24 de nov. de 2006

How do I touch this?

Knowledge - how to touch this? Investors can say when they are holding their credit cards or even the money itself.
Last week google papers value in NASDAQ broke the $500 dollars boundary (not bad for a company whose has opened its papers for $85). But, did you ever touch in anything created by Google?
Submarino (Brazil) and Americanas.com jointed into a new company - a 8 billion company. But you cannot touch in anything from them, expect the sold products (whose are not produced by them). There's no factories, not a huge infrastructure - but a huge investment on T.I and accessibility.
It doesn't means that there will not be anymore factories in the world. It just means that the way the business is coming has changed. We need more than ever clothes, food, security and other services - but the way we get it, it's changing and will change much more.

SBCD 5.0 FREE for certified Java Programmers

Sun is providing the Beta testers for questions about Sun Certified Business Component Developer 5.0 - FREE OF CHARGE from today (11/24).
If you are a Sun Certified Java Programmer you can try.

12 de nov. de 2006

Where do you wanna go?

I've waked up a day and completely forgot where my glasses was. I wonder about trying to Google it: "glasses, on my house". That doesn't seems so far as maps details has enhanced a lot last years/months/days. Maybe in a brief future...

There are many companies investing on services about maps, routes and tracking. There are many applications available, most known is Google Maps and Microsoft Live Search.
But specifically to my own country it does not exists a free and good routes service - so I'm trying Maplink. Both Google and Microsoft have single maps solutions and Directions. This is Microsoft Local Live for a Rio route I did:



A brief comparation between Google and Microsoft about that:
- Google has not a easily search for directions. I could not trace the same route.
- Google has the Hybrid view in detailed level.
- Microsoft is more easier than Google for directions
- Microsoft has not Hybrid view in detailed level.
- Tried but no roads/streets layers on Google Earth.

I am in Rio this week and I'm having a really good experience tracing point to point routes using Maplink. It also gives the Taxi's costs, shows attactions, theaters, museums and tourism places.




Maplink services are also available to a GPS HW which is being sell for R$2,299.00 - very expensive in my opnion as it doesn't cover all the country, but only main cities.

Mobility companies has already GPS integrated in it's released mobile phones as some in N-Series from Nokia. I believe this is make cheaper costs of this kind of service in the future, and no more attached to HW, but SW and content.

Belong the world you can research for other companies with the same business. I've read about NAVTEQ and TRAFFIC - companies whose are working on maps and routes in USA.

Update: Look, Google improvements on Google Local for mobile and about location.

10 de nov. de 2006

What comes in new for mobiles?


It's really hard to identify single cellphones from the old smartphones. I'm wondering about how Palm and other's will join heavy in the cellphone market.
Nokia's S60 3rd edition is awesome. The "N-series" is innovative in too many aspects, mainly design. Nokia should invest - as they are doing - in it's designs phones. Motorola and others had really raised they market share for improving it. How many people did you heard speaking: "I liked it 'cause is so cute..."

Mobile market is really raising. IDC predicts that a billion new cellphones will have been sold this year until the end of the year. There are several companies really interested on this. The last news (a happy for Mac fans) is about Apple joining to this, making the "iPhone" a cellphone merged to iPod. It looks so thin as iPod, but have phone functions. But, this is not official to Apple - actually an Apple iPhone concept blog created by an Apple fan Okan Vardarova. All concepts are being sent by other Apple fans - creativy people!

And what about camera? Samsung is the leader in camera's market - and they are very agressive with and 10 MegaPixel Camera in cellphones. It will have auto-focus (not any new) and 2x optical zoom - 5x digital zoom, but also models to 3x optical zoom.

I wonder about a merging of all the best of each company to make the perfect cellphone: Motorola's Design, Samsung camera, Sony Ericsson walkman technology and Nokia SW and services!

Companies are heavily investing in their "weakness" - or you can read: strong points of the others. Nokia by example have pretty innovative designs to be launched - it was a result from it's R&D invest of last years. By example the Nokia 111 by Daniel Meyer, looks like a candy tablet, and when opened a triangle phone.



