Following the upgrade of my NewsGator Enterprise Server (NGES) 1.0 to the new 1.4 I installed FeedDemon to try its RSS feed synchronisation capabilities.

What can I say? It rocks...

I've used Sharpreader for some time before installing the NGES. The problem was keeping tabs on all feeds (at times more than 500!) while using three different devices: a desktop, a tablet PC and a Windows Mobile Pocket PC.

The NGES solved the problem by adding Locations, and allowing me to have my feeds served through a web interface, Microsoft Exchange or a PDA-friendly web interface.

But NGES 1.4 goes even further, adding the API calls available in the public NewsGator service everyone knows. This means that on top of the "locations" I already have here I can now use FeedDemon. And it is fast. And it synchronises well. And I can synchronise my tablet PC and take the content with me, knowing that next time it is on-line it will mark everything accordingly and download new content.



I could already do this with the Exchange synchronisation. But having ActiveSync set to synchronise 500 feeds to my Pocket PC also meant that it was constantly working, eating the batteries. Or I could have NewsGator Inbox, a Microsoft Outlook Plugin that brings the content to Outlook. It's an option to consider.

I am now waiting for NewsGator Go! for Windows Mobile to be compatible with NGES. Then it will be really nice.

You don't need to run your own NGES to have these features. The web-based NewsGator service offers this capability (and more) with some subscription options.

I wrote a NewsGator Enterprise Server review when I first installed it last year.

Today I received a box with my NewsGator Enterprise Server upgrade, from version 1.0 to version 1.4 - thanks guys!

I just finished installing it. Running a virtual machine is great. I did a full backup of this server (which run Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 in addition to NewsGator) in about 10 minutes. If anything could go wrong I wouldn't be more than 10 minutes away from having my full environment restored.

Back to NewsGator, lucky it didn't go wrong. Installation was really smooth and with no problem. The install script upgraded my SQL database to the new schema - but I did have to install Microsoft .Net Framework v2 on this server because of the software requirements. No problem with that either.

The first time I run the software I did have a scary moment - the script threw an error, which now I believe was a timeout (although at the time it was referencing one of the assemblies). After rebooting and a few moments of 100% CPU utilisation, the NewsGator Web News Reader showed up - with a fresh new UI:


I see the feeds now show the favicon and they are all updated. Perhaps that's why the high CPU usage? Anyway, everything back to normal here and I am now playing around with it.

Also improved is the PDA-friendly web interface. First it's much faster to load now. And I believe it is so because version 1.4 only outputs links to feeds with updated content, while version 1.0 output links to all feeds, but making them invisible if no new content was available. It also had fixed a small problem with feed counters:


My next steps are to install NewsGator Inbox and download NewsGator Go! for Windows Mobile. I have FeedDemon installed, but it still tries to access the NewsGator public server, instead of my NGES (even though the configuration file points to my server). I will have to check this later.

Otherwise, I am happy that this was a painless upgrade - back up and running!

Yes, no kidding. The title is correct. Seriously though, I have two 3G Pocket PCs: an i-mate Jasjar connected to Vodafone NZ WCDMA network, and a TNZ Apache connected to Telecom New Zealand's CDMA 1xEV-DO network.

My main phone is the Jasjar, because of my old phone number (which I've been using for the last, what, seven years?). It's not the smallest Pocket PC in the world, and obviously you need to have a Bluetooth headset, otherwise you look like a dork with such a huge device hanging from your face during a phone call.

But you can't beat Telecom New Zealand's CDMA EVDO (for now) data speeds. The Apache is great and I use it frequently as a modem for my tablet PC. I can get speeds between 500Kbps and 800Kpbs (while on the Jasjar it won't pass the 250Kbps mark).

Of course everyone wants more and more speed. Vodafone has introduced their HSDPA offering, with speeds of up to 1.4Mbps (although the official words is that some centres will have up to 3.6Mbps available, but this is the max theoretical). But that was before devices to access the network were available, and I was probably the only user on a specific cell site.

Back to the point: GPRS. An ancient packet switched technology, which most companies promised to be "always-on, fast" Internet. Reality sunk in after GPRS became popular. It wasn't always on, because devices would disconnect the data session when an incoming voice call was announced to the handset. It wasn't fast because of its dial-up speed and high latency. And the only applications were WAP portals with almost no content and badly designed applications.

Moving forward to 2006. We have WCDMA (which some try to call UMTS, but let's have its name here) with max theoretical speeds of up to 384Kbps, CDMA 1xEV-DO with max speeds of 2Mbps but going up to 100+Mbps in a few years, and HSDPA with speeds of 14Mbps in a couple of years. And we still have GPRS, with speeds of up to 42Kbps.

Why I love it? I just sent my i-mate Jasjar for a special place for a special surgery. In the meantime, I moved its SIM card to my old i-mate Pocket PC Phone (the first i-mate device around here) and I am surprised how fast the device is in comparison to the newer Pocket PCs, even though the newer CPUs are faster, and the devices have more memory.

