iPhone OS 3.0 supports MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) where as MMS is not supported in iPhone 2G. This article lists the system requirements for MMS and explains how to begin using MMS on both iPhone 2G and 3G. Basically, you need to verify that your iPhone and wireless carrier meet the system requirements to send and receive MMS messages on your iPhone.

Enable MMS on iPhone 3G

• A wireless carrier supports MMS on iPhone 3G
• You may need to install a carrier settings update
• After installing the carrier settings update, if you still don’t see the option for MMS Messaging in your iPhone’s Settings screen, check with your carrier to confirm that it supports MMS
• Send an MMS message by tapping Messages and adding a test photo
• A coverage area in which you can place and receive a call and access the Internet using Safari on your iPhone with 3G network coverage

P.S. You should see MMS Messaging in the Settings > Messages > General screen of your iPhone. If you don’t see MMS messaging check with your carrier to confirm it supports MMS and connect your iPhone to iTunes to if there is no carrier settings update available in iTunes when you connect your iPhone.

Activating MMS on iPhone 2G

• The iPhone 2G does not support sending or receiving MMS messages
• iPhone 2G OS 3.0 Jailbreaked with Cydia
• You need to enter into Cydia and download the package  ActivateMMS2G available in iSpazio
• Restart the iPhone
• Next go to Settings > Messages and make sure MMS Messaging is ON
• iPhone 2G is updated into Settings> General> Network> Cellular Data Network and add the MMS info for your carrier

Note: If you haven’t jailbreaked your iphone 2G with OS 3.0, then follow the easy steps with Unlock or Jailbreak iPhone 2g OS 3.0 Using RedSn0w on Windows Mac.

Conclusion

If your iPhone meets the system requirements, your wireless account may still need to be provisioned to send and receive MMS messages. Several carriers will automatically provision your wireless account for MMS when you first send an MMS message. Similarly, other carriers will provision customers’ wireless accounts for MMS automatically in large groups at different intervals. You can check with your carrier to confirm you are provisioned to send or receive MMS messages.

Palm Pre with its cutting edge tech is leading the way for the best smart phone available and could be a viable alternative to the iPhone. Palm pre is based on Web OS which supports  multitasking , thereby making it pioneers in multitasking utilities which is about to change with the Palm Pre 3G.

Palm Pre handsets with the new web OS browsers is a very attractive phone with a good OS and the phone works smoothly with this new software. A detailed comparison of both the Palm Pre and iPhone features should hepl you to decide which is the best smartphone.

• Screen: Both phones have capacitive and multi-touch Screens with the Palm Pre’s glowy little “gesture area” dropping real estate all the way down to the bottom of the phone.
• Multitasking: In Multitasking apps the Palm Pre  is the clear winner  and the iPhone is far behind.
• Developers : Here, again Palm Pre is leading with webOS because it supports JavaScript, HTML and CSS where as Apple has provided OS X-based SDK.
• Web Integration: Palm Pre with webOS interface integrates your contacts of Facebook, Gmail, IM and and scans for the duplicates also.
• Software Applications : Apple gains the advantage of Third party appllications via App store or Cydia where there are tons of free and paid applications that available for iPhone. It may take some time for Palm Pre to have this type of support.
• 3 MP Camera: The Palm Pre gains another advantage over the iPhone with an LED Flash for its 3MP camera, something  which the iPhone lacks. Several users have found the pics good enough despite the fact that pics taken with flash have their shortcomings.
• Keyboard : iPhone gains an advantage with virtual Touch keyboard. Palm Pre has a physical QWERTY Keyboard which complicates a new user’s performance.
• Battery: An Apple iPhone comes with a fixed battery while Palm Pre comes with a spare replacement too.
• Copy and Paste: Palm Pre does both and the iPhone still does not and nothing is expected in the near future.
• Browser: Both iPhone & Palm Pre use the standard mobile web browser based on  WebKit.

Conclusion: Apple needs to work on the third generation version of  the iPhone to compete with Palm Pre which has a likely potential to grab a good amount of Smart Phone market share.

The iPhone results in being disabled when you enter the wrong password repeatedly, when the iPhone is switched on. You can add extra protection to your iPhone by setting up the 4-digit pass word Lock feature which gives you and your iPhone an extra layer of security while using your iPhone. This feature allows you to enter a 4-digit password that must be entered to gain access to your iPhone and its data.

