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Microsoft is the leader in IT industry as it has been consistently innovating new technologies; the most prominent technology offered by Microsoft is Windows operating system (OS). Windows offer graphical user-interface which provides ease in terms of managing computer. Previously, users have to type commands in order to carry single operation but now all you have to do is to click icon and the process will be activated, besides this Windows offer numerous applications using which people can perform several operations.

With the advancement in technology the mobile devices have become more interactive, these days’ mobiles are offering complete computing functionalities and that’s why Microsoft is also offering Windows Mobile. Windows based mobile offer support for all the applications designed by Microsoft and provide support for numerous other applications compatible with Windows platform.

The most important concern here is to understand Windows Mobile 6.5 configurations, being a system engineer if you are working in Windows based environment you might need to configure Windows mobile devices that’s why it’s important for system engineers to understand Windows Mobile 6.5 technology.

Microsoft offers numerous IT certifications regarding its technologies so that IT professionals who are willing to handle Microsoft technology can learn them. To offer understanding about Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft is offering TS: Windows Mobile 6.5 Configuring certification and to earn this certification professionals have to take Microsoft 70-579 exam. This exam covers various technical aspects regarding Windows Mobile 6.5, some prominent aspects of this certification are discussed in detail below:

Configuring Device Connectivity

This section offers understanding about various configuration settings such as TCP/IP settings, identifying IP addressing, configuration of internet connection, sharing, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi settings and more.

Configuring Device Synchronization

This section provides knowledge about device synchronization such as configuring MyPhone back-up, restore, remote wipe and device triangulation. Further, you’ll learn to configure ActiveSync 4.5 or Windows Mobile Device Center which involves understanding of various aspects such as establishing desktop data connection, maintaining wireless connection, registry settings and advance network functionality.

Security Configurations

Security is the most important concern whether you are establishing computer network or working with mobile device connections, you need to configure device to allow enterprise applications to run digital certificates in order to ensure security. In addition to that you need to configure Mobile Device Manager 2008, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, also you’ll learn to configure device encryption which includes various aspects such as Mobile Device Manager, exchange server, storage card and mobile device. Beside this you can configure security for various mobile applications such as documents, Active Directory and more.

Along these key elements of Windows Mobile 6.5 configurations IT professionals will be able to understand Enterprise Connectivity settings, device management, VPN connection management, email configurations and more. Organizations often require mobile connectivity along with computer network in order to carry out their operations more quickly, that’s why they prefer to hire people having knowledge about mobile technologies. Being and IT professional if you are willing to gain Windows Mobile 6.5 certification than you have to prepare well for Microsoft 70-579 exam.

There are numerous sources available which are offering books and study guides regarding Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 configurations but our aim to gain the certification as well, that’s why I always suggest people to get 70-579 training material from certshelp.com. They are well recognized among IT professionals as their preparation material is highly authentic and up to date. This way candidates can easily understand the exam structure and prepare according to the format, so if you are system engineer than you should learn Windows Mobile 6.5 configuring.

Do you want to try Android on your Windows device, get a taste of the latest Android release for testing or fun, or even for developing Android apps? Whatever your needs may be, here is how you can try the latest Android on Windows.

As Android is an open source mobile technology and platform, that means, anyone can access its code or system images from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project). And that’s what you need to have for running Android virtually on Windows.

Android can be easily virtualized on a Windows PC. It’s as easy as downloading some tools, installing, configuring and running them. What you need is the right procedures which we are going to show you here, plus some solutions to troubleshoot common problems.

Note: This tutorial was written to virtualize Android 4.2.2 JellyBean using 64-bit Android SDK Bundle running on Windows 8, but steps will be similar for any other Android release, or Windows architecture or release.

Prerequisites

Let’s start by looking over the requirements for running Android in a virtual environment.

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Windows PC: A computer running XP or any later version of Windows operating system will do fine, i.e., XP, Vista, 7, 8, or any later version.

(2)

Java: Java 6 or later must be installed on your computer, because it’s required by the Android SDK Bundle. Install the latest available Java version for your platform.

(3)

Android SDK Bundle: The latest version of Android SDK bundle is required. Download and extract the file into a directory. You will see a folder named "adt-bundle-windows-…" This folder is referred to as the “Android SDK Folder" for the remainder of this tutorial. It contains two folders named “eclipse" and “sdk", and one file named “SDK Manager.exe".

(4)

Android SDK packages: Open “SDK Manager.exe" from the Android SDK Folder. Check “Android 4.2.2 (API 17)" in the SDK Manager. This gives you the necessary SDK packages for running Android in a virtualized environment.

Note: You can decrease the download size by unchecking unnecessary sub-packages of the Android release. Click on the extend button (>) beside the Android release. Check only these sub-packages:

• SDK Platform
• ARM EABI v7a System Image
• Google APIs.

Then, click on Install packages… to download and install the required packages.

Create And Run Android Virtual Device

Time to create your first Android Virtual Device.