I am also surprise on how responsive the GPRS data is flowing. Seriously you can't connect your laptop through this Pocket PC and expect fast speeds. But I have some specific requirements, such as push e-mail and single connection to a server, and for that it serves me well.

I am using this Pocket PC to connect to my Microsoft Exchange Server for e-mail, calendar and contacts synchronisation. It performs thesse actions while in my Pocket PC, so I really don't care if it takes 20 seconds or 60 seconds. And it does it fast because it is a single connection to a single server.

Another example of single connection application I am using and surprised me today was RSS feed reading. I run my own Newsgator Enterprise Server, and it serves me with a PDA friendly webpage. Since this is a single connection, basically text only, to a single server, it is actually extremely fast. And that's not WAP, but full HTML. I actually haven't been to a WAP page in years.

It is like the RIM BlackBerry devices. Most of them are still connected to the GPRS network. And do you notice it? No, because you only know about the e-mails arriving. You probably don't even notice the e-mails flowing to the device. But they are still coming on the slow GPRS network (of course, except on the new latest BlackBerry models coming out now).

So, yes. I am using GPRS these days on my Pocket PC, and I am enjoying it. Of course when I need to do some serious work, here comes the Apache for some broadband speeds (or some HSDPA in the near future?)

Horses for courses, as they say...

Last time I posted about Symantec here in this blog was to let you know that their Security Response Team was blogging.

I was just visiting the Symantec website to check some product information, and found that there's a new blog up now: the Norton Protection Blog.


It looks like it's the product team bloging, by the looks of the blogger profiles, which includes VP and managers of products, services and engineering.

Worth a read, to keep up-to-date with security for your loved computing devices...

I am used to say that part of my job (which is running Geekzone full time) is to read and collect data to crunch into information I can use or share. And everyday I find something interesting.

For example, it was a big surprise when I found out about readwriteweb.com, since I have a huge list of feeds on my RSS reader and this blog wasn't there - yet. It's now subscribed.


It was also big surprise to actually find that its author, Richard MacManus, is based just around the corner (well, almost) from me, in Lower Hutt - I am in Johnsonville, both are suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand's capital.

His blog is an interesting read, bringing lots of information on all things related to web technologies and services (some call this web 2.0, I think it's a bit too much, but this is another discussion). If you read and follow his blog you will notice that things appear on readwriteweb.com first.

Richard also writes a blog for ZDNet, called web2explorer.

I met Richard for the first time during the Geekzone 2006 (and yes, we'll have Geekzone 2007). I think his blog is better known overseas than here in New Zealand, so that's why I am writing about it here. Check it out: readwriteweb is one of the top blogs on Technorati!

I really recommend you subscribe to his feed and read the blog if you have any interest in web technologies, new media, etc... It will be worth your while.

I just found a website with some interesting information on all technical things Apple iPod related: www.iFixit.com/Guide. The guys there have guides for all Apple laptops and Apple iPod models, including the latest Apple iPod nano and Apple iPod 5G.

Check this picture of the new Apple iPod nano open:


The site also sells repair parts for all those models. Interesting DIY kind of stuff and certainly interesting for those "hard to find" parts.

This just in - but going fast. Vodafone New Zealand has launched a viral campaign to give away a few Vodem HSDPA USB modems, plus discounts for the people not in the top #10 "watchers". Actually only the top 8, because two are booked for auction on Trademe.

All you have to do is to visit http://www.vodem.co.nz and register your name there.

The Vodem is the same modem launched by Vodafone UK. The drivers and software come preloaded in flash memory, so you don't have to fiddle around with CDs for installation. Very handy.

Get in to win some...

First results just in. I was wrong, it looks like there's HSDPA coverage in Johnsonville. It seems the Sierra Wireless AirCard software does not show a HSDPA icon, only 3G in the status window, so I connected from home (in Johnsonville) and ran this test through speedtest.net (what a cool graphical interface):


The results are 1.4Mbps down, 93Kbps up. I've used the direct.vodafone.net.nz APN, to go around Vodafone's optimiser proxy.

I will now move closer to the mall where reception is better and test from there, while having a coffee.

UPDATE: Testing in Johnsonville the download speed stayed the same, but the upload speed jumped to 340Kbps. Also the dialer software now shows [HS] in the status icon bar. Strange because it wasn't showing before, but the speeds were HSDPA all right...

By now most of you should know that Vodafone New Zealand will soon be releasing an update to its 3G network (based on WCDMA technologies) to a next level of performance.

The new service, dubbed by Vodafone "3G Broadband" is based on HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Access), an evolution of its current network.

I got word from Vodafone New Zealand that 3G Broadband will be launched 12 September. Same information came from Juha's blog.

I actually have just received an e-mail invitation to join Vodafone New Zealand GM, Russell Stanners, and the Vodafone team on some drinks to celebrate the "go live" of this new network.

