List of Windows Mobile Processes (Wisbar Advance 3)

We all know that Windows Mobile (at least in it’s current incarnation) supports multi-tasking, providing the ability to run multiple applications at one time.  One might think that the ability to multi-task, along with the large amount of RAM available on some of the newer devices (my Touch Pro includes over 200 MB, 160 MB+ as user accessible) means that as many apps as the amount of RAM can account for are able to be open in one instance.  At least, that’s what I thought.  I run several applications that maintain processes in the background, including Wisbar Advance, Hi-Launcher, and Resco Contact Manager.  I also keep one app minimized in the background:  Pocket Battery Analyzer by WizCode.  The app does a good job of charting battery percentages over time.  I like to know how my battery fares.

Recently I started noticing Pocket Battery Analyzer seemed to be closing by itself.  I went through all of the typical troubleshooting issues, include a soft reset, reinstalling the program, checking for registry problems, etc.  Growing frustration with the problem, I started looking for a trend.  I began to notice that when running a couple of additional programs at one time, or checking my mail, which also caused my weather and RSS to update, it would close.  This was irritating since it meant my graph would not be accurate after restarting.  I like accurate graphs.

After doing some research (the guys and gals at XDA-Devs are a wealth of knowledge), I learned that how many apps you can run at once is not dictated by a device’s RAM.  Instead, it is dictated by a number hard coded into the operating system.  You can run 32 applications at one time.  When you start to approach this number, the operating system starts closing programs without your interaction or permission.  This is what I was experiencing.  You might say that there’s no way a person will be running 32 programs at once.  You’re likely pretty right on there, but you have to keep in mind that this limit of 32 processes also means anything that the OS has to run to stay active.  This includes processes like gwes.exe, which controls your devices touch screen interaction with the hardware and cprog.exe, the phone application.  If you run programs that provide additional customization, like Finger Menu, Wisbar Advance or Hi-Launcher, you can bet that they are adding a process or two into the mix behind the scenes as well.  Also, programs that auto-update also tend to keep a process running in the background, waiting for their time to fetch.

In conclusion, if you start experiencing anything like I’ve described here, you should grab a task manager that shows running processes and start monitoring what is being opened at startup.  You might need to trim down your startup apps or turn off auto-update on a few programs.  In the end you should end up with a much more stable OS, and one that’s not prone to closing down your much needed background apps.

CABIntegr Main UI

INTRODUCTION

SKKV Software, authors of Windows Mobile software including SKTooks, SKTracker and SKSchema introduced CABIntegr into the wild late last fall.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have been provided with a review copy to experiment with, and since having recently created my first offering for Windows Mobile development, a method for creating a CAB file was needed.  CABIntegr fit the bill, sitting quietly on the microSD card in my HTC Touch Pro, waiting for me to create a project and create the installer.  Grab yourself a glass of iced tea and join me, as we see how CABIntegr demystifies creating CAB files.

FEATURES

SKKV Software has incorporated just about every aspect of making a CAB file into CABIntegr that a user could want.  A user can create a traditional CAB file that installs exe’s, dll’s, user files and shortcuts to various directories of the Windows Mobile operating system, effectively installing a program.  The whole process is very straight forward:

1.  Define a project.
2.  Add files to the project.
3.  Build CAB file.

The screen below illustrates the defining of CAB properties:

CABIntegr Project Properties

The screen below illustrates files to be added to the CAB file:

CABIntegr CAB Files

It’s really that simple.  The whole process takes no prior knowledge, as some of the desktop builders requires.  The user interface is very straight forward and when you do run into a question, detailed on board help and a comprehensive help manual help you out.

A user can also create an “installer”, that when launched, installs several different CAB files.  While I haven’t personally tested this feature, there’s no doubt it could be very useful for those of you out there that suffer from the very addictive disease of ROM flashing.

Additionally, CABIntegr intelligently allows you to create CAB files from registry keys.  This is extremely useful for when you either find a tweak that you want to distribute to end users or want to remember for yourself, so you can re-apply the edit after changing ROM’s or machines.  This is a very worthwhile and useful little trick of CABIntegr’s.  There are several small tweaks that I’ve applied to my Touch Pro’s registry and instead of having to remember the details, I can add them to a CAB file for easy application should I ever need to hard reset or migrate to a similar device.

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT CABIntegr

At first, CABIntegr might seem like a product aimed at a certain niche of Windows Mobile users.  But, let’s be honest.  If you are using Windows Mobile you have more than likely started either offering up some sort of development, are tweaking the registry or are installing third party software.  If you fall into any or all of these categories, then CABIntegr offers something for you.  Download it and give it a try.

SUGGESTIONS FOR REFINING THE PROGRAM

My only suggestion for improving CABIntegr revolves around the file selector that appears when choosing files to add to the CAB file.  To open a folder, you need to quickly double tap on the name.  If you tap once, then pause and tap again, the folder name becomes editable.  You can actually change the folder name by doing this and mistakenly typing on the on screen keyboard, so be a bit careful.

