Last free version of Bluetooth File Transfer Lite, new beta test version of Jbak TaskMan

Bluetooth File Transfer Lite

Bluetooth File Transfer Lite from Medieval Software is a file manager which can send and grab files over bluetooth, similar to an ftp client. In addition, Bluetooth File Transfer Lite can pack and extract files in the zip, tar, jar, nth, and thm compression formats.

Similar to Nokia phones without a pencil key (and in contrast to file managers like X-plore and ActiveFile) you can select and deselect files with the # key in Bluetooth File Transfer Lite.

The built-in text viewer doesn't know how to break lines so they fit on the screen without horizontal scrolling, but the built-in picture viewer has a very smooth zoom function. You can get out of the full screen picture mode by pressing the 1 or 0 key, which is not very clearly indicated in the program.

Bluetooth File Transfer Lite is written in mobile Java, so it takes some time to start on a Symbian phone. You also have to go to the application manager to allow Bluetooth File Transfer Lite to read and write data, or else your phone will pop up a blizzard of security warnings.

Bluetooth File Transfer Lite v.1.41 is free, but Medieval Software plans to ask money for future versions.

• Bluetooth File Transfer Lite from Medieval Software
• Bluetooth File Transfer Lite at GetJar
• Bluetooth File Transfer Lite v.1.41 at Mobile Castle



Jbak TaskMan

There's yet another test version of Jbak TaskMan. This program shows the running tasks on your phone, including hidden tasks that won't show up in Symbian's built-in task manager. Jbak TaskMan also displays memory status, disk usage, and detailed task info. When the program is running, long-pressing the menu button launches Jbak TaskMan instead of Symbian's built-in task manager.

The new test version fixes a few bugs, lets you set the font size in pixels, and the menus appear faster. And now Jbak TaskMan has a flashlight too. When you activate it, your screen turns bright white, but BrightLight and Light Control are better at turning your phone into a torch.

Jbak TaskMan v1.00 R16 is not available from Jbak's own site, but if you want to test it you can get it from Mobile Castle.

• Jbak TaskMan site (latest full version and some test versions)
• Jbak TaskMan v1.00 R16 (test version, unsigned) at Mobile Castle

Python v1.45 is crawling around

Unofficial copies of the new version of Nokia's Symbian S60 port of programming language Python have been running around for a while, and now it's official: Python v1.45 has crawled to Sourceforge.

Here's the official change log:

* Added the possibility to run Python code in threads that weren't started by Python itself, by adding the functions InitializeForeignThread() and FinalizeForeignThread() to the CSPyInterpreter class. For details see the section "Python/C API Extensions" of the API Reference.
* Added timeout support to globalui module.
* The positioning module has been made safe to use from several threads.
* Support for the "description" field has been added to the calendar module.

Yes, I know: this kind of language is not for human consumption. In plain english it boils down to this: Python v1.45 can do things out of the box that used to take a separate package that you had to sign with a developer certifcate. The benefits will emerge in future (versions of) Python programs.

Speaking of Python programs, a couple of useful ones are:

• EasyEdit, a text editor that's easier to use and offers more features than DEdit and LightNotepad.
• Menu Editor, a program to customise menus, icons, and program names for those who've set their copy of Symbian free.
• FreeAir, a scanner to find open Wi-Fi connections.
• StopCall, a blacklist call filter to block phone calls from those you don't want to speak to.
• SIM directory, a shortcut to your SIM contacts for feature pack 1 and feature pack-less S60 3rd ed. phones
• iPhonesque mod, make your Nokia web browser disguise itself as iPhone, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and more.

Pyton itself doesn't do anything except allow you to run Python programs. Python Script Shell lets you control Python. PyFolder displays your Python scripts as icons inside a virtual folder, which saves you a trip to the Python Script Shell menu.

• Python and Python Script Shell at SourceForge
• PyFolder for quick and easy access to your Python scripts

Make your Symbian phone talk to your Linux computer

Nokia is extremely Windows minded. That makes sense, because the market share of both Nokia and Symbian (largest shareholder: Nokia) makes Nokia a sort of Microsoft of the smartphone business, which leaves users of other operating systems out in the cold. Sure, Nokia made a few programs to provide a bit of totally inadequate Mac support, but they've never programmed a single line of code to make your Symbian S60 phone talk to Linux. Sony Ericsson? LG? Motorola? They're as guilty as Nokia.

To make things worse for Linux users, PC Suite doesn't work under WINE.

