‘Off road sat nav’ on a smartphone means no wait
for map refresh
A robust ‘off road sat nav’ – used by outdoor
enthusiasts and professionals alike – is now
available ready installed on the latest Nokia
5800 high speed, touchscreen mobile phone so it
is ready for use and can be operated without
taking off your gloves.. The ViewRanger software
offers fast map refresh and can be installed on
a slim smartphone removing the need for a
weighty dedicated device.
“Professionals such as Search and Rescue Teams
have found ViewRanger robust in field operations
and like the fact they only need to carry one
versatile device – their mobile phone,” explains
Craig Wareham of Augmentra, the company behind
ViewRanger. “They also mentioned how using a
phone with an easy-to-grip stylus makes it easy
to use the ViewRanger functionality even when
wearing gloves, so we decided to offer the
software ready installed in the Nokia 5800 to
our other customers. The large screen provides a
clear, sharp display, and it has advanced
microprocessors that guarantee fast map refresh
and searching – reducing both the wait and
weight!”
ViewRanger turns the Nokia 5800, or any other
S60 Smartphone, into a fully-featured trail
navigation system with Ordnance Survey mapping.
You can plan routes directly onto its digital OS
maps, or discover and download annotated trail
guides from the ViewRanger route library. The
built-in sports computer will tell you how far
you’ve walked, how long you’ve been out, and
give details of speed, pace, heading and
altitude.
“The unique BuddyBeacon is a particularly
popular feature in these arctic conditions,”
says Craig. “It lets people at home see exactly
where you are while you’re out, and raise the
alarm if you don’t return when agreed. You can
also use it to keep tabs on other members of
your party if you split up.”
If the landscape is obscured by a snowy blanket,
ViewRanger’s 3D Panoramic view will provide a
labelled virtual vista, enabling simple
identification of hills, villages, lakes, and
other points of interest, even at a distance.
The software integrates with the phone’s camera
to geo-tag your photos, and show exactly where
you were in ‘the big freeze of 2010’.
The ViewRanger Great Britain Handset bundle
includes digital Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 scale
mapping of Great Britain with ViewRanger
software, pre-installed on a Nokia 5800
touchscreen phone (provided without SIM card),
plus a Krusell Classic leather case, and costs
just £340.
ViewRanger self-select mapping for a range of
European and international territories from £20.
You can buy the software
fromwww.viewranger.comand
download it to your PC, or get it delivered on
CD in the post, and then transfer it to your
phone using a wire connection.
Alternatively, it can be delivered on a memory
card which can simply be inserted into the phone
- this option does incur a small charge. A final
option is to purchase over-the-air tokens which
enable users to download mapping directly to
their phone via the 3G network.
Solar Powered
Mobile Phones
At last - a
range of
environmentally-friendly mobile
phones with solar power chargers
where a percentage of your
monthly contract payments goes
directly to local renewable
energy projects. It's something
that should appeal to every
green conscious man and woman
coming into 2010 - with all the
current press on global warming,
the phone is incredibly relevant
and a step in the right
direction for anyone thinking of
making their next purchase.
To give you more information, C
Mobile (www.cmobile.co.uk) is a
one-stop-shop for the best eco
mobile products and services and
their extensive range of phones
are fabulous because:
1. £1 a month from each
phone contract is donated
directly to local renewable
energy projects in your area. 2. All handsets come with a
Pico solar-powered energy pack
which trap the power of the sun
in the day allowing you to
charge your phone 'off grid'
when you get home or on the
move. 3. All handsets come with
Energy Star-approved mains
adaptors that stop chargers
when they are fully charged
saving energy and money.
Lots more information
about C Mobile's unique phone
packages can be found at
www.cmobile.co.uk
What's Next
For Broadband?
The UK's leading broadband experts have named mobile broadband,
faster fixed-line speeds and the BBC's iPlayer
as the highlights of the last decade, with the
keyword for the next one being 'convergence'.
Broadbandgenie.co.uk spoke to key decision makers at ISPs including
Virgin Media and TalkTalk, as well as leading
industry analysts, about an amazing 10 years on
the internet.
