Category: General

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Discontinuation of Microsoft’s MyPhone Service

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MyPhoneMicrosoft is discontinuing the Microsoft My Phone service (http://www.microsoft.com/myphone) for Windows Mobile 6.x.

On August 7, 2011, the Microsoft My Phone service will stop synchronizing data between My Phone-configured Windows Mobile 6.x phones and the My Phone service: User data will stop being backed up to the My Phone service. On this date, Microsoft will begin automatic migration of certain data types from the My Phone service to Windows Live SkyDrive.

On October 6, 2011, the My Phone website will no longer be available. On this date, users will no longer be able to access the data stored from their Windows Mobile 6.x phones to the My Phone service.

Read the full support summary here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2557520

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Can’t get Crysis 2 Limited Edition content to work?

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crysis2

 

 

I have been trying to play Crysis 2 “Limited Edition” for the last few days, but have been experiencing a really annoying problem.   While Crysis 2 itself is actually a really great game, EA is apparently having problems with the DLC (Downloadable Content) aspect of the game.   I had successfully downloaded the content from the MarketPlace to the XBox (via the redeem code function), but it won’t appear within the game; at least on the XBox 360 platform.

I couldn’t find anything about this particular problem on the interwebs over the course of four or five days of research.  All related problems that I found were for the PC platform, not the XBox.

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Setting-up Outlook Hotmail Connector

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Download the Connector
You’ll want to download the Outlook Hotmail Connector first, then install it to your computer.   There are two flavors of the product available, which you will want to match to your PC’s Outlook version:

32bit
64bit

Do you have a Windows LiveID Account?
If you do not yet have a Windows Live ID account, please go here to set one up.


Installing the Connector
After you’ve installed the Outlook Connector package on your computer, start Outlook and follow these steps: 

  1. You will be greeted with a “Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector” dialog box inquiring if you want to add a Hotmail Account.  Select Yes.
  2. Input your Windows Live email address and password in the spaces provided, this will complete the installation process in Outlook.
  3. Exit and restart Outlook in order for Outlook to properly start the required services.
  4. You will now see a new Windows Live folder in your Mail Folders panel.
  5. Outlook will begin to sync the new Windows Live/Hotmail account on the computer with your Live/Hotmail account out in the cloud, so please give it some time to complete this process.
  6. Once this is done, you can then copy your contacts and calendar data from your original Outlook account over to the Windows Live/Hotmail folders using the steps below.


Copy Contact & Calendar items
Now that the base account is now setup in Outlook, you can copy your Contacts and Calendar items from your main Outlook account over to the Windows Live Account folder in Outlook:

  1. Access the Contacts Folder in Outlook’s Personal Folders
    using the “Phone List” view.
  2. Select Edit > Select All (Ctrl+A)
  3. Select Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C)
  4. Select the Windows Live Contacts folder
  5. Select Edit > Paste (Ctrl+V)
  6. Access the Calendar Folder in Outlook’s Personal Folders using the “All Appointments” view
  7. Select Edit > Select All (Ctrl+A)
  8. Select Edit > Copy (Ctrl+C)
  9. Select the Windows Live Calendar folder
  10. Select Edit > Paste (Ctrl+V)


Reconfigure Outlook
You are now setup on your Live Account, with all of your contacts and calendar items transferred over.   You now never have to interface with the new Windows Live account in Outlook.  

However, if you plan on continuing to utilize Outlook for your regular accounts, but want all future appoinments and contacts that you create (or accept) to show up on your Live Account (and in turn on your WP7 device), then you’ll need to reconfigure Outlook slightly:

  1. Access Outlook on your PC, then select Tools > Account Settings.
  2. Select the Datafiles tab, then highlight your Windows Live account, then chose the “Set as Default” option up above the account names.  You should then see the black circle with the “x” in it next to your Windows Live Account.
  3. If you want a particular account to remain as your primary e-mail account that future e-mails are created and sent from, then please change back over to the E-mail tab, then make sure that account is set to default.   If not, repeat step 2 above for the e-mail tab.


Mac Connector BETA for WP7
Since we’re on the subject of connectors, I feel that I should mention that there is also a (beta) Mac Connector for WP7, which will allow you to Sync music, photos, videos and podcasts from your existing iTunes and iPhoto libraries to your Windows Phone 7 device, which you can download here.