But my favorite is the next Nokia AEON Concept - it should be awesome! Look the pictures:



And what about the Network?
When I talk about this, some people sad I'm talking crazy, but - the next revolution in telephony operators survivors is not about technology, but billing. I believe services and content will matter much more than they are today. VoIP and other technologies are already in business, and what is about to happen in mobile telephony is near what already happened to the fixed telco - services. Voice is not the prior for mobility in the past last years, when SMS/MMS was starting to raise. WiFi and WiMax technologies, bundled into mobile will allow users to connect in city clouds more often then using the operator's network. I suppose that - here in Brazil - operator should still have market for long distances, or when mobiles are in handoff on the roads. Anyway, it seems like the mobile operators already know that, improving R&D and tests for WiMax and WiFi in big cities all the world.

For developers, there is a big market to be explored and too many companies really interested to invest in. As I heard once from a Telco Guru: "When market changes, the business model should do as well, and new opportunities comes up."


For developers, you can join:

Forum Nokia
Motodev
Samsung Developer's Club
Sony Ericsson
BENQ Portal

Nokia Bluetooth API Developer's Guide v2.0

Nokia merged documents for Bluetooth.
MIDP: Bluetooth API Developer's Guide v2.0

26 de out. de 2006

De-frag mobility

"The deployment of the Java ME Platform over a wide range of phones has resulted in slightly different solutions for a given application on each phone. This is common practice today, often resulting in 400 or more different executables for a given title. However, this is not a sustainable way of delivering software as it is expensive to develop, test and sign, deliver, and maintain a different executable for each phone. Continuing this practice will result in ever increasing operational costs and the possibility of the Java ME Platform becoming a commercial failure."

(SUN'S ARTICLE)

23 de out. de 2006

Nokia Developers Competition

You can join and try winning a N95 (awesome!!) if you've a good proposal.
My only doubt is... what about copyrights? Or intellectual rights...

Anyway, here is -> Nokia Developers Competition

20 de out. de 2006

Daylight problems in Java 1.4

In Brazil the daylight time is always changed in somehow by the government. What looks a simple change, make us, T.I workers having troubles.
As Java has a platform independent concept, in Java 1.4 daylight problems, even solved in Windows. Problem is that, Java doesn't get system's information about daylight, but it's own. So I found some solutions for this.

- The first solution, you can make a code change before getting system date. (original code by Benicio Silva Gontijo)

import java.util.*

public class DaylightTest { public static void main(String[] args){ // Brasilia(BR) Timezone SimpleTimeZone
brt= new SimpleTimeZone(-3 * 60 * 60 * 1000,"GMT-3:00"); // Set rules for Brazilian Summer Time brt.setStartRule(Calendar.NOVEMBER, 1, Calendar.SUNDAY,0); brt.setEndRule( Calendar.FEBRUARY, -1, Calendar.SUNDAY,0); Calendar todaysDay= new GregorianCalendar( brt); System.out.println(todaysDay.get(Calendar.HOUR_OF_DAY) + ":" + todaysDay.get(Calendar.MINUTE) + ":" + todaysDay.get(Calendar.SECOND); } }


- As second solution, you can just add arguments to your vm initialization: -Duser.timezone=$the_time_zone
- And finally the problem is solved in Java 5 so, if you can - migrate to it ;-)

Sources:
http://www.mundooo.com.br/php/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=486
http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=5033603
http://www.petefreitag.com/item/171.cfm


4 de out. de 2006

Alerta SMS do Google Calendar pro Brasil

Acabo de descobrir que os alertas de SMS para o Google Calendar estão funcionando já pela TIM! Estou um pouco atrasado na novidade, já que foi publicado dia 22/09. Porém isso me faz querer usar mais os serviços de reminder do Calendar - já que a memória é sujeita a falhas :)



Veja mais:
Google Calendar
Info
Linux Clube

26 de set. de 2006

About Zytrax

Wap developers, would enjoy this link from Zytrax
It contains relations of all headers of User-Agent from every browser which comes with mobile model. I discovered it looking for mobile user-agent at Google.

Also, posted a correction for N80 phones.

