Biometric systems - welcome to the future!

Biometric systems will become pervasive in the next 5 to 10 years I guessed, then I came across an interesting article by BBC News.

Worth checking if you don't know what those systems are, there's a very cool Guide to Biometric Technology on it. Let's see how that all will interplay with mobile devices, I can imagine some use cases and I must admit that I have expectations considering that...

Train firm to issue phone tickets

Yes, this is all about NFC - Near Field Communication.

The Helsinki, Finland scheme in this article is very interesting as now we Java ME developers have JSR-257 Final Release. So it's time to start looking at it, I can see a lot of killer solutions steeming from NFC. Great ;)

More on that soon.

Heavy mobile use 'damages sperm'

Gee!

Heavy mobile use 'damages sperm'

I have just a little daughter but I do plan to have more kids, so I think I need to discard all my 5 mobiles as of today...or maybe I can use a cool shielding solution, let's see...I will find a good solution, maybe I can use a SAR shield under my pants, is it going to work out?

And I thought it was all about brain damage...but the problem seems to be more complicated (deeper) than I had anticipated, ha, ha, ha :)

FireFox 2 is out!

FireFox is so amazing that even my wife is now using it, and she's not a techie! I cannot imagine working without FireFox as it helps me perform a lot of tasks: find a lot of resources I use during my daily activities as a software developer, use it for debugging web pages, RSS and a lot of other cool features I cannot mention in a single blog post, a real tool and not just another web browser.

So, if you're not using it yet, read the articles below and give it a try ;)

Firefox browser for web 2.0 age

What's New in Firefox 2

The Game On exhibition at the Science Museum in London

That exhibition is simply amazing, it makes me feel as playing my old Odyssey console back in the 80's, when I started getting interested in electronics and then computing. Then I bought an Atari 2600, a Sinclair Spectrum afterwards and started programming some simple games using BASIC and only 48KB of memory. Good times :)

Unfortunately I live in Brazil and I cannot afford to go there just to visit Game On, just nostalgia then...

From BBC's In Pictures section:

"The Game On exhibition at the Science Museum in London brings together more than 120 different videogames, spanning the entire history of gaming – from the first videogame, SpaceWar in 1962, to the Xbox 360.

"This is about the history and culture and development of computer gaming," said the exhibition's co-ordinator Gaetan Lee.

Visitors can play on classic arcade games such as Space Invaders, Donkey Kong and Centipede and chart the growth of games over the last 40 years."

Check it out:

In pictures: Game On at the Science Museum

Mobile Game Development - what's next?

An interesting article by Vishnu Sankar published at NewLC.com discusses innovations in Mobile Game Development. While it's superficial and doesn't get to the details of each trend, it's worth reading, so enjoy :)

Mobile Game Development In Future

Book Review - PRO Java ME MMAPI by Vikram Goyal

Well, as I had promised, here it goes.



Pro Java ME MMAPI: Mobile Media API for Java Micro Edition has amazed me. The book is unique as it covers and desmytifies one of the most fragmented and confuse Optional Packages for JME. I've read more than a dozen books about JME but this is the first book that has really cleared some doubts I had regarding Mobile Media in JME.

I strongly recommend this book if you are developing Multimedia Applications using JME.

Vikram Goyal has done an outstanding job by clarifying and detailing every aspect of MMAPI, discussing the way it has been specified, emphasizing the differences that may occur from one implementation to another and also providing clear, detailed and error free examples that illustrate the aspects being discussed. Also, the text is very well written and I've found only 3 typos. Very impressive! Apress is also doing a wonderful job.

Chapter 1 introduces MMAPI and presents its features and requirements as defined by the JCP - Java Community Process, compares MMAPI and the MIDP 2.0 Media subset, where it fits regarding the JME Software stack and at last it lists the manufactures and market players supporting MMAPI. Nice introduction!

Chapter 2 explains the MMAPI Architecture, the main high-level interfaces, delivers an introduction to the supported protocols and content types, presents the relevant feature sets and the security issues one must take into consideration. It also details the MIDP 2.0 Media subset so that one can understand what's left out on devices implementing it.

Chapter 3 introduces the reader to MMAPI hands-on programming by explaining two simple MIDlets. It also builds the foundation regarding the overall development process and environment.

Chapter 4 is unique, it details the Media Player lifecycle, its possible states and transitions. It explains each state very thoroughly as well as Player events and how to work with them, even the limitations and issues regarding custom events. I've never read a book covering MMAPI with such a detailed explanation.

Chapter 5 covers all the issues regarding the access of media over networks. It starts with a very clear explanation of Threads in JME as well as the security permissions for media acess over networks. Then it puts it all together in a very clear and easy to follow example.

