Monthly Archives: September 2006

Syncing Outlook, Google Calendar/Mail, iPod, & Phone

An anonymous blogger posted his/her(?) solution to sync a multitude of software, services, and devices that don’t normally speak to each other (e.g., Outlook and iPod) in a post titled:

The Holy Grail of Synchronization: How to synchronize Microsoft Outlook (multiple locations), Google Calendar, Gmail, iPod, and mobile phone with Funambol / ScheduleWorld

Ilium InScribe: Free Text-Entry Software for UMPC

Ilium Software released a free application for Microsoft UMPC (Ultra Mobile Personal Computers) devices. Ilium Software InScribe is a text entry utility that works with the UMPC’s virtual on-screen keyboard to quickly enter text. I don’t know anyone who owns a UMPC. But, if you do, head to Ilium’s website to download their free offering.

You can learn more about the UMPC at Intel and Microsoft’s sites for it found at:

Intel: UMPC.com

Microsoft Ultra Mobile PC

Avocent SonicAdmin QR and SonicAdmin Pro: Manage Windows Servers from a PDA

Avocent, probably best known for their KVMs announced two products that allows managing a Windows Server remotely from a Blackberry or Windows Mobile based device.
Avocent Corporation Unveils New Products to Enable Management of Servers from Smartphones

Using SonicAdmin QR software, system administrators can access any server allowed by their Active Directory profile to view server statistics, shutdown and reboot servers, view event logs, view and manage processes, manage Active Directory user accounts, and run Quick Commands such as ping, ipconfig and traceroute.

SonicAdmin Pro software offers additional functionality, adding Windows services management, file explorer, file search, file and folder properties, file editor and a Command line interface. The Exchange Server management extensions include viewing queue properties as well as freeze and unfreeze queues and force connection commands. Active Directory management adds user group management and mailbox properties

Zune… Hmm…

Zune photo courtesy of Microsoft


Microsoft announced (but did not release) their Zune audio/video device that will compete with the Apple iPod in the portable multimedia space. I had written it off as an also-ran prior to seeing Apple’s lackluster iPod refresh announcements on Sept. 12. Now, I’m wondering if Zune might have a chance a device generation or two from now. Zune’s larger screen (3 inches) and WiFi sharing feature certainly makes it interesting to me. On the other hand, why is one of the three colors brown? Brown? And, doesn’t it really look like a 1950s speaker with the grill removed? Very retro.

You can find more information at Microsoft’s Zune Virtual Pressroom. And Zune Thoughts’ Jason Dunn took stock Zune video clips and provided a very informative voiceover narrative for those of you interested in seeing Zune in action: Zune Video Overview: See Zune in Action.

Virtual Earth Mobile Updated to Work with Revised Virtual Earth

Jason Fuller noted that a change in Microsoft Virtual Earth (the engine that powers local.live.com) had a change that broke the find business feature in Virtual Earth Mobile for Windows Mobile devices. Version 1.67 fixes this problem. You can download the CAB installer directly from his blog entry at:

Virtual Mobile Earth 1.67