Talk To Me
This is a language translator, which uses both text and speech facilities. Sadly, it needs Android 1.6 onwards.

HootSuite
HootSuite, an online Twitter client, have had an iPhone app for a while. Now they’ve released an Android version, but it only currently works for Android 1.6 onwards. Thankfully they’re working on a 1.5 version…

Google Apps
There are 3 recently launched Google Android apps – Google Buzz, Google Goggles and Google Earth – that only work with Android 2+. Funny that their own fun, the Nexus One, is the only Android phone currently using this version…

Swype
This is a superb keyboard replacement which gives you the ability to type by moving your finger across the keyboard without lifting them between letter. It provides a far quicker typing speed as a result. Others are available but Swype works particularly well.

Unfortunately, it’s not yet available as a standalone application (they’re having it bundled with new phones) and even then it only worked for higher resolution phones (they’re apparently working on a lower resolution version).

Twidroid Pro
After reviewing lots of Twitter apps, I decided that Twidroid Pro was the one for me. Sadly, I can’t get it on the Marketplace for reasons that are yet unknown to me. I’m told it’s “Google security”, but that’s all I know. If anybody knows how I can get hold of it (legitimately), then please let me know!

Now I wish someone could create a driver for my iGo bluetooth keyboard…

Update 3/3/10 – Seriously Google? Now they’ve launched Gesture Search. For Android 2+ onwards.

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Here’s what I’ve found.

Case

Black Gel Case

Having got a cheap, rubber “skin” case for my daughters Tocco Lite, I thought I’d get something similar. I bought a colour-coded (well, transparent but with a blackish hue)  “gel” case from eBay for the grand total of £2.90 (including postage). And it’s.. ok. It’s not like the more rubbery case of my daughters (with that it covers the buttons and you press them through the case, hence why it needs to be quite flexible) but it a harder material. It protects well but collects dust and crumbs quite easily.

Click the thumbnail to the right to see it a little clearer.

Screen Protectors

Again, I bought some screen protectors for my daughters phone. I got 10 and they were cheap from eBay. What I found was that your finger doesn’t glide over them as well as they did over the screen. Over time it gets better (probably as the grease from your finger penetrates the plastic).

However, it did mean that I made the decision to get some better quality ones for my Hero. HTC make “official” screen protectors, named the “SP P260″. Play.com sell them for £4.99 for 2. The price is high but it fitted well and felt good under the finger in use (in fact it’s difficult to tell that I’ve got one fitted). A definite recommendation.

Memory Card

The HTC Hero takes SD/SDHC Micro cards. It actually comes with a Sandisk 2GB card which, I believe, is class 2 (the slowest type of card). Now, what speed card you need seems to be a bit of an unknown quantity – some people on forums it makes a speed difference, others say different. Certainly, it seems likely that when Android can run applications from the SD card, then this will make a difference.

Looking at prices, 8GB is the best current price-point – you pay quite a premium to buy 16GB.

Initially I purchased a card from 7dayshop, who have been reliable in the past. Unfortunately, after 1.5 weeks they still hadn’t despatched my order. I contacted them and they said..

your order has been processed and will be dispatched shortly. Unfortunatly we are very busy at this time. Apologies for any inconvenience

Busy? What’s higher on their “to do list” than processing customer orders? Poor.

After waiting another half a week I contacted them and asked them to cancel my order. They did but I’m still awaiting my refund.

I did some further searching and came across ZoomBits (formerly MemoryBits). From them I purchased a Transcend 8GB Micro SDHC Class 6 card for £16.05. It was despatched the next day.

Car Charger

Although the USB connector on the HTC Hero looks to be specific to the device it is, in fact, a standard micro USB connection. Therefore any USB cable can be used for charging, and a search on eBay will show many USB chargers that plug into a car cigarette lighter – all you need to do is provide the requisite cable.

And, to be honest, you may already have one – my TomTom uses the same USB connector so I can charger my Hero with the car charger for that.

Docking Cradle

A docking cradle can be an ideal way to neatly charge and syncronise your phone. There appears to be 2 types available – an “official” HTC version (which is a flat black panel on which the phone sits vertically – very stylish but expensive) and a small, cheap one (eBay is a good place to look).

