I came across this find on a WebWorkerDaily post, whilst Aliza talked about hers and the teams desktop layouts.

Its called Launchy and in simple, it is a program launcher. It indexes the Windows start menu and means that you can type all or part of a program name, press enter and that program is launched.

Where Launchy holds its own is when out and about with  my Asus Eee 1000H, with the slightly reduced screen resolution and the small trackpad, Launchy makes running programs very easy. To open the small launchy window, you simply press ALT+ENTER by default or any other combination of your choice. It has many options which includes the ability to index other areas, select different skins and even add additional plugins.

I have also added a folder to my start menu called shortcuts to which I have added additional links to common places like, network storage and commonly used folders.

I highly recommend it to anyone who has a netbook or who don’t like navigating the start menu.

Link: www.launchy.net

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Its amazing really as its only a short drive from our home and practically on the doorstep yet it feels like a world apart from the busy towns.

Things have changed a lot here in recent months, all executive villas now receive WiFi, albeit not at the fastest connections speeds but adequate for firing a blog or two off and reading my many feeds;

Also the speed has been fairly consistent, unlike the speeds the jkontherun guys have experienced at the recent mobilize conference. I would try the mobile data speeds but there isn’t much point as currently my T-Mobile signal only gives GPRS data connectivity.

What has been a real winner here is the newest addition to my gadget bag, my Asus EEE 1000H.

It added very little size or weight to the luggage which was already greatly increased due to all the many additional baby items needed on this sort of trip and has been used more by my wife than it has by me.

What is impressive about the Asus is the power adaptor, I know on my brothers original EEE 701 the power brick is included on the actual plug and even though with this incarnation of the EEE range, the brick is a separate entity on the power cable, its still tiny compared with many laptop power adaptors. Here’s a comparison of my MDA Compact IV, the EEE adaptor and Simon’s normal laptop adaptor;                                               

Another bonus for me is the SD card slot of the EEE, my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 takes SDHC cards so getting photos off the card is a very simple cableless operation, which also means less clutter for the gadget bag.

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I posted last week that my current employment situation dictated a need for my own laptop or netbook. I got the short list down to the Asus EEE 1000H and the MSI Wind U100 as the price point and mobility aspect are far greater than that of normal laptop.

Well my final decision was dictated by a couple of factors. Despite Kevin C. Tofel’s observations on the badly positioned right shift key, the deal breaker for me is battery life.

The Asus comes packed with a 6 cell battery giving around 5 to 6 hours of moderate usage, an impressive figure for a £330 unit. The UK version of the MSI Wind has only a 3 cell battery and for me 2 - 3 hours usage is not acceptable.

Before I had chance to order my new companion device, my wife had already pulled the trigger and ordered it for me! It arrived next day kudos to Ebuyer.co.uk for delivery and service.

I have spent a fair amount of time with the device over the weekend and I have to say I am really happy. The speed of the device is more than acceptable and better than I expected for a 1.6Ghz processor and the battery life is excellent. The unit comes packaged with Asus’s Super Hybrid Engine software which has several different power and performance settings to leverage battery life over performance or vice versa. Whilst using the ‘Auto Mode’ setting of the software I am seeing more than 5 hours of moderate to heavy usage and being as I can’t actually feel any less or more performance when using the different modes, currently I leave the power settings to auto.

The right shift key was a learning curve as I usually hit it with my right hand little finger and its miniature size and odd placement means a need for better accuracy but this isn’t too much of a problem for me.

My only really complaint, if I had to make one is the fan noise. Its a low hum but in a quiet room its an audible noise, its not loud by any stretch but it is there.

All in all my initial impressions of the device are very positive and it certainly ticks all the boxes for my requirements. I’ll post more about the device as items come up.

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Those fathers out there will know and appreciate that many hours can be passed whilst feeding those little ones. In a bid to gain back some of that feeding time I’ve found that I can bottle feed my daughter and flick through the 100+ feeds I like to keep track of.

