Dear Blog,
The presentation gods were not kind to us at all.
After a semester of hard work, planning and preparation, with so much hinging on the final demo, the UQ wireless connection slows to a sluggish crawl and GoogleMaps starts to timeout within the application. Sandra was a godsend and helped us use EduRoam to get some last minute videos of the latest functionalities that were recently modified, she has literally been a godsend this semester, immensely grateful.
Although the connect eventually came up at the end of the demonstration, it really did hurt us in the presentation, and rattled us quiet badly with all three of us feeling physically sick when the app was unresponsive. I suppose all you can do is take something away from the experience, a definite lesson learned is to always put time into creating video demos of all the core aspects of your application well before the demonstration time.
Capturing is all well and good but make sure you practice your presentation with both the live app, and the video demos. Time is so much more critical with a captured video.
Oh well, its all over now, and apart from our nerves being rattled by the stress of the network issues, the presentation went as well as it could. It would have been nice to have the morning to run over the changes made the night before and do a final run through, but hey, this stuff happens and you can't win them all.
We are in love with the app we have produced, and very proud of it, we are exited to demo it to MotorMouth later next week but for now it is time to put it all behind us and start studying for the finals.
Goodbye blog,
Dan T
Friday, October 29, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Week 12
Dear Blog,
It has been a successful week, it has been busy and crazy but defiantly successful.
All the core functionality of the application has been implemented, a major major milestone for us all, and we are quietly chuffed that it is all working so well.
Specifically we have completed integrating the web services, so all fuel searches are based of the live data now, and it is working for all fuel prices in all capital cities. We thought debugging this part of the application was going to take for ever, but it seems to be working just fine, MotorMouth's data has been solid as a rock, and the little RegEx trick we implemented with test data for stations with two streets listed in their address, is working for all the other stations listed in the system. It is so nice when things just work :).
We have just finalized the social networking side of the application, and now any stations fuel prices can be shared though your Facebook or Twitter account with the tweet or post generated automatically and editable before it is posted.
The web services queries are now threaded using NSThread so the interface is still responsive when the application is waiting for a response from MotorMouth.
We have also had some spare time to start working on some added functionality of the application, and searching along a route looks to be working in at a rudimentary level. It can successfully plot the route, the next step is making it search along a closer area to the route rather then the map that encloses it.
With the final demo and presentation looming next week week we have started working on the slides. We have all got together and reviewed our mid semester review and project proposal as a way to reflect on the processes we went through to get to this point.
Since the mid semester review did not go at all as well as we thought it did, we booked time with Aaron to ensure we were sufficiently prepared for it this time around. The meeting defiantly helped clear up the format and content to be included on the slides of the final presentation.
This is the final slog now, better get back to it!
Dan T
It has been a successful week, it has been busy and crazy but defiantly successful.
All the core functionality of the application has been implemented, a major major milestone for us all, and we are quietly chuffed that it is all working so well.
Specifically we have completed integrating the web services, so all fuel searches are based of the live data now, and it is working for all fuel prices in all capital cities. We thought debugging this part of the application was going to take for ever, but it seems to be working just fine, MotorMouth's data has been solid as a rock, and the little RegEx trick we implemented with test data for stations with two streets listed in their address, is working for all the other stations listed in the system. It is so nice when things just work :).
We have just finalized the social networking side of the application, and now any stations fuel prices can be shared though your Facebook or Twitter account with the tweet or post generated automatically and editable before it is posted.
The web services queries are now threaded using NSThread so the interface is still responsive when the application is waiting for a response from MotorMouth.
We have also had some spare time to start working on some added functionality of the application, and searching along a route looks to be working in at a rudimentary level. It can successfully plot the route, the next step is making it search along a closer area to the route rather then the map that encloses it.
With the final demo and presentation looming next week week we have started working on the slides. We have all got together and reviewed our mid semester review and project proposal as a way to reflect on the processes we went through to get to this point.
Since the mid semester review did not go at all as well as we thought it did, we booked time with Aaron to ensure we were sufficiently prepared for it this time around. The meeting defiantly helped clear up the format and content to be included on the slides of the final presentation.
This is the final slog now, better get back to it!
Dan T
Friday, October 8, 2010
Week 11
Dear Blog,
Another Friday another blog.
App development has been cruising along this week, we have finalized a list of all the suburbs listed in the system, paired with their state and postcode, and simultaneously been working on the suburb and postcode views in the application to be able to take the new lists of data. I am in love with text wrangler, its regex matching searches made editing the thousands of suburbs remarkably simple.
Basicly we will eventually have an array of all the suburbs listed in MotorMouths systems, paired with listed fuel types, postcode and states, this data will be able to be used for users to look up any listed suburb for their particular fuel type via an text search-able list view (a suggestion from Kim).
