Mobile Media Update

Working Athens SMS!

2005-11-29T14:05:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like everything with Athens SMS is working. Try it out! Some of the videos are streaming, but most of them are not. I have found that the streaming videos are just not reliable enough. The proposal is just about completed as well.

Check out Proposal Here

Final videos will be shot and uploaded JUST before December 10th to ensure the most up to date content. Sweet!

More to come...

Good Afternoon NMI

2005-11-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

I am covering several different topics in today's post. It must mean that I have been working hard.

1. Tech News
Well it looks like AOL has entered into the world of television as it is going to offer thousands of hours of television programming FREE over the internet. This is going to give Apple some nice competition for its $1.99 per episode television from its iTunes store.
Read the full article here.

The Dutch want to use SMS messaging to alert its residents in the event of a disaster. That seems pretty cool. I wouldnt want to look forward to getting a text message telling me that my entire block is going to blow up, BUT, it could save some lives. Looks like text messaging can be used for lots of different things.
Check it out the full article.

2. Athens SMS Progress

Well the system is 100% functional. Send a text message to the shortcode 284367 with a message containing info, shop, music, or food and you should be able to see everything. BUT! I am still in the process of recording and editing/uploading the videos. During the demonstration at the end of the semester I have also decided that I want to use the N90 phones to show this stuff off. The browser seems to display my HTML pages cleaner and easier.

3. Healthcare in Athens!

I have done a little research online about healthcare issues in Athens. Check out some of the stuff I have found.
[ Healthcare in Athens ]

Yep Yep Yep!

2005-11-07T14:58:00.000-08:00

Lots of progress this week! Using the brand new Nokia N90, I began shooting videos of downtown Athens establishments. It seemed that I had to spend atleast 10 minutes at each place showing off the cool features of the camera. Everyone was impressed. I created the HTML pages for all the existing pages. I also have learned that many people are afraid to be on video themselves. This could be a potential roadblock for someone trying to update Athens SMS on a daily/weekly basis.

Some neat news out of the RFID front. According to an article on CNET (See Here), the National Health Service said it could "tag" patients with RFID chips to monitor their lifestyles away from the hospital. Sounded like a great idea!

Chris has recently gotten me hooked on Plazes (See Here). Essentially, it is a website that allows users to tag hot spots all over the world. Individual users can then sign on to a hot spot and see who all is within a certain radius of that spot. Addictive!

Looking forward to the NMI scholar video conference tomorrow afternoon.

Current Schedule:
Friday November 11 - All video recorded and uploaded!
Wednesday November 16 - Working prototype.
Wednesday November 23 (before thanksgiving break) - Proposal/documentation fine tuned

N90 & Progress

2005-11-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

We got our first look at the beautiful Nokia N90 cell phone/camera/video camera/awesomenes!!! The phone takes amazing pictures and even records sweet video.

Not much progress this week that I can show on the computer but it looks like Athens SMS is well on its way. Video recording starts tomorrow and everything should be uploaded by Friday afternoon.

I tweaked QuickReach a bit, and it should be pretty easy to incorporate the newly shot videos seamlessly into the system.

I will give you an update when things become available.

Away I go!

Flock Market

2005-10-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

Well another week has gone by and another cool browser has appeared to take on Inernet Explorer and even the Firefox croud. Check out Flock and see its newest features.

The Backstreet Boys have figured out a way to make some more money using text messaging. Using Text-2-Screen, a gigantic screen on their tour flashes notes phoned in by fans at $2.99 apiece! Thought this was a cool idea. I doubt people would pay that much to see their pics on Little Big Screen.

The iPod video has obviously caused a commotion in Hollywood. Offering music videos and even television shows to download. Wouldn't it be cool if we could get every TV show? Vodcasting is gonna be huge!

More importantly I have spent this week polishing up the "working" proposal for Athens SMS. Check out the entire proposal by clicking on the following link:

http://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/mms/AthensSMS.html

Video and content will be coming next!

