RE: lingo-l [OT] UK Kiosks
Excellent - thanks for the advice guys. Very valid points regarding the design I had not considered previously. Sounds as though I better look out for those Elo displays displays too, I'll try and find someone who uses them. Final question though - how much should we be looking to spend on a very secure unit which would have a robust printer installed? A rough ballpark figure based on previous experience would suffice; say, something in the region of £4000 (which I guess works out around $6500)? It's not for anything fancy, just a visual route planner that gives you a print out. Any ideas?! -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Howdy-Tzi Sent: 24 June 2003 17:50 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: lingo-l [OT] UK Kiosks The Elo touchscreen monitors are pretty decent. I'd recommend using an LCD rather than a phosphor display, because LCDs don't have the burn-in problems and in my experience run cooler. Do NOT let anyone sell you a Windows box. Use a Mac for your CPU. It'll be a heck of a lot more reliable. Virtually every problem I've ever had with kiosk installs is in dealing with stupid Windows crashes. (The client wanted Windows, it's cheaper, bla bla bla, ignoring the real costs of downtime when the systems would fold up for hours on end.) *Always* make sure your CPU enclosure has superb ventilation. A few holes drilled in the sides do not suffice; you've got to have a couple fans in there to force air around. As for UI on the kiosk display, remember most users won't have time to learn or memorize the display controls. Make all the choices very simple, have a very large home button that essentially resets the display so when one person wanders off the next doesn't have to figure out how to start over again, and always make your buttons obviously buttons. Give them a raised or 3D look. Also keep the choices brief. Don't present the user with 15 buttons on one page. That's too many. Try to keep it less than 5. Beware of parallax. The screen glass itself is pretty thick, which means that buttons that are relatively short in height might be very hard to hit accurately with a finger. Make 'em tall, ideally more or less square or circular. Test, test, test. Bring in chuckleheads from off the street who've never seen the display before and pay 'em a few bucks (or quid) to mess around for a while. See where they get lost or where they seem to be unable to understand what's going on with the program. End users will behave in exactly the same fashion with the kiosk. I don't mean focus group here -- focus groups rarely yield useful advice (look at the improvements made with MS Word over the years if you don't believe that) -- but do pay attention to how they respond and, if you need to rehack the UI based on their failures to comprehend it, do it. [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l scriptInstanceList
hi, warren yes, you´re right, but it wouldn´t solve the problem. to create an instance of the script did. interesting that when you assign a script to the scripinstancelist of several sprites they act like one. probably they refer to the same memory adress or something like that. but it´s unexpected. thanks, q At 16:48 24/6/2003 -0500, you wrote: On Tuesday, Jun 24, 2003, at 16:11 America/Chicago, Quixadá wrote: hi, rob yes, you´re right, that´s exactly my problem. i´ve made a simple dir just to show what´s happening. here are the scripts: The very first thing you should do is put the sendAllSprites call *outside* of your repeat loop. Try this. on startMovie repeat with i = 1 to 3 puppetSprite i,TRUE sprite(i).member = member 1 of castLib 1 sprite(i).loc = point(400 + random(70),300 + random(70)) sprite(i).scriptInstanceList.add(script(zoom)) end repeat updateStage sendAllSprites(#change,1) end Warren Ockrassa | President, nightwares LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] nightwares LLC | Consulting Programming http://www.nightwares.com/ Developer | Structor, a presentation development/programming tool Info and demo | http://www.nightwares.com/structor/ Author | Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio: A Beginner's Guide Chapter samples | http://www.nightwares.com/director_beginners_guide/ [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!] [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l scriptInstanceList
thanks, evan, that´s what i did. q At 18:00 24/6/2003 -0400, you wrote: ok, so my movie, while needs much explaining on it's own, shows a method of puppeting a sprite, then adding an instance of a script directly after. in short, you just need to do something like... y = new(script zoom) sprite(i).scriptInstanceList.add(y) Cheers, Evan [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l scriptInstanceList
while we´re on this subject, what handler should be executed when an instance of a script is added to a sprite scriptinstancelist? the on beginsprite doesn´t seem to be executed, so that´s why i have to send sprites messages. and even those seem not work sometimes. q [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l scriptInstanceList
