Hacked in Blogspot.com?

Seems like something is wrong with Blogspot. I never looked like Bush before, but Google don't show that...

Try to access the URL: http://www.myjavaserver.com/~albinati/luis_sf.jpg

Now, cut and paste the link in your web-browser. Note, it doesn't seems to be a defeacement in MyJavaServer account.

Seems like something is re-directing wrong when replacing the "~" character by the unicode standard. If you can't see the right image, press CTRL+F5 to refresh browser.

Open Contests

Good oportunities to earn some prizes such as N95 device, shirts and even money.

NAVTEQ LBS Challenge
Forum Nokia Wiki - Best Widgets/Widsets
NetBeans Bloggin Contest

Updated:
Forum Nokia Code Camp Competition

Wi-Fi Detector Shirt

ThingGeek is offering a shirt that can show to others the signal strength for 802.11 b/g.

"Finally you can get the attention you deserve as others bow to you as their reverential wi-fi god, while geeky chicks swoon at your presence. You can thank us later."

Check more at ThinkGeek website.

Charge

Perfect!!!
- sent by Daniel in J2ME list (SouJava)

About my FNC experience

I'd began in Forum Nokia, since it was introduced by Janaina (Engineer from INdT). She told me that I could reach the best content for developers.

January, 2006

I got a message from Forum Nokia group in my Gmail inbox. As I usually do, I just pass through those topics, start reading something like: "Congratulations, you...". I had no doubt: it was a spam, (probably something related to Viagra, etc.). No doubt. I moved that message to trash and kept reading...

Then I stoped for a while and start thinking that, why should it comes from Forum Nokia? Spammers don't usually do that. I was working in a web component for a bank system. I start reading and I couldn't believe until check all that information: I was elected as Forum Nokia Champion -- and won a N90 device by the way (great!).

Lunch celebration and everything else that you can imagine. Like a child getting a new PS3 or Wii :-)

But the best of all was just in the beginning. FNC group invited us (Champions) to the first ever - Forum Nokia Champion Day, to be placed in San Francisco, CA. Awesome, I've never been in USA before, I was going to meet the other Champions, the management team, going to JavaOne, etc.

If you think everythink was easy, you're wrong. This is how it begans:

January 2005 - October 2005

I was a Java developer. A good developer in desktop but really getting more experienced in enterprise and mobile. Specially architecture, designing -- of course, love coding :)

My university has joined in a Nokia partnership with universities through the Nokia Technology Institute. My team Sinapse -- was invited and eligible to participate in this program.

I must admit, I'm in love about innovation. More than coding (or Wii). We had the freedom to choose what we wanted to develop, but of course, using nokia devices.

After many ideas, we chosed to develop something using the Bluetooth technology and our expertise in Java. In that time, I didn't realized that JSR-82 wasn't so available as we expected. Anyway, we created the AoW application. I was the responsible for communication between the devices -- in other words, to make it works through Bluetooth.

In that time, there was only ONE device from Nokia, whose implemented the JSR-82. It was the S60 1st edition Nokia 6600. Incredible bugs. Hard time to make L2CAP work on that. No easily firmwares updates available. Getting worst: there was another little problem. JSR-82 needs adaptation to desktop (since our budget allows to bought only 1 device) and USB adaptor. We tried, Avetana, Rococo, and finally we did it with Atinav.

After that, we presented the solution and it was recognized by INdT as a innovative solution. Also, I started helping people under discussion forums and exchanging experiences. In the same year, I did a presentation in a brazilian Java event called JustJava. It was a sucess for me and my colleagues.

It wasn't my first time in mobility. I've developing some midlets for our M2A solution in the medical area, and some simple games. It helps a lot when you get a complicated work, to have some expertise, saving time with trivial stuff like how midlet works, signing, jad and manifest, etc.

Experiences
Forum Nokia Champion program had many opportunities to developers get ahead in technologies: remote device testing, mosh pre-experience, access to early documentation, meetings, webinars, free pass, etc. Also, you can take the Symbian Certification for free, help managing the Wiki board (Ron's team), bloggin', getting more involved at all.

The best point to me was to meet people. I could be in touch with experts like Rosso, Tote, Alexander Traud, Juarez Barbosa, etc; guys really experienced in mobility.

About bad points: I've already gave them my feedback, but I really would like to say that it's not easy for a recent graduate guy, spend money to travel for different countries around the World, even with tickets covered. I had tickets for 3GSM, Nokia World and other events. But traveling expenses turn it impossible to make it :-(

I did started some Wiki, and tried to increase my participation in discussion boards, but I couldn't draw a line and make my time work for me and this period. I'd moved job from IBM to Ericsson, since my extension in this program -- 2007; I couldn't participate as much as I can (and as much a Champion needs to). To be a FNC, it requires not only expertise, but dedication and reserved time.