When you have forgotten your password you need to do the following:

• First, click the Home button to bring up the main menu
• Then, click on Settings
• In the Settings screen click on General
• In the General screen click on Password Lock
• The password screen opens where you need to enter a 4-figure password that can be memorized and re-enter it when prompted to confirm it
• Finally, the pass word Lock screen opens where you are prompted to enter the pass word immediately which means you will be asked to enter it as soon as you start using the iPhone
• When you press the Home button you return to the main menu

Note: You can change the setting so that the prompt appears after using your iPhone for a certain period.

The other alternative is to restore your iPhone by using the recovery mode app which is available on my article on ‘iPhone Recovery Mode’.

You can easily surf the web with Toggle Private Browsing in Firefox because this app allows switching from one setting to another wthin no time. The term toggle implies that you are switching from the current setting to the other setting. You can start and stop Private Browsing Mode in Firefox with Toggle Private Browsing where you can switch back and forth with a single toolbar button. You can also toggle Firefox to auto start in private browsing mode where Toggle Private Browsing extension allows you to surf the web smoothly without any hassles.

Installation

Firstly, install the Toggle Private Browsing extension and right click on one of your toolbars and select “Customize”. Once the Customize Toolbar Window has opened, grab the Toggle PB Mask button and move it to the toolbar location according to your preferences. Now, it is just a matter of clicking on it to start and stop Private Browsing Mode.

Options

There are two options available for the Toggle Private Browsing extension in Firefox. They are Auto-start in Private Browsing Mode and To disable the Private Browsing Mode prompt message.

What is Toggle Private Browsing Mode?

There could be several users who may have not tried this new Firefox feature called Toggle Private Browsing yet. Initially, you will see a message  giving you the choice to proceed with or to cancel entering Private Browsing Mode.

When you start Toggle Private Browsing extension , you will see the little Mask Icon on the left side of the Address Bar and the following message in the tab window which says that Firefox will not remember any history for this session.  This means that Firefox will not store any browser history including, search history, download history, web form history, cookies or internet files. However, your downloaded files and bookmarks that youmake will be  kept.

There are several ways to Toggle Private Browsing Mode in Firefox, of which two are as flows:

• “Ctrl + Shift + P” keyboard combination
• Go to the Tools Menu and then selecting “Start Private Browsing” or “Stop Private Browsing”

Conclusion

Toggle Private Browsing is a very useful extension for those who need a simple and quick way to toggle Private Browsing Mode in Firefox without hindrances to your surfing sessions.

Links

Download Toggle Private Browsing Extension (Mozilla Add-ons)

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Carbonite backup is a simple and secure online app that provides optimal security and accentuates easy access to your data on your PC where recovering your data is a process of a few clicks. Your computer is filled with irreplaceable files and Carbonite allows automatic, secure backups of an unlimited amount of data.

The Carbonite Windows version works with 32 & 64bit versions of XP Vista and Windows 7 and the Mac version works with OS X 10.4 and above.  It comes with a free 14 day trial and the premium service is affordable at $54.95 annually.

Installation

A small management program following the wizard installs the backups once and it runs automatically (or you can manually choose what to backup) where your desktop and ”My Documents” are refreshed to complete the process. Finally, you have the option of automatically backing up and your Desktop

Salient Features

Carbonite has several features including, how to manage your backed up data in which the main Info Center is the desktop interface that allows you to control different aspects of your data.

• Install backup schedule or allow them to run automatically.
• Search and find tutorials from within the desktop app.
• Carbonite working is displayed on a tray icon.

Note: a yellow dot (represents pending backup) or green (represents successful backup) next to the folder or file allows you to see your directories that are being backed up.

Easy Usage

Carbonite allows you to backup your files and directories by navigating what you want to backup. You just need to Right click and choose Carbonite and Back this up from there, where you can install a scheduled backup or back up everything immediately.

Note: You can view and access your backed up files globally on the web by logging into your drive on their site.

Performance

Carbonite estimates 2-3GB of data backup daily and if you are using your PC continuously it delays copying data to their serversas as it performs slowly while you are active to help save resources.  You can access backed up file quickly as it doesn’t hog bandwidth while backing up and the Carbonite app occupies very less RAM.

Product Support

Carbonite product support on searching troubleshooting tips include, FAQs or tutorials on several categories from the Get Support section in the Info Center. You need to click on Contact Customer Support and an email form is opened up where you can type in your message and attach any forms related to the question which are answered within 24 hours or 72 hours max.

iTunes is a free application for Mac and PC users that plays all your digital music and video which syncs several musical content to your iPod, iPhone and Apple TV to your collection 24/7. It is a one stop entertainment store where you can add free music and purchase premium quality iTunes for an affordable price according to your preferences.

