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hi guys,
just got my M5000, however i got 2 questions, its driving me mad and losing faith with my new purchase fast
I am a new owner so be gentle
1. Programs are still running, when i close them if i look in settings-->system--->memory, running programs still has programs running! do these stay forever? and i have to close them in here EVERYTIME?
2. do you guys have to reset the machine every so often? seems bizarre coming from a nokia phone. Is it normal to reset the phone?
1. The programs will stay running, they are designed to. Windows Mobile (5 in this case) will manage the memory, and when more is required, it will close down programs automatically.
There really is no need to keep closing them usually, unless you are about to do something where you specifically need a large amount of memory, and want to be sure...
2. What particular problems are you having that are requiring you to reset the device? I havent reset mine in weeks, maybe we can help? Define 'every so often'. Remeber, this is basically a mini PC running windows you have here, and as such will need to be restarted at times, just like your home pc.
thanks for the reply
1. ok a bit flawed wn5 design but i see why MS did it :twisted:
any cheap utility i can use thats reliable and safe?
2. i say 1 a day, but i play with it a lot as i only got it on friday evening
mstar said:
thanks for the reply
1. ok a bit flawed wn5 design but i see why MS did it :twisted:
any cheap utility i can use thats reliable and safe?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spb Pocket Plus is my favourite for this kind of stuff. It gives you shortcut buttons on the Today screen, as well as a Close button that really closes the programs, Safe Mode booting, etc.
They charge USD 24.95. Check it out here: http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/products/pocketplus/?en
mstar said:
thanks for the reply
1. ok a bit flawed wn5 design but i see why MS did it :twisted:
any cheap utility i can use thats reliable and safe?
2. i say 1 a day, but i play with it a lot as i only got it on friday evening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Only had mine about 4 weeks - however have been using PPCs for about 8 years.
I have always been a loyal fan of pocket plus - but find it just too slow on the M5000. I have replaced all of that functionality with magic button(free), small menu(free-there is a plus version for a fee) and apreminder+(free)-all take much less space than ppc+!
Magic button allows you either close the app or minimise and even if you choose to close apps you can build an exception list just in case you want to leave any open!
At first I had to soft reset my device at least six times a day when i was messing around installing apps etc - now i would say its about 1 a day maybe every other day - it is quite stable, and with wm5 you never have to worry about loosing data if the battery gets disconnected or run down.
When I switched from Nokia - 2 things hit me battery life and soft reseting.
Matt
yer matt you notice these things when u move from a establised phone maker like Nokia.
However what is magic button? sorry me a newbie M500 owner
mstar said:
yer matt you notice these things when u move from a establised phone maker like Nokia.
However what is magic button? sorry me a newbie M500 owner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.trancreative.com/mb.aspx
There you go - also has an option to soft reset your device so you dont have to keep prodding that hole - mind looks damaged already!
BTW :
apreminder+ is a repeating alarms utility (You'll notice that clock alarms repeat ok, but alarms for tasks or calender appts - do not repeat even if the option is checked!! - Its a long standing fault of wm2003SE and has reoccured in wm5) The only problems (but its free) with apreminder+ is dont change options whilst in landscape view - (switch first) and for some reason it repeats the reminder sound during the clock alarm.
small menu - this basically replaces the start menu and with alot of playing around you can basically customise it so all favourite apps are a click away!
others might have different views on better apps but these suit my needs.
Matt
You might want to check out Wisbar Lite (really cheap if not free ... cant remember) here... its a great application manager (so you can close apps if you want to) and it features a really cool battery manager (just uses the top 2 rows of pixels at the top of the screen).
They do a Wisbar Pro (or something like that) that is said to provide really nice skins for the device.... never tried it though.
matt1971 said:
I have always been a loyal fan of pocket plus - but find it just too slow on the M5000.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now that you've mentioned it, I do agree with you about Pocket Plus' performance on the Universal, especially the close button - if I have 2 or 3 programs running in the background, the close button menu can take up to 5 seconds to open up!
But I do like its Safe Mode feature... Any recommendations for this one?
Thanks for the list of freebies too.
richardlai said:
matt1971 said:
But I do like its Safe Mode feature... Any recommendations for this one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point....The safe mode saved me from hard resets at least twice on my M2000. My device had locked up due to messed up today plugins - which I think is the main reason for a safe mode!!
