Dynamo
from Aspecto Software

We have all seen task switchers for the Pocket PC. You press a button or click somewhere on the screen and you get a basic list of the programs that are running. Since Microsoft designed the Pocket PC’s to minimize the applications rather than closing when you’ve clicked the little ‘X”, it stays running. This can either make your device faster or slower. That all depends on how many applications you have running and how much free RAM you have available. The Pocket PC operating system will automatically close any application that it needs to in order to free up the RAM.

Dynamo is the newest and coolest task switcher you’ll ever see. You have to see it to believe it. After it’s installed, it will automatically select the ‘mail’ button on your Pocket PC as its Hot Key. Some devices may have the buttons rearranged and it could be labeled as something else. Generally, it’s the key in the lower right hand corner of the device. However, that is completely customizable. Just load up Dynamo and hold down the stylus on the screen. Select Dynamo and click SET HOT KEY. You can pick from any of the buttons you don’t normally use. Personally on the iPAQ, I would use the iTASK button. On my Samsung, it selected the contacts button as the Hot Key. I really didn’t mind. I don’t use that button anyway.

What makes Dynamo so cool? Well, it takes a screen shot of each of your applications and stores it in RAM. When you hit that Hot Key, the screen will change and display a smaller version of every application that’s running. Just click on any of the images to immediately switch to that application. It is so cool and you’ll fall in love with it instantly. It works best when it’s setup to run automatically upon reset. It will start capturing images immediately. If you already have programs open when you run Dynamo for the first time, the images will not appear.

Pros:

• Instant access to any program running
• Cool visual effect
• Close an application from inside Dynamo
• Change the background color for Dynamo
• Customizable Hot Key combination
• Installs without additional software on Windows Mobile 2003 OS

Cons:

• Requires .NET to be installed on the Pocket PC 2002 or earlier versions (Hint hint Verizon: I want WM 2003 on my i700, now! Please!)
• Doesn’t work well with full screen applications such as games, but we rarely leave those running anyway. Most of those programs take over control of all of the buttons

The program itself only takes up a little over 600KB of RAM. However each snapshot requires about 150KB of RAM. So… let’s do a little math. You have six programs running; Six times 150KB means you’re need about a 900KB of additional space on your device for storage of images in addition to the program itself. The snapshots are wiped out after closing the corresponding application to free up the space. It’s really not that much. As long as you have about 3MB of program space available, you’re fine. It’s not a memory hog. It’s not a system resource hog. It’s just the coolest switcher you’ll ever see!

I have programs installed on my device to close the applications rather than minimize them. Since I’ve installed Dynamo, I’ve turned that off. It’s much faster to switch from application to application. Sometimes my device gets a little sluggish, but I’ll close something I’m not using. My device has about 15MB of free RAM for programs and 4MB for storage. I can run about six or seven applications at one time. I started to overtax the system and ran twelve to see what it would do. Dynamo kept up and had little screens for everything. The system did start closing some applications automatically. That is the way it was designed. The Samsung phone edition will display two copies of the phone dialer. That’s because the one program is actually two parts and both will show on Dynamo.

To close a running application from within Dynamo is also easy. Just hold down the Dynamo Hot Key and click on the application you wish to close. The other pictures will rearrange themselves to take up the space.

This is also another feature to change the speed of the animation from super smooth to extremely quick. You can get to any of the options by holding down the stylus within the Dynamo application.

What you need to get started is basic. If you don’t already have .NET installed on the Pocket PC, you’ll need to get that first. Microsoft has two versions available online. Dynamo requires version 1.1 to run properly. You will want to download the file called: netcf.core.ppc3.arm.cab. This is the .NET installer for the Pocket PC. For some unknown reason, I was unable to locate this file on Microsoft’s website. It claims to be part of the DOTNETFX. Installer, but I didn’t find it inside that either. For the best (and easiest) results, just download it from the link above from Club Pocket PC Louisville. Dynamo can be installed on a Storage Card if you wish. Just remember the storage card must be inserted when calling the application. Personally, I always install programs that run all the time to main memory. I found the timing issues are much faster running from main memory.

When you download the Dynamo program from www.aspecto-software.com, it will include the EXE files and the CAB files for direct installation on your Pocket PC. If you do not have .NET installed on your PC, you’d want to use the CAB file. Just copy the CAB file to your Pocket PC and use File Explorer to install it. The version available on the website is a trial version. There is no time limit for the application, however it will have a nag screen every five times you use the application. If you wish to purchase the program, just make sure you close the application before installing the new CAB file. Upgrades will be free and will be available through the company you purchased it from.

If you want to download and install .NET on your PC, it’s a rather large file, but it can be found at Microsoft’s website. It’s called DOTNETFX.exe. This is the .NET for your Windows desktop system, not for the Pocket PC. It is required when installing Dynamo setup program for your Pocket PC device. This is because the installation program looks for .NET to be installed. That is a requirement of the Microsoft .NET package.

Caution: There are two versions of .NET available for your PC. One is version 1.1 and the other is version 1.0 SP2. It can be confusing, but neither is needed if you just use the CAB file to install Dynamo directly to your device.

.NET takes about 2.5MB of space on your Pocket PC. If you are lucky enough to have Windows Mobile 2003 installed, you can skip downloading the .NET files. It’s already built in to the ROM. The .NET files are required for Windows 2002 or earlier versions. It should be installed to system memory rather than a storage card. When installing Dynamo on your Pocket PC, you may see a message telling you to install netcf.core.ppc3.arm.cab first. Don’t worry; it’s already installed on the WM 2003. Just click OK and continue on.

You might as well go ahead and install .NET on your device. There are so many new programs coming out that will require it. It’s the next best thing for the smaller devices. Applications can be written that run faster and are easier to debug. It’s the programming language of the future!

You can download a trial version of Dynamo or you can purchase a full version (without the nag screens) for only $14.95. Believe me, it’s worth it. You will never want to use another task switcher again.

This program is currently in version 1.02. It was tested on a variety of devices, including the Samsung i700 Pocket PC Phone Edition (X-Scale processor running PPC 2002 @ 200 MHZ … and up to 398 MHZ using Super Dave’s Auto Step program), HP iPAQ 3955 (X-Scale processor running WM2003 @ 400MHZ), and HP Jornada 568 (ARM processor running PPC2002 @ 206MHZ). It ran beautifully on each device even at the varied speeds. I have never tested an application to this extent. It was so cool; I just had to see how well it really worked. I’ll admit, I was more than impressed. This is one application that SHOULD BE installed on EVERY Pocket PC. It’s just that good! But, don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself!

Conclusion

The developers tell me they have plans for upgrades to the application that will blow your socks off. Improvements such as an update graphics engine could provide an even better graphical display and animation. Keep an eye on these guys from Scotland. I’m certain they will be on the cutting edge of some of the best applications available!

Comments from my family members regarding Dynamo:
Wife: “Wow! That’s cool and all I have to do is press this little button? I will be using that from now on.” (note, this is coming from someone who never used a task switching application before, including the iTASK feature of the iPAQ. She thought it was too cumbersome.)
Daughter: “Neat Daddy! That is so cool!”

Try or buy Dynamo at PocketGear or Handango.

NOTE: Aspecto also has another program that is freeware/shareware. It’s called WiFiFoFum. Personally, I don’t have a Wi-Fi device any longer, but if I did, I’d install this one. It’s a program to seek out Wi-Fi access points and displays which is closest. Check it out! They have a PayPal button if you wish to donate.

Special thanks to Marek for sending us a full version to test on my variety of equipment.
As listed above, Dynamo was tested using the Samsung i700, HP Jornada 568 and HP 3955