David Davies: m-blog

URL of this weblog category has changed

Sat, 21 Feb 2004 10:12:36 GMT

The URL of this weblog category has changed to: http://david.davies.name/weblog/categories/smsblog/ The RSS feed is now: http://david.davies.name/weblog/categories/smsblog/rss.xml Please update your bookmarks and aggregators.

The coolest band around

Wed, 11 Feb 2004 22:36:59 GMT

Seeing Air live at Birmingham Academy last night confirms that with their latest album they have the coolest sound around at the moment.

Got your mobile domain name yet?

Mon, 02 Feb 2004 22:44:50 GMT

iTAGG are opening their doors on the 9th Feb and will be accepting mobile domain name registrations. Ok, maybe not quite strictly domain names in the accepted sense but their new service aims to make it easier to contact people using mobile devices. The idea behind the company is as follows. let's say i register a mobile domain name with iTAGG, for example 'david'. You then send a text message to the iTAGG short access number quoting my domain name. By return the iTAGG server will automatically send you any text that I pre-configure using my account. For example, I could pre-configure my account to always return my contact details whenever you 'finger' me at iTAGG. Alternatively I might pre-configure instructions for meeting so whenever anyone sends my domain name 'david' to iTAGG they get my instructions. Nice idea. Except, there are probably alternative methods of achieving the same result. It was no coincidence that I used the verb 'fingered' above. Back in the good old days of the Internet the Finger protocol essentially did the same thing. Is anyone still using Finger? I'd also question why I'd need to register an iTAGG mobile domain name to get this kind of functionality. For a start this is a proprietary commercial service. Are iTAGG's mobile domain names likely to achieve proper domain name status? Well we'll see but don't count on it. Also, I already have a unique mobile domain name. I call it my mobile number. The nice thing about my mobile number is that there are already well-established mechanisms to ensure that my number is unique. Although iTAGG will guarantee you a unique 'domain name', rival companies (if they ever emerge) will be under no obligation to adopt an interoperable naming convention. Sure, iTAGG domain names are easier to remember than numbers, right? Maybe. Once all the cool and obvious names have been registered you'll be stuck with the Hotmail username scenario (yes, I'll probably end up being david-davies834. And not to mention that you'll also have to remember iTAGG's short access number to make the system work at all. So with iTAGG you'll have to remember both my domain name and the access number. iTAGG have a nice idea and I'm sure many will use it. However, as smart phones get more popular then why not use that other unique identifier we all posses, an email address. Just send me an email and I'll give you my contact details or send you instructions for meeting up. That is of course if you can make your email stand out from amongst all those Mydoom messages.

Applescript Image Events application

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 02:00:43 GMT

Well Apple sneaked this one in when we weren't looking. The latest version of Mac OS X (Panther or 10.3 to you) has built-in ability to manipulate images using Applescript. You can flip, rotate, pad, crop, scale and convert images all using simple Applescript commands. Now here's the fun part, both Userland Frontier and Radio can speak native Applescript. Anything you can do with Applescript you can do with Frontier or Radio. So by way of a test my assetManager tool can now create thumbnails for moblog posts. I've built-in an Applescript routine into my Radio Userland tool and I'll release an update during Sunday for anyone who wants to give this a whirl. If you can't wait and if you are using Mac OS 10.3 click on this link to get a standalone Applescript file that scales images. As an aside, another cool feature of OS 10.3 is the ability to create Applescripts on-the-fly from an applescript:// URL action (try clicking the previous link)! Well done Apple and well done Userland for supporting Applescript.

Now with added thumbnails

Sun, 18 Jan 2004 01:56:20 GMT

The assetManager now does thumbnails! This is a test post from my P900. The thumbnails feature is only available to Mac OS X users. It'll be out as an update to the tool tomorrow.

New Year's Resolution

Sun, 04 Jan 2004 13:10:27 GMT

New year's resolution #1, give up cycling in the woods! From left to right, Rob, Prem & me.

New Year's greetings blog bot!

