The Python fans at croozeus.com were kind enough to arrange a special PyS60 Talk session for Mobile Web Server.

See the details here and be there!

-Jukka

Hi folks!

Keeping up with the latest device offerings, MWS now fully supports Nokia N96 as well. There is a new minor release (1.4.1) available from our Download page. Actually, if you're a lucky owner of a S60 3rd Edition, FP2 device (Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 Classic etc.) you might want to update to this release since it corrects some features for those devices. This release works just as well wíth the upcoming Nokia N79 & Nokia N85 duo. If you're already running MWS 1.4 on a pre-FP2 device, you can ignore this release since it's only for FP2 devices.

By the way, if you're reading this via your S60 device, you could just press this link: http://download.mymobilesite.net, and the correct version is automatically served for you.

So, N96 owners, how does it work for you? Any other comments or questions, we are listening!

-Jukka

Here is a collection of some of the love letters more positive feedback we have received during the Mobile Web Server beta times.

First up some comments from the readers of this blog.

Wao! This is great! I really appreciate it! Thank You Gentleman! This is a dream come true for me! (Aron)

I love the concept of Mobile Web Server, and see great potential here. (PaulC)

hi Jukka mws is one ofthe reasons why i love s60 so much, it actually ( in my opinion ) the most innovative app i have ever used , just imagine aweb server that allows you to build your on site in your handset, remote control your phone from every where, maybe even in the future assist users with configuration/customization problem by remote as they are just another node in the internet. way to go (ofer)

I’ve been trying to use the Mobile Web Server more lately, and was even surprised recently when my wife said she was able to view my photos from Boston before I had uploaded them, saying she found them on ‘that mobile site thingy.’ Pretty sweet that she was able to navigate to it without and help, and a big testament to why it’s cool. (Ricky Cadden aka Symbian Guru, see also Show Your Nokia Love Through Facebook)

Nokia Series 60 comes up with applications that simply amaze your imagination. It goes alike for applications that are released and those that are coming into existence quite soon. I have been using Mobile Web Server for sometime, and can tell its a truly innovative application. A simple download, and an account does the trick. (Saurabh, Fone Arena)

Nokia Mobile Web Server - a game changer… (Rob Dunfey, GIS Consultancy, also read Tim O’Reilly on Software Above the Level of a Single Device)

Comparing Nokia Backup and MobileMe: Some of the gaps in the Backup service are filled by Nokia’s Mobile Web Server (device access, calendar and photo sharing) and Ovi (sharing photos and more). (Matt Radford, All About iPhone.net)

advantages - personal, interactive, context dependent. Web servers just need a little love. (J. Pusa, via Mike Rowehl: This is Mobility

And finally some feedback received through our feedback form:

I LOVE the Mobile Web server, i have begun to use it for moblogging (EXTREMELY awesome, it is the first non-problematic moblogging application), gallery and more. The purpose of my MWS is to inform my friends of what I do, great when i have friends on different continents.

You guys are quick, keep up the GREAT work. It's a totally new thing.
I like to call it web 3.0: 100% access to your computer, phone and internet tablets (etc) From ANYWHERE thanks to the web. And MWS is the most important/best done 'web app.' for this.

BTW: Did I tell you that I love the Mobile Web Server !?!

Hiya, I LOVE this software, though I'm not sure exactly how much I'll use it, I think it's fantastic and will soon take off in a big way!

I love the ability to edit things on the phone with any computer. Great work though. Keep it up, and keep it free and it will go FAR.

So I love the application. Just getting my feet wet with it. I've been wanting to blog (not just twitter) from my e61, and this seems to be just the thing.

Now, it's your turn to spread the love, via Mobile Web Server or other ways :)

PS. Here are a couple of recent examples to get you started: AntoineRJWright.com, MWS GearsGeolocation extension.

With love,
-Jukka

A comment I have heard often is that the content from a Mobile Web Server should be available also via various feeds, to be imported into other services. For Blog entries and Gallery items we have already added these via RSS (see Forum Nokia Wiki for more information). These work for me in Jaiku for example, have you tried the feeds in other services?

One interesting addition would be to add Presence information such as calendar status and location as an embeddable feed. This way you could share your whereabouts automatically from the phone, without having to update or sync anything.

What do you think, is that worth pursuing? Do you have any other comments (technical or not) about the current feeds we have? Also which of the social services would you like to see getting "MWS enabled"?

Thanks for your comments in advance!

-Jukka

The current idea is roughly this:
- there will be a single 'Add access rights' page under Settings that includes all of the applications and their features
- within that page you can choose Users or Groups, and add rights to some or all applications (or clear all rights to start from fresh)
- there will be another page where you can check the current access rights for any given User or Group

The challenge with these new settings is that the amount of data requests must be kept to a minimum for speed and efficiency reasons, hence the two different pages for adding and checking the rights.

How does that sound? Any further ideas? Thanks in advance!

-Jukka

This version can be installed directly on top of MWS, after which you can develop mobile sites using PHP and MySQL. And be able to install pretty much any PHP/MySQL based CMS, Wiki or other package alongside the default MWS site. But there are still rough edges, so it's better if you are not afraid of the bleeding-edge:)

As usual, you can download PAMP from SourceForge and installation instructions are provided in our wiki.

In case of any problems or questions, please use the Forum Nokia discussion board.

Have fun!

Johan

Head on to the official news item to check out what's new and fixed. Then follow up here, what did you like? Or didn't?

PS. At this point I want to thank all the hard-working people putting on long hours for this stuff. Thank you, and have a relaxing holiday!

