Zune HD

Honestly, can you ever have enough storage?  I know I don’t.  Somehow my other half and I have managed to have 4 drawers devoted just to socks.  Seriously, how is it possible to have that many socks?!  Anyway, electronic storage has the same issues.  I never know what I’m going to be in the mood to listen to or watch, so I want it all at my fingertips.  Run into a friend you haven’t seen in awhile, you want to show them the latest pictures of your new puppy.  MS has heard the cry, and will be releasing a 64G Zune HD.  There was a link on the main Zune page for the ZuneHD 64, but is has mysteriously disappeared.  So,  no official news on when we will see it, but expect the same features as the other HDs.

If you can’t have all of your storage right now, at least some more features are in order.  Zune is due to bring out software update 4.5.  No exact date for release, but they are saying in the next few weeks.  I bet by the end of May you’ll have its goodness on your device.  So, what do you get in 4.5?  Support for Xvid, as well as Smart DJ.  Smart DJ will allow you to stream music directly from the Zune Marketplace, provided you are connected via WiFi.  This gives the Zune a rival to the iPod’s Genius.

UPDATE:  MS announced today that the 64G Zune HD will be available on April 12 for $349.99.  The prices for the 16G was lowered to $199.99, and the 32G for $269.99.

Via engadget

Apple quietly released their third update to Snow Leopard yesterday, OSX 10.6.3. The update plugged over 88 OS security holes and sported some important OS component updates to QuickTime X and resolved some OpenGL-based application compatibility issues.  The update is available via Software Update now, and weighs in at a hefty 432MB.  If you chase after the Combo Update, you’re going to pull down 784MB. 

Apple has been testing this release since January of this year, and had been rapidly seeding testers with updates over the last couple of weeks. I installed the update yesterday and it went in without any issues.

Strangely missing from the release notes is any note about the recent Boot Camp 3.1 update that was recently released.  I was hoping that Apple would include a utility that would build the complete, native Boot Camp 3.1 driver DVD without having to trick Windows 7 into installing the drivers when Win7 is installed on “unsupported machines.”  Maybe next time…

Information about the Snow Leopard 10.6.3 Update can be found here.  You can download the update, about 432MB from here.  The Combo Update can be found here. The bulk of the contents of the update can be seen below.

What’s included?

For information about the security content of this update, please visit this article.

General operating system fixes and improvements provided for:

• performance of Logic Pro 9 and Main Stage 2 when running in 64-bit mode.
• printing reliability.
• sleep and wake reliability when using Bonjour wake on demand.
• a color issue in iMovie with HD content.
• glowing, stuck, or dark pixels when viewing video from the iMac (Late 2009) built-in iSight camera.
• an issue in which the Finder reports a -36 error when copying directories to a drive formatted as FAT32.
• reliability of photo screen savers.
• compatibility issues with OpenGL-based applications.
• an issue in which shadows in PDF of Aperture book are black instead of gray.
• an issue in which the microphone level in iChat may not increase the volume after reducing it to prevent a feedback event.
• the reliability of certain third-party USB devices.
• the Accounts preference pane can now limit login to members of groups hosted by a non-Apple directory service, such as Active Directory.
• DNS server ordering as specified in Network Preferences and DNS reliability. For details about how Mac OS X v10.6 handles unresponsive DNS servers, see this article.
• the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X.
• Data Collection: Mac OS X v10.6.3 can collect diagnostic and usage information from your Mac and send it to Apple for analysis automatically. The information is only collected with your explicit consent, and is submitted anonymously to Apple. For more details, see this article.

AirPort and wireless networking fixes for:

• general reliability for wireless connections.
• improvements to 802.1X reliability, including closed network connections , and WPA2.
• sleep/wake reliability for current iMac models when connected to 2.4GHz wireless networks.

Date and Time fixes provided for:

• Daylight Saving Time rules to reflect recent changes in areas including Argentina, Fiji, Pakistan, and Antarctica.

Directory Services fixes provided for:

• an issue that could cause the system to become unstable or unresponsive when bound to an LDAP server using SSL.
• an issue in which the 802.1X Loginwindow Profile is in place, but the wireless network is not available, directory authentication over Ethernet will now succeed.

File Services fixes provided for:

• an issue that could prevent saving files from Microsoft Office 2008 to an SMB server volume.
• issues copying, renaming or deleting files on an SMB server volume.
• clear-text authentication enabling to an SMB file server.

iCal fixes provided for:

• changing the invitation list for a single instance of a recurring event will no longer "un-book” the location of the meeting.
• an issue in which new invitations on a Microsoft Exchange server might not appear in the Notification pane.
• properly showing recurring Microsoft Exchange events which have a set end date. For details, see this article.
  

Mail fixes and improvements provided for:

• an issue that causes background message colors to display incorrectly in Mail.
• signing and encrypting messages, such as when using an Entrust PKI (Public Key Infrastructure).
• synchronization of the “Sent” mailbox on a Microsoft Exchange server.
• an issue that could cause Mail to delete mailboxes on a Microsoft Exchange server that is hosted behind an Internet load balancer.