Whilst usually I would use my new HTC Touch Diamond with Opera Mobile, Google Reader Mobile and simple finger screen flicks, on a laptop this can be slightly more tricky. What with touch pads, mouse clicks and the inability to move very far its a blessing that Google Reader has keyboard shortcuts.

Some of your eagle eyed readers may be wondering a few things;

1) Why is there a red elastic ban on my daughters bottle

2) What was the picture taken with

Well the answer to no.1 is; the elastic band marks this particular bottle as being Lily’s water bottle and more on no.2 coming very soon. 

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The Viva has TI’s OMAP™ 850, 201 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, WiFi, 2MP Camera and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional and the Touch 3G comes packed with Qualcomm® MSM7225™, 528 MHz processor, 192 MB RAM, 256 MB ROM, WiFi, 3.2MP Camera and GPS.

What stands out is the new Touch HD (above) with its 3.8-inch wide, WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) screen. The  480 x 640 pixel screen on the Touch Diamond is impressive and even now I get comments from friends when scrolling through pictures so imagine what the HD’s going to look like. Couple this with the new 5MP camera and 3.5MM audio jack and all the existing Touch Diamonds features this phone certainly packs a punch.

Check out the HTC site for more information.

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Recent changes to my employment have left me with two company provided laptops. Whilst most people would be excited by the prospect of having more than one new device to play with I’m rather more cautious with my approach.

My problem is none of these devices I can call my own and the harsh corporate measures and monitoring mean I cannot install any of the applications I require for other duties outside of that particular employers scope. Windows Live Writer for blogging, IRC for keeping in touch with communities I am part of and many other applications make up my day to day life in front of a computer.

I have tried to live in the cloud as far as possible as Kevin C. Tofel of jkontherun has, which to a degree has helped, I have even tried living from a USB flash drive with the excellent portable applications available on the internet.

Based upon the above I think its time I got myself a netbook, a companion mobility based device which I can use on a day to day basis whilst in between employers and appointments, something ultra-portable, that I can throw in a bag and carry with me.

So far my options are, the MSI Wind, HP 2133 Mini note or the ASUS 1000H. They are all pretty much similar as far as specifications, the HP being a little different in the that its powered by a VIA C7 1.2 Ghz processor where as the Asus and MSI are powered by Intel’s 1.6 Ghz Atom.

What has caught my eye are the recent battery tests done by Kevin C. Tofel on his recently purchased MSI Wind, he reckons with an ‘average’ days use you could be looking at 5 - 5.5 hours usage. From a £350.00 netbook that is a pretty impressive figure. He has been comparing his results with Brad Linder of liliputing who has recently purchased the Asus 1000H, he has seen similar results which is equally as impressive. What makes this more interesting is in the United States, Asus have just dropped the price of this model to $445, a saving of $105. I wonder if this generous discount will be shared over here with us folk in the UK?

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Well actually I’ve given into the T-Mobile MDA Compact IV, which is T-Mobiles version of HTC Touch Diamond.

My aging Vodafone v1415 and Vodafone contract are now costing me more than I think I should be paying. With phone bills of around £60.00 per month it was cheaper to buy out my remaining months with Vodafone and move to T-Mobile.

I obtained the MDA Compact IV on Combi 30 with Web ‘n’ Walk. This gives me 700 anytime, anywhere minutes, unlimited text messages and access to the excellent coverage of the T-Mobile 3G / HSDPA network. This was a deal breaker for me as I know Vodafones high speed data network in the area where I live is virtually none existent.

Its a shame to be honest as Vodafone have been the best network operator I have been with in the customer service and 2G signal stakes and even since the jump to T-Mobile I believe that to be the case.

The first three weeks with the device have been a learning curve for me, the on-screen keyboard takes some getting used to especially when moving from my Vodafone v1415 (shown to the right) with both a keypad and QWERTY keyboard. Also the initial experience with the T-Mobile ROM that came with the device were a little disappointing, more on this later.