-Jukka

-Jukka

By default Presence page shows just the coordinates if the phone location is found. It's fair to say that's not very intuitive but here we are leaving the innovation possibilities for developers and hobbyists. It's very easy to modify the default Presence page to have a link to any map or other service. Hint: the file is Web server\htdocs\Web_Applications\Presence\Viewer\index.psp. You can take a look at our demo device's Presence page, it has some examples on what to do with the location.

If you don't feel like experimenting just start to use our Facebook application. It will translate your location into a map name and country, if you allow that. This way your friends can check out your live location roughly.

The location feature works in S60 devices that have the AGPS feature in software. This includes all the models that have internal GPS module. For some products such as N95 and E90 make sure you have the latest software for the device. Our current implementation only uses network-based location which can be hundreds of meters or even kilometers off depending on the cellular network structure. In our next release we will add an option to use also the GPS information if desired.

Bonus link: The Mobile Web Server brochure describes this and other possible future ideas. If you have new ideas, you know what to do :)

-Jukka

In addition to status data your friends can send you a free text message directly from the profile. Messages appear on the phone just as a normal text message. What am I seeing right now? Your friends can ask a live photo from your device with a single click on the application.

The application is now available for everybody, and requires the latest Mobile Web Server 1.3 beta to run. Let us know what you think!

Live Status from my Nokia Phone

-Jukka

-Jukka

I start with talking about replacing Mobile Ministry Magazine with the Mobile Web Server (MWS) because it was here that I took a leap of faith so to speak. I was not sure about the stability of the MWS software, nor my device's response to it. Sure, I am usually connected with Jaiku, Emoze, and other connected applications, but I use an N75 and there is only so much RAM to go around.

I began by making sure that I had a backup plan for when things would go down (as my mobile plays modem, phone, and communications portal for a desktop and N800 Internet Tablet). I chose to use the Jaiku social networking service and a channel that I had set up there as a means to keep conversations going when the MWS was down. I also planned daily down-time in order to give me a chance to look at device and server vitals, and to let the mobile charge.

For the most part, I can say that it was a successful experiment. Aside from not understanding in version 1.2 of the MWS about how it would allow anonymous public access (I figured this out in version 1.3 though), there were not too many issues. I used a combination of my Internet Tablet w/Bluetooth keyboard and T9 on the mobile to post to the blog. And was able to facilitate a few conversations and chats with the Contact and Web Chat features.

The downsides for me hinged mainly on my not reading the manual, and therefore things such as customizing and recognizing limitations in using widgets along with the server made the experience harder than it needed to be. Nevertheless, I left that 8 day experiment confident in the maturity of doing such a thing as taking a website mobile as a very plausible direction for mobiles and the Internet.

What I didn't expect was that I would push the pace faster that I expected.

Read the MMM Mobile Experiment Report (PDF)

Replacing a Personal Site, Pushing A Device

In finishing with the MWS Experiement at Mobile Ministry Magazine, I knew for sure that moving my personal website to the MWS was something that I wanted to do. Besides the ability for complete content control, I began growing used to replacing going to MS Exchange when on a full computer to going to my moible via my MWS website. It was not just an issue of replacing a website that excited me, but replacing that entire middle man of syncing that made the MWS an attractive pursuit. However, I was not confident in my mobile device. Battery and memory concerns meant that I would have to modify usage patterns to carry a charger of some sort around often.

Things looked up when version 1.3 of the MWS was made available. I took the plunge and downloaded it. This time, I also read the manual and noticed some new features such as being able to post a blog from the Messaging application. This meant that the lower RAM constraints of my device could be somewhat mitigated. But I needed to make a plan of how to move and then just do it.

Not to bore anyone with details, but I've made a nearly complete transistion from Blogger to MWS for my personal site. There are some things yet to be done such as moving over static pages, editing the site's CSS to something a bit more personal, and learning Python for some dynamic functionality, but for the most part the MWS has allowed my online home to come with me. It's empowering.

What Next Then?

What really has to happen is that I move to a new mobile device that has more internal memory and the ability to run widgets that better interact with applications within the MWS. From a personal standpoint, the Mobile Web Server gives a bit of an empowerment in a similar way that MySpace does. Canned looks and feel, but given some time and attention its literally a space that is yours. Add your own URL (domain name), and then your mobile - and essentially your life - becomes even more connected with your offline life.

I look forward to more options with MWS such as saving images from the device/MWS to Share on Ovi, posting presence and blog titles to presence-enabled applications easier, and even the option to install only specified components of the MWS (I really don't use a Guestbook, haven't since 2000ish). Those and other additons such as the performance gains already realized in version 1.3 makes for the distinct possibility that having a mobile could not just become an issue of being a voice-led communications platform, but a data-led one as well.

As for me, I am working towards learning Python and getting a new mobile. Until then, I'll push my N75 until the battery yells at me a bit more. Because it's more fun when our multimedia computers really do take things to a level that were once only dreamt about.

Our first APIs have the following features:
- get Presence information from the device such as calendar availability, time and current profile
- send "free text messages" into the phone inbox

The APIs are documented in our wiki. Go start playing, and of course don't forget to submit your results in MWS Challenge there is still time!

-Jukka

As the last time, it can be downloaded from SourceForge and installation instructions are provided in our wiki.

This version can fully replace the web-server of MWS 1.3, so that you can use all Python based web applications of MWS, and at the same time play with PHP and MySQL. Note though, that as PAMP has fewer capabilities than MWS, the functionality of some web-applications of MWS will be restricted. But please read those installation instructions, as you can't just simply install the PAMP sis on top of MWS.

So, if you want to move closer to the bleading-edge, install PAMP, but be prepared that there are still rough edges. For technical discussions and support, please use the Forum Nokia discussion board.

Have lots of Fun!

Johan