Google’s maps application is now available for Windows Mobile Smartphone edition based phones, like my Cingular Blackjack (Samsung i607):
A number of years ago I came across a device called a Squeezebox, made by a company called Slim Devices. The first-generation model, which I bought, is pictured at the left. (There was also device called a Slimp3 which preceeded the Squeezebox).
The device sits with your stereo, connects to a wireless network (802.11b in the case of the first generation box), finds a computer running the SlimServer, and takes audio streams from that server to your home stereo.
In and of itself, that was cool enough for me. The SlimServer software (latest release, nightlies) is cross platform and open source – so that if you don’t like the way it handles, for example, multi-disc sets, you can change it, and contribute your changes back to the community (forums, wiki, bug tracker). (It’s Perl, and in the current versions uses MySQL to store library information – does very well even with large library sizes).
There’s even a Java application, SoftSqueeze, which emulates the hardware client, so you can experience the whole thing without buying any hardware. (CharlesV has created a mashup using Netvibes along with the Slimserver – one of the unintended uses to which an open source server can be put). Now they’ve created the Transporter, a high-end ($2000 list) audio device based on the same concept, but with “audiophile” quality components.
A few weeks back I was thinking about getting a BlackJack. Well, I did, and I’ve been slowly getting up to speed on its features.
One immediate annoyance was the way Cingular/Samsung have configured the JBlend Java Virtual Machine on the phone. That had to go, or the phone was going back to the store.
Read more…
So I’m trying to decide whether I’m finally ready to bring my phone into the 21st century. I have, and generally carry with me on trips, a cell phone (Nokia 6200), an iPod (4GB Nano, 1st generation), and a digital camera (Powershot SD200).
These three devices could be replaced with one – the new Samsung Blackjack, available from Cingular (my wireless carrier).
-UPDATE-
According to this post today on ArsTechnica, Zune doesn’t actually change the shared file:
Trusted sources tell us that Zune’s wireless sharing feature, which requires Zune’s DRM to function, will only monitor the presence of shared songs for the purposes of controlling playback. Files themselves will not be modified, either on the player or on a local PC.
We also learned that users cannot share files that they have received by sharing.
Sounds to me like a distinction without a difference. Sure, the device doesn’t change the recieved file, but it also doesn’t allow you to share that file with anyone else, and after 3 days or 3 plays it will no longer allow you to play the file someone shared with you.
Can you take a file you recieved via sharing and move it to your PC, and play it forever? Unclear.
