Wireless all- In-One for Dummies- P11 pot

Chapter 3: Synchronizing Devices over a Network In This Chapter ✓ Synchronizing with Windows Mobile ✓ Synchronizing with other operating systems ✓ Using RSS feeds I ’m assuming that you’ve successfully connected your wireless device to your wireless network and are ready for the next step: actually using that wireless link to move data across the network. If you’re not there yet, check out Book V, Chapter 2, which provides the instructions for connecting. In this chapter, I discuss synchronizing your wireless device with informa- tion on your desktop PC. Wireless synchronization has made some prog- ress, but it has also taken a few steps back at the same time. While that may sound contradictory, it’s very much true. For example, most systems (hello, Symbian and iPhone) don’t have any wireless synchronization options avail- able at the time of press. Windows Mobile, on the other hand, does offer a wireless synchronization, but not everyone can use it. I also tell you how you can add content to your wireless device (such as news and articles) using RSS feeds and your RSS hub. You can update your wireless device using the RSS hub and take reading material when you travel. Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate You can synchronize your wireless device using Windows Mobile with your computer in two ways. You can ✦ Connect the device to your computer using a USB cable. ✦ Connect wirelessly and update your device. 280 Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate If you are running Windows Vista, you will use the Windows Mobile Device Center to synchronize your device with your computer. The version that shipped initially with Windows Visa has been updated, so be sure to update. It’s important to make sure you have the most up to date version for com- patibility with the most recent wireless devices, which is available at www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/en-us/help/synchronize/ device-center-download.mspx. How often you synch really depends on how often you update your wireless device and computer. Personally, I tend to only sync data such as contacts and appointments, so I only need to sync when I update Outlook. However, I use my wireless or 3G+ connection to update other applications, such as RSS Hub, which I discuss later in this chapter. Running with Windows Mobile Device Center Windows Mobile Device Center is the new and improved version of ActiveSync, which went the way of the dodo bird when Windows Vista was released. It has a much more intuitive, graphic-friendly interface that is easy and comfortable to use. The first time you plug your wireless device to your computer running Windows Vista, it automatically opens the Mobile Device Center and configures your device with Windows. If you still need to start the Windows Mobile Device Center, here’s how to do it: 1. Choose Start➪All Programs. 2. Select Windows Mobile Device Center. The application opens and displays the name and a picture of your wire- less device, if properly connected, as shown in Figure 3-1. If no device is connected, a generic image of a wireless device is displayed and says “not connected.” Your wireless device is automatically synced. 3. Select Mobile Device Settings. 4. Click Connection settings. Make sure that Allow USB connections is selected. If you want to be able to sync wireless using Bluetooth, make sure that the Allow connections to one of the following option is selected with Bluetooth in the drop- down menu. 5. Click OK. Book V Chapter 3 Synchronizing Devices over a Network 281 Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate Figure 3-1: Your wireless device picked up in Windows Mobile Device Center. 6. Click Mobile Device Settings. 7. Click Change content sync settings. 8. Select which content should be synced, as shown in Figure 3-2. 9. Click Save. Figure 3-2: The Windows Mobile Device Center lets you pick and choose what you want to synchronize. 282 Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate Running with ActiveSync You can use Microsoft’s ActiveSync software to wirelessly synchronize infor- mation between your wireless device and your desktop computer. Usually I don’t discuss Windows XP in this book, but since there are enough users still working with this operating system, do keep in mind that you must install Microsoft ActiveSync before you can synchronize your wireless device with information on another computer on your network. You can download the latest version of ActiveSync from www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/ en-us/downloads/microsoft/activesync-download.mspx. Before you can synchronize your wireless device, make sure the settings are correct on the ActiveSync software running on your desktop PC. Now, let’s synchronize: 1. Click Start➪All Programs. 2. Click Microsoft ActiveSync. The ActiveSync dialog box appears. 3. Click File. 4. Click Mobile Device, if you have more than one device connected or registered with Active Sync. Menu of available wireless devices appears. 5. Select the wireless device that you want to synchronize, if necessary; otherwise your device appears as shown in Figure 3-3. In this case, there is only one device, and it’s called HTC87. (Sometimes even computer stuff is easy to follow.) 6. Click File. 7. Click Connection Settings. The Connection Settings dialog box appears. 8. Confirm that this choice is selected: Allow Network (Ethernet) and Remote Access Service (RAS) Server Connection with This Desktop Computer. 