AntoineRJWright.com

Every week, I go through this decision process where I try and figure out how to use the Internet Tablet as my main device. Truthfully, it would not beee so hard if I didn't have such big screens around. But this morning, I thought about it a bit more, and wanted to compose my thoughts as to my ideal setup.

First off, I would have the Internet Tablet as a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) device. Because it has the two SD slots, I would use both for two 32GB memory cards. That would be enough for most of the music I have and other data. I would use a program like noBounds to export the image to my TV screen for when I want to use the Internet Tablet to watch TV (cartoons, movies, and sports - all streamed). And then I would have a slew of networked wireless speakers throughout the house so that I can keep the music in play without having to carry the Internet Tablet around all the time.

Now, what I would carry around would be my mobile phone. It would connect to the Internet Tablet through a secure wireless connection and play like a universal remote control. However, if I were to get a call, I could choose to pump it to the Internet Tablet in a room designed to hold phone conversations for privacy and freedom of movement.

Of course, to do this would require a ton of setup and energy. Though right now, I have just an apartment, and so it would probably work very well. Given the low power requirements of the IT and attached devices, I could move to using some sort of solar charging system where I can store energy as it hits my side of the apartment so that I am not always pulling directly from the grid. What I would also like is the ability to wireless and solar charge my Internet Tablet. That way, I can use it not only in hand and in house, but it could be taken in the car too as a replacement for that; or even on my bicycle as a navigator and media aid for longer rides.

There really is a lot of potential with this platform, and I'm itching to see what can come next. In the meantime though, I sit in front of it typing on a Bluetooth keyboard and listening to last.fm via Canola (streamed over the Internet using my phone as a bluetooth modem). This kind of setup tends to keep me in front of people, but makes its own private space. Very versatile, and very forward thinking wouldn't you say.

Labels: mobility

I wax a good deal of my conversations here about the user experience of mobile devices. It's an important point though. We are at the place where mobile devices are more than just attachments to our lifestyle, but they are elements of it. For that reason, software design has to pick up the pace in terms of getting to the point of solving user's issues in an elegant manner.

My latest editorial at Brighthand points out that despite what you read in the newspaper and in reviews, you don't need more hardware or features, but just software that works according to how it was designed to be used. Here is a snippet:

Read the entire editorial at Brighthand. And think about it like this, would you purchase a car knowing that the wheels needed to be aligned every time you wanted to talk it on a different type of road (highway, dirt, hills, city, etc.); you just want to drive and go. The same should be true for mobile devices, the hardware is here to travel far, but there is far too much that is not "just do."

Labels: Brighthand, mobility

Compared to many people I know, I have not been on the Internet very long. My first experience was with the Netscape browser on a Mac OS 8.something device in my junior year of highschool. Since that time, I've done the Netscape to Internet Exploer to Firefox move; the all in one desktop to a tower to the mini tower to the laptop to the PDA to the smarpthone move; and several other notes of evolving as the Internet too has grown.

However, there is one thing that has not changed much since I got involved with cyberspace; fear and faith drives a lot of what is done and read here.

The Fears

Even when I graduated from college in 2002, there were professors saying that "you cannot trust the Internet unless a person with a Ph.D. wrote it. People spoke about being afraid that the Internet would take over ever aspect of life and that the next world war would be a digial one. Churches shunned the Internet because of that old '666' thought. And don't be a person that wears glasses that knows how to fix these things; a woman was bound to run away from you for fear that she too would become "one of them."

We shouldn't be surprised though. Things that are new rarely evoke feelings of security in the minds of those used to the way things are. Every day that I walk out the the apartment and "take my office with me" I am reminded that innovation is marked by discomfort. Its not a bad thing, and there is a right to be apprehensive towards change, but to outright fear it for misunderstanding - well that is not something that I expect from anyone, let alone an academic.

The Faith

Then there are those "true believers." Every move the Internet has had them. The latest is probably those that are using mobile devices to access the Internet and finding that the world is a lot more accessible than it seems. Sure, outside of the iPhone you rarely hear anyone except those pioneers talking about it, but its true that the mobile web has done a lot to restore the faith that there is still much to discover about the Internet and its interaction in our lives.

Faith without direction though is something to be noted. Faith can drive you to do some amazing things; without direction it leads the fear to grow faster than the faith that preceeded it. Faith is saying "ooh, I can talk to another computer by just typing this." Fear happens when talking to another computer becomes "hey, my idenity is stolen, and its the carrier's fault." Both fear and faith need to be respected, but for such a new paradigm, the faith in the Internet needed to be pushed more than its fears.