Chris has been working away at getting streaming 3gp files to play on the NMI server and his personal server. It looks like we are going to be able to stream 3gp files from the NMI server! Using the 6620, a 3 minute .3gp file begins to play after just 8 seconds of loading. This should be perfect for videos of downtown. Here is a simple grid that shows what streaming I have gotten to work as of now.

Check out the Streaming Test Grid Here!

Project Proposal

2005-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Michael Lentz
Athens SMS

Introduction

Athens, Georgia is not just a city. It is a destination. A culture in itself. The city is home to countless restaurants, a variety of shopping experiences, a burgeoning music scene, and a plethora bars. Not many cities are blessed with having such a diverse atmosphere right next to a world renowned university. Many people that visit the city of Athens unaware of what the city has to offer. Local businesses are always chomping at the bit for new customers. Restaurants advertise across various mediums encouraging patrons to try their latest lunch special. Music venues strive to promote local bands and build a local “scene.”

The cell phone has shifted from a luxury item to basically a necessity in this day and age. Because cell phone usage is so prevalent, couldn’t we harness the cellular technology to help spread the wealth of information about downtown Athens? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could get text messages containing info and video content about restaurants, the music scene, bars, and shopping in downtown Athens right on your cell phone?

How It Works

A Step by Step process

1. A “stranger” equipped with only his cell phone walks into downtown Athens.
2. Signs in and around Athens would advertise the Athens SMS shortcode (284367), and explain its process.
3. To find out about Athens in general, the stranger would send the message “info” to the number 284367.
4. QuickReach would analyze this request and would automatically send back a service message containing a link.
5. The link could be opened using the cell phone’s internet browser and would display info about downtown Athens.
6. Within each particular link to a restaurant, music venue, store, or bar would contain video content and daily specials etc.
7. All text messages would be sent to the shortcode 284367. To get other content just look at the list of possible message choices.

info - Straight to Athens SMS homepage [HTML w/pics & links]
food - Links to restaurants [Video with "My Top Restaurants"]
music - Links to Music Venus [Video with "This weeks music entertainment]
shop - Links to stores for shopping/perusing [Video with special shop of the week]

Technology

Athens SMS requires several key pieces of technology for it to function correctly.

Cellular Phone: The mobile communication device that we carry with us every day is crucial to this operation. A cell phone with text messaging capabilities and the ability to play 3gp movie files. (RealPlayer etc)

QuickReach: Cingular’s application that allows users to communicate with a system to send and receive SMS messages.

Video Camera – Any device that is capable of recording video

Streaming Server – Server that allows video to be streamed instantaneously to cell phones

Challenges

- Using Cingular’s QuickReach console, Athens SMS is only limited to cellular costomers using Cingular’s service.

- There are hundreds of businesses in downtown Athens. It would be impossible in the allotted time frame to focus on them all. It would be a challenge to pick out which establishments would be seen in Athens SMS.

Resources

Personnel
-Need somebody to help filming video content between Nov. 2 and Nov 16. Only one other person is needed
-Need someone to help set up Streaming server (not good with that stuff)
Tech
Video camera

Time Table

Nov. 2 – Have all locations determined.
Nov. 9 – HTML for all pages and portals written. Completed QuickReach set-up
Nov. 16 – Have recorded all video segments. Upload. Fine Tune
Nov. 23 – Kinks = None (Should be finished)

Operation Athens SMS

2005-10-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

This past week I focosued a little bit less on the cool technologies that we have learned and a little bit more on the logistics and organizational hierarchy of the entire Athens SMS project. I went about finding info on a smooth running Athens SMS by conducting a "non scientific" study amongst my closest friends.

I wanted to figure out the simplest way of getting information from a given source. In quick summary this is what I have concluded about the Athens SMS project so far.