"Nokia
For those of you working on Nokia web development Zoltan Szentesi has provided this link which provides information on features supported by a range of devices - thanks. And more - is there no limit to the generosity of mankind - a list of browsers ids for the n80 range - kindly provided by Luis Albinati - thanks.

NokiaN80-3/1.0552.0.7Series60/3.0Profile/
MIDP-2.0Configuration/CLDC-1.1

Explanation: Stock n80 string (see Nokia heading note for full list). String from Luis Albinati - thanks."

Pense como um Hacker!

Taí um passatempo legal pra quem gosta de charadas...

http://www.quizes.com.br/hacker/1

Do original: "FreeStuffHotDeals Hacker Puzzle!"

17 de set. de 2006

World Community Grid

Did you know you can help fighting AIDS, CANCER and more, from your home/work? I've discovered this few time ago at IBM. It's really an eletronic donative which no costs, as you just share your idle processing tasks :-)

World Community Grid is a project created by IBM for supporting tests using grid computing. Your computer processor makes all those mathematics calcs instead just one powerful  computer. As results, data are fasten processed. You can participate:

-- Fight AIDS@HOME
-- Help Defeat Cancer
-- Human Proteome Folding - Phase 2

You can learn more visiting the site.

12 de set. de 2006

It's all about IT?

I'm not so old but, in the past there was only few of us: web/script programmers whose by the way must remember Html beginning, browse war between Netscape and Microsoft, DHTML, using Javascript and XML also (does isn't call AJAX now? ;-), PHP neurotics and Apatcher's ;-)
A world of lot of companies thinking about their business on the web, lot of portals, providers, but also a world of Trojan, broadcast mail viruses, of Windows 95 and its bugs...

Lot of this has been changed. Others have not.

Anyway, our business is going through a massive process to create patterns and standards which has good and bad things. Market vicious of PMI, CMM, RUP and other standards has been used very well in big companies such as IBM, TATA and others, but small/medium and companies which have a different business model, are carried into this trend in a wrong way by their entrepreneurs, which makes it bureaucratic, stalled and out of its reality.

We're still in a learn path of processes, and the good sense is on highest way for your T.I business. Massive models such as fordism have been used since the second global war and are considered mature now, but had passed by a lot of changes and adaptations. Models as ISO by example, becomes reliable companies and their large-scale products. There's now massive software production in large-scale been offered all the time. As in the past, market need control and standards for massive production, and UML, CMM, RUP models and others become true.

In the same way in manufacture model, small companies cannot compete against big companies in the same way. They need to be creative, dynamic and flexible - need to make it business fast, or it will no longer exists. Looking into this side, small an big companies have the same business in different ways. Each of them has their own responsability to check it out. My fast-overview:



What 'd changed:

Network changed from Dial up and point to point to High Speed Data Networks and peer-to-peer
Users has changed from telephony to instant messengers/talks
Email is not a feature, but a requirement
Searching changes the matters from real things to content

What is changing in Network
Television - HDTV, DVB, DVB-H
Mobility - UMTS/WCDMA
Last mile - WiMax/WiFi/Bluetooth

What is changing in Services
Relationship networks (for employments, jobs and social)
Mobility - Push, mobile banking, security, payments
Presence - connect everywhere (SIP/Jabber/etc)


Of course there is a lot of brand new things that are being developed or just wonder. The thing that still matters is not what, but how bring it all to our business.

6 de set. de 2006

Manhattan Story Mashup


"Manhattan Story Mashup is an urban game, taking place on September 23rd 2006 in Manhattan, New York City. During the event, approximately 250 players will move around Manhattan, taking photos which match a given target. Targets are words from stories, written by you and other visitors on this web site collaboratively while the game goes on. The resulting illustrated stories are shown on large public signs in Times Square in real-time and on this web site."
(from: http://www.storymashup.org/)

It will be happening on Saturday 23rd September 2006.

Watch the video!
Official web-site

5 de set. de 2006

Bluetooth matters

I'm trying to answer some questions about things that you can do with Bluetooth and Java, and things that you cannot yet. I won't write it at all, but on demmand ;-)

Bluetooth is still a child and I'll try to make an abstract of some definitions. I expect that it be useful...