The Critique

And this is where I have an issue with this article recently published at Reuters. A professor has rightly acertained that there are more people and more ways to access the Internet than ever before. However, he makes the wrong conclusion on the matter by blaming the devices, specifically mobile devices, where he should be pointing them to do something more than what they are doing. Mobile devices are no more locked down, virus laden/producing, or restrictive than computers ever were. But to say that the innovative spirit that created the personal computing genre is dimished because of them reaks of a person who's paradigm for doing life has just been rocked. He's afraid that the Internet will change before he's gotten used to it. I get that; and I totally understand.

And yet as much as I understand, I stand on the point that mobile devices, the Internet, and innovation will continue to evolve. Just as ever mass media element has done before it. Things will evolve and then something new will happen. There's no reason to be afraid of change, only to have faith that the lessons from past innovations will go into making the world around us something worth interacting more with.

Labels: commentary, mobility

I am considering this post to be in one part an experiment. Blogger has released a new feature called scheduled posting where you can write a post and then schedule it to automatically post on a future date and time. I am starting this a bit before 10am and will just see how it rolls out. This is a feature that I've wanted for sometime, and it brings some value back into Blogger for me as a publishing platform. That being said, I still am looking at moving on to something a bit more mobile...

For the last week I have been doing an experiment on MMM where I am using Nokia's Mobile Web Server as a blogging and communications platform. For MMM, its a nice idea, but something that needs a bit more refinement. For me though, it could be something worthwhile to do considering all the other ways that I connect with people while connected/online.

Basically, I would be archiving all that I do here and going to use the MWS only. There would be a page here that lists the badge to the MWS as well as archives of the Blogger posts, and then the connect page (because it took so long to build and refine that, I am not getting rid of it). For me, it makes me very mobile once again; for you, well, depending on whom you are, there becomes a better way for my website to be a place of personal musings and such.

Unfortunately, this is not something that I can do right now. The mobile device that I have while good for this, lacks some hardware abilities that would make such a move easier. Considering also that I am a nut about connectivity, I would want to make sure that a few other things are settled. That being said, this is something under heavy consideration and I am most likely going that route in a non-experimental mode.

In talking to my friend till 2am last night, we got back on that subject of being the kind of church that is distinctive; I see what I have done with MMM over the last week, and what I will do here as an enabler into that. Whether that leads more people to Christ or not I don't know. But in terms of those things mobile and connecting, I am doing what I am designed to do, tripping all the way to some end that God has planned. I don't know His plan, only that I am in it and subject to it. That makes it fun to try stuff like this, and then respond to the world around me in a manner that speaks like the knowledge of Him that has been written on our hearts.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Given my lack of posting here since the MMM Mobile Experiment started, this would seem to be a very appropriate comic...

Saw this comic when I was looking at his blog speaking about his getting of an Nokia N95 8GB to replace his iPhone. Interesting choice on the switch, but the comic was better in that I seem to be moving into that 3rd frame pretty quickly LOL.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Just a note that I might be taking a leave from blogging here for a bit. I'm an going to be running a week-long experiment with Nokia's Mobile Web Server on my N75 where I will be running Mobile Ministry Magazine completely from my mobile device - literally the phone will play the role of a web server...

That basically means that if you can get there, then you can read what will be going on. Depending on things, I might open it up to folks that visit here and just consolidate things for a bit. Who knows. I'll be on Jaiku from time to time, so between there and everything else noted on the Connect page, you can get some updates if you want to know what's going on with me.

Read the post at Mobile Ministry Magazine for log-in credentials to the MMM Mobile Experiment.

Labels: MMM, mobile, mobility

I can be like my latest editorial at Brighthand and just be connected with mobile software on my Nokia N75, or I can Get Out and Play and really take things to new levels. Nokia's new N-Gage campaign site pays homage to the classic game Snake and pretty much makes me wanna get out and have some fun :)

Related Articles:

Labels: Brighthand, mobility

I cannot speak for pretty much anyone that I know in my immediate vicinity, but I tend to be very much the mobile nomad spoken of in an article at The Economist. Its not that I am a jet-setter and travel the world (yet), but I am a person who thrives on interacting with people. Mobile and web based technologies enable this to happen for me more and more, and frankly, I am enjoying where it is taking me.

