If you are not sure what RSS is, then I would suggest you go find out about it. It’s a great technology that allows you to follow a website, without having to visit a website, and do it at your own pace. This blog supports RSS feeds symbolized by the square orange icons on the top right and if you are not already subscribed to it, I would suggest you do. But this post is not about subscribing to RSS. Its about an RSS reader that you can take with you on the go.

As an avid user of RSS feeds, I use Google Reader on my laptop to access my feeds. But when I am outside and without an internet connection, this setup fails me. Looking around, I found many free RSS resder software for the Pocket PC and decided to give them a try. The problem was, they were either full of bugs, not user-friendly or just did not work. That was until I found Spb Insight by Spb Softwarehouse.

Intro

Though the software was not free (comes with a $19.95 price tag), it does what I was looking for in an RSS reader. While the site says it only supports WM2003 and WM5, I tried it on WM6 and it works flawlessly. You can try the full feature trial without restrictions for 15 days or purchase it. They have a 30 day money back guarantee anyway so you’re covered in case those 15 days were not enough.

Setup

During setup, it will ask you some important questions such as where to download content , whether to use only free connections (such as WIFI and cradle), should it automatically update all channels when cradled and a few others. This is definitely useful because it highlights the more important settings that you need to set before you use the program, thus saving you the tweaking later on.

First Glance

When you first start the software, there really is nothing much to see. You are just greeted by a blank screen and asking to tap new to add channels. You can chose Online Catalog (which contains a list of feeds that you can choose from), RSS Feed/URL (where you manually type in the feed’s address), OPML (which allows you to import OPML file from another reader), Search (where you can search for feeds) or Local Templates (where it searches your directory for feeds). I guess with all these available options, you can get your feeds up and running quickly and easily.

Don’t forget to also head over to Menu > Options where you can change other settings to suit your needs. You can also change the settings that you made during the initial installation here if its not what you wanted initially. One thing I like about this software is that it tells you how much space your feeds are taking up. While the feeds are small in nature, they might grow in size due to the images embedded in them. It does not exactly tell you how much space each feed is taking up though. However, it overcomes this shortcoming by helping you clean your feed, if you choose, based on the number of days elapsed or number of articles you have. Pretty useful if you ask me!

Use

Once you have all the settings in place, using the software is very easy. A feed is called a Channel and each entry in the feed is referred to as an Article. If you have added a new feed, chances are it has been downloaded. Just tap on the Channel you want to read and it will list all the Articles available. Tap on the Article of your choice and it will bring it up. Because it has downloaded the content beforehand, you can even go offline to read your feeds. Great for those who need to catch up on the news on the train ride to work.

The great thing about Spb Insight is that it shows images in the Articles, which is something I appreciate. Some of the free readers I tested out did not have this option (maybe to help the user save on bandwidth). However, if the image is large, it can look weird in the reader.

Updating Channels

Because feeds are updated differently, you can choose how you want to update them. Maybe you would like to update all your Channels before you leave the house so you can read them on the way to work. Maybe you only want to update one channel because you know the rest of the channels are no longer updated today. Whatever your desire, Spb Insight can do it for you. It even has a bar at the bottom of the screen to show you how much bandwidth the current update is taking. Not entirely useful for me but some of you might think so.

Summary

Pros:

• Easy to use and user-friendly.
• Has a lot of options to adding feeds.
• Allows control of bandwidth and connections.
• Scheduled cleaning to keep usage small.

Cons:

• Expensive for an RSS reader.
• Could have more settings options.
• Does not allow you to export feed.

Conclusion

Spb Insight is a great RSS reader to own but at $19.95, it does put off some users. It makes up for its shortcomings with some intuitive features such as scheduled cleaning and even helps those who are new to this technology find Channels that they might enjoy. If you are looking for an RSS reader or are not happy with the one you have now, why not give Spb Insight a try?

For those using Skype (or any VoIP software for that matter) and you encounter echoes during your conversation, the Power Saving mode might be the cause. When activated, Power Saving allows you to scale down the power used by WiFi, thus prolonging battery life. The downside is that your connection speed MIGHT suffer.

You can get to this mode by going to your Wireless Manager and tapping the Settings icon (which is the one that looks like a spanner) for you WiFi. From there, tap on the second tab, Setting, and you will see the screen above. Select Disable and exit and you should no longer be encountering any echoes in your Skype calls.

The reason I say MIGHT affect is because this is usually the number 1 cause for it. There are other causes which you should take note of as well:

• Open Programs. Close all unnecessary programs before running Skype. This ensures that there is sufficient RAM available for smooth operation.
• WiFi Connection. If you still disable power saving and encounter echoes, check if your connection to the router/access point is good. If you are too far or the router/AP’s bandwidth is maxed out by someone else (downloading is a common cause), then this could be the other reason.
• Skype Software. If all else fails, check your Skype version. For the X500 users, using the one that comes with your device should be sufficient but if it is causing you problems, use the last beta of Skype for Mobile 2.2 which should solve it. Its available on this site. Do not download it from Skype as that does not support voice calls.

