Bill Ray

Everyone is looking for our trust at the moment. Schemes for digitally signing applications seem to be popping up like gophers across the mobile landscape, each of them confident that we'll place our trust in their authority. Microsoft, of course, has been trying to convince us to only trust applications and drivers signed by them on our desktops. Now Symbian will be signing applications for our phones while Nokia has launched their own scheme (called "Nokia OK") to demonstrate that the application meets with their approval. While the lack of granular security in Symbian (once an application is running it can do anything) might make certification useful, Sun reckons that network operators would like to see their approval on Java applications (which generally don't have the same security issues), while the networks themselves are already preparing their own offering... (more)

Whole House Audio from the Palm of Your Hand

In this business we often talk about how easy it is to get computers to talk to each other; computers without networks are almost inconceivable. Despite being standardized as little as five years ago, we now expect them all to play nicely together. Even in the home, a CAT-5 connection isn't too remarkable, but mobile devices still spend most of their time in lonely isolation. Of course, many technologies exist for connecting handheld devices to networks and other devices, but costs and limitations often cause people to question if it's really necessary: Why should a handheld be t... (more)

Whole House Audio from the Palm of Your Hand - Part 2 of 3

In Part 1 of this series (JDJ, Vol. 7, issue 6), I showed how I developed an MP3 player in Java, and then added the ability to control that player from a wireless handheld device using a PersonalJava application. While I could only stop, pause, adjust the volume, and select the next track to be played, I still found the application useful, but not yet perfect... The first problem to be addressed was the combinations you can get when listening to your entire music collection at random. When a nice relaxing Enya track fades out and you find yourself launching into the world of Emin... (more)

21st Century Wireless Tools: Working in a Networked World…

Companies are always risking their business, betting on what will be happening next year, and how they can make money out of it. The trick is to get it right. We all know that we work in a fast-moving industry. Even before wireless communications raced ahead, the IT field was already moving too quickly for most industry commentators - fast enough in fact to make a fool of anyone rash enough to try to predict future developments. From the famous IBM statement that the total world market for computers amounted to no more than 20 units, to Bill Gates saying that no one could ever... (more)

Wireless Incompatibility

I'm looking at my huge field of corn, millions of ears ready for harvest, every one genetically engineered to be identical. From the root structure to the tips, every stalk's the same, and offers the maximum yield made possible by modern science. But enhancing production is only part of what the breaking of the genetic code can offer me. Should the need arise, I can release specially modified viruses into my field, allowing each infection to make minute alterations to the DNA of the crop, updating my harvest. In this way I can provide protection against unforeseen pathogens, and ... (more)