There are ways to close the communication gap a little. Wammu is like a kind of bare bones PC Suite for Linux. Unfortunately most of its features don't work with new Symbian phones.
• Wammu (front-end to Gammu)

KMobileTools and gnokii are older attempts at mimicking PC Suite functions. KMobileTools uses the Gammu engine (you're better off with Wammu), gnokii only works with old versions of Symbian, not with S60 3rd ed. or UIQ.
• KMobileTools
• gnokii

Phone Manager may turn into a Linux PC Suite, but in its current state it can only send SMSs from your computer through your phone:
• Phone Manager

Joomla! is a site with tricks to transfer files from your Nokia to your Linux computer and back, use your Nokia as a modem, and more. But prepare for lots of typing on the command line.
• Joomla!

Smoking Linux has a tutorial that explains how to transfer files from your Linux computer to your phone memory. Lots of command line typing.
• smihael

Windows users can synchronise their phone with Outlook. But who wants to use outlook anyway when you can sync your phone with Mozilla Thunderbird on your Linux box?
• bluZync: synchronise your phone with Thunderbird over bluetooth
• bluZync user forum (you may need this, because bluZync doesn't work just right out of the box and their FAQ is not ready yet)

Tuxmobil.org has a list of Linux programs for older Nokias.
• TuxMobil

There's no Linux version of Nokia Map Loader, but there's a Nokia Map Loader Alternative that works on Linux (and on any other operating system too!):
• Nokia Map Loader Alternative

New Nokia Photo Browser is faster, SilentPhoto may silence your camera, cam idle activity patch extends camera timeout to 10 minutes

Nokia Photo Browser

Symbian's built-in photo viewer is not a good picture browser, especially if you have a Nokia with the horrible "carousel" photo viewer. But Resco Photo Viewer is expensive and free alternatives Panda Image Browser and To The Point lack many features.

Nokia Photo Browser from Nokia Beta Labs is better than Symbian's built-in photo viewer, but the picture viewer from Resco is much better.

Nokia Photo Browser displays your pictures in a grid through which you can scroll with all sorts of 3D effects and other eye candy. It does face recognition too, but only on high contrast frontal shots, not on photos en profil.

The main flaw of Nokia Photo Browser was the long time it needed to generate thumbnail preview images: upon first launch the program needed ages to make thumbnail pictures. Thumbnail preview generation in the new version of Nokia Photo Browser is much, much, much faster than in the previous edition.

Other flaws of Nokia Photo Browser remain unrepaired. When you've scrolled to the last image of your collection, scrolling further will not take you back to the first picture. And "Image Info" still doesn't display Exif data, but only the file name and the date the picture was shot. The user interface is in landscape mode, without an option to turn it into portrait view.

For every picture on your phone Nokia Photo Browser generates three preview images which together take 50 kb or even more. If you have many pictures on your built-in phone memory or memory card, the previews can make you run out of storage space. When you uninstall Nokia Photo Browser it leaves the preview images behind in a jungle of hidden folders. To reclaim your storage space you need to launch a file manager like Y-Browser, X-plore, or Active Fileand delete all folders called _PAlbTN. Nokia's built-in file manager will tell you that those folders are empty, but they're not.

• Nokia Photo Browser


SilentPhoto

SilentPhoto runs in the background and automatically puts your phone in "silent mode" when you launch the camera. When you switch the camera off, your phone goes back to the previous (non-silent) mode.

Silent mode often suppresses the annoying shutter sound of your phone camera. But beware: with some Nokia product codes (a sort of region codes) your camera makes noise even if your phone is in silent mode. Fortunately there are many other ways to make your camera quiet, so if SilentPhoto doesn't work on your phone you can silence your camera anyway.

• SilentPhoto on Symbian Freak (links to file farm ziddu)
• SilentPhoto on Mobile Castle (with direct download link)
• the camera sound label with many methods to mke your camera silent


cam idle activity patch

Switch on your phone camera, wait for the opportunity to shoot that perfect shot...

...and miss it because your phone camera has gone into standby mode!

The camera of your Nokia will go to standby mode if it's not used for one minute. In standby mode pushing the camera button will not shoot apicture, but only gets your camera out of standby, and then you have to push the button again to make a picture. By then you may have lost the chance to make that once-in-a-lifetime picture.

But if you have hacked your phone and installed ROMPatcher, you can run a ROMPatcher patch that keeps your phone camera active for 10 minutes instead of one.

This patch only works on phones that use the camera application CamMojave.exe, like the Nokia N78, N82, N95, N96, 6220 Classic. It does NOT work on phones with z:\sys\bin\camcorder.exe, like the Nokia 6120 Classic, 6110 Navigator, N73, N95, E51, E66, E71.

• cam idle activity patch on Symbian Freak (for members only)
• cam idle activity patch (for everybody)