Mobile Accounts fixes and improvements provided for:

• home directory synchronization when the home directory is stored on an SMB file server.
• properly warning mobile users in an Active Directory domain about upcoming password expiration.
• creating a Mobile Account that uses smart card authentication, without using a command-line tool.
• reliability in background synchronization.

MobileMe fixes and improvements provided for:

• an issue in which movies could not be viewed in Safari when visiting www.me.com/gallery.
• reliability of iDisk Sync.
• reliability of syncing calendars.

Parental Control fixes and improvements provided for:

• restoring Safari bookmarks functionality to parental controls users.
• better handling of Safari bookmark management when using Parental Controls.
• more reliable application launch restrictions when using Parental Control.

Rosetta fixes provided for:

• an issue that prevented files with the # or & characters in their names from opening in Rosetta applications.

System Imaging fixes and improvements provided for:

• the asr command, which now accepts the "–allow fragmented catalog” option, for restoring images that have a fragmented catalog file. For details, type man asr in Terminal.
• the installer command, which can now be used to upgrade a Mac OS X v10.5 system with a QuickTime 7 Pro key installed to Mac OS X v10.6.

Time Machine fixes and improvements provided for:

• reliability from Time Machine-to-Time Capsule backups, including multiple computers.
• an issue with Time Machine in which system backups could be restored onto unsupported Mac configurations.
• an issue in which a Time Machine backup might not work using an AirPort connection.

Xsan fixes and improvements provided for:

• the reliability of Fibre channel connections to an Xserve RAID.
• an issue that could cause the size of certain Fibre channel LUNs to be mis-reported.

Today’s JAMM Store Deal of the Day is Agenda One (see here) for Windows Mobile.  For today only, you can register Agenda One for half the normal price, so be sure to check it out!

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• Keep up with your busy life no matter where you are.
• Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Search… You get it all.
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• Effortlessly work with your calendar, stay in touch with your contacts, manage tasks, and find anything in an instant.
• Complete calendar, tasks and contacts management with the easiest to use search feature.
• Do most everything only using your navigation pad.
• Revolutionary new interface makes using Agenda One effortless.
• From the minute you launch Agenda One, you’ll see what we mean.
• See why thousands of Pocket PC and Smartphone owners have switched to Agenda One! There is simply nothing that even comes close to making it so easy to manage your life when you’re on the go.
• Customize with your own themes!
• Download updates directly from your device.
• Contact Linking and Templates help you do more with less effort.
• Smart contact search. Simply start typing to instantly find your contacts by name, number, email, city, state, zip code and more.
• Professional features like easy category management (even assign icons) and time-based filtering.
• Outstanding visuals. No matter what device you’re using, Agenda One brings you an outstanding view of your information.
• Agenda One is the first application to truly take full advantage of all Windows Mobile devices.
• See what makes Agenda One the best solution for your Windows Mobile device today.
• From Developer One Software. Since 1997, we’ve been creating award-winning mobile solutions that help you do more with your Windows Mobile device. With over one million licenses sold, see what sets us apart!
• Looking for the best way to securely organize all of your other information? Try CodeWallet Pro today. Stay organized and find your information when you need it. Passwords, PIN codes, banking information and more. Keep your information to yourself!

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Display Dimensions
240×240, 240×320, 240×400, 320×240, 320×320, 400×240, 480×480, 480×640, 480×800, 640×480, 800×480
Operating System
WM5, WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5

Our friends over at MobiHand announced some exciting news today for our BlackBerry users. They are launching a new native SuperStore to replace the old AppStore on BlackBerry devices. The SuperStore will include apps, themes, games, and even accessories in one app. I don’t know about you, but since I bought my BlackBerry, I have used the JAMM/MobiHand AppStore way more than the official BlackBerry App World, so this will be a very welcome upgrade. Of course, when more BlackBerry accessories start showing up on my doorstep, I don’t think my wife will be as happy about this as I am.

From MobiHand:

The new Superstore for BlackBerry by MobiHand is four stores in one with dedicated showcases for BlackBerry apps, games, themes, and accessories. The applications and accessories that appear in the store are filtered to ensure compatibility with your specific phone. And all the software products featured in the Superstore are downloaded easily over-the-air (OTA).

And to top it off, when you use the email option at the bottom of this page, you will be entered to win some great prizes! What are you waiting for? Head on over to the new JAMM BlackBerry SuperStore and get some new stuff for your BlackBerry while you help support JAMM.

Ever since the good old Palm OS days, I have been a user of remote desktop software. For a while, I have used many different options that used VNC, which is a multi-platform remote solution. The problem with VNC was that, while I was able to set it up, my parents were not always computer savvy enough to figure out installing the VNC server software and setting up their firewall software and router to enable the port forwarding that was usually necessary in order to remote in from outside their home network. If they were using Windows, Remote Desktop was always an option, but it still needs port forwarding setup and I never found it as efficient as VNC. Since I am the system admin and tech support for my family, I really needed a simple solution to get control of their computer even when I was living 2 states away. Enter LogMeIn Free…

A Little History:

When I came across LogMeIn for the first time, I was impressed by how easy it was to setup on the desktop. Once you create an account with LogMeIn, you just need to download and install their software on the computer you want to control. There is no port forwarding or messing with a router to make it work. I have talked my mom through installing LogMeIn on a PC and a Mac with very minimal instructions.

