Windows Mobile (part 2)

Ok so here is part two of my Windows Mobile hacking :)

First, I tried out the 1st method called iFonz. It looked lame, was slow and overall, well, lame. :)

Turns out the OS i got is a cooked ROM (hybrid OS basically) that has mixes of Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, HTC OS and a few other hacks. I added a few more features of my own such as:

-iPhone dialing pad

-iPhone-like on-screen keyboard

-iPhone slide-to-unlock screen lock

Basically I like iPhones. :P but this OS isn't all that bad. It runs mainly on the Windows OS which I don't hate near as much as the Windows PC OS (yes, I know about Windows 7 but Leopard and Snow Leopard still lick it!) and it is actually fairly easy to navigate the UI with your fingers instead of the stylus.

Here are a few screenshots:

Apple RAWKS

Sorry I couldn't resist…after putting Windows stuffs on my blog I just GOTTA talk about Macs and their awesomeness gorgeousness and coolness.

1. So Apple updated the MacBooks: glass trackpads, LED screens, 250 GB hard drive standard and 7 hour battery life. And it looks insanely hot.

2. Apple has 21.5" and 27" screen iMac with up to 16GB RAM and i think they ship with 500GB or 1TB hard drive standard.

3. Magic Mouse. Finally, a multitouch mouse. Man, guys, Apple is really on top of it! I ♡ Apple!!

Links:

www.apple.com/macbook

www.apple.com/imac

www.apple.com/magicmouse

Windows 7

Hey,

So I bet you're wondering, "Why does Isaac have pics of Windows on his blog?!?!"

Well guess what? I finally got Windows 7 RC 1 (aka Windows OS 6.1 as the internal file name). I installed it on my 2009 MacBook Pro and it is so far running very nicely. A few things I don't like:

1. ROFL!! I actually find it almost TOO simple to use. I am used to XP which requires a fair amount of geekish-ness to operate efficiently, and when I got Win7, I was like, "Where is all the geeky stuff?" So, altho I don't like all of the simplicity, congrats to Microsoft for FINALLY making Windows easier to use for non-geeks.

2. When an error message pops up in a window, or some type of notification, it is really annoying how the error message will pop up, and then shake VERY VIOLENTLY around until you click on it.

3. I have found the network to be somewhat difficult to figure out. I finally just made shortcuts to turn on Bluetooth and WLAN and put 'em on my desktop.

What I like:

1. I love the way you can pin and re-order items on the Superbar (not taskbar anymore, people!). Although I must admit...it bears a striking resemblance to an OS I am very familiar with...lol, the Mac OS X Dock.

2. Color customization of themes! FINALLY! Windows now lets you customize the colors of your themes (ie: red theme: make it really dark or really light, etc).

3. AeroSnap: drag windows to the sides of the screen until your cursor hits the edge of the screen and you will be subtly prompted to "snap" the window to that side of the screen.

4. Snipping Tool: like the Mac OS X app, you can take screenshots with this tool on the Start Menu.

Windows Mobile

Hey,

Some Windows Mobile Touchscreen phones are called "Portable PCs" or PPCs. Turns out I will be getting one this Sunday (AT&T 8525), so I thought, Windows is so easy to hack, why not hack up Windows Mobile?

We all know I am a big Apple fan. Some of you know I really like the iPhone. All of you know I am a hacker at heart. See where I am going? :P Yep, I want to hack my Windows Mobile PPC to look like an iPhone.

So why? Well, after reading many reviews of Windows Mobile for Touchscreens, it seems that the interface is a bit small to use with the fingers that God gives us. Instead, Bill Gates wants you to use a finger that HE designed–the stylus (not really but it gets my point across). I want my phone to be easy to use, so I did a lot of research and came up with two probably solutions:

In short, solution 1 is a program that emulates the iPhone interface, and solution 2 is more advanced–it involves installing several programs and skins and probably about 30 minutes worth of work to get it set up right. Seeing as I don't have the phone yet, I will try the first method first and see how it goes.

Now I'll explain how the second method is done. (note: this is not my work, the full tutorial may be viewed here: http://hackaddict.blogspot.com/2007/06/tutorial-iphone-windows-mobile-skin.html

First you must download the file here: http://www.divshare.com/download/1233462-03a

All the files I will talk about after this point will be included in the download above unless otherwise specified, although I may provide download links:

.net Compact Framework 3.5

Contact Manager (touchscreen) not included

Installing the Skin:

1. Today: 1. Start by removing everything from your home screen:

1. Settings>Today

2. Remove everything from your Today Screen 2. Next copy the skin from: iPhone\Skin\black.tsk to your My Documents folder on your phone. 3. Go to Settings>Personal>Today and apply the theme.