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Open “SDK Manager.exe" from the Android SDK Folder. Browse to Tools > Manage AVDs. The Android Virtual Device Manager will open.

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Click on the New… button (top right) and you will see the Create new Android Virtual Device (AVD) window appear. Configure the new AVD as per the following configurations:

AVD Name:                                                        Any name

Device:                                                      Galaxy Nexus (4.65", 720 x 1280: xhdpi)

Target:                                                        Android 4.2.2 – API Level 17

CPU/ABI:                                                   ARM (armeabi-v7a)

Keyboard:                                                Checked

Skin:                                                          Checked

Front Camera:                                          None

Back Camera:                                          None

Memory Options –                                   RAM: 768

Memory Options –                                  VM Heap: 32

Internal Storage:                                    200 MiB

SD Card – Size:                                   500 MiB

Emulation Options-                             Snapshot: Unchecked

Emulation Options –                           Use Host GPU: Unchecked

 

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You can now view it in the list of existing AVDs in the AVD Manager. Congratulations on creating your first Android Virtual Device!

To start this up, select the AVD in the AVD Manager. Click on Start, then Launch. Wait for it to boot up then enjoy.

And there you have it, Android running on your Windows PC. Click around and get a feel of the Android interface (if this is your first time) before we get to the next section: trying out Android apps.

App Installation In AVD

While Google Play Store is the primary source of Android apps, unfortunately it is not present in the Android Virtual Device (AVD). However, there is a method to install apps in the AVD using Android Debug Bridge (ADB). We’ll also show you how to uninstall unwanted apps.

Installing An App

We’re going to run by you the steps required to install an app. We’re using the UC Browser Mini as an example.

(1)

With AVD running, download the apk file for UC Browser Mini from AppsZoom (search for your app, open the page for your app from the search results, click on Download tab in the opened page, and click on the option to direct download APK file).

(2)

Copy the downloaded file to "Android SDK Folder\sdk\platform-tools".

(3)

Open the command prompt from the Start menu or screen then type:

cd <Android SDK Folder file path>\sdk\platform-tools

For example, Android SDK Folder on our test computer was located at “D:\And\adt-bundle", so the command changes to “cd D:\And\adt-bundle\sdk\platform-tools".

(4)

Type “adb start-server" at the prompt. It should report that the daemon started successfully.

(5)

Type “adb devices" at the prompt. It should report a connected device with “emulator". If no device is reported, then you may not have started the AVD. Restart, wait for the android’s home screen, and re-type “adb-devices" at the prompt.

(6)

Type “adb install <APK File>" at the prompt, after changing <APK File> with the name of the .apk file (of the android app) you want to install in the AVD. For example, the .apk file on our test sytem was named “ucb-mini.apk", so the command changes to adb install ucb-mini.apk.

(7)

Wait while ADB pushes the APK file into the AVD and installs it. It might take some time depending on the size of the app which you’re installing. When the installation is complete, It should report success.

Uninstalling An App

Inside the AVD, Go to Settings from the app launcher, then to Applications > Downloaded. Click on the app you want to remove, then click Uninstall. Click OK to confirm then wait. That’s it.

Troubleshooting

Lastly, here are some of the problems you might encounter and the suggested solutions.

Internet not working in the AVD.

Please check if your firewall or internet security program is blocking Internet access for the program named “emulator-arm.exe".

Can’t set the RAM greater than 768MiB for the AVD.

Setting the RAM for AVD greater than 768MiB on Windows will cause the AVD to crash because of non-allocation of required memory due to platform restrictions. Please choose a maximum of 768MiB if you are experiencing crashes or errors.

AVD running too slow or hangs

Running the latest releases of Android on 768MiB of RAM can make it slow. Additionally, it will become slower if you’ve installed many apps in the AVD. If you need a fast and responsive AVD, then create a new AVD with an older release of Android (Android 4.0 ICS or older versions will run better).

Microsoft had your security in mind while designing the Windows 8 operating system so you will have to always enter a password before you can have access to your Windows 8 Modern UI Metro Screen or desktop. The new Windows 8 logon screen is your first safety measure to keeping your data and files secure in case your computer falls into a wrong hand. The Windows 8 logon screen ensures you enter a password every time you want to use your computer but sometimes it could be a difficult task to enter password every time you want to use your computer.

Some people have complained about this in forums and some have asked me directly how they candisable Windows 8 logon screen so they won’t have to enter password every time they want to use their system. Disabling the Windows 8 logon screen will allow your computer to boot directly to the Modern UI metro screen or desktop whenever you boot your computer without you having to enter a password.

But this will also make your computer accessible to all who will lay their hands on it, but if you areVERY sure your computer has no risk of falling into the wrong hands, then you can disable Windows 8 logon screen on your computer so you won’t have to enter a password every time you log in to your computer.

How to Stop Windows 8 Logon Screen

Follow the guide I am about to share with you to disable Windows 8 logon screen on your computer running any version of Windows 8 operating system so you won’t have to enter a password every time you want to use your computer.

