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Posted by Werner \"Menneisyys\" Ruotsala on July 3, 2007, 8:08 am
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Many of you may have heard of ScummVM, THE multiplatform (including Windows
Mobile) interpreter for LucasArts adventure games.
In my emulation-related article & tutorial series, I've deliberately waited
for the final version of the brand new and pretty much groundbreaking
ScummVM 0.10.0 (AKA Tic-Tac-Toe, coming from the Roman numeral form 0.X.0)
to appear so that the article doesn't get outdated too soon. (BTW, this is
the reason I haven't come up with a FPSEce article either. I'll only publish
it when the new release, which is slated for the near future, is released.
In the meantime, go give a try to the current version - it REALLY shines at
emulating the Sony PlayStation!)
I think it was worth waiting: the new Tic-Tac-Toe edition is really great
and indeed represents a breakthrough in interpreting many graphics
adventures released in the late eighties and during the entire nineties.
Some of the adventures ScummVM supports include Adventure Soft's Simon the
Sorcerer 1 and 2; Revolution's Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1 and
Broken Sword 2; Flight of the Amazon Queen; Wyrmkeep's Inherit the Earth;
Coktel Vision's Gobliiins; Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia and
games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion)
system such as Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max and more. You
can find a thorough list with details on which games are supported and how
well on the compatibility page. (Note that the latter reflects the state of
the latest nightly build. The official 0.10.0 compatibility chart is HERE.
As of 07/02/2007, it's only Sierra's Gold Rush! that has better
compatibility rate than with the 0.10.0 version).
... more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2060&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
--
--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
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Posted by Werner \"Menneisyys\" Ruotsala on July 3, 2007, 11:08 am
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It was a half year ago (see review HERE) that Microsoft released the first
beta of their VoIP / video phone / SIP program Microsoft Portrait. Microsoft
has, in the meantime, released version 3.1.
I was very eager to check it out as 3.0 didn't support front cameras on any
Pocket PC's, which would be essential for TCP/IP-based video phoning.
To make a long story short, unfortunately, the new version doesn't support
video phoning using front cameras either. It still only lists CAM1: (the
rear camera) on all my Pocket PC models with two built-in cameras: the HTC
Universal and the HTC Trinity (p3600). This is certainly bad news.
Furthermore, as far as the MS Smartphone compliance is concerned, it didn't
work on either the WM6 QVGA HTC Vox (s710) or the WM5 AKU3 HTC Oxygen
(s310). On the former, it just displayed the "Initialize Portrait control
failed" and, then, the "Get camera resolutions failed" info messages; on the
latter, nothing has happened at all. Both phones are SIM / app unlocked and
I've tried making Portrait work on them several times (yes, after resetting
too).
...
more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&title=microsoft_portrait_3_1_released&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
--
--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
"Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen [MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices]"
> Many of you may have heard of ScummVM, THE multiplatform (including
> Windows Mobile) interpreter for LucasArts adventure games.
> In my emulation-related article & tutorial series, I've deliberately
> waited for the final version of the brand new and pretty much
> groundbreaking ScummVM 0.10.0 (AKA Tic-Tac-Toe, coming from the Roman
> numeral form 0.X.0) to appear so that the article doesn't get outdated too
> soon. (BTW, this is the reason I haven't come up with a FPSEce article
> either. I'll only publish it when the new release, which is slated for the
> near future, is released. In the meantime, go give a try to the current
> version - it REALLY shines at emulating the Sony PlayStation!)
>
> I think it was worth waiting: the new Tic-Tac-Toe edition is really great
> and indeed represents a breakthrough in interpreting many graphics
> adventures released in the late eighties and during the entire nineties.
>
> Some of the adventures ScummVM supports include Adventure Soft's Simon the
> Sorcerer 1 and 2; Revolution's Beneath A Steel Sky, Broken Sword 1 and
> Broken Sword 2; Flight of the Amazon Queen; Wyrmkeep's Inherit the Earth;
> Coktel Vision's Gobliiins; Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia and
> games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac
> Mansion) system such as Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max
> and more. You can find a thorough list with details on which games are
> supported and how well on the compatibility page. (Note that the latter
> reflects the state of the latest nightly build. The official 0.10.0
> compatibility chart is HERE. As of 07/02/2007, it's only Sierra's Gold
> Rush! that has better compatibility rate than with the 0.10.0 version).
>
>
> ... more at:
> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2060&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
> --
>
>
> --
> Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile
> Devices
> Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
> http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
>
>
>
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Posted by Werner \"Menneisyys\" Ruotsala on July 7, 2007, 6:27 am
Please log in for more thread options It was some four months ago that I've published the definitive guide and
comparison of all instant messaging solutions for the Pocket PC, the Windows
Mobile Instant Messaging (IM) Bible.
The constant evolution of the clients (for example, the recent release of
the really promising and, on Windows Mobile, except for Microsoft Portrait
unprecedented and unrivalled Fring client) and the MS Smartphone (WM 6
Standard) platform have forced me to embark on an update to the roundup.
