Free HP InkJet Deal

HP DeskJet 3650 InkJet
You won't find a better deal than this one!

Get photo quality results--fast--with the value-packed HP DeskJet 3650 color inkjet printer. Print at up to 4,800-optimized dpi or 6-ink color and print up to 17 ppm in black and up to 12 ppm in color. (continued...)

And with the convenient print cancel button and onscreen ink level indicator, you save time and money.

Print borderless photos with 4-by-6.5-inch HP Premium Photo Paper or print bordered photos in a variety of sizes. Save space too, with the ultra-compact design.

You get everything you need to start printing except the USB cable. So don't forget to order one if you need it.

Between now and midnight May 31,2005 you can get this printer at NO COST after rebates from TigerDirect.com. You pay only the shipping. In fact, it's priced at $79 with an $80 rebate so you will actually be ahead $1.


Click Here for Full for Specs and to View The Rebate Form

Don't wait! Take advantage of the year's best printer deal while supplies last!

This is an unbeatable offer.

To tell a friend about this excellent offer, just use the email link at the bottom of this page.

Avoid the usual mess of cables and add this optional Wireless BlueTooth kit.

Ambicom BlueTooth Wireless Printer Kit
Makes Any USB Inkjet Printer BlueTooth Enabled for $59.99

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Basic Global Positioning System (GPS) Overview

Click for Details and Video

By: Ken Dennis
The Global Positioning System, or GPS is a constellation of twenty four (24) active satellites and three (3) additional backup satellites. The GPS system was developed and implemented by the United States Air Force (USAF) for operational reasons, and has since become world wide phenomenon, used by hikers, outdoors men, and a vast array of commercial uses.

GPS works on the principles of Triangulation. Satellites send signals down to the earth, which are triangulated by the GPS receiver unit giving you your current location. In order to acquire your current location a receiver unit requires at least three satellite signals to extrapolate your location, though more is desirable. It is not uncommon to have your receiver pickup four to seven signals in any given location. (continued...)

The GPS Satellites send out two signals: 1575.42 MHz - The Course Acquisition Signal (CA) 1227.6 MHz - Precision Signal (P)

All users, military or civilian are allowed to use the Course Acquisition signal, however the Precision signal is only used by the military, and gives much greater accuracy. The signals are closely monitored and audited by several stations, however the master station for GPS is located in Colorado Springs, USA, at Falcon Air Force Base (AFB).

Problems with the GPS System: Unfortunately due to the very low signal strength (around -127 dBm) GPS receiver units are often unable to acquire a good signal if you are in an area of dense foliage or under a heavy tree canopy. The GPS signal is also unable to penetrate most solid items, and requires a view of the sky to be effective. Use in deep canyons, or inside large cities with tall buildings will cause reduced satellite acquisitions and thus less accuracy or no triangulation at all.

Since GPS receivers have become so mainstream people seem to have thrown away the map and compass which could be a dangerous mistake. GPS receivers are an electronic unit and have the potential to fail, cold climates, batteries, dropping it could leave you lost. A GPS is a wonderful tool, however it shouldn't be a replacement for the old map and compass.

Fun and Games: There are a lot of great uses for GPS receivers, from marking your favorite fishing spot, to GeoCaching! A standard GPS receiver is between 100-250 dollars and can be used to give you your speed, average speed, set waypoints (mark your favorite spots), record tracks where you have been and can be loaded maps of different regions around the world. They are a great tool for hikers, campers, and outdoor enthusiasts and can help foster a healthy outdoor activity for you and your family.



Sale Pricing on GPS Products at Amazon.com

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SOTI Releases MobiControl v1.03

By: The Editor
MobiControl provides organizations with the tools they need to centrally manage and support their mobile field force. MobiControl is really two products in one: a Mobile Helpdesk integrated with Software Deployment technology.

The following is a list of some of the exciting features added in v1.03: (continued...)

