AntoineRJWright.com

Let's start with the Internet experience. I have a 3G mobile phone in the Nokia N75. However, there is a limitation as to how much I can do with it. Between the operating system not seeing a major update in a long time and the blocking of several mobile apps (Gmail Mobile and Opera Mini to name a few) from being downloadable/usable, I am stuck with a device that has menial extra use. And it was sold under the moniker "this is what computers have become."

Or how about the vaunted Internet Tablet. Where it should excel, this device fails a lot. A mobile browser that doesn't handle AJAX well, slows to a crawl when more than 2 pages are open, is built on a flexible core but cannot take advantage of that flexibility because the core is flawed, and finally doesn't even do anything to extend the Internet to an "anywhere, anytime" paradigm.

I say all of this not to bemoan the hardware. Every mobile device sold today has the ability to do everything and more, and do it simply. The problem is the software. Between short-sighted hobby developers, lack of code and user interface standards, and a general lack of discernible direction from major companies, its no wonder the iPhone was a breath of fresh air.

There are two types of software: the software that is developed to be used, and that which is developed just to show off some type of capability. In both cases, some type of vision is yearned for and the developer, marketing, and user meet at a point. Software that is developed to be used is normally boring and feels constrained by developers. Marketers like it though because it brings in the money. And end users like it because it makes some aspect of their lives easier.

However, if one were to take a look at the software landscape of many of the more open platforms out there. Most of it falls in to the latter category. Programs are developed that meet some nirvana for the developer, but have little resource for the marketer or end user. Reason being is that people don't just care for functionality, they care for elegance. And developers aren't designed to know elegance (usually).

As a Palm OS user for a long time, I grew used to just searching for a program and finding several variations of it. Sometimes I'd find a gem like TMP. Often though, I'd find a rock. Developers were rightly concerned with getting something out there and making a few cents; but they ignored the greater gain of developing applications that solve a problem elegantly. The user experience was neglected until three or four versions down the line, but by then the market for their program was so small that it was no reason to continue development.

I'm writing this using the Notes application on the Internet Tablet. I should be in the browser using Google Docs. The browser was so rushed though that going to Google Docs on awi-fi connection is more pain than joy. So I've opted to use something that won't choke when typing, despite the fact that its missing a spell checker and ability to share with my editor easily. Its not the hardware that's the issue. Its the software, and as soon as all parties understand that, then maybe we can really have a mobile web that works.

Related Artcicles:

• Nokia Internet Tablets: "Now what?" at Tabletnblog

Instead of making this a primer for what RSS is, I'll leave that to Wikipedia and others who've expounded on this plenty already. I'll hit more on the benefits of it, and how to take advantage of it. And I plan on keeping this short, aka you will need to play and explore to know more.

RSS Is For...

RSS is basically a file format that is used for storing information that will be read in any number of types of containers. The most popular use is to keep track of websites such as blogs which publish new information frequently. RSS can also be used as a sort of digital channel (where you subscribe to a site and get a specific type of information only). And in extreme uses, it can actually serve as a replacement to common documents such as HTML, DOC, and XLS. Essentially, its just formatted information. One needs to use a feed reader in order to get anything out of it.

Access RSS With...

RSS files are read with feed readers. These can be websites, programs, or web browsers. By and large, using a web browser as a feed reader is the easiest method. In this case, any website that has an RSS feed available will show the orange RSS icon (See here) either in the address bar, or next to the address bar. Then by clicking this icon, one would be able to bookmark the site, and essentially see headline updates of it without having to physically visit the website.

Feed reader applications and websites work in the same way. With Feed reader applications, one would get several features and customization options that might not be present in browsers. Web services that have the ability to be an RSS reader usually are easier to use, but require one ot be online all the time (except in the case of Google Reader with the Google Gears extension for some browsers)

Then Take It All In, Simply

After you have subscribed to a few RSS feeds, the next thing to do is to just take it all in. Like email, RSS can be flagged/starred and categorized. And like email also, there can be a lot of things that come up that you don't want to read. Using RSS optimally means understanding that you don't have to read everything, that you don't have to subscribe to every RSS feed you come to. And that you can get away form the computer and the data will still be there.

When I opened Google reader on my tablet when I was in PA, I had over 1000 posts not read. There was no way that I would read all of those. I read those from the last 2 days (a few hundred probably) and the rest just marked as read and kept going. There's a lot to take in when it comes to reading online. RSS helps. But like everything, one has to use it efficiently in order for it to be effective.

Pushing the ability of the browser past just a portal to consumer content means that the UI has to do more than look good. It enables the IT user to craft a trend of using “internet anywhere� as a more normative view of using the Internet. When services are tasked with being able to plug-in efficiently to the said browser, a layer of “how� is breached for users so that “go� becomes the new how. We’ve seen how the rise of extensions for Firefox has allowed for users to create a personalized web that is and isn’t a part of the online experience. Given the personal and touchscreen natures of the IT, one could argue that doing the same would enable the same type of UI/UX shift.

Read the entire article at the Tablet UI blog.