What is Bluetooth?
Bluetooth is a technology based in profiles using radio communication in free band for short ranges. It uses IMS band (~2,4GHz), frequency hope time multiplexed.
Learn more at:
Bluetooth.org
java.sun.com

What is profiles?
Profiles are protocols-based, but a definitely implementation of them for a specified resource. For example, Audio Profile performs a standart for audio communication (using a defined protocol), which allows that any device that follow Bluetooth (.org) spec, can communicate each other.
Learn more at:
Bluetooth.org

What is the protocols stack?
The protocols stack is the high level layers which allow profiles working and application specific development. It means, when more high level protocol you've been using, more specific is your application and you have less flexibility in development (also it uses to be more hardly to develop as well). At the same time, while lower layer protocols you are, more flexible is your development, but it uses to be easier to.
Learn more at:
java.sun

What is the difference between master and slave? Is the same as server and client?
Not necessarily. Master is "who performs the connection" (keep that in mind). So, at typical topology of client/servers, server offers a service to the client, which connects to this. On Bluetooth, the slave offers the service to the master, which performs the connection and can be considered the "server" of the estabilished connection.
*#1 I've seen some trouble about it in Sun's website and also Nokia. I do prefer to follow Bluetooth (.org) spec.
*#2 Typical applications using Bluetooth are point to point. So, it really doesn't matter who is the client and who is the server. But for multi-point connections (PANs) will see that it does matter.
Learn more (really good - but you don't found it by navigation in Forum Nokia):
Forum Nokia

What is PAN?
The Personal Area Network is a profile created for enabling multi-point connection between devices whose support this profile, enabling ad-hoc networking. There's two types of networks for this, the Piconets and Scatternets.

**
Can I do with Java for limited devices (J2ME/CLDC)?
Theoretically yes. But in the practice, limited devices don't need to implement this profile and it really consumes memory and processor which is very expensive for these devices. Bluetooth API for Java does not enable ad-hoc (JSR-82). For this, must watch the JSR-256 (AD-HOC API) which purposes is to enable ad-hoc for Bluetooth. I still didn't see any device implementing that for Bluetooth and J2ME. The most near I've saw is JXME project enabling peer-to-peer over Http for ME devices.

What is Piconet and Scatternet?
Piconets are consisted onto eight (8) network elements which one is the master and the others slaves. Is the simplest network (PAN) based.
Scatternets are consisted in two or more Piconets connected between a master of one piconet but slave in the other.

** Note that: A master of one piconet cannot be master onto the other piconet.
Learn more:
java.sun
Forum Nokia

--------
More doubts? Suggestions? Post your comment! ;-)

... and this is still a Trojan

A video encoder/decoder called zCodec is considered a trojan. Actually it reset DNS settings opening the way for key trojans, etc.

(From Slashdot)
Official site: http://www.zcodec.com/index.html
Techworld: http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=6781

16 de ago. de 2006

Can a mobile phone act as a mouse?

"An enterprising hacker has written a java application (and associated Windows driver) that lets him use his Nokia mobile phone as a bluetooth mouse. The only real drawback is that the phone needs to be held just slightly above a surface with a pattern to allow enough light to reach the camera - but I'm sure if the code is ever released publicly some enterprising person will make little stick-on teflon pads..."

As YouTube people I do not to believe on this...! (The guy don't film the computer's screen and the cell at same time).
Sounds like crap using imaging process and Bluetooth at same time in a limited device such is this.

It's a shame that it was published...

Video
Mobile WebBlog
Pyro

28 de jun. de 2006

Gmail mistakes...

I've seen this before, but, its strange that it wans't solved yet... Its not a big thing, but I believe that if you're going to show something (such as the timeline of conversations), you need to do it right!



Maybe the solutions could be just take the right time. Looking for the source mail, I've percepted Gmail catches local machine time when sending, not the server one... I really believe that is not only a "Gmail Bug" (I called it a mistake), but Gmail makes it on view.



Changin' time could solve... but delay on mail servers should be more perceivable...