- Enhanced support for DAP, Data Ltd, HHP, Intermec, LXE, Nordic ID, and Symbol devices
- Automatic server discovery and configuration of devices
- New Device Agent Manager tool makes it easy to create, copy, and install device agent software
- Ability to force ‘on-demand’ deployment of packages to one or more devices
- Ability to configure external IP addresses for servers, and to deal with dynamic device addressing. These features allow MobiControl to manage devices in both internal and external networks (e.g. cellular networks)
- Enhanced performance
- Automatic bandwidth management
- Automatic compression and encryption of all network traffic to increase security

For detailed information about MobiControl and to download a trial, please visit the MobiControl Hompage

SOTI also makes Pocket Controller Professional which has won many awards and allows you to operate your Pocket PC or Smartphone from your desktop computer, record video, capture and print screens, run DOS, and monitor battery/memory usage. I highly recommend that you check it out and download the free trial.

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Microsoft Plus! SuperPack for XP -- PDA Friendly Too

By: Brian Leinfuss

Microsoft Plus! For media player XP has numerous toys and gadgets that you may be interested in. I will only focus on one.

Nestled deep in the description and tools, there lies a great application for the PDA user. Plus! Sync & Go for Pocket PC.

This application works seamlessly with ActiveSync. Plug your PDA into your USB drive, fire up Sync & Go, and you are ready. (continued...)

The application will search for available space on your device’s storage card (storage card required), then allow you to pick from media that you already have on your computer or download new media.

I take advantage of the new media downloads. I have mine set to download video clips from the Today Show, Forbes Online and KenRadio (a audio radio broadcast of tech info).

You are also able to select playlists from media player for listening on your PDA and Pics.

I feel that the money for this add on software is worth it just for the Sync & Go, but you also get some somewhat useful toys along with it.


Microsoft Plus! SuperPack for Windows XP

PDA and Mobile Today Reviewers Rating ****
(4 out of 5 Stars --5 stars is best)

About The Author:
Brian Leinfuss is a project manager for a software company in New Jersey. He has co-authored a number of technical books. Brian travels about 75 percent of the time and uses his mobile devices on a day-to-day basis. Read More About Brian

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Wireless Printers

HP Deskjet 450cbi Mobile Printer

By: Barry Shultz
There are some new and exciting technologies for printers that we will all be enjoying in the very near future. Actually the technology is available right now but many people do not understand it or know how to use it.

The technology that I will focus on here is IrDA and Bluetooth interfaces. Gone will be the wires which extends a lot of possibilities for placing your printer in your home or office.

IrDA is an acronym for Infrared Data Association. IR devices work by using infrared technology, and hence don't require any cables to connect them to the printer. Actually this is old technology revisited. It was used widely in TV remote controls. IrDA will be replaced by Bluetooth eventually because of it's restrictions. (continued...)

Using such printers, one can print directly from a mobile device, such as a PDA, cell phone or even a video camera, which supports an IrDA interface without the need of any cables or even a PC. The only shortcoming is the line of sight restriction. As the devices work using infrared rays, any obstacles between the communicating devices will block the signal.

Some HP printers with IrDA support are HP DeskJet 340, HP LaserJet 5MP, HP LaserJet 6MP, HP 2100M and HP4050N.

Bluetooth is another addition to the new interfaces available for printers. Bluetooth is a low-cost, low-power, wireless radio frequency technology that allows various devices to communicate with each other.

These devices operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) band. An advantage of Bluetooth over IrDA is that close proximity between the communicating devices is not required and distances of up to 40 feet are allowed. Also, Bluetooth does not suffer from any line of sight restrictions.

A fascinating aspect of Bluetooth-enabled devices is their ability to communicate with each other spontaneously when they come within each other's range. A Bluetooth-enabled cell phone can be configured so that it can automatically print out all its stored messages and photos using a Bluetooth printer as soon as you enter your office without any manual intervention.

Another advantage of using Bluetooth is its support for point-to-multipoint communications. This means a single printer can simultaneously connect to both your cell phone, as well as your computer and any other Bluetooth enabled device within its vicinity.

The HP 995c Bluetooth printer is one example of an inkjet printer with built-in Bluetooth support.

Here is an excerpt from a review of the HP 995c done by PC Magazine:

"We found we could print wirelessly from as far away as 40 feet. And we found no significant difference in output speed between printing via a USB connection and printing wirelessly with Bluetooth."

Bluetooth is still in its infancy but from what I've seen so far it looks like it will be the dominant wireless technology in the future.


