ScmBlog Smart Client MobileBlogging System Fatma Elsayed Meawad Russell Beale University of Birmingham Mobile Blogging Blogging is the process of publishing a personal diary or a journal online. With the rise of the mobile internet, blogging multimedia from a mobile device soon grabbed the attention of multimedia phone users. A client mobile blog could be the best shortcut between a blogger and his weblog if it overcomes the issues faced by mobile applications; for example: Unreliable and interrupted signals Limited interface capabilities Limited processing power Features Architecture Server Side UIQ GUI XML Encoder Base64 Media Encoder Http Requests Sender Blogging System Http Requests Receiver Weblog Client Side Data Store XML Decoder Update / Alert Issue Update Send Receive Start In order to make the best use of the device's processing capability, Scmblog is built over independent asynchronously interacting modules. The opposite figure shows the main modules for Scmblog and the dotted columnar lines represents different threads of processing known as Active objects. Scmblog uses XML-RPC to invoke the publishing system’s functionalities on the server. The communication layer is based on HTTP request / response transactions. Scmblog is a client blogging system that targets UIQ Symbian based Smart phones. Using UIQ is the secret behind the lightweight, yet fancy interface of Scmblog. Scmblog provides an easy remote management tool for weblogs. In addition to regular blogging options, Scmblog provides automated multimedia publishing. Scmblog is the first mobile client that provides multimedia publishing from the phone. Alternatively, MMS can be used for multimedia publishing but they require a specific server to redirect the post to publishing systems. Scmblog also gives the user full control over the application storage limit and communication options through settings. Scmblog automatically detects the difference between different blogging systems and neglect any inconsistencies. Scmblog doesn’t support track back pings or template management since they are not valuable options to use from a mobile device. Connectivity Scmblog communicates as a browser does; therefore, any type of internet connectivity makes it work. The three tested connections for Scmblog so far are: USB PC Suite Cable Connection Bluetooth GPRS Bluetooth and PC suite connection are the most convenient because they are free and reliable. Evaluation Usability Using the UIQ API boosted the look and feel of Scmblog. Scmblog provides an easier way for publishing multimedia than normal apps. Scmblog communication mechanisms goes very well with any user’s budget. Performance Scmblog infra structure is based on an event model which guarantees non blocking of normal phone functionalities. Reliability Even in areas with weak signals, the application guarantees successful completion of transactions. Publishing Systems Wireless Device Publishing System XM L- RP C Server Web admin SMS MMS RPC Weblogs As simple as weblogs might look, there are sophisticated engines behind them that automate the publishing process. Scmblog supports the three most commonly used blogging systems: Movable type, Meta-weblog and Blogger. Further Work Scmblog presents a preliminary attempt to interact with Wikis. Although not complete, this attempt could be extended to introduce the first mobile wiki. Scmblog performance in communicating with blogging systems encourages the idea of using an adaptive mobile client for content management online instead of normal browsers.