Genie editor Chris Marling said: “It's mind-boggling to think BT
introduced its broadband service in 2000, at
just 0.5Mb. Less than a decade later, Virgin
Media release a service 100 times faster!
Something that started out as the ultimate nerdy
technology is now a staple part of the British
diet. But while the speed advances have been
huge, it's how we use it that's really
significant.
“While mobile broadband was also hugely important, I think software
such as the iPlayer and Skype, as well as
websites like Amazon, Wikipedia and Google, have
brought the internet to the world. Their
simplicity of use and reliability have hastened
the almost universal reach of the web.
“But looking ahead, network and technological convergence will mean
even better speeds and all kinds of cool gadgets
and home technologies. Social networking and
video conferencing through your television, as
well as 3D and multi-angle TV, are now closer to
reality than science fiction. Home
entertainment, as well as the way we
communicate, will continue to evolve at an
incredible rate.”
On the 'noughties', senior analysts at Juniper Research and
Analysys Mason agreed with TalkTalk senior
director of products and strategy Sylvain
Thevenot that mobile broadband was the biggest
breakthrough, driving access and allowing people
to stay in touch across the world with ease,
even on the move.
Unsurprisingly, Virgin Media broadband director Jon James and BE
Broadband head of operations Tom Williams talked
up the remarkable advances in fixed-line
internet speed over the last decade. Director of
Eclipse Internet Clodagh Murphy and head of
marketing at Kingston Communications Richard
Griffiths agreed the launch of the iPlayer was
the broadband moment of the decade.
The importance of convergence going forward was unanimous with our
experts. Exciting advances in mobile broadband
technology, fixed-line speeds and consumer
products look set to simplify and enhance the
broadband experience for everyone.
Advances in both mobile and fixed-line
technology will be swift, having an immediate
impact – we could even see the two markets
converging completely.
For the full report, with insights from a host of top broadband
players, visit:
www.broadbandgenie.co.uk
Interview with TalkTalk
director Sylvain Thevenot
I recently sat down with TalkTalk's senior
director of products and strategy, Sylvain
Thevenot, for an in-depth interview.
The interview covers a number of controversial
and topical subjects,including TalkTalk's recent
distribution problems with its fixed-line
phone/broadband products; problems with
international call centres;mis-selling; the
future for Tiscali customers; TalkTalk Pro; the
renewed threat of Tesco Broadband; and the
company's plans for 2010.
On its connection problems – which in some ways
mirror its previous problems when offering
'free' broadband – Sylvain outlined plans to
clear everything up very early this year.
Problems with international call centres are
talked about in great depth, with some
interesting claims that the quality of phone
lines and the call transferring processes were
to blame, rather than accent problems. Sylvain
goes as far as saying that its Indian call
centre staff are more “tech savvy” than those
elsewhere.
There is good news for Tiscali customers, some
of which will get better speeds as they are
moved onto TalkTalk's LLU lines. Generally, in
2010, TalkTalk customers can look forward to
software advances such as more powerful parental
and security controls.
Finally, there are some frank opinions about the
entrance, again, of Tesco into the fixed-line
broadband market.
Chris Marling, Broadband Genie
Your Computer
Questions Answered
My
PC’s Freezing! Q1. My PC freezes
several times a day and I have
to power down and then restart
it. The only thing that I have
done that could have caused this
was to upgrade Kapersky Security
Suite 2009 to 2010. I removed
all Kapersky files first before
installing 2010 from a CD. What
should I do to fix the problem? Kate J, London
Hi Kate,
I've not used Kaspersky Security
Suite before, but there are a
few posts on their support
forums reporting similar issues
to yourself. From what I can
tell, the freezing happens when
the program scans your
computer. I've not managed to
find a definitive solution for
this issue, so I would advise
contacting Kaspersky for help.
http://www.kaspersky.com/
Downgrading Internet Explorer Q2. I am currently using
Internet Explorer 7, and I want
to upgrade to IE8. But I would
like to be able to revert back
to IE7 if necessary whilst still
keeping all my bookmarks and
Norton toolbar. If I download
IE8, would it erase IE7? Mike P, Birmingham
Service failure Q3. My computer has been
working fine until I turned it
on the other day and put my
password in, and then a box
appeared with the message ‘The
user profile service failed the
logon. User profile cannot be
loaded.’ I have tried System
Restore, but for some reason it
will only go back to 18 November
and I can’t restore to an
earlier time. This is causing me
big problems because I depend on
the information from earlier
dates. Nicola L, Glasgow
Copying over email contacts Q4. Can you tell me how I
can copy my email
contacts/address book from my PC
to my laptop, using a USB memory
stick? Alan M, Reigate
Hi Alan,
It's difficult to say without
knowing which email program
you're using on your machines.In
most email programs, the address
book/contact list section will
have Import & Export options in
one of its drop-down menus.
