Smartphone Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

Going back a few years, the various Thoughts Media sites that were around had a bit more of a personal touch to them - I'd commonly post on things that were going on in my life. As the sites grew and got to be more news-focused, I haven't done many of those personal posts lately. I'll hope you'll indulge me, because today something very special happened: my son was born.

At 7:20 AM on August the 16th, Logan Robert Dunn came into this world via C-Section. Both mother and baby are doing well. He's 20 inches long, weighs 7 pounds 9 ounces, and was born at the Calgary Foothills hospital. The staff here are great - special thanks to Dr. Paul Martyn for the great job he did on the surgery. This is a wonderful blessing, and I'm humbled and awed that God would give us such a beautiful baby to care for and raise. More pics over at my personal blog.

"So here�s the funny thing about creating and running Web sites for a living (which is what I do): you end up having really high expectations for each site you launch, and you want everything to be perfectly in place before you launch. Let�s take a brief inventory list here on this site. First, we have an easy to use CMS - WordPress, all set up and ready to rock as of two months ago. Check. Next, we have a killer template, courtesy of Mr. Darius Wey, finished more than a month ago. Check. My matching photo gallery template is also completed, as of two weeks ago. Check. So what was left? Nothing - yet somehow I was obsessing over the smallest details the way I do with a Thoughts Media site. Then I was reminded of a simple truth a few days ago: the entire reason I�m launching this personal blog is to give myself a no-pressure, talk-about-whatever-I-want place that has no connection to my �real� job. So what the hell was I waiting for exactly? And here we go - launched!"

I've decided to launch a personal blog (with an awesome template - go Darius!), and all the reasons why are in my first post. It's more of a personal project than anything else, but if you enjoy my ranting here you may enjoy the blog. It also is the home to some really old projects that are entertaining to look at in retrospect. I also wanted to let you know about a podcast I did with Vincent Ferrari as part of his "Side Salad" podcast. It has nothing to do with vegetables (although I do say "you know" a lot, so seemingly I may have some form of brain damage) and everything to do with Thoughts Media, the sites I run with the great volunteers that help me, and some good discussion on all sorts of tech topics. I enjoy being a guest on podcasts, because it's a lot easier than doing one myself where I have to think up a lot of great questions to answer. ;-) And that concludes the Jason Dunn Show...back to your regular programming.

"Web search leader Google Inc. on Thursday said it was now offering U.S. mobile phone users a personalized version of the Google home page tailored to work on most recently introduced mobile phones. The Google Personalized Home page for mobile phones will allow consumers to conduct Web searches and check Gmail e-mail, news headlines, local weather reports or a list of stock prices -- all from one central page on their phones. Google is racing with Internet rivals such as Yahoo, Microsoft, America Online and InfoSpace to extend the information services they already offer on computers to the browsers of mobile phones."

I must admit, that I have done more than a couple Google searchs from my phone, but I don't think I need a personalized home page. I try to conserve bandwidth when using my phone. So, I'm more interested in keeping the page clean and small. :wink:

"Sprint has announced the launch of ToneMaker DJ, a new mobile Music Tone application enabling customers to easily create original Music Tones, right on their phones. In addition, the application's "DJ Lounge" community offers powerful features that allow the best ringers to gain recognition, be heard and even purchased by the application's subscribers."

OK, I guess that some people would be interested in creating a Ringtone on their device, but it just seems silly to me. I would much rather sit in front of a PC to do this sort of thing. The combination of a larger screen and a mouse, makes this so much easier to do. 8)

There's an updated version of Personal Vehicle Manager from Two Peaks. The new version offers Windows Mobile 5.0 support, along with a couple other minor fixes and improvements. This is a free upgrade for existing 3.x users. If you're not already using PVM, then you can download a trial version or purchase a license from our Affiliate store.

T-Mobile USA in an attempt to attract future customers, is offering a new tool on its website. This tool called the Personal Coverage Check lets you punch in a street address and view the street level signal strength. 8) I have never been impressed with the national coverage maps or the per-zone coverage maps found in the carrier service brochures. Most of the time they offer outdated information. This online tool offers more realistic coverage information, and enables you to get an idea of the actual coverage in the area where you spend most of your time.



It will definitely help the new customers make up their minds. But I am sure existing T-Mobile customers will find it handy too. I learnt that the signal strength in the area where my future home is located is the same as my current apartment. :-( Wish it would have gone from the current good to great. Check out the coverage in your area. And let us know what you think about this tool.

