When I installed Mac OS X on my MSI Wind, one of the key missing features was the lack of WiFi support. Some folks opted to replace the Realtek 802.11b/g module with a compatible one, but I opted to use my EV-DO adapter for connectivity. GottaBeMobile notes that some MSIWind.net forum members are circulating an OS X driver for the Realtek WiFi module and confirm that it works. The driver doesn’t cause OS X to see the hardware as an AirPort card, but apparently, you can still configure the WiFi and get it working. I still have the test version of Windows 7 on my MSI Wind so I haven’t tried the solution, but I did download it for later use.

Bear in mind that the driver is coming from Realtek, not MSI, and that this will always be an unofficial driver since it’s not coming directly from Apple. As a result, it’s unlikely to be supported in case of issues or problems. Somehow that never stops me from tinkering though.

CLICK HERE to download the file and listen directly.
MoTR 157 is 34 minutes long and is a 31.3 MB file in MP3 format.

INTRO: Based on “Time v2.1″ by Meta Sektion, additional mixing by James Kendrick.
HOSTS: James Kendrick (Houston), Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia)

TOPICS:
Kevin attempts solar power for his phone.
Matt recaps the Mobius conference.
Who was the “roller-disco” king? And who got the consolation prize?
ShopSavvy on Android rocks!
Data roaming on the T-Mobile G1 really can’t be disabled?!?
The first subsidized netbook is available in the United States. Who’s buying?

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There’s quite the buzz over a Business Week story today on Palm and their new Nova operating system. Word is that Palm will uncover Nova in a few short weeks at CES; we’ve got our invites, so we’ll see what the "new-ness" is all about. Based on a couple of excerpts from the BW article, I’ve got a few insights as to where this is heading but that’s speculation on my part. It’s far to early to say if the new Palm platform will shine like a super-nova or peter-out like a like a white dwarf.

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Microsoft has surprised a few folks with the release of Seadragon Mobile for the iPhone.  Yes, it is only available for the iPhone which I’m sure surprised quite a few partners making Windows Mobile phones.  Seadragon Mobile is a showcase for some amazing technology that allows smooth display of images no matter the physical constraints of the screen.  It is worth checking out if you have an iPhone and want to see how cool working with images can be.  From Microsoft Live Labs, makers of Seadragon:

"The aim of Seadragon is nothing less than to change the way we usescreens, from wall-sized displays all the way down to cell phones, sothat graphics and photos are smoothly browsed, regardless of the amountof data or the bandwidth of the network."

The technology is amazing and if you have an iPhone you must check it out.  Look at this video of the technology being demoed by Blaise Aguera y Arcas:

So why did Microsoft release this app for the iPhone and not its own Windows Mobile platform?  Alex Daly, group product manager for Microsoft Live Labs:

"The iPhone is the most widely distributed phone with a (graphicsprocessing unit)," Daley explained. "Most phones out today don’t haveaccelerated graphics in them  The iPhone does and so it enabled us todo something that has been previously difficult to do. I couldn’t justpick up a Blackberry or a Nokia off the shelf and build Seadragon forit without GPU support."

So the answer is simple- Windows Mobile devices cannot run Seadragon so we had to go with the iPhone.  There must be a few embarrassed folks at Microsoft this morning, at least there should be.

(via ReadWriteWeb)

This week saw news of problems with new Macs along with firmware updates to deal with them.  There was a plethora of netbook news and other cool things to report.  Here are the top news stories of the week in case you missed them:

• Alpha MIPS netbook just $190
• MacBook fussy memory situation- maybe 4 GB is too much
• Acer Aspire One XP version now $299 at Best Buy
• Blackberry Storm OTA upgrade finally appears
• Novatel MiFi- credit card-sized 3G router
• OneNote 2009 planner notebook available
• More "niche" netbooks sold 3Q2008 than iPhones
• Open Handset Alliance welcomes 14 new members
• Is Verizon Wireless nailing the coffin shut on WiMAX?
• Mozilla includes multi-touch support in Firefox 3.1b2 for Macs
• Apple issues firmware update for new MacBooks, Pros, Airs
• Mac firmware upgrade do NOT fix the 4 GB RAM problem
• Surprise: enterprises pushing OEMs for netbooks
• Are SSDs in netbooks on the way out?
• This week at Mobile Tech Manor #20- how’s your memory?
• Acer’s $99 netbook can actually cost you $1,540.  Should you get it?
• I’m taking my phone "off the grid", who’s with me?

