I’m a sucker for nearly every kind of data synchronization tool on the planet — case in point: today’s news of Mozilla’s Weave Sync add-on beta for browser data. So when I read on Lifehacker that Microsoft updated their SyncToy power tool to version 2.1, I had to share the details. SyncToy generally does one thing, but it does it well: it replicates files and folders from one place into another. Using Echo mode, you replicate files on the left to files on the right, while the Synchronize mode syncs data in both directions. A third mode, Contribute, copies from left to right, but doesn’t delete any data.

Version 2.1 of the free tool doesn’t add much new functionality, but does include new features:

• Better Performance: The speed of file copy operations is significantly increased across the board.
• Improved Robustness: Much more resilient to transient network and file system errors and better error reporting which pin-points which file the sync failed on in case there’s a fatal error that stops the sync.
• Folder pair configuration backup: Folder pair configuration is automatically backed up under %localappdata%\microsoft\synctoy\2.0. User can replace SyncToyDirPairs.bin with the backup copy to resolve last saved configuration.
• Fixed the data corruption issue when using SyncToy with NAS drives.
• Fixed the issue that prevented uploading files to SharePoint when using SyncToy 2.0.
• Fixed the issue that prevented delete changes from being synchronized when the sync option is set to “Echo”
• Fixed the UI issue where reported file time were off by the difference between local time and UTC when destination is a FAT volume.

The free SyncToy is avaialble directly from Microsoft and is supported on Windows XP, Vista and 7. I have it installed on my netbook and use it to keep audio files in sync between the Windows XP and Windows 7 partitions.

Now that I have two mobile phones and no landline, Google Voice is part of my daily life. The service helps me manage my calls, regardless of which number people use to reach me. On my iPhone 3GS, I simply use the mobile Google Voice site to manage devices or listen to voicemails — pressing play on a voicemail opens up the Apple Quicktime app so I can hear it. I use the free gDial Pro on my Palm Pre, which is nearly as good as the native Google Voice software on an Android device. It’s not perfect, but it meets my needs well enough.

Up to now, I’d access Google Voice on my Mac or netbook right through my web browser. But over the weekend, I started using a nice Adobe AIR implementation of Google Voice called GVoice. Even cooler is the fact that one of our own readers created it! RStoeber is a regular here at jkOnTheRun, and he pinged me to share the app. I’ve been running it nonstop ever since he told me about it — you can find it here, along with a few other projects.

In this early version, the app is exactly like the mobile version I see on my iPhone. Voicemails even play within GVoice — I tested it with a message James left me because Google’s translation went awry in a few spots. Since GVoice runs on Adobe AIR, it’s cross-platform so I can run it on either my Mac, my PC or a Linux box. While I could just leave a tab open in my browser for Google Voice, I like this standalone implementation better. It refreshes the Inbox every minute, so I’m always up to date on my voicemails and text messages without having to look at my phone. Of course, I can send texts from it or initiate a call to a contact from one of my two phones, as well. Developers started to add Growl support to Adobe AIR last November, so a future version of GVoice could support instant notifications of messages, too.

That shiny, new netbook you’re using does everything you want it to do, but Windows XP is definitely showing its age with the old-school interface. What you need is a free utility that adds lots of features with updated graphics. That’s where XPize comes in, as it adds lots of pretty bells and whistles.

XPize is the product of a project run by volunteer developers, and it updates many of the UI elements in Windows XP to make them look fresher. It adds a number of nice visual styles that don’t change Windows XP; they just make it look more modern. It is perfect for netbooks, most of which run XP. Give it a try if you want to spruce up that old XP interface. There is also a Vize for you Vista users, and the group plans a Sevenize once Windows 7 is released.

(via I Started Something)

Phil Ferris, our man in Cornwall, England, got the jump on me today. I normally read Business Hacks during my daily routine, but Phil beat me to it. Of course, he’s several time zones ahead, so I’m going to have to visit him and have a local RSS reading challenge soon.

Phil pointed out another useful battery meter utility, and since I’ve been taking a closer look at Windows 7 on my UMPC (more on that later), the timing is perfect. I’m always looking at different battery meters because I like to auto-hide the Windows taskbar on the small screen. That, in turn, hides the native battery icon in the Windows system tray. Business Hacks thinks that BattCursor could work for folks like me. The free app adds your remaining battery level percentage to the cursor on your screen.

That might sound annoying, but you can customize the transparency level of the notification. And your cursor can be configured to turn yellow or red when the battery level gets close to the critical level. The software can even turn your Aero Glass windows yellow or red as you approach a low battery level. The BattCursor devs say this uses an undocumented feature of Windows, so that function could disappear. As your battery levels decline, the utility can auto-dim your screen and disable Aero Glass in order to save a wee bit more juice.