9. Click OK. Book V Chapter 3 Synchronizing Devices over a Network 283 Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate Figure 3-3: The wireless device is ready to syn chronize. Syncing information for your wireless device Here’s how you initiate synchronization from your handheld computer from your wireless device. Be careful, though, this shows you how to initiate the synchronization from your wireless device and not your computer; it doesn’t show how to do it on a wireless network. In other words, you need to have a USB connection to do this. Follow these steps: 1. Choose Start➪System. The System dialog box appears. 2. Click ActiveSync. ActiveSync screen appears. 3. Click Sync. Your wireless device shows Connecting and then Synchronizing, shown in Figure 3-4. When it’s done, the screen displays Not Connected. The ActiveSync software on both your PC and handheld show the last date and time they connected to each other. If the synchronization is not occurring, make sure you have a working wireless connection and that your Pocket PC is close enough to a wireless access point. 284 Getting Windows Mobile to Coordinate Figure 3-4: Windows Mobile synchro- nizing with desktop PC. Make sure Microsoft ActiveSync is also running on your desktop PC. Syncing information wirelessly You also can synchronize your wireless device by using Bluetooth wireless technology instead of a Wi-Fi connection. Bluetooth works over a much shorter range — about 30 feet — but can be an easier way to connect your handheld to your desktop PC at close distances. In addition, with the intro- duction of more and more Bluetooth-enabled cellular telephones, it’s also a way to synchronize information between your laptop computer and your mobile phone. Book V Chapter 3 Synchronizing Devices over a Network 285 Getting Other Platforms to Coordinate Getting Other Platforms to Coordinate This chapter demonstrates how you can synchronize your wireless device if you are using the Windows Mobile operating system, but it’s worth remem- bering that all mobile device platforms offer this capability as well. Each platform has its own proprietary software package that allows you to transfer data (e-mails, contacts, files, pictures) between your computer and the wireless device. In most cases, this is done using a USB connection. I recommend using the documentation provided for your wireless device that will certainly show you how to set up synchronization. Generally speaking, your wireless device ships with a CD-ROM that allows you to install the necessary software on your computer. Once you con- nect your phone to the computer using USB, your computer automatically launches and recognizes the wireless device. For example, if you are using a Nokia N95, a suite of applications is provided to let you synchronize your data quickly and easily, as shown in Figure 3-5. Not only do these proprietary applications provide you with synchroniza- tion tools, but also additional applications to help you handle other often- used features, such as for photos and music. If you are using a Palm-based wireless device, such as the Treo, you can use Treo Desktop to synchronize your data, as shown in Figure 3-6. This device is a little more complicated, as it also requires you to have Palm desktop installed, along with a sync user. In other words, you need two separate applications to sync your device! Figure 3-5: Nokia also allows you to synchronize files, music, and photos. 286 Using RSS Feeds Figure 3-6: For Treo, you need two applica- tions to synchronize data. If you want to synchronize your device wirelessly, you’ll need to make sure that both your computer and the wireless device support Bluetooth technology. Using RSS Feeds When wireless devices first became the rage, there was a program called AvantGo that was extremely valuable to users. It allowed you to take reading material when you traveled, or to update the information from your device while you were on the road over a wireless connection and read a miniature version of the newspaper. Of course, like all good ideas, it became copied and was soon made obsolete by its peers. This is the sad story of AvantGo, which was made redundant and eventually stopped publishing in June 2009. Though there are a number of imitators available to take AvantGo’s place, the most useful application for obtaining information on the go is the RSS feed. This publishing format is a widely used standard for publishing Web content – including blog posts, news articles, and multimedia – as an XML file or feed that Book V Chapter 3 Synchronizing Devices over a Network 287 Using RSS Feeds can be read by a reader on your desktop computer or wireless device. Likewise, you can also “subscribe” to RSS feeds on Web sites that allow you to track its content easily from your e-mail client or an RSS reader. Similar to AvantGo, an RSS reader (such as RSS hub) allows you to select content sources (for example, Yahoo and BBC News) called channels to which you can subscribe. Using your wireless network connection, you can update the channel’s content, which is displayed as a list of entries, as shown in Figure 3-7. By double-clicking the article header, you can obtain the first few lines of the article as shown in Figure 3-8, followed by a link, which can be clicked to dis- play the rest of the article in your device’s Web browser. Figure 3-7: Each channel provides a list of its latest content in an easy- to-follow format. 