LaserBoy

Software => Joint Development => Topic started by: cfavreau on March 04, 2010, 01:54:36 pm

Title: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 04, 2010, 01:54:36 pm
Everyone,

I would like to propose a collaboration on a software package.   By package I mean group of software packaged together... not really one single piece of software.

One thing that I have been thinking about for a while is that there is no good "does it all" software for hobbiest.  I know... Laser Boy does alot but it does not make it really easy to make a show and it does not talk directly to an output device...

The one thing that other companies excel at is offering a complete solution.

Now we do have really great and inexpensive solutions for individual problems however no one stop shop.  Hobbiest have to go all over the place to get all of their software needs.

What about getting together and assembling a group of applications that cover everything you would need to create and display laser shows.   Writing a how to for it.

It could be sold or given away.. depending on the contents of the package.

What do you guys think?
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 04, 2010, 03:47:36 pm
I think it's a great idea.

That might even get some of us to think about how to enhance our own projects to complement the others. I'm also interested in the documentation aspect, as I think we might be able to help document across the board issues and add some extra information to each other's efforts.

We should come up with a nifty name for the whole idea. It should be somewhat amorphous, because hopefully it will change and grow a lot!

While we're at it, we should set our own standards and specifications. There are quite a few new ideas that are pertinent to the open standards and generic concepts that some of us depend on that have never been documented since they do not apply to proprietary systems. We could even take memberships and help manage the needs of the 'hobby laserist'. No one else is doing anything like that!

GILD ~ The Guild of Independent Laser Display!

'Independent' means that you do not depend on someone else's proprietary notion of how to do any of this.

I'm not at all against the idea of getting some money for it. The only question is what to do with the money. That could be a real problem.

MOST OF ALL, I appreciate your attitude!

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: BlinkenLights on March 04, 2010, 04:05:32 pm
im great at bitching so ill be the tester :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 04, 2010, 04:12:39 pm
im great at bitching so ill be the tester :)

GAWD! It's starting already !!!

F&*K YOU TOO!  ;) ;D

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: satje on March 04, 2010, 04:41:48 pm
I am in :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: drlava on March 04, 2010, 05:15:09 pm
Sounds interesting to me.  What would the stated goal of the 'guild' be?

  One thing to be aware of.. the group needs to verify that all of the contributors do not currently own or have owned in the past hardware or software that contained a shrinkwrap agreement requiring them to 'not produce software or hardware which may end up competing with said purchased software or hardware'.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 04, 2010, 06:04:36 pm
NOT MEEEEEEEEEE !!!!! ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D

I'm not polluted, as it were.  ;)

I've never agreed to anything!  ;D

Ever.

James.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: no-esc on March 04, 2010, 06:37:49 pm
I am in... and I have experience.. how boring and dry it may be at creating task based help files..

aka..

-So you want to do this?

-step1
-step2

etc..


Since my programing skills are nill.. I volunteer guide direction, assembly and step writing process...

Of course I want to push buttons, click things till they break so I can report back that as well...


Please add me in...


Len
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 04, 2010, 06:40:39 pm
Quote
Please add me in...

Nope.

Sorry.

This is a very exclusive group.  ;)

Actually.... we should not impose any kind of hierarchy of membership other than the obvious titles that people get when they do something. That way if any dispute comes about, we'll just have to resort to hand to hand fight to the death; winner takes the argument.

I don't think it needs to be a gonverment of any kind. I'd just like to say I am in the GILD and we know what we're doing.

James.  :)

PS. I have to admit..... I'm starting to really like the idea of not allowing some people. However, that seems to have been sorted out here.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: no-esc on March 04, 2010, 09:08:06 pm
I did not mean I was in any way in charge of it.. I meant we could have like a testers/step writer group and bounce ideas off each other...
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: meandean on March 04, 2010, 10:01:32 pm
Quote
Now we do have really great and inexpensive solutions for individual problems however no one stop shop.  Hobbiest have to go all over the place to get all of their software needs.

What about getting together and assembling a group of applications that cover everything you would need to create and display laser shows.   Writing a how to for it.


  I'm for that!

Quote
One thing to be aware of.. the group needs to verify that all of the contributors do not currently own or have owned in the past hardware or software that contained a shrinkwrap agreement requiring them to 'not produce software or hardware which may end up competing with said purchased software or hardware'.


  I think James and I fit that bill, as we play fiddle in isolated sound-proof booths without regard to the rest of the world.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 04, 2010, 10:18:04 pm
I did not mean I was in any way in charge of it.. I meant we could have like a testers/step writer group and bounce ideas off each other...

I'm just goofing with you.

We need all the help we can get putting together all the separate pieces into a decent pool of information.

If you want to put some organization skills into that, it would prolly be motivational to others.

Now, where is my crown and scepter?

....... Oh, wait..... Here it is!

http://akrobiz.com/laserboy/forum/index.php/topic,406.0/msg,5009.html

James. :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 05, 2010, 01:20:41 am
Independent Laser Display Association ! :0 Just kidding.

Looks like we have something to go on.

About charging for software.  There are some hobby software that costs money.  Albeit not very much... you put a few not very muches together and you get too much some times.   One of goals of this would be to reduce that.   I am sure we could put something together which wouldn't cost anything except our time to put them together.   Any thoughts on this? Lite versions for free?

*** The first place in my opinion to start is identifiying what software packages go in and what documentation needs to written.  Think of this kind of like a Hobby laser Show CD compilation.  Here is a list I have so far (if your software costs > $100 it does not make it to the list).  Software that has a price tag gets a $ next to it.