Ambicom BlueTooth Wireless Printer Kit
Make Any USB Inkjet Printer BlueTooth Enabled for $59.99

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Barry Shultz is the author of Atlascopy News, and President of Atlascopy, Inc. Atlascopy specialized in affordable alternatives to the high cost of printer supplies. Sign up for the Atlascopy Newsletter and get 10% coupons every week in your email. Go to Atlascopy to save a bundle on your printer and refilling supplies.

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Mobile Phone Viruses Double

By: The Editor
Security software firm SimWorks has announced that the number of known "trojan" viruses found doubled, increasing the risk of computer-borne cell phone infection.

These viruses are dubbed "trojans" because they are often hidden inside game software that is downloaded onto phones. The most recent wave of infection has been found in games for smartphones that run on the Series 60 Symbian operating system used in models from Nokia. Simworks found 52 damaging Trojans in one day. (continued...)

Notably, the trojans appear to be cracked versions of popular Symbian applications such as BitStorm, BugMe!, Cosmic Fighter, 3D Motoracer and SplashID.

SimWorks CEO Aaron Davidson said, "this is a significant development as until now we've usually found mobile trojans two or three at a time at the most. It would be easy for a malware writer to create 1 trojan and give it 52 different names however this is not the case here where we have 52 separately cracked and infected applications. Somebody has gone to an awful lot of time and effort to turn these out".

Although approximately 20 million smartphones were sold around the world last year, none of the new 52 trojans has been found "in the wild" where they can be downloaded by consumers.

"Until reports are received of these trojans in the wild there is little risk to end users," Davidson said.

The usual precautions apply, such as never downloading applications or files from unknown sources.

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Introducing Vex ™ -- The Robot Design System that Brings Science to Life

Click for Full Details

UPDATE:
This product is not PDA related but it is technology related and I'm sure my fellow techo-geeks will want to know about these cool new robotics kits. Great fun for you and the kids and you can even enter robotic competitions.

Inspired by the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, the world’s leading high school Robotics program, the new Vex Robotics Design System is not just a build-it-yourself RC toy. It's a test of skill. Construct radio-controlled robotic devices that lift, throw, race and expand the boundaries of experimental intelligence.

UPDATE!
The official Vex Robotics website is now live. Get all the details on one of the most interesting and fun hobby/sports to come along in years.
Visit the Official Vex Robotics Website

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Onemail -- Sync Your Hotmail

By: Brian Leinfuss

Microsoft ActiveSync is great… limited, but great.

You have the ability to sync your PDA with either MS Outlook or MS Exchange.
But what do you do if you want to have your Yahoo!, Hotmail, MSN Mail, AOL, or just about any POP3 email account in your pocket and at your fingertips?

Enter Onemail.


Onemail will allow you to consolidate and sync all your POP3 mail accounts to your PDA or SmartPhone. (continued...)

Onemail offers a free version to wet your whistle. The free version allows you to download the first 10 emails of a single mail account and only from the inbox folder. I personally have found that sufficient because I tend to put my non-critical emails into other folders to address at a later time.

The full version allows you to download from as many POP3 accounts that you specify to the settings procedure and will sync all folders specified.

Be warned, all those emails from all those files can very quickly eat away at your precious and finite memory.

Onemail recommends that you have a minimum requirement of:
• Microsoft Windows 98 / ME / NT / 2000 / XP
• PocketPC / PocketPC 2002 / PocketPC 2003 / Windows Mobile
• ActiveSync 3.1/3.5 or above

• CPU: Celeron 500MHz or above
• RAM: 128Mb or above
• Hard Disk: 10Mb free space

Click for More Details and Trial Download

PDA and Mobile Today Reviewer's Rating ****
(4 out of 5 Stars -- 5 stars is best)

About The Author:
Brian Leinfuss is a project manager for a software company in New Jersey. He has co-authored a number of technical books. Brian travels about 75 percent of the time and uses his mobile devices on a day-to-day basis. Read More About Brian

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Microsoft to Extend the Reach of Live Comm Server to Mobile Devices

New Windows Mobile client will extend IM and presence awareness to Windows Mobile-based device users virtually anytime, anywhere.
Read the Announcemnt
Source: Microsoft

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Toshiba Reveals The Libretto U100 Mini-Notebook

Toshiba's Digital Products Division announced Wednesday the launch of the libretto U100 mini-notebook computer.
Weighing 2.16 pounds, the libretto U100 offers mobile users a compact and lightweight notebook that offers full computing functionality. The new libretto U100 has a 7.2-inch diagonal wide-screen LCD and integrates an LED backlight for the LCD screen.
Read the Full Article
Source: InformationWeek

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Let Your USB Flash Drive Pull Double Duty

By Brian Leinfuss
Today, USB flash drives are an essential part of practically any computer user’s arsenal of tech gear. I use the Sandisk Cruzer 512 USB Flash Drive (amazon.com for $47.49) and can not remember how I got along without it. Important files that I need to have at hand are always readily accessible. It has proven to be more convenient than burning a CD and then transferring it to the PC.

