Projects
Linux Game Development
19/08/10 14:00
Over the last few weeks I have been working on a small independent game project using the open-source 2d game framework called "Love". The framework is based around the Lua programming language; Lua is widely used in the video game industry as it is very fast and has a small learning curve.
The tutorials on the wiki provide a good starting point for building your own game project and after working through them I had a basic physics engine with two controllable balls. After a few days work I had the essentials for my game: Physics game-world, Characters, scoring and lives.
The core game-play dynamic so far is to jump and avoid the orange delivery vans while collecting power-ups and bonus coins which float through the air. The game has a Japanese theme that changes from day to night depending on the actual time of the day when you play the game. The theme is still in an early stage of development however it gives a good preview of the game, I will add more screen-shots as the game progresses.
There is still much work to be done including improving collision detection, adding leader-boards and background music/sound effects, etc. Want to develop cross platform games too? Read the "Getting started" Guide and then check out the free Lua e-book: "Programming in Lua (first edition)".
The tutorials on the wiki provide a good starting point for building your own game project and after working through them I had a basic physics engine with two controllable balls. After a few days work I had the essentials for my game: Physics game-world, Characters, scoring and lives.
The core game-play dynamic so far is to jump and avoid the orange delivery vans while collecting power-ups and bonus coins which float through the air. The game has a Japanese theme that changes from day to night depending on the actual time of the day when you play the game. The theme is still in an early stage of development however it gives a good preview of the game, I will add more screen-shots as the game progresses.
There is still much work to be done including improving collision detection, adding leader-boards and background music/sound effects, etc. Want to develop cross platform games too? Read the "Getting started" Guide and then check out the free Lua e-book: "Programming in Lua (first edition)".
GTD iPhone App
15/04/10 11:43
I am currently working on the iPhone web-app for Harmony GTD; the current version uses a custom CSS theme but the new version will utilize the iWebKit framework.
The screenshots below show some of the new features including a separate menu page for the GTD areas. The iWebKit framework also works on the iPad which is very interesting and I can’t wait to try it out.
The screenshots below show some of the new features including a separate menu page for the GTD areas. The iWebKit framework also works on the iPad which is very interesting and I can’t wait to try it out.
Developing for the iPad
02/04/10 12:09
The NPR and Wall Street Journal are already preparing to launch their own iPad optimized sites and I am sure that it won’t be long before the majority of web sites are “iPad ready”.
I can’t wait to create an iPad optimized Web-App for Harmony GTD and look forward to seeing a new generation of Web-Apps that may even challenge the App-store; I believe that the iPad has the potential to fundamentally change the way that we create and consume content on the web.
I can’t wait to create an iPad optimized Web-App for Harmony GTD and look forward to seeing a new generation of Web-Apps that may even challenge the App-store; I believe that the iPad has the potential to fundamentally change the way that we create and consume content on the web.
The five second test
06/03/10 15:32
During the design stages of Harmony GTD I created a wide variety of possible layouts, logos and themes; deciding which to use was a real problem as I needed a visual identity that people could remember and most importantly associate with task management.
Our opinion is often formed within the first five-seconds of viewing a site; a great tool to find out your users initial reaction is appropriately called “Fivesecondtest”. The site works by showing users your design for five-seconds and then asking them to list five things that they remember.
Many of the mockups and designs had a 60’s theme with the intended atmosphere of a friendly and easy to use site; however when these designs were shown to users through the fivesecondtest website most only remembered the distinctive theme and none of the task management text or branding. To convey our intended visual identity every single element of the site needed to be in some way associated with task management; out went the other artwork and in came notepads, calendars and other task related imagery. After a few more design iterations all of the users responses were related to task management and GTD, success.
Our opinion is often formed within the first five-seconds of viewing a site; a great tool to find out your users initial reaction is appropriately called “Fivesecondtest”. The site works by showing users your design for five-seconds and then asking them to list five things that they remember.
