Sometimes it is just amazing to hear the things that come out of the mouths of Microsoft marketers. It seems that the spotlight on the new iPhone is making Microsoft cranky. Since Microsoft Windows Mobile is already on so many phones (no mention of how hard these phones and their special features are for people to use), Microsoft does not see any need to try to create their own phone.

For just one minute, let’s try to forget all about Microsoft’s effort in the MP3 market with Zune and how that has turned out.

So officially, Microsoft is not creating a phone because they are focused on making quality proprietary software since the money in mobile is in software. Meanwhile, Nokia has just paid a fortune to open source Symbian - because the money in mobile is in software. And Google is creating their own open source mobile OS called Android - because the money in mobile is in software. And J2ME is already open sourced by Sun ages ago - because the money in mobile is in software. And Apple has just broken its usual rules by providing a free SDK for the iPhone - because the money in mobile is in software.

OK. Whatever.

Does anyone get the feeling that Microsoft is a little confused? The best line from the entire story which really shows how confused Microsoft seems to be is the quote from Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business senior vice president Andrew Lees:

We want to give our customers choice.

Microsoft….giving the customer choices….

OK. Whatever.

I think what he really means is that Microsoft has no choice but to let the customer chose.

Sprint has just announced a revival of their Java-based mobile app development program. Sounds great until you get the the juicy parts of potential applications such as GPS capabilities that would be used in Geogad applications. You might think that Sprint would be glad to get new applications developed for their network. You would be wrong. To get access to the APIs and other code for advanced functions, such as GPS, multi-media and messaging, you have to join Sprint’s Professional Developer Program……for $5000…..per year. Yeah, right.  

Sprint is the number 3 carrier in the US. (And if the company does not get its act together and stop hemorrhaging customers, they will not even be that.) Charging developers for the privilege of making apps for a company’s network is the norm. But it is a crazy way to do business if you are really interested in innovation and development of the mobile web.

It is understandable why there is so much interest in the Google Phone and its new operating system. If it can solve this headache and allow developers a one-stop shop for free or low cost mobile app development, it could release a vast amount of pent up programmer energies and ideas.

On a related note, Clearwire and Sprint have announced the formation of a new Clearwire that will create a national WiMax system.  Over $3 billion is being invested in the new company by a series of partners including a $500 million investment by Google. Let’s hope that part of the agreement includes allowing Google Phones and giving developers more access to the network.

OK, now I don’t want to come off as very negative here.  But I have got to say that I am surprised at how slow the Adobe Flash site works.  It seems to take a very long time to pull info from the Actionscript online Dictionary.  I can only assume that they are using Flash to display this info and that may be why it takes so long. 

Thinking about my time with the Adobe site makes me compare it to Sun’s Java site.  Maybe it is because Java is a more structured language while Actionscript is a script, but I have a much easier time tracking down info on the Java site.  Of course, learning Java is much more difficult than Actionscript.  I have to admit that I find Actionscript’s fast and loose variable definition a bit hard to keep track of.  I like the strong typing in Java.  But I got up to speed on basic Actionscript in a few days.  Java takes longer than that to learn.

My greatest help for learning Flash and Actionscript is not from Adobe but from Flash gurus who have posted examples and tutorials on their sites.  Without these sites, I would be weeks away from completing my Flash projects.  A few that have proven helpful for me are

 http://www.kirupa.com/

http://www.cbtcafe.com

http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com

 Thanks for all the help.

Technorati tags: Flash, Actionscript, Java, Adobe, flash tutorials

Let me start out by saying how wonderful it is to find and use all of this opensource software written in PHP. To all of the developers who have worked on this in your spare time, I say a very sincere “Thank you.”

Now, to the one point about open source PHP software that drives me crazy, and I am not sure why it is this way or how to fix it. I have downloaded and worked with three different PHP open source software packages so far. All three of these packages send password data using unsecured HTTP connections. I am sure that PHP can use secured HTTPS connection from what I read on the web. But for reasons that I don’t get, these secured connections are not used.

Coming from a Java background, this security hole blows my mind. I can easily see how I might want to check my software as I am traveling. When I travel, I tend to use wireless connections in public libraries or coffee shops. I was burned once when I checked my email while traveling this way. Someone in a coffee shop was packet sniffing and got my password when I logged in. My only defense in this situation was that my previous ISP has not set the email login using SSL, and I had never noticed before. I had just made the assumption that an IPS would set secured pages, like login pages, to use HTTPS by default. After that, I switch ISPs to one that has a better grasp on security.

But what to do about these PHP open source packages? I was comparing how to set up socket connections in PHP and in Java. Java takes care of most of the underlying connection code making it easy and very seamless to the programmer. PHP seems to be not as advanced in this area. With PHP the programmer has to know much of the details of his system.

I will keep working on securing my site. But I am still at a loss to understand why this is not done automatically with these open source programs.

open+source php java software ssl security programming