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Always On Architecture for Instant Messenger on Mobile Devices

Well, its true that mobile IM will hit big in the coming years. People will need a better way to stay connected with work, family, friends not only on call but also online with their avatar. On my recent search on available services that lets me stay connected on IM, I couldn’t find any. But I heard there is an application in T-Mobile Sidekick that lets us stay always on (not sure how far that is true).
I began to wonder the complications, the companies (especially communication companies developing mobile apps) might be facing in getting something like this in the market. The only major problem I could think of is in keeping the data connection always on. So here’s a high level simple architecture of what I think can solve this problem. Basically, the intermediate server will store the session between the device and IM server keeping itself transperent. When someone trys to talk to the device, the intermediate server can alert the device and also send the message to the app sitting on the device. This way the user can maintain an Always On state even when the app is not open or device is not active. Any thoughts?

Update: I came across this iPhone/BlackBerry application BeejiveIM that let users stay connected (Always On feature) on their favorite IM client on the go. The service looks very promising but its little expensive $16 plus either Microsoft Exchange Server Connectiviy or subscription to MobileMe (both could be little expensive). It emails the user (via puch email feature) whenever a contact trys to initiate the conversation. Besides that, it has many other features that makes it a popular pick among various IM clients available for iPhone and BlackBerry.

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How to get Motivation to work

Sometimes, after a long busy day at office, I don’t feel like working at home. I feel so lazy that I either watch another episode of Family Guy/America Dad/Arrested Development or something like that and just hit the bed. I would even spend couple of hours with my roomies, talking nothing but worthless crap (I know I need to be social too, but its just not my kind of thing right now). Lately I started reading some books on getting ‘motivation to work’ and also implemented few of the techniques that are proving fruitful. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

• Split the tasks into very small 10 min. tasks that look doable and easy
• Write down all the best things that would happen If I finish these small tasks early.
• Make a small plan on how I can tackle difficult problems in an efficient way.
• Talk to Mom for encouragement (sometimes this takes lot of time!).
• Realize how happy my client would be if I finish the project way before deadline (or) realize how mad my client would be if I delay the project any further.
• Go through my goals list to realize that I need more money!
• Have a coffee or tea to ensure I stay awake and work.
• Staying focused on those small tasks I created. Avoid blogging!

But unfortunately sometimes, even with all that my laziness overshadows my plans, tasks list, talk with my mom, goals list and everything under the sun. That’s when I feel I am tired and I need a good night sleep

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MIT Open CourseWare

Have you ever wanted to see, feel and enjoy the quality of education in big institutions like MIT? Well here’s a chance. Try MIT’s exclusive online courses all for FREE. Yes, its true! Go here, and try it. Check out all the courses, watch all the videos, download all the pdfs, capture everything you ever wanted and don’t pay a dime, don’t even register on the site. Here are the courses that I am following right now:-

• The Software Business
• Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager
• Introduction to Software Engineering in Java

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