Then after my tickets went unanswered for few days, weeks, I don’t really care about my server and almost forgot about it I until I got the news that the provider has been bought by new owner. Thankfully the new owner has better support than previous one, my tickets answered quickly and my server is back online!

I guess price does not lie, and I need to be more careful next time I choose a provider.

tp-x1 front

Some time after I posted this, I ended up getting the HTC Touch Pro, and so far I’m satisfied with it. Great keyboard, great screen, fast response (after flashing to custom made rom though). I didn’t choose xperia because I heard horror stories about them especially the build quality issues. The cracks, paint peeling off, etc has drove me away from getting the xperia albeit its $100 cheaper than the Touch Pro.

But few weeks ago I saw interesting offer on 2 weeks old SE Xperia X1 in black colour and I ended up getting it. I still curious about this device. I wanted to prove myself whether the rumors spreading on the internet is true or not.

tp-x1 keyboard

After getting it, I was very frustated with my X1. It was so unstable, random crashes on the OS and random signal loss. The build quality is far behind my TP. The sliding mechanism seems not too solidly built, a bit wiggle/play even when the slider is in closed position.  The back battery cover easily scratched. In short, I’m not happy.

I tried to fix the stability issues by flashing latest custom rom on xda-developers.com made by itje and the radio ROM. Currently I’m on Touch-IT 5.061 and now device runs very smoothly and stable. I already had the X1 for few weeks now and the speed and stability is similar to my TP. It has nice and sleek Touch Flo 3D 2 interface from HTC Rhodium (HTC Touch Pro 2) .

If I put aside the build quality issues on Xperia, the device performs quite well. I love the extra resolution on the X1. It has slightly larger resolution (WVGA 800×480) on the X1 compared with TP (VGA 640×480). Making scrolling through emails/documents, browsing the web, and watching wide screen movies better than the TP. I think I can’t go back to any device which has lower screen res than VGA. The difference is HUGE.

So in summary:

• Screen: X1 won, WVGA on X1 vs VGA on TP
• Keyboard: TP won, 5 rows keyboard is really useful, more comfortably and I had little issue with spacebar on the hardware keyboard on X1.
• Build quality: TP won
• Software: If using stock ROM, I prefer the TP. I hate the original SE interface, I hardly use the panel at all. But thanks to the chef at xda-developers I can get Touch Flo 3D on the X1!  So its a tie!
• Hardware: Both X1 and TP has similar hardware, 528Mhz processor, same GPS, wifi, gsm radio, etc. While TP has slightly larger ram (288MB vs 256MB), but in reality I didn’t found much difference between them.
• Extra features: TP has accelometer, useful for automatic screen rotation and some games. TP also has TV out feature, but shame on them they did not include the cable to use this feature. I’m thinking to hook it up to my car screen for GPS navigation. X1 has 3.5mm jack.

Conclusion? I ended up using the X1 as my primary phone, because I kinda liked the WVGA screen although it has crappy keyboard and the backcover scratches easily.

Currently I’m using it on my HTC Touch Pro, and I must say finally Windows Mobile have quite decent facebook client. Previously I tried to use another program (I forgot the name though), and never quite like it, mainly due to its performance and lack of features compared to iphone’s/blackberry’s facebook client. This one, is quite similar to the iPhone’s facebook client. The ability to see the news feed, friends list, status updates, message inbox, upload and tag photos/videos, photo/video/profile comments, phonebook, etc all here.

Dopod 838Pro (TyTN) vs HTC Touch Pro (Raphael)

Another one just happens yesterday, when my colleagues just got back from home leave in Jakarta. He just got HTC Touch Pro, which basically one of my most wanted phone  currently, apart from Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 and Blackberry’s Bold. He asks me to configure emails, install applications on the PDA, etc which gives chances to me to explore the device.

My few comments so far, nice shape and form, looks much slimmer and sleeker than my current PDA, a Dopod 838Pro aka HTC TyTN. The VGA (640×480) screen is so beautiful! The keyboard, finally they got dedicated number buttons on top, similar to the full size keyboard layout. Although the keys are little smaller, but still comfortable to use. The performance, noticeably faster, thanks to faster processor and larger RAM. Touch Pro has built in GPS too, and I was amazed how quick it was to get a lock/fix.

