PC fair has just come and gone. Have you got yourself any gadgets from there? I heard from friends that PDA phones were on sale at rock-bottom prices.
Some of them are selling at around a thousand Ringgit and bundled with Bluetooth headsets, which I consider a steal rather than a bargain. If you are the lucky few owning these cool gadgets, congratulation and welcome to the mobile front line. In order to help you appreciate your investment and at the same time unlock its hidden potential, I have here a rundown on the software - VH PocketPC Capture, or VHPPCCapture, in short.
It is developed by Hmelyoff Labs for capturing screen images from a PocketPC or SmartPhone - and also videos from screens or camera. The capturing process utilizes any kind of DirectShow-based application. Just select “VH PocketPC Capture” as input through Video Capture card. The shortcoming, though, is that PocketPC or SmartPhone must be connected to a PC using ActiveSync. This is because a massive amount of data needs to be saved, especially if you are capturing a video. Oh, by the way, did I mention control? Yup, one can also control one’s mobile devices utilizing special client applications or the C++ interface of a virtual device.
Besides capturing camera content, one can use your PocketPC or SmartPhone as a web camera. Laptops nowadays come with a webcam. But if yours doesn’t, just utilize this software to put your mobile devices into good use. The great thing about VH PocketPC Capture is it comes to you free. The newest version available is 0.91. Download from PocketGear.com at http://www.pocketgear.com/software_detail.asp?id=22915&associateid=262&afsrc=1. Since we have been talking about PDAs, obviously VH PocketPC Capture runs on Windows Mobile platform, either 2003 or 2005.
The second software I’m introducing will make your PDA more efficient and responsive - Speedbooster. It allows the user to focus the CPU on certain tasks that require more hardware power. It has an easy to use interface for manipulating hardware utilization priority. Speedbooster is able to run on various Windows Mobile platforms (Pocket PC and Smartphone, both 2003 and 2005), and can instantaneously boost performance of hardware intensive applications. Let’s say, for example, a GPS navigation system, a 3D game or even a fancy MP3 player are all running at the same time and it’s too much for your mobile CPU to handle. With Speedbooster, the user can set the desired priority for all running tasks, so that more CPU power can be distributed to the one being focused on. Speedbooster is developed by Teksoft SRL. Interested readers can find it in Handango, at http://www.handango.com. (Sorry, the direct link is a bit too long to put it in here.) Speedbooster comes with a 16-day unlimited trial. If, after that, you are still interested, it is yours for USD13.95. Performance does come with a price.
Well, if you are unwilling to fork out the money and yet wish to speed up your PDA, there are alternatives. But they often do not come with any warranty. It is all trial and error, and I advise against them if one is not comfortable with the ideology of overclocking. But if you have great determination, with a bit of luck, you may be rewarded with a faster device that performs parallel to those costing 50 to 100 percent more.
The software to use is OmapClock, which can be obtained at Maxime Boulin’s blog, at http://www.maxasia.net/2007/04/26/overclock-your-dopod-c800. He even features a walk-through to carry out the overclocking. Besides overclocking your PDA’s CPU frequency, there is also the option of underclocking. One normally does this to save on battery life. Just in case readers do not know, OmapClock only works for PDAs utilizing the TI OMAP processor. If your PDA uses an ARM/XSCALE , try searching in Google for JS Overclock, a freeware too.
Be warned though: Excessive overclocking is harmful to your chip. It may shorten life span of your device or even fry up its chip, in a worst case scenario. So, do proceed at your own risk!
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