Men Free Blog

Do DST Rule Change Blues have you down? Well buck up, kiddo — we’ve got all (well, most) of the software patches you need to get the smartphone of your choice back into tip-top time-keeping shape right here. Though the changes — which shift and lengthen the number of weeks we’re pushed forward an hour — should generally make us all happier, better, and more peaceful people, our phones stand to get a little confused about the situation without an update, and surprisingly, manufacturers seem to be doing a decent job in making sure those updates are available. As you find more, please add them in comments and we’ll get ‘em into the master list!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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After a rather lengthy “trial run” that really had all the markings of a released product, Nokia is calling its Software Update good and dialing up the publicity. The updater, which allows end users to re-up the bits ‘n bytes in their phones without the heartache of a trip to a service center — or worse yet, a mailing — supports a healthy percentage of Nokia’s modern mainstream models (at least, the ones complicated enough to warrant occasional updating) via a PC connection or, on a few handsets, a quick, painless over-the-air zapping. We trust the bricking incidents have been ironed out at this point, but as always, proceed with caution.

[Via Tech Digest]

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Keeper of Flash, Adobe, has unveiled its far-reaching “Open Screen Project,” garnering the interest of a who’s who of heavy hitters ranging from ARM to Verizon and pretty much everyone in between. Why the massive corporate attention? The project ultimately aims to open-source Flash’s file formats and portions of its inner workings — but perhaps more importantly, it’ll kill the license fee manufacturers pay to bundle Flash players on their devices, potentially opening the door for the same massive level of acceptance Flash has enjoyed on the desktop in our pockets as well. There’s no word on exactly when the fruits of the project will be available to the public — Adobe says it’s “just underway,” after all — but if this means our Flash-laden phone is going to be, like, 20 cents cheaper now, we’re all for it.

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App certificates have long been a bane to S60 users and developers alike, causing pain, frustration, and an almost obligatory cash outlay to get your hard work certified to run on the very platform Nokia is so quick to call “open.” Finally, it truly is, thanks to the hard work of the Symbian hacking community that has developed an easy (or easy sounding, anyway) method of “jailbreaking” the Symbian 9.2 device in your life (S60 3rd Edition FP1 users, that’s you). After that, installed apps won’t need a certificate at all — let alone an invalid one — to do their dirty work. Open, indeed.
[Via Part-Time Phone Reviewer, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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App certificates have long been a bane to S60 users and developers alike, causing pain, frustration, and an almost obligatory cash outlay to get your hard work certified to run on the very platform Nokia is so quick to call “open.” Finally, it truly is, thanks to the hard work of the Symbian hacking community that has developed an easy (or easy sounding, anyway) method of “jailbreaking” the Symbian 9.2 device in your life (S60 3rd Edition FP1 users, that’s you). After that, installed apps won’t need a certificate at all — let alone an invalid one — to do their dirty work. Open, indeed.
[Via Part-Time Phone Reviewer, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Doesn’t really matter how high the cool factor is on Android handsets once they start trickling into the retail channel — if they lack productivity and enterprise software, business penetration is going to hover near zero. That’s a problem, seeing how companies have a tendency to buy entire fleets of phones at once, contributing serious revenue to a carrier’s and a manufacturer’s bottom line come earnings report time. Don’t worry though, Android, Quickoffice has you covered. The suite — familiar to a great many Palm, S60, and UIQ users — brings serious Office document viewing and editing power to the world’s non-Windows Mobile smartphones, and judging from a recent show-and-tell with PC Magazine, it looks like they have every intention of sharing that same power with Android users. All the typical Quickoffice stuff is there, appearing surprisingly close to being ready for prime time despite the fact that Android hardware isn’t expected for a handful of months yet. One bonus feature here (and a biggie at that) is integration with Soonr’s technology for accessing documents remotely — pretty nifty, since most of us don’t carry our full library of documents when we’re on the road. No word on a release date here, but we imagine we’ll be seeing it right about the same time that the first devices hit the market.

[Via Talk Android]

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Remember those refreshed Sling apps we mentioned not long ago?

 They’ve finished baking and they’re ready for prime time (sorry, BlackBerry users, we don’t mean you — not yet, anyway). The players for Windows Mobile, both Professional and Standard editions, now rest at version 1.6 while the S60 player gets upped to 1.1; changes are relatively minor, but notable, the Nokia N95 8GB is now officially supported (even though the old player worked pretty well) along with a slew of new WinMo pieces and set-top boxes, video quality is improved on some devices, new channel logos are included, and some “under the hood tweaks.” The update is available now and free for existing SlingPlayer Mobile users; newbs, meanwhile, pay a $30 one-time pop.

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Considering that some countries are mulling the idea of making texting a recognized subject and allowing students to use text-speak on exams, we suppose it’s not too outrageous to hear of handsets being used as educational tools and not seen as a hindrance. Nokia has teamed up with Mindset Network in order to spearhead the M4Girls pilot project, which utilizes Nokia 6300 handsets loaded with educational material to “help improve the mathematics performance of Grade 10 girl learners.” Reportedly, the initiative will be piloted in two South African schools, and students lucky enough to take advantage will have access to educational games and other material created to meet the needs of the national curriculum. No word on whether the program will filter out to other locations if it proves successful, but here’s to hoping that eventually gets answered with a resounding “yes.”

[Via textually]

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