Ron Liechty's Forum Nokia Blog

Ron Liechty's Forum Nokia Blog http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog <p>I am extremely customer focused and I like to tilt at windmills on occasion. I manage the Forum Nokia Discussion boards and will fight for Nokia Developers to be productive.</p> Nokia Ron 2009-11-23T15:13:39Z Web 2.0, Part 2.0 Sales http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/08/21/web-2.0-part-2.0-sales <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">My local newspaper recently changed to truly be local with only one page devoted to national or international news yet on Sundays they have the expanded news and there is one page devoted to business. In this weeks paper the main feature was <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070818/ap_on_hi_te/mobile_phone_ads"><font color="#800080">Technology helps reinvent cell phone advertising</font></a> an Associated Press story from the Broadcast and Communication Exhibition in Singapore. The story is how advertising on mobile devices is now less obtrusive and not as distractive. Some advertising can be beneficial information which is a big part of Web 2.0 philosophy.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Why this is important is that even in small town America the mainstreaming of the Internet on mobile devices is recognized as the future of the Internet. Just as people that do not have home computers are missing out economically so will those that do not have multimedia devices miss out in the near future. What has kept many people from accessing the internet by mobile device is cost and speed. </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">The cost is certainly going to go down if advertising can be done in a manner that most people perceive as beneficial. For example when using your GPS aware device you wish to dine out, a list of restaurants near by will pop up. These restaurants have paid the search provider to be listed on the web the same as they pay to be listed in the Yellow Pages of a phone book. What developers need to do is create new applications that use a beneficial advertising. This way you are paid by the advertiser and do not need to worry about how to distribute and sell the application.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity Enterprise Location Based Services 2007-08-21T00:24:05Z Nokia Ron Web 2.0, Part 1.5 http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/08/17/web-2.0-part-1.5 <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">While I enjoy blogging and it does put a human face to a company I don’t see it as the penultimate feature of web 2.0. However, when you talk to bloggers or the media (where journalists are pretty much just paid bloggers) you would think that blogs are the beginning and the end of Web 2.0. A recent article about the iPhone told of an AT&T customer that had ran up <a href="http://www.arcdesignconsulting.com/iphone_horror.html"><font color="#800080">a $5,000 roaming bill</font></a> by using the iPhone to access the Internet while in Europe. Who can deny that the mobile device and the Web 2.0 are totally united for better or worse? Steve Jobs carefully used the Internet to generate hysteria for the release of the iPhone and the popularity of the N95 has mostly been through word of mouth over the Internet.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">In reality, blogs are a small segment of the Internet and saying outrageous things on the net does not make you any smarter than saying outrageous things on a soap box in front of the town hall. You just get laughed at by more people. While someone might think he is wise and has a cult status the truth is that blogs are a small piece of the internet communication. Anyone that thinks that a single blog is directing the way the world perceives something is mistaken.  However, when well orchestrated as in elections and iPhone releases, they can indeed be a powerful force. Like news and commentary on television where it represents about 10% of the online time there are other channels of communications we should be aware of. </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Stay tuned for more information on Web 2.0 and how it affects mobile developers.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity Enterprise Entertainment 2007-08-17T22:11:13Z Nokia Ron Web 2.0, Part 1.0 http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/08/15/web-2.0-part-1.0 <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">I dislike buzz words like Web 2.0  that don’t mean anything so why not have a series of articles that tell what it means. One of Nokia’s employees uploaded a thesis on <a href="http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/Web_2.0"><font color="#800080">Web 2.0</font></a> to the Developer’s Wiki that I think every mobile developer should read. When it was uploaded, my first thought was that I wondered if this is really related to developing for mobile devices. Then it hit me, not only is this related; it is the most important media technology for developers to understand concerning the future of mobile devices.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Is it social media or a technology, is this just <a href="http://myspace.com/"><font color="#800080">MySpace</font></a>, <a href="http://www.ebay.com/"><font color="#800080">eBay</font></a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/"><font color="#800080">YouTube</font></a> or <a href="http://mosh.nokia.com/user/rliechty"><font color="#800080">MOSH</font></a> or is it technical like all the alphabet technologies AJAX or XML, CSS, RSS and all of that? Everyone that uses the internet thinks Web 2.0 is something else. Let’s start with something called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-oriented_architecture"><font color="#800080">Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)</font></a> that is highly touted as the future on all the Information Technology magazines.