Handheld browsing is rapidly catching up to the desktop with forecasts predicting mobile browsing set to become the most common method of internet access by 2103.

Businesses will need to re-format their on-line content if they wish to present themselves coherently across the mobile landscape, perceptually quite a task however inspired start-ups like Mobile-iSites™ are easing the pain by providing a smooth, stylish and cost effective solution.

The mistake when creating websites for hand-held devices is to try and mimic the desktop. Existing websites were created for navigation via large desktop PC screens using a keyboard and a mouse, mobile devices don’t have a keyboard, they don’t have a mouse and they don’t have a large screen, nor do their owners use the devices in the same way.

Mobile-iSites™ provide a bespoke hand-held website design solution which re-visits a customers existing on-line presence to provide not only a freshly presented compact website but one which offers seamless integration with built in services of the device. Your company eMail, contact telephone number and GEO mapped location are all pre-coded to provide direct communication access and guided directions from the customers present location via road, train or W.H.Y, very cool.

Their prices are most competitive too and at £249 for a base Mobile-iSite™ a business can future proof themselves AND double their on-line audience for less than a plumber charges for half a days labour, seriously, it’s a no brainer, they’ll even install it for you.

http://mobile-isites.com

Compared to other NBR’s Moblin presents us with a completely different UI experience. NB OS’s like EasyPeasy and even Ubuntu’s own NBR just operate like a condensed over sized start menu to me, a feel further reinforced by certain upsized menu icons which having lost their integrity appear pixelated, a small detail perhaps but still something which spoils UI continuity. Moblin is also quick, very quick, I installed it on my Dell Mini 9 and in all honesty it’s the fastest operating system I’ve ever used – on any computer, some boast for a lowly 1.6ghz Atom based unit with 1GB RAM.

As you can see from the presentation video Moblin doesn’t function the way a desktop OS does, and why should it, that’s not the aim. I’m not what you’d call a regular Netbook user as rather than it supplementing a nice latte and an afternoon cake I have mine fired up indoors 24/7 for Ubuntu server development & LAN web caching, and although SSH is my preferred method of access I do realise there’s no need for an all singing all dancing desktop when you’re out and about, you just need to be able to check a few emails, view a website or two and keep on top of Twitter (OK, and maybe tweak a few docs). Size and weight are obviously a consideration and yes, although the majority of Netbook keyboards would still tax the nimble fingers of your average woodland sprite they’re still quicker to type on than the single character entry of an iPhone, which can be a chore even for Tweeting.

I like Moblin, I like it a lot. V2 is obviously still in BETA and requires a few boxes to be ticked behind the scenes (it didn’t pick up the Dell Wi-Fi card) but it’s damned close to a full blown release and is going to offer envisioned impact for early adopters when it hits. The main contributory factor for Netbooks not taking off as expected was a mindset for use as just a smaller desktop machine, which they aren’t. Running a cut down desktop OS merely offered a somewhat unidentifiable unit of reduced functionality rather than an enabling device for an emerging niche. Moblin feels different, it runs differently, it presents applications in an ingenious way through inspired methods of interface usability and yet underneath still sits on the inherent stability of Linux (as does OSX with UNIX).

I’m not completely convinced I’d use it myself (as I say I run my Netbook for more left field uses) however I did notice somewhat surprisingly on checking the Ubuntu-Karmic version that Tasksel offered a full range of server side modules for installation at the back end. Whether or not such broad flexibility will still be present in the final release remains to be seen as there are no such options in present and previous Ubuntu NBR’s, if so it would certainly open up potential for a most interesting dual purpose little computer. My Dell Mini may yet enjoy some fresh air.

My good friend and fellow tech head Adrian has been upgrading his home network (substantially) and dropped an open inquiry from his blogsite the other day for user comments about their own setups, as I’m what you may call globally mobile at the moment I thought it might be fun to give a quick breakdown of my travelling tech.

Two years ago I gave up the corporate shirt and tie, sold my house, eBayed all my possessions and now operate online from a suitcase and “carry on bag” from whatever Craigslist apartment I’ve rented in whichever country I happen to be in at the time, and it all works remarkably well (the tech travels in the carry on bag).