You'll be able to export your
contacts to a file, use your USB
stick to transfer that file
to your laptop and then import
the file on the laptop.
Connecting to wireless hotspots Q5. Until now, I have not
used my laptop outside my home
where I have a wireless
connection to a router, with a
firewall, anti-virus and spyware
protection software installed.
Because I don’t know anything
about connecting in a public
place, which I would like to do,
I would like to know how to set
up a connection with a public
wireless source and also if I
should take any additional
security precautions. Also, how
do I find out where a hotspot is
located? James R, Manchester
Hi James,
This site should help you find
hotspots around the country:
http://www.hotspot-locations.co.uk/
The thing to bear in mind with
public hotspots is that
regardless of the protection on
your computer, the data sent
between the hotspot and your
laptop could be monitored by
anyone else connected to that
network at the time. While
hacking of this nature is
probably not as common as the
media would have you believe,
you should always be careful.
Slow Windows Q6. My computer is
running very slowly and
everything takes ages to load. I
had an mp3plugin.dll error,
which I think I’ve sorted by
carrying out malware scans. And,
in addition, I have no sound at
all on my computer. Windows does
not come up with its usual
annoying noise and I can’t play
any music. I think that an error
or a virus may have caused my
machine to lose a driver or
something. I have run AVG
anti-virus software bt it
didn’t make any difference. My
computer is running Windows XP
Home Edition. Jenny A, Harrogate
Hi Jenny,
It sounds like removing the
malware damaged your Windows
install.You could try a system
restore (to a time before the
problem was present) or if you
have your Windows CD then you
may want to try a repair
install. See here for
information on how to do this: http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI
Note the warnings
on that page and make sure you
back-up your personal files and
data before going any further.
If these solutions don't help
fix the problems then
unfortunately all I can
recommend is a full re-install
of Windows.
Hijacked email Q7. When I sign on to my
mail.com account, the address
bar in Internet Explorer changes
to https://my.screenname.aol.com/_cqr/login/psp?a=%
followed by a lot of letters and
numbers. Is this normal or has
my email account been hijacked?
Also, when I was connecting to
the internet to send this,
ZoneAlarm popped up with the
following message ‘ZoneAlarm has
blocked an inbound pIng from the
IP address 10.156.104.172.
Should I be worried? Howard D, Hastings
Hi Howard,
You are right to wonder about
this (it's always good to be
vigilant when logging into a
website) but in this case it
looks like there's nothing to
worry about. Mail.com services
are now provided by AOL and they
are in the process of moving
existing customers to the new
system. They should have
emailed to tell you about
changes to the service as from
what I can tell the webmail
system is quite different. If
you check the ZoneAlarm logs,
you'll probably see that pings
are blocked all the time, these
are nothing to be concerned
about and it shows that your
firewall is doing it's job.
Sharing files and printer
Q8.
I would like to connect my Acer
laptop which is located on the
ground floor and is running
Windows XP to my PC upstairs
that is running Windows7. I am
hoping to e able to access my
files and my Canon printer. I
have ally my IP addresses and
WEP keys and my laptop connects
by wireless to the BT Home Hub,
but how do I tap into the router
to access my files and connect
to the printer? I have tried
lots of times but without any
success. Peter H, Edinburgh
Social Networking
While you’ve likely heard the
buzz about social networking, you may feel a
little bit left out when you hear people
discussing other social networking Web sites
like MySpace and Facebook.
You might be asking yourself, “Why should I join
the world of social networking?” and “How do I
know where to begin?” You may also be concerned
about sharing your personal thoughts and
information with people you don’t know. Though
social networking can be a public experience
with many, it can also be a private experience
where you control who can view your page or
profile.
