Dianemo from CHT - Professional Home Automation

[nite_man]

We have just released the first version of our completely re-written Web Orbiter. The new Web Orbiter uses javascript and an new version of proxy_orbiter to make on-screen updates as smooth as they are in a full Orbiter. The new Web Orbiter now uses a light weight process that checks a new flag in the proxy-orbiter that indicates that something has needs an update - only then does the Web orbiter re-draw its screen and because we double buffer that update in javascript (in the browser) the update appears instant and there is no on-screen refresh visible.

Awesome news! Are you planning give it to community?

[totallymaxed]

We have just released the first version of our completely re-written Web Orbiter. The new Web Orbiter uses javascript and an new version of proxy_orbiter to make on-screen updates as smooth as they are in a full Orbiter. The new Web Orbiter now uses a light weight process that checks a new flag in the proxy-orbiter that indicates that something has needs an update - only then does the Web orbiter re-draw its screen and because we double buffer that update in javascript (in the browser) the update appears instant and there is no on-screen refresh visible.

Awesome news! Are you planning give it to community?

Yes the basic code changes are already in svn. In Cascade/Dianemo we make the setup/config simpler in our Web Admin.

All the best


Andrew

[chrisbirkinshaw]

Andrew how to you normally configure for multiple devices - say I have iphone, ipad, n880, PC all wanting different sizes? It seems that after log in you get a drop down combo box which is not very easy/neat. Any ideas?

Chris

[totallymaxed]

Andrew how to you normally configure for multiple devices - say I have iphone, ipad, n880, PC all wanting different sizes? It seems that after log in you get a drop down combo box which is not very easy/neat. Any ideas?

Chris

You create a separate Web Orbiter for each physical device in Wizard-Orbiters and set the 'Size' parameter to the appropriate size for your device.

All the best

Andrew

[totallymaxed]

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[chrisbirkinshaw]

You create a separate Web Orbiter for each physical device in Wizard-Orbiters and set the 'Size' parameter to the appropriate size for your device.

I was wondering more about how to get around having to log in and select from the drop-down. This is fiddly on an iPod or iPhone, N770, etc.

Thanks,

Chris

[totallymaxed]

You create a separate Web Orbiter for each physical device in Wizard-Orbiters and set the 'Size' parameter to the appropriate size for your device.

I was wondering more about how to get around having to log in and select from the drop-down. This is fiddly on an iPod or iPhone, N770, etc.

Thanks,

Chris

Chris,

The sources are in the svn - you can make changes to the .js, .php & .html files and make the process of connecting to a Web Orbiter very different if you choose too. You don't need to make any changes to proxy_orbiter & therefore you don't need to know any C++ to achieve any of these changes at all.

I do plan on creating a new wiki page for 'Web Orbiter 2.0' that will explain its design under-the-hood asap but in the meantime the sources are pretty easily understood.

All the best


Andrew

[nite_man]

Thanks, Andrew, for the excellent work! New weborbiter works pretty good. Sure it can be improved but it's definitely much better then old version

[totallymaxed]

Thanks, Andrew, for the excellent work! New weborbiter works pretty good. Sure it can be improved but it's definitely much better then old version

Thanks. But Uplink re-wrote the Orbiter and figured out how to add a flag to the proxy_orbiter to indicate a screen had changed... so he should get all the praise in fact! There's more coming though that will make it possible to create build Orbiters for devices that cant support a Web Browser... ;-)

Andrew

[chrisbirkinshaw]

The sources are in the svn - you can make changes to the .js, .php & .html files and make the process of connecting to a Web Orbiter very different if you choose too. You don't need to make any changes to proxy_orbiter & therefore you don't need to know any C++ to achieve any of these changes at all.

How would you feel about me creating a permanent session so that a client could be logged in forever and also store in there which instance of the web orbiter to connect to?