"Go live" is just a way to say it. The HSDPA service is actually already available in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (the last city where a trial with about 100 users was run).

But just living on an area with 3G coverage is not enough to use this service. It is limited to certain centres only (I can't even access HSDPA here in Johnsonville yet, although the 3G service in general works fine).

But if you are the lucky owner of a HSDPA-enabled device, start using it. I just borrowed a Sierra Wireless AirCard 850 PC Card (max 1.8Mbps) from a friend to use on my Tablet PC for a few days so I will have a better idea before the event happens (no, Vodafone New Zealand have not sent any card or devices to bloggers or media yet).


The information we have is that this new cellular data network will initially allow 1.8Mbps maximum download speeds (I'd expect more like 700Kbps though), with a soon to be released update to 3.6Mbps link. There are some comments coming out of Vodafone New Zealand about a future update that will bring the network to 7.2Mbps speeds. How fast it will go under load is something we still have no idea, but soon we'll learn. For comparison sake, check Telecom New Zealand's CDMA EV-DO future.

Also, you will need new devices. Your current GPRS or 3G VMC (Vodafone Mobile Connect card) will not work with this network. I am told that a USB modem (launched in the UK as Vodafone Mobile Connect USB Modem) will be available here. The cool stuff is that drivers and software are pre-installed in its flash memory, so you can just plug and use it, with no need to handle CDs to install software.

Also coming (but no date set yet) is the Vodafone-branded Palm 750v, a Windows Mobile handheld, and the i-mate JASJAM, both compatible with the new HSDPA network. And a couple of Samsung mobile phones, including one with a cool 3.2 megapixel digital camera.

So, let's see how this works out, come 12 September.

UPDATE: It looks like there's HSDPA coverage here in Johnsonville. Check my first speed test results on Vodafone NZ HSDPA.

Last night I attended the Wellington Wireless Wednesday meeting, organised by the New Zealand Wireless and Broadband Data Forum (and yes there's an Auckland version of these meetings).

It was a full house, and this time the group used the events room at Lone Star Wellington. Great meeting, and Lucent Technologies was running the bar tab.

The main topic was the Telecom New Zealand upcoming introduction of CDMA EVDO Rev A. We had a presentation by Mike Hobby, from Lucent Technologies, who did a pretty good job of explaining the CDMA evolution.

According to Lucent, those are the numbers (down/up) we have defined by the standards:

CDMA EVDO Rev 0: 2.4Mbps/155Kbps
CDMA EVDO Rev A: 3.1Mbps/1.8Mbps
CDMA EVDO Rev B: 73.5Mbps/27Mbps
CDMA EVDO Rev C: 129Mbps/75.6Mbps

In real world CDMA EVDO Rev 0 (which we have here in New Zealand now) provides about 400-600Kbps downstream. He thinks CDMA EVDO Rev A should provide about 600-800Kbps, although in some tests (empty network, close to cell site) they got some pretty good numbers.

Also during the talk it was confirmed that Telecom New Zealand will launch their CDMA EVDO Rev A network by December 2006. This is after the Vodafone New Zealand HSDPA launch, which has just been confirmed for 12 September.

If you are lucky though and have a HSDPA device in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, go on, start using it. I understand the networks is currently up and running.

So what's the HSDPA speeds? Initial deployment is 1.8Mbps/384Kbps, but Vodafone told me they are planning to have it bumped up to 3.6Mbps at launch. This is something to see. Also, as usual, this is the theoretical maximum speed, and as in any other technology only achievable under optimum conditions. A loaded network is a different story, and considering that HSDPA "breathes", in other words, more users means less coverage.

While we are covering, er, coverage... Apparently TUANZ (Telecommunication Users Association NZ) had a meeting just the night before and Vodafone New Zealand was the showcase. Rightly so, because of their HSDPA offering to be soon unveiled. It seems they talked about coverage on that meeting, and someone present in both meetings asked the same question to Telecom: since both claim to cover 99% of the New Zealand population with cellular services, how much is actually covered by 3G services? It seems that Vodafone New Zealand is behind, with 45%, while Telecom New Zealand claims 75%.

And talking about Vodafone New Zealand... I am still to see HSDPA in real life. I had a meeting in Auckland with their business folks and a nice demo, and two lunches here in Wellington with people involved on these deployments or equipment. So far I only heard the promises, but no one could come forward and say "Here, take this HSDPA card and try it and let people know what you think".

Back to Telecom New Zealand. An interesting comment from Mike Hobby, about WCDMA LTE (which is supposed to come after HSDPA and HSUPA), is that it would use the same technologies as CDMA EV-DO Rev C (which is not ratified yet). So, in essence, sometime in the future, WCDMA and CDMA EV can join? Interesting to see what happens.

Anyway, last night Telecom New Zealand gave away a CDMA EV-DO Rev A card to a lucky person in the audience, plus some free data. They must be getting close to testing this soon.