But it is not just the fact that I can go around and engage with people that makes the mobile life interesting. I am also having to adjust my sleep/eating patterns a bit more (almost going back to how I was in college, albeit healthier). And then I have that really big aspect of making sure that I shut down and leave tech alone at times to just live. Its a different kind of challenge, and something that I believe that many other people are experiencing/will experience as mobile technology becomes a viable alternative towards the desk-set nature of many jobs.

Another aspect of being mobile that I enjoy is that of creativity. I've had a lot of opportunity to be creative either in coming up with solutions towards something I am working on, or creating a new means to be creative outside of technology. Its like being mobile allows for my creative juices to flow a bit more in the arts, and this is allowing me to reclaim parts of me that have been lost for the better part of the last decade.

Its not all fun though. I am finding that being mobile has a certain set of personal disciplines that are just not present in many other aspects of living. Things such as making sure that I am eating right, bills are being paid on time, and documenting various meetings, are those things that being mobile means that I have to pay a good bit more attention to. If you will, I am not just a worker, but the boss, the HR department, and the secretary. There is a challenge to boundaries that has to be dealt with everyday and convincingly. While I'm hoping for some software to help in some of those areas, much of this is behavior and so I'll live and adjust.

But I think that's why I enjoy this part of life. Its very challenging, and in the kind of way that will make or break who I am for a while longer. I am not just interacting with people offline, I am interfacing and connecting them. With those online there is a lot of knowledge-sharing that is happening; a sharing of community, experiences, and just the fun things of life. Being mobile has opened me to more than that being a possibility, but a livable reality.

When you think about it, its not much different than other times in human history when paradigm shifts happened. It just happens that in this one, I am a part of things and utterly enjoying it.

Related Articles:

Labels: commentary, mobility

This is my latest editorial now published at Brighthand, and some of you can probably attest to being something I probably should have written a long time ago. In this one I speak about the kind of innovation that the normob - normal mobile user - really wants in their device. And the truth of the matter is, the last thing they want is new features in the device. Here's a snippet:

Take a read of the entire article at Brighthand

So what do you say. Wouldn't you rather have something besides a new and shiny device be talked about as new and decent in mobile devices?

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Labels: Brighthand, mobility

This is one of those posts that was sitting in my Google Docs list that I had not had published anywhere, I think.

This calendar year, one of my resolutions was to be mobile more often. This meant I would use my phone and Internet Tablet as my main computers and pretty much go days (weeks) without touching my desktop or a laptop. Looking at the devices out there, the 3G coverage that I sit under, and the Wi-Fi hotspots that I am constantly around, this would seem to be an ideal thing to do. Three months in, I am frustrated as all get out.

Let's start with the Internet experience. I have a 3G mobile phone in the Nokia N75. However, there is a limitation as to how much I can do with it. Between the operating system not seeing a major update in a long time and the blocking of several mobile apps (Gmail Mobile and Opera Mini to name a few) from being downloadable/usable, I am stuck with a device that has menial extra use. And it was sold under the moniker "this is what computers have become."

Or how about the vaunted Internet Tablet. Where it should excel, this device fails a lot. A mobile browser that doesn't handle AJAX well, slows to a crawl when more than 2 pages are open, is built on a flexible core but cannot take advantage of that flexibility because the core is flawed, and finally doesn't even do anything to extend the Internet to an "anywhere, anytime" paradigm.

I say all of this not to bemoan the hardware. Every mobile device sold today has the ability to do everything and more, and do it simply. The problem is the software. Between short-sighted hobby developers, lack of code and user interface standards, and a general lack of discernible direction from major companies, its no wonder the iPhone was a breath of fresh air.

There are two types of software: the software that is developed to be used, and that which is developed just to show off some type of capability. In both cases, some type of vision is yearned for and the developer, marketing, and user meet at a point. Software that is developed to be used is normally boring and feels constrained by developers. Marketers like it though because it brings in the money. And end users like it because it makes some aspect of their lives easier.

However, if one were to take a look at the software landscape of many of the more open platforms out there. Most of it falls in to the latter category. Programs are developed that meet some nirvana for the developer, but have little resource for the marketer or end user. Reason being is that people don't just care for functionality, they care for elegance. And developers aren't designed to know elegance (usually).

