There are several discussions around the net right now about the fact that Jobs has stated that the iPhone willl not include Java support. Personally I think this is very shortsighted of Jobs and Apple, but since it seems there will also not be any developer kit based in any language, then their intent is not to exclude Java, but tightly control the applications and content that is available for the phone, similar to the iPod. While they could have benefited from allowing developers and other companies develop content for the device, it seems their approach will be to limit and control the content probably via iTunes downloads or something else similar.
Movie download service coming to Netflix
Netflix has announced details of it’s upcoming movie download service, which will be available free to existing members, with limits on the number of hours available to download content based on the subscription level. See here for more info.
Why the PS3 is everything I was looking for (and more)
I’ve been waiting for the PS3 to launch ever since Sony annouced it was working on it’s next gen technology for the new console shortly after the PS2 launched. At that time I was so blown away by what Sony said it was working on (a CPU with between 4 to 16 cores? Incredible!) that I decided I wouldn’t even buy a PS2, instead I’d skip a generation until the PS3 came out.
I’ve also been looking for a long time for a home media server type device that would allow me to stream or store all our photos, MP3s, and home movies and display them on our TV. With the general trend of everthing becoming digitized and living on your PC, the part that has always frustrated me is the fact for me the PC lives in the office, not the familiy room, and I don’t want to move people into the office just to look at our latest holiday snaps.
I been looking at devices by Roku (the Soundbridge), Slingbox, the Series 2 Tivos with photo album support etc with an interest, but in the back of my mind still remembering that the PS3 was to do all this and more.
Now it’s here and I’ve managed to fight off the crowds to actually get one, I’m pleasantly surprised that the PS3 has all these features and the potential for so much more (with firmware upgrades from Sony being released on a regular basis). Of course it’s an awesome games console, and the coming year with games developers getting to grips with the hardware will show what the platform can really do (launch day titles are never an indication of the true capabilities of a new system). The features that I’m really pleased with though are the ones I have been looking for for the past few years and decided to wait it out until the PS3 arrived. The photo album support is awesome, being able to flick through pictures incredibly quickly and the MP3 playback support is usable (although doesn’t allow you to organize tracks yourself). The big surprise which I don’t think anyone saw coming back in the early days of speculation about the Cell processor and the new platform was the integration with the PSP – this is very cool – being able to browse my MP3s and photos remotely. This is currently limited to within WIFI range of the PS3, but apparently in March when the PS3 is launched in Europe there will be another major firmware upgrade that will allow the PS3 to be accessed via a PSP remotely across the internet. Just how cool is that?!</p.
New to Java Web App Development?
If you’re new to Web Application development with Java, java.sun.com have a quick overview of Java Web Technologies that are the key basics, in particular the Servlet API. What this app does not cover but would be the next step would be to investigate the various Web Application Frameworks that are also out there, since it would be rare to use just the Servlet API by itself.