The latter appears to be in 2 different (but subtle designs) – one seems to rely on the USB connector to keep the phone vertical, whereas another has clear plastic “mounts” to hold it into place – the latter appears to me to be the best but is harder to get hold of.

I decided against any. The battery in the Hero is, let’s be honest, rubbish and so it needs a charge each night – I just use the mains charger to do this. During the day, at work, it sits next to me at my desk. It doesn’t need charging and, for security reasons, I can’t connect it to my PC to synchronise (not that I use the software).

Besides, would they work with the case fitted?

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I was, however, even more surprised to come in this morning and find that the same post had been referenced on the BBC website!¹ I suspect they’ve not seen my update though, where I had constant problems with bandwidth problems and the resultant pausing of playback.

Oh well, 15 minutes of minor fame…

1. in case you’re wondering how I knew, I use Google Alerts to inform me of any reference to my site

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The iPlayer has been usable in the past using the Opera-powered browser channel, but has been of limited quality and, well, not very easy to use. Now we have a very specific channel just for iPlayer. And it’s been a long time coming – the BBC have been talking about it for a year and a half.

However, I can only assume they’ve spent this time time on development and testing because the end result is superb.

The download is quick and quite compact (I wonder if it’s using components of the browser – e.g. Flash – I didn’t have time to check if this was the case). It’s slick in use (although there is a delay each time you start it) and very polished. Most importantly, programmes are easy to find and, best of all, show in full screen without any obvious problems. Considering the Wii only has 512MB of memory and no hard drive, I thought that buffering would suffer and there would be delays during playback. During the (admittedly limited) time I had to test it this morning, I didn’t see any such problems.

I headed towards last Saturdays Doctor Who episode – it looks good. A little grainy, but no obvious over-compression during fast moving sequences (such as the opening titles). Hey, it’s not HD quality, but then the Wii isn’t an HD console!

As I watch more on it, I’ll report back if I do come across any problems with stuttering or compression artefacts.

Overall, I’m damn impressed. I can see the Wii being used even more now – my wife and I missed a BBC programme at the weekend, and will be watching it on the Wii iPlayer tonight. Now we just need the other channels to do something similar…

Update: My wife used the Wii iPlayer during the day to watch a half hour show – 20 minutes in it stated “insufficient bandwidth” and wouldn’t proceed. This even we watched another half hour show and it froze 6 times during playback. There were also some sound sync issues as well. So, not so good. My broadband isn’t too bad either – usually about 2-3 meg and the wireless router is about 2 metres away from the Wii.

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Since my last 2 lists of Open Source software, I’ve been noting any further new ones that I discover. Finding “winsupermaximise” finished my 10, so here is, once more, 10 Open Source programs that you’ve probably not heard of…

calibre
Got an eBook? calibre includes library management, format conversion, news feeds to eBook conversion, as well as an eBook reader sync feature and an integrated eBook viewer.

Process Hacker
Process Hacker is a feature-packed tool for manipulating processes and services on your computer. Think of it as being like the Task Manager that appears when you press CTRL/ALT/DEL but a lot more detailed.

JavaRa
JavaRa is a simple tool that does a simple job: it removes old and redundant versions of Java.

TweetMyPC
Make use of Twitter in other ways – send commands to your PC, allowing you to shutdown, log off, transfer files, etc.

Xmind
Xmind is brainstorming and mind mapping software. You can even embed results in your blog.

MonitorES
A fabulous idea – when your lock your desktop, MonitorES will automatically put your monitor into standby and, optionally, pause any media players, mute sound and change your Instant Messaging status’.

Sweet Home 3D
This is a free interior design application that helps you place your furniture on a house 2D plan, with a 3D preview

iColorFolder
Bored of your folders? With a quick right click, iColorFolder will allow you to change their colour – useful for grouping together. You can also change your default folder icons with a selection of “skins”.