As a Palm OS user for a long time, I grew used to just searching for a program and finding several variations of it. Sometimes I'd find a gem like TMP. Often though, I'd find a rock. Developers were rightly concerned with getting something out there and making a few cents; but they ignored the greater gain of developing applications that solve a problem elegantly. The user experience was neglected until three or four versions down the line, but by then the market for their program was so small that it was no reason to continue development.

I'm writing this using the Notes application on the Internet Tablet. I should be in the browser using Google Docs. The browser was so rushed though that going to Google Docs on awi-fi connection is more pain than joy. So I've opted to use something that won't choke when typing, despite the fact that its missing a spell checker and ability to share with my editor easily. Its not the hardware that's the issue. Its the software, and as soon as all parties understand that, then maybe we can really have a mobile web that works.

Related Artcicles:

Labels: applications, mobile, mobility

So far this is turning into one of those mental-working weeks. I've got a lot on the mind, but finally feel refreshed enough to deal with a few things. Looking forward to a few things though as the week continues...

Going to check out a poetry spot in Charlotte tonite. There are two that go on on Tuesday nights, but this one already feels like it has a Love Jones vibe to it. I'll be enjoying this one for sure.

Then there is an event called Fusion Fridays going on at World Worship Center on this Friday night. I need to make a panel for events like these on the side of the page. This one would be really solid. Even got a call today asking me to have two poems ready instead of one. The last time around I did a piece called Shades. Totally off the top of my head and the Spirit of God. But it was very well received and so I've been asked to come back and bless folks again. Looking forward to that.

Ironically enough, the last time I went someplace and I was a featured poet, I met the woman who is now my ex. Hopefully, I can be a bit less ancy this time around.

There was a new Nokia Internet Tablet announced today. Called the N810 Internet Tablet WiMax Edition (mouthful), it not only does WiFi, but also a new technology called WiMax. Folks in Baltimore, DC, and Chicago will get a taste of this via Sprint in a few months. WiMax is like WiFi, except its range is 2-3 miles, instead of a few hundred feet. This device could be a boon for college students as well as ministers who stay on the go and a laptop is too heavy to continue to tote along.

The Carnival of the Mobilits is up at mobilestance.com. I'm not featured in this one, but there's a ton to read. Something that tends to happen from reading the Carnival is that I get some websites to read that I normally wouldn't. This keeps reading and learning fresh for me. And considering that I'm already one of those off the beaten path, this is good.

Lastly, heard thru Jaiku today about a situation that was happening at Ville. Kinda neat to hear about things via Jaiku. Social networks are good for that kind of thing (hence my voicemail message, hehehe). But seriously, applications and services that provide some type of presence notification, in addition to a solid community of folks online and offline can be a really communication bridge in a time of emergencies. I was able to call a few folks to just check in and make sure that they were doing alright. And in the end, all was fine.

After chatting with my friend Amanda last night, I'm encouraged to get back into writing up my study of "Father, forgive them..." that I have still sitting in draft mode. Should be good once I get it done, and definitely short and to the point too.

Something of a day, and its not over yet. Keep me in prayer as I am sure more is to come.

Labels: Carnival of the Mobilists, events, MMM, mobility

I had to choose the same title because really, as one unpublished commenter noted in the last post, I've been a different kinda guy for a long time now. And so while I do wish for some sense of normalcy in many areas, that's just not the case. I think differently, and maybe that's where the following came out of me...

Over at Mobile Ministry Magazine, I've been on a bit of a run all week. Mostly because I'm finding it hard not to speak my passions in blunt and direct ways. This is not to say that I dumb down content there, but I do seek to not speak over the heads of the readers, and give those who never visited before a reason to come back.

It was very refreshing this week to get several posts off my chest. The latest one speaking in more detail of what I'd like to see out of me and MMM: the ability to connect with mobile tech and bring Christ into the lives of people around me to the point of them feeling like they can do the same. Its what I titled "The Mobile Christian Lifestyle" which went up recently. Here is a snippet if you find yourself a bit in the "not wanting to read a long treaste now mode:"

Read the rest of The Mobile Christian Lifestyle at MMM.

Having just written that post before I started this one, I feel a lot better. Not so much because I know what will happen after I hit publish on that post; but because I left it on the floor. My friend told me earlier this week that I give people "me with no masks." I prefer it that way. As to what God can make of a man who is different to himself "without the masks," well, I'll just have to have the faith that He's doing something that I cannot quite see.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Being that my clock is as open as it has ever been to write, I've jumped into doing more with my Nokia devices than I have in the past. Of this, the S60 Ambassador Program has been something that I've joined in as an effort to help people understand a bit more about smartphones, S60 devices, and simply speaking, what is possible with mobile technology.

