My 7610

June 1, 2005

Ok, just met again with F and T from Melbourne Uni (my alma mater) about the Blog For Your Life study, and they were interested in what I was running on my 7610 and how I was using it. So here now is a fairly complete list of the programs, hacks and tweaks in play. Let me know if you know of anyting else handy, fun or interesting that I can take for a spin.

Programs:
ControlFreak. I use this to remote control Winamp and for a few desktop shortcuts over Bluetooth. It allows me to move about and use full screen apps and games while still having full control over my music. It’s not just limited to the playlist either, as I can go right into the music library as well.
Puppetmaster. Same as ControlFreak, only this one extends to iTunes as well.

Quick Office. This one lets me work on Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs wherever I happen to be. I started using this on my old Palm M100 and was chuffed to see a S60 version available as well.
Nokia Sensor. While I’m yet to find anyone else using it, this promises to be a very interesting Bluetooth communication tool.
Opera. This is the pre-installed web browser, but has been much more useful since it’s been rigged to run off my broadband via Bluetooth. Still, if I have to be within 10 metres of my computer at the time, I’m much more likely to simply use the PC. Opera’s great, but it’s no Firefox…
RealPlayer. Also pre-installed, I absolutely detest the insidious RealPlayer. No ifs or buts. I’ve been stained by the PC version and if I had a choice, I’d take it off right away. However, it ties in with the media capabilites of the phone, so I guess it stays. I use RealAlternative on my PC, but feel annoyed that people still insist on publishing in RealMedia format at all.
PowerDictaphone. As it is titled, a dictaphone. Has the option of recording in whatever format AMR is, or the much more acceptable WAV format. If I podcasted, this would be ideal for sound-seeing or taking notes. Quality seems pretty good for what I’ve used it for so far. Plus the shortcut key makes it very easy to use.
Games. Hehe, basically anything I can find, but favs so far are SkyForce, Meteor, Sudoku and, naturally, Doom.

Gnubox. Essential for the net access hack. (I’d offer a link, but it’s a bitch to find the first time, let alone the second. Google is your friend)
ScreenTaker. Simply takes screenshots. Does one thing and does it well.
Lifeblog. What the whole shebang is about. More on this later.

Hacks:
Running the internet access through my broadband over Bluetooth rather than GPR$
ControlFreak and PuppetMaster for remote control

Switcher for task and memory management on the fly. This is mapped to the middle button for east access from a standing start.
FExplorer for file management

Tweaks:
A variety of new themes courtesy of Zedge. (deleted).
Complete menu re-adjustment to my liking, with folders and shortcuts
Would like a new cover, but seeing I’m giving back the phone it’s a bit of an expense

That’s pretty much it. I’ll post soon about how the phone interacts with the PC and my gripes abut both the 7610 and the LifeBlog software, plus I’ll throw in some screenshots. Overall, it’s been a ball pushing it to see how it can play a part in my how I go about my day and has integrated nicely, although not always willingly.
Still, I’m always searching for the next killer app to throw on…

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