Tuesday May 23, 2006
JavaOne: Programming Three Screens
I spent a couple of days at JavaOne last week. It was great to
see folks that I don't get to connect with very often. It was
great to see projects that I have been so closely involved with thrive
- from Java 3D to JOGL to Darkstar. Because Java is so much in
everyones mind right now, I thought I would touch upon the three
screens topic again, but from the programming angle this time.
What programming environment let's you touch all three screens on the
most device? That would be Java of course. And it's not
just because there are so many mobile devices out there. Let's
look at the three screens separately.
First, we have the desktop. Java has been on the desktop since
it's inception. Java was the largest driving force behind the
massive casual games explosion. All casual games used to be built
with Java. The fragmentation with the Microsoft VM and the
emergence of Flash technologies caused the Java environment to be less
pervasive in the casual games market, but the number of desktop Java
applications continues to expand. Every JavaOne I see new desktop
Java applications being deployed - like the great trip photo cataloging
swing application demoed in
keynote. The number of features, tools supported, and
applications possible on the Java desktop platform is still rapidly
expanding.
Next up is our friend the mobile Java platform. This platform is
finally maturing to the point of truly innovative technologies coming
to market. From the SavaJe
device to Disney
Mobile and ESPN mobile
and all of the other great examples in
keynote, the mobile platform is finally starting to show its true
form and what lies ahead. Then of course there is the
is getting close to being finalized. One look at that platform is
a sure sign that services that were once only available on the desktop
will soon be coming to your phone.
That takes care of two screens. The third being the TV.
This is where I really wanted to let people know about some up and
coming technologies. First, there is
next gen high definition DVD standards. The programming
environment for Blu-Ray is Java. That's right, you can now
repurpose your desktop and mobile content for next generation DVD
content. But the one that has me really excited is
OpenCable Applications Platform for set top boxes. Earlier this
year, the major cable companies announced that they would deliver 1
million OCAP set top boxes this year in the US alone. OCAP uses
Java as it's platform. So, why is this exciting? Imagine
the application possibilities. Here is one that I came up with
called Madden Mode. Imagine you are watching TV and you want to
high lite something. Well, you pause the TV, rewind to the spot
you want, and then enable Madden Mode which allows you to scribble on
the paused image. Then imagine you can send that image to someone
else. That is what having Java in the device allows us to think
about. I am deep in the learning curve on OCAP, but the
possibilities seem endless.
So there you have it. You can build Java applications for all
three screens. And with the combined footprint of desktops (PC
/Apple/Linux), mobile devices, Blu-Rays, and OCAP boxes - Java is the
most deployed platform for the three screens. Volume
counts. :^)
Doug.
Posted at 02:03PM May 23, 2006 by dtwilleager in General |
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