Evander Batson
xinhe feng
FluffyLeecy
frankiezek
gaboratparsons
giang063
gracegotlost
lauriewaxman
Siwen Li
Tim Xiaofeng Lin
Yury Gitman
mar28th
Max(TONG WEN)
Soohyun
sabotai
Susan Lin
Fermid Update
Updates from May, 2011 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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Behnaz Babazadeh
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scottpeterman
Imaginary Marching Band
The Imaginary Marching Band is a series of open-source wearable instruments that allow the wearer to create real music simply by pantomiming playing an instrument. -
Oylum
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hilalkoyuncu
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Thom Hines
Tinkering w/ Tinker
As I mentioned last time in class, most of the work I’m doing from this point on is behind-the-scenes and addressing specific problems that I encountered in my user tests and the responses I got from some of my testers. Fortunately, I think I have already managed to capture most of the features I set out to do, and it seems each feature I try to add on opens up a new can of worms that only takes me further from my goal of having a ready to release project by next week.
The main concerns I was getting from people were that feedback wasn’t always clear when there was a problem, either in Tinker or on the server, and it basically leaves the user stranded. I’ve tried my best to find the main points of problems and give useful feedback through the feedback mechanism in tinker. If any of my calls to the server result in an error, Tinker will either present a user-friendly message (quite often just instructions to reload the page), or if Tinker doesn’t know what happened, give the user the PHP error that was generated. Dealing with server files can be tricky, and some people are finding issues that have never come up for me, so this may be something that evolves greatly over time.
The other issues I’ve been trying to address are some of the quirks of the interface itself. For instance, when a page has a link and the user clicks it, it acts just like normal text. The editor wants to give the user the option to edit the text of the link, but nobody could figure out how to follow the link to its target. For that, I created a small pop-up, similar to what you see when you click a link in GMail, that provides a clickable link to go to the destination. Other issues have to do with the image uploader, CSS class selector, and other options that aren’t clearly labeled or explained in the interface. I’m going to have to build in a help system, but that will be more than I can do this week.
All in all, most people don’t seem to be asking for any more features. This could be because most people haven’t had a chance to really try to practically apply it yet, but I’d like to think it also has to do with the fact that it does it’s fairly basic job well, and that most changes that people see are not much of a problem for Tinker.
Also, here’s the latest version of my presentation:
catherine
updated kni++!
I’ve been knitting away!
I plan to user test tomorrow night or on my way home tonight.
andywallace
Keep on Keepin’ on
My redefined thesis: Sound balls is an interactive and collaborative soundscape controlled by a set of smart balls.
Since my last update, a lot of my work has gone toward building the physical ball. I coated one in resin, sanded it and painted it, and am fairly pleased with the look and texture. The resin I am using provides a hard and paintable outer layer for the ball and does not block the signal at all. I had originally planned on sanding the ball smooth, but as I went, I realized I liked the wavy grain that resulted, so I left it a little rough. The only thing that needs fixing is the hideous seem that runs along the ball. I will either be covering it with tape and painting it over or possibly filling it with foam.
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Roslyn Pica
I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? whether way keep up the nice capability writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one today.
lpercifield
dontflush.me
dontflush.me is live! The site now contains the realtime data feed from pachube (when the sensor is running). I added the SMS registration feature and a New York sewer shed map courtesy of habitatmap.org. Everyone please register! I promise that I wont spam you!
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Breanne
It is hard to find familiar people within this issue, you be understood as you know exactly what you are referring to! Thanks a lot
Making Toys 
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