288 Using RSS Feeds Figure 3-8: An article header saves bandwidth by displaying just a bit of the article. Using RSS Hub on a wireless device A number of RSS readers are available for use with wireless devices. Most of them offer a similar group of features; the right one really depends on your personal preferences. I choose to use RSS Hub because it was included on my wireless device and satisfies my requirements for getting information quickly. To use RSS Hub on Windows Mobile: 1. Click Start➪Web➪RSS Hub. The program launches and displays All Categories. 2. Click Refresh to update each channel in the list for the category. If you wish to organize your categories, click Menu➪Categories➪ Menu➪New. You can also use this menu to rename an existing category by clicking it and selected Rename, or to delete it by clicking Delete. [...]... plans for other mobile devices, including handsets or smartphones (www verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobilebroadband/) ✦ AT&T: A solid network with a good coverage page; AT&T offers a number of data plans for handheld wireless devices, such as smartphones and BlackBerry devices There is also a single data plan for mobile laptop broadband This package offers up to 5GB traffic per month for $60 (www .wireless. att.com/cell-phone-service/... for wireless networking, and you’re restless to connect to the Internet somewhere outside your home or office You’ve heard about hotspots, which are places with public Internet access How can you find them? Luckily, you can turn to several places for this information before venturing from home In this chapter I talk about Wi-Fi directories, as well as some public projects that are trying to make wireless. .. Internet for hotspots Table 5-1 describes some of the largest online directories WAP is a security protocol that scrambles your wireless communications to keep them from prying eyes 304 Getting Thee to a Directory Table 5-1 Online Wi-Fi Directories Site URL Description JiWire www.jiwire.com This large online directory of worldwide hotspots lists more than 272,000 hotspots in 140 countries You can search for. .. for a hot spot using several criteria A search results page is shown in Figure 5-1 A group of mini directories separates free hotspots Offline versions are available You can download Windows, Macintosh, and Linux versions from www.jiwire com/hotspot-locator-laptop.htm A third version for Web-enabled mobile phones connects live with the JiWire directory Wi-FiHot SpotList.com www.wi-fi hotspotlist.com... hotspotlist.com Calls itself the definitive list of hotspots Though some find it to be slow to return results, I’ve found it to be satisfactory The HotSpot Haven www.hotspot haven.com Counts 107,799 hotspots in its directory The United States has the largest number of hotspots, but the European and Asian directories also return a decent number of hotspots Wi-Fi Marine www.wifimarine org Do marinas float... site is a little different from the others in that it displays hotspots on interactive U.S and world maps You can search by station name, U.S state, or by geographic region Paying for the Goods: Commercial Providers 305 Book V Chapter 5 Finding Wi-Fi Hotspots Figure 5-1: Search results for hotspots within 20 miles of a ZIP code Paying for the Goods: Commercial Providers I wish everything were free... includes unlimited minutes for $9.99 a month for qualifying T-Mobile voice customers • Unlimited national The subscription includes unlimited minutes for $29.99 a month if paid a year in advance or $39.99 a month if paid month to month • DayPass You can purchase this prepaid access for no minimum commitment It costs $7.99 for 24 continuous hours • Pay as you go It costs $6 per login for the first hour with... cents each 306 Paying for the Goods: Making a Commitment ✦ Boingo Wireless at www.boingo.com This large provider of hotspots boasts more than 100,000 locations Boingo charges $9.95 a month for unlimited connection time in North America For world travelers, there are more sophisticated (read: expensive plans) that run $59.00 per month ✦ Wayport at www.wayport.com Wayport is now AT&T Wireless, which offers... schedule to only be in places that offered a Brand X hotspot was hardly convenient or practical Entering the 21st century, wireless providers took a new approach and stopped advertising their hotspot access and replaced it with a full-blown wireless broadband service Rather than depending on your wireless device, these subscriptions were solely for laptop or netbook users and depended on a USB-device... actually plan on using your mobile device For those who like the all -in-one nature of the device (e-mail Internet, applications), but also prefer having a keyboard for typing, you may want to check out the BlackBerry Web site at www.blackberry.com and see what’s cooking! Avoiding a Raspberry A BlackBerry is a suitable way to communicate for several reasons: ✦ It’s wireless, so you can take it with you . 3-3: The wireless device is ready to syn chronize. Syncing information for your wireless device Here’s how you initiate synchronization from your handheld computer from your wireless device Chapter 2, which provides the instructions for connecting. In this chapter, I discuss synchronizing your wireless device with informa- tion on your desktop PC. Wireless synchronization has made some. assuming that you’ve successfully connected your wireless device to your wireless network and are ready for the next step: actually using that wireless link to move data across the network. If