I spent a few hours making some delightful little icons for the map interface, a small refresh icon that will be used for uses to update fuel prices for the current area of the map they are looking at, and a small crosshair icon that will be used for users to quickly navigate back to their current location from anywhere on the map. Placement of these icons on the map has been of some debate between Dan T and I.
We initially wanted to just have on in the lower left and one in the lower right corner of the map interface, just above the main navigation bar, but because of the convinient location of the google tag in the lower left corner of the map, we can't place them anywhere without looking awkward.
That is it for now, quiet week with a lot of other assessment on.
Until next friday,
Dan T.
Another Friday another blog.
App development has been cruising along this week, we have finalized a list of all the suburbs listed in the system, paired with their state and postcode, and simultaneously been working on the suburb and postcode views in the application to be able to take the new lists of data. I am in love with text wrangler, its regex matching searches made editing the thousands of suburbs remarkably simple.
Basicly we will eventually have an array of all the suburbs listed in MotorMouths systems, paired with listed fuel types, postcode and states, this data will be able to be used for users to look up any listed suburb for their particular fuel type via an text search-able list view (a suggestion from Kim).
I spent a few hours making some delightful little icons for the map interface, a small refresh icon that will be used for uses to update fuel prices for the current area of the map they are looking at, and a small crosshair icon that will be used for users to quickly navigate back to their current location from anywhere on the map. Placement of these icons on the map has been of some debate between Dan T and I.
We initially wanted to just have on in the lower left and one in the lower right corner of the map interface, just above the main navigation bar, but because of the convinient location of the google tag in the lower left corner of the map, we can't place them anywhere without looking awkward.
That is it for now, quiet week with a lot of other assessment on.
Until next friday,
Dan T.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Week 10
Dear Blog,
We spent a few hours this week working the newly designed visual elements into the application, it is looking a lot closer to what we had in mind at the start now, its actually quiet exiting.
Along with the new visual elements we have started using Core Animation to implement transitions between all the views, and implementing new table views to store the results of fuel searches not using the default map interface, we are thinking we can use this interface to support users that would like to sort the stations by distance to their current location.
Sandra was kind enough to spend some time with Dan Attig & Elvin See this week debugging some of the memory management code we have implemented. I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE!
Other then that Dan Attig has got the turn by turn navigation implemented by using Google Maps API and the xml parsing of Motor Mouth web service results SEEMS to be working... for now. We will be continuing testing the parser over the next week and creating modified versions for each of the spacial queries the application will support.
Anyway, time to get back to it,
Dan T
We spent a few hours this week working the newly designed visual elements into the application, it is looking a lot closer to what we had in mind at the start now, its actually quiet exiting.
Along with the new visual elements we have started using Core Animation to implement transitions between all the views, and implementing new table views to store the results of fuel searches not using the default map interface, we are thinking we can use this interface to support users that would like to sort the stations by distance to their current location.
Sandra was kind enough to spend some time with Dan Attig & Elvin See this week debugging some of the memory management code we have implemented. I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE AN ISSUE!
Other then that Dan Attig has got the turn by turn navigation implemented by using Google Maps API and the xml parsing of Motor Mouth web service results SEEMS to be working... for now. We will be continuing testing the parser over the next week and creating modified versions for each of the spacial queries the application will support.
Anyway, time to get back to it,
Dan T
Friday, September 24, 2010
Week 9
Dear Blog,
So over the break Dan Attig has been doing some significant work on the interface, trying to mimic the navigation style and interactions of other successful applications.
There has been a significant update to the design of the main navigation bar below the map interface, and we have eliminated the curl up animation from the map interface, as it just does not degrade at all gracefully.
We have been looking at Stanfords lecture slides again, in and out of class, looking at how to better manage our memory in the application, the reference counting seems similar to C in Linux, but a little more cumbersome here, no reference to a direct look-up of each variables current ref count means manually tracking them, which is manageable at the moment, but as the application grows to meet the scope this could become a fair bit more difficult.
I have also spent a bit of time this week working on background images, logos and icons to use in the app. The icons that overlay on the application are actually quiet difficult, we are trying to design something that is clear to read, but doesn't distract from the map and keeping with the look and feel of the app. It seems everything we come up with just doesn't work.
Anyways that is it for now until next time,
Daniel T.
So over the break Dan Attig has been doing some significant work on the interface, trying to mimic the navigation style and interactions of other successful applications.
There has been a significant update to the design of the main navigation bar below the map interface, and we have eliminated the curl up animation from the map interface, as it just does not degrade at all gracefully.
