Final Project, Part 1 – Firefly

Firefly [http://firef.ly/] is an on demand chat tool that hovers over a web page. It allows for very simple Instant messaging that is initiated by simply click down on the mouse. Messages appear over the current web page, viewable by anyone who is on that page. This would be an great tool for collaboration and simple commuting of question between students and teacher. And do to the simple nature of the service, it does not require and previous knowledge of advanced computing, the simple nature of clicking and typing makes it easy for anyone to use, if you are new or advanced in computing, this tool will come in handy.

Google Maps Mash-ups

mash up

This mash up is a handy tool . It allows yo to track the position of a campus shuttle bus, in real time. This would be an even greater tool if you used in a much larger transit system, such as the San Diego Trolley or the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). If Used in conjunction with the San Diego Trolley, perhaps on board the train, people could determine how near or far there destination or help find land marks, all in real time. In addition, an interactive touch screen version could be used in stations, and people could select a location and it will provide the directions to get there, via public transit.

Ask 500 Questions?

Question: Do believe that gasoline should be fazed out, and non-poluting or renewable fuel should take it’s place.

Online Presentations Assignment

Google Docs: Google docs had the best presentation creator. It was almost entirely comparable to the functionality of Microsoft PowerPoint. I personally liked how you are able to right click, just how you would in PowerPoint. The set was very easy, and anyone that understands PowerPoint would be able to go directly to google docs and have no problems, unlike the other sites where it is like learning an all new program.

Presentation page [does not embed]: here

Empressr: Empressr was my second favorite choose. It had functionality but was very limited, to my knowledge, and require “learning a whole new program”, because unlike google docs that stayed in a very similar fashion to PowerPoint, this site is entirely different looking and personally quite complicated to use.

Presentation page [does not embed]: here

Brink Pad: Brink Pad was my least favorite choose. It was easy to use, but very limited. I would compare it to Microsoft Paint, simplistic but nothing professional. I would recommend this as a kid powerpoint application, it is very limited and simplistic.

NO SAVE TO WEB FUNCTION, export to an XML: FILE [i don't think the exporting works.]

Blog Assignment #11 – MySpace “Data Availability”

original post | product site

MySpace “Data Availability”, provided by myspace with conjunction with Yahoo, Ebay, Twitter and their own subsidiary company, Photobucket. Myspace says that their new service will “playing nice with the rest of the Internet”.

“MySpace is essentially making key user data, including (1) Publicly available basic profile information, (2) MySpace photos, (3) MySpaceTV videos, and (4) friend networks, available to partners via their (previously internal) RESTful API, along with user authentication via OAuth”, and states that their service will turn the traditional webpage, an “island”, away from seclusion and will promote interconnectivity.

Myspace states; “partners will be able to access MySpace user data, combine it with their own, and present it on their sites outside of the normal widget framework. Friends lists can be synchronized, for example. Or Twitter may use the data to recommend other Twitter users who are your MySpace friends.”

a mochup of myspace Data Availability’s potential

Blog Assignment #10 – BeamMe.Info Information sharing

 original post | product site

BeamMe.Info Information sharing, provided by BeamMe.Info, is a “web page to SMS service for sites looking to offer users an alternative to writing information down.”

BeamMe.info works by site owners placing a BeamMe button on their website next to relevant information users might want a copy of, such as address information or telephone numbers. Users click the button and are then prompted to enter their cell phone number, and the information is sent to their phones. The service comes in a free and payed formant. The free version is supported by end users also receiving an advertisement with the SMS they receive. The paid version “sees website owners paying for every SMS sent by their users; the price ranges from a couple of cents through 20 cents per SMS depending on the country a user is sending the SMS to.”

BeamMe.info is pitched as a way of enhancing user experience:
By putting Beams on a website publishers are adding value to their content or service. Allowing visitors to mobilize their website content, saves them the hassle of printing things out or writing them down. This extends the interaction lifecycle long after the visitor has left the website. There are obvious environmental benefits as well.

RSS SCREENSHOT

Blog Assignment #6

Flash is a common and popular format for making a highly interactive website. A flash website will generally have many reactions that can be caused by clicking, scrolling, hovering, etc. Flash can also be used to display video, which has recently become a very popular alternative to using video formants such .mp4, .wmv, and other formants that may require separate plugins. Flash is also commonly used for playing music on websites, such as a band website. In addition, a very common use of flash is for advertisements that are more eye catching then a standard image.

Disney

On the Disney Website, the majority, if not all, of the sites content is Flash. The site feature videos in the flash format, along with it’s menus and games. The strong use of flash makes it visually appealing to younger kids, and has a minimalistc amount of words.

myspace

myspace.com uses flashing mainly for advertisements. In addition, they use it for their music and video player. Myspace is a prime example of all the potentials of flash.

Blog Assignment #5

The movie, Pirates of Silicon Valley, was an entertaining and interesting film. Many would think a computer movie would be boring, but in actually it was quite well. The movie follows the rivalry between Apple Computers and Microsoft over the creation of the personal computer. The film taught me that Microsoft and Apple Computers did actually have confrontation, which i thought never happened.

But unlike the movie says, Apple Computers did not actually “steel” XEROX’s software. Steve Jobs negotiated a deal with Xerox wherein Xerox invested US$1M in Apple in return for 10,000 pre-IPO shares of Apple, and Apple was granted permission to utilize XEROX’s ideas. [1]. With in a year Xerox’s shares in Apple were valued at $17.6 million. But Microsoft did actually steel Apple’s software, and apple lost the copyright lawsuit. In summary, Apple paid the “rich neighbor”, then Microsoft stole what they bought from the “rich neighbor”.

Based on the movie, I found out that Steve Jobs is an ass, but i’m not sure exactly how accurate this actually is. But either way, i still like apple better, because everything about it is better, the look, the feel, everything. And the zune needs to go on a diet because it is huge and ugly.

Blog Assignment #4

Hierarchical Navigation

Hierarchical navigation is a style of navigation that is commonly used on many websites. YOu first start out going to the main page and then from their you select subcategories and even deeper subcategories.

Xbox.com
Xbox.com features a Hierarchical Navigation system. You start at the main page and then you select different categories such as “Xbox Live” or “Support” then from there other subcatergories are displayed. This makes it very easy to find things, but if you aren’t sure of exactly what you are looking for, or if you aren’t internet sabby, this could lead to complications.

Yahoo.com
On the yahoo website, the menu is placed on the left side with many different categories. Once a category is selected it will take you to that page and it will have many different sub options similar to other types of Hierarchical Navigation sites.

Global Navigation

Global navigation is a style of navigation that is more of list of all the pages you can access.

Wikipedia.org
On wikipedia they organize their articles in a global nav. manner. The articles are divided into many different subsections that are selected form the menu at the top of the page. On wikipedia, you never leave the article page upon selecting a link, you are just dropped down to that part of the page.

Grossmont.edu
On the grossmont college website there is a long list of links at the bottom of the page. This the primary source of navigation for the website.