Catch22 really:
Keep PPC+ but suffer performance (that 5 secs nonsense to open running programs really got to me) but be safe in the knowledge that if your today plugins screw up you have a way out.
OR
Dont bother about the safe mode and always remember to backup before installing today apps.
Personally, I have sprite backup, takes about 5mins to backup and restores prefectly when needed and dont forget M5000 has persistant storage so not likely to lose data if you have a device lockup.
Matt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have always been a fan of spb, in fact have installed PP, diary, backup, gprs, weather.
howwever in the end, I have decommissioned all of them as the total drain on performance was frustrating.
I turn them on again when iget bored and want a change.
SPB PP runs much faster as a today plugin without the extras enabled.
the reason I mention it now is that without all the extra features, plug ins etc, I can just leave all the running programs as it will only zap my memory from 30mb to 20mb, thus leaving plenty of breathing space. however with all the plugins loaded I would start at 20 dropping to below 10 thus taking quite a memory hit.
my resets are also reduced using the basic device to once per week compared to once per day.
but as I said, I am a sucker for plugins and new stuff so I use them, then get frustrated and go back to the basic device.
my 2 bobs worth...
is there a registry hack that will close a program instead of minimising it?
Here you go! http://www.trancreative.com/mb.aspx and the best part is that it's free!!!
There are many programs that will do this, some of them have many other functions that you will find useful.
My favourite program, WisBar Advance does this as part of a massive set of functions, and adds the ability to completely skin your device.
The trade is that it uses heaps of valuable RAM and isn't free.
ViJay555 has a piece of software that will also perform this function, VJOKButt.
This is something that many people ask about, we all find our own solution.
cheers guys i'll try them out. does anyone know why microsoft did this?
bobbyb said:
cheers guys i'll try them out. does anyone know why microsoft did this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that applications will "seem" to start faster after the first initial load.
The way MS sees us using the device often has little to do with the reality of using a PDA.
The default tools loaded by WM5 or the carriers (the ExtROM contents) are what they assume we will use and they do try to provide the things that most people want. Word, Phone, Calendar etc will all run quite happily in the memory that we have been (grieviously under)allocated on the device. However, when you start putting lots of third party apps in there you find that 64MB isn't enough. Skinning, Today plugins, TomTom, alternative BT stacks and voice diallers, better PIMs and the like all take up more space than MS had planned and we have to close them to save space.
If you ran it the way it was intended then minimising without closing would be acceptable.
Reminds me of Monty Python:
You're all individuals!
I'm not ...
One day I'll find a way to upgrade this baby to 512MB of DDR and drop a 2GHz CPU in it ... Then I'll be a happy camper =)
One problem I ran into, well, really not a problem just didnt think. As mentioned there are several programs that work great and I run SPB Pocket plus and all was great until my Exec started running slower & slower and eventually crashed. What I realized was that I was closing programs with the "ok" button on the keypad. This will only minimize not close so my programs were still running and stacking up in memory. This is a big "DUH". As long as you use the "x" in the top coner then the programs mentioned can close your program (as designed) but if you use the keypad "ok" the programs will continue to run in the background. Just a heads up.
Unless you use PQz! This program has an option that lets the "ok" button on the keyboard actually close apps.
have I mentioned I'm a fan of PQz? ;-)
Thanks, I will check it out.
Many users, including Kevin Rose from Digg.com, have dumped Windows Mobile phones for the sake of other platforms, because they had impression that these phones are slow, much too slow. This impression results from the fact that in Windows Mobile Pocket PC edition applications continue running in the background after user pressed (i.e. tapped with stylus) "X" button of the given program. This is counter-intuitive and makes people think that applications were closed. Big number of applications running in background, of which users are unaware, results in slow operation.
"HTC X-Button" application is included in latest Pocket PC phones manufactured by HTC and recently it even surfaced on the Internet in form of "HTC X-Button.CAB" file, that can be installed:
... and can run in any Pocket PC device (no just HTC-manufactured):
Unfortunately due to legal reasons we cannot publish "HTC X-Button.CAB" application, but we hereby ask developers to develop similar (or the same) program! HTC has proven that not only it is possible but also, that such program works in non-HTC manufactured Pocket PC phones (we tested it). It is not for us to judge how difficult it is to develop such application, but certainly for sure it is possible as HTC shows.
