Java hones in on cellphones

Java community members are taking another stab at Java for small devices, with plans for a specification designed for ISVs targeting cellphones. Java Community Process (JCP) members are pushing Java specification request (JSR) 185, which rounds up a number of existing Java APIs and technologies in an architecture designed only for cellphones. A test kit is also planned to ensure compatibility of vendors` implementations.

CBROnline reports that developers targeting handsets can choose from a number of JCP-ratified technologies to build applications based on the Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) specification.

J2ME has been modified over recent years to include optional enhancements such as mobile device information profile, connected limited device configuration and connected device configuration, among other extensions.

Any combination of these technologies can be used on a number of small footprint devices and equipment with limited memory or power sources from cellphones to personal digital assistants and set-top-boxes.

Those backing JSR 185 include JCP members Motorola, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Mobile Communications AB and NTT DoCoMo with Sun Microsystems. [CBROnline]

Most users probably haven`t heard of OPL but once upon a time it was the easy-to-use development language for the Psion Epoc devices. TheRegister reports that now OPL is going open source - apparently on Symbian`s say-so.

Symbian intends to get OPL running on Series 60 and UIQ platforms, which at least in theory means that people who`ve developed for Psions in the past will be able to resume hostilities on Sony-Ericsson and Nokia phones.

The nature of the open source licence that will be used isn`t yet clear, but it is believed that there will be a Sourceforge-like system for distributing source code, and that there will always be an "official" Symbian version, similar to the way Linux is developed at the moment. [TheRegister]

Kaspersky Labs, known for its virus-checking software, has released its first personal firewall program, Kaspersky Anti-Hacker.

"When we began development we understood that the market is full of similar products," says Alexey Kalgin, Kaspersky`s anti-hacker project manager. He says a survey of home users made it clear that most users feel the products out there require too much knowledge and expertise, causing them to waste a lot of time educating themselves in order to correctly install and configure the software. "Our product ... protects users against outside threats while not requiring any expert knowledge."

Anti-Hacker gives users the ability to define filter rules for each Internet application, data stream (TCP, UDP, ICMP among others), specific IP addresses, Web addresses and ports. Users can choose from among five pre-set levels of protection. Once a security level is chosen, the program applies all the necessary settings.

The software checks and logs data streams coming in and out of the PC, and offers the ability to monitor which applications are accessing the Internet. [ExtremeTech]

Think of a television screen rendered on a poster. Imagine monitors made of single sheets of flexible plastic. These are just some of the future technologies Xerox researchers are developing.

Scientists at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada are working on semi-conducting organic polymers that show promise for enabling the printing of electronic patterns on plastic substrates. If they work, materials like these could be used as alternatives to silicon transistors.

In a talk this week at the Materials Research Society`s conference in Boston, Beng Ong from Xerox Research described the synthesis of the new materials. The materials possess the outstanding electrical properties needed to print plastic circuits. Xerox`s Ong and his team reverse-engineered the materials by studying limitations present in existing materials and finding ways to get around those limitations.

"One of the main cost advantages of printed plastic transistors is that they will not need specialised, costly fabrication facilities and procedures, while silicon transistors require ultra-clean-room environments, high-temperature vacuum systems and complex, photolithographic processes," says Ong. [PC Magazine]

SCO Group, previously Caldera, has strengthened its rebranding efforts with the latest release of its Unix operating system for Intel processors that is now back under its original name of UnixWare. The company has also announced a new update service for its Unix and Linux operating systems.

Version 7.1.3 is the first release of UnixWare since SCO changed its name from Caldera International in August. It is the successor to Open Unix 8, which is what Caldera named what would have been UnixWare 7.1.2 following its acquisition of SCO`s Unix software and services business in May 2001.

Along with improvements in hardware support, networking capabilities and installation improvements, the latest version also features an update to the Linux Kernel Personality, which enables users to run Linux applications on the Unix operating system. The LKP now features multibyte character support, enabling it to run Asian language applications.

The latest version of UnixWare also features additional network applications, including OpenSSL, OpenSLP, OpenSSH and the Apache Web Server. The product has been released in English, with international versions available in January.

The company is also introducing the SCO update service which provides customers with the latest updates and additions to its Linux, UnixWare and OpenServer operating systems. Available for SCO Linux 4.0, UnixWare 7.1.3 and OpenServer 5.0.7 when it ships in the first quarter of 2003, update service will enable users to download operating system updates and deploy them as required. [CBROnline]