I hope this helps clarify the process and shows you just how quickly and easily you can prepare your accounts for using Windows Phone 7!

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Depending on the cloud? Are you crazy?

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Converting to the Cloud
Do you now own a Windows Phone 7 device, and are confused about how to proceed?   Does the concept of the cloud confuse you? 

I have to admit, it can be a bit daunting to convert over to using the cloud for storage.  There is some physical work to be done on your part in preparation to beginning to use a Windows Phone 7 device.  But in my opinion, the biggest aspect of the conversion is really actually a psychological one. 

So I’ll talk about the physical part (Installing Outlook Hotmail Connector) in another article in the near future.  For now, let’s talk about the cloud and why it represents such a scary proposition for most folks.

The scary Cloud
I mean, depending on the cloud sounds like a really bad idea, right?  Keeping all of your personal and private information in the cloud?  Aren’t we just asking for problems?

Well, there are actually a lot of good reasons to make this kind of change.  What’s more,  you may already be utilizing the cloud on a daily basis without really considering it as “using the cloud”. 

Defining the Cloud
The cloud, as a term, is something of a misnomer.  First and foremost, your data is not held in an infrequently accessed vault like your parents old safe deposit box.      The use of the term “the cloud” actually refers to any network outside of *your* network, where your data is stored.   So by connecting your Outlook on your home computer to to an Exchange Server via your DSL connection?  That’s a cloud connection.   Or connecting Outlook to your ISP to download your e-mail?  That’s a cloud connection too.  

The obvious conclusion is that you are probably already using a cloud connection on a daily basis, but just never thought about it as a transaction through the cloud.  Take a minute and let that sink in…

So why use the cloud?
Ok, now the reason as to why this “synchronizing with the cloud” process is utilized: most of the average consumer’s life (at least the primary demographic target audience of WP7 device users) is spent online on Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc.   So it makes sense to utilize a phone that has integrated Facebook support built right into the OS. 

As such, the contacts on a WP7 device are actually an aggregation of your Facebook contacts, merged or “linked” with your contacts contained within your Windows Live or Hotmail accounts.   Both sets of information originally reside in the cloud prior to synchronization.  That is, the FB contacts reside on the FB server.   The Windows Live contacts reside on the Windows Live server.   Then after the sync, they are downloaded to your WP7 device and merged when the names (first and last) are the same.  Similarly, your Calendar items on your Google account, Hotmail, or Windows Live accounts will synchronize down to your phone.

Security of the cloud
There are those who state that their data is more safe when it only resides on their computer, and I’m here to say that they are only partially correct.  The overal security of the cloud is entirely dependant on how well you choose to protect your privacy.   If you let everyone see all of your personal info on Facebook, then you really cannot expect your data residing in the cloud to be safe. 

Likewise, if you have your PC setup with little or no protection from the outside world in the form of a Firewall and AntiVirus software, then your PC data residing on (only) your PC isn’t very safe either.

Catastrophic issues
Catastrophic problems occur on both platforms (PC vs the Cloud).   Your PC could become infected with a Virus or Trojan, or it could be hacked or your harddrive destroyed in a fatal drop from the countertop.  I suspect that there is a higher degree of such an occurence compared to breaches in the cloud (an ISP getting hacked and your e-mail accessed, etc), but I’m afraid that I don’t have any statistics to quote to back up my theory.   However, most security breaches of security in the cloud causing the unintended release of personally identifiable information on Facebook are due to user ignorance of FB privacy settings, but I’m sure a great deal of personal data has also been released to third parties due to the constantly changes privacy rules on Facebook.   I’ll leave that particular issue for Facebook to discuss publicly with it’s users.

In Conclusion…
I would like to sum up the entire article thusly: since you already allow your e-mail, Facebook account, Twitter account, Google Calendar, etc to live out in the cloud, then why not aggregate all of them into a single point?

And that one point, ladies and gentlemen is a Windows Phone 7 device!

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Patiently Waiting for NoDo

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Microsoft has until end of business today to fulfill Steve Ballmer’s original commitment to have NoDo distribution in the first two weeks of March.

