Bill Gates talks about Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and his Surface RT.

I think this is the first time we hear and see Bill Gates talk about Microsoft's new Operating System which is to be launched this Friday.  Of course he's excited about Windows 8 and we learn in the video that he is using...Surface RT. Now that is a surprise for me. I would expect the iconic chairman of Microsoft to use the full version of Windows 8, don't you? A marketing manoeuvre to give RT a boost? 

Check out the short 5 minutes video of the Q&A with Steve Clayton, a Microsoft Employee.

Q&A: My device does not display caller ID

Q: When I receive phone calls, the phone number is displayed instead of the caller ID. Thus, I sometime do not know who's calling. My phone number format is 123 4567. How can I resolve that?

A: Some HTC devices have that problem where they are unable to compare and retrieve the caller when a phone calls arrive. This is happening because the number of digits in the phone number, which is 7. Many countries use 8 digits and by default, some devices are setup with the default value 8 in the following registry key: HKCU\Control Panel\Phone\CallIdMatch. Change the value to 7 and soft reset. This is it.

Tipster: Maurisystems Ltd

Posted on the GO!

Q&A: IE Mobile cannot access intranet site

Q: I want to access my intranet website using dial up networking with
SmartPhone/ PDA / Pocket PC.

I've tried with O2 mini (windows mobile 2003), the dial up was successful but I
cannot access my intranet website using Internet Explorer Mobile. How can I fix that?

A: This is probably happening because Mobile IE is searching for the intranet
site on the internet rather than your intranet. To connect to intranet
URLs, you need to enter them as Work URL Exceptions. To do this, go to
Start - Settings - Connections - Advanced tab - Click Exceptions button.

Tap Add new URL... And
create a new URL Exception by typing the link to your intranet site.

Q&A: Windows Media player cannot read my storage card

Q: I have a problem with my pda.
I have a Kingston 2gig mini Sd memory card. Since yesterday, everytime i try to access the memory card through Windows Media Player --> library i get the error message "an unexpected error
occurred".

A: Open File Explorer and navigate to your storage card. In the root of the card there are two files: MSMETADATA and WMDRM. Delete them. If you can't see them, they probably are hidden. In File Explorer, click Menu and select Show all Files. You should now be able to access you SD card within Media Player.

Posted on the go using my superb HTC S620

Q&A: How to keep Windows Media as the default MP3 player instead of TCPMP?

Q: I installed TCPMP on my PDA and now it’s the default MP3 player. I want Windows Media player to be the default player without uninstalling TCPMP. How do I do this?

A: Upon installation of TCPMP it does become the default MP3 player. Some users have reported that their MP3 ring tone stopped working because of that and they fixed the issue by uninstalling TCPMP. There is a workaround to make the two media players co-exist happily alongside each other while keeping Windows media as the default MP3 player. This is how to:

Start TCPMP, tap options > Settings. Tap Select Page at the bottom of the screen and select File Associations from the menu. Uncheck MPEG Audio Files box. This will make Windows Media the default for MP3s. This solution works for both Pocket PC and Smartphone.

Q&A: Excel Mobile cannot find my files

Q: I have an Excel sheet in a folder on my Storage card, but when I start Excel Mobile, this file is not in the list of spreadsheets. Am I doing something wrong?

A: This issue arises when a file is saved to more than one folder deep. If you want your file to appear in the aggregated list, it is recommended that you create a folder in the root of the storage card and save your files there. This is by design and is not a bug.

Site Announcement: New Q&A, Tips & Tricks link

Hello Readers,

This is to inform you that two new links have been added to the site which will let you easily find all Q&A and Tips & Tricks posted here. Hope you will find this small addition useful.

Happy Easter All,

Linley Meslier

Q&A: Help! Activesync is draining the battery

Q: I have WM 5.0 and Activesync 4.0. Activesync turns itself on automatically on the PDA and drains the battery. As I read the instructions they say I should open Activesync on my PDA>Options>schedule and change the automatic to manual. The schedule function is not available (will not open).I have unsuccessfully tried to access the Schedule tab on the PC. Activesync does work fine and does what it should in terms of synchronizing. Do I have to un-install Activesync on my PDA and PC, and re-install so as to re-set the schedule function to manual?

