Dialtone Internet First to Update Linux Dedicated Servers for Delivering Wireless Web Content

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http://www.dialtoneinternet.com/news/pr08312000.htm

I think this is a cool feature :)

Not to be a put down or anything, but I thought there wasn't any special software needed to have WAP files? I thought you simply added the line to your htaccess or httpd.conf file to make sure apache recognized the files. Is this what Dialtone is doing, or is there special software required. Thanks. Just want to know. :)

You're right Vincent.. Dialtone didn't do anything special or add any software to any server.

The server owner simply adds a series of AddType's to the Apache server's srm.conf file. Any web server owner at any company can do this.

Even better, DI actually put out a press release boasting that they are the "First to Update Linux Dedicated Servers for Delivering Wireless Web Content".

And what's funny, is that in the release, they state "all its Linux Servers and Linux Cluster Servers are being updated to deliver web content to wireless devices"

Yeah, okay.. So they're going to login to every server at their NOC (over 1500) and add the lines to the srm.conf file. Not. They just add instructios on what lines to add to the srm.conf file in their "Bug Fixes Page". (I didn't know that this was a bug..) It will be up to the dedicated server owner to add the lines to the file, so not "all" servers will be updated.

Well, yeah, so, the information appeared on the Server or Bug Fixes page, a page that serves to notify us of updates as well as bug fixes.

They obviously meant that they are updating the servers they offer to new customers, easy enough to understand.
I sure wouldn't want anyone doing anything to my server without my permission.

They told us how to update our srm.conf with the requisite lines, an exceptionally easy task.

That's all I would expect from any company.

I believe the mime types could be added to mimes.types in the same direcotry as srm.conf... right?
(You simply add some mime types, so... its even faster when added to the mime.type list inst4ead of adding them at run time)

Thats correct Félix , it is faster when added to mime.types, most , if not all default apache configurations don't use srm.conf anymore. The additional confs were at one time used but they have been commented out for a long time.

Apache can be split up into many conf files or just one main, its up to the owner I suppose :).

In fact Daniel, many web server are still running splitted up apache configuration files because they are using a old version of apache... Or had it built this way at first and the sysadmins were too lazy to do it the modern way :)

However, the startup speed of apache isn't really a big deal, since it is only (re)started once in a while.

To set WAP on your server, you add the following to your mime.types file:

text/vnd.wap.wml .wml
image/vnd.wap.wbmp .wbmp
application/vnd.wap.wmlc .wmlc
text/vnd.wap.wmlscript .wmls
application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc .wmlsc

Agreed to all that was said, but how many hosts out there are enabling it? How many hosts allow you to enable it? :)

ANY host with half a brain will enable or have enabeled wap content because it basically has no disadvantages except for maybe a "i don't know how to do it". As far as I know, by allowing WAP mime types there is everything to gain and nothing to loose :).

The point is not that it is obvious or easy, the point is that dialtone internet is trying to keep its systems up to date and to offer services it thinks their customer might use.

As for the details, you can edit the httpd.conf file (this is the suggestion of the wap forum web site), or the other file mentioned. There are also instruction for users of windows personal server or IIS server. They are also very simple, all you have to do is tell your machine how to recognize the mime type.

"the point is that dialtone internet is trying to keep its systems up to date and to offer services it thinks their customer might use. "


Wrong, look @ the way they said it. They made it seem like they were the *first* or that they made some big accomplishment, its a simple marketing trick to people who don't know any better, and a cheap one at that.

I had to do a wap site back in January - I hated it - having to worry about the differences in IE and Netscape are nothing compared to different wap browsers.
The following is a very interesting read on wap.


http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000709.html

Still worth having your apache configured for wml though - it can't hurt sales.