Locavore 2.0: constitutes a paid ($4)  social networking feature similar to Facebook Connect which provides Facebook integration. It mixes social networking with its local, seasonal food finding abilities in the proximity of your neighborhood. This app will not only help you find nearby groceries, but judging from your location, will tell you which fruits and vegetables are currently in season in your area. You can share about what fruits and vegetables are available in the groceries in your area according to seasonal produce.

Mass Effect Galaxy: is a promotional tool for Mass Effect 2 (ME2) game (for $3) which moves both top and down, is tilt controlled game play and there is always  a new character added to the game to make it more friendly and interesting for the fans of the franchise. It is assumed that beating this game will unlock some kind of content in ME2.

AlarmTunes: is a complete iPhone alarm clock ($1) embedded with musical ring tones via multimedia tools on your iPhone device. It works only when you leave the app open all night.

WorldVoice Radio: app is a very successful experience of operating a ham radio including, a streamlined, centralized pod casting service that lets you broadcast content and listen to others streams as well. The podcast service operates as a shortwave radio service where the recording system is oriented toward shorter messages. The longer messages have to be imported from the Voice Memo app and there is a huge rush to buy the service for $3 with very reduced feature free version[via TUAW.

AT&T Mobile Remote Access: allows their users to control their U-verse IPTV Digital Video recordings over the internet for free. It has been possible over a mobile web interface since 2007 and this iPhone app is an expected addition to AT&T Mobile Remote Access lineup of management tools including, Program search, scheduling and deletion all within a single specific search parameter.

Navigon Lite: version is a great idea that lets the users test the apps routing power, nice UI, and Navteq mapset, all in 1.29GB that takes RAM space on an iPhone. The GPS doesn’t work but it’s marginally useful and definitely worth your time if you’re considering using the full version whenever it comes out and the Euro app is $140.

Absolut Drinkspiration : Drinking apps are both junkware and advertisement apps that are usually a waste of time though, free and nonetheless manages to be pretty good. Mainly, it’s a drink recipe and recommendation app that also accommodates non-vodka listings. Besides, it’ll recommend drinks based on parameters including, taste, time and mood. It’s also got GPS built in so you can upload your mixes and see what others all over the world are drinking and exactly where they’re drinking it.

TroubleSpots: is a tool to report when, where and how your cellular network has failed you. The embedded geodata reports are passed on to AT&T which enables them to know where its network is thin. TroubleSpots usage inadvertently draws you into a secret negative campaign against iPhone apps and complaint forms by, say, T-Mobile. TroubleSpots app is worth its nonexistent price of entry.

Pix Remix, Slideshow Builder : They are both paid slideshow apps which do very similar things including, making Ken Burns-style moving picture shows, share presentations from phone-to-phone or through a web interface and neither can export presentation into common slideshow formats including, PowerPoint and Keynote. The differences between them are that Slideshow Builder pans more intelligently using facial recognition, while Pix Remix has many more presentation options. Slideshow Builder has a near-full-featured free version that is a dollar more expensive at $4.

Lyrics+ : a real-time lyrics fetcher with a music library enabled alarm clock. It also offers plenty of ways to incorporate lyrics into your audio file tags pre-transfer over the air where it just displays the lyrics. It is available on a   $2 fee daily via TUAW.

Finalprice: calculates discounts and sales taxes (for $1) to give you an actual total for whatever you’re considering buying. Also, you could just figure this stuff out on the built-in calculator in a few seconds.

CNN Money: is a free news app with a solid video section that has a weblike interface which is updated 24×7.

MyWi:  sets up a zero-config wi-fi network, router style and even broadcasts a network name so that you and others can easily tap into an iPhone’s data connection. It’s great for jailbreakers, but comes with a $10 contract.

Beware of Fake Google Chrome OS Screen shots which displays a remarkably xfce-like desktop, with Google colored the wrong way. The first Chrome OS shots look real though there are plenty of reasons that arouse several suspicions.

The prankster happened to be an employee of a parts supplier for Acer, one of Google partners for Chrome Operating systems. He was privy to a brief demonstration of a Private Developer Beta by Google where they showed a full installation, which took about 10 minutes. The desktop to desktop reboot took about 25 seconds after the installation was done.

The desktop is pretty small where at the bottom of the screen is the Chrome Bar, which is the system’s dock or start menu. The glowing blue icon, which looks like the center of the Chrome logo, opens the main menu and hides when the app is not in use or activated. It can be activated with the Windows key, similar to the Start Menu, though Chrome-loaded net books could well have a dedicated Google key or Chrome key.