By the way: it is worth noticing that HTC really cares about customer satisfaction because it includes this HTC X-Button application with their latest Pocket PC phones. Such (at first glance) small things really make a difference...
from msmobiles.com
who can get it ?
digifan said:
Many users, including Kevin Rose from Digg.com, have dumped Windows Mobile phones for the sake of other platforms, because they had impression that these phones are slow, much too slow. This impression results from the fact that in Windows Mobile Pocket PC edition applications continue running in the background after user pressed (i.e. tapped with stylus) "X" button of the given program. This is counter-intuitive and makes people think that applications were closed. Big number of applications running in background, of which users are unaware, results in slow operation.
"HTC X-Button" application is included in latest Pocket PC phones manufactured by HTC and recently it even surfaced on the Internet in form of "HTC X-Button.CAB" file, that can be installed:
... and can run in any Pocket PC device (no just HTC-manufactured):
Unfortunately due to legal reasons we cannot publish "HTC X-Button.CAB" application, but we hereby ask developers to develop similar (or the same) program! HTC has proven that not only it is possible but also, that such program works in non-HTC manufactured Pocket PC phones (we tested it). It is not for us to judge how difficult it is to develop such application, but certainly for sure it is possible as HTC shows.
By the way: it is worth noticing that HTC really cares about customer satisfaction because it includes this HTC X-Button application with their latest Pocket PC phones. Such (at first glance) small things really make a difference...
from msmobiles.com
who can get it ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have it runnig in my wizard .i have extrated from another device rom.nice
but is integrated in the rom.as soon i got time i will make a cab.
i also got htc backup but is not runnig yet.
Which device did you get it from? Herald?
doedoe said:
Which device did you get it from? Herald?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
funny enough it was from a prophet rom.
Which ROM? I would also like to extract this application.
This HTC app is nothing new. There are plenty other legal free and commercial task managers out there.
Here is an excellent example: MagicButton.
It lets you close apps by clicking the X as well as switch between apps like Alt + TAB on PC.
There is also WizBar and SPB TodayPlus etc.
There is no need to extract anything from ROM or to re-invent the wheel (unless you wont to hone your programming skills).
Also I am quite curios as to how MS will respond to this move. According to a blog of one of their developers (don't remember the link now) they care about this "smart-minimize" crap so much, at first they didn't let manufacturers add any app in to ROM that had as much as an EXIT option in the menu. According to them "user should not manage memory".
levenum said:
This HTC app is nothing new. There are plenty other legal free and commercial task managers out there.
Here is an excellent example: MagicButton.
It lets you close apps by clicking the X as well as switch between apps like Alt + TAB on PC.
There is also WizBar and SPB TodayPlus etc.
There is no need to extract anything from ROM or to re-invent the wheel (unless you wont to hone your programming skills).
Also I am quite curios as to how MS will respond to this move. According to a blog of one of their developers (don't remember the link now) they care about this "smart-minimize" crap so much, at first they didn't let manufacturers add any app in to ROM that had as much as an EXIT option in the menu. According to them "user should not manage memory".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is about choice and prefences.as how they will react? how do they do react to the stuff we been doing to roms for years in this site?
im suprised tey havent shut down this site yet! or maybe they are learning from it!!!!!!
Well there is a big difference between this site and a company like HTC.
After all this is an unofficial gathering of enthusiasts and MS probably doesn't want to come down to hard on potential consumers even when they tweak ROMs here and there.
HTC on the other hand is one of the largest mobile OEMs in the world that works closely with MS (according to an article I recently read) so it comes across as sort of betrayal, don't you think?
It is 110% right move for us users though.
I find closing applications to be slower than smart minimising them. A Microsoft blog I read when WM5 was launched specifically stated that devices work faster when minimising, providing you have suffecient program memory (not lacking on the Prophet). This is because understandebly Windows takes much longer to open an application than maximising it.
Once in while I just end all programs and give the phone a restart (power off and power on rather than soft reset).
Yes that is the theory, but note the providing you have sufficient program memory bit.
Media player alone when active can eat 5-7 MB (which is why I never use it).
Unfortunately program memory is still short since maximum devices have is "64 MB" which if you are very careful can leave you with 30MB free on the Prophet after reset.
Yes, maximizing apps is faster than loading, but MS forgot a critical point:
There is no easy way to switch between minimized apps built in to WM which only makes things worth. Once you minimize something not only does it keep taking memory, but you also need to go all the way through Settings->System->Memory->Running apps to reactivate or get rid of it.
