Birmingham Post - 051101 - iMode

It started with “i can buy you flowers”, went through “i am big in Japan”, and now the posters declare “i have arrived”. O2's i-mode service is here, but should the posters really be saying “i'm too late.”?

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MP101 Radio Update

Downloaded the latest firmware upgrade to my WiFi/HiFi bridge. The upgraded included the first release of the radio tuner. This now lets me play hundreds of Internet radio stations form the HiFi. Unfortunately the BBC stations aren't on there yet - maybe if I register! Apart from the obvious rock/pop/oldies stuff there are great stations like SF soundtracks, scanner linked streams such as the LAPD and the NY Fire Department, air traffic control from JFK< and even just an open mic somewhere in LA!

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Connected Home 2004

Cracking couple of days at Connected Home. Great demo from Sony, lots of stuff from other manufacturers and installers. Microsoft also speaking about Media Center. It's all about Communications-Entertainment-Securoty, but crosses so many category boundaries nobodies quite qure how to sell it, or who to sell it to. Looks like the Koreans are storming ahead though.

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MP101

Finally went out and bought a piece of WiFi HiFi. Decided on the NetGear MP101 because it has the integral LED display so you don't have to switch the TV on to seee your music. Not too fussed about image and video viewing. And given that it'll be out of date anyway in a month or so you can't knock a price of £85.

A few hiccups during set-up - had to disable WEP, hard code an IP address and load the server software on my new XP machine rather than the Win98 "server" I had planned. But the delight at being able to sit back on the sofa, scroll through your whole music collection (400+ CDs and LPs) and play it on demand was just indescribeable. Well worth buying.

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Smart Places and Intelligent Environments

Interesting Guardian article on
Smart places, putting location aware devices in an information rich environment - eg virtual tour guides, position chat etc. Other links:

Mobile Bristol - www.mobilebristol.co.uk/flash.html

Urban Tapestries - www.proboscis.org.uk/urbantapestries

Scott Fishers Wearable Environment - web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~sfisher/research.html

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WiFi In London

Good article in The Register about the practical side of WiFi availability in London. Not dissimilar to my own trek around Brum in September. Must get one of the Kensington/Smart ID detectors.

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SMC EZ-Stream

SMC EZ-Stream lets you "access and enjoy music, movies and photos stored on your home PC through your TV or Hi-Fi system! All from the comfort of your lounge sofa and no matter where your PC is located at home"

Now that's what I need at home. And under £300. Question is, is a single box solution like the Streamium better?

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Converjed - Mobile Edition

I've implemented a new set of templates to provide a "mobile edition" of this blog to make access and display from my Palm over GRPS easier. See link at right. Still needs a bit of work, but it's a start.

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This is a test of

This is a test of my PDA Quickblog application using XML-RPC on movable type.

I can blog wirelessly from my PDA again. Hurrah#EXCLAM#

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Personal Mobile Gateways (PMG)

Interesting article in the Guardian on Personal Mobile Gateways, using IXI-Connect software on top of Bluettoth to implement proper PANs.

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test publish

test publish

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Test posting from Palm over

Test posting from Palm over GPRS.

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WAP Wi-Fi Zone Finder

Was only suggesting this to MDA the other day (well OK an SMS version). Wi-Fi Zone have a WAP based WiFi hotspot finder at http://wap.wi-fizone.org. Must give it a try in London on Friday.

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LocustWorld :: The Information Revolution!!! - mesh networking hardware and software

LocustWorld is an interesting site and a real proponent of wireless networking. Their main thrust is MeshAP and the MeshBox. Essentially this is a WiFi access point, but with added processing to allow it to manage AP to AP communications. So once you have one MeshAP connected to a backhaul link, then just add another MeshAP in range of the first and you've extended the coverage. Saturate a whole area with MeshAP's and they wirelessly route through each other back to any backhaul. LocustWorld cites Hayfield in the Peak District as having deployed such a mesh.

In fact it takes me right back to my Army days when we were trialling Amateur Radio AX.25 wireless packet networks in just the same way to provide a self healing, self managing data web for the battlefield.

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Caffe Nero

Wi-Fi access progressing nicely. Happily logged in from Caffe Nero in Charing Cross on Surfandsip. At £5 a day its a lot better deal than BT (£5 an hour).

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Starbucks WiFi

Finally got to try out wi-fi at Starbucks - it failed last time. Worked really well this time, although it took 3 members of staff to find one that knew what I was talking about. Web and VPN access worked well, although it stopped access with 5 minutes to go.

Not sure of the pricing model though, £5.50 for one hour. Doing email you really need 5 minutes at the start and 5 at the end - but that means the 120 min package for £14, and that expires after 1 month.

Oh well, at least I got in.

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the cloud

the cloud | UK WiFi | Wireless Internet Access. One of the new players in WiFi hotspots in the UK. Operates mid-tier between the venue and the network operator. With its connections to Leisure Link it is particularly concentrating on pubs and entertainment sites. One to watch?

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Ring Tone sales overtake Singles

According to a report from the MDA quoted by the BBC sales of ring tones are set to overtake those of singles this year. MDA forecasts ring tone sales of £70m in UK, up from £40m in 2002. CD Singles sales were £97m in 2002, but have dropped by 37% so far this year. MDA also reports that SMS has levelled off at around 55m texts a day, ie about one for every UK citizen every day.

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Guardian on the beach

The Guardian's got it right. A voluntary group called PierToPier.Net(sic) has started providing free wireless access to Brighton Beach. To test this new fangled wi-fi stuff out, the Guardian dispatched its G2 editorial team to the beach armed with laptops, cameras, wi-fi cards and a VW microbus. From the beach they edited and produced todays G2 supplement. Wonderful. Next stop Cannon Hill Park.

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Ok now blogging by wap

Ok now blogging by wap fm my nokia. very slow. What about sms 2 blog?

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