PDA Abstraction …
Microsoft has got to love seeing this type of development going on. If and when this releases, I can run all of my Palm OS applications on my PocketPC … or better … on my wearable PC!
It is projects like this that demonstrate that the products that are developed around “scarcity” theory are doomed to fail. Powerful wearable systems are just around the corner …
PalmOS Emulation On PocketPC [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]
Very cool “sniffer” application …
I couldn’t help but read through this application description. Very innovative … I really like it. This application not only “sniffs” IP traffic off any Internet connection, it looks for images being transferred over HTTP connections, and grabs the images … displaying them for your viewing pleasure! (Or displeasure!)
What I really like is that this demonstrates how insecure your connections can be … it looks for specific data types and snatches them … and could be a very usefull tool for administrators. This again shows how VPNs and SOCKS proxies can really provide you more security … if implemented correctly.
Driftnet 0.1.1 (Default). Picks out and displays images from network traffic. [freshmeat.net]
Open Source and Location Based Services …
Although this project does not directly move to location based services, it demonstrates the types of projects that are being developed in the Open Source community.
It is my opinion that as mobile hardware become more powerful, and wireless and GPS are an integral set of peripherals, we are going to see some incredible applications which relate directly to this project. The concepts of “location marks” or “location servers” … along with “route servers” … are going to be the basis for the creation of powerful augmented reality solutions. My ability to store locations, routes, and other information which can accessed by others, will create incredible amounts of data which will augment our everyday experience through goggles and other visual and audible enhancements.
The beginning is here …
GPSMan 5.4 (Default). A graphical manager of Garmin GPS data. [freshmeat.net]
Open Source finding out about directories …
This is a very interesting project since it begins to explore the uses of directories for valuable end-user solutions. I like the demo, and it begins to explore the storage of users, multiple address books, etc. Cool stuff.
Directories, IMHO, are fundamental to the digital identity of the future. They can provide the facilities to create powerful identity storage … and this application starts to deal with some of these ideas and implications.
Rolodap 0.94 (Default). Multiuser contacts managment system based on LDAP and PHP. [freshmeat.net]
More attention to the “collaborative networks” …
Free networks hark back to anarchy, cooperation: my article on the groups and individuals building free wireless networks because it’s there, because they can.
Wireless networks of the future …
This is yet another article which outlines some great points about the future of “parasitic” wireless networks. I think of these more as “collaborative network infrastructures”. There are some huge benefits to this architecture in such a build out as the participants of the network defray the infrastructure costs, and also determine the standards and features of the network. This is the root of my 80211.net project … which is currently looking for funding. 😉
Wireless Freenets [Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters]
Almost a cool idea … digital picture frames …
These guys are on the right track, and I can only see this market growing and becoming more distributed. They have a picture frame with a LCD panel, which can download digital photos to display in a “slide show” format. It’s a great idea.
The area that I can see this changing is again when there are “standards based” picture frames that download via HTTP from any web site. Then I can set this up and run it without having to subscribe to a service … and I’m ensured that the product will last a life time!
A whole new world of location based services …
The advances that we are creating in computing devices, and in wireless connectivity, are setting the course on where the human race will be in the not-to-distant future. We are slowly evolving into a multitude of ever-connected people, continuously interacting throughout the day with the communities that we are members of.
I believe that some of the biggest enhancements to the human experience are going to appear as a result of the combination of location based services, and augmented reality. It is when we merge these two that we will start to see some incredible enhancements to how we relate to each other, and the world around us.
Image the day that you leave your house, wearing your computer and it’s augmented-reality goggles, and begin to experience the sensory enhancements that it can create. The computer will constantly be determining your location, and augmenting your senses with new forms of “awareness.” You will hear audible notifications of issues related to you – both near and far. A friend has come on-line … another friend is less than a mile away from you. You will also be able to see “virtual” signs and art in your goggles which “overlay” the world around you. These will be signs left by friends, and other people in the communities that you interact with. We have not even begun to see what is coming …
Location Services Coming Slowly. But study says they’ll generate big profits [allNetDevices Wireless News]
The SyncML.org group is slowly making some progress …
I just downloaded the SyncML developer kit to take a look and see what they have created. I am a huge advocate of synchronization solutions, since they appear to be a mirror of biological evolution. I am still waiting for the ultimate sync solution so that my addressbook, cell phone, and Palm all contained the same data … but it’s not here yet …
SyncML 20010306 (Default). The official Synchronization Markup Language toolkit. [freshmeat.net]
The new user interfaces …
As the Palm and WinCE PDAs have gained popularity, so have the new user interfaces – or more specifically the new data entry techniques. Users of these devices now use “virtual pens” to “write” on the screens of their PDAs, and there are several different solutions evolving. There is the Palm Graffiti solution and the WinCE solution, like that in the Compaq iPaq.
In my observations and research I believe that these “stroke” or “gesture” based solutions are going to evolve and grow in popularity. I am working on such a solution now for my wearable computer business. This library of code is one that provides these types of features to Linux and some specific applications.
LibStroke 0.5 (Default). Stroke and gesture recognition library [freshmeat.net]