BattCursor runs on Microsoft Windows Vista and 7, at least up to the Release Candidate of the latter. Thanks, Phil!

So maybe you’re not ready for a web-based operating system but you still like to flit from computer to computer. That’s great for hitting up the web but not always so great for playing media files. Sure, if you’re sticking with Flash-based vids or a common file format, you’re likely in the clear. But you can’t expect every major codec installed on every PC you come across, can you? Lifehacker says that with VLC Media Player Portable, you don’t have to.

The highly flexible media application is part of the Portable Apps suite, which means you can carry VLC on a flash drive in your pocket. The download is 20MB, but will only take up to 37MB on your flash drive. The portable version has may of the same features as the latest desktop version and supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg and many other media formats.

Travelers know that trips abroad can go much smoother when you can convey your needs in the local language. Phrase books have been popular for years but an electronic version that sits in your phone would be just the ticket. ConveyThis, which offers simple translation into 40 languages, has just been released for the Android platform.

The free program offers on-the-go translation of simple words and phrases. The translated phrase appears on the screen and can be played in audio with the tap of a button. Having a translator in your pocket can turn a difficult situation into a good one and the program is free, so trying it out is simple.

Well, that 32 GB iPhone 3G S is arriving tomorrow, which will hold all of my music and then some. Now I can finally take every tune with me when I run. Yes, I admit the sacrilege: I run with my iPhone…miles at a time. A smaller, flash-based digital audio player would probably better suit my lifestyle, but I take advantage of device convergence when it makes sense. So the larger iPhone solves all of my problems, right? Wrong…I really need to make some playlists based on the BPM, or Beats Per Minute.

Lifehacker must have sensed my immediate need because they mentioned the free MixMeister BPM Analyzer for Windows and Mac today. The software is really meant for the DJ scene, but BPM means the same to DJs and runners, so I grabbed it. You just drop tracks or whole folders in and the software will analyze the music to figure the BPM. I have one or two iTunes DRM-protected albums and it didn’t work on those, but all of my other music looks supported. MixMeister updates the ID3 tags of the files, too, although I had to do a “Get Info” on my music files to see the change take place. That feature should help me make a few smart playlists for various workouts. After this, I might have to splurge for one of the Nike+ sensors for tracking data since the new iPhone supports it. Wow, the hardest part of my workout will just be the running part after all this tech.

Do you carry barcoded merchant “Reward Cards” with you when you shop? I used to attach the mini versions to my keychain but I had too many: Borders, Barnes & Noble, Giant and several more. Of course, when I removed them from the keychain, they were never with me when I was shopping at my favorite locations, so I never got the “rewards.” Sometimes the store will try to find my account by phone number, but that’s hit or miss.

For a while, I tried to use my iPhone camera to capture and carry the barcodes around, but it’s just not suited for close-up, detailed photos. I’d say I had a 50 percent or so success rate with that method.

The Consumerist just made mention of CardStar, which you can find in the iTunes App Store. It’s currently free, but only for a limited time, so I just nabbed it. At some point, it will cost 99 cents, which I still think is a bargain. CardStar doesn’t need the barcode image from your reward cards. Instead, you simply enter the numbers from your card and CardStar creates the barcode for you. It makes for a much cleaner look and should be easily readable when at the store. CardStar includes support for over 190 merchants, and you can add your own using the Advanced features.

Hoping to take mobile web browsing to new places, Skyfire finally goes gold with the release of version 1.0. The browser has been in beta form for some time, but has impressed us nonetheless. Today, anyone with a Windows Mobile (touchscreen or not) or supported Symbian S60 device can download the application for a richer Internet experience.

Richer in what way, you ask? Skyfire supports Flash 10 and Silverlight 2.0, so you can get your YouTube and Hulu on, to name just a few sites that are often taboo on handset browsers. And the Skyfire folks added a real-time activity wall recently, too. With it, you can find all of your favorite RSS feeds, Twitter updates and Facebook statuses.

Have a look at the new version, demonstrated by Skyfire’s CEO, Nitin Bhandari, and tell me you don’t want to download this app.

So I took delivery of that new Canon EOS Rebel T1i this week. I bought the DSLR, because it supports high-definition video recording. Yet, you haven’t seen any sample videos just yet. Have you wondered why?

For some reason, the 16GB SD memory card I was using suddenly got hosed. I’m not blaming the new camera because I’ve had this same problem with the older XSi that the T1i replaced and I’ve even seen it happen with my Kodak Zi6. I can’t determine the exact cause, but at random times, the cameras simply can’t read the card. They know the card is there, but the files can’t be seen nor can I format the card using the camera. Essentially, the memory card becomes utterly useless…and so does the camera I’m trying use.

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