We have been looking at Stanfords lecture slides again, in and out of class, looking at how to better manage our memory in the application, the reference counting seems similar to C in Linux, but a little more cumbersome here, no reference to a direct look-up of each variables current ref count means manually tracking them, which is manageable at the moment, but as the application grows to meet the scope this could become a fair bit more difficult.
I have also spent a bit of time this week working on background images, logos and icons to use in the app. The icons that overlay on the application are actually quiet difficult, we are trying to design something that is clear to read, but doesn't distract from the map and keeping with the look and feel of the app. It seems everything we come up with just doesn't work.
Anyways that is it for now until next time,
Daniel T.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Week 8
Dear Blog,
Mid semester review and demo!
The presentation went really well! I polished up the slides over the last few days, and have been practicing to make sure I know it all back the front. The guys have been working hard to finish up polishing the application and I don't want to let them down in my area of this assessment. Missing that time in development with Emily sick really hurt my input on coding for the last week, so I pretty much did the presentation solo, it ran really well thou, it ran smoothly and we had answers to all any of the questions the examiners & guests had.
The key feedback we recieved on the app from the demo were
Cheers,
Dan T
Mid semester review and demo!
The presentation went really well! I polished up the slides over the last few days, and have been practicing to make sure I know it all back the front. The guys have been working hard to finish up polishing the application and I don't want to let them down in my area of this assessment. Missing that time in development with Emily sick really hurt my input on coding for the last week, so I pretty much did the presentation solo, it ran really well thou, it ran smoothly and we had answers to all any of the questions the examiners & guests had.
The key feedback we recieved on the app from the demo were
- Ability to save
- Station Favorites
- Routes
- Traffic Overlays
- Push Notifications when a cheap fuel price is discovered for all users in the vicinity.
- Ads for the specific stations listed in the application.
- Eliminate stations with the highest (worst) prices.
- Being able to stipulate a brand preference when searching fuels, for users that may have loyalty cards, discounts or company cards.
Cheers,
Dan T
Friday, September 3, 2010
Week 7
Dear Blog,
With the mid semester application demo looming next week we have had to jump head first into polishing some of the key aspects of the application.
We have been working heavily on the look and feel of the app this week, trying to mimic the style of other utility applications available from apple, the ways they represent / display their data, ways of implementing options screens, use of apple transitions between views, positioning of buttons / navigation when using the mapview.
Other then that we have been just chipping away at the presentation for next week. I have designed my own PowerPoint presentation template to try and get a more professional feel to the presentation, and since I missed last week of development due to Em being in hospital all week, I have volunteered to do the majority of the presentation for the mid semester review to even the workload between the group.
See you next week,
Dan T.
With the mid semester application demo looming next week we have had to jump head first into polishing some of the key aspects of the application.
We have been working heavily on the look and feel of the app this week, trying to mimic the style of other utility applications available from apple, the ways they represent / display their data, ways of implementing options screens, use of apple transitions between views, positioning of buttons / navigation when using the mapview.
Other then that we have been just chipping away at the presentation for next week. I have designed my own PowerPoint presentation template to try and get a more professional feel to the presentation, and since I missed last week of development due to Em being in hospital all week, I have volunteered to do the majority of the presentation for the mid semester review to even the workload between the group.
See you next week,
Dan T.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Week 6
Dear Blog,
After finishing up the Station classes for the app, my girl friend fell quiet ill and I spent the entire week looking after her in and out of hospital.
Unfortunately uni is on the back burner for a bit.
The guys will continue development while I am away.
See you soon,
Dan T
After finishing up the Station classes for the app, my girl friend fell quiet ill and I spent the entire week looking after her in and out of hospital.
Unfortunately uni is on the back burner for a bit.
The guys will continue development while I am away.
See you soon,
Dan T
Friday, August 20, 2010
Week 5
Dear Blog,
So after our initial consult with MM last week, we have been granted access to some data!!! It is just a historic snapshot of their system, but it works fine.
Basically they have just made a copy of their web services, that is tied into the historic data, but unlike its real counterpart we have free access to the data with no authentication required.
We have been playing a lot with the web services that are available, not everything is listed in our copy that is in the live version, namely pricing history, probably due to the limited data set that was supplied.
Having access to the data has fueled the planning of the application, knowing what information is returned allows us to more clearly conceptualize what will be available on the screen of the applications various interfaces, and given us more direction in the design of the app.
Additionally this week we have jumped up a notch in obj-c learning, playing with Mapkit and searching for frameworks and libraries that could be useful in the development of the app.
We just stumbled accross RouteBoxe API, which could be handy. It is a useful little tool that allows you to divide a route up and query boxes of a definable width along the entire route. The plan being we can plot a route from A to B in Petrol Saver, and plot the best petrol prices along the way, haha might be a bit far fetched for now, but we can dream :).
Anyway back to the labs!