What this means for you is that I might write here a bit more about conversations and chance encounters. But it will also mean that I'm helping a company better understand the pulse of what is going on in this area of the US with their devices. And if Nokia can make folks happy with their devices and services (such as the woman spoken about here), then I'm sure that speaking about them online and offline will be pretty neat.

For some more insight as to what I am doing with the S60 Ambassaros Program, stay tuned to the following sites and read the noted posts:

Labels: mobility

Over the years, I've moved quite a ways from the person who liked to take things apart and not really know how to put them back together. I've learned and tweaked devices and software to get to these "peaceful" points where it just works. And then moved to new devices and started the process all over again. But lately, I've not had that type of paitence when its come to software. I want things to just work, and when they don't I'd like to understand why and then retool what I can so that simplicity works and complexity is lost.

Unfortunately, this is not something that I notice most developers run towards, and so I wonder if programming is more for fun, or if it is something that should address problems users have.

Many developers that I've met have this one-track mind when it comes to programming. It's first and formost fun. And if in the mist of fun it can do something to make things easier for someone else, and is not a burden to develop, then they will continue with it.

Many programs come from this hobbyst mentality, and our lives are richer for it. Yet, as I scrape the landscape of mobile and web applications, I tend to wonder what the point of all of this is in the long term, if all we are doing is having fun.

I was reading a Brighthand article where I had spoken about moving to the N75 because I wanted a richer mobile experience. For the msot part, I think that I have had that. The addition of 3G has assisted a great deal in just getting things done online. And I am slowly getting used to the T9 aspect of typing for longer than short messages. That being said, I left a very good user interface - that solved the problem of connecting and communicating - for one that is more phone-centric and has considerable UI issues that have made things harder. I have more features yes, but the problem of connecting with people is not necessarly addressed.

For example, I asked a question on Jaiku about why the application screen doesn't list the programs in alphabetical order. While I was given some reasons, no one could really answer why. I wondered then what the reason for an application screen was then, if it was not condicutive to logical searching. Note: one can order the icons however they choose to. This can only happen one icon at a time, and the default and selectable views are those I am speaking of.

Nevertheless, without the fun, a lot of the things we've come to know as problems were not even problem we knew of to begin with. The availablity of new devices has made for a new toy box where we can explore and do things like we have not before. Its only in the mist of playing that we find that there could be issues. So I guess that fun is part of addressing problems to begin with. Without fun, we'd probably not even know problems existed.

Labels: mobility

For the past few weeks, I've been taking a bit of inventory of my online doings, and trying to connect in some places a bit more often than I had in the past. With the redesign that happened some weeks back, one of the goals was to create a connect page (instead of having a long list of sites that I follow and am a part of). I've been extending that list a bit, and the latest one to get to that list might end up being the most versatile infotainment addition yet - Ovi Share.

Ovi Share is a multimedia-themed sharing community website from Nokia. Based around the same ideas as MySpace, LinkedIn, Jaiku, and Flickr; it looks to help people connect via the multimedia and multimedia computers - aka Nokia's N-series mobile phones - that connect us.

Now, mentioning the N-series phones, one might assume that this is something that is just meant for Nokia's phones, and a small group of them at that. This isn't the caseat all. Ovi Share is accessible and highly usable from mobile devices and desktops/laptops alike. Its versatility comes though in that its not limited by the hardware, only by what you upload and share - therefore your imagination is the only boundary.

I've only been on it a few days, and already I see some good and bad with it. But the good so far isn't outweighed at all. Most of that good can be summarized in the word portal. For the most part, Ovi Share is a multimedia and contacts portal. Between viewing profiles, and images/multimedia of various users, you can comment and connect with people.

I dig the location features of Ovi Share. The location features of Ovi Share include the ability to tag your profile with a location (shown on a Google Map snippet); tag images and other multimedia with location information; upload images that already have location information embedded within them. This latter feature is more or less something that you will find on Nokia's latest mobile devices, and some very high end cameras. But it is nonetheless nice and impressive.

One of the really cool notes of Ovi Share is in the use of channels. These are basically public or private subsections of your space on Ovi that you can share information and communicate. To date, I've not had a reason to do a private channel, but I can imagine that if I were to do special product reviews, or have a relationship that I wanted to keep some things private, that this would be pretty neat.