Now, the weak spot for the free LogMeIn service was always the lack of a really solid mobile solution for controlling computers on the go unless you were carrying a laptop or netbook with you. Sure, they did enable it on Meamo 4, which ran on Nokia’s Internet Tablets like the N800, but they were not exactly mainstream devices. There is also an option that allowed Windows Mobile users to install a plugin to Pocket Internet Explorer and connect using the LogMeIn website, but I never had any good experiences using LogMeIn this way.

Along comes Apple and iPhone OS 2.0, which finally enabled native apps to be installed on any iPhone and iPod Touch. When LogMeIn announced that they were releasing an iPhone app, I was excited to check it out. I loved the idea of having mobile access to my computer and my parents computers. I had high hopes for LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone…especially when I saw the $30 price tag on the app. Now, this was quite a break from the $0.99 apps that were taking the App Store by storm and a lot of people were upset with this price. Of course, since I had been a Windows Mobile user, paying $30+ for mobile software was nothing new to me. The main difference is that with the App Store bringing prices down, I only wanted to pay for really quality software for anything over $3-5.

I eventually made the decision to buy LogMeIn Ignition for my iPhone 3G. The experience at the time was less than stellar. The lack of decent memory in the iPhone 3G along with the power needed for LogMeIn led to many times where just as I was getting started, the app would just close out. Thankfully, the devs over at LogMeIn worked hard to keep optimizing their app to overcome the memory issues. Anytime I used LogMeIn after a restart of my iPhone or using one of the now-banned memory freeing apps, it was a MUCH better experience.

LogMeIn & iPhone, Take Two:

After a vacation from the iPhone for a while, I decided to get an iPhone 3GS so that I could enjoy some great apps that weren’t available on the other platforms I was using. When LogMeIn offered us a review copy of their latest version of LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone, I jumped at the chance to use it with all of the power that the 3GS and iPhone 3.0 offered.

When you login to LogMeIn Ignition on the iPhone, it shows you a list of the computers you have setup in your account by group. It also shows the online status of each machine. If your computer is off or if LogMeIn is not connected, it will be greyed out in the list. You can see more details by clicking on the blue arrow buttons next to the computer name.

The settings screen allows you to change most of the same settings as the desktop web clients like locking the keyboard and blanking the screen. There are also multiple mouse modes that either move the screen and keep the mouse pointer centered or allow you to move the mouse around. I found that it was a much better experience setting it to the “Mouse moves” option. I was impressed at how much you could tweak the settings. It really helps optimize for whatever connection you are using.

The Tale of Two Platforms…

When it comes to desktop options, you can use LogMeIn with either Windows or Mac OS X. Unfortunately it is not available for Linux like VNC is, but it is a lot easier to setup. The good thing is that the experience was great on both operating systems. Check out the screenshots below to get an idea of using LogMeIn Ignition.

Screenshot Tour:

Fullscreen view of the desktop.

LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone recognizes what operating system the remote computer is running and offers the correct keyboard and other command options automatically. This is one of the real benefits of using a virtual keyboard instead of a hardware keyboard. Context can really make a big difference on user experience.

My Impressions:

The experience of using LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone on my 3GS was great. It was reliable over both Wifi and AT&T’s 3G network. This is the kind of app that can make a difference in what you take with you in you gear bag when you go out. For me, I am more comfortable leaving my laptop at home since I know if I need it for anything, LogMeIn will allow me to use it.

This is one of the apps that has me very interested in the iPad as well. The worst part of using LogMeIn is the iPhone’s small screen. Of course, that is no fault of the app because it works great allowing you to pan and zoom quickly. But it does have me thinking that using LogMeIn on a 9.7″ screen could mean I could keep my laptop at home almost all the time. The only other negative other than the screen size is that LogMeIn does not appear to support gestures using more than 2 fingers on a Mac. So, while it will scroll and zoom like a champ, it does not support some of the task switching gestures that I have grown accustomed to while using my MacBook. Hopefully this will be added for the iPad version since it would make more sense to use three and four-finger gestures on the bigger screen.

If you work for a company that uses LogMeIn, it is a no-brainer…buy this app. If you want to use it for personal tasks, the cost of the app is well worth the convenience of being able to leave your computer at home, but still having access when you need it. And as a bonus, LogMeIn works great as a keyboard and mouse to a home theater PC setup as well.

To purchase LogMeIn Ignition, just head on over to the App Store and check it out.

Have any of you used LogMeIn on your iPhone or Windows Mobile phones? Are there features that you would love to see added in the iPhone or iPad versions? Let us know in the comments.