Last Friday I got ahead of things and announced the new version of Personal Vehicle Manager from Two Peaks. The problem was that the Smartphone version wasn't quite ready. Two Peaks were still working on getting the application signed. I am now happy to report that the application has been signed and it's now ready for you to enjoy!

To top it off, Two Peaks has offered up 10 licenses for Smartphone Thoughts readers! So, over the next couple days you have a chance to win your own copy of Personal Vehicle Manager. All you need to do is reply to this thread and tell us what vehicle you have (or are dreaming about owning), and let us know what feature you like the most about that vehicle. If you like, you're more than welcome to post a picture of it too. :) You have until the end of day Friday (March 25th) to get your entry in. The 10 lucky winners will be randomly selected from the responses to this thread.

You can download a trial version, or if you can't wait to see if you'll win, then you can purchase a full copy for $24.95 here. A big Thank You goes to Two Peaks for such a generous offer. [Affiliate]

"Personal Vehicle Manager enables you to organize information about one or more vehicles, track fuel expenses, repairs, business trips, insurance data, gas mileage, upcoming maintenance and much more."



Two Peaks has just released an update to their Personal Vehicle Manager software. This new version (2005 Edition) features a completely redesigned user interface, Smartphone version, Pocket PC version is optimized for VGA and non-standard screen sizes, new database engine, the ability to export to Excel, and numerous bug fixes. You can download a trial version of Pocket Vehicle Manager 2005 or purchase a copy for $24.95 from the Two Peaks website.

Update: Sorry guys, there was a little confusion on this. The Pocket PC version is available now, but the Smartphone version is not ready yet. It should be out sometime next week, once all the signing and stuff is done. Don't worry, we'll keep you posted. :wink:

"Welcome to Skido the revolutionary personal telemetry system for your mobile phone or PDA. Skido enables you to see and hear your speed, distance, altitude, gradient, pace and calories updated in real-time while you ski. Using Skido allows you to keep a record of your skiing performance providing a fun record of your ski adventures and a log of your skiing improvement. Your Skido data can be analysed on your phone or pda using the built-in lap and graphing functions or uploaded to your personal Skido portal page for more in-depth analysis."



They also make versions for biking and running and they all appear to run on the Smartphone and Pocket PC platforms. You can check the other versions out here. You of course need a GPS receiver for this to work. They have a demo version but it is limited to your first kilometer. I would advise that you don't look at your Smartphone as you fly down the slopes however. Just a tip. :wink:

Have you ever felt the need to have a deep personal phone call while stuck in a public place? Your conversation can be safe from the snooping ears of those around you with your own personal portable cellphone booth. While it's true that this fancy new device doubles as an umbrella, it's main purpose is to help keep others from being forced to listen to your useless ramblings. :wink:



I hear Superman has 3 of these on order. :lol:

"Quickly and efficiently keep track of your daily spending with GreenThumb. Designed for Smartphone 2003, GreenThumb eliminates the need to carry receipts by providing an easy and intuitive interface for your Smartphone device that will store them for you."



� Store and edit monetary transactions
� Import into Microsoft Money, Quicken, or Microsoft Excel
� Intuitive design for quick transaction entry

You can check out the online demo here and purchase a copy of GreenThumb for only $10.95 here. [Affiliate]

"SYWARE, Inc., a leading developer of intuitive database tools for business and personal productivity, today announced FoneDB 2.0, the newest version of the company's database software for Windows Mobile-powered Smartphones. First introduced in 2002, FoneDB allows users to quickly and easily create personal databases. New features include synchronization of mobile data with desktop or server PCs, calculated fields that automatically apply mathematical operations, and filters that efficiently sort and display stored information. Whether tracking expenses or reviewing sports stats, FoneDB takes personal productivity to a new level. ...Creating FoneDB databases is easy. Forms are designed and maintained on a desktop computer. No programming is required as forms are built with a set of common controls: labels, edit boxes, check boxes, drop-down lists, and buttons. Data can be formatted as text, integer, floating point, currency, date, or time. Records can be viewed or edited on either a desktop PC or a Smartphone device. "

• Quick and Easy Sync with a desktop
  
• Read data from any ODBC enabled database or application
  
• Calculated fields
  
• Filters for searching large lists of data

FoneDB will run on any Windows Mobile Smartphone and is available for $29.99 from the SYWARE website.