25/06/2003 8:59:02 AM, Quixadá [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: while we´re on this subject, what handler should be executed when an instance of a script is added to a sprite scriptinstancelist? the on beginsprite doesn´t seem to be executed, so that´s why i have to send sprites messages. and even those seem not work sometimes. q Hey Quixada, Glad you got your scriptInstance issue worked out. Below is the script I use for dynamic sprite creation. It allows me to create a sprite, assign properties like member, ink etc and as many behaviours as I want, all in one call. Also it is designed to use standard behaviour structure, that is you don't have to do anything special to behaviours you want to attach to dynamic sprites. You'll see that it forceably calls the beginSprite handler to make sure the scripts are properly initialized. Also there is code to deal with the endSprite handler. If you want to see it in action along with a demonstration of the pitfalls of dynamic sprites (this is what Kerry mentioned earlier) (and a crude partial work around for the problem) then check out http://www.manibus.com/testzone/dynamicSprite/dynaSprite.dir hth Rob PS if working with dynamic sprites the only real solution for them not interfering with score authored sprites is to dedicate a range of channels for them and never put score authored sprites in those channels --dynamic sprite generation --written by Rob Romanek, [EMAIL PROTECTED] on makeSprite aNum, aProps, aBhvrs --check for valid aNum, the sprite number if not(integerP(aNum)) then return if aNum1 and aNumthe lastchannel then return me = script(dynamicSprite) puppetSprite aNum, 1 --aProps list passed in as defaultProps = [\ #member:member(-1),\ #loc: point(0,0),\ #ink: 0,\ #blend: 100,\ #color: rgb(0,0,0),\ #backColor: 0\ ] --change default props to those passed in c=defaultProps.count repeat with i = 1 to c tProp = defaultProps.getPropAt(i) tValue = aProps[tProp] if not(voidP(tValue)) then aProps.deleteProp(tProp) defaultProps[i] = tValue end if end repeat --add additional props c = aProps.count repeat with i = 1 to c tProp = aProps.getPropAt(i) tValue = aProps[i] defaultProps[tProp]=tValue end repeat --apply them to the sprite c = defaultProps.count repeat with i = 1 to c tProp = defaultProps.getPropAt(i) tValue = defaultProps[i] case tProp of #member: sprite(aNum).member = tValue #loc: sprite(aNum).loc = tValue #ink: sprite(aNum).ink = tValue #blend: sprite(aNum).blend = tValue #color: sprite(aNum).color = tValue #backColor: sprite(aNum).backColor = tValue #rect: sprite(aNum).rect = tValue #rotation: sprite(aNum).rotation = tValue otherwise do sprite( aNum ). tProp = tValue end case end repeat if voidP(aBhvrs) then return sprite(aNum).scriptInstanceList = [me.new()] c = aBhvrs.count repeat with i = 1 to c tProp = aBhvrs.getPropAt(i) tValue = aBhvrs[i] sprite(aNum).scriptInstanceList.add(script(tProp).new()) tvc = tValue.count if tvc then si = sprite(aNum).scriptInstanceList.count repeat with j = 1 to tvc tProp2 = tValue.getPropAt(j) tValue2 = tValue[j] sprite(aNum).scriptInstanceList[si][tProp2]=tValue2 end repeat end if end repeat sendSprite(aNum, #beginSprite) end on endDynamicSprite me if voidP(me) then return if not(objectP(me)) then return sprite(me.spriteNum).memberNum = -1 sendSprite(me.spriteNum, #endSprite) sprite(me.spriteNum).puppet = 0 sprite(me.spriteNum).scriptInstanceList = [] end [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
RE: lingo-l scriptInstanceList
while we´re on this subject, what handler should be executed when an instance of a script is added to a sprite scriptinstancelist? the on beginsprite doesn´t seem to be executed, so that´s why i have to send sprites messages. and even those seem not work sometimes. You have probably already seen James' and my latest posts, but I'll expand a bit (been doing that for the last 30 years, actually). As James says, you don't have to have an on new handler. It's implicit. However, if you have an on new handler, you can pass parameters to it when you create the instance. E.g., in your script named setPos: property pCurrentVal property pXPos property pYPos on new me, xPos, yPos, startVal pXPos = xPos pYPos = yPos pCurrentVal = startVal return me End on beginSprite me sprite(me.spriteNum).locH = pXPos sprite(me.spriteNum).locY = pYPos end Then, when you create the instance, pass the values you want for xPos, yPos, and startVal. New() will always execute before beginSprite, even for sprites you manually attach (that is, without setting the scriptInstanceList). The important concept here is instances. When you create the new instance, Director does, as you noted, set aside some memory for that instance. That memory includes the properties for that particular instance. Ten instances, ten sets of properties, each unique to the instance. There is, however, only one copy of the executable code, shared by all instances. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Code acts on data, and it acts the same no matter what the data (well, within limits). So, an object really only needs to keep track of its own data--properties and local vars. Hope this helps. Cordially, Kerry Thompson [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
lingo-l UpgradingOldProjects
I've been asked to upgrade a CD (projector) done in 8.5 to MX for use on System X and multiple platforms. Haven't upgraded my 8.5 to MX yet. Very intimidated by the Macromedia Tech Note on creating projectors with MX, system X for multiple platforms. After reading many discouraging notes on several forums about developing with MX my instincts say forget about it. Use 8.5 and system 9.2 for another year until MX gets simplified; you know, autostart issues, multiple QuickTime installers, blinding array of xtras, etc. Maybe I'm suffering from upgrade burnout. I guess I would just like to hear from some of you who have had the courage to move up; how has it worked out? Thanks, Bruce [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l UpgradingOldProjects
I haven't created a package yet - (an app that runs on 9 and X) but it's not as scary as you might think; these packages are really just folders with the 9 and x components set up properly. (Look at any X app, right/ctrl click and do 'show package contents' and you'll see what I mean) - - but all in all I dig projectors on osx. Coupled with OSControl and X-centric interface components, it really feels like a more mature app than 9 for some reason... [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