I prefer the Sandisk Cruzer line because of the slim form factor. I previously had other USB flash drives that were thicker preventing me from plugging it into many of the new Dell desktop USB drives. (continued...)

Now, SanDisk makes a great gadget, the


SanDisk Micro MP3 Cruzer Companion (amazon.com $48.44). This great gadget allows you to combine your Sandisk Cruzer USB flash drive with the Micro MP3 Companion and use it as an mp3 player.

This product is an inexpensive alternative to higher priced mp3 players.

The Mp3 Companion comes with everything you need (minus the USB flash drive) to get started:
• Sandisk Cruzer Micro MP3 Companion
• AAA Battery
• Belt-clip
• Headphones

So, if you want to balance work and play, the SanDisk Cruzer Micro Mp3 Companion is a great solution for you. I know you'll enjoy it.

PDA and Mobile Today Reviewers Rating ****
(4 out of 5 Stars --5 stars is best)

About The Author:
Brian Leinfuss is a project manager for a software company in New Jersey. He has co-authored a number of technical books. Brian travels about 75 percent of the time and uses his mobile devices on a day-to-day basis. Read More About Brian

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Tips For Optimal Laptop Power & Functionality

By: Cody Kahl
Are you sick and tired of your notebook battery cutting out on you when you need it most? Are you always buying new batteries because your old ones aren’t lasting as long as they should be? If either of these questions apply to you, then read on.

In this article I will discuss some of the things you can do to conserve your batterys' power so that your laptop runs longer. I will also discuss some easy things you can do to ensure that your battery gets the long life it deserves. (continued...)

First, let’s cover some of the things you can do immediately to cut the amount of power your laptop is sucking from the battery.

- Remove all cards from your notebooks slots when you are not using them. Believe it or not, some of these cards will suck power even when not being used!

- If your laptop has a power management function, use it. Things like lowering the brightness of your screen and turning off the screen saver can also help tremendously.

- Turn off your wireless port when not in use. This may seem pointless, but power is used by the wireless port scanning for the nearest “hot spot”

- Put your laptop in sleep or suspend mode rather than rebooting it. Rebooting your laptop uses much more power than simply letting it “sleep”.

- This one is something that many people should do – Carry a spare battery. By purchasing a second battery you can double the amount of time your laptop can go for.

The above recommendations work great for adding some much needed time when it comes to your notebook battery, but nothing will help if your battery isn’t being properly cared for. Below are some general tips you can use to ensure that your battery will function correctly.

- Do not store your battery in extreme temperatures – Not too hot and not too cold.

- A new battery should be fully charged and then discharged when you receive it.

- Discharge your notebooks battery fully before recharging it again. Consider getting a rapid charger/conditioner for this.

By following the above recommendations you can ensure a long life from your laptop battery as well as optimal performance.

About the Author:
Cody Kahl is creator and writer of Toshiba Laptops Guide – A site
dedicated to providing only the best toshiba laptop battery information.


iGo™ Juice Power Adapter

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AvantGo Service Launched For BlackBerry Devices

A version of the popular AvantGo information service that will work on BlackBerry devices was announced Monday.

AvantGo provides access to a wide variety of news and other information that is delivered directly to wireless and mobile devices. Previously available only for Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices, iAnyWhere Solutions, the Sybase subsidiary that owns AvantGo, said the service will be available for BlackBerry devices in the next 30 days.

"Once used primarily for email, BlackBerry devices are increasingly being used by the business user for a wider range of applications, including access to Internet news and information," Neil Versen, senior director of AvantGo at iAnywhere, said in a statement.

The service, which was launched in 1999, already has seven million subscribers, according to iAnyWhere. The service is free.

Source: AvantGo

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(continued...)
















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