Data Crow
Weird name, but useful application. Data Crow is media cataloguing software – audio, software, book, film and photo collections.

winsupermaximise
This is another “simple but handy” utility. It adds a system tray icon which, once clicked (or you can press a hotkey combination), will “super maximise” the current window – that is, it will resize so the title bar is actually above the screen boundaries, thus saving those extra pixels that you don’t want to waste. A great utility for Netbook owners, in particular.

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My current phone contract expires soon and I’m seriously interested in getting an Android handset. But which to have. I was excited by the Samsung Galaxy but reviews have generally not been as glowing as I’d hope for – issues such as a hidden¹ marketplace icon and abysmal PC connection software have rather tainted it. On top of this, although it’s on O2 (my current provided), it’s only available from O2 themselves and not Carphone Warehouse (which is where my contract is with). Oh, and it’s expensive.

The viable alternative is the HTC Hero, with excellent reviews, but a poorer quality camera (yes, the camera is one of the selling points for me) and, gulp, only available in pink or brown from the Carphone Warehouse.

However, the Hero has just won the T3 award for best mobile phone and best gadget of 2009. I’m not sure I can argue with that.

Having said that, I’ve just noticed that 3 are bundling Spotify Premium with the HTC Hero…. Hmm. Between now and my contract renewal, it may get quite exciting!

If anybody has any thoughts, have tried either phones, then please let me know.

1. although I believe it is there!

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And I particularly love the music.

Now, most people generally agree that Wrath of Khan is the best Trek film. The soundtrack, by James Horner, has been available for some time, but as a stunted 9 track version. However, a recent perusal of Empire showed a new version available, now with 23 tracks. Basically, the long-awaited “complete” score. Brilliant. I had to have it.

The CD is produced by Screen Archives, who don’t have a presence in the UK. Now, you can buy this CD from their website and arrange for international postage, which would cost approx. £17, or they are available via Amazon’s Marketplace, which costs a little over £13. In both cases it ships from the US. Naturally, I chose the latter and received it at the weekend.

I’ve not a chance to have a good listen yet but, as you can imagine, it really is excellent with all of the soundtrack previously missing. If you’re a Trek fan, it’s highly recommended.

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I’ve come across 3 which, kind of, work.

EasyDeskXP

This I came across quite by accident – its SourceForge hosted site contains few details. And, I have to say, it’s still early days for this application.

It’s not easy to use, I couldn’t find any documentation and it has few configurations options. It also looks hideously ugly – particularly the carbon fibre “look” surround. Horrible.

Easy Mode XP

Next up, is a particular project aimed specifically at EEE PC users. The software is, therefore, branded accordingly but it’s not too bad. However, there are a few niggling issues here and there, including copious spelling mistakes.

The site is in German, but the link I’ve provided is via Google Translate.

FSL Launcher

Now, unlike the previous two applications, this hasn’t been designed for Netbooks, but any PC in general. It’s okay I guess – it’s not the prettiest thing, but not as ugly as EasyDeskXP. It also doesn’t take over the entire desktop, as these easy menus generally do (and whether you find that good or bad, is up to you). Personally, I’d prefer something more like the Linux versions – taking over the entire desktop experience, but allowing you to drop back to the Windows desktop when you want.

Having said all that, it’s the best one I’ve come across so far. Not that this is a huge collection – I was thinking  there’d be more choice.

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My original list was good. Kind of. One I’ve since found a better alternative to and the choice of Arora browser was a mistake. It may be replacing Konqueror, but after trying it myself I found it bland and a little lacking. Never-the-less, I’ve dug around and found 10 more morsels for your delight – again, not in any order.

PeaZip
PeaZip is an excellent compression program, like WinZip and 7-Zip. It also has file encrytion facilities and a portable version is available. Of course, 7-Zip is also Open Source, but PeaZip does, at least, offer an alternative.

Scribus
Scribus is a desktop publishing tool, similar to Microsoft Publisher. It has an easy to use interface but Scribus also supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, Spot Colors, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.

Appetizer
This is an application launcher which allows organizing your shortcuts and folders into a convenient dock. It supports plugins and skins, so is completely configurable to your own taste.

Storybook
Storybook is novel writing software for novelists, authors and creative writers. It will help you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines, records characters and locations and will generally assist you in structuring your book.