Wed, 31 Dec 2003 18:06:50 GMT

For a limited time only (probably 24 hours) I've set up a Happy New Year blog for anyone to post to! This is an email blog so to post a message just send an email message to the blog's address and your message will be automatically posted to the web for all to see! If you have a mobile phone then why not post a message from wherever you're celebrating. Better still, if you have a picture phone attach a picture to your message and it'll be added too! In fact pictures of your New Year's celebrations are particularly welcome.

So here are the instructions. Send your New Year's greeting email messages to:

'weblog at med1450.bham.ac.uk'

obviously replacing the ' at ' with the @ symbol. I didn't want this address scraped by spammers! Anything you enter in the subject line will become the title of your post. Your email address will not be posted so remember to add your name in the body of your message.

You can attach GIFs, JPEGs, and 3GP video clips. Try not to include huge signatures or ads as everything gets posted! All your posts will appear here.

The weblog is automated and therefore unmoderated but I'll look in from time to time to remove any offensive posts (please no!) or any corrupted/failed posts. This isn't a foolproof system due to the variability of email clients but it is pretty robust. I know I'm taking a bit of a risk with this but hell, it's New Year and I know you won't abuse it :)

Happy Posting!

Sony Ericsson P900 vs Nokia 7650

Wed, 31 Dec 2003 15:18:17 GMT

Having now had a week to play with my new phone I thought I'd do some benchmark tests to see which is better, my new Sony Ericsson P900 or my trusty though now old Nokia 7650. The first test I did was to compare the quality of pictures taken with the built-in camera on each device. Lighting and subject matter were the same for each. I took a picture using every setting offered by the phones. In the case of the Nokia all pictures are 640x480 pixels with 3 quality settings, High, Normal and basic. The P900 offers more options with quality settings of High, Medium and Low for each of 640x480, 320x240 and 160x120.

A contact sheet of all pictures in the test is here.

The results are interesting. Although it'll doubtless be a matter of subjectivity I think the P900 wins. The pictures are sharper and the light more natural looking. The Nokia takes pictures that are slightly softer and all seem to have a slight blue tint. What's more interesting are the file sizes. The Nokia's images are all roughly the same size with little difference between the quality settings. The P900 on the other hand seems to be using quite different compression settings for each picture and file sizes reflect that. The highest quality picture on the P900 at 640x480 pixels was 82Kb compared to 27Kb for the equivalent size/quality picture on the Nokia. Taking into account file size the Nokia performs really well as its high quality image is only marginally inferior to the equivalent on the P900 but is 1/3 the file size. For mobile blogging that could be a significant advantage although it's unlikely you'd want to display a picture at full size i.e 640x480. More likely you'll want to display your images at no more than 320x240 in which case you have a choice, display the full-sized images scaled down in the browser or take pictures at a lower resolution, in which case the P900 wins hands down as you can't specify pixel dimensions on the Nokia.

More tests later.

Image editing because I can

Tue, 30 Dec 2003 17:33:38 GMT

The P900 also comes with picture editing software. Oh OK I don't know what you'd use it for either but that's not the point, it's there if you need it! Snap, edit, post.

Another new phone

Mon, 29 Dec 2003 20:48:21 GMT

Bleedin' marvellous. The new Sony Ericsson P900 I got just before Christmas died on Christmas eve. It wouldn't boot up once I switched it off. Tech support said return it to the shop, nothing can be done. A post to the Esato P800/P900 discussion forum confirmed that my phone was indeed dead. More worryingly I found that I wasn't the only person to be having this problem. I do hope I haven't made a mistake moving away from Nokia. That new 7700 Media Device does look rather fancy.

P900 first impressions

Wed, 24 Dec 2003 13:33:52 GMT

The camera on the phone is better than the Nokia but only marginally so and certainly not next generation better. The handwriting recognition is good but diffrrent enough from Graffiti on the Palm to take a bit of getting used to. The memory expansion is great as I never felt I had enough room on the Nokia. More later, I just wanted to try out mobile blogging with this first picture!

Mobile video formats

Mon, 22 Dec 2003 23:59:14 GMT

I'd like to hear from people who use their mobile phone to record video clips. In particular I'd like to know what video format your phone uses. My phone is a Nokia 7650 so I know about those but do all phones record 3GP video? I guess not and would expect at least MP4. Supporting alternate video file types in the assetManager tool is easy but I need to know what they are. My Christmas present to myself is a shiny new Sony Ericsson P900, the smartest of the smart phones. So in a couple of days I'll know how they store and send video. If video blogging is going to take off in Radio weblogs we need to build in support for all video formats.