Chapters 6 and 7 are the best ones in my opinion. Those two chapters do pay the book, definitely.Vikram has been brilliant and desmystified Synthetic Tones and the MIDI protocol. He has remembered me of my of childhood, when I've had musical theory classes as it explains everything music and shows you how that all fits into programming with MMAPI. Those chapters are so complete that they have a lot of tips on how to convert from RTTTL to MMAPI format, the MIDI specification and message format and how to work with MIDI in MMAPI, how to create JTS files and other niceties. Thanks Vikram :)

Chapter 8 explains how to work with Audio and Video, playback, capturing, storing, controlling, mixing, it's everything there. It also describes the details of Media Encodings and Sampled Audio as well as the GUI options for dealing with Video.

Chapter 9 has a very cool Device Blogging application that builds upon all the subjects presented so far and also gives a good example of MVC pattern in JME.

Well, the only criticism I have is regarding the section about Streaming Media and also the Appendix about the JSR 234 - Advanced Multimedia Supplements. Considering that Vikram has proved he's really a subject matter expert He could have provided better sections about them. In fact, He has already written an article about Streaming in JME and it's available on his web site (see below - so I forgive him) but AMMS is still to be covered. What about on the second edition of his book? Let's wait and see!

Experiments in Streaming Content in Java ME

A must have book, 5 stars, absolutely!

Wibree unveiled by Nokia Research Center

Nokia unveiled a new technology (and protocol) that's really impressive, Wibree, a short-range, wireless technology that is more energy-efficient than Bluetooth as per Nokia announcement.

It's being conducted by Nokia Research Center. The most interesting issue is that Nokia is partnering with some other companies and is planning to set Wibree as a standard.

Watches, health monitors, sport sensors and other "really constrained devices" are among the target devices for this new protocol. I bet it will be a success in the coming years mainly because it extends the reach of mobile solutions to a lot of other types of devices.

Check the links below for more details about Wibree.

Wibree

BBC Article - Wibree

NewLC Article - Wibree

Nokia Research Center

Java is Everywhere Video

Amazing Video! Can you notice it? Sun's Java technology is connecting everyone to everything - from the datacenter to the edge. Are you ready for what's next?

Java is Everywhere Video by Sun Microsystems

Mobile Phone Contactless Payments Gaining Traction

This article is a prove of what I am talking about for some time now, NFC is a very interesting technology.

Ok, I am an enthusiast of IMP (JSR-195), IMP-NG (JSR-228) and also NFC but it's good to see that the market for NFC is now evolving and getting out of its infancy.

Let's see what will happen in the coming years then.

Mobile Phone Contactless Payments Gaining Traction

In Java ME, we have the JSR 257: Contactless Communication API that's almost reaching the Final Release version, so keep you eyes opened!

Juarez Barbosa - Forum Nokia Champion!

Wohoooo! Now I am a Forum Nokia Champion!

After months of active participation in Forum Nokia Discussion Boards I have been selected as a member of that select group. I am very glad of being selected as one of the top developers worldwide. Just 100 developers nowadays in a community of more than two (2) million developers, and I am one of them ;)

Here's the Forum Nokia Champion Program announcement - Nokia announces creation of Forum Nokia Champion reward program in recognition of outstanding individual mobile applications developers.

Actually, back in March I had already been selected as the first ever Forum Nokia Poster Of the Month for my active and outstanding participation in the Discussion Boards ;)

I received two S60 3rd Edition devices (a.k.a Multimedia Computers) as awards for those nominations - one Nokia N93 and one Nokia 3250. Great!

I don't have words to express my gladness :) Forum Nokia is amazing, I have the chance to be in touch with brilliant people and it adds a lot to my career and knowledge.

In fact, I joined Forum Nokia to learn from more experienced people but it turned to be a very good experience to me mainly because I can also help less experienced buddies, great!

If you don't know Forum Nokia and the Forum Nokia Champion Program and is interested in learning more about them take a look at the links below.

Forum Nokia

Forum Nokia Champion

And of course, now Juarez Barbosa Jnr is there - Who is a Forum Nokia Champion?

Ha, ha. My family is proud of me :)

Sharing my knowledge and perception of technologies

Hello there,

This is Juarez Alvares Barbosa Junior and I am from Brazil.

As of today I will be blogging about the several fantastic technologies and tools I use in my job and career as a software developer.


I will start by reviewing a great book called PRO Java MMAPI by Vikram Goyal, which discusses the Java ME MMAPI - JSR-135 - Mobile Media API.



I am just finishing the overall evaluation and review for it and I will post it here soon, so stay tuned! :)

Juarez Junior