Some of the bad points of Ovi Share have to do with the interface design. While a lot of it is based off of Flickr in terms of use; the general design is more complicated. The use of greytones for action items tends to blend them into the background a bit too much. Though that same use of greytones does make photos stand out all the more. I was kinda shocked that my N75 was not considered a supported phone for the mobile integration aspect, but I could still email photos and so that was just more of a let down than a negative.

If there was anything that I'd like to see improve is the availability to Series 40 Nokia phones and other Series 60 devices for the mobile client. I would love to also see some integration with the Contacts application on Nokia's devices (similar to how Jaiku does) - though that might require some rewriting of that application. I don't mind that the mobile site is mobile friendly, but it too suffers from being a bit too dark and not having that visual pop. That being said, Ovi Share needs just more use than anything else. Maybe I can be one that helps to push its use into the mainstream audience a bit.

Ovi Share is just another one of those ways that one can connect with people aronud the world on common interests and the like. The mobile integration is probably the feature that gets me excited most. Connecting has to come not when I sit in front of a big screen, but anywhere that the data is relevant. With Ovi Share, Nokia seems to be realizing this, and pushing things a bit towards helping people take advantage of it. That's a neat ability they are sharing with us to have, isn't it?

Additional Notes:

Labels: community, mobility

Some nights ago, I was out with one of my bros and we visited a friend and his. There was a household of kids there (which sorta prompted this poem) and just as much a mother who was using online courses to do her Masters while handling 5 kids. Needless to say, I was impressed. But when I pulled out my Internet Tablet to get a bit of Google Reader reading in, the questions started, and I began to see how with something a bit further how Nokia's vision of connecting people could be more plausible.

Starting with what the mother remarked towards, the Internet Tablet is small and capable. Despite its screen-size, it really is usable for all but the most daunting of tasks. In addition to that, the battery life and community-driven nature of its architecture lends to a lot of solutions coming when the device is well past its last-sold-date.

Per the usual when I pull out the N800, I was asked everything from "what is it" to "how do you type." These questions and observations I really like because they give me insight into the mystery that is still mobile computing. Despite the popularity of the iPhone, its still a far-out thought to have a computer in the palm of your hand. And adding things like wi-fi, touchscreens, and solid battery life seem to defy what should be possible.

What I told the mother though, to her disappointment, is that in its current form, the Internet Tablet isn't exactly what she is looking for. Its close though. Very close. And this is where I see a solution like noBounds taking the idea of a tablet, and making it (like the smartphone) a lifestyle device.

The Internet Tablet series, for all intents and purposes, is a full mobile computer that just happens to be driven by Linux (Maemo). Its not Windows, and that will be readily apparent to the person who looks for the "E" in order to get on the Internet. The other thing is that being a Linux device, it is very open to development from a worldwide community of developers (whether they are of a large company or not). noBounds is a product of Nokia's Research Center in Germany and takes this concept of an Internet Tablet, and makes it an accessory that just so happens to be your computer.

Think about it like this: you are that mother taking courses in your home. Instead of sitting with a laptop when the kids are asleep, you wired/wirelessly connect the Internet Tablet to your TV and work with the tablet playing the role of computer and keyboard, and the TV plays monitor. When the kids wake up, you disconnect the TV and then continue to work form the smaller tablet screen right where you are.

This is a lot closer to the idea of computing anywhere than most other solutions, and personally speaking, Nokia is well ahead in this regard because of their seeing the mobile device as a link to one's life, not as a spoke that life is linked to. I'd personally like to play with noBounds some before making final declarations, but in mind of the needs of computing in urban areas, this is one solution that is not just suitable, but also innovative enough to empower and change.

For more information about noBounds see:

Labels: commentary, mobility

Over at Mobile Ministry Magazine, I've published a two part series called MEX Manifesto Through Christian Lenses. The MEX Manifesto is a statement of mobile practice and implementation beliefs held by some members of the mobile user experience (MEX) community and used by many who develop, market, and analyze mobile device users. In this series, I consider the uptake in using mobile technology and the resulting effectiveness when we use and design contnet for it around the user, instead of around the content.

This series will be of particular interest to those in multimedia fields looking for some direction as to addressing user experience in faith-based communities.

Here is a snippet:

Read parts One and Two of the MEX Manifesto Through Christian Lenses at Mobile Ministry Magazine.