In this roundup, I review all the IM solutions working on the MS Smartphone
platform along with listing the PPC-specific changes too. That is, this
article will appeal to both Pocket PC and MS Smartphone users. In addition,
if you're interested in Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions, you REALLY will want
to read the related section: I also review Fring, the (on Windows Mobile)
brand new and simply GREAT Skype, MSN , Google Talk and standard
SIP-compliant application working just great even over EDGE or more advanced
(with at least 2 upload slots) GPRS connections.
Again, this article is a three-in-one roundup:
1.. a FULL review & roundup of all IM solutions running on the MS
Smartphone
2.. a review of what has been changed in the last four months: Most of the
reviewed applications have been updated in the meantime. While these updates
are pretty minor with all the titles, it's still worth checking them out as
some of the missing functionalities or bugs have been fixed in these.
3.. a review of the completely new and groundbreaking Fring client,
compared to the other clients offering similar functionality.
Note that you REALLY will want to read the original Windows Mobile Instant
Messaging Bible. It's in there that I've thoroughly described all the IM
clients I elaborate on in here - except for, of course, the brand new Fring.
That is, do read the original Bible. Note that I've already updated its
chart to include the new information on both the new versions and the
Smartphone-related information.
In addition to my Pocket PC's (where I've tested how the Pocket PC-related
functionality has been improved), I've used two MS Smartphone devices to
test the IM clients on: a WM5 AKU3 176*220 HTC s310 (Oxygen) and a WM6 QVGA
HTC s710 (Vox). On the latter, I've paid special attention to supporting the
built-in keyboard and the dynamic orientation switching support - in
addition to the QVGA support, of course.
more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2075&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
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Posted by Werner \"Menneisyys\" Ruotsala on July 10, 2007, 3:30 am
Please log in for more thread options In my recently-published, well-known Windows Mobile Web Browsing Bible I've
elaborated on how Pocket PC's can be used to browse the Web. Please make
sure you DO read the review even if you don't have a Pocket PC. You will
learn a LOT from there and, in addition, I do NOT elaborate on many
questions like Web standards compliance or additional Opera Mini features in
here. In the current review, I "only" elaborate on questions ONLY concerning
the MS Smartphone platform. The only exception is the review of Opera Mini
4, which is a generic one and can be used by Pocket PC users as well.
Now, it's time to review
1.. how you can do the same on MS Smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard)
devices (SP for short); what browsers you should use, what bugs you should
be aware of etc.
2.. the brand new and REALLY NICE, HIGHLY recommended Opera Mini 4
platform. This section will be of interest to not only SP users, but also
those of the "big brother", the Pocket PC - and, for that matter, any
Java-capable mobile phone.
As you'll see, on the SP platform, there're far fewer really usable browsers
and there are absolutely no Java and real Flash support. This, fortunately,
makes one's life far easier - generally, you only have two browsers to
select from: either Opera Mobile or Opera Mini. They both are, as you may
have already guessed, superior to the built-in Internet Explorer Mobile.
However, let's start with the latter as it comes built into the operating
system of all SP devices.
1.1 Internet Explorer Mobile (IEM)
Unfortunately, the SP version of the built-in IEM, even as of Windows Mobile
6 Standard (that is, the latest SP operating system version), is
considerably inferior to the Pocket PC (PPC) version shipped with WM6. For
example,
1.. while the PPC version of IEM has received file uploading capabilities
some two years ago (with the initial release of WM5), not even the latest,
just-released, WM6 version of IEM is capable of the same as can be seen in
HERE (showing the results of my traditional file upload test page - see the
previously linked page for more info on what the screenshot should show).
Note that the SP version of Opera Mobile has no problems with file uploading
(1 2 3 4)
2.. it also has major problems with some HTTP / scripting constructs never
having caused any problems to the Pocket PC brother; most importantly, it's
not possible to post anything to Smartphone Thoughts and Pocket PC Thoughts
forums from IEM. (The PPC port of IEM has no problems with posting to these
sites; neither do Opera Mobile and Opera Mini on the SP platform.)
3.. it doesn't support tabs and, as you may have guessed, none of the
known, Pocket PC-only PIE / IEM enhancers (MultiIE, PIEPlus, Spb Pocket
Plus, ftxPBrowser etc.) work.
4.. just as on the Pocket PC, you can't make use of the hardware buttons
(except for the "Back" button) AND the dialpad buttons (except for the
2/4/6/8 buttons for page scrolls) of your Smartphone. In this respect, both
Opera Mini and Mobile are better. Fortunately, the most common
functionalities are accessible, in general, with two or three (depending on
whether you start from full screen mode) key presses.
5.. download-wise, it's really bad: it's only CAB files that can be
downloaded (if at all - see later), nothing else. This is in stark contrast
with both the PPC version and Opera Mobile on the platform, which uses the
same, vastly superior download-specific code as the PPC version.
Note that isn't not only files that have no local, associated programs to
operate on are refused to be downloaded, but EVERYTHING, even registered
and, by default, supported file types like ZIP and PDF files (fortunately,
Office files are supported if your device does contain Office Mobile - an
example of an XLS file is HERE).
Some examples of these cases:
...more at:
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2084&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
--
--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
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Posted by Werner \"Menneisyys\" Ruotsala on July 12, 2007, 9:43 am
Please log in for more thread options See
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&p=2084&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
--
--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.
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