Sites like Facebook are getting the most buzz
right now, but there are hundreds of different
activity-based sites that contain elements of
social networking. Maybe this will help. I
have identified 3 different personalities
and the types of social networking that might
fit into their chosen activities:
1) The Connector
These are the people who still send holiday
cards to old school classmates, and they always
get a phone call when an old friend is passing
through town. They’ve kept up with address
changes and have probably upgraded from their
little black book to an email contact list, but
there’s still one or two people who they’ve
fallen out of touch with over the years.
Where to start:
Why not increase those connections with
Reunion.com or Classmates.com? These sites can
help you find the people you’ve been wondering
about and you can even start a group for your
high school or college class.
Or, through
LinkedIn.com you can connect with
your co-workers, colleagues, and other business
contacts who have similar interests or business
goals.
You can share your latest digital photos by
putting them line at:
www.flickr.comor www.snapfish.com
and then inviting your friends to view the
pictures. You can restrict the viewing to those
you share the information with if you prefer.
2) The Expert
Their friends and family are always calling and
emailing to ask for advice about one or more
particular areas of expertise.
Where to start:
You already spend a good deal of time responding
to emails, so why not start a blog or online
journal that will give great tips and advice to
your friends and family? Some of the most
well-known sites include www.blogger.comand
www.wordpress.com.
You can set up your blog to be open to the
internet world or private for only those you
invite.
3) The Socialiser
These are the people that like to share their
lives with their friends and keep up with the
latest scoop. Where to start:
You’ve probably heard of others using Facebook.
It used to be just for college students, but
this social restriction no longer applies.
It’s
easy to sign up atwww.facebook.comand
then search for your current or long lost
friends. You can add pictures, thoughts, and
updates on your life. You can restrict viewing
to only those friends you select, so don’t worry
about your information being open to the world.
And why not join up to the Sixtyplusurfers
Chat & Socialise
page where you will be able to meet up with
people of your own age and interests.
Sharing
Photos Digitally
One reason digital pictures are so
popular is because they are so simple to share.
One minute the picture is in your camera, the
next it's gone around the world to a friend.
People hundreds and thousands of miles away can
see your pictures minutes after you take them.
Here are the best ways to share your
pictures digitally.
Sharing pictures by e-mail
No longer do you have to type a long e-mail
message to describe an event. Now, you just
attach a digital picture—and then write a long
e-mail message about how easy it was to take and
send the picture.
Advantages of e-mailing pictures:
It's simple, especially with software
such as Kodak EasyShare software
It's fast
It's inexpensive
Disadvantages of e-mail pictures:
You can send only a few pictures at a
time
You shouldn't send pictures with large
file sizes
One small catch is the file size of
the picture. Normally you don't want to send a
large picture file, because it could take a long
time for your recipient to download it. Our
procedure for e-mailing
pictures below gives you
all the particulars.
Sharing pictures with an online album
An online album is the digital equivalent of a
photo album. Well, almost. Its big advantage is
that your pictures are on the Internet (that's
online) and that anybody anywhere that you give
permission to can see them—for free. Most
commercial album sites, such as KODAK EASYSHARE
Gallery, also let people order prints of your
pictures.
Advantages of an online album:
Anybody you select can see the
pictures
Good for showing lots of pictures at a
time
Free viewing
People can order their own prints
You can adjust and edit pictures
Easy to transfer pictures to an online
album
Disadvantages of an online album:
Uploading lots of pictures to an album
is slow without a high-speed connection
Some sites limit the length of storage
based on how much business you do with them
But not just anybody can see them. The
commercial album sites are password protected,
so only the people you select can see your
pictures.
But don't use only an online site to
store your pictures. An online site is
ultimately a commercial business under somebody
else's control. For long-term storage, your
photos should be under your control. An online
album is a great way to share pictures, but it's
not a great way to back them up for permanent
storage.
Sharing pictures on a CD
Most people share digital pictures
electronically using e-mail or an online album.
That's fast and easy, but it somehow lacks the
personal touch. You can add that personal touch
by giving a CD with photos on it as a gift.