Recently, Microsoft France published a blog indicating that NoDo will actually ship last two weeks of March.   So it looks like that MS is yet again going to push back on the distribution date.  

Waiting as patiently as possible…

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Fable 3 worse than Fable 2

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Boxshot: Fable III by MicrosoftI just finished Fable III a week ago, and I’ve been wondering whether or not the game was actually worse than the second game (Fable II).   I had originally decided to take my time in mulling this over, and after a whole week of waiting, I am now ready to say that it is very much worse than Fable II.

The story had the unenviable role of being both the best and worst part of the game, it’s own worst enemy so to speak.   Peter Molineux’s desire to provide a gaming experience that Continue reading

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MicroSD Compatibility with Windows Phone 7

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If you use a Samsung Focus WP7 device, then you have a “Consumer Accessible” MicroSD card slot into which you can plug a card of your chosing.

Unfortunately, your favorite brand may not be compatible with WP7 devices, but you wouldn’t know that because Microsoft has decided not to publish a list of Compatible cards at this time.  Since most of the WP7 devices do not have a Consumer Accessible slot, it was not deemed a high priority for apparently good reason.

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Presented with Microsoft MVP Award 3rd Year in a row

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mvplogo160I received notification earlier today that I have been presented with another Microsoft MVP Award for the 2010 year.   This makes my 3rd consecutive award-year!   

This year, I am one of 79 MVPs in the Windows Phone category, and one of just under 5000 MVPs (across all disciplines) worldwide this year, so sufficed to say that I once again find myself in good company.

This also means I’ll be able to attend the 2011 MVP Summit in February, which is always a blast.  

This totally makes my day, and my weekend to boot!   Woo hoo!

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A wonderful discussion about Net Neutrality

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Net Neutrality is a very confusing subject, mostly because it means different things to different people.  

At the heart of the whole debate is whether a company who has the responsibility of providing the internet infrastructure (or the “Internet Backbone”) has the right to sell higher speed access to the backbone to those client companies that might want their website to display faster.

There are two ways to look at the this situation, in more or less black and white terms.   Unfortunately, this is anything but a black and white situation, so I admit that this breakdown of terms will be rather simplistic.  Here is the nutshell version of each:

  • If you are for the continued lack of regulation of the Internet, and opt for more of a laissez-faire angle, then you are considered to be AGAINST Net Neutrality.   You join the ranks of large companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, etc.   Just recently, Google has announced a desire to work with Verizon, so they are now changing sides.
  • If you vote to regulate the Internet, then you are FOR Net Neutrality.  You join the ranks of groups like Free Press, Public Knowledge, Amazon, and Yahoo.  Google used to be on this side, but because they are now in talks with Verizon Wireless about a bundling deal, they have concievably changed sides…

People who are AGAINST Net Neutrality want to be able to sell the Googles of the world a far superior connection to the Internet compared to the small business websites.   The major argument here is that allowing these backbone companies to charge more for faster connections gives these companies the necessary incentives to continue to invest in their own networks and infrastructure.

People who are FOR Net Neutrality want the Amazons of the world to have the same visibility on the Internet that the average Small Business website has.   They say that regulations to prevent (or at least restrict) any possible discrimination are required to keep the big businesses of the world from conspiring to limit options of regular users.

For a really good list of articles on the issue, please visit the New York Times Room for Debate topic of “Who Gets Priority on the Web?”  There are articles from 9 different Contributors available for your perusal, so you’ll get both sides of the story.  Highly recommended read.

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It’s Free App Friday at Handango!

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Free App Friday

 

Today is Free App Friday at Handango.   Today’s free App is Chess Pro II:

Ready to unleash your Chess skills? ZingMagic’s multi-award winning Chess application is renowned for its superb playability for players of all levels, from beginner to expert. Whatever level of Chess you play at, you can be sure that ZingMagic’s Chess Pro II will give you a stimulating and challenging game. Chess Pro II allows you to play against the computer or another human player. Do you have what it takes to be a Chess master? Download Chess Pro II for FREE using 100% off code FAF730.

Features include:

  • Award winning artificial intelligence engine
  • Multiple player and multiple game support options
  • Full undo and redo of moves
  • Find Hints
  • English, French, German, Spanish and Italian support