CONCLUSION

CABIntegr is a great program, extending the functionality of a Windows Mobile phone.  As I noted, at first it may seem that this is a niche program intended for developers, but once you dive it and find out the usefulness of creating your own custom installers, you might find that CABIntegr is worth adding to your application arsenal.

DETAILS

A 7 day trial of CABIntegr can be downloaded from here:
http://skkvsoftware.com/index.html?cabintegr/m_feat.html

CABIntegr can be registered for $14.99.
CABIntegr works on Windows Mobile devices that utilize a touch screen.

SKKV Software Web Site:
http://skkvsoftware.com/

Question of the Day

Question of the Day: What are your favorite Windows Mobile 7 rumors? What are the scariest?

If you follow anything about Windows Mobile, you are aware that Microsoft is working on Windows Mobile 7, the long awaited update to WinMo 6. We’ve been reading miscellaneous rumors about the next generation operating system for quite some time now, but with Microsoft showing (at least some) of their cards next week at Mobile Congress, the rumors have been running the gamut from probable to unfounded.

Here’s my favorite:

Windows Mobile 7 will run currently existing apps that have been targeted at versions 5 and 6 of the operating system. One of the wonderful things about Windows Mobile is the sheer depth of the application catalog, from both professional developers and freeware tweakers. To have to start at ground zero, literally abandoning the developers that helped to shape the platform, would be a colossal mistake. Just ask Palm. Their decision to provide NO backwards compatibility was just plain ignorant (and I’m a FAN of Palm… I want them to succeed).

Here’s the scariest, which I don’t think is true:

No multi-tasking. Ask yourself this: why is Windows called Windows? Think about it…. did you come to the same realization of me? Windows derives it’s namesake from it’s ability to multi-task, to run separate programs at the same time, each encapsulated in their own UI window.  Now, ask yourself another question: why would you call something Windows if it couldn’t multi-task? Can’t think of a good reason, can you?  Nor can I.

JAMM Question of the Day

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we here at JAMM are going to be starting a new on-going series in which a question is going to be posted daily.  The questions will mostly pertain to mobile technology and all different aspects, but may occassionally stray a bit off topic to coincide with relevant and current issues.  We’ll always be sure to share our thoughts, but what we would really love is for you to use the comments feature to let us hear from you.  We’re all part of a community and we want to get to know you better.  We want JAMM to thrive as a haven for the techno-geeks in all of us, where are all united by our common interests.  So without further delay, here’s JAMM’s very first question of the day:

Why did you choose your current device?

My current primary device is the HTC Touch Pro.  It runs on the US Cellular network.  There were several reasons why I went with this device.  First, I love Windows Mobile.  Yes, I really do.  From there, my wife and I had been using AT&T’s network and were just plain unsatisfied with our reception.  After making the case with my wife repeatedly that we would be better off on a different network, where we could actually use our phones reliably, we opted for US Cellular (day and night, guys).  At the time, US Cellular only had two Windows Mobile offerings:  the Touch Pro and the Touch (they know carry the Touch Pro 2).  Of course, never having a VGA screen or large quantities of memory on my phones (I was previously using a HTC Hermes / AT&T 8525), it was lust at first daydream.  I COULDN”T go to the Touch, without wifi, having only a QVGA screen and no physical keyboard.  Just couldn’t… plus it didn’t hurt my sales pitch to my wife that I had recently sold some older gadgets to completely finance the transition.

So there you have it, my journey to the HTC Touch Pro.  Go ahead, hit the comments below to let us know why you chose your current device!

Here’s last week’s smartphones roundup, based on some leading mobility sites all around the world!

1800PocketPC:
This week we look at the Sony Ericsson Aspen which is a front-facing keyboard device running WM6.5.3. It is kind of disappointing to see a QVGA Screen on the device. We also look at some Windows Mobile Games and Apps. In the WM Apps category we have the Resco Explorer 2010 and a fantastic apps from XiMad (these guys make apps with great UI) 3001 Wisdom Quotes and to keep you mobile gamers happy we take a look at Resco Sudoku Touch and a colorful puzzle game called Jumba.

JAMM:
This week on JAMM, Doug took to the stage, both ranting about the shortcomings of the Android Market and alerted users to the upsetting problem that the iPad brings to e-Book customers.

MobileSpoon:
While digging in some work stuff, the Spoon has found that DirectPush is actually a… DirectLongPull??? And since we started with some technologies, how about an Incomplete Guide to Touchscreens Technologies?

PocketNow.com:
We saw Symbian going open source;  an upgrade path for the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X2 to Windows Mobile 6.5.3 that confirms that the hardware can’t handle Windows Mobile 7; and Google finally enabling multi-touch for Android handsets in the USA. And for Android lovers, our newest Android editor explores the benefits and drawbacks of rooting your Android handset.

MobilityDigest:
This week was all about the software for Windows Mobile. We were treated with an updated version of the official FaceBook app, a beautiful new mp3 player that’s unique in form and function, and even
took a crack at running the full BlackBerry Application Suite which runs the Blackberry OS within Windows Mobile.

Site owners, wanna join the Smartphones Council? Contact us.