The core of the operation is the MacBook Air, I did buy myself a MacBook (Black) 2.14GHZ unit whilst in NYC last year (which was a real flying machine) and whilst the Air is a touch less zippy it’s a different class when it comes to portability and I can’t rate it high enough. Although it’s lowly 1.6GHZ Core-Duo won’t run multiple VMWare Fusion machines (like the Macbook would) I easily managed for 6 months in Costa Rica running a single Ubuntu VS on it and since purchasing the wonderful (and now indispensable) Dell Mini 9 for server development it’s back to breathing easy, even more so after upgrading to Snow Leopard, in fact I’ve a now previously unheard of 20GB of free disk space to play with as a result.

The Dell then, I know I seem to mention it in every blog post lately but it’s worthy of the exposure. Server side it runs Ubuntu 9.04 with a full LAMP stack for development plus BIND9 & Squid proxy DNS/WEb caching, up front I’ve installed the ubuntu-desktop for Vuze-ing and demo-ing the TMG O-Build (and for Lesley to use if she doesn’t fancy taking her Powerbook to Cafe Tous Les Jours), there’s an 8GB (for software dumps) in the SD slot and it sucks down nightly torrents straight onto a SAMBA shared 64GB Spaceloop USB key.

Let’s move on to the fun part now, the infrastructure which connects it all..

When you’re mobile and renting month to month you can never be sure what sort of internet connection you’re going to be provided with, it can vary from a fully wired locally installed router to flaky unprotected shared open Wi-Fi (like it was in NYC), for this reason I never leave home without my stunningly versatile Airport Express, I really don’t think you can beat these little things for either travel OR home use.

Here in Berlin we share the landlords 2MB Wi-Fi link and although the Air’s 802.11n Airport can pull a signal out of the upper stratosphere Lesley’s somewhat more mature G4 Powerbook isn’t as reaching, enter the AExpress and the 2nd man in the game, the pocket sized Netgear FS105 4 port network switch. The AExpress quite happily joins the existing Wi-Fi network, re-distributes through it’s ethernet port into the switch and on via a 4m Cat5 into Lesleys laptop. Cabled it may be but it’s a whole lot easier for her to access Facebook than balancing on one leg in the corner of the apartment trying to catch an intermittent signal through the 802.11g, in fact the AE cabled link is so solid I use it for the Mini server too (hence the switch).

Subsidiary items include -

• My iPod Touch – SO nice to have, I love the Touch

• Mains powered USB charger – For the iPod Touch

• Disk spool of copied software DVD’s – The originals are in the UK

• A second USB key (16GB) – Used for Ubuntu USB boot builds on the Dell

• A spare 2m Cat5 cable – Although you can invariably source them cheaply

• A 1.5″ square 4 port USB hub – Which I haven’t really used this time round

• A 150GB FAT32 USB Powered “Formac” HD – For Time Machine backups

• A UK x4 plug trailing floor socket – Saves buying multiple foreign adapters

• Philips SHL9600 fold up headphones – So much better/nicer than ANY earbuds

• External USB powered DVD drive for the MacBook Air – Invaluable when you need it

And that’s the hardware, it may look and sound to be quite a lot to carry about but it really isn’t, the laptops slip into their sleeves, the cables & other bit’s get chucked into a tupperware tub and it all drops quite happily into the carry on bag with room to spare.

For software sync and backup I use an easy combination of DropBox, MobileMe and a few IMAP eMail accounts to supplement local storage, all of which are seamless and accommodating from wherever I happen to be (providing there’s a web link). Last week I was contemplating a pukka on-line VS but as the Dell caters for all my server needs be there internet access or not I realised there really would be no point.

During my on-going crusade for open desktop solutions I’m quite regularly met with blank looks and confused queries as to what Ubuntu is, I find myself re-pitching the “…it’s an operating system for your computer just like Windows but free…” routine with added justification tagged on highlighting it’s UNIX heritage (for those geeky enough to appreciate computing history), it’s resulting inherent stability and the whole emanated positivity of it’s community created open code base, however with Linux still sub 5% of the global market for operating systems there are some days you really do feel like you’re up against it, but other days, like yesterday, you’re given a real boost.