Now, I'm working at Ericsson (not the joint venture - Sony Ericsson please) and my main role is not with mobility. Not yet! But I'm always getting more involved working in IPTV and breaking the IMS and Mobile TV area. I've become more active in Sony Ericsson Developer world and in Knowledge Base at Ericsson (not public forum).

Maybe in the future I can be eligible again. I hope in the future I can enjoy a bit more the program, being available to travel and participate -- maybe in Forum Nokia, Sony Ericsson, or another great home for mobililty guys ;-)

Macbook Air x Flights

Nice history :-)
http://www.michaelnygard.com/blog/2008/03/steve_jobs_made_me_miss_my_fli.html

Yahoo! Go experience

After the Mobile World Congress 2008 happened in Barcelona few days ago, I've been heard a lot (cool stuff and "blind" marketing of the new trend revolution) about mobile applications.

It is true that mobile is growing fast and services will define what will be delivered to the end-users. But, it is not defined yet a model of business or concept building applications in this way.

Nokia moved acquiring Navteq -- whose to me, is the most significant step beyond launching Mosh, Ovi, etc.

Google launched ** (not properly launched yet, but expected soon) Android, and it's purpose is very agressive trying to compete with Symbian, Java and the other platforms with an "open source" flag and "not be evil" slogan.

Sony Ericsson won the award of the best handset with it's w910. Also, SE will release the XPERIA series in near future, which promisses is to fit for the best user experience.

... and Yahoo! after Microsoft proposal, demissions and not profitable last year; launches the Yahoo! Go mobile experience. I've tried it in my Nokia E61, and I've done some comments.

Good points:

• Interface is beautiful and easy to navigate. Very intuitive and user-friendly
• It enables services easily such as financials, news, maps.
• OneSearch is really good
• Fickr support is great and works well
• Very friendly informative messages
  

Bad points:

• I'd configured it for "Brasil" and I got "Portugual-Portuguese" words sometimes...
• Too slow. I know it can depend from the network speed, but really, it need improvements.
• Specifically for my E61 -- cannot use NUMBERS (special key) in search fields :-S
  

Missing:

• Sign the midlet... it's annoying to have confirmation messages all the time
• Online data traffic metter (how much I'm spending?)
• Regional maps. Yahoo Maps already provides it. Definetely needed.

More: http://mobile.yahoo.com/go (or type from your mobile)

After boom: Google's Android

Yes, Google is a trend setter today. You might think: "Everything these guys develop works!", of course this is not true, but it's really cool seeing a company that allows itself to take the risk.
I've been trying Android for a little while. Unfortunately, I didn't had so much time to get more involved with this, but I had sufficient stuff to choose my side in the first impressions about Android.

Android is the Google promisses to turns easier the mobility development. It says: Open, All applications created equal, Breaking down application boundaries and fast and easy application development on their web site. So let's take the first analysis:

Open - It's not opened yet. Google will open the code soon (I hope).
All applications created equal - Browsing, phone, etc. Symbian platform and others has the same, so no innovative here.
Breaking down application boundaries - Full control based on set of API's. What's new here?
Easy Development - It's Java based!? It has a SDK! It has tools, plugins, etc. What's new here too?

First, let's try breaking the "perfect" paradigm of Google:
Video - it is a high investment from Google, but definetely it failed, or Google wouldn't even care about Youtube.
Answers - have you ever heard about it? Google Answers was an idea of Sergey I guess. It was supposed to work like Yahoo does. But it completely failed, and they decided to remove it.
Froogle - it has been re-invented and now it calls itself by Google's Product Search.

All those products, had been launched with a huge informal advertisement, and some people blinded by the "Funny way of Google", doesn't even care if it is innovative or not. Based in "not be evil" philosophy, accelerated by a nice GUI and the world "hate" for Microsoft, Google has spread their name into everyplace which sounds as the most innovative company in the world. And yes, they are.

Getting back to Android. My sigh is that Google is going to a different territory. Building a platform, makes sense to me as Google must want the access to basics layers to keep their target - "It's all about search", remember? But mobility, and even, telephony it's a different kind of business. There are several trials to keep a standart into this market, and I must be realistic, all them has failed until now. The 1st place is for the Symbian group which tries to makes an easier standart and has been more and more adopted in the world. There are linux (qt)-java based phones but several companies has droped it away, like Motorola did. CDMA based phones are minimal, and must pay royalties to Qualcomm. The Java platform is the largest adopted, but it is not an OS.

