MLX Ready for Beta and Thinking Outside The Box

MLX has officially reached beta. The program is packaged for deployment, has been tested for basic operation, a operations document has been created to describe how the program works, a FAQ about how and why the program was created and finally, a Screen Cast (click on each to view Flash version and Windows Movie version) showing how MLX works. It is ready folks.... If you would like a copy to try/test, send me a email.

As I mentioned in last weeks blog, I would be moving on to new topics and thinking ...

Outside The Box...(outside the rocks?)

I have already begun work on PocketCourse which will take content and deliver it via a PDA or MS Mobile Device.

I am also looking at two new technologies. A Bluetooth Server and and SMS Server. Given the availability of Internet support on mobile devices (WiFi, GSM and CDMA Internet) and the cost of the services, the average student may still not have the resources to use html browser delivered content.

I am experimenting with the concept that SMS (text messages) and Bluetooth servers could be placed on a campus and a local connection could be made to these access points and a transfer of information via messages could take place. A student could walk up to one of these servers with their cell phone and send either a text message or Bluetooth message asking for campus services.

I have been working first with a Bluetooth server (written using the PYTHON programming language) and resources available from Google. A student could ask for a syllabus, an assignment or other class information as long as they are close to the server. I have some proto-type code already running but both the Bluetooth and SMS solutions are very much out of the box for me. Stay tuned ...

On the Verge...

I have held out on this weeks blog as long as I can and unfortunately I was not able to get everything done that I had planned. If anything, it might prompt some visits to my web site.

I have finished a beta version of the MLX (mobile learning experiment) tool. I have talked about this tool in the blog and on the mobileDot web site. It will let you create a single page that will display on a PC or mobile device. I have set it up for deployment so that anyone who would like to give me feedback and suggestions can. I am asking that I receive and email before I give the executable out. You need a Microsoft Windows device capable of running Microsoft .Net 3.5.

I have been also using the tool to prepare some content for my GCC Spring 2009 classes. I am going to be adding a web page on my mobileDot web site that will show you some of the examples I have come up with so far. It is using the tool and more fully testing features (and adding enhancements that have been slowing me down. It is hard to decide what is enough function for the beta when I know I can fix this and that to make it better. Decisions... decisions. Worst case I will be announcing its availability for others to use this weekend.

This week, I will also be returning to a new project for my sabbatical called pocketCourse. A .Net application that delivers all course content on a PDA.

This is a short blog for this week. I will post another short one when the MLX code is available for download.

p.s. For you cell phone guru's, G1 (T-Mobile Android Cell Phone) was available for purchase yesterday (10/22). Not the fanfare of iPhone but there is quite a bit in the press (even the bad economy and politics couldn't drown it out!

In the New$... It's the ecomomy !

With the economy dominating the new$, it has also impacted the mobile device market. As companies wait to see what consumer spending will look like, announcements on new products and features seemed to have slowed. It is hard to tell what the impact to my project will be except to say that the impacts may not be fully seen until after the election and the holidays.

What I wanted to highlight this week was some articles and web pages related to mobile technology. I also am seeing that it looks like the most feasible inroads to mobile computing for college students is wifi enabled devices (cell phones, pda's and mp3 players). With the GCC campus (as well as most college campuses) being wifi enabled, a free Internet connectivity option is already available to introduce mobile content (Syllabi, assignments, lectures, and supplemental resources) to students as part of class.

I see wifi enabled devices (even if access is via a wifi enabled mp3 player like iTouch) as a real area of optimism. As an experiment, I went to Google and eBay to see the number of options for wifi enabled cell phones and also the options available to me with my provider (Verizon). On the Bizrate web site I found a number of wifi enabled mobile devices that were cell phone at a variety of prices (prices $20 to $1700). Obviously the higher price products were newer and include more and better technology.

My second experiment was to go to eBay and search on "Verizon cell phone wifi". eBay returned several pages of cell phone devices for Verizon with again, prices anywhere from $50 to $1000 dollars depending on the features and if the device was refurbished. I was surprised a the number of options and the pricing.

I have a couple of articles/web pages from lifehacker.com in this blog. The first article just came out out today (10/16/2008). It is an extensive review of the T-Mobile Google Android G1 product. It reviews features and contrasts it with the market leader in smartphones, iPhone. The reviewer is a iPhone user and presents some interesting observations.