[totallymaxed]

The sources are in the svn - you can make changes to the .js, .php & .html files and make the process of connecting to a Web Orbiter very different if you choose too. You don't need to make any changes to proxy_orbiter & therefore you don't need to know any C++ to achieve any of these changes at all.

How would you feel about me creating a permanent session so that a client could be logged in forever and also store in there which instance of the web orbiter to connect to?

Go for it... :-)

The exciting thing for us (and the community in general) is that Web Orbiter 2.0 and the updated proxy_orbiter provide a very much more accessible route into building new functionality and extending the system - I would love to see loads of enhancements, new ideas, experiments etc built around this simple code base.

All the best


Andrew

[davegravy]

I'm a huge fan of these improvements. Was using web orbiter 2.0 last night on my iphone over 3G and it was very usable!

Could we add an option for full-screen mode for iphone/ipod browsers? From what I've read it merely involves adding a few meta tags as per this site: http://ajaxian.com/archives/iphone-full-screen-webapps

The next best improvement I can imagine after that would be finishing the 16:9 UI1.

[totallymaxed]

I'm a huge fan of these improvements. Was using web orbiter 2.0 last night on my iphone over 3G and it was very usable!

Could we add an option for full-screen mode for iphone/ipod browsers? From what I've read it merely involves adding a few meta tags as per this site: http://ajaxian.com/archives/iphone-full-screen-webapps

The next best improvement I can imagine after that would be finishing the 16:9 UI1.

As discussed in our PM... on the iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad just login, choose your 'User' and Web Orbiter. Now you will see the bottom & top bars in Safari. To hide these just touch the '+' icon in the bottom bar and then touch the 'Add to Home Screen' button in the pop-up menu, Give your Web App a name and then touch the blue 'Add' button in the 'Add to Home' screen. Now you will see a Home Screen icon added to your Home Screen. Now if you touch your new Home Screen icon and login etc the Web App will run full screen.

We'll be adding the above setup info to the Web Orbiter 2.0 Wiki page shortly...and we'll add some setup notes for other devices as well.

Please go ahead and add notes for any devices/browser you have tested that are not currently there.

Well adding 16:9 UI screens or new skins are certainly a good idea...as is adding custom resolutions for more screen sizes etc.

All the best


Andrew

[wombiroller]

Hi Andrew,

Curious - are the Dianemo systems able to support the latest mkv formats @ 1080p flawlessly?

Have a friend who is interested, but has a blueray collection that he has started ripping in the latest formats. I can't get them to work on my 0810 (for known reasons as documented elsewhere http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=10013.15) and am wondering if Dianemo might be an option for him.

Also - he would probably want something like the NC 200-RAID (Rack Mount) - are these shipping to Aus? If so cost est?

Thanks!
WR

[totallymaxed]

Hi Andrew,

Curious - are the Dianemo systems able to support the latest mkv formats @ 1080p flawlessly?

Have a friend who is interested, but has a blueray collection that he has started ripping in the latest formats. I can't get them to work on my 0810 (for known reasons as documented elsewhere http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=10013.15) and am wondering if Dianemo might be an option for him.

Also - he would probably want something like the NC 200-RAID (Rack Mount) - are these shipping to Aus? If so cost est?

Thanks!
WR

Hi WR,

Firstly this type of 'off-topic' question would be best posted in this thread in future ; http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=8880.msg60443#msg60443

The problem is mkv is a container format and can contain a range of encapsulations - many are used in torrent downloads to minimise files sizes etc. We dont see supporting those encapsulations as a mainstream requirement in our Cascade/Dianemo systems and we do no promote or support the playback of this type of media as a company. The legality is one issue and the other is the headaches we would experience supporting customers to an acceptable level. Reliability & stability is always at the top of our list - if you sell a system to someone then its has to be reliable over everything else.

We are expecting to add BluRay support before the end of this year however as this capability is maturing nicely now under Linux. So this might be a route your friend would be interested in looking at. PM me and I will put you/him in touch with someone from our technical sales team who can discuss his needs.

All the best


Andrew