What better supportive boost could there be than one of the biggest manufacturers of PC’s in the world upgrading selected areas of their popular netbook and laptop product line to ship with the very latest flavour, yes, Dell’s US website is now offering the superb Mini 10V and Inspiron 15n with Ubuntu 9.04 pre-installed, nice one Dell.

Dell have a recent history of interest for Ubuntu and most certainly get my vote as commended innovators “on the case”. I run a self configured Dell Mini 9″ development server alongside the MacBook Air and it’s a real gem, in fact as previously mentioned in another post I honestly wonder how I ever managed without it. Aside from snappy DNS and Proxy caching (to assist with a shamefully poor shared Wi-Fi internet link) it runs a fully blown LAMP stack which again (due to the dodgy Wi-Fi) is invaluable to me, for example this TMG WordPress site was developed on it one day and quickly uploaded the next, much easier and quicker than having to work live up through a flaky connection which continually times out during the simplest of edits (and drives you nuts as a result, a man can only work with so many “autosaves”).

An Ubuntu Dell laptop is cheaper than a Windows version, it’s more stable and just *cooler* all round. Click the header  image for more information (and to order yours).

There’s a continuing storm of ever increasing paranoia circulating our beaten up world these days, who’s watching who, who’s controlling who, who’s doing what to whoever, where, how and with what and who’s being doing all the above for years….and why, as such we’re all pretty “right on” with regard to safeguarding our personal identities from each other and our personal freedom from big brother, or so we’d like to believe.

Anyone up to speed with the Zeitgeist Movement (you should watch both movies) is more than aware of the apparent end game – personal micro-chipping, in itself quite a scary concept which along with satellite controlled location and movement logging aims to abolish the (already flawed) monetary system as we know it in favour of “chipped” credits, this whilst concurrently offering “them” the option to simply cut the credit connection of anyone who steps outside the norm, with the “norm” categorised as an increasingly restrictive set of rules and conformist procedural behavioural traits for what will be classed as socially acceptable. Such far reaching population control is (presently) still at the far end and obviously we’d never agree to anything so scarily pervasive, well, not directly anyway, but that’s the thing, we wouldn’t get asked directly, of course not, that’s not how it works, no, we wouldn’t get asked, quite the contrary, we may well embrace it ourselves, and all in the name of cool.

Let’s look at personal location recording, and here’s a concept, if Government (or the state) suddenly forced you to always carry a small device which enabled them to track your movements and exact location at anytime of day or night you’d (quite rightly) refuse, in fact there’d be riots in the streets…! However the embryonic rumblings of this are now offered as a “new feature” (Find My iPhone) for the latest versions of Apple’s MobileME service and corresponding “must have” devices the iPhone & iPod Touch, admittedly it’s not used by Apple themselves (or the Government) to track you (not that I’m aware of anyway) and in it’s present guise merely offers a facility for you to find your device should it get lost or alternatively to erase it’s contents remotely should it get stolen, however if you stop to think about how things could pan out from this already marketed technology it certainly gives pause for thought.

This is of course all just a bit of extrapolated fun from me poking at a potential dark side of controlled global future, (I watch a lot of Sci-fi), I’m a huge fan of all things Mac, always have been (hope I always will be) and firmly believe in the man Jobs, however if Apple do ever bring out a personal “iChip” I think I’d most certainly pause for more than thought.

Mobile server development can be tricky, or do I mean mobile development for servers? A few weeks ago it would have been the latter however thanks to the superb little Dell Mini 9 I can now deliver both whilst simultaneously sipping a nice latte in the Cafe “Tous les Jours” across the street

Presently ensconced as I am for a couple of months in the contemporary and alluring area of Prenzlauer Berg in the new East of Berlin my initial idea was to pull server development out of VMWare Fusion on the increasingly tired MacBook Air over to some real hardware I could leave powered up 24/7 in the background *doing stuff*, the plan involved a recently purchased Mac Mini G4 which I intended to use headless as the Ubuntu Server box, the less mirrored 9.04 PPC version was readily available so I loaded it up before I came, it was impressively quick too and after a year of patience with struggling VM instances I was really looking forward to getting down to business with it.

Anyway, as is the case with my life over the past two years things didn’t pan out as expected, predominantly down to the lack of a hard-wired internet connection in the apartment, there’s Wi-Fi sporadically drifting in and out but with a flaky up and down signal varying anywhere between 0.3 and 1MB things weren’t that conducive from the start, yes the Mac Mini has Wi-Fi but with no monitor and a text based server install of 9.04 sat on it there wasn’t a hope in hell of getting that fired up, OK then, time to create a plan B.

Plan B came in the shape of a refurb Dell Mini 9 off eBay and a view to utilise the internal Wi-Fi network infrastructure, however as this is the Rich B of today once again things didn’t go exactly as I hoped. The poor link to the outside world I could have coped with however when the Mini 9 arrived the discovered lack of any internal routing whatsoever around the already lacking network meant there was no Webmin, no local Apache browsing, not even any SSH, and as for syncing my wireless iPod Touch apps, forget it, not ideal, my I.T can’t communicate, snookered again.

Internet connectivity is now booked for this Thursday and even though I’ve lost almost three weeks I’ve managed to occupy myself and I’m now just hoping it comes together, what work I could do with the Mini has actually being quite upbeat, albeit just not “server” orientated.

Firstly I stuck full blown 9.04 on it so I could further install the server tools (there’s no tasksel option from the 8.04 netbook remix), this was quite straightforward and just involved a bit of Unetbootin to my spare USB pen drive. Once fired up I was super impressed to find out all the essentials worked straight off the bat and after a few codec tweaks plus installs of Twitux, Thunderbird, Skype & VLC I began to realise what a great little unit it was becoming, as such I took it for an afternoon out across the road to “Tous les Jours” for some latte drinking and review writing, 3+ hours later I returned to the apartment with a reported 1 hour battery life still backed up, very impressive to say the least, especially as I’d had the W-Fi on continually sucking away at their ego bashing 3.5MB free connection, were I using the MacBook Air I’d have had to go back for a re-charge and long missed the finalising session and leisurely cup of afternoon Earl Grey.

I’ve since stuck DropBox on the little beast (an idea I had during the 1st latte) so I can keep things in sync with the Air and although the 9 only comes with a potentially limiting 8GB SSD (of which it reported 3.5GB free btw) I just pointed things at my 64GB SpaceLoopXL pendrive, I could use a card in the SD slot of course but I just don’t have one and don’t really see any need, the SpaceLoop is fine.

So, that’s it for now, at least it’s primed and ready for Thursday and I have no doubt it’s going to be gem for server dev also, so much so it’s all really got me thinking about increased potential for SSD storage as an option for servers. SSD’s are quiet, energy efficient, super quick and I’m wondering how long it will be until the first fully SSD’d server room get’s exposure and how much reported air con resource it will save as a result of losing all those mechanical spinning monsters? The Mini 9 also runs Vuze and I’ve noted after it sitting there all night working away with the lid shut come morning when re-opened there’s nothing heated or untoward going on and it’s as cool as it was when I said goodnight, figuratively (of course), contrary to what people may think I don’t talk to my computers (although I will take them for a latte if they’ve been good).

There’s obviously quite a bit of recycled information on the internet and this review is in part just that, as well as also being part speculation and part *sum* of it’s parts, hopefully (or at least partly anyway)….err….yes….

The Apple Tablet then, hopeful geek myth or concept changing portable shortly to emerge from the reality defining vortex of Steve Jobs designer distortion field? Personally I’d like to think the latter and there’s plenty of evidence stacking up around development of such a product to reinforce an imminent release, including a reported suicide due to a lost prototype (or was it indeed industrial espionage gone wrong?), whatever the story things are getting quite serious about what seems to be just an overgrown iPod Touch….or is it?

Mobile I.T (mobility?) is indeed *it* these days, so, let’s step into the rapidly moving world of speculative future tech for a moment to discuss the potential for such a mid-level take anywhere device as depicted in the opening mock up shot.
Mid-level? That would be selling it short for a start, the mighty and forever crisp Apple would never bring out something mediocre just to fill a gap, if they did we’d already be coffee shop surfing on our dinky Mac Netbooks, no, it’ll be something different (*cough*), something incredibly groovy and something we’ll all wet ourselves over and immediately desire to fill the newly created void in our resultantly lacking suite of media I.T and personal gadgetry (well, some of us), but hold on, just what’s the low down on such a unit anyway, what’s it’s attraction and who would use or buy it? (aside from the demented “We’ll buy anything with an Apple logo on it” Mac fanbase).