1. Users will ALWAYS send text messages to the shortcode 284367 (Athens)

2. Users must be a part of the Cingular wireless network

3. Unrecognized responses will always be sent to the Athens SMS "Homepage" that will include links for Food, Music, Shopping, Bars, etc

Here is a short list of items that "stranger's" can input in order to recieve info on athens.

info - Straight to Athens SMS homepage [HTML w/pics & links]
food - Links to restaurants [Video with "My Top Restaurants"]
music - Links to Music Venus [Video with "This weeks music entertainment]
shop - Links to stores suitable for shopping/perusing [Video with special shop of the week]

Individual shops, restaurants, and music venus will each have a personal page that can be accessesd by typing the following. (Usually will be just the name of the store, but some will be abbreviated for convenience or necessity.)

barberitos - Barberitos
jimmy - Jimmy John's
mia - Mia Madonna
italy - Littly Italy
40watt - 40 Watt Club
theater - Georgia Theater

On another note, I think it is a must that we focus some of our attention on creating a side project for vodcasting. Apple is expecting to release an iPod with video capabilites very very shortly! Lets get on this bandwagon!

I know I am slow at getting around to this one, but I finally created a blog where I could send pictures from my cell phone to blogger. Check out the many hot pictures at the follwing site.

http://www.mikeymobile.blogspot.com

iPod Mapping!

2005-10-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

Hello from Scholarland NMI!

Well this week has had me filled with many different little tasks.

I tweaked the remaining portion of QuickReach so that the Downtown Dream should operate correctly for the downtown businesses that we have already set up. I also spent a good portion of time trying to determine any (if there are any) input methods that QuickReach can handle. Our goal is basically trying to send an email to QuickReach so that it can spit back results according to what the user has specified. (Basically we want to make QuickReach think that a message is coming from a phone, when in actuality it is coming from a computer/email message.) It appears as if the system is not set up to handle any such email/text inputs. (But I am not giving up)

I stumbled upon a common trend for iPods on the internet earlier at this website:

http://www.ipodsubwaymaps.com/

Thousands of UGA students and faculty own iPods, and thousands of these people want to know how to navigate the UGA bus system. Lets get UGA bus maps on iPods!

I think this will be a project that is a MUST do! Not only will it be easy to complete, but it can grant us instant publicity.

Nokia is da bomb!

2005-09-26T19:33:00.000-07:00

On Friday the Mobile Media Scholars and Dr. Shamp went to Atlanta to tour Nokia's facilities. We met with several members of the Nokia team including Merji Khorchidian. They showed us some of the latest Nokia phones and some of the technologies/networks that make phone communications possible. I was impressed with their professionalism, expertise, and the positive energy they showed us about our possible student projects.

Shamp's Dream is getting super close to becoming a reality. This week I found out that QuickReach is able to push not only WAP pages but HTML pages as well. This will help us out for easier coding in the future.

To check out the latest on our project just send a text message to the shortcode ATHENS (284367) with the message of "info" or anything else.

MMI:

1. We have talked about it before, but it has never been blogged about. Let us create a mobile learning environment! A professor could stream video or audio to cell phones immediately after the lecture. Text messages could be used for communication for important class information such as tests and quizzes.

2. Real Estate Bluetoothing: Making the decision to buy a home is a obviously a big one. Imagine walking through a spec home in an upperclass neighborhood. After taking a look around the house you walk out the front door. A bluetooth device will send you a video with all the details of the house you just looked at.

Jackpot!

2005-09-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon we slaved for hours (kinda) trying to get this text messaging dream working in QuickReach. Finally we have technical success!

If you have a Cingular cell phone, send a message to 284367 with any message and QuickReach will push to you a service message containing anything from a HTML Page, WAP page, Image, or even a straight 3gp file. Try out out!

In future attempts of QuickReaching, please note the following key details.

1. Make sure to specify the user 284367 (shortcode Athens) when sending WAP messages
2. When sending any broadcast message, make sure to configure the AddressList appropriately.

Progress! O yah!

2005-09-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be cool if you could get video on a cell phone? Well look...Chris (the supreme server configure"er") has managed to get video to play on the 6620 using the default browser. Check It Out! We are one step closer to Shamp's ultimate dream. It seems as if we can get videos streaming from the QuickTime server at NMI, but it is still not configured correctly.

