Always On: Midterm in PhoneGap

​I realized this past week, that I'm spoiled in terms of GUIs. As a designer, I, in the past, haven't often had to leave the Adobe environments that are so well-designed. Eclipse? The opposite. 

If using Adobe programs is like driving a new Prius, Eclipse is the manually-shifted pickup truck that your grandfather bought in 1982. ​

Maybe that's not fair. Anyhow, I ran into a lot of problems treading out on my own [i.e., away from the comfort of the class tutorials] in the Eclipse environment and, since I've nearly decided to build my thesis in PhoneGap anyhow, I decided to abandon ship and pick up PhoneGap for the first time.​ Though I chose to start in iOS, my code will transfer to Android if I decide to go that way in the future.

I started with a series of Lynda tutorials, 'Up and Running with Phone Gap', which are mostly helpful in building in iOS, but include setup instructions for Android as well. ​The 'course' does a good job of setting you up with an understanding not only of PhoneGap, but mobile applications in general. It was good for me to understand what it is that PhoneGap does, and how I can make it useful for me.

So, I'll get down to it. The tutorial leads you through building an application that has a lot of elements to it: ​UI features with JQuery Mobile and Mustache.js, accessing the phone's Connectivity API to see if wifi/internet is available (need this for other APIs), tracking your location with the Geolocation API, using the Camera API, and the phone's native Storage API. 

Here's a quick video of the little app in action:​

This is all very exciting, as I will need to use all of those APIs, with the exception of the Camera, for the app I'm building for thesis. So, as an exercise in both learning a lot about PhoneGap and setting a framework for my Thesis, I think it was pretty successful.​

Midterm Project Proposals

For our midterm projects due next week, I have two potential directions I'd like to take. The first is an AR Google Streetview experience, and the second keeps track of how often you spend time with your friends.​

Google ​StreetView Travel Machine

Do you remember Super MarioWorld, and the idea that you navigate this island to go into different levels? The island seems small, but as you get to certain points, you are led through a tunnel into an expansive world? ​

So, that's kind of the outer shading of my idea for a mobile app that allows you to explore Google Streetview all over the world. Using your geolocation data, it turns Manhattan into something like MarioWorld. Depending on where you are, StreetView takes you to another place. For example, the Lower East Side could be the portal to Paris, and then, as you navigate the streets of Manhattan, all of a sudden the world inside your phone makes it seem as if you're in Paris.​ The idea of tethering two different maps to one another is what originally gave me this idea. I also like the idea that many people consider New York to have everything you could ever need in terms of culture and exploration. In this mobile experience, you can explore the world's cities without ever leaving Manhattan.

Friendship, IRL

My second idea comes from trying to balance my personal life with work and school. I often feel like I never see my friends, especially those that don't go to ITP.... but is that necessarily true? How long has it been since I've seen Kim, or how often do I really hang out with my boyfriend? It works by first entering the names of specific friends, and, with user input, tracks how often you see each friend. Another variable could track what you actually do with those friends. Do you always go to dinner at the same spot with Zoe? Are you always getting coffee with Marika? ​

If you haven't seen your friend in a certain amount of time, you can set reminders that alert you to make plans soon.​ These are specific to individual friends, because some people we're comfortable with just seeing twice a year, and others we'd like to see weekly. 

I see this as useful, but also interesting conceptually with regards to online networks for friends, that actually rarely connects them in real life.

Week 3 Progress & Github Repo

Admittedly, I got a little behind last week with Thesis and finalizing my Big Screens project for our March 1st show, so this week has largely been a week of playing catch-up.

First things first, I finally started using my Github account, and have set up a repository for my classwork, which can be found here.

So, as of right now, I've gone through all of the screencasts to date, and am now working on concepts for an app I'd like to develop in stages through the end of the semester. More to come!​