The mother of all those problems is: fragmentation. Different vendors, operators, etc has different demmands, for example: call operators in US tells Nokia they want to sell the newest N95 phone, but they don't want to allow their users, to use the newest Nokia VoIP feature! So, Nokia has disabled this feature for those clients, also, developers cannot do anything to enable this feature, they just may try to hack the phone, but it is not a commercial point.

In this way, how Google expects to "Break down the boundaries"? How does Google will solves the fragmentation problem just delivering a "new" platform? Who will adopt it, beyond themselves?

Trying to merge with recent news that Google is looking for 700Mhz bandwith and Sprint's telecom, you might think that they possible is going to deliver a end-to-end solution for mobility. They might own the channel, the operator and of course, the device platform. So, it would makes sense to me, based in Eric Schmidt's says: "is more ambitious than any single 'Google Phone'". If they have the money, why not?!

Anyway, compared to other platforms like Symbian, Android is a joke. This is some of the main problems I noticed in Google's platform, and questions you may be having too:

- Poor documentation. Try to compare with Forum Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Sun.
- It supports one and ONLY one Java subset API.
- IT IS NOT JAVA STANDARDIZED. Android has they own interpreter called Dalvik. They makes developers wonder they are developing using the Java5 standard but you can get errors like this:

Object o = new Object(); o.getClass().getAnnotations();

"native method not implemented"
Backtrace:
java.lang.Class.getDeclaredAnn

otations(Native Method)
java.lang.Class.getAnnotations(Class.java:202)

- Promisses to open source, but will Dalvik being open-source?! A point for Google: The Open Handset Alliance, seems to be working faster than the JCP (which is ruled by Sun but works in a highest level)
- It doesn't implements the JME API
- It doesn't has OSGi
- It parses XML (like JME POLISH does), so how to be faster than the other platforms?
- Where is the trust? Applications should be signed (Symbian Signed, Java verified, etc.) and this process is the safest way to trust applications. To me this is an add point to Google become one of the worst companies in security and privacy.
- What about code safety? Obfuscators, etc...

Carlos, developer from Poliplus has designed a solution to fit JME applications into Android. So, if it is a need, why Google don't use JME API instead as they are already using Java.

Also, will Dalvik open source? The source of Android may be, but what does this "hidden" virtual machine does with all provided stuff? I'm really afraid of this.

Google solutions like search, maps and mailing is really amazing. But definetely, Google should have a tricky way to get into the mobility market, not just by Android itself. As developers and solution makers, we might have a clear view of this business and the rules. Not only adopt this or that because it's color and beauty. Hope we won't be blaming Google in next years, as it does to Microsoft.


Some sources:
Arstechnica
Bad Ideas
Android
Symbian
Android Groups Discussion
InfoQ
Polipus
Forum Nokia
IntoMobile US
IntoMobile AU
Engadget

Wibree or Bluetooth? Both!?

Bluetooth, Zigbee, Wibree... Definitely there is several different standards for short-range communications. Bluetooth is a standard well-adopted by the market, Zigbee is an industry standard and Wibree provides short-range communication with low-power usage, thing that is excellent for small devices whose depends to battery capacity.

Bluetooth and Wibree is going to merge make the use of low-power consumption from Wibree and the well-adopted Bluetooth standards. I'm excited to say that it will make real the possibility of making PAN's for mobile devices, and developers would thanks for this.

Nokia is already planning to use the new standard for the next generations mobile devices.

More about this from Nokia

Mobile Phones and cars!

I've been talking to a friend couple days ago and he made me having an idea comparing some phone vendors and models to cars. Thanks Lucas :-)

Let's try to make something simple. Remember Nokia 5125.

* No camera
* 35 memory ringtones (you can customize 9!)
* SMS, Vcard supporting
* 100 rows allowed for phonebook
* TDMA
* I fear this display resolution

Nokia 5125 it's a simple phone used to make/receive calls and sms basically. Display resolution isn't cool but it is ok (playing snake). Anyway, it's an old phone completely different of the actual ones.

So would it be a Lada?

* Old
* For transport only
* Usual size internal and external
* Not any comfort

Let's cause a little trouble now.
What about one of most expected mobile - iPhone?