InfraRecorder
InfraRecorder is free CD/DVD burning software. It offers a wide range of powerful features, all through an easy to use  interface and Windows Explorer integration. A portable version is also available.

BonkEnc
BonkEnc is a free audio converter and CD ripper which integrates various popular formats and encoders. It currently supports MP3, MP4/M4A, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC and Bonk files.

RedNotebook
RedNotebook is a graphical diary and journal helping you keep track of notes and thoughts. It includes a calendar navigation, customizable templates, export functionality and word clouds. You can also format, tag and search your entries.

Gminder
Gminder is a simple, but effective, desktop version of Google Calendar. It waits in your system tray and alerts you when you have an upcoming Google Calendar event. GMinder supports multiple calendars and allows you to configure how you want to be alerted. Since it downloads your events, it works offline and enables you to preview your agenda of events. New events can be added to your Google Calendars using a Quick Add feature.

Fwink
This is an excellent webcam application that takes still images from your camera at timed intervals and puts them on your web site with FTP. You can add effects like text messages, time stamps and an overlay image.

PopTray
PopTray is a full-featured, customizable, e-mail notifier which works with POP3 accounts but also has plugins for Hotmail, Gmail, etc. It includes spam management and will handle multiple accounts.

Play.com sell more than just DVDs, CDs and games – they also sell books, electronics, computers, gadgets, phones and clothing. And all with FREE DELIVERY.

So, I was set a challenge – find some Open Source software that most people won’t have come across.

Ok, that was the plan. Now, the limitations (self set). Nothing too technical, nor niche. No games (otherwise I could just easily provide 10 of them). Oh, and they have to be Windows applications – no Linux, Mac, PHP scripts, etc.

I thought plunging into my Firefox bookmarks would yeald 10 but, sadly, most were either games or too technical for this list. Or I’ve covered them elsewhere in my blog. So, a number I’ve had to scourer SourceForge for (oh, I wish their search facility was better). And some goodies I’ve come up with too – I’m sure there’s scope for further list in the future but, in the meantime, here’s my 10 (in no particular order)…

TV-Browser
A desktop based EPG. It’s German in origin but includes UK channels. I’ve only had a brief play with it so far, but I’ve been impressed.

MP3Gain
This is something I’ve been using for years. Now, adding gain to MP3s (i.e. bringing them all up to a similar volume) is something built into many media players and burning products. However, MP3Gain is a standalone product designed to do this one task. And well.

DVDStyler
DVDStyler is a DVD authoring program for the creation of professional-looking DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of own-designed DVD menus.

Arora
Yes, it’s another browser! Based on WebKit (like Chrome and Safari), it’s fast and available on a number of platforms. However, the fact that is has recently “elbowed out” Konqueror as the browser of choice in Kubuntu, has made news.

MuseScore
An excellent WYSIWYG musical score editor. It’s packed full of features, including importing of data and has a built in sequencer and synth.

SmillaEnlarger
Another simple idea, done well. SmillaEnlarger will magnify images in high quality. Useful for “blowing up” part of a photo. And it will go on a USB key as well.

AxCrypt
A file encryption tool that integrates directly into Windows Explorer. Simply right click on a file and you can quickly and easily encrypt it, with password protection (or without, for simple sending via email).

WindowsPager
If you’ve used Linux any time recently, you’ll probably have come across its virtual desktop environment, where you can easily switch between multiple desktops via an icon in the toolbar. Well, WindowsPager provides a similar facility. It’s not perfect, however, and I spotted a problem with Command Prompt windows, but it’s worth a try – as with most of these products, it’s still being worked on.

Synkron
Synkron is a relatively powerful folder synchronisation tool. How you use it, well, is up to you – for something as simple as synchronising a USB key to your PC, or as a quick backup tool.

Hugin
I said I’ve avoid anything too technical and, well, this isn’t. It’s just powerful. But if you’re a keen photographer, you’ll love this. It’s a photo stitcher (which can allow you, for example, to make panoramic images) which is a bit more manual that many (but, hence, it’s power).

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