Drawing/Editing Software:
Laser Boy
Monkey Tools
ILdA SoS$
Laser Cam$
Sagamon Editor
Sergey's Tools
C4R0's Bitmap Tracer
Some Other Bitmap Tracing Tool I can't remember the name of...

Show Creation and Playing:
LFI Player
Spaghetti $
PopelScan

Sound Editing:
Audacity

Documents:
List of DACs along with build instructions and schematics
Adam's Scanner Tuning Tutorial
How To Laser Boy
I like to burn things with lasers, i.e. maybe laser shows aren't for me.
How To Make a Laser Projector (what parts do I buy?)
How to create a laser show from A to Z (artwork to show creation)
- in other words now that I have this software, how to be productive with it
Laser Safety?
* Keep in mind we don't have to write all of this... we could make PDf's of web pages,
and posts that are out there already with permission of course).

Frames/Artwork/Shows:
Test Frames (not from Pangolin)
Sample Shows for Spaghetti
Sample Shows for PopelScan
Sample Shows for LFI Player (does anyone have any?)

Most of the above software really does have any good set of how to documents with it.

I think the main point is that everything a hobbiest needs is in one place.

That is all I can think of...

Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 05, 2010, 01:30:01 am
I got it!  I got it!  Here is the name for the group:

Laser Boyz Club

You gotta be down with the LBC.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 05, 2010, 02:45:57 am
Quote
That is all I can think of...

That's great!

All we have to do is start filling in the blanks.

Maybe each one of us with any one of these parts should think about writing a decent description of what it is and what it does!

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 05, 2010, 03:30:50 pm
We need some white papers on some of the specs that we use.

The LaserBoy Wave extensions.
The LaserBoy ASCII text laser frames file format.
The sound card, correction amp combination.
Single ended vs. differential wiring from the DAC to the projector.

I would imagine there are other things; like how to wire a drlava flexmod driver and stuff....

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: meandean on March 05, 2010, 10:55:17 pm
Quote
Show Creation and Playing:
LFI Player
Spaghetti $
PopelScan


  You could add LWave to the list.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 05, 2010, 11:41:48 pm
Good Call :)


Updated list:

Drawing/Editing Software:
Laser Boy
LWave
Monkey Tools
ILdA SoS$
Laser Cam$
Sagamon Editor
Sergey's Tools
C4R0's Bitmap Tracer
Some Other Bitmap Tracing Tool I can't remember the name of...

Show Creation and Playing:
LFI Player
Spaghetti $
PopelScan

Sound Editing:
Audacity

Documents:
List of DACs along with build instructions and schematics
Adam's Scanner Tuning Tutorial
How To Laser Boy
I like to burn things with lasers, i.e. maybe laser shows aren't for me.
How To Make a Laser Projector (what parts do I buy?)
How to create a laser show from A to Z (artwork to show creation)
- in other words now that I have this software, how to be productive with it
Laser Safety?
* Keep in mind we don't have to write all of this... we could make PDf's of web pages,
and posts that are out there already with permission of course).

Frames/Artwork/Shows:
Test Frames (not from Pangolin)
Sample Shows for Spaghetti
Sample Shows for PopelScan
Sample Shows for LFI Player (does anyone have any?)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 05, 2010, 11:47:49 pm
LaserBoy is one word; 8 characters, capital L & B.

It's also an ascii tag in the wave header!

And, for that matter, you CAN make shows with LaserBoy, with stereo sound included!

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 18, 2010, 12:07:58 pm
So how do we proceed with this?   Does anyone have any experience with anything like this?

I have released software before and made DVD's and ISOs so it is like this but does anyone have any ideas to get started quickly and not get bogged down in detailing ourselves to death?
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: drlava on March 18, 2010, 01:27:25 pm
also: LFI script editor (for LFI player)
yes LFI player has example liveshow configs.

Zoof's games and tools
Laseroids
Laser Tennis
ZoofScope
OLA

mikkojay's game:
lazymame

Then, general tools
inkscape
ILD SOS inkscape dxf writer

Google SketchUp ruby dxf plugin with true color

Heathcliff and source

Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 18, 2010, 03:00:53 pm
Do you think it should be burned to a disc?

Once I get rolling again, I like to update my code regularly.

Maybe it should just be a place on the web that describes all of this and has links to get it.

That would also help to solve who gets paid for what.

James.  :)
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: cfavreau on March 18, 2010, 04:04:52 pm
Links are OK.   I think an ISO should be released occasionally so that people don't have to go everywhere to get it all.   Sometimes links go bad... things disappear.

I would like to approach the authors requesting money for a functional demo version maybe...  like shareware...

Who knows... I don't have all the answers.

I would like to see an ISO.

Probably to answer my question is:

1) Assemble the big list of programs and stuff to put on it.
2) Build an ISO and overview document (HTML)
Release Round 1
3) Build all the rest of the documentation...
Release Round 2
4) Occasionally go through and update it.
Release Successive Rounds...

Thanks for everyone's input so far.
Title: Re: Combining Forces - Collaboration
Post by: James on March 18, 2010, 04:55:10 pm
I can dig it. Once you have a collection of stuff, you HAVE it.

Anyone who contributes can just as easily make reference to a place to get the latest version and the 'what's new'.

I wish I was in a position to say "Here you go!", but my stuff is nowhere near in the shape I want it to be.  :P :-\

James.  :)
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal