http://developer.apple.com/iphone/devcenter/designingcontent.html

http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/developers-diary/archives/104

I'm getting ready to setup an HTC Excalibur and I wanted to post my list of favorite sites to visit with my Mobile Browser and a list of the apps I really need to install to make my Windows Mobile Smartphone complete.

• Amazon Mobile - http://m.amazon.com - A basic, but very usable site, focused on search, that lets folks who've setup their Amazon account ahead of time purchase directly from the phone. Nice if you have Amazon Prime Free Shipping.
• BBC PDA - http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/pda or http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile - BBC has a mobile site and a PDA site, but the PDA site looks best on Smartphones or Blackberries. The best of the BBC on my phone. The mobile site would look good on an old black-and-white WAP Nokia.
• CNN Mobile - http://m.cnn.com - Same here, mobile CNN, some pics, I use this site a lot.
• Engadget Mobile - http://m.engadget.com - My favorite tech and gadget blog, now with mobiley goodness. I wish I could see comments though.
• Hanselman.com - http://www.hanselman.com - Ha! See what I did right there? Back in the day, we taught dasBlog about mobile devices and if you hit hanselman.com from a Blackberry or Windows Mobile browser (and a number of other tiny browsers), we'll detect it and give you a mobile experience. Yay!
• Facebook - http://m.facebook.com - In terms of pure functionality, I'd say that Facebook's mobile site is, hands-down, the most functional. It feels like you can most everything you'd ever want to using only Tiny HTML. This site and this company continue to impress, probably because it's running entirely on Red Bull and 20-year-olds.
• Flight Stats - http://mobile.flightstats.com - This fine site has saved my tuckus a number of times while traveling. Their Airport Chatter section is interesting also.
• Google - http://www.google.com/xhtml - The Tiny XHTML version of Google includes location specific searches and personalization with News, Weather, Movies, etc.
  • +1-800-GOOG-411 (+1-800-4664-411) - If you're able to call this number, either domestically or internationally, it's worth a try because it's amazing. Much better than the "1-800-Tell-Me stuff back in the day, but still of the same vein. I use this a LOT.
• Microsoft Live - http://wls.live.com or http://m.live.com - If you hit wls you'll get your browser detected and possible prompted to download a nice applet for your phone. If you hit m.live.com you'll get tiny Windows Live Search.
• Gmail - http://m.gmail.com - If you hit gmail with your phone you should get detected and sent over to the mobile version. If not, you can hit m.gmail.com or https://mail.google.com/mail/x/ where the x is magic. If you're running Google Apps for Your Domain (GAFYD) you can hack that URL also.
• Joystiq - http://m.joystiq.com - Tiny Gaming Site. Interestingly, while they use (I think) the same back end as Engadget, sometimes the fonts are all wonky.
• Mobile MSN - http://m.msn.com - A decent mobile portal and good jumping off point. The mobile stocks are particularly good.
• MSNBC - http://www.msnbc.msn.com - It's astonishingly LAME that you can't get to this site from http://m.msnbc.com but perhaps they'll read this and make that DNS change, because this is a really good tiny news site.
• Alarm.com - https://www.alarm.com/pda - I use Alarm.com to manage my security systems at the house and our rentals from my phone. If you've got a service available over the web, you really ought to have a minimal mobile website so kudos to them for having one.
• Twitter - http://m.twitter.com - Does exactly what it says it does...mobile twitter, although I'd like to be able to see Direct Replies in the interface.
• Wapedia (Mobile Wikipedia) - http://wapedia.mobi/en - Very useful for winning arguments with the wife self-edification, it's the mobile Wikipedia.

I think it's funny that folks thought that the ".mobi" top level domain extension was a good idea and that the internet just changed "www.foo.com" to "m.foo.com" and saved the registration fee. Plus, I don't have to tap out the "obi" which saves me, like minutes.

What are your must-have mobile websites, Dear Reader?

Things to think about if you want to be a consultant

http://devlicio.us/blogs/derik_whittaker/archive/2008/01/02/things-to-think-about-if-you-want-to-be-a-consultant.aspx

I was chatting a buddy recently and he was thinking about making the jump to the consulting world (not solo, through a consulting firm).  As he has never been a consultant I gave him my 2cents on questions to ask during the interview as well as things he has to accept before making the jump.