You can even create a special CD cover
with the person's name or their photo. There are
two ways to create CDs:
Have an online photo service create a
CD from your online album
Do it at home with a CD writer
Advantages of a CD album:
Puts a personal "gift" touch to your
pictures
Holds hundreds of pictures
Holds large picture files suitable for
printing
Provides durable, long-lasting storage
Disadvantages of a CD album:
Requires special equipment or an extra
cost if using an online photo service
Doesn't allow "instant" sharing
The Right Way to Email Digital Photos
One of the first things new digital camera
owners want to do is start sharing their digital
photos with friends and family. Of course, the
easiest way to do that is by email.
Often, the new digital camera owner
will take their enormous multi-megapixel files
straight from the camera and attach them to an
email, sometimes CCing their whole address book.
The unsuspecting recipient may not appreciate
this, especially if their ISP puts a small limit
on the size of email attachments they can
receive. Many times, these large attachments
will clog the recipient's inbox, making it
impossible for them to access their remaining
mail.
Alternately, you could scale copies of the
photos down and post them to a photo-sharing
site such as
www.flickr.com. Posting photos
to the Web is a better solution if you have many
photos to send, or when you want to share the
same group of photos with many different people.
Most photo-sharing sites will automatically
downsize very large images or offer a choice of
sizes to the viewer. If you already have
personal Web space (check with your ISP), you
will find lots of free or inexpensive software
to build a Web photo gallery for you.
ASUS Boosts Battery Life and Performance of Eee
PC™ Seashell Netbooks
Exclusive Super Hybrid Engine Technology Works
in Synergy with New Platform to Deliver Battery
Life of Up to 14 Hours
ASUS announced that its multi-award winning Eee
PC™ Seashell Series of netbooks—which include
the Eee PC™ Seashell 1005P, 1005PE and 1001P—is
to feature Intel’s second generation Atom™
platform. The new Intel® Atom™
processor N450—when used in concert with ASUS’
exclusive Super Hybrid Engine technology—will
substantially extend the battery lives of every
model in the Seashell range, making them ideal
travel companions and taking ASUS’ promise of
all-day computing a decisive step further.
Exceptional Energy Efficiency for All-day
Computing
Eee PC™ Seashell models equipped with the new
Intel® Atom™ processor N450 will also
feature ASUS’ proprietary Super Hybrid Engine
(SHE). SHE tailors the Eee PC™ Seashell’s energy
consumption patterns to suit any task at hand,
optimizing energy efficiency and reducing power
usage by up to 15%. Together, SHE and the Atom™
processor N450 enable the Eee PC™ Seashell to
deliver up to 14 hours of battery life on a
single charge.
"We're pleased to be working closely with ASUS,
the Eee PC pioneers who helped drive this new
category of computing, and are continuing to
innovate with the second generation Intel Atom
platform that delivers longer battery life and
better performance," said Mooly Eden, Intel
corporate vice-president and general manager of
Intel's PC Client Group.
Excellent Features, Design and Ergonomics for an
Unmatched User Experience
The updated Eee PC™ Seashell will feature dual
operating systems, enabling it to boot into
Windows 7 or Express Gate. The latter boots up
in just 8 seconds, allowing users to surf the
web, browse their photos, as well as chat and
play games online almost instantaneously.
Using
the Eee PC™ Seashell is as comfortable as it is
breathtaking to behold. It sports a chiclet
keyboard*, which ensures user comfort all day
long. For its superlative ergonomics, design
quality, finish and innovation, the entire Eee
PC™ Seashell Series was recently honored with a
2010 iF product design award—an award known the
world over as a seal of outstanding design.
Going Beyond Hardware—Extending the Experience
The Eee PC™ Seashell experience is taken further
with the ASUS Access service. Services such as
the ASUS AP Bank, Game Park, ASUS @Vibe, ASUS
Wi-Fi service, ASUS WebStorage, and ASUS
Safeguard are readily accessible through the
Access services shortcut preinstalled on all Eee
PC™ Seashell netbooks.
The extra 500GB* of free
ASUS WebStorage offers users drag-and-drop
convenience when sharing files. It can also be
configured to perform automatic back-ups, making
computing easier than ever before.
February 2010
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