Well, as it goes me for one (if I could afford it), admittedly I am indeed part fanboy but also a broad and long time user who both enjoys & realises improved technology slots where apparent. From Linux server down (or up?) to my iPod Touch and across most things in between (albeit strictly Unix based I may add) I’m most certain a Mac Tablet would give my (superb) Ubuntu Dell Mini 9 more than a run for it’s money (were the money not a deciding factor of course). I like the look and idea of an optional on-screen keyboard (my touch screen intuition has been steered and honed over the past few years to want and expect more) and from previous posts lamenting the sad loss of 12″ vinyl it’s no surprise I also relish the idea of re-invented album artwork on an expanded and larger scale (apparently codenamed “Cocktail”), 10″ is a good size for portability (a netbook for me isn’t a netbook if it’s over 10″) and solid state storage has come on so much even in just the past year I’m sure it would pack a 128GB drive as standard, Wi-Fi of course would most likely kick out and pull in over 802.11n (which does make a difference).

However, it’s the unknown and unimagined which are Apple’s forte and who knows what re-packaged re-inventions of the wheel they may have in store for us to ice the tablet cake (you’d expect it to be direction aware, but what else?). Whatever cards are presently hidden up the proverbial black sleeve of Mr Jobs you just know you’re going to wonder how life ever existed before he slipped them out to reveal a five Ace hand we instantly accept as the norm, after all, even the staunchest PC user has an iPod these days and if they say they don’t want one they’re either lying, deluded or just arrogantly putting off the inevitable.

Optimised I.T ‘Virtualisation’ is finally becoming the realised norm across the carbon hungry server rooms of today, and not before time either.

For those who aren’t fully aware the term basically describes a method of installing multiple software ‘machines’ on a single hardware unit (a server) and saves untold amounts of previously wasted, and increasingly expensive, electrical energy. Contrary to what you may think the vast majority of server operating systems don’t need all encompassed access to the full power of the hardware they’re installed on, those expansive arrays of hard disks and fans which suck up the amps are there merely to provide resilience and scalability than contribute to any high end processing delivery, plus, unlike that desktop PC of yours there’s no requirement for the pull of high end graphics engines either.

Although already widespread across internet hosts thanks to the lucrative cost effectiveness of being able to rack up (and sell) a box with umpteen virtual servers installed on it it’s in the business enterprise where the necessary attention has been seriously lacking up until quite recently. I know from first hand experience that it was far from unusual to have a room full of energy hungry high end servers sat sucking up electricity and air-con resource whilst ticking over at 5% load (maximum), most certainly. You’d have your mail server, your storage array, a domain controller (or two) and quite possibly several more disparate database units and/or ad-hoc legacy departmental W.H.Y’s all just sat there in the rack happily gorging through enough power in a week to keep several third world communities in light and heat for substantially longer than anyone would care to believe or be bothered about even if they did, a blinkered, inefficient and shamefully decadent state of affairs to say the least.

However times are changing and needless to say the progressive world of Ubuntu is once again smoothing the way for us, as of version 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) Ubuntu Server comes combined with a ‘Virtual’ install option, previously (up to 8.10) this was a seperate download tagged as the jeOS version (pronounced “juice”).

jeOS (and now the Virtual option) was (and is) an efficient variant of the full server OS optimised for installation inside virtual environments from the likes of VM Ware or KVM, benefits include a substantially reduced footprint, better performance and fewer updates (resulting in less maintenance), not only that but the option for installing it couldn’t be simpler, seriously, check this out.

• Pre-configure your virtual destination drive

• Boot as usual from the regular Server CD (or .ISO / .DMG file).

• Select the F4 (or fn F4) “Mode” Option

• Choose “Install a minimal Virtual Machine”

• Proceed as normal selecting your required server components.

That’s it.

In the absence of any more imminent Ubuntu releases for a while today I’ve moved back to my other source  of amusement, the iPod Touch, and in particular mobile ‘Document Management’.

Today I’ve discovered the Mobile Studio app from the guys at PixioTech, but what is it, why is it so useful, how does it work, what can you use it for, and how come I’ve only just discovered it?

