was at the expense of a UI that looked somewhat dated, but with version 5 adopting a Nuvi-like look and feel, hopefully this will be overcome!

Here are some screen shots:

Mobile XT home screen

See the new goolge local search

Definitely much nicer than the old one!

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