Questions to ask the consulting firm

• What percent of travel is the norm?
  This is very important to know up front.  Because if you don't want to travel much and they tell you they are 100% travel, then move on. 
  One thing you need to keep in mind, is that they can give you a number, that number is NOT in stone.  It can/will change from client to client.  In my 5 years of consulting, I never left the greater Chicago area.  And for 2+ years I worked out of our home office.
• What is your bench policy?
  Ask what the policy is for being on the bench?  More importantly ask the billable % expectation is for a consultant.  This can be important because if they expect you to be billable 90% of the year then they may not be able to handle any rough patches.  However, if they expect you to be billable for only 80% then they should be better set for rough patches.
  I also found that if a company has higher expectations about billable %, they may not be willing to provide non-billable training as it eats into the bottom line.
  If you are on the bench, do they have something for you to do?  Can you go to training during that time?  Or can you simply stay home and collect a check (i wish)?
• What is your training policy?
  Ask what type of training they budget for?  Do they pay for conferences, weekly training classes?  Do they EXPECT you to take some sort of training. 
  A good firm will have a defined budged that will allow for adequate training of all there consultants.  Actually, it is in their best interest to keep you trained as you become more marketable.
• What is the 'standard' number of billable hours you expect?
  What is the standard number of hours do they expect you to bill for in a giving year?  Is it 1800, is it 2000?  This makes a difference because if they tell you 2000+ then are telling you they EXPECT you to work over time (more on that below).
  A full year with no time off is 2080 hours (52 weeks * 40 hours).  But if you get 2 weeks vacation and 10 paid holidays you are only at 1920 (48 weeks * 40 hours). 
  Again, now keep in mind that the 'standard' number is just a rule of thumb, but it is good to know.  The higher the number, the less room in the budget they may have for when times get tough. 
  Also, keep in mind that during my 5 years consulting, my average work week was about 45-50 hours.  So if you are looking for the 40 hours and go home, you may not want to do consulting.
• How are bonuses/raises calculated?
  Do they give bonuses/raises?  Are they based on billable hours?  If they are based on billable hours, that can be good and bad. 
  Example.  My old firm would give a flat bonus, but if you worked 200 extra hours a year you got a bump, if you worked 300 you got an extra bump, etc.
  This is good because i knew that the more i billed, the larger my bonus. 
  This was bad because i only got a sliver of the extra billable hours and in the long run did not pay off in the end.
• How does overtime work?
  Some firms don't do anything special for overtime (as is the case in most salary positions).  However, some will actually pay you extra for your overtime (these places typically don't give bonuses).  Other places bank your overtime and build that into your vacation (worked out well for my buddy).
  But i would say that most common is that nothing happens with your overtime, except the companies profits increase at your expense.

Thing you have to accept as part of the job

• The tech/environment will change with every new client
  With every new client/project your environment along with the technology will change.  For some people this is a show stopper, for others it is just another chance to learn.
  Keep in mind that if you work on site at the client you will be expected to follow ALL their rules.  So if they are business formal, you will be expected to dress in business formal.  If they say you cannot come in till 9 and must stay till 6, then that is what you must do.
  If you are not willing to accept this, then consulting may not be for you.
• You may not always be working on 'cool/fun' tech
  Since each project may change technology you may not always be working on 'fun, cool' stuff.  You may go from doing cutting edge development on project to doing report writing on the next one. 
  If you are not willing to accept this, then consulting may not be for you.
• You are the '***' of the client, at their mercy
  Since you are a 'hired gun' you are the mercy of the client.  Don't expect to have the same treatment as full timers (a lot of places today treat their consultants as part of the family, but not all).  Don't expect to get subsidized meals (if offered) or gym memberships, etc.
  Also, be ready to work in some of the worst spaces you can think of.  On place i worked the consultants all sat in a single 15-20 office.  They basically lined up desks along the wall and filled it with 6 people.  I felt bad for them :).
• The people you will meet
  The coolest part is the people you will meet, the connections you will make.  This is great because networking is the best way to move ahead in this business.  I have meet some great people and have made some great contacts.

This was my 2cents to him.

Did I miss anything?  Am I wrong?  Let me know

Till next time,

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