This week I also became familiar with writing WML pages. Although they are pretty cool, it seems as if most of the new phones will be able to intepret good ole HTML files. Check out the simple WAP page I created using WML here:

http://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/lentz.wml

I spent a good amount of time reading up on QuickReach technology and also familiarized myself with sending WAP push messages. Hendrik has compiled a nice reference guide for easy WAP pushing. Check it out here:

http://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/mms/wap.pdf

I am waiting to logon to the main QuickReach site so I can begin experimenting with the text message dream. The modules seem to be working themselves...now we just need to put it all together.

MMI Time!

1. PSP Learning! Sony's Playstation Portable is capable of playing all types of media files. It is even more portable than a laptop and more user friendly than a PDA and sometimes even a cell phone. Using the PSP we could easily create video/virtual tours that can be taken around in hand to different sites. With crisp video and audio on demand, the PSP could be a great virtual tour guide! The built in wireless connection will also allow for internet content to be displayed easily. (O yah...we could also mount this on the segway)

2. Cell PhotoCasting! The online service WebShots allows desktop users to recieve daily wallpapers that update automatically. I am constantly changing the wallpaper (image) on my cell phone. Wouldn't it be neat if I could subscribe to a service on my phone that would download a different/new wallpaper every day? This would be called PhotoCasting! Cingular customers could enter their phone number, and basically QuickReach could deliver this daily content in the form of WAP push messages containing image links. Simple, easy, cool.

3. Gotta Love Ebay. "Mobile Listing" for sellers. This idea is a long shot but it stems from one of my earliest NMI projects. Using the 6620 you could photograph your item and then immediately be able to list it on auction. Some day you will never have to sit down at a computer to list an item.

More to come!

Bluetooth Fairy...And Videos!

2005-09-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

This week I was charged to accomplish many different tasks with all these cool gadgets that we have. After getting the new SIM chips for the Nokia 6620, I spent a good amount of time familiarizing myself with the amazing cellular device. Within minutes I was shooting pictures and video on the phone and bluetoothing them to just about any device that would accept it.

I also became familiar with the new iSight camera. After finally mounting it to the PowerBook I soon was conversing with friends on iChat and shooting short movies in iMovie. Using QuickTime Pro, I could easily transfer video files back and forth from the PowerBook to the cell phone.

Keeping podcasting on my mind, I also wanted to find out exactly which methods were suitable for recording audio to create any type of podcast. To view my detailed findings, please navigate your browser to the following link:

http://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/audio/audio.html

MMI Time!

From now on I will be using the acronym MMI throughout my blog. Although you may think it stands for Michael's Marvelous Intuition, it actually refers to what I would like to simply put as a Mobile Media Idea! Several MMI's have been popping up in my head lately.

MMI 1: The website How Stuff Works (http://www.howstuffworks.com/) is a website dedicated to providing clear and reliable explanations on how stuff in this world actually work. Wouldn't it be a great idea to have enhanced podcasts or Pod Guides on the website to help show how things work?

MMI 2: Just like Shamp's Ultimate Dream, we could somehow push WAP messages to cell phones in a classlike setting. Send BIO 1101 to the shortcode Athens and recieve weekly updates such as Exam's dates, study sessions, cancelled classes etc for Biology class (or any class for that matter). Lazy students would love this!

MMI 3: Just for laughs! Take a large plastic box/container and place it strategically on the sidewalk in downtown Athens. Inside the big box put a nice fluffly pillow. Underneath the pillow will be a tooth. A Bluetooth server that is! This could be known as the "Bluetooth Fairy." Techno savvy consumers could approach this box on a daily basis to recieve updated promotions, advertisements, or announcements from various downtown merchants in the form of pictures, audio files, messages, or even movies. Think about it.

Last week we brought up the idea of using PDA's or old laptops as Bluetooth servers sitting in store fronts that could be used to push advertising to downtown merchants. This idea really caught my eye (I am an advertising major.) Customers with cell phones, PDA's, or even laptops could recieve real time JPEG coupons, Video Advertisements, or audio commercials all while they are in immediate proximity of that certain shop. What a great way to draw and keep customers! Privacy problems may arise, so we would have to be certain to watch out for that.

Until next time...

A Little About Me...

