I LOVE Windows Mobile. It does what I need it to do, and that’s enough for me. I had a Dell Axim with a huge VGA screen, and traded it up for a Treo 700wx smartphone with Sprint (unlimited data: $15/month, wow!).

That said, there were definitely some things that have always irked me, but there is ALWAYS a way.

Here are my favorite hacks and tweaks for my Treo, running WM5.

First off, you’ll need a registry editor. Without hesitation, I recommend MemMaid, which allows all sorts of neat things you can do, including editing the registry.

Secondly, you’ll need to know that editing the registry will usually require a soft-reset, but only after a certain amount of time has passed. WM5 doesn’t commit the changes to memory immediately. So if you make your change and then immediately soft-reset, you’ll notice your changes are gone. Wait about five minutes, and THEN reset.

1. Get rid of that annoying Sprint logo that takes up so much screen real estate!
There is an easy reg hack for this, but it takes away from the speed dial screen, which won’t come up anymore either. However, thanks to a renegade developer, we can use the HideLogo free utility to remove the bar AND still allow us to use speed dial.

2. Enable ClearType. This isn’t a registry hack at all, but it just looks better. You’ll find this in the OS settings.

Settings–>System–>Screen

3. Make your scrollbars a little less thick. There’s no need for a scrollbar width to be 20 pixels, not when your screen is that small to begin with. I set mine to 10 and it’s perfect.

HKLM–>System–>GWE
cyHScr : Horizontal scrollbar height
cxHScr : Horizontal scrollbar width
cyVScr : Vertical scrollbar height
cxVScr : Vertical scrollbar width

4. Download the Crossbow theme for WM5. I don’t know what it is about the theme, but the contrast works great with the ClearType, and it looks nice and sharp. You’ll notice the clarity immediately, especially next to another phone that doesn’t have the theme and ClearType enabled (I’ve tried it).

6. Get rid of the “Message Sent” notification after sending a text message. This one is just plain irritating. (

HKLM–>Software–>Microsoft–>Inbox
Add a new key called “Settings”.
In that key, add the following new String Value:

Value Name “SMSNoSentMsg”
Value data: 1

Ahhhhhhhh…

Read the entire thread over at TreoCentral to find some more cool stuff you can do…

Being a work at home mom is amazingly wonderful, and I’m SO blessed that I can do it, as there are so many moms out there that can’t. But it should definitely come with a warning label.

You might say it’s a hazard that numerous times a day, I pray she doesn’t start crying while I’m on a conference call.

But it’s not.

I’m not scared that clients might think I’m running various Domino servers around my daughter’s nap schedule.

I could be a little afraid of not coming off as a professional because my clothes are still in the “in-between stage” and don’t quite fit me perfectly, but I’m not.

And no, the hazard doesn’t even lie with the fact that I’m hormonal enough right now to have a lack of judgment that could rival that of an inebriated dwarf.

People might be inclined to wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that everything must be spell-checked twice now, as I’m so sleep deprived that I make lots more spelling mistakes than I used to.

But it doesn’t.

The hazard isn’t even the lack of money when I decide on the spur of the moment that “Wednesday Afternoons Make Great Park Days” and take off with no warning to have fun with my daughter.

In fact, it’s not even because it’s hard not to feel guilty for working at all, even though I have to in order to do my share to support her.

No, folks, the REAL hazard here of being a work-at-home mom is lifting an HP Proliant server while stepping on noisy motion-sensor baby toys that will start flashing lights and making noise. It’s harder than you think to hold onto a server while simultaneously having a minor heart attack.

As posted on the Mass Motoring Club website:

… THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM YOUR MMC SPOKESBABY …

… UM, SPOKESBABY, YOU NEED TO POST YOUR ANNOUNCEMENT …

… Spokesbaby? …

… Oh, for Pete’s sake, I can’t believe I’m actually going to indulge this. ‘SpokesOctopus’, do you actually have anything useful to say? …

… SIGH …