A: The schedule tab is enabled only if when connected to an Exchange server. Obviously you're not but you can create a dummy one. Just open Activesync on your PC, click Tools and select Configure server Source. Type any name then click finish. The schedule tab should be enabled in Activesync. Just select manual from the both drop lists. Remember to delete the dummy exchange server afterwards.

Q&A: Help! Settings folder has gone from the Start menu

Q: Settings folder is not listed in the Start menu anymore, how can I fix it?

A: In order to resolve this, you need to open File Explorer and navigate to the \Windows\Start Menu folder. Once there, tap and hold on an empty space until a menu appears and select New Folder. A new folder is created. Rename the folder to Settings. Close File Explorer and click Start. Voilà, your Settings folder is back.

Q&A: Activesync and Windows Vista

Q: How to download ActiveSync 4.5 on new Vista PC?

A: Activesync 4.5 was designed to work with Windows XP and earlier. Microsoft has built Windows Mobile Device Center for PCs running Vista to sync with Windows Mobile powered devices. Therefore, Activesync will not run on Windows Vista. If you’re still running Windows XP, download Activesync 4.5 here.
Windows Mobile Device Center supports Windows Mobile 2003 or later devices and is available for download here.

Q&A: Save ringtones to storage card

Q: How do save my MP3 ringtone to Storage card?

A: You've got some MP3 files that you want to set as ringtones but you don't want to save them to your device memory for obvious reasons. The easiest way to do it is just save them to the root of your Storage card, or to the My Documents folder of the storage card. So simple.

Q&A: No sound notification when new emails arrive

Q: I’ve set my device to play a sound when new emails arrive, but it vibrates only.

A: This is because the profile you’re using is set to either vibrate or none. Depending on which profile you’re using you have to set it to Vibrate & Ring. If you have a Pocket PC, go into Scenario and tap Detail at the bottom of the screen. You will notice that all settings are disabled. Tap Setting to enable them and select Vibrate&Ring in the dropdown list.
If you have a Smartphone, go to Start > Settings > Profiles. Select the profile you’re using and select Edit from the Menu. Choose Vibrate and Sound from the Notification Type list.
These steps apply to my devices (Eten M500 & HTC S620), so they might be slightly different on yours.

Q&A: Accessing Windows folder causes device to stall.

Q: I’m trying to open Windows folder on my PDA and for some reason the hour glass stays on the screen and all I can do is a soft reset. I can access any other folders and I can even browse Windows folder using an alternative file explorer or through Activesync on my PC.

A: Check that File Explorer is set to sort by Name instead of by Type or by Size. Open File Explorer and tap on the drop list at the top right side of the screen and select Name in the list.

Q&A: How to modify default date format?

Q: Default regional settings is for USA. The date format is Friday 15 December 2006. If I set it to English UK it drops the day and I can only have 15 December 2006. Is there any way I can set it to region UK and have the day in the date please? Some kind of registry tweak or something?

A: If you have a registry editor, try this: Go to HKLM/nls/Overrides/
Change the Value data for SSDte to the date format you want. To include the day, type dddd/mmmm dd/yyyy as the value data. Do a soft reset and you will be able to select the new date format from the Regional Settings applet.

Warning: Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Q&A: Remote Desktop Client for Smartphones

Q: Does Windows Mobile 5 - Smartphone Edition include a remote desktop client?

A: Windows Mobile 5 pocket PC edition comes with a Terminal Services Client but this feature is not present in the Smartphone edition. But don't despair. Luckily, there are third party solutions out there that you can try. I came across .Net VNC viewer which works on both Pocket PC and Smartphones. VNC Viewer lets you remotely connect and control your desktop PC. Mocha Remote Client for Windows Mobile 1.2 only works on Pocket PCs.