2005-09-09T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone...
My name is Michael Lentz and I am an advertising major within the Grady College at the University of Georgia. I am expecting to graduate in the Spring of 2006. Throughout the years, I have completed several New Media Projects working with several different technologies. Last semester we ran a campaign called UGA Dream Date that used text messaging to pair two daters based on similar preferences. Using Cingular's Quickreach technology, we successfully ran an entire campaign using just text messaging!

Mobile media has changed our lives significantly in just the past 3 years. I especially like working with iPods (podcasting etc) and cell phone possibilities. They are the future!

My ultimate dream is to create an interactive adavertising firm that would deliver content to mobile media devices.

PodGuides: Here We come!

2005-09-06T15:51:00.000-07:00

This week I concentrated even more on learning the ins and outs of podcasting, pod guides, and everything that is iPod. Our main assignment for this week was to produce a working enhanced podcast that detailed a portion of downtown Athens near the intersection of College Ave. and Clayton St. I worked on compiling information about several restaurants located along Broad street just adjacent to College Ave.

Because most people do not have unlimited technological resources (unlike NMI students), I wanted to prove that I could make a podcast with just my PowerBook G4. Using GarageBand again, I recorded all the audio necessary to create the pod guide. Pictures were taken using the new Canon EOS Rebel digital camera (which is awesome!), edited in Photoshop and once again I easily added the chapters to the podcast using Podcast AV.

One thing that became very apparent this week. Technology is easy to use. It is easy to write an XML file, it is easy to record some simple audio, but it is the CONTENT that is hard to produce. For a podguide to become successfull, content has to be king!

During the football game on Saturday, I noticed several key things that could be important. I saw camera phones EVERYWHERE! The picture idea could work, and I think it would work well. Since iPods were on my mind, I also thought that it would be a neat idea to have a detailed Pod Guide tour of the stadium. What a great way to learn about the field, the players, and the history of Georgia football and Sanford Stadium.

To subscribe to my last Broad St. podguide, please follow this link.

feed://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/mms/broad.xml

Techno Overload

2005-08-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

Bring On The Technology:

This year started off to a fast start with a nice Christmas in August at the NMI. We were blessed with many new gadgets that are sure to help us fully understand the concepts of mobile media. I immediately began to familiarize myself with the PowerBook G4 and working with the iPod photo. Being a PC user for about 12 years, this was the first time that I had really used a Mac before. (It sure is awesome though!) Also, after having an iPod Shuffle for quite some time, it was a pleasant suprise to finally be able to work with the real iPod.

I spent several hours learning the ins and outs of working with the iPod. I transferred music, pictures, and some calendar events to the device. I then searched the iTunes directory and subscribed to several podcasts that caught my attention. I have been amazed at the selection of Podcasts already available.

Using GarageBand I recorded my first official podcast. I downloaded Apple's ChapterTool utility and began experimenting with adding chapters to create a more enhanced podcasts. Several applications are avaialble for download to assist one in creating enhanced podcasts. After trying several, Podcast AV seemed to be the easiest one to use.

_________________________
To put everything together I created yet another Podcast that describes my experiences at a summer camp in Maine.

To subscribe with iTunes, please follow this link:
feed://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/mms/maine.xml

Use this link to subsribe with other aggregators (iPodder etc):

http://www.nmi.uga.edu/students/mlentz/mms/maine.xml

Useful Links

Apple's ChapterTool Command Line Editor. Essential for creating enhanced podcasts.
http://homepage.mac.com/applepodcast/podcasts/Resources/static/podcast_chapter_tool_beta.dmg

Podcast AV: For creation of enhanced podcasts
http://www.oldjewelsoftware.com/products/podcastav/

Great summary of easy to do podcasting:
http://www.podcast411.com/howto_1.html

Important Notes!
- Picturese in podcasts should be kept to 300 x 300 pixels.
- Remember that iTunes 4.9 is the only version that accepts enhanced podcasts.

Welcome Mobile Media Friends!

2005-08-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to GoMobile Media! Throughout the next few months this will be your place to check up on all the updates going on with Mobile Media Scholars and the New Media Institute at the University of Georgia.

Have fun!