Many of the mockups and designs had a 60’s theme with the intended atmosphere of a friendly and easy to use site; however when these designs were shown to users through the fivesecondtest website most only remembered the distinctive theme and none of the task management text or branding. To convey our intended visual identity every single element of the site needed to be in some way associated with task management; out went the other artwork and in came notepads, calendars and other task related imagery. After a few more design iterations all of the users responses were related to task management and GTD, success.
Getting Things Done
05/03/10 13:56
Harmony GTD was launched on the 1st of March 2010, the initial response to the site has been very good and there are now quite a few registered users. We have been featured and reviewed on a couple of sites and lots of people are talking about it; Twitter has been an invaluable tool and is really helping us attract new users to the site.
The iPhone and Prism Apps help Harmony GTD stand out from some of the other tools and provide two great ways of using the GTD system. Hopefully we can continue development and further improve upon these Apps to provide even more functionality.
I will continue to update this blog with news and status updates on the site that I hope will prove useful to anyone starting a similar project.
The iPhone and Prism Apps help Harmony GTD stand out from some of the other tools and provide two great ways of using the GTD system. Hopefully we can continue development and further improve upon these Apps to provide even more functionality.
I will continue to update this blog with news and status updates on the site that I hope will prove useful to anyone starting a similar project.
Harmony GTD
31/12/09 19:50
“Harmony GTD” is the name of my upcoming GTD web-app.
I first started working with the GTD process whilst at University; David Allen’s philosophy really enabled me to better manage my assignments and other commitments. When given the choice for my final year project I leapt at the chance to develop my own GTD site.
Numerous reports, documents, presentations and one very comprehensive thesis later I had a fully functional and well documented GTD site. Whilst I was very happy with my work I also knew that there were areas in which I could develop further and improve on. Since then I have often thought of continuing the development of the GTD project however felt that the existing architecture and design choices held me back from my new ideas and goals.
This is where Harmony GTD comes in; it is a completely new project and has been coded from the ground-up to be fast, streamlined and user friendly. The whole design is minimal and is designed to keep out of the users way whilst they work with the GTD process.
The name of the site took careful consideration as I wanted something which really represented the sites purpose and not just a meaningless web 2.0 word. The name was chosen as I believe that by using the GTD philosophy the user does experience harmony and peace in knowing that their tasks are safe in the trusted system and can be acted on or added to at any time.
Numerous other GTD web-apps have come and gone however I hope that Harmony GTD will be able to overcome the other sites problems and design flaws and shine as a unique and well thought out GTD system that anyone can use.
Update: Harmony GTD is now online at: www.harmonygtd.com
I first started working with the GTD process whilst at University; David Allen’s philosophy really enabled me to better manage my assignments and other commitments. When given the choice for my final year project I leapt at the chance to develop my own GTD site.
Numerous reports, documents, presentations and one very comprehensive thesis later I had a fully functional and well documented GTD site. Whilst I was very happy with my work I also knew that there were areas in which I could develop further and improve on. Since then I have often thought of continuing the development of the GTD project however felt that the existing architecture and design choices held me back from my new ideas and goals.
This is where Harmony GTD comes in; it is a completely new project and has been coded from the ground-up to be fast, streamlined and user friendly. The whole design is minimal and is designed to keep out of the users way whilst they work with the GTD process.
The name of the site took careful consideration as I wanted something which really represented the sites purpose and not just a meaningless web 2.0 word. The name was chosen as I believe that by using the GTD philosophy the user does experience harmony and peace in knowing that their tasks are safe in the trusted system and can be acted on or added to at any time.
Numerous other GTD web-apps have come and gone however I hope that Harmony GTD will be able to overcome the other sites problems and design flaws and shine as a unique and well thought out GTD system that anyone can use.
Update: Harmony GTD is now online at: www.harmonygtd.com
Social Network Microsite
29/11/09 14:42
Check out my unique social network microsite which showcases my latest Tweets, Recently played songs and photos. The site was created with the help of Jquery and takes full advantage of the upcoming CSS3 standard by using rounded corners, transparency and rotation effects.
The microsite delivers a great view into my social and online profile as well as demonstrating how CSS3 and Jquery can be combined to create impressive designs and user interfaces.
Click here to view the microsite.