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">SOA is a customer service oriented aspect of the Internet that I read a lot about and another thing I am never sure I understand. However, if you’ve ever filed an insurance request online, you have experienced it. While this total Web interface is effective and efficient and has made <a href="http://www.amazon.com/"><font color="#800080">amazon.com</font></a> and <a href="http://www.geico.com/"><font color="#800080">Geico Insurance</font></a> big winners. Generally the customer service aspect is to get your money and often works very well for support after they have the money. However, in the case of highly technological support such as mobile device development, Forum Nokia needs to go way beyond SOA and understand it is not a panacea but only a piece of the pie.</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Stay tuned for the next blog as I (feeling like Dogbert) give my opinions of other aspects of Web 2.0</div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity Enterprise Entertainment 2007-08-15T23:25:06Z Nokia Ron What's in Your Wallet? What's a Wallet? http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/04/28/what-s-in-your-wallet-what-s-a-wallet <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Mobile devices have replaced the wrist watch as the most popular time piece. Most people only wear a wrist watch as a fashion statement, using a mobile device when they want to know what time it is. Another clothing accessory that is soon to go out of style is the wallet. Already people carry the pictures of their loved ones in their mobile devices and exchange electronic business cards via the phone. Near Field Communications will allow your cell phone to replace your credit or debit card and it is very possible to live a cashless life. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Not only will replacing a wallet improve the convenience of shopping, it will probably improve your posture if you are a man, since you won’t be sitting on that fat wallet and twisting your spine.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity Enterprise 2007-04-28T01:00:51Z Nokia Ron Brinkmanship http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/04/13/brinkmanship <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a title="View all posts in Thomas Schelling" href="http://www.clujblogroll.com/category/thomas-schelling/"><font color="#800080">Thomas Schelling </font></a> wrote “Brinkmanship is thus the deliberate creation of a recognizable risk, a risk that one does not completely control. It is the tactic of deliberately letting the situation get somewhat out of hand, just because its being out of hand may be intolerable to the other party and force his accommodation.” Qualcomm and Nokia are doing a bit of brinkmanship at this moment regarding <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9015800"><font color="#800080">patent licensing dispute</font></a>.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For those of you who have lost interest in politics and war, but still like to watch a masterful chess match. This should be interesting to watch. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Business Opportunities/Services Connectivity Enterprise 2007-04-13T00:09:19Z Nokia Ron Does Big Brother Really Want to Watch You? http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/04/10/does-big-brother-really-want-to-watch-you <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There is a bill in California, USA that is putting some restrictions and a moratorium on the use of RFID chips for school ID cards and driver’s licenses. The fear is that the state can track you wherever you go. There is the same fear about super store chains tracking the merchandise using RFID chips but with the same senseless paranoia the United States government demands that all mobile devices be traceable in case you should happen to be climbing Mt Hood and slip and break a leg and they can find you.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">So why, if the government can track you anyway, be so paranoid about having RFID chips in your ID cards or merchandise in the stores? The reason according to the critics is RFID chips are so small you may have them without being aware. Also they admit that these chips are so unobtrusive that people may voluntarily have them inserted for their personal or family’s safety. However, RFID chips have a limited range of about 100 meters and while if you had a product in your house a business could drive by and take a sample it really is not affective for tracking people. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I’m not against restricting or giving emerging technology but I am against it when it is being used not for practical concerns but merely a demagogic (creating false fear and extreme passion) means to political power.