The prankster has admitted that the Chrome OS screen shots are fake. Besides, they were published the following day of the announcement made by Google. The fake Chrome OS Screen shots could easily be mocked up in an existing Linux app as they do not neccessarily look they were taken in an acer conference room.

Also the description in the leak is quite long, so you can judge for yourself that it is a fake Chrome OS screen shot. Anyway, this is a tiny aesthetic preview of an early build of Google’s Linux desktop environment and it is not exactly how the Google Chrome OS works and performs.

The prankster also admits how was the last to leave the room and the Google Rep seemed to forget his privacy. He happened to have a Mini-Cam with him and took these medium quality shots taken in less than 10 seconds. The rep also mentioned some of the Linux aspects including the option to have a status bar on the Chrome Bar for software developers. The Google Chrome OS installation was performed on a Acer Extensa 4620Z laptop to show it can install quickly on laptops from late 2007 to early 2008. Presently, Google has not completed compatibility tests with some laptops and netbooks.

There is no better electronic alternative to GPS app says NavTeq, which provides electronic cartography for the likes of Garmin and Magellan. GPS unit sales doubled in 2008 and still several users  can’t locate their device’s true potential.

A GPS device receives its signal from space where physical impediments like skyscrapers, cliff faces and even trees can hinder its efficiency. There’s a port on the back of most GPS devices for jacking in and reception is less of an issue with the ultra sensitive chip sets in newer models where hooking up an antenna will make use of even the most feeble signals to streamline your navigation systems including, cell phones. The newer units have detailed tables that tell them where the satellites are positioned at any time of day, globally where they just need a single clean sync to get oriented.

The worst time to power up your GPS is when you actually need it and therefore find some wide-open sky and give your silicon guide a couple of minutes to get activated.

Note: So dont wait until you are in the woods or down the road.

The GPS is not a compass for it runs on a software, where similar to your PC, it needs to communicate with the mother board, periodically. Several vendors refresh firmware and maps on a regular basis, sometimes even daily. But, fortunately most companies make it easy to update your own maps which deliver new bits of data that significantly affect your gadget’s accuracy. It is as simple as plugging into your home computer, dropping a couple of pins in Google Maps and clicking Save.

This is even easier with TomTom, which provides the smartest routes  daily where you can edit maps on the unit itself, according to your preferences. The company’s IQ Routes software takes data from every person who uses the company’ gadgets and readjusts its assumptions  (where it will even change its own maps) about which roads you should use and how long a  given route will take to access or travel. The GPS advantage enables you to proram your journey especially, during bad weather including, cyclones, typhoons, snow and sandstorms.The position and attribute information can be stored in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to help the users manage their assets more efficiently.

Internet browsing is both informative and exciting where you need to be  properly protected with a good antivirus application to avoid hassles with bugs while working online. The web has advented since the days of Norton, with several excellent freeware software that can keep your computer safe from malware and similar viruses. An overview of the five best antivirus applications are given below:

AVG Anti-Virus

The AVG Antivirus app is both a freeware (AVG Free) and shareware that provides protection against the various bugs floating around the internet and also occupies very less RAM without interfereing with the working of other apps simultaneously. AVG freeware has its limitations and commercial versions of their software are quite popular globally since most users find the Free tag as the only impetus to use it in their working environments including, home or office.

NOD32

NOD32 Antivirus app is a shareware beter known for its speed and occupies very less RAM as well without interfering with other software apps. NOD32 is both comprehensive and bulletproof solution that aids web browsing completely. It is not a freeware and is available at $40 annually for a home license and most users find the pricetag very affordable and also recomend it t0 their contacts.

Avast Antivirus

Avast Antivirus is both freeware (for Home) and shareware (for Professional) apps and there are several satisfied users who have shifted over from AVG Antivirus app. Avast Antivirus does occupy more RAM but  its excellent protection makes up more for the increased footprint. The freeware version can only be uploaded with an email address where a free registration code from their website is given.

Avira AntiVir

Avira Antivirus is both freeware (Personal) and shareware (Premium) app which is much advanced as it detects viruses and other malware that other antivirus apps can miss. Most users find the freeware alternative easy to work with as it enables them to browse according to their preferences. The only disadvantage with Avira Antivirus that their  pop-up ads can be  enabled by default, but you can disable the ads with a couple of clicks.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Kaspersky antivirus app is a shareware is pretty consistent in malware protection with strong user base as well as satisfied users who find the annual $60 license fee very reasonable to  afford and purchase. Kaspersky’s extremely quick response time to new viruses has earned it a special place in the hearts and system trays of  all its users.