My last article/web page comes from www.lifehacker.com where it recently asked its members to vote on their favorite mobile operating system. The implication here is that the winning operating systems will determine what software development options will exist. The vote produced what I would consider predictable results:

(1) iPhone (versions 1 and 2) 38%
(2) Microsoft Mobile 16%
(3) Blackberry at 9%.*

*Interesting was 13% are waiting for Google Android G-1 even thought it has not been officially released by T-Mobile yet.

The numbers are probably predictable since lifehacker.com is a popular tech site and the folks who visit it are likely to be more of the "tech junkies" who tend to favor the Apples leading edge products.

Have you seen the latest output from the MLX1 tool that creates one html page that can be viewed on a PC (large screen) or mobile device (small screen)? Check out the mobileDot web site and test it out.

Do you like this blog? If you think it is important. let me know with a comment. If you would like additional/other topics, also let me know.

Testing 123...

This week was Demonstration Week for my web page tool. I had the opportunity to show a couple of people the web pages created by my mobile web page tool. It is important to remind everyone that the goal of this tool is to provide a easy to use web development editor that will create a single web page that will be readable on a PC sized monitor or a mobile display. Normally, a web page designed for a PC will shrink to microscopic size when viewed by browsers loaded on a cell phone.
See how it works!

I will give you a url that has a page (http://www.garymarrer.com/sabbatical/cis159.html) that was built by my mobile web page builder. Look at it first on the PC browser of your choice (IE, FireFox, Safari,Opera,etc.). Once you have viewed the page (note: it still has some edits I need to make), then go to http://www.operamini.com/demo/?url=http://www.garymarrer.com/sabbatical/cis159.html . This site is maintained by Opera to demonstrate their mobile browser. It is really a cell phone emulator running a browser program that can link to a URL on the web.

Compare the two browsers (PC and Opera cell phone browser). You will see that both documents are very readable. You can also connect to other web based cell phone browsers (http://mtld.mobi/emulator.php) to see even more cell phone browsers.

If you want to see what a web page that has not been setup for mobile display looks like, use the Opera mini browser and look at http://www.operamini.com/demo/?url=http://glory.gc.maricopa.edu/~gmarrer/ . See the difference? Notice how the page is squeezed into the display making it very difficult to see.

Try it out and let me know what you think. I think I have established that I can create a single page that is viewable on a PC or a mobile device.

Comments?

Google Android To Go..

After a couple of trying weeks with the Java Wireless Toolkit, my spirits have been lifted with Google Andorid. Still Java (probably my favorite programming language), the Android Toolkit with the Eclipse IDE provided a very robust development environment. Not only did it offer superior debug facility but also syntax help at a mouse click (a very important feature when you are using a new programing environment). It was nice to hit the ground running and not run into a parked car ;)

I have been programming for twenty years but will each new programming language or API comes a learning curve. With the help of numerous examples and excellent resources provided by Google (videos, samples and forums) I muddled my way through a clone of my .Net GCC Mapz application is short order. A couple of videos last week and some documentation over the weekend, I had the Java MIDlet I created cloned in one day and a more robust version (similar to what I had done in .Net) in two days.

My experience is that whenever you have a new technology to learn (whether your experienced or not) it is always better to look for another program to use as a template. If your new to the technology, creating a program from scratch is very difficult. It is a lot like learning a new language. It is easier to read it from someone who knows the language then trying to speak it to a native from scratch...

I am very impressed and encouraged about Android. If just for a PDA, it is a very robust environment. Put with a smartphone, it can be a very powerful tool. Two weeks ago, T-Mobile and Google announced their intention of marketing a Google Phone. It is hard to say how the market will embrace Android but from a initial pricing standpoint, it seems much more attractive then the cost of an iPhone. I am hoping it is successful in the marketplace.

If you are interested in seeing what I have done, you can visit my web site and look at the screen shots and source code it took to create the Android GCC Mapz application. This is the first programming language I have used that took advantage of XML for the UI (although XAML and other technologies by different vendors are also going in that direction) and it was a little challenging at the start. Fortunately, with some good examples provided by many on the web, I was successful.

For the next week, I am going to start on a more robust thick client app (provide course content delivery on a mobile device) that has been started in .Net but which I have plans to implement in Android. I will also be looking at deployment strategies and the options for personal mobile apps on the various cell phone providers in the Phoenix area.

If you have and questions or comments, chime in.