RE: lingo-l UpgradingOldProjects
Maybe I'm suffering from upgrade burnout. I guess I would just like to hear from some of you who have had the courage to move up; how has it worked out? I've been using MX on Window and OS X for several months now, and haven't had a major problems. I've created a half-dozen OS X projectors, and the worst hurdles I've had involved Xtras. The DirectOS Xtra, for example, changed the format of some of their calls, so I had to go in and change those calls. Making an OS X icon, and incorporating it into your projector is probably the biggest issue you'll face. It can be a bit daunting to read about, but when you get in and start working on it, you'll find that its bark is worse than its bite. Cordially, Kerry Thompson [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l UpgradingOldProjects
On Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003, at 11:13 America/Chicago, Bruce Powell wrote: I've been asked to upgrade a CD (projector) done in 8.5 to MX for use on System X and multiple platforms. Haven't upgraded my 8.5 to MX yet. Very intimidated by the Macromedia Tech Note on creating projectors with MX, system X for multiple platforms. Don't be. The first time can be a little tricky, but after that it's cake. After reading many discouraging notes on several forums about developing with MX my instincts say forget about it. Use 8.5 and system 9.2 for another year until MX gets simplified; you know, autostart issues, multiple QuickTime installers, blinding array of xtras, etc. You don't need to worry about multiple QT installers. You won't find an OSX install without QuickTime; at the most you might need to provide an installer for pre-X systems. As for autostart -- that's never been a feature in wide use on Mac anyway. Mac users know how to locate a CD when it's inserted and how to locate and run an application. Maybe I'm suffering from upgrade burnout. I guess I would just like to hear from some of you who have had the courage to move up; how has it worked out? Apart from the UI issues in author I have had no troubles whatsoever with DMX. Warren Ockrassa | President, nightwares LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] nightwares LLC | Consulting Programming http://www.nightwares.com/ Developer | Structor, a presentation development/programming tool Info and demo | http://www.nightwares.com/structor/ Author | Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio: A Beginner's Guide Chapter samples | http://www.nightwares.com/director_beginners_guide/ [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
RE: lingo-l baVersion( os )
An up date on my problem. I did some research on osVersion and found on the macromedia website an ostest.dir file. I magically turned it into a dcr file and it detected Windows ME on my Windows ME file instead of Windows 98. I copied the code into my project and then tried to run it on the windows ME machine. It detected windows 98 (I knew this because of an alert I had in the code). I installed director on the windows ME machine to debug it. The uncompiled dir file detects windows ME. So I compiled it on the windows ME and blow me down it detects windows 98. So the question is why? Is there anything you know that would cause this? Code below. Desperately Liz Code global osList on startMovie osList=[Windows 98,Windows 2000,Windows NT,Windows ME,Windows XP, Windows 95] end * global osList on exitFrame me --myOs is set to the actual property #osVersion, --this is done by retrieving the information from the property osVersion myOs = getaProp(the environment, #osVersion) --using a repeat loop and walking through the list osList, we compare --the actual OS to one of the OS's in the list osList. repeat with i = 1 to osList.count myVar = osList[i] --using the 'contains' operator to determine if there is a match. --between the actual OS and our list (osList) --if a match is found the play head is sent to the corresponding marker. if (myOs contains myVar) then alert myOS -- testing purposes only go to frame string(myVar) exit end if end repeat end -Original Message- From: Liz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 4:04 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: RE: lingo-l baVersion( os ) Hi, I'm officially confounded. I tried the code supplied by Luke it detects winME. I put exactly the same code in my application and it detects win98 every time. I tried both baVersion(windows) and baVersion (os) with the same results. Have I entered the dark zone or is there something that could be causing this? I would try (the environment).osVersion, but frankly I don't know how to use it. I will have to look it up somewhere. My application is a CD that is time specific i.e. it gets replaced every semester. However you are right I should be checking for other OS's. Thanks Liz -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:lingo-l- [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark A. Boyd Sent: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:46 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: lingo-l baVersion( os ) At 10:44 2003-06-23, Liz wrote: Hi, I'm using the code below, but on a win ME machine its detecting Win 98. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong or why its doing that. Hmm. It returns WinME as expected on my ME machine. You might want to use baVersion(Windows) as Luke suggested or even Lingo's (the environment).osVersion. BTW, what will your program do if somebody runs it in a few years on Windows ZZZ or Windows 2005 or whatever the current OS is at the time? You might want an otherwise clause in there. -- Mark A. Boyd Keep-On-Learnin' :) [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo- L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!] [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l baVersion( os )
On Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003, at 13:11 America/Chicago, Liz wrote: Code below. Your code's too complex. All you need is this: on exitFrame me myOS = the environment.osVersion go to frame myOS end Part of the problem is you're using 'contains', and it's likely that since the osVersion will *always* contain Windows on a Win system, your code is kicking out of the loop when it hits Windows 98, which is the first item in your OS list and which does in fact contain the word Windows. Don't bother with the test unless you want to guard against the possibility of there being some OS or other you can't recognize. In that case you can use contains, but in a different way: on exitFrame me lOSenIKnow = [ 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 ] myOS = the environment.osVersion repeat with nItem in lOSenIKnow if myOS contains lOSenIKnow.nItem then go to frame myOS else ALERT I don't recognize this OS... end if end repeat end myOS doesn't need a string conversion; it's already a string. Warren Ockrassa | President, nightwares LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] nightwares LLC | Consulting Programming http://www.nightwares.com/ Developer | Structor, a presentation development/programming tool Info and demo | http://www.nightwares.com/structor/ Author | Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio: A Beginner's Guide Chapter samples | http://www.nightwares.com/director_beginners_guide/ [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
RE: lingo-l baVersion( os )
I took your advice and changed the list to read 98, ME, etc. Here's the deal. I have a small executable and several dcr files. When I open the dcr file from my executable I get 98 detected. If I create a projector instead of a dialer I get ME detected. If I call the htm file I get ME detected. So why when I call the dcr movie from the exe do I get 98? This happens on all the alternative lingo I have tried including using Buddy API. Any one have an idea? Thanks Liz -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Howdy-Tzi Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 2:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: lingo-l baVersion( os ) On Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003, at 13:11 America/Chicago, Liz wrote: Code below. Your code's too complex. All you need is this: on exitFrame me myOS = the environment.osVersion go to frame myOS end Part of the problem is you're using 'contains', and it's likely that since the osVersion will *always* contain Windows on a Win system, your code is kicking out of the loop when it hits Windows 98, which is the first item in your OS list and which does in fact contain the word Windows. Don't bother with the test unless you want to guard against the possibility of there being some OS or other you can't recognize. In that case you can use contains, but in a different way: on exitFrame me lOSenIKnow = [ 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 ] myOS = the environment.osVersion repeat with nItem in lOSenIKnow if myOS contains lOSenIKnow.nItem then go to frame myOS else ALERT I don't recognize this OS... end if end repeat end myOS doesn't need a string conversion; it's already a string. Warren Ockrassa | President, nightwares LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] nightwares LLC | Consulting Programming http://www.nightwares.com/ Developer | Structor, a presentation development/programming tool Info and demo | http://www.nightwares.com/structor/ Author | Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio: A Beginner's Guide Chapter samples | http://www.nightwares.com/director_beginners_g uide/ [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!] [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
Re: lingo-l baVersion( os )
On Wednesday, Jun 25, 2003, at 21:18 America/Chicago, Liz wrote: Here's the deal. I have a small executable and several dcr files. When I open the dcr file from my executable I get 98 detected. If I create a projector instead of a dialer I get ME detected. OH! OK. OK. Back in the day there used to be a command called 'the platform' for Lingo, and it would tell you the platform (Mac, Win, varieties thereof). HOWEVER... it didn't report necessarily the platform on which the movie was running; it reported just the platform on which had been compiled into an EXE. So a projector running on Win98 might report WinNT as the platform if the projector had been compiled on WinNT. I don't know but I'm wondering if you're not hitting a residual flavor of that. You're using DCRs. Stop doing that. Use DXRs instead; you don't need the Shockwave compression. I'm wondering if the DCRs aren't remembering the OS under which they were compressed, in other words, as opposed to the one on which they're currently running. It's crazy. Try DIRs even if you have to. But try not using the compressed DCRs for a while and see if that doesn't help. Warren Ockrassa | President, nightwares LLC [EMAIL PROTECTED] nightwares LLC | Consulting Programming http://www.nightwares.com/ Developer | Structor, a presentation development/programming tool Info and demo | http://www.nightwares.com/structor/ Author | Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio: A Beginner's Guide Chapter samples | http://www.nightwares.com/director_beginners_guide/ [To remove yourself from this list, or to change to digest mode, go to http://www.penworks.com/lingo-l.cgi To post messages to the list, email [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Problems, email [EMAIL PROTECTED]). Lingo-L is for learning and helping with programming Lingo. Thanks!]