The microsite delivers a great view into my social and online profile as well as demonstrating how CSS3 and Jquery can be combined to create impressive designs and user interfaces.
Click here to view the microsite.
Lomography
24/01/09 21:10
I love the Lomo effect; it is so full of atmosphere and warmth even ordinary scenes and objects burst with colour and seem full of life when seen through the Lomo LC-A.
A couple of years ago I bought a red special edition MoMa Supersampler Camera from a small shop in San Francisco for about $20; ever since I have been hooked on Lomography. Read More...
A couple of years ago I bought a red special edition MoMa Supersampler Camera from a small shop in San Francisco for about $20; ever since I have been hooked on Lomography. Read More...
Things To Do
24/01/09 09:45
The Getting Things Done (GTD) philosophy has inspired the creation of many tools using different approaches to achieve the aims of GTD. From Online web-services such as "Remember the Milk" to Desktop Apps such as Things or Omnifocus there is a solution for every platform and budget.
If you have been following my twitter account you may already know that I have started developing my own GTD App that attempts to address some of the issues with the existing approaches to GTD.
If you have been following my twitter account you may already know that I have started developing my own GTD App that attempts to address some of the issues with the existing approaches to GTD.
Arduino digg button
29/06/08 14:22
Arduino based digg button; add the digg button to your exhibition or project to allow people to digg you up/down by clicking the up/down button. By storing the digg count in EEPROM you will never lose track of your diggs again!!
Uses the nuelectronics LCD/Keypad shield and Modified LCD4Bit Interface.
Inspired by ladyada.
Uses the nuelectronics LCD/Keypad shield and Modified LCD4Bit Interface.
Inspired by ladyada.
cdgui
07/05/08 15:54
What is cdgui?
Cdgui is a lightweight and cross platform customer management system.
Why cdgui?
The name "cdgui" literally means Customer Database GUI and represents the core functionality of the application. cdgui was originally developed for a university project in 2006 and has since matured into a highly versatile application.
What can it do?
cdgui allows you to manage your customers details such as:
* Customer address/payment details
* Purchases and purchase history per customer
The poster
14/07/05 15:31
My inspiration
I was recently browsing tuaw and read their story about something called a "Life poster".
Included in the story was a link to Mike mata’s blog where he posted instructions on how to create the poster.
Basically a life poster is a random selection of images that are printed onto a large piece of photo paper to create a multi-coloured poster that is composed entirely of your own photos.
My poster
I decided to create my own version of the life poster; however I was going to make a few changes to the design.
I wanted to use 6x4 photos and mount them by hand to a piece of A1 black mounting board.
I also wanted to create 4 posters and therefore needed 120 photos (30 photos for each poster).
Resources needed:
120 6x4 photos (£15.00)
4 Black mounting boards (£12.80)
Adhesives (£3.00)
Total cost= £30.80 ($54.00, €44.00)
I organised the photos that I wanted to use and then had them printed at a local photo shop.
I also bought the 4 mounting boards and some glue.
Once I got home I started to mount the photos, each poster took about 30mins to mount.
The entire project took me under 5 hours to complete.
I was recently browsing tuaw and read their story about something called a "Life poster".
Included in the story was a link to Mike mata’s blog where he posted instructions on how to create the poster.
Basically a life poster is a random selection of images that are printed onto a large piece of photo paper to create a multi-coloured poster that is composed entirely of your own photos.
My poster
I decided to create my own version of the life poster; however I was going to make a few changes to the design.
I wanted to use 6x4 photos and mount them by hand to a piece of A1 black mounting board.
I also wanted to create 4 posters and therefore needed 120 photos (30 photos for each poster).
Resources needed:
120 6x4 photos (£15.00)
4 Black mounting boards (£12.80)
Adhesives (£3.00)
Total cost= £30.80 ($54.00, €44.00)
I organised the photos that I wanted to use and then had them printed at a local photo shop.
I also bought the 4 mounting boards and some glue.
Once I got home I started to mount the photos, each poster took about 30mins to mount.
The entire project took me under 5 hours to complete.