Incidentally, this post was simultaneously posted to my weblog and emailed to a Yahoo email group. A little known feature of the assetManager tool is the ability to mirror weblog posts to an email address, in this case an email list. If you already have a copy of this tool you can configure email notification here. If you don't yet have a copy you can download the latest version here.

Frankfurters in Birmingham

Sat, 20 Dec 2003 21:04:29 GMT

For the last few years at Christmas time Birmingham plays host to market traders from Frankfurt. The German market sells all kinds of fancy goods and is a great source of gifts. However the best part is the food section. Seen here are the fabulous red and white sausages cooked on a huge gridle. Washed down with some mulled wine it's a very satisfying way of finishing a hard day's shopping!

Video moblogging comes to Radio Userland

Sat, 20 Dec 2003 01:16:45 GMT

An updated version of the "assetmanager tool" now handles video clips so let's see those video moblogs! I've only tried posting video clips from my Nokia 7650 so in this first beta version only the 3GP video format is supported at a default frame size of 128x96 pixels, however a preference in the assetManager allows you to edit the HTML code that embeds your video clips. I'm keen to try out other video phone file formats so please let me know if you have any problems using your phone or moblogging device with this version of the tool. If you need a 3GP video player then I can recommend QuickTime though other video player software such as Real Player works fine too.

For those of you new to mobile blogging, basically you can post to your weblog from anywhere you happen to be, you're not restricted to sitting at your computer. Weblog posts are typically sent as an email message using mobile phones, PDAs or other devices. If you have a camera phone you can post pictures and video clips by sending them as an attachment to your moblog email message. There are a number of good weblogs following mobile blogging developments including moblogging.org and sites such as Text America host hundreds of moblogs.

Here's my mobile blogging how-to guide, written a little while ago but still relevant.

Suede live at Birmingham Academy

Fri, 12 Dec 2003 12:43:26 GMT

Fantastic Suede gig last night at the Birmingham Academy. Sadly though it's probably the last time we'll be able to see them live as they've recently announced the band members are pursuing solo projects.

Last night however they were on absolutely storming form and Brett had us all eating out of his hand! Such a showman and he genuinely seemed to be enjoying the gig himself (though who's not going to enjoy 5,000 adoring and screaming fans). The tunes were pretty good too! They ended the main set with Trash and The Beautiful Ones rather than saving either for the encore, which itself was rather downbeat, maybe purposefully given the news about the band's future (or lack of). Anyway, without doubt Suede were one of the best British bands of the last decade, were highly influential and were a great live act.

It was Emily's first live gig and so I introduced her to the mosh pit! She had a great time and will always try to be up at the front at future gigs. What's the point of going to see a band live if you're going to stand at the back!

See you in the next life, Suede.

Bowie Live

Sat, 22 Nov 2003 00:29:47 GMT

Last night I saw Bowie live at the NEC Arena. Fantastic gig, great atmosphere. Some highlights:

Rebel Rebel: opening song, great rockin' version, set the mood perfectly
All the Young Dudes: what a surprise, didn't think he'd play this oldie, great version, got one of the biggest cheers of the night
Loving the Alien: Now I thought I was the only person who liked this song but seems Bowie likes it too. Great acoustic version, very timely lyrics.
Hallo Spaceboy: Great raunchy version of this newer song. One of the rockiest songs of the evening.
I'm Afraid of Americans: I loved the drum 'n' bass sound of Earthling. I know a lot of others didn't but what do they know. Not my fave track from that album (Little Wonder and Dead Man Walking) but a great live version and perfectly timed given GWB's visit to the UK.
Fantastic Voyage: Lodger was one of my favourite albums. Not one of his best by a long way but when it came out in the late 70's it struck a chord with me. Contains one of my fave Bowie tracks, 'Boys Keep swinging'. 'Fantastic Voyage' showed that his vocals are still really cool, great chorus. Love this song.
Life on Mars: Great song from his most productive years. Nice to see it in a set in 2003.
New Killer Star: Best song off the new album 'Reality'.

