VDSL Roll-out Starts in 2008

W00t... KPN is finally starting to upgrade their network to support VDSL. This COULD mean a major speed upgrade for me. Currently I only have a 4Mbps ADSL2 line (but with a 1Mbps upload, thanks to XS4ALL). This is the maximum throughput for me, since I live too far from the distribution hub. Other interesting news is that KPN won't charge their customers for MOBILE data connections made from the 21st of December till the 30th of December 2007. So, it's all you can download via GPRS, UMTS :-)

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Aurora Be Gone

The default background image on OSX Leopard is this annoying Aurora/starfield kinda picture. To change this, just change the desktop background image by using the rightmouse button on the desktop.It's something different to change the background image on the login screen. Some searching revealed that it uses the DefaultDesktop.jpg in the /System/Library/CoreServices/ directory. 'Just' replace that file with your own picture. There is a small catch. If you replace it, it will get the wrong permissions on the file, and therefor won't show up on the login screen.Just 'reset' the permissions on the file like this:

• sudo chown root /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg
• sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/CoreServices/DefaultDesktop.jpg

You may need to enter a username and password while executing these commands.

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Gmail Goes IMAP

It seems that Gmail is going to enable IMAP support for their free mail service. The gmail application for mobile devices is nice, but it IMAP is nicer to have. It seems that the IMAP option isn't available on my account (yet). Guess I have to wait a little longer.

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Remove Certificate From Nokia E61

Somehow, people are directed to my website by queries which contain the following key-words; 'remove', 'certificate', and 'e61'. So, here's a quick certificate uninstall guide:

Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Security Settings -> Certif. management -> Scroll down to the certificate you wish to delete -> Options -> Delete -> Confirm Delete -> Yes.

It's not that hard :) (the 'guide' is written for the e61i, but I doubt if it's much different on the e61)

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Google Search Results

By default, the Google search page is displayed in the language from the country you're in. You can change this in the 'preferences' on the Google page. The actual text near the language preference is:

Display Google tips and messages in: [<LANGUAGE>]

According to me that's only interface related and (at most) tips/local event related (like Queen's Day etc.). But it also influences the search results. Just try it by switching to several different languages.

Shouldn't search results be the same?

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Configure the Nokia E61i for VoIP

The Nokia E61(i) phone is capable of making Voice over IP (VoIP) phone calls. The nice part is that you don't need your cellular carrier to make phone calls. All you need is a VoIP account somewhere. The world greatest ISP (in Holland), XS4ALL, gives 2 free VoIP numbers to its customers. So, it was time to get it working on my Nokia E61i. First of all, I wasn't familiar with the VoIP terminology, so I needed a manual for dummies on this. Luckely, the dutch tweakers forum gave me some answers on the topic. After configuring the phone I got error messages about not being able to connect to the service. I did read some reports on this, and they all mentioned that some phones didn't seem to work properly... Fortunately, a colleague of mine has the same phone, and he got it working. So, it could be something else... My DSL modem for example. A quick test showed, that when I used my neighbors open WiFi, I was able to connect to the service, so I needed to look at my modem. A quick search revealed that there was a new firmware (released by my ISP). After updating the firmware everything worked fine. One drawback though. The default outgoing call type is set to cellular, so every call you make will be using the normal GSM network. There is no easy way of switching this to VoIP. This can only be done in the the Phone menu (Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Call).

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Favorite Applications on Nokia E61 Screen

The Nokia 61(i) has some default applications and tools on the screen. These applications can be opened by clicking them instead of browsing through the menu. They are probably the applications you use the most. The default applications and tools are nice, but most likely, every user wants his/hers own apps there. It took me a while before I figured out that the screen you see is called the 'standby' screen. Lame name for this screen if you ask me. Anyway, you can edit this by going to;

Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Phone -> Standby

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Transfer Large Files to the Nokia E61

A couple of day's ago, I tried to play an episode of Painkiller Jane on my Nokia E61i. The original format was in the DivX format, so I used VisualHub to convert it on my Mac to the MP4 format (320 pixels wide). This part was relatively easy. The next step was a bit harder; trying to get the 100MB file from my Mac on the Nokia. Somehow, there's no way of transferring the file from a Mac to the Nokia via USB. The USB connection works file with iSync, but this has no option of synching files. When connecting, the phone gives you the option of using the 'PC Suite' or 'Data Transfer'. The first is using iSync, and the latter gives you an error that the devices can't be recognized. Nokia does have an application for the Mac to transfer files to, and from the phone (Nokia Media Transfer). BUT, the Nokia E61 is NOT supported This means you're left with Bluetooth, or using a web server and download the file. If you don't own your own webserver you're stuck with Bluetooth (which is terribly slow b.t.w.). Both are a pain in the butt in getting large fils on the phone. I had to resume the download via the web server about 10 times before I had downloaded it, and Bluetooth... well don't get me started on that. My advice; don't use a Mac to transfer large files to the phone, but use Nokia PC Suite with the USB cable on a PC to do that. B.t.w. the Nokia E61i played the episode just fine.

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Cannot Authorize Phone

Oke, the first annoyance about the Nokia E61 is a fact. Well, actually it's about the Nokia PC Suite with which you can connect the phone to your (Windows) PC. Somehow my Nokia E61i wouldn't connect using bluetooth with the Nokia Software. It could connect to the PC itself, but the Nokia software didn't want to 'see' the phone. So I tried to remove the pairing between de two devices (which seemed to work). After that I tried to pair the two devices again... That's were the trouble started. The software did see the phone via bluetooth, but it gave an error when I wanted to connect. The error said 'Cannot Authorize Phone'. Connecting via the USB cable worked fine. I tried rebooting the PC and the phone several times, but the error persisted. Finally I removed the software from the PC and reinstalled it. Same error occured :mad: . This was the point when I seriously thought about going back to a Windows Mobile device. There was one more thing I might try, and that was going through the registry of the PC and remove EVERY reference to Nokia. I first uninstalled the software and afterwards I removed everything Nokia-related in the registry. After a reboot I reinstalled the Nokia PC Suite software, and everything worked fine. This proves that Nokia software is as buggy as Microsoft software. How hard is it for a piece of software/developer to remove all references to the software when you remove it? (rhetorical question)

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Installation Root CA on Nokia E61 Made Easier

Updated on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 8:53 by Willem

From this day on, you can install certificates from non-trusted CA's on your Symbian-based phone (like the Nokia E61) using this page euh.. this page.

UPDATE: it seems that most other phone brands and types work as well (the S40 based devices are left out... sorry).

All you need to do is make sure that the certificate is in the DER format. The webpage doesn't verify if the certificate is in the correct format. This is up to the uploader.

I created this page, because I work a lot with digital certificates, so I don't want to be bothered with the workaround described in the earlier post. The current version is quick-and-dirty (no error messages). I'll try to make it more user friendly in the next couple of days (like having the option of sending the URL to an e-mail address). Just make sure that you obey the guidelines shown on the page, and all should go well.

Feel free to add a comment on how to improve this.

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