What is it? Well, it’s an iPhone/iPod Touch app (obviously) and although it’s not free at £1.19 I don’t think it’ll break the bank.

Why is it useful? Mobile studio utilises your devices wi-fi connection and enables you to transfer files to and from your device using any network enabled computer running any flavour of operating system, yes that’s right, OSX, Linux or Microsoft. The iPod/iPhone needs a wireless connection to your network but the client computer can be either hard wired or wi-fi’d.

How does it work? Download and install it to your device from the App store, fire it up and you’ll see five folders – Docs, Movies, Music, Pictures & Sample files (you can edit these, alter  RW options etc, or delete them), you’ll also see a green bi-directional arrow transfer button down the bottom right hand corner of the Touch screen, this is the key to it all, tap it and you’re taken into the sharing screen, tap start from there and you’re shown your iPhone (or Touch’s) wireless ftp address & access port number (mine for example is ftp://192.168.1.11:2121), just use this address in the ftp program on your computer to access the folders on the iPod Touch/iPhone (obviously both devices must be on the same IP subnet). I use ‘Transmit‘ for ftp on my Mac because I like it but Cyberduck is a great free alternative. Just drag and drop, or whatever you do .

What can you use it for? Well not only can you easily transfer non-iTunes based files over from your desktop computer for storage, backup and viewing but you can now edit them later while you’re out and about, yes, I know, cool huh, but there’s more, you can also email them on when you’re done. Mobile studio can handle a multitude of workable file formats from MS Office to iWork to image & audio, basic text and PDF viewing, iPhone users can also take photos from inside the application and edit/mail them straight off, most useful. Unfortunately there’s no method (as yet) for transferring received email files into Mobile Studio however development is an ongoing process and I’m sure it’ll come, for now it’s a huge step up from the standard offering and what with this and now being able to SKYPE from the iPod Touch it seems things are really coming together.

And why haven’t I discovered this sooner? Well it’s a big place the internet, it takes some getting round, I do my best.

I know I rattle on about the advantages of using the cloud for application delivery and yes, I do believe it’s the future of computing as we know it (once the interweb catches up with our needs that is) however for complete integration as a storage repository for our larger bits and bobs of data cloud dumping is presently just too slow and too expensive.

Docs from Google, or a Business Management suite from JING are all presently well and good, of that there’s no doubt, and both are already sat waiting for *us* to catch up however at an average of $12 per 1GB per year you’d need a pretty good reason to shell out for a decent sized off-site pot for your dynamic personal data, especially with upload speeds averaging around 500k (that’s half a megabyte in real money), it  would take forever to upload that 2.3GB Adobe CS3 .DMG file let alone work with it dynamically, so, what gives? You need backup, you want to get as much data as possible off that stupidly pointless 16GB Netbook SSD but don’t fancy lugging around a USB hard drive, even if it is only a 2.5 inch jobbie, what’s the option? Is there one? Well yes, you just need to think a bit laterally, not look ‘too’ technically far ahead and maybe revisit an old favourite who’s been with us for a few years now steadily growing in the background, I’m taking about that little fella the USB key….!

Yes, the little fella is actually no longer such a *little fella*, he’s been in the gym pumping iron. Check out the crazy 64GB Jet Flash drive from Transcend (as pictured above), cool huh, not only for it’s mental storage capacity but don’t you think it would look at home in any Sci-Fi movie? (I’ve just watched Wall-E – LOL). They’re cheap too, under £100 ($150), not bad, equivalent cloud storage would set you back £520 ($768) and you’d have to renew it every year.

I’ve been using a 16GB USB key for 6 months now and am continually amazed at just how much use it gets. It just hangs off my keyring and goes everywhere I go, I literally use it daily (you never know when you’re going to need some data storage on the beach). Seriously though it IS incredibly (and surprisingly) useful. I’ve just been to Florida for example and forgot to take my Freecom USB Hard drive to transfer some (*cough*) ‘important’ files from my mate Andy, not a problem – USB key to the rescue..! It’s so small it’s always with me and always ready, you just don’t have to think about it, I love it and having a whopping 64GB instead would be even more awesome. We’re back in the UK in 10 weeks and I’ll most definitely be ordering (they’ll be even cheaper then too, bonus).