Labels: commentary, community, MMM, mobility

In my latest article at Brighthand, I speak about making devices simply as a means for smaller companies to gain more notoriety and effectiveness in the marketplace. Here is a snippet:

Read the entire editorial at Brighthand.

Labels: Brighthand, mobility

In light of yesterday's questions, I am taking a look at myself and just how I spend all the time in my days. Monday had me as tired as I have been in a very long time. Mostly because I did a number of things early Saturday that I didn't take the time to recover from. In light of that, there are two areas in which I am examining myself: mobility and faith.

When it comes to mobility, I am pretty much just a bit ahead of things in some areas, and not far enough ahead in others. I am not a programmer (by the strictest of definitions) but I can see the flow and goals of programs after interacting with them after a short time. I understand what users want, and the fun that developers need when it comes to various applications. And I am not slack in expecting from myself to understand and sensibly apply what I know to my life and help those around me.

Suffice to say, I am ok, but never content there. Which is ok. Because if I judge my heart in mobile versus something I read in my college's alumni magazine, I am 6-8 years ahead of where most want to be anyways :P

Then there is that side of me that is infrequent in reading and prayer, but quick to encourage. I am quick to hear the Word, but I have a very low tolerance for blatant ignorance of the foundations of our faith being taught and received. Even as I sat on the phone with my bro discussion "Father forgive them..." there was this excitement that I had in just digging into Jesus' heart, and the sensibility of how His life played out. I understand that, even if it means that I get peeved when others don;t see what I see. I thank God though that He's been patient with me. I'm in a very hard place right now, and the be all end all of things is to trust Him. I write all day, trusting Him for my day to day needs, and attending to those things He's placed in front of me.

Living mobile is hard. Things just are not where I see them. Living by faith is hard. Things just are not where I'd wish they be. In both cases I am being examined to walk in faith and trust that God knows what He is doing. I have no clue what the conclusion of this will be, but I know that this is the test that I have to walk out.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Two questions have hit me this afternoon that have me thinking. One came from my bro who called me with it, the other was jsut something that I've been thinking a lot about since I've (in effect) changed my web-focus in the past weeks.

Something to think about this week as change, in more ways than one, is upon us all.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Labels: mobility

A snippet from a recent post of mine at Palm Addict:

Read the rest of this post at Palm Addict.

Labels: commentary, community, mobility

Labels: mobility

Some months ago, Cynthia Ware and I were asked if a few articles that we'd written could appear in a special edition convention magazine for the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). After passing a few last minute emails, the post The Church in the 7th Dimension made it into this special edition.

I was quite excited Tuesday to receive in the mail the issue where the article appears (p.34). Personally speaking, its an exciting moment for MMM as it validates what web've been speaking about from the beginning - that the Body has to understand the use and impact of mobile technology, not only for the benefit of evangelism, but because our lifestyles are more and more crossing that intersection.

Here's hoping to more opportunites for writing in other publications, as well as, getting some teaching opportunities in now that my calendar has freed up considerably.

Labels: MMM, mobility

The 112th Carnival of the Mobilisits is up at Taptology. Check it out. And if you are interested in a solid option for doing web searches over your mobile device, they provide a solid and very neat service as well.

I urge you to at least take a look at the beginning of their post as it highlights some unethical practices going on. As I spoke before, security is very important and something that we should all take into consideration more and more as mobility and personal tech become more the lifestyle than the option.

Labels: Carnival of the Mobilists, mobility

This is a derivation of the previous post "Going from Reading to ReadWriting by Improving the Internet Tablet", though tuned for the Tablet UI audience. Reading both might bring more clarity towards the idea in its enterity. But I wanted to keep this centered for this audience as much as possible. Here's a snippet of this piece:

Read the entire article at the Tablet UI blog.

Labels: applications, community, mobility

Intomobile posted about a really neat application of mobile and nanotechnology. Here is the movie:

The thing I liked best about this is that it is showcasing the use of a UI that integrates with what the user needs, rather than imposing another ideal on top of that.

At the same time, one sees how the future of those things mobile can and should be integrated into our daily lives. The tech should follow along with what our minds already do, instead of doing something totally different to give a piece of the expereince.

