$4,000 prize if you can fix HTC’s TyTN II driver issue

If you read my review of the TyTN II, you might be forgiven for thinking the device is god’s gift to business people and professional mobile users everywhere. Unfortunately, a problem has been discovered in all of the newer HTC model range which appears to be caused by broken or mal-engineered device driver software on the devices. Such a problem is technically fixable by a software update.

The site HTCClassAction.org is offering a $4,000 bounty for anyone who can successfully fix the poor graphical software of the TyTN II.

The company, “High Tech Computers” (HTC), a Taiwanese Microsoft Partner who are market leaders for creating the most powerful handheld devices on the marker have been under fire lately from websites and blogs claiming that the manufacturer “neglected to include the necessary drivers needed for the devices to come to their full potential”.

The main complaints surround the poor graphical performance of the HTC TyTN II. Specifically, laggy web page scrolling, choppy 3D rendering in GPS software such as TomTom and the inbuilt camera.

The HTC TyTN II itself is an awesome device, with impressive overall specifications, including (as I reported earlier), a built in graphics chip using the Qualcomm MSM 7200 chip. However, for the hardware to work to its full potential, the software manufacturer (in this case, HTC) first needs to load the correct “drivers” onto the device to handle putting graphics onto your screen. This makes the HTC TyTN II feel, at times, unresponsive.

Ironically, older devices don’t have this problem - as one user demonstrates on a YouTube video:

Magician (left) = old device with proper driver
TyTN II (right) brand new device with inadequate/broken drivers

Business users might not encounter such problems as the device is more than capable of checking email, and light web browsing. However graphical performance is compromised for games and the device doesn’t feel as responsive as it should do.

If you have a TyTN II, consider contacting HTC to let them know that you want updated drivers. Click here for more information.

Confirmed Affected Devices (list copied from HTCClassAction.org)

• HTC TyTN II (MSM7200), also known as:

  • HTC Kaiser

  • T-Mobile MDA Vario III

  • AT&T Tilt

  • Vodafone v1615

• HTC Touch Dual (MSM7200), also known as:

  • HTC Nike

• HTC Touch Cruise (MSM7200), also known as:

  • HTC Polaris

• HTC Wings (MSM7200), also known as:

  • HTC S730

• HTC Titan (MSM7500), also known as:

  • Sprint Mogul PPC-6800

  • Verizon XV6800

• HTC Vogue (MSM7500), also known as:

  • HTC Touch P3050 (this is not the normal HTC Touch)

  • Sprint Touch

  • Verizon Touch XV6900

• HTC Libra (MSM7500), also known as:

  • HTC S720

• HTC Iris (MSM7500), also known as:

  • HTC S640

Further Reading

• HTCClassAction.org - “Because HTC dropped the ball, and it’s about time they pick it up!”

• Engadget - “Driver trouble makes angry mobile owners rush castle HTC with burning torches”

• Wireless Week - “Smartphone Owners Unite Over Performance Issues”

• MSMobiles - “HTC phones have performance issues”

• WMExperts - “Possible HTC Driver Issue Spurs User Activism”

• TheRegister - “Peeved HTC smartphone owners offer bounty for driver fix”

• TheInquirier - “HTC owners up in arms over graphics”

Conclusion

If you’re after a PDA business phone, to check email, browse the internet, play a few ’simple’ games and use as a superfast 3G data modem for your laptop, or to play back wmv or .3gp movies - the TyTN II is still a very good choice. What needs to happen here is that HTC pick up the ball, and release a patch to fix the drivers for the QualComm chipset in the affected PDA’s. Within 12 months of the Apple iPhone launch, the iPhone Safari browser (although slower than a dialup modem) is already responsible for 1% of all web browsing, thanks in part to the sheer usability and strong hardware performance and strong driver support at Apple for their own device. Let’s hope that Microsoft see the problem and have a chat with their hardware partner!

I’m sure Steve Jobs is watching this hardware manufacturer integration fiasco and rubbing his hands with glee!