What are some of the things you do to ensure vanilla-smooth Skype calls?

Friday is free software day as I go through the extensive list of free software available for Windows Mobile and bring you the ones worth installing.

Installing software is pretty straightforward. You tap the CAB file and select either Main Memory or SDMMC (Storage Card) and the default installer does the rest. But what if you do not have the option of choice? Usually this is because the developer requires the file to be installed in a specific location to ensure proper function. But there are times when this is not the case.

The Software

At during such times, CabInstl will serve you well. From SK Tools, this software has been around for quite a while, debuting in 2005 (if I am not wrong) and has not been updated since v1.4. But that has nothing to do with functionality as you will see that this software just works

Availability

You can download the file from its developers page or from PocketPCFreeware. I am not sure which version is hosted but it seems the former has 1.03 while the latter, 1.04.

Installation

For a CAB installer, it’s ironic that the file does not come as a CAB. Instead you get an .EXE file which you can just copy to any directory on your device and run it from there. Nothing fancy or complicated here.

Use

Launch the program and you are good to go. Tap on the .CAB button to choose your CAB file and then tap PATH button to choose your destination. If nothing is selected, then it would install to the default location which is usually the one chosen by the developer. If you would like to further customize the software, you can select the option to Not Delete CAB File after installation although this can easily be overcome with a registry hack. You can also choose to associate all CAB files with the software such that every time you tap on a CAB file to install, it will come up, thus saving you several taps. You could also choose to remove warning messages though this is ill-advised.

Why You Should Have It

This software was created in 2005, around the time of WM2003/SE, an era when we did not really have much choice over where files went when they were installed. Sure there were developers who gave us the option but that was not the norm.

Fast forward to 2007 where with with WM5 and 6, we now have the liberty to choose where we want our files to be installed. And if we don’t, then there is usually a good reason for that. However, if you are trying to install Eten applications selectively, you would not have a choice and the Main Memory would be the victim in this case. But with CabInstl, you no longer have to be at the mercy of those applications, should you choose to install them.

And it does not stop there. If you have an application that does not give you the option on installation location, then CabInstl will be able to solve that problem for you. It works well with my WM6 device and since it was made for WM2003, I reckon it would work for WM5 as well.

Thanks to Xavier who recommended this software from his comments in ‘So How Much Free Space Can You Get With A Hard Reset‘

Excuse me while I cram this chunk of salt down my throat. Now that we’ve put that out of the way lets chat about the return of the Newton. AppleInsider has some insider info that a team of engineers has taken the multi-touch technology and is busy working on Newton 2.0 or has been for the better part of the past 18 months. During that time the project has sputtered due to the iPhone, but it seems to be back on track.

The purported Newton 2.0 will run a mini me version of Leopard and its form factor is in line with the iPhone/Touch, but much bigger, about 1.5 times bigger. The high-resolution display will supposedly be 720×480 with new multi-touch concepts like drag-and-drop and copy-and-paste.

The Newton 2.0 is rumored to launch sometime in the first half of next year so maybe we’ll see something at Mac World.

Up next for Apple: the return of the Newton [AppleInsider]

by Chris Leckness

Some of the suggestions have been excellent and I have always channeled them directly to our Product Planning team. 

On the Windows Mobile Help Forums we have just launched a Suggestion box section where you can list a suggestion for a future version of Windows Mobile. 

So if you have a feature request or suggestion for Windows Mobile next then why not enter it into the Suggestion box ?

This post originated from and is provided by the MSDN Blogs RSS feed. The original post of the article can be found here.

Por Renê Fraga

Complementando a informação que o Google Calendar ganhou uma nova interface para iPhone, os produtos Gmail e Reader também ganharam um upgrade em suas interfaces.

A nova interface do Gmail disponível em m.gmail.com ganhou recursos da versão que você está acostumado acessar do seu computador. Agora é possível configurar alguns links usando os marcadores e adicionar outros como spam ou rascunhos.

Próximos as mensagens agora é possível visualizar uma checkbox que permite que você execute ações em todas as mensagens como: arquivar, apagar, reportar como spam, adicionar a um marcador, estrela ou marcar como lida.

Abaixo, um exemplo da nova interface.

Google Reader para iPhone
Outra novidade é uma interface otimizada do Google Reader para o iPhone. A nova interface está mais fácil que a original e torna a navegação mais confortável aos usuários do iPhone.

Muito se fala do Google Phone mas ultimamente o Google está correndo para aprimorar e otimizar a interface de seus produtos para revolucionário celular da Apple. Para quem tem um iPhone, o Google Phone realmente já existe.