RSS reader gadget

For a while I have been using a small PC program for the feeds I keep a look on. It has lot's of functionality, and with some work I can get it to do just what I want to, which is very simple: just display a list of my feeds, where I can expand a feed and look at the posts.

But this gave me some problems... Sometimes it crashed, and I loose all my settings. I then have to set up everything again, which is a lot of work. Also I only had it on one of the computers I use (three in all), which meant I could only follow the feeds on that computer.

So the last time it crashed for me, i deinstalled it and made a Google gadget for feeds instead. So far it is very basic, the main advantage over the ones I have seen is that it handles multiple feeds ( there are excellent gadgets for handling only one feed). Probably I will add more options in the future.

Back to the J2ME world

I have got a new assignment, for a J2ME midlet this time. Primary target is not a small cellphone, but the new BlackBerry Curve. This means we have to think differently, the BlackBerry has a muck better interface, larger screen and a qwerty keyboard. We have to make sure they are used the best way possible. My previous J2ME experience has been with cellphones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Motorola, this is something different.

The BlackBerry environment means that additional preprocessing has to be done. Not a big thing, but yet another point that differs from PC/Windows client, where you just develop form Windows (possible verify on both XP and Vista) and don't care about the hardware. The J2ME platform is still not that mature (will it ever be?), you have to verify on the major phone brands, both that it works and looks OK.