Is your device underperforming? Please let me know in the comments section.

.NET Source Code now available for VS2008 users

Last October, Microsoft promised the release of source code for .NET developers to download and browse the .NET Framework and hence debug their applications built on top of the framework more easily.

Previously, when debugging .NET code, only the granularity of a method call or object instantiation was available. Now the call stack can load the symbols to let you step into the .NET code for almost all the .NET classes and methods in your application. This ability is only available for Visual Studio 2008 users.

To get started, either download and install the symbols directly from Microsoft (location to be announced), or enable automatic symbol download from Microsoft by providing the http location within the Options dialog as shown below:

It is now possible to debug .NET applications much further than was previously possible.

However not all the namespaces of the .NET Framework are available to debug in this way, and the .NET Compact Framework still isn’t (at all). So there’s still plenty of work to do. So thankyou, .NET Framework team, and keep up the good work!

Thank you to Richard D for the heads up on this news

Sources:

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/01/16/net-framework-library-source-code-now-available.aspx
http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/10/03/releasing-the-source-code-for-the-net-framework-libraries.aspx

Which is better; Stock or Aftermarket CPU Fan?

Since my article on building your own Windows Home Server / Server 2008, I’ve had a few comments on the choice of fan. That is to say, whether an aftermarket cooling solution (which can get to be very expensive) is worthwhile, and when building a budget PC - is it even necessary to splash out on a third party aftermarket cooler when the stock one that comes with the retail CPU is worthwhile.

“Which fan should I choose?”
(left: Stock Socket 7 Intel Fan, right: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro)

Always get an aftermarket fan. And purchase your new CPU upgrade OEM (without a supplied fan, and save yourself £5.00/$10.00).

Why?

Because stock fans are severely limited.

The basic fans that ship with retail packaged CPUs need to be no bigger than the smallest case, since customers purchasing a new CPU from PC World or New Egg could go home and find their case too small for the fan. Basic fans also need to be cheap so as not to impact the profit margin of the CPU vendor, and also weight is a consideration - some PC builds cannot tolerate the sheer weight of many high end fans. It makes sense therefore that CPU fans are supplied to the general public, as a bare minimum - sufficient, but barely.

Almost any aftermarket fan (excluding for a moment the chavvy fan designs) is going to be quieter and keep your CPU cooler for longer, even under stress. A cooler CPU lives longer and errors less. For those so inclined, if you get your CPU 10-20 degrees cooler, you have more margin to overclock it.

Some aftermarket air coolers work without fans at all. This is a real benefit for those who want to run a PC in the living room.

What about water cooling?

If you’re asking, then you probably don’t need it. I’m personally typing this on my workstation, air cooled, nearly silent - on a 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 overclocked to 3.0Ghz. And the CPU is only 40 degrees celcius. A decent water cooling setup would be prohibitively expensive and with no-one to show it off to (who cares?) and the price of CPU’s (and the thermal energy they use) falling all the time, it’s not a sound investment.

What to look for?

If you’re looking for a replacement fan, here’s a few tips:

• Check the reviews. There’s a world-wide custom PC community who publish user reviews on fans. Check Google before you buy.

• Check the dimensions of the fan, and make sure it will fit inside your case.

• If your motherboard is mounted vertically, don’t choose a heavy fan unless you have supports in place.

• Copper conducts better than steel or aluminium. Look for fans that use copper in their designs.

• Surface area is only good if you pass air over it - and remove hot air from your case. Make sure that you have more fans blowing in than out (try to maintain slightly higher pressure inside the case), and express hot air at the top, and put your intake fans (if any) at the front near the lower section of your case.

• Clean out dust! Dust covers components and keeps them hot.

• Make sure you get the right fitting for the fan (Socket 7, Socket AM2/939, etc).

• Invest in a small tube of silver thermal paste and scrub off the cheap paste that ships pre-applied to your heatsink.

I hope this helps!

What type of cooling do you use? Comments, please!

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