2. RL Today 1. The cab is located in: iPhone\Skin\rlToday\rlToday.cab 2. Drag the Cab into the "My Documents" folder on your phone using sync software 3. Navigate to the cab on your phone and install it onto your phone by clicking on it 4. Now take the iPhone file and put it in the rlToday file

under Programs. 5. rlToday should now be on the home screen. Click and hold on the home screen until an "Option" button appears. Click on it. 6. Select iPhone as your skin and then set up all your programs under the Applications tab, using the pictures in the iPhone folder for the

icons. Make sure you skip the calendar, and phone applications. Those are built into the .xml skin file (they are animated or updated via registry references). So, from top to bottom your programs and icons should be:

SMS: blank.png, Photos: rl_photo.png, \Windows\pimg.exe Camera: rl_cam.png, \Windows\Camera.exe Youtube: rl_youtube.png, \Windows\iexplore.exe Command Line: http://m.youtube.com Finder: rl_finder.png, \Windows\fexplore.exe Maps: rl_maps.png, \Program Files\GoogleMaps\GoogleMaps.exe

Weather: blank.png, \Program Files\Weather Watcher\WeatherWatcher.exe Calculator: rl_cal.png, \Program Files\gCalc|gCalc.exe Notes: rl_notes.png, \Windows\notes.ese Settings: rl_settings.png, \Windows\CommManger.exe (that's a personal preference) Phone: blank.png, \Program Files\Contact Manager-.10\ContactManager.exe

Mail: rl_mail.png, \My Documents\My Midlets\Gmail.ink Web: rl_navi.png, \My Documents\My Midlets\Opera.ink Media: rl_ipod.png, \Program Files\TCPMP\player.exe

3. Get rid of the UGLY scroll bar: 1. Windows>Startup

2. Delete/move the battery and connections tray programs. 4. Wisbar Advance

1. The cab is located in: iPhone\Skin\Wisbar Advance 2\WisbarAdvance2.cab 2. Drag the Cab into the "My Documents" folder on your phone using sync software 3. Navigate to the cab on your phone and install it onto your phone by clicking on it 4. Copy the the included theme from: iPhone\Skin\Wisbar Advance 2\iPhone to: the Wisbar themes folder in Programs>Lakeridge>Wisbar

Advance 5. Go to Start>Programs>Wisbar Advance and open up the settings. Apply the theme and exit out of the settings manager.

5. VJ Toggle - make the softkeys vanish! 1. The cab is located in: iPhone\Skin\VJToggleToday\VJToggleToday.cab 2. Drag the Cab into the "My Documents" folder on your phone using sync software 3. Navigate to the cab on your phone and install it onto your phone by clicking on it 4. Probably need to do a soft reset to see results

6. Installing the Dialer: 1. The cab is located in: iPhone\Skin\Dialpad\iphone.cab 2. Drag the Cab into the "My Documents" folder on your phone using sync software 3. Navigate to the cab on your phone and install it onto your phone by clicking on it 4. You must restart your device to complete the installation. Hit ok

7. Installing the Keyboard and skin: 1. The cab is located in: iPhone\Skin\Keyboard\HappyTappingKeyboard.arm.cab 2. Drag the Cab into the "My Documents" folder on your phone using sync software 3. Navigate to the cab on your phone and install it onto your phone by clicking on it 4. Copy the Skin folder from: iPhone\Skin\Keyboard\Skin to My Documents on your phone. 5. Go to Settings>Personal>Input and select Happy Tapping Keyboard. 6. Click Options and locate the QVGA files in KeyboardSkin. P is for Portrait and L is for Landscape.

Finally, we're almost done!

Do a soft reset. You will notice that the bottom of the screen has what I like to call a "dead space." To eliminate this eye sore do a search in your windows directory for ".gif" Search through the results until you find a file named something like: "tdywater.gif" (mine was called "tdywater_240_320.gif"). If necessary rename the included "tdywater.gif" file to whatever your search yielded. Drag the included file onto your pocket pc to replace the existing one. Do a soft reset.

Note: Thanks to "jenny" for writing this article.

I will let everyone know how this hack goes by the end of the month.

Enjoy!

Isaac :)