A while ago, I received a Binary watch as an anniversary gift. Since then, I frequently get asked how I read it. So let me break it down for you.
First, note the Flash app to the left. I built this for my Chumby, but the inspiration came from my watch. The main differences are that I put in a line of bits to show seconds, and I gave it the ability to show the date. Tap the watch face to view the date for five seconds. If you’re reading this, 01 The One, take some notes.
(more…)
In my last post, I talked about the neat little phones that me and Justin picked up (not the phone that Justin won, lucky…), the Samsung Vibrant. It’s an Android powered phone, with an awesome screen and all that jazz. Feel free to check out that post for all my hype, because this post is about writing Android apps.
Most beginner tutorials out there that I found over the last few weeks have just regurgitated the Hello World demo app from Google. I found that pretty useless, because Google has a perfectly fine demo on how to print text to the screen. I set out to build a little app that displays an image, has button, can update the screen, and gives user feedback (I used the vibration feature of my phone). I even had enough time to set up a basic options menu, so that will be in this tutorial too.
I won’t be covering how to set up your development IDE, as Google has done a great job with that too. I followed the tutorial on setting up the Android API in Eclipse, and was up and running without a hitch in about 30 minutes (there was a lot to download). I developed this app on Ubuntu 10.04, but I’m pretty sure that you can use this code on any platform. Click through to get started!
(more…)
Generally I let the nerd herd (aka our talented team of web developers) be the ones to get excited about math related functionality. However, I gotta say, I do get excited about the way InDesign allows you to do math in the control panel. Probably because anything that does the math for me is exciting! How does it work? Imagine you have a frame with an image in it on the page and you know that it would probably fit better if it were 2.125″ bigger. In the Width field up in the Control panel, type +2.125 next to the existing size. When you’re done, press Tab or Return (PC: Enter) and InDesign will do the math for you to adjust the size of your frame. This also works in the X and Y axis fields — allowing you to move items by a specified amount without doing the math yourself. You can also use different functions, such as subtraction (–), multiplication (*), and division (/).
So, the other day I was looking for a way to duplicate a movie clip that the user clicks on. In my case, I had lots of buttons made of the MCs that I wanted to copy. I could have made a big switch statement like this:
(more…)
In my earlier posts, I’ve writen about writing a Chumby widget, writing a configuration widget, and accessing the accelerometer. Now we’ll look at accessing a database from a Chumby widget.
First, you’ll need to set up a database. I’ll assume you have access to a web server and know how to create a database, tables, and code to access it. I use MySQL and PHP.
You’ll also need a Chumby widget.
And to connect the two, you’ll need a crossdomain.xml file.
(more…)
Vectortuts Pen Tool Exercise
Need to sharpen your penmanship? The pen tool is by far one of the most important tools in illustrator’s repertoire. It allows you to create lines and shapes by using anchors (think connect the dots). The pen tool can be a bit daunting at first and take a bit of time to master, but it’s definitely a necessity for a ton of projects. I came across a comprehensive guide to the pen tool on Vector Tuts+, which broke down the features, shortcuts, and methods for working with the pen. I’d suggest trying out the Pen Tool Exercise at the bottom of the article if you need practice, or maybe even a little refresher course. Best thing I took away from this read: being able to change the anchor point and handle display. I’m loving the larger sized handles. To change the size of your handles in Illustrator go to Illustrator > Preferences > Selection & Anchor Display. In this dialog box, you can then choose the handle and anchor size to your liking, click Okay, and enjoy!
Anchor & Handle Prefrences
We here at Zoom Creates love giving people the option to maintain their own websites once we are done building them. One of our favorite CMS platforms is MODx. It’s based on PHP, is open source, and is extremely flexible. Today I’m going to talk to you about the basics of building a HTML based template.
Project Runway pattern design
Spoiler Alert.
I hope everyone already caught last week’s episode of Project Runway, and if not, you should run and watch it now. On the latest show, the designers were put to the challenge of creating their own signature fabric prints to incorporate into a finished look, representative of their personal aesthetic. The designers had one whole hour (I’d like to see what they could have come up with in more time) to draw out their prints on a HP All-in-One desktop PC. Some were hideous (Check out Mila’s rainbow mess), and others were a success with the judges (check out Emilo Sosa’s graffiti styled brand pattern). After creating the patterns on the computer, they were then printed digitally onto fabric. The idea of printing my own fabric made me green with envy. I’m a nut for interior design, so getting to further personalize my home using my own graphic design prowess excites the banana’s out of me. Unfortunately, the task seemed way out of reach.
As luck would have it, I wondered across this gem of a web site that let’s you upload your artwork and purchase your very own fabric masterpiece. Best part is, that it won’t break the bank and there is no minimum! I think it’s time to start getting creative. Need help creating your own patterns? Check out this post on creating seamless patterns in illustrator.
FYI, (for those in the know) I hope I never have to hear “T.G.” used as a nickname ever again. You’re killing me Mila.
Let’s take a look at the Chumby accelerometer. It’s the thing inside Chumby that tells it if it’s looking up or down, sideways, or up-side-down. It also detects sudden changes in acceleration. It’s basically an electronic inner ear. So if you shake Chumby, knock him on the side of the head, or drop him on the floor, the accelerometer will detect this and report how hard and in what direction the jolt happened. Disclaimer: I do not recommend or endorse violent behavior to Chumby, including hitting, shaking, throwing, or dropping.
If you’re familiar with Actionscript, you know that it’s pretty easy to find the position of the mouse cursor on the stage. Well, it’s also easy to get data from the accelerometer. The trick, however, is making use of it. Let’s take a look.
(more…)
Here’s a little thing that I wrote a while ago while learning the Flash particle system. It just makes little light blurbs generate from your mouse pointer. It’s pretty neat, and if you don’t know how to generate particle effects in Action Script 3, the code might help you out. Check it out if you want to.
If you find it helpful or fun, let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading! Code when you click through…
 |
|||
Categories |
Contact |
Interact |
Archive |
Zoom Creates Blogs is proudly powered by WordPress, Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).
|
 |
||
