We recently reviewed PhoneWeaver and we are aware of its benefits as it allows you to create custom profiles that can control all aspects of your phone:  the volume, backlight levels, and different communications states (radio, wifi, bluetooth, data connection, etc.).

Amit Regev, CEO of SBSH SOftware, was recently interviewed here at JAMM and he told us:

In this upcoming year we will continue our expansion, introducing new apps for the most recent and exciting platforms: webOS, Android and Microsoft’s new Silverlight based Windows Phone 7!

Now, looking at the SBSH forum, it seems the folks at SBSH will release an Android version of PhoneWeaver soon, for the happiness of those already counting on this profile manager application.

Via: SBSH

With all the Android news from last week Google I/O Conference, it will be interesting to see how Big Steve will give momentum to Apple’s massively leaked 4th generation iPhone and iPhone OS.

Image courtesy of Boy Genius Report 

It is now official that Steve Jobs will start the next World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), that will be held at Cupertino, June 7-11. Here follows the official press release:

Steve Jobs to Kick Off Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 with Keynote Address on Monday, June 7

Apple® will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address by CEO Steve Jobs on Monday, June 7 at 10:00 a.m. This year’s WWDC sold out in a record eight days to over 5,000 developers.

The five-day event running from June 7 to June 11, is focused on providing advanced content for skilled developers across five key technology tracks: Application Frameworks; Internet & Web; Graphics & Media; Developer Tools; and Core OS. Apple engineers will deliver over 100 solutions-oriented technical sessions and labs. WWDC 2010 gives an incredibly diverse community the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iPhone®, iPad™ and Mac® developers from around the world.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution with the Apple II, then reinvented the personal computer with the Macintosh. Apple continues to lead the industry with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system, and iLife, iWork and professional applications. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store, has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

All Steve Job’s keynotes are regarded as exciting events, even by Apple haters, because of the show Apple’s CEO is performing every time.

This time it will be a little different, though, with the recent iPhone gate and all those leaks that, as never before, don’t leave much space to imagination.

Nonetheless, I will try to follow it, because I am sure he will uncover a surprise “One more thing” to let us all drool and amaze. What do you think?

Via: Apple via Boy Genius Report

In regards to lack of productivity, I’ve gotten hooked on this game for my iPod Touch.  It features great graphics and game play.  Just use your finger to aim and shoot (swipe finger towards the enemy) to achieve victory against your enemies.  You’ll be using specialized arrows such as fire, ice, and lightning to add the zing you need to stay alive.  For a limited time (valid at the time of writing this), you can get the full version for free.  There also is a lite edition available as well.

Happy gaming everyone!

I do enjoy games.  To date, I think I’ve wasted utilized at least a quarter of a day for the past 5 days playing games on my iPod Touch.  One day last week, Google turned its logo into the classic arcade game Pac-Man sure got a number of the world population playing and dropping in productivity (or so they say).  According to The Rescue Time Blog, a calculation of 4,819,352 hours were used playing this game.  With analytics data showing that people spent 36 seconds longer on Google’s site than normal, they sure captured the kid in us.  With those kinds of stats, it breaks down to (according to Wolfram Alpha via The RescueTimeblog):

• Google Pac-Man consumed 4,819,352 hours of time (beyond the 33.6m daily man hours of attention that Google Search gets in a given day)
• $120,483,800 is the dollar tally, If the average Google user has a COST of $25/hr (note that cost is 1.3 – 2.0 X pay rate).
• For that same cost, you could hire all 19,835 google employees, from Larry and Sergey down to their janitors, and get 6 weeks of their time. Imagine what you could build with that army of man power.
• $298,803,988 is the dollar tally if all of the Pac-Man players had an approximate cost of the average Google employee.

I marvel and what kind of statistics can be deduced these days with modern technology.  Of course the assumption made here is that people are supposed to be productive.  Me, I’m a gamer.  The pleasure of playing, in my opinion, is certainly worth it.

PocketJig for Windows Mobile: Completed Puzzle

Introduction

LenaGames.com has released PocketJig, a game designed to run on Windows Mobile touch screen devices.  PocketJig is intended to provide you with a jigsaw puzzle in your pocket, in terms of functionality.  Lena Pankratova of LenaGames.com was kind enough to provide me with a review copy, so I’ve been spending some time with the program on my HTC Touch Pro.  In the review below, I will detail information about the game including installation and general usage, as well as the pros and cons experienced while trying it out.  Grab yourself a glass of iced tea and join me, as we put PocketJig through the paces.

Installation

PocketJig is simple to install to your Windows Mobile device.  You can transfer the CAB file to the device’s memory and run it, initiating the installation.  Alternately, you install the CAB via ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center.  Once installed, you can find PocketJig at Start Menu -> Programs -> Games.  To run the program, tap the entry.

General Usage

Upon launching PocketJig you will find that you are looking at a very comprehensive game, that does, dare I say it, a better job of some of the more well known jigsaw puzzle alternatives.

You will first need to choose the image that you want to use as the basis for the puzzle from the free sample pack if using the demo version only.  Once registered, you will have access to over 200 pre-compiled images.  You’ll also have access to the software used to prepare your own images for PocketJig.  While choosing from the image, you can also specify the shape of the pieces and the amount that will be included, allowing you to create a relatively simple or complex game for yourself.

PocketJig for Windows Mobile: Image Selection

Once looking at the game board, play is relatively straight forward.  You can move pieces with your stylus, placing them where you believe they belong.  When you move an adjoining piece close enough, they “snap” together.

PocketJig for Windows Mobile: Puzzle In Progress

There are plenty of options as you work through the puzzle to help tailor the experience to your liking.  You can rotate the game board, quickly show all of the available pieces and work with pieces on a second screen, so that they are out of the way temporarily.

You can see my completed puzzle below.

PocketJig for Windows Mobile: Completed Puzzle

Pros

PocketJig does a wonderful job of providing mobile jigsaw puzzle functionality on a Windows Mobile device.  It approaches and surpasses many of the more well known puzzlers.  Some of the features I really liked were:

• The ability to customize the shape and size of the puzzle pieces.
• The number of options available for tailoring the gaming experience.
• The overall completeness of the application.  You can tell the developer was very attentive to graphics, game play and functionality.

Cons

When trying out a program, there are always at least one or two things that could be addressed better by the development team.  In the case of PocketJig, these items include:

• It would have been nice if the developer included a way to use photos already stored on the device as the source of a puzzle image.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I completely recommend PocketJig.  Lena has done a great job of packing an environment for working jigsaw puzzles in a compacted environment.  Check out the full specs below.

Details

• Program Name:  PocketJig
• Developer:  Lena Pankratova
• Web Site:  http://www.lenagames.com/pocketjig.htm
• Version Reviewed:  2.11
• Current Version:  2.11
• License Type:  Shareware
• Price:  $14.95
• Operating System:  Windows Mobile 5, 6
• Screen Resolutions:  QVGA, VGA
• Dependencies:  Touch Screen
• Special Notes:  None