Dan T
So after our initial consult with MM last week, we have been granted access to some data!!! It is just a historic snapshot of their system, but it works fine.
Basically they have just made a copy of their web services, that is tied into the historic data, but unlike its real counterpart we have free access to the data with no authentication required.
We have been playing a lot with the web services that are available, not everything is listed in our copy that is in the live version, namely pricing history, probably due to the limited data set that was supplied.
Having access to the data has fueled the planning of the application, knowing what information is returned allows us to more clearly conceptualize what will be available on the screen of the applications various interfaces, and given us more direction in the design of the app.
Additionally this week we have jumped up a notch in obj-c learning, playing with Mapkit and searching for frameworks and libraries that could be useful in the development of the app.
We just stumbled accross RouteBoxe API, which could be handy. It is a useful little tool that allows you to divide a route up and query boxes of a definable width along the entire route. The plan being we can plot a route from A to B in Petrol Saver, and plot the best petrol prices along the way, haha might be a bit far fetched for now, but we can dream :).
Anyway back to the labs!
Dan T
Friday, August 13, 2010
Week 4
Dear Blog,
The project is well underway now! Since deciding on our application we have began a comprehensive analysis of the applications design and functionality while finishing off the Project Proposal.
We have mocked up a heap of draft prototypes to get an idea what has to go into the application and as a tool to show our concept in our first meeting with MotorMouth this week.
After the consult with MM, we felt a lot more confident on the direction of the application. The admins at MotorMouth mentioned that they had tried to develop and application before, which failed, and virtually gave us free reign on development outcomes, colour & branding and seem genuinely enthusiastic about our ideas (route queries). The only real addition to the project that came from the meeting was the inclusion of some advertisement space somewhere in the application for a source of revenue for the company.
Other then that, we have just been chipping away at the Stanford iPhone development resources, objective-C is both familiar and so foreign at the same time, I am sure we will be fine, it all just comes with practice right!
Until next week,
Danny Tanner
The project is well underway now! Since deciding on our application we have began a comprehensive analysis of the applications design and functionality while finishing off the Project Proposal.
We have mocked up a heap of draft prototypes to get an idea what has to go into the application and as a tool to show our concept in our first meeting with MotorMouth this week.
After the consult with MM, we felt a lot more confident on the direction of the application. The admins at MotorMouth mentioned that they had tried to develop and application before, which failed, and virtually gave us free reign on development outcomes, colour & branding and seem genuinely enthusiastic about our ideas (route queries). The only real addition to the project that came from the meeting was the inclusion of some advertisement space somewhere in the application for a source of revenue for the company.
Other then that, we have just been chipping away at the Stanford iPhone development resources, objective-C is both familiar and so foreign at the same time, I am sure we will be fine, it all just comes with practice right!
Until next week,
Danny Tanner
Friday, August 6, 2010
Week 3
Dear Blog,
So after some much heated discussions this week, we have finally decided on an application.
Petrol Saver it is.
The deciding factors being the Timetable app that we liked had too many similar solutions already available on the market.
We just started researching ways to implement the fuel pricing, the core of the application and stumbled across what looks like a goldmine. There is a local company 'MotorMouth' that collate fuel prices for applications on iGoogle and they have a web interface available, problem is it is restricted.
We have just emailed & called the office, and are liaising with Tim Raiken about getting access to their information system.
Fingers Crossed,
Dan T.
So after some much heated discussions this week, we have finally decided on an application.
Petrol Saver it is.
The deciding factors being the Timetable app that we liked had too many similar solutions already available on the market.
We just started researching ways to implement the fuel pricing, the core of the application and stumbled across what looks like a goldmine. There is a local company 'MotorMouth' that collate fuel prices for applications on iGoogle and they have a web interface available, problem is it is restricted.
We have just emailed & called the office, and are liaising with Tim Raiken about getting access to their information system.
Fingers Crossed,
Dan T.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Week 2
Dear Blog,
It begins! This week has revolved around forming of our teams, and the funnest time of any applications development cycle, ideas! We have been brainstorming ideas, with Dan and myself tending towards the Timetabling application similar to Doodle, where users in a group enter availabilities and the application allocates meeting times, with Elvin passionate about a Fuel Pricing application.
Some ideas of an anonymous chat program were thrown around but it was too similar to applications developed last year.
That is about it for this week,
Dan T
It begins! This week has revolved around forming of our teams, and the funnest time of any applications development cycle, ideas! We have been brainstorming ideas, with Dan and myself tending towards the Timetabling application similar to Doodle, where users in a group enter availabilities and the application allocates meeting times, with Elvin passionate about a Fuel Pricing application.
Some ideas of an anonymous chat program were thrown around but it was too similar to applications developed last year.
That is about it for this week,
Dan T
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