Sorry to drag this thread towards an argument, but there is no question in my mind that this is one of those cases where MS made a huge mistake and instead of fixing it now trying to sell it as a "feature".
When WM OS runs out of memory, it automatically closes the unused (minimized) apps. It just sees no need to close them if there are unused RAM available anyway, so apps are "cached" in case they will be used again.
You can easely switch between "current set" of apps - just reduce the number of "fixed" icons in the start menu. I leave only Help there and entire Windows Start menu becomes a large MRU list, like on smartphones - and I easely use it to switch between active apps.
The problem of "running slow" lies with badly designed apps. Actually, application should never consume significant CPU resources when lieing in background, but some bad developers forget about this fact.
All built-in applications behave nice. I have a process CPU utilization viewer, and can easely see that these apps when minimized dont even use 1% of processor time.
hiya
getting a t-mobile w'n'walk for £42 a month, phone for free. Good deal
So whats the first thing, apart from changing the today's screen should i do
whats the programs you think are essential?
just to let you know I'm more a web browser, texter sort of person
ta for all ya help and opinion much appreciated ;-)
ps: how do i get the smiley in the actual msg? and how do i record my phone, rom details at the bottom
That's a tough one, everyone is so individual in what they want, what they find irritating in the initial set up, what they like and how much they want to spend.
Personally the first thing I always want to know on my device is that all programs are closed down when I think they are, how much battery I have left, and how much storage room I have. So, my first install is usually a task manager with the above. Personally I use Spb Pocket Plus, which also gives me memory/power indicators, task manager, PIE additions, safe mode and program shortcuts. But, you can find free applications that do all these things. Ilauncher is another good one, but that's not free either.
My second install is something to show me, on my today screen very efficiently my diary, contacts, messages, birthdays, notes, tasks etc. Two good ones are Spb Diary and SBSH Pocket Breeze. These are not free, but to me they are essential.
After that, I would think most people would install a 'proper' diary program like Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion, or recently Agendaone. These make using the diary easier and give you sometimes more options than on Outlook!
After that, it's up to you, most people have a book reader eg Mobipocket or Ereader, a input tool eg Calligrapher, Fitaly or Tengo.
Maybe a phone profile manager eg Phonealarm.
The choice is endless. Make sure that you use the x days of free trial with each application to make sure it works for you correctly on your device and it does what you want.
Most important have fun
thanks
thats a useful list
i have a program on my P910i called phone secure
if i lost it and someone try to put in another sim card it sends a msg to a designated number and locks the phone
does pocket pc have something like that
I have seen something like that, it's quite recent. Best thing is to look on the software sites eg Handango, PocketGear, Mobihand. I'm sure they have something like that.
I must concur with marrisa4755. Start with spb, and see how you like it. It'll give you a good clue as to what is out there, and it's my software of choice. Also, look for Resco Explorer as your file browser. It's apparently the best file browser.
By the way, have a look at the spb unithemes. very nice, and you get them free if you register!
Don't forget to check out my app reviews here at the General forum either - see http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=256
phone secure
hiya
found Phone Security 1.1.2.2 on PocketGear that does exactly what i need
thanks for all the advise
oohh just found this on
its called Eye on the Theif Pocket PC from Mobihand
http://www.mobihand.com/clove/product.asp?id=9966
Install everything you think you might need and everthing people tell you you can't live without...
... then after a month of problems, slowness, hangs and conflicts do a hard reset and install nothing!
IMHO
PSS ... no!
Phone Security System has a problem: First data connection works, but if you disconnect or you get a phone call you will not be able to connect again until re-boot.
So beware. Develooper did not fix this so far... I was using a registered version...
And it took me 3 days to find out. Erro message will be "APN cannot be found", where APN in my case is "web.vodafone.de". Have fun...
The HD2 is a remarkable device. It's one of a kind. It is sad that even with such hardware, the manufacturers have limited its customizability...
Here are a few things which will enable any new owner to bring out the best in the phone without the fear of bricking...
Of course, there are more out there, but I have listed the most essential apps and tweaks. Feel free to add more as they come out.