TyTN vs Raphael (opened)

The big question is, should I upgrade? Since I installed Windows Mobile 6.1 on my TyTN, the interface is quite similar, from software point of view, maybe the difference only on TouchFlo 3D because TyTN does not have the 3d hardware to support it. From hardware, it improved from almost everything, QVGA vs VGA screen (love it!), 7.2 mbps vs 3.6 mbps hsdpa, 400mhz vs 528mhz cpu, 3D hardware, GPS, accelerometer, etc.

For Blackberry users, can you elaborate why I should get Bold than Touch Pro or Xperia X1? Most people has converted to Blackberry or wanted one, from who really use his/her BB to its original intended use (work), as gadget addicts/hobbyists who use it to fullest potential, to who just bought it just to really following the trends.

As for iPhone, I really don’t have any desire to get one. Sure it looks good, but lack of physical qwerty keyboard is a big minus for me. I have the iPod touch, which has same interface as the iPhone. First few days of use I was really impressed, with its multitouch, beautiful interface, cool factor, etc. But after a while I got bored,even after I jailbreak the iPod and install hundreds of useless applications on the iPod. I tried to type an emails with it, it was really a painful experience. Now I’m barely use the iPod, and only use it if I’m traveling on the plane.

]]> http://tesna.net/2009/01/21/upgrading-touch-pro-xperia-x1-bold/feed 0 http://tesna.net/2009/01/15/israelis-shot-at-fleeing-gazans http://tesna.net/2009/01/15/israelis-shot-at-fleeing-gazans#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:38:24 +0000 Tesna Rafinari http://tesna.net/?p=197 I read this on BBC news, I’m speechless.

Many Palestinian civilians are caught up in the fighting in Gaza

Claims have been received by the BBC and an Israeli human rights group that Israeli troops have fired on Gaza residents trying to escape the conflict area. Israel has strongly denied the allegations.

BBC journalists in Gaza and Israel have compiled detailed accounts of the claims.

via BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israelis ’shot at fleeing Gazans’.

Until Israel allowing press in Gaza, I’m going to believe those statements. If Israel feels right for its actions, they shouldn’t have anything to hide!

I tried to delete my account then recreating it again, that trick usually worked, since I’ve experienced my PDA stopped syncing emails several times, especially after long period of inactivity due to GSM network problem. I searched on mobipush’s forums and it seems several users did experience this.

Therefore I tried to search for another push mail provider which supports Windows Mobile devices.  Since I’ve tried mail2web’s service in the past, and don’t quite like it especially it does not support push mail from 3rd party mailboxes outside mail2web domain. So today I decided to try free service from SEVEN. Currently SEVEN supports several mobile plattform, from Windows Mobile 5/6, Symbian UIQ/S60, Sony Ericsson/Nokia J2ME, and Palm devices. Depends on the version you download, SEVEN supports fetching emails from regular IMAP/POP accounts, Exchange and Lotus Domino.

I did not try SEVEN in the past because it needs additional software installed on my PDA to enable email push. I really prefer  WM’s built in Outlook mobile compared installing additional email client. But since Outlook mobile only supports push mail for Exchange Mail servers, I don’t have much options. It’s a shame that the built in client does not support IMAP idle.

After installing and configuring SEVEN application, I was surprised that it integrates nicely to built in Messages Application. In Messages Application, now I have additional folders for each email account(s) configured in SEVEN in built in Messages Application. So, it has same interfaces with Outlook Mobile. This is a plus, since mobipush consolidate all my email accounts on one folder. So far I don’t have any problems using it, the emails arrives within seconds.

Currently the service still free, but it does not guarantees the services will stay free.

Facebook recently launched Facebook Connect plattform, which gives Facebook users to logon using their facebook identity, to any facebook connect enabled sites they wanted. Enabling Facebook connect is quite complicated, but for site owners build their site with Wordpress, MovableType, vbulletin, and mediawiki is quite straight forward. The plugins are available!