* Touch Screen display (nice res.)
* Usual Size
* Quad-band GSM (and Edge)
* MacOSx
* Wifi, Bluetooth
* It's a Mac! Charm!


iPhone target is to sell about 1 million phones. It is promissed to be launched in USA by Cingular in June this year. Anyway, iPhone has a closed OS (MacOSx) and doesn't run Java applications. It is charm, and have a great display resolution, storage capacity (4 or 8GB) and camera resolution is ok (2MP).

So it would be perhaps... a 206 Peugeot!

* Popular car
* "Sport" design
* It's charm
* Difficult to find parts (as imported car in Brazil)

I'll keep making for more devices... Have fun!

My feedback about FRING

I've been trying FRING about 2 weeks and here is my notes about it.
Phone model: Nokia E61
Network type: WLAN and GSM/EDGE


Good points:
- Service is trusty and realiable. Respects the users accounts.
- Easy UI, nice view, icons and navigation
- Good battery saving power (or at least not high consumption)
- Works fine with multiple clients at same time. Tryied skype, gtalk, msn, sip and fring
- Search bar works cool.
- Also, cool having tabs between chats and calls.
- Good voice quality call using Skype and Gtalk
- Good calls over EDGE connection

Bad Points:
- Merged contacts at all - it's not nice searching a contact for a specific client
- Bad calls (mute listening) using MSN
- Phone's theme can makes UI difficult to read
- How to disable sound alerts!?
- How to customize alerts?
- I just didn't liked Fring advertising in my nickname without a warning
- Connection alerts just buggin me a lot... I'm walking thought different Wlan's, I don't want to be disturbed if I drop connection (I'm walking!).

Features suggestions:
- Icons, icons, icons. Add emotion to that :-)
- What about handsfree in voice calls?
- Please, give a way separating all those contacts. Making a line under IM client doesn't sounds easy. I would put it into separated trees or tabs, you can just put it in a IRC style or something (if you can customize it would be better)
- Data control (I wanna know how much traffic I'm spending in calls)
- Displaying user details such as email address would be fine.

Overall: Recommended.

More Nokia Wiki content

I can't stop firing mobile articles into Nokia Wiki!
Yesterday I'd re-formatted and published a complete overview about Bluetooth technology.
Good to remember: Once you're editing a previously posted article, you need to be careful do don't disrespect the previous collaborator. I kept previous notes, and added references more content and updates - that's the main purpose of Wiki I believe: to collaborate. If I would like to publish these articles in private I should put my name in everything and copyright the content, but this is free, open source and collaborative environment and everyone must be careful about fellows.

Some of my points about Wiki:
- I would not make my view about a technology or other. That's why I do blogging :-)
- I really think it may need an administrator to keep Wiki reliable... maybe, the agreement from the article authors, or still, a open pool voting and rating article.
- Formatting sounds complicated, I wish to see templates, putting some of Web2.0 to work making use of AJAX, like drag-and-drop content (like we do for blogging), etc.


Following...
Good notes from Gabor in it's blog
Forum Nokia Wiki Community in Ron's blog

Updated (3:52PM BRT):
Added content to Wiki: Known User Agents (Browser/Mobile IDs)

Delivery... Delivering...

I've been working in some content delivery to my project under IBM, to JME group inside this and also, as promised, for Nokia Wiki.
I'm reeeeeeeally bored to start doing it just by now. Some time ago, Nokia was offering to us Champions N95 devices for whose people who publish the better contents in it's Wiki. It's a shame that I missed it :-(
But that's ok... I'm now contributing with some stuff, and of course mainly in my experts targets. I started adding some content to Bluetooth API documentation inside Wiki, and then writing the first Bluetooth HelloWorld Example in Java - it's a simple chat between 2 Bluetooth devices, just works fine.

Next steps is to publish more content and add stuff to Bluetooth topics, then I will publish more simple HelloWorlds or How-To's.

Keep watching:-)

Fring x Talkonaut x other mobile clients...

I've been trying a lot of mobile clients such as Barablu, Talkonaut, Fring and others. There are really a LOT of mobile clients. There is a kind of "Gaim"/Jabber concept using multiple networks for the same client. It is a good feature, while it is a feature...

I tried Barablu for a while. It seems like a good client but I couldn't test calls since it's available only for some countries in Europe. It has a good UI and works fine to chat.

Talkonaut is a Google Talk client improving Jabber network and also works with MSN and others. The way it works for calling is like a "call push". They works as a gateway calling you and the another person, over operator's network. It doesn't works for VoIP or VoWLAN, also I sent a bug report to Talkonaut about a MSN (gateway) issue.

