* Posts by Chris

4 publicly visible posts • joined 24 Jul 2007

S60 knows where you're at

Chris

Nothing new here

Optus in Australia launched its MyZooNow 3G interface with a similar feature set just over three years ago (using Bullant - now xumii technology). MyZooNow had a 'modes' feature that allowed users to set many application preferences. Mode changes were triggered in response to a location change or more simple date/time rules. Typically, a 'home' and 'work' mode was defined - the idea being that at home you have the footie and at work the footsie.

The base Bullant platform could also trigger ad displays as well as launch applications as a result of a location change. I also recall that Psiloc had a similar S60 product in the market 3 years ago. Indeed, my current company sells a rules based engine for S60 where complex rules can be created to do the same thing.

Nothing new here from what I can see.

How Microsoft blew its own RIA invention

Chris

Remember HalfBrain.com?

My recollection is that it was HalfBrain.com who first really demonstrated the potential of AJAX. Their BrainMatter spreadsheet was in beta in 2000, they followed this up with a presentation package.

HalfBrain was stunning - the apps were indistinguishable from Google or Zoho today. HalfBrain merged with AlphaBlox - an IBM business I think - and has not been heard of since.

However, any users of Yahoo Mail can trace some direct lineage - two ex HalfBrain staff founded OddPost who had the first (to my knowledge) true AJAX based email client. Yahoo bought OddPost and so the legacy lives on.

One final note. People always overlook the fact that Netscape had the x-multipart-replace MIME type in version 1.1. This allowed primitive AJAX style apps - for a while there were a bunch of chat/webcam clients built using this.

AJAX patent threat to giants under the hammer

Chris
Stop

Netscape 1.1 multipart/replace was AJAX style

Some of us recall that Netscape 1.1 introduced the multipart/replace MIME type. There were a whole range of 'push' applications built on top of this feature including slideshows, IRC clients, etc.

This feature provided true (and efficient) asynchronous applications that were delivered out of band via a long lived socket connection to the server.

Netscape 1.1 was released in 1995.

Culture matters: Why i-mode failed

Chris

iMode & Messaging

I have the beautiful vintage 1999 DoCoMo P209i iMode handset in front of me as I type this to remind me of how good iMode was nearly a decade ago. Looking at the terminal reminds me that one thing that always seems to get omitted in iMode debates in the West - the 209 has mail button but not an iMode button.

The PDC network (the packet network that pre-dated FOMA) had nothing like SMS. It did have in its favour very low start-up times and very low latencies. The brilliance of iMode was to introduce messaging and browsing together.

NTT DoCoMo control handset terminal software specifications and mandated a common, workable standard for a simple markup language (cHTML), a browser and a mail client coupled with a great business model where content providers were paid through a revenue share model - the best possible inducement to create great content.

So, in 2000 you have small screen terminals with this fab new email feature that can access a fast packet data network and real web browsing. And the punters loved it.

Any debate about iMode in the West should consider the crucial draw to iMode that texting provided. The West had messaging via SMS - in adopting iMode adopted the content model only – the major draw to iMode was Messaging and this already existed in the West.

I swear by the way that my Nokia N70 on a 3G network is still slower in connecting to the network than my Sony 504i was 6 years ago.