1. Move your mouse to the lower or upper right hand corner of your desktop till the Charms bar slides out.

2. Click on the Search button on the Charms bar to open the search panel.

3. Type “netplwiz” (without quotes) in the Modern UI’s Search charm and hit the ‘Enter’ key on your keyboard. The “User Accounts” control panel will open

Note: you may be prompted to enter your password

4. Then un-check the “Users must enter a username and passwords to use this computer” box as indicated on the image below.

5. Enter your password once and then a second time to confirm it.

6. Click ‘Apply’ and then OK below to confirm your actions and save.

7. Then restart your computer and this time it will boot straight to Modern UI metro screen or desktop without having to ask you for your password again.

You can also follow the same process to re-enable the Windows 8 logon screen by checking the “Users must enter a username and passwords to use this computer” box we unchecked above.

I hope you find this tutorial useful in disabling the Windows 8 logon screen if you do not always want to enter a password whenever you want to use your computer. If you have any questions do not hesitate to use the comment form below. Remember to subscribe to my RSS feed.

Editor’s Note: This is a contributed post by Ricky Shah, an IT enginner and professional blogger from India. He usually writes on anything related to technology on his tech blogs Geniusgeeks and Windows Phone blog Withwindows.

In a pursuit to replace BlackBerry as third largest mobile OS ecosystem, the software giant Microsoft has jumped into the cut-throat competition already ruled by the likes of Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Unfortunately, many people have abstained from adapting to groundbreaking technology due to lack of apps and games present in WP7 marketplace. However, many of us have failed to realize that it takes some time for an ecosystem get out of the incunabulum stage.

This post is aimed to focus in enlisting some of the best Windows Phone apps to take Panoramic pictures. With panoramic capturing enabled apps, users can swiftly take panoramic pictures or elongated photos without the need of any special skills or equipment.

Third-Party Panorama Apps

Photosynth

[Free] Baked in its own backyard, Photosynth by Microsoft is amongst the most downloaded panoramic apps from the Windows Phone marketplace. Photosynth has a capability to take full 360-degree panoramic images which is a must have feature in any top-notch application. What sets it apart from other is that it allows you to take 360 degree panoramic captures both horizontally and vertically.

Afterwards, users can stitch these images together according to their needs. The other notable feature is its sharing option. It lets you share those screenshots to Twitter, Facebook and even on Bing. Sharing your screenshot on Bing may give you wide exposure and a much needed thrust to your photography career.

AutoPanorama

[Free, Pro: $0.99] AutoPanorama is a third-party app that gives you total control over images. It provides a transparent layer of previous images, which you can align with the next screenshot to create the perfect panoramic photo. This, of course, requires you to have steady hands while capturing the image. However, it also results in a better image alignment.

Unlike other applications of this category, it takes Auto Panorama almost no time to stitch the images to form your panorama. It also comes with functions like transparency-level adjustment, flash mode on/ off and red-eye reduction. There is also a plan for automatic picture-taking capability in the next iteration. You can save panoramas to the camera roll, upload them on Facebook or send them to friends via email/ text.

Pano

[$2.99] Pano lets you unleash the photographer in you. Already an award-winning iOS app, it now comes to the Windows Phone community. Pano lets you take 360-degree panoramas with up to sixteen photos to stitch. It also provides a semi-transparent guide to align each photo perfectly – the end result is something you want to brag about

Advanced alignment, blending and the colour correction algorithm ensure that you get near-perfect quality photos in all kinds of exposure.The absence of transparency control is an impediment when you take panoramic screenshots in an outdoor environment. Do note that it also takes a while for the stitching to complete.

Ztitch

[Free] Instead of stitching the images automatically, Ztitch places them in a 3D space from where you can pick and stitch them to create a 360-degree panorama.

It also serves as a Panoramic image viewer. Users can export images to Photo Hub or share them on Facebook, Flickr etc. Overall, Ztitch is a decent application that serves the purpose.

OEM Exclusive Apps

Samsung Photo Studio is a dedicated photography app for Samsung Windows Phone users. It comes with heaps of options along with the capability to take Panoramic pictures.

(Image Source: Windows Phone Central)

Nokia’s exclusive product, Creative Studio is by far the best app that exists in Windows Phone ecosystem. It has an abundance of filters and effects to make your photo stand out from the crowd. It also offers the panorama image capturing function. Users are also given an option to either share it via social networking sites or save them to the phone’s internal memory.

HTC has an in-built panorama tool integrated into the main camera app. It provides a horizontal line as a separator between two consecutive shots. There are no settings to play with. It will stitch three consecutive images to turn into a panorama then it will be saved into Pictures Hub automatically. From there, you can share it with social networking sites or save it to SkyDrive.

Home internet nowadays comes with a quota of how much bandwidth you can use in a month. It’s unavoidable and if you happen to exceed that quota, your internet provider might charge you a premium, or slow your speeds down to dial-up levels. If you don’t want this to happen to you, then you should monitor your internet usage.