Labels: community, mobility

Friends and family always want to know what is a good smartphone and a good value. Well, to those on Sprint and Cingular, the Palm Centro is about as good as it gets, and not in the cheapy way either. For $99 you get a device that is plenty solud and has a lot going for it. The Palm Centro has just been released on AT&T and its a solid buy. At Brighthand, I give my first impressions of this price-accessible smartphone offering.

Read the entire first impressions article at Brighthand.

Labels: mobility

Labels: mobility

I just got finished watching the mobile Meet the Robinsons. Its a Disney flick, but like most, I tend to enjoy those. It wasn't as good as some of their movies in terms of impact on the industry or anything. But it did have this eerily impressing message: “keep moving forward.”

Its a really interesting start to my week to have such a thing come across my eyes. Considering the redesign of this site, and the repurposing of several areas of my life in the past half a year; its just interesting that I would receive such a message now to just keep moving forward. Not to say that it is not warranted. I'm just finding it a bit on the interesting side that it would be the thing that I am hearing most at the moment.

I have in another tab open right now a page about the newly announced Nokia N78 model. For as much as I have been getting it on with my Nokia N75, to see a device that is really a "moving forward device" from that standpoint is kinda interesting. Its not one that I want, but the advances that it brings to mainstream customers is quite nice.

Of course, what I want is a bit more flashy, and really does push things forward considerably. But hey, I cannot get all the way forward all at once (lest Nokia wants to gift a bro).

What really shakes me up is that I've been in this constant state of moving forward, and at no time has it not been scary, or just outright weird. God's been leading me, and He's given me a lot of room to make choices when I get to forks; but the thing is that I have continued to move forward. I know what it is that I want to see, but those things He's led me into are definitely further along than things I dream about.

I guess that's part of what it means to be a visionary, and to move forward. I watched a side show on the Robinson's DVD that talked about how inventors were primed to do something because they kept moving forward. And if it was not for their strange way of thinking, and that insistence on realizing a dream, that things just wouldn't change. Looking at my life, and how God's created me in His image, I'm primed for something. But to get there, I have to hold fast to Him, and keep moving forward.

Labels: commentary, mobility

Labels: mobility

Labels: community, mobility

Labels: mobility

Software isn't yet mature enough, and teaching methods aren't yet moved past 18th century methodologies; this is how I feel when I gather up my tech to go to a study, service, or even work. As much as I know the ability is there, I just cannot seem to connect the dots simply - how I want to use mobile tech; connect with people; and grow in the understanding and applying Word.

I wonder why that is the case. From the start of the Christian faith, it seems that being both mobile and social were the aims of things. Go (somewhere) and Interact (teach and learn from someone). And yet when I sit either in Bible study, or even in my personal times, I feel like I have to make a choice between being mobile or social, and that integration between the two is not to be.

Note: I am one of those weird young folks who has a good bit of cohesion between those things analog and digital. My views on how tech integrates into life is a good bit different from even people around me, and at the same time is indicative of a movement that is happening in several areas of humanity now. This is the perspective that I have when I speak of choosing mobile or social, and I totally understand that it might be out of the range of use/thought for some.

Putting software and hardware aside for a bit, a big issue that I have is with the social side of things. There just are not a lot of extroverted, gung-ho folks in the Body. And that's a good thing, everyone's character has its place. It gets to me that more people are not as outgoing though. One would think that the one area we'd be in some way gung-ho is getting around one another. Social being that idea that we connect, then drive home to each other's hearts the sincerity that is this walk we have.

Personally, email has made being social possible with many people. I thrive on my job, in writing, and in friendships because of the connections that have been made. I don't seem to hear type of empowerment coming from pastor-teachers. I only see rhetorical dealings (which there's a time for), but never an exhortation to stretch past what's familiar, to what makes you social by being mobile.

I'm writing this before I go to Bible study. I'll be using my Internet Tablet. The Notes feature doesn't work along with the Bible reader. So I'll probably try and blog another set of notes, and kind of see where I can go from there. Something that was a mix of Logos'Personal Book Builder and WordPly would be pretty neat though - especially if I could email it to those in my increasingly growing circle of friends.

But even more, there's no outline from the teacher with links to extra resources that correspond to the upcoming/past lesson. There's no online calendar that shows the outline of the study. There's not even a mash-up map of points of interest in the Middle East that correspond towards our study.

I'm mobile in presence, and social to a point, but the two don't meet. I really wish they would though. It would change things when the presentation and content can push us into that Go Interact mode that it seems was the point of being adopted all along.

Labels: commentary, community, mobility

Labels: mobility