I just got facebook connect wordpress plugin installed several days ago. First one I tried is WP-FBConnect, created by one of Facebook engineers, Adam Huup. The installation is quite simple, you just need to install and activate the plugin, then just add some php code where you want to put the facebook connect button. Then I looked into another wordpress plugin, Sociable.es Facebook Connect plugin. While both has similar function,  but I ended up using sociable’s plugin because they have sidebar widgets on them, with little modification on the widget and add the button in the comment form.

After installing them, I noticed the page is not updated after I logged on to my site using my facebook credentials, it still  the user is not logged on to the site. After some searching, it seems its caused WP-SuperCache plugin, somehow its not registers the user already logged therefore its still serves caches pages. Luckyly, the fix is available.

I still got little problem though, one of my favorite wordpress plugin, Fotobook is not working if FBConnect plugin is enabled. So, if I need to update the facebook photos database or inserting facebook photos into a post, I need to disable the facebook connect plugin first. It complains about can’t redeclare class. I tried to do some modifications, but so far I’m not lucky yet. It seems both fotobook and facebook connect plugin use same facebook library, but use different versions of them.

After some googling, I found a bash script on ameir.net, which I thought it would be perfect for the job. But unfortunately gmail refused to receive the backups emails since its larger than 20MB/message. Then I modified the script to allow the backup files compressed using tar.gz format (previously its using .zip format), automatically splitting them every 15MB, and finally sends each individual attachment. Just put the code somewhere in your server, then configure cron to execute it how often you want your files to be backed up.

PS: on ameir.net I’ve also found a script to dump mysql database and sends them to email. You should check out the website.

#! /bin/bash# Ameir Abdeldayem# http://www.ameir.net# You are free to modify and distribute this code,# so long as you keep my name and URL in it.
# Last modified: August 1, 2006
#-------------------------------------------------------------
# your server's name
SERVER=servername.yourdomain.com
# directory to backup to
BACKDIR=~/backups
# date format that is appended to filename
DATE=`date +'%m-%d-%Y'`
# directories to backup, separated by a space
# if this script is a level above a directory you want to backup,
# you can simply enter its name, otherwise, type the absolute path,
# with or without a trailing slash.
DIRS="/your/directory/"
# set to 'y' if you want to backup all your folders. this will backup
# all files and folders in the script's parent directory
BACKALL=n
#----------------------Mail Settings--------------------#
# set to 'y' if you'd like to be emailed the backup (requires mutt)
MAIL=y
# email addresses to send backups to, separated by a space
EMAILS="youremail@yordomain.com"
# email subject
SUBJECT="Directory Backup on $SERVER ($DATE)"
#----------------------FTP Settings--------------------#
# set "FTP=y" if you want to enable FTP backups
FTP=n
# FTP server settings; should be self-explanatory
FTPHOST="ftp.server.com"
FTPUSER="user"
FTPPASS="password"
# directory to backup to. if it doesn't exist, file will be uploaded to
# first logged-in directory
FTPDIR="backups"
#-------------------Deletion Settings-------------------#
# delete old files?
DELETE=y
# how many days of backups do you want to keep?
DAYS=3
#----------------------End of Settings------------------#
# check of the backup directory exists
# if not, create it
if [ -e $BACKDIR ]
then
echo Backups directory already exists
else
mkdir $BACKDIR
fi
# This is a list of folders to be backed up.
# You can add more entries if you want more
# directories to be backed up. The ${PWD##*/}
# from the first entry gets the base name from
# the current directory and uses it in the filename.
# Format: zip -9 -r (where to save) (what to backup).
# Be sure to include $BACKDIR/ in the beginning
# so that the file is saved in the backup directory.
if [ $BACKALL = "y" ]
then
echo Backing up entire parent directory...
tar cfz $BACKDIR/${PWD##*/}-backup-$SERVER-$DATE.zip ./
else
echo Backing up selected directories...
for directory in $DIRS
do
DIR=`echo $directory | sed -e 's/^\///g' -e 's/\/$//g' -e 's/~//g' -e 's/\.//g' -e 's/home\///g' -e 's/\//_/g'`
echo Backing up folder named $directory as $DIR...
tar cfz $BACKDIR/$DIR-backup-$SERVER-$DATE.tar.gz $directory
split -b 15m $BACKDIR/$DIR-backup-$SERVER-$DATE.tar.gz $BACKDIR/$DIR-backup-$SERVER-$DATE.tar.gz
done
fi
if [ $MAIL = "y" ]
then
BODY="Your backup is ready!"
ATTACH=`for filea in $BACKDIR/*$DATE.tar.gzaa; do echo -n "-a ${filea} "; done`
echo $BODY | mutt -s "$SUBJECT" $ATTACH $EMAILS
echo "Your backup part 1 has been emailed to you!"
ATTACH2=`for fileb in $BACKDIR/*$DATE.tar.gzab; do echo -n "-a ${fileb} "; done`
echo $BODY | mutt -s "$SUBJECT" $ATTACH2 $EMAILS
echo "Your backup part 2 has been emailed to you!"
ATTACH3=`for filec in $BACKDIR/*$DATE.tar.gzac; do echo -n "-a ${filec} "; done`
echo $BODY | mutt -s "$SUBJECT" $ATTACH3 $EMAILS
echo "Your backup part 3 has been emailed to you!"
ATTACH4=`for filed in $BACKDIR/*$DATE.tar.gzad; do echo -n "-a ${filed} "; done`
echo $BODY | mutt -s "$SUBJECT" $ATTACH4 $EMAILS
echo "Your backup part 4 has been emailed to you!"
fi
if [ $FTP = "y" ]
then
cd $BACKDIR
ATTACH=`for file in *$DATE.tar.gz; do echo -n -e "put ${file}\n"; done`
ftp -nv 