One major plus point with the MDA Compact IV is Opera 9.5 and the browsing experience this device provides, it is worlds away from browsing on the S710 and for the first time on a Windows Mobile device a pleasure to use. I am regularly finding myself picking up the MDA Compact IV to browse the internet rather than my current laptop which in itself tells a story. The double tap to zoom, high resolution VGA (480×640) screen, automatic orientation and desktop like browsing make this a compelling device to anyone who regularly surfs on the move.

It is definitely comparable to the browsing experience of the 3G iPhone and in many ways better, specifically when connected via the T-Mobile HSDPA network.

So far the experience is positive and I’m happy with the move.

My wife also jumped into the same contract but with the Samsung Tocco. A pure touch screen device which I also am very impressed with. Its user interface is fantastic and very easy to just pick up and use.

Anita likes to be able to get on with a device straight away and has took to the Samsung like a duck to water.

Its menu layout is very similar to her previous Sony Ericsson W880i which makes life easier, it also has a very small vibrate when you press one of the menu icons to let you know that you have successfully pressed, a very welcome feature to a touch screen device.

One other notable feature is the widgets, this gives the user the ability to drag and organise widgets onto the ‘desktop’ of the phone. You simply press the widget sidebar which gives you access to your email, web browser, radio, media player and many more, all of which can be dragged and placed on the phones desktop. Most importantly, Anita thinks its the best mobile she has owned, so I guess that’s the thumbs up!

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For those who don’t know what Evernote is, its an note taking application much like Microsoft OneNote in its intentions but worlds apart in the way it works. Evernote stores your notes in the cloud which allows you to access them from anywhere via just about any method you can think of. You can use your favourite web browser, they have a Windows and Mac client, a Windows Mobile version and the new iPhone client. There is even a web clipper button which allows you to grab whole or part web pages straight to your notes.

I have used note taking applications in both my professional and personal life for over three years, mainly using OneNote as my core application. However, recently OneNote isn’t getting a look in as I’m finding that Evernote is more and more becoming my note taking application of choice.

There are a few keys reasons for this;

1) In the three years of using Microsoft OneNote I still feel I don’t know how to use the application. There is such an expanse of options and features I still feel dwarfed by it, but in Evernote life couldn’t be simpler. It has a number of key features which are essential to useful note taking. There are no complicated menus and hundreds of commands to search through before finding the feature you require.

2) Evernote just works.

It really does just work, no crashes or connectivity issues. Its interface is quick and precise and intuitive. Its everything a service or application should be but so often aren’t in today’s computing.

If you haven’t already, I heartily suggest you do check it out at www.evernote.com. Once you have signed up, if you can’t think of anything to store in your notes, check out The Cranking Widgets for some great ideas on usage.

Finally, I’m becoming a real expert of feeding my daughter whilst using a keyboard!

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I really am sick of hearing and reading about it.

So for those of you in feeling the same, here’s a little treat;

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Two applications have surfaced which intended to make the Facebook experience more desktop like for Windows Mobile users, Snap2Face and FriendMobilizer.

Unfortunately FriendMobilizer is only available to the US although if you are interested you can get find out more using the below link.

Snap2Face have released a new version and this current one is far better than previous builds I have tried, the last version wouldn’t even login. However I’m happy to report that this latest incarnation works very well with only the occasional grumble like currently I cannot see the pokes I have received.

One feature which I personally missed when using Facebook Mobile which Snap2Face includes is the ability to upload photos to a specific album on your profile directly from your Windows Mobile device, its a simple thing but well implemented. Other features include the ability to view your friends profiles in all their glory and view all your notifications including friend requests.

Both applications require a Facebook application to be authorised via a desktop computer before you can begin working with your profile but that’s a small step to Facebook happiness.

LINKS: Snap2Face and FriendMobilizer.

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