Handango has long been one of the biggest online retailers for software for PDAs and phones.  They offer apps for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm and S60 devices.  Their announcement details a new deal to sell software in the Best Buy brick and mortar stores.  They will have a special branded version of their online store, In-HandT, that will dispense programs using Best Buy’s Mobile Genie point-of-sale system.  This will let customers browse and purchase programs which are then downloaded directly to the customer’s device.  Kind of like you can do now with Handango’s online store even outside of Best Buy.

Yesterday, Microsoft launched Windows Live Sync, a new service that takes the place of the older FolderShare application that’s been around for several years. While the cross-platform support of Live Sync is welcome, Mac owners saw immediate problems. A few hours after launching, it was apparent that the service wasn’t ready for Mac OS X and the Live Sync team blogged an update last night that we shared:

"Hi Sync friends. We’ve found a problem that is causing sign-into take longer than expected and in some cases causing sign-in to fail.We’re actively working on fixing this problem and expect to have itfixed for most of our users very soon. We are sorry for theinconvenience. – The Sync Team"

A few hours ago, one of our readers noticed a more positive update. Terry Tigner noticed that the Sync Team posted the following message indicating that the issue was resolved:

"Hi Sync friends.Thank you for your patience while weinvestigated the sign-in issue. We have now fixed this issue and theservice has now recovered. If you have the Mac client you shoulddownload the updated Mac client (http://sync.live.com/clientdownload.aspx) in order to connect. Thank you for your continued support."

I tried the old client just to see if it work but no such luck. Following the Live Sync team’s instructions then, I grabbed a new version of the client and it’s working perfectly fine. Good to see this get addressed quickly! One thing I’ve noticed in the settings but haven’t had time to try just yet: remote access to devices. Live Sync is sounding more and more like Live Mesh, so I’m curious how it fits in to Microsoft’s business and service model.

It’s about time for another crazy mobile experiment. Last time was my 60-day "web-challenge" where I tried to use only a browser for my daily computing tasks. It went quite well, but indicated to me that web services still have plenty of room to mature. So what’s the new challenge? This one fits in with our household efforts to be more "green" in our care for the environment.

In 2005, we sold a gas-guzzling truck and opted for a new hybrid vehicle. In 2007, we swapped out over two-dozen incandescent bulbs with CCFLs and saw a huge drop in our electricity usage. Earlier this year, we purchased and installed a solar-powered attic fan and we’re on the verge of composting our organic food waste. Since I use mobile devices all day, I decided to take a solar-powered approach to further reduce our electricity consumption so here’s the challenge: I’m taking my handheld devices off the grid for the next 60 days. Or at least, that’s what I’m going to try.

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Kudos to HP for smart design when it comes to the memory slot. While it looks like a trackpad in the picture, it’s not. It’s a quick and simple to access covered memory slot on the underneath of the netbook. You’ll just need a screwdriver to release one tab, which in turn allows you to remove the small panel. Sitting under the panel is the RAM, which comes pops up when you release the two side clips. Remove that standard 1GB module, slide in a 2GB unit and close the cover. Done.

Xavier demonstrates this over at Notebooks.com in a video and it’s almost as quick as my OS X netbook going to sleep and then waking up. Seriously, it’s that fast of a process. Now we just need Xavier to drop the "do as I say, not as I do approach"; he says to use a screwdriver, but he ended up access the release tab with a steak knife. Yikes!

For those of us already accustomed to the lifetime cost of a subsidized device, this isn’t news. But netbooks are a relatively new market so there’s bound to be many folks new to mobile tech and subsidization plans. It’s true that you can purchase a brand new Acer Aspire One netbook at the low upfront cost of $99 at your local Radio Shack. Normally, this device sells for around $350 or so. Bear in mind to get the $99 price, you’ll be signing up with AT&T for a new two-year data plan. That can be good and that can be bad.

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