So I got the particular photos page removed on my blog, and I deleted the entire album on facebook. When I look the server logs on the page hits several days ago, I was not worried, I thought google only caches the thumbnails, the important thing is I’ve deleted the actual file. But after did some checking myself to google image search the keyword, I found out that the search results returns actual images physical link address to facebook server, altough it returns 404 errors in my blog. Then I clicked on the see full size link and guess what? THE IMAGES IS STILL ACCESSIBLE ON FACEBOOK SERVER! IN FULL SIZE!

I’m pissed, because I found out that I don’t have full control the information about me on facebook. Facebook still retains the image even though I’ve deleted it from facebook interface. I wonder what other information retained by facebook after you delete it from facebook.

A while ago I read an article on nytimes that facebook keeps your records even if you close your account in facebook, and the user find it hard time to force facebook to delete the account.

I also found on facebook privacy policy page:

Access and control over most personal information on Facebook is readily available through the profile editing tools. Facebook users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account. Information will be updated immediately. Individuals who wish to deactivate their Facebook account may do so on the My Account page. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of Facebook.

It is reasonable if the information persist in backup copies for a reasonable period amount of time, and not generally available to members of facebook, I’m OK with that. But why my deleted photos still accessible by anyone on the internet? Although with the help with google image search but at least facebook should delete or at least block access for general users to the deleted images link.

I’ve filed a complaint to facebook, lets see how it goes.

When I found mobipush.com this is quite a good candidate to solve my problem, as they offers retrieving emails from all imap/pop email accounts and push it to your windows mobile device using Microsoft Direct Push technology. Here’s the features offered:

Features & Benefits

• Push eMail for IMAP and POP3 (Including Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, Exchange…)
• Compatible with all DirectPush devices, including Windows Mobile SmartPhone and PocketPC
• No software or Hardware installation required
• Use your existing eMail account
• Synchronize Read/Unread Status and eMail deletions
• Secure communication using SSL encryption
• Synchronize up to 5 personal and/or business eMail Accounts
• Remote device wipe in case your device is lost or stolen

The good thing is, when you replied an email, the email will appears from original to: email address from sender, not from the default email account, which is not offered by mail2web.com. The only negative I found is only lack of syncing contacts, appointments, calendar events etc compared to syncing with real exchange server. But hey, currently I only need it to sync emails.

If you configure the push mail to access IMAP email accounts supporting IMAP idle commands, your email(s) will almost instantly delivered to your mobile device. But if it does not suport IMAP idle or only support POP access, is not as instant as it’s a pull email. Usually it checks for new emails every 5 to 10 minutes for POP emails.