Ok, so he didn't play some of my favourite songs. But with such a back catalogue it's not surprising. I've never heard him play 'Station to Station' live which is a pity but last night was such a great concert that doesn't matter. He really seemed to enjoy it too, but I bet he says that to all the towns. He played for around 2 hours 15 mins. Two encores.

Oh yeah, he even covered a Pixies song, 'Cactus'. Cool, I saw the Pixies on their UK tour early 90's and they were really rockin. This monkey has gone to heaven.

The heart of Birmingham has no soul

Tue, 28 Oct 2003 21:21:09 GMT

Visited the new Bull Ring, hopefully for the first and last time. Would you want to spend any time in a hell hole like this? It's like looking into hell's ugly maw crawling with the damned. And people say they like shopping. Wake up for fucks sake!

Sold

Sun, 19 Oct 2003 14:21:14 GMT

Sold our yellow bug to a guy in Newcastle so driven to Leeds to hand over. Had the car 6 years so time to let someone else have a go! Won't be sad to see it go as it was Sue's car, though it served us well.

Privacy issues with camera phones

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 17:50:48 GMT

I guess it was inevitable that privacy issues would quickly follow the increasingly rapid uptake of camera phones. In the UK an ambulance worker has been sacked following allegations he took photographs of a dead patient using his camera phone. Although if true this is an extreme case, how many other far less serious but nonetheless invasive cases will emerge where people have had their picture taken without their consent? But the issue is far broader than just irresponsible camera phone owners. It's almost impossible to walk down a UK high street these days without having your picture taken countless times with a CCTV camera. Where do all those pictures go and who's using them I wonder? Is it OK to take a CCTV picture of a dead patient, a road traffic victim in the previously mentioned case, but not OK to take a picture with a camera phone? Or a real camera? What if you were a photo journalist? What if you were a photo journalist in a conflict zone and took pictures of dead people killed in war? Who decides when it is OK to take your photo, and when it is not?

Not waving, starving

Tue, 30 Sep 2003 16:41:23 GMT

Whatever your views on what David Blaine is doing or trying to prove there's no denying that the stunt itself is a spectacle and is pulling in the crowds. I thought I'd stop by as I was in London for the day and was amazed at how many people were here just gazing up at this guy in his box. They wave and he waves back. Meanwhile, somewhere else in the world, another person dies of starvation. I expect that nobody was there to wave them off.

Faster and easier text entry on mobiles

Sat, 20 Sep 2003 15:13:43 GMT

The innovative Fastap keypad looks like a real improvement on the fiddly keypads you get on mobile phones and some PDAs. This great invention squeezes a full set of alpha-numeric keys into a space not much bigger than existing keypads. The clever key layout means that even the most hamfisted of users can type quickly and accurately without mis-pressed keys. There are some great interactive demos on the web site showing just how cool the Fastap is. Just the job for the busy moblogger. Might also make mobile computing a whole lot easier, too. Now if only someone could invent a way of squeezing a usefully sized monitor into a mobile phone or PDA screen then we'd be smoking!

New and improved assetManager

Sun, 14 Sep 2003 23:24:29 GMT

I've tweaked the assetManager tool to improve the functionality of mail-to-blog posts. You can now specify a post title in your email message by simply appending the title after the secret subject. So simple, why didn't I think of it before! The assetManager matches the secret subject against those you set for your weblog categories then strips it from the email subject line. Whatever remains becomes the title of your post. Also, any attached pictures are now stored in a dated folder hierarchy rather than all in the same directory. This is something I should have done ages ago but have only just got around to it.

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 12:51:01 GMT

This is us paying attention to a presentation during the computer based learning session. One group from Germany showed statistically that exposure to computer based learning adversely affects attitude to CBL! Maybe you ain't doing it right.

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 22:11:21 GMT

Having a wonderful time in Bern. This is the postgraduate Dean's lot after a great meal.

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 09:51:13 GMT

Ulrich Woermann presenting a workshop on mobile computing at the AMEE meeting in Bern.