I’ve been trying for weeks to program a wireless version of Portland Bars. I was originally trying to use WML (wireless markup language), and was met with constant frustration, endless server errors, and basically a bunch of crap that wasn’t gonna work. Then, for some reason, I created an XHTML strict test page. It worked wonderfully on my phone browser, I removed the wml tags from my PHP scripts, and have seen a wonderful result. While there are still millions of WML only phones out there, they are rapidly fading into oblivion, and XHTML seems to be the most streamlined, efficient way to go.
Some of my friends have asked me “Why bother with a wireless version? No one will use that.”
Perhaps not…however, my site offers a ton of useful information. For instance, you are out with friends and you want to go to the Shanghai Tunnel. You don’t quite know where that bar is, and here you are in your friend’s car. All of this information, address, location, and phone number can be quickly accessed from your phone, without the ridiculous 411 fees. In fact, it should eat up no more than 1KB of data transfer to get the information you need. Many providers are now offering a capped amount of data transfer for wireless web rather than charging by the minute, making it slightly more reasonable for a consumer to be inclined to use it.
Additionally, I wanted the ability to comment on bars, especially ones I had never been too via my cellphone. This way, all the information is stored in a central database, and I don’t have to worry about fumbling for scraps of paper at a later date.
Alright, off to code more stuff.