Re: http://www.w3.org/2008/02/MS4D_WS/papers/unicef-w3c-presentation.html

> So VoiceXML has nothing to do with the browsable Web. And you are
> saying that SMS has also nothing do with with the browsable Web too?

I've the feeling that we are somehow in a rathole.
it all depends on your definition of browsable Web.
voice browsers are not generic browser on which you can get any URI 
existing on the web. A voice browser is attached to a specific page 
(like you have a home page) but the difference is that you cannot change 
the uri (no address bar compared to a visual browser) so your browsable 
web is what you can reach from this home page.
This is the web but with some limitation.
It is almost the same concept for widgets
Same concept i see for SMS

> Wouldn't it be far simpler if they could send:
> GET tiempo.bo

well from the user perspective you might be right for you. this would be 
more powerful for you because you believe that you can find the right 
uri to put in, with the right parameters.
But if you have never experienced the web, or if you cannot use anything 
else to retrieve the information about this URI and its parameter, then 
no it is not more powerful, neither it is easier. I would prefer sending 
an sms with "temperature cochamba" and get the info rather than "GET 
tiempo.bo?type=temperature&location=cochamba"

That said, nothing prevent anybody to develop such a service.
There are very few chances that this would work based on the limitation 
of sms and the issues i mentionned above. for voice, i did myself wrote 
such an application being able to enter with keypad any uri, and then 
translate the content at the uri in voicexml. I let you imagine what 
kind of output you get, and how usable it is.

> Else if people get used to some proprietary text service, how are they
> to know the source of their information when they go to the Web on a
> desktop?

errr. that's all the point. this is about delivering services in places 
where there is no web-enable phone nor internet cafe or similar 
telecenter. So this is not for the case that people are in front of 
their desktop from time to time or with their phone.

>> this will never happen.
>> neither will happen the development of a very lightweight (text-only)
>> browser, something i believed in for a while, mostly because this would mean
>> investing in a direction that is not the trend. The trend is 2g, 3g 4g
>> networks, and full mobile browser.
> 
> I don't quite understand your argument.
> 
> So SMS text responses of URI requests won't happen because people
> expect the Web to be of the full sort?

What i meant is that you will find nobody to invest money/time/resource 
in developing and setting up something that are just here to solve a 
transient problem. All forecast for now is that by 2015-2020 all phones 
will have a browser, and 3g available everywhere for the price of gsm 
today. So sms would not be a service platform anymore

Steph


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Stephane Boyera  stephane@w3.org
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France

Received on Thursday, 6 November 2008 11:02:22 UTC