1) Cookies Home Tab + Editor. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=633590
2) cleanRAM (from Omarket). Excellent tool for freeing RAM memory. http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/ppc-download-cleanram.html
3)BsB Tweaks http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=589305
4)Opera Mobile 10 (get it from the official site)
5)Core Player
6)G-Alarm
7)Glossy task bars http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=642832
8)Resco Photo Manager
9)Battery indicator in % http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=584772
I'm sure there are more out there but due to lack of time (okay...so I'm a bit lazy...) I couldn't list them.
So here are the 8 essential things!
first to click yes!
A thread like this has already been made, here.
The problem with most people who voted anything but "no" is because:
1) They stupidly fell for the 4.3 inch screen
2) Tinkering is not for them
3) Neglected to realize that it "just (Doesnt) work" like an iphone
4) They have too much problems because they stuck with the stock rom
5) They simply got a crappy HD2 from a horrible batch.
I give the benefit of the doubt and say, you got #5.
"Glossy task bars "
You feel that is essential?
reijkelhof said:
"Glossy task bars "
You feel that is essential?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I guess its just me, but having two black bars at both ends of a big screen didn't quiet appeal to me...
esstianal things i couldn't do with out on my HD2?
Well there is the speed tweaks. If you have a decent task amanger you have no need for cleanram so dutty's task manager (or something similar). Chainfires 3D driver is a just, as is LCS.
I couldn't go with out office 2010 either but i am intrigued by the choice of opera 10. last time i checked it didn't support pinch zoom so i'd have to say opera 9.7 (but i don't use flash sites that often)
M3PH said:
esstianal things i couldn't do with out on my HD2?
Well there is the speed tweaks. If you have a decent task amanger you have no need for cleanram so dutty's task manager (or something similar). Chainfires 3D driver is a just, as is LCS.
I couldn't go with out office 2010 either but i am intrigued by the choice of opera 10. last time i checked it didn't support pinch zoom so i'd have to say opera 9.7 (but i don't use flash sites that often)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you think the Chainfire driver is necessary for the US version of HD2? WHat is LCS?
Rugged96 said:
do you think the Chainfire driver is necessary for the US version of HD2? WHat is LCS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes and i'm bored of explaining what LCS is so find the search button and you're question will be answered.
opera 10 sucks big hairy donkey balls compared to 9.7
In my opinion anyway.
I think you should have included a registry editor in your list too.
Id find that far more useful on a daily basis than g alarm or resco photo manager, not saying they aren't worth having I just don't see them as essential.
to a certain extent i do agree with yur there, conantroutman, but i think that most "normal" users wouldn't need it. I do use my reg editor a lot but i'm a techie and a tweaker so i find it useful.
I did think of another essential program. The facebook v1.2 app from MS marketplace. It's much better than the stock one. I also missed out wifi remote access but it's at this point i feel like i'm covering out ground.
as already been told, duttys task manager is essencial... really... the first thing i would isntall is:
hotfixes from HTC
duttys taskmanager
enchansed TUrnOFF button
Core PLayer
Navigation Soft
Microsoft Net Framework 3.5
some custom BAR (already includes battery lfe in %) dependes again...
social network tools... (depends what u really use)
thats it.
I know this is shameless self-promotion, but the guide in my sig has what I consider must-have tweaks and apps.
- LMT. Using gestures to start programs.
- *A decent task manager.
- Norton Commander pocket, the freeware finger friendly beta (including ftp and registry editor)
- Uzard or Skyfire as backup flash browser.
- BSB tweaks. I love the 'add program to auto rotation' function amongst others, bringing rotation to many more programs.
- DroppedBoxx. to send to and store cabs and other files between my PC and phone.
- BatClock, display battery, signal strength, time and much more in the top bar.
M3PH said:
I also missed out wifi remote access but it's at this point i feel like i'm covering out ground.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't Remote Access a standard built-in app?
essential software
redflame4992 said:
The HD2 is a remarkable device. It's one of a kind. It is sad that even with such hardware, the manufacturers have limited its customizability...
Here are a few things which will enable any new owner to bring out the best in the phone without the fear of bricking...
Of course, there are more out there, but I have listed the most essential apps and tweaks. Feel free to add more as they come out.
Since I`m listening to music a lot I consider SRS WOW HD absolutely essential. It improves the sound quality and is a must especially while using A2DP profile.
Watch this link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=584626
regards phly-phantom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
redflame4992 said:
Isn't Remote Access a standard built-in app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's remote desktop. this little app allows you to make file transfer, registry changes etc over the wifi. no need for the cable.