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity General 2007-04-10T00:24:10Z Nokia Ron Beware the Ides of March, Daylight Savings Start Time Changes http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/02/02/beware-the-ides-of-march-daylight-savings-start-time-changes <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Normally the change from standard time to daylight savings time (DST) only affects me in that I wake up an hour later than normal. However this year the date for daylight savings time will change in the USA from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. Unlike Y2K which was warned about for years the change in DST has been widely forgotten. Some say there is the same potential for disruption of banking and billing with the change in DST that there was with Y2K seven years ago. For certain any software that depends on older versions of JRE can fail. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I’m not a doomsayer. I don’t think there is a great chance of a problem with the change of daylight savings time. However, there is always a chance of problems whenever there is a change in time, I see it when I travel or share papers with someone in another time zone. What about the time stamps on your code, will they suddenly have a fit and force rebuilds on all of your projects. What about the code itself, is it time relative, did you consider the time zone not being standard or changing. Will it change once when the operators change to DST and then again the first week of April? What about other nations will some follow the United States or will they remain the first week in April? We need to take all of this into consideration now a month ahead of time so we are prepared when the time arrives. If you do nothing else, be sure you are running the latest JRE.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For more information you might want to see the <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9009959"><font color="#800080">Computerworld article by Todd Weiss</font></a>.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Connectivity Enterprise Games 2007-02-02T22:34:48Z Nokia Ron The Continuous Adventures of Puppy Robot and his friend Rover http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/01/25/the-continuous-adventures-of-puppy-robot-and-his-friend-rover <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">What do you do with a few Nokia 770 Internet tablets and a Robotis Bioloid Robot Kit? Why of course you create a canine robot named Puppy and his lonely pal Rover.  The robot kit is reviewed in Robot online magazine and Puppybot and Rover’s first video is reviewed on the Enggadget.com site. Of course anything this great has video and is available on YouTube. The adventures of Puppy are now in their 4<sup>th</sup> episode which is titled Episode 3 Puppy gets a new head. Episode 2.5 is a polished episode of the first episode. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I used to think having a robot puppy would be a much greater thing than a live animal; you can leave it when you travel, it requires no clean up and is well behaved.  However after seeing the Puppy episodes I now understand that they are curious, mischievous and prone to internet browsing.  I’m not as sure I would leave them at home (at least not without taking the power source with me.) Be sure to watch episode 2 past the credits, or the fierce teeth showing of</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Using a Linux OS with robotic code written in C++ the robots are also controlled by an Internet tablet. Nokia’s engineers have made the code available. If you are interested you can download it from maemo.org the applications development platform for Nokia Internet tablets.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Rather than imbed all the links here they are:</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Puppy Robot with Nokia 770 Head</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMkWwJqPCOQ&eurl">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMkWwJqPCOQ&eurl</a>=</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Episode 2 Puppy gets a friend</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USGMhtaBrSs&mode=related&search">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USGMhtaBrSs&mode=related&search</a>=</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Episode 2.5 Puppy Sees a Dream</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdBqJSdsbLo&mode=related&search">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdBqJSdsbLo&mode=related&search</a>=</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Episode 3 Puppy gets a new head</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkV4kMBUVjw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkV4kMBUVjw</a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Code</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="https://garage.maemo.org/projects/robot">https://garage.maemo.org/projects/robot</a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">engadget.com</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/14/puppybot-has-a-nokia-770-for-a-head/">http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/14/puppybot-has-a-nokia-770-for-a-head/</a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Robot online magazine</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.botmag.com/articles/robotis_bioloid_edutainment_robot_kit.shtml">http://www.botmag.com/articles/robotis_bioloid_edutainment_robot_kit.shtml</a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Robotis</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.robotis.com/html/sub.php?sub=2&menu=1">http://www.robotis.com/html/sub.php?sub=2&menu=1</a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Nokia Internet Tablet</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><a href="http://www.nokiausa.com/770"><span>http://www.nokiausa.com/770</span> and <a href="http://www.nokiausa.com/N800">http://www.nokiausa.com/N800</a> </a></div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> Business Opportunities/Services Connectivity Entertainment 2007-01-25T13:24:13Z Nokia Ron This is the Year That Will Be http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2007/01/04/this-is-the-year-that-will-be <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The first of the year is always a good time to predict the future. Of course predicting the future is a lot easier in hindsight but my memory is so poor that isn’t right most of the time. So let’s just pop in and see what some of the trends are in technology. I see that AT&T which once was a phone company and then was a cable company and now is a phone company again, wants to become a wireless phone and cable company. I think one of the trends for 2007 will be more people using mobile devices with WLAN’s in their homes. This improves the reception in the home, and lets you take your home phone when you travel. AT&T/Cingular and Verizon have already started the ball rolling on this. Wireless makes a lot of sense in the USA where the old wire infrastructure is wearing down. The infrastructure that hindered the growth of mobile devices in the USA now may be such a cost problem that the baby bells must go wireless.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Speaking of wireless networks, why not go wireless in your car? There is a new company Autonet Mobile Inc, which wants to install wireless networks in cars. Now not only can each kid have his own portable DVD they can take their Multimedia devices and surf the web or make high quality phone calls while daddy does the driving. Using 3G cellular access, it is an idea item for the road. You could even get instant updates from Yahoo on the traffic flow and update your navigation system to get you home faster.   </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I just purchased a new car and it came with a navigation system in it. But the system is already made obsolete by the new multimedia devices with built in GPS ability. The car system is great because when you are in a blind spot, tall buildings or dense overcast the car’s GPS can use the direction and speed to the car to estimate where you are at until you get a signal again. Still, the maps are a year old and cost to be updated, there are no live updates on traffic and you can’t send a location to someone else and have them meet you there. Finally it is an electronic device and it will like all car electronic devices eventually wear out. If I’d just had a blue tooth connection for my S60 smart phone I could have all the songs to listen to, the navigation item and be up to date every year. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Browsing Connectivity Entertainment 2007-01-04T23:05:16Z Nokia Ron Winter wear is WinterWare for Geeks http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/ron-liechtys-forum-nokia-blog/2006/12/13/winter-wear-is-winterware-for-geeks <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">For those of us that live where there really is a winter, places like Helsinki, Michigan and San Francisco there are often places in the offices or home where there are drafts or a bit cooler than other areas of the building or house. My house is an old farm house that was built originally without central heat and no insulation. The upstairs rooms were heated by cutting holes in the floor and letting the warm air from the wood stove rise up. With modern times came central heat and air conditioning, but for those of us in these older houses there is no practical way to heat or cool the upper floors. When I first starting with computers during the cold months, I would simply wear a heavy shirt, fleece lined slippers and when my hands became cold I could always warm them over the vent of the big 14” monitor. I think the BTU output for the monitor was greater than the central heating. By noon time the monitor would have the room a decent degree of warmth. Alas just like the wood cooking stove that put out enough heat to melt a space shuttle ceramic tile the monitors have all gone to the great radiation lab in the sky and replaced with LCD screens. </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">You can imagine my glee, (well maybe not imagined my glee but play along) when I discovered <a href="http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00009"><font color="#800080">USB heated Gloves</font></a>, <a href="http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=0502"><font color="#800080">USB Heated Slippers</font></a>, a <a href="http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=0588"><font color="#800080">heated optical mouse</font></a> and there is even a pad to heat <a href="http://www.usbgeek.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=0195"><font color="#800080">keep your coffee cup warm</font></a>. Now if I can just get a USB to Mini USB adaptor I might be able to plug the slippers into an N-85 and use an <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/06/15/inflight-usb-power-unit-uses-audio-jack-to-give-you-juice/"><font color="#800080">InFlight USB Power Unit Chargers</font></a> that use the airplane’s in-flight sound system to charge a mobile device so I can listen to my tunes and keep my feet toasty all at the same time.</div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </div> <div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ron</div> Business Opportunities/Services Connectivity Entertainment 2006-12-13T01:22:09Z Nokia Ron