The last client I've been trying is Fring. I was looking for a VoIP/VoWLAN client, and then I downloaded it to my E61. It is a simple, written in Symbian and allows Gtalk conversations, Skypeout and, of course, regular phone calls. I tryed Gtalk call and I liked pretty much voice quality under my home wlan.

I'll keep trying another clients and post here. I'm adding a label to this (IM Clients), so you can follow me.

SavaJe survives!

Sun has just acquired SavaJe's legal rights.
-- In a brief view for those who don't know SavaJe: it is a Java OS for mobile.
It has been shown last year in JavaOne, there was a prototype running the os and MSA API. I thought nice seeing a Java OS in mobile phones, but, must admit that I had many doubts before talking to SavaJe people last year, and I left with more than I got in.

Particulary, I think that SavaJe has a strong and difficult market to get into. Mobile market has already popular and well-known platforms such as Symbian, Windows Mobile and Linux Mobile System.

Sources:
SavaJe
Telecoms
DeviceForge.Com

Someway Fixing my N90?

Since I've been elected as Champion in the first ever Forum Nokia Champion program by Janurary 2006; I got the N90 device as a gift. I was happy starting S60 2nd edition Symbian programming some stuff (as I'm most Java involved :-).

Well, the sad day was October, 4th 2006 - I was in a snake with some friends and then, when I flipped the screen to take a picture something happened and the screen didn't change to camera/wide-screen mode. Then I flipped-out again and turned off the cell phone.

After few minutes, I turned the phone on again - and ok, camera looks normal again, but now:
- Icon's names and labels has just changed to default and internal names.
- Gallery was empty (like just cleared)
- Pictures and video's has not been saved anymore
- Themes had disappeared, etc.

I tried lot of things and then I'd reseted phone software pressing keys: "Green + 3 + *" (don't do it or you will reset phone with factory configuration).
Nothing of these worked, then I sent my phone to a Nokia assistance near my house and - freak - they bring my cell back after 4 (FOUR) months worse then he was. It doesn't turn on anymore - I believe guys tried doing a wrong flash update.

So, since January this year I am trying to contact Nokia Care Center by phone +55 (11) 6824-6100. Just like is in the website - it rings and looks like nobody answer (seems like a phone line issue or something).

Next step: I am planning to go to Sao Paulo next week in Nokia Care Center address - hope the address is right and I can find a solution, or I'll be just enjoying Sao Paulo without my S60 phone.

Good to remember:
I got N90 as a gift - it looks like it is a test version of the device delivered without any warranty. (I agreed with the terms)
I wasn't a careful user. It fall down some times (ugh!) and - maybe - it could be the reason for bad-function.

People helping me with this:
Nokia fellows in Brazil Sao Paulo and Pernambuco, Nokia Champion friends - thanks Rosso and Tote.

Nokia N95 - best phone in 2007

GPS? 5MP Camera? Btooth? Wi-fi? S60-Symbian? Ohhhh... I wish I'm gonna have one...

Step-by-step: Geeting mail from other accounts in Gmail

This is not hot, new or even hard to do, but how I had just did it, I like to share the step-by-step to make Gmail get mail from other accounts.

What do you need?
You must have a email account in a supported pop3 provider. (like Yahoo!)
Yeah, you must have a login and password!

Step-by-step!

1) Login to Gmail
2) Find the label "Get mail from other accounts". Click in Add another email account


3) Add an email account - type the entire mail address and then click Next Step


4) Type the username, password, the pop3 host and port.
Note: Gmail will guess your pop3 host. It is right for Yahoo! in the given picture, but get HOST, PORT and if it need SSL connection with your mail provider. Also, select the LABEL to the given account - It should be nice to keep organized.


5) Choose if you want to send mail with the other account mail's name (you will configure the SMTP address)


You're Done!
Enjoy :-)

Mozilla goes mobile but...

Mozilla has launched it's browser for mobile: the Minimo Project. I was excited about Mozilla mobile browser (as a Firefox user) but, it is available only for Windows Mobile. Oh... common Mozilla foundation!! That's disappointing a .ORG foundation create a browser to a closed environment like Windows. In a "Minimum", it should be distributed also for Symbian users as well.

Anyway, if you're not a Windows Mobile user and want to know more, Juarez -- a Nokia Champion colleague - has good thoughts about it.

New Google Mobile Search

Great job from Google improving mobile search. Now you can search for locations in a pretty easier way from your mobile device. As Google Maps does, you can look for a business or an address just typing basic entries. You type what and where in the search boxes, it will return the result matches to your entry and displays the map fit to your mobile screen. This is a different solution instead using Gmaps for mobile.