DonationCoder.com Forum
News and Reviews => Official Announcements => Topic started by: mouser on July 22, 2008, 01:37 PM
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A month and a half ago we announced a programming contest (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=13569.0) here at DC, to give away an amazing programming prize generously donated by long time DC forum member Chris Hanscom (Veign.com (http://www.veign.com)).
Three people chose to enter the contest, with entries that could not have been more different.
Complete DC newcomer Eric Wong blew everyone away with not one but two unusual entries that were extremely impressive from a technical/programming standpoint. His first program, Webcam Signature, uses a computer webcam to identify and track a colored object and let users create signatures from it. It's described by eric (VideoInPicture) on this thread (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=13792), and has it's own full and beautiful website along with a video demo: here (http://webcamsignature.wikidot.com/start).
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Eric's second submission, coded in only a couple of weeks, is called Circle Dock, and is a wonderfully cool implementation of a circular floating toolbar/dock/start menu. Eric describes it in this thread (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=14039.0) and has another great website for it complete with a demo movie: here (http://circledock.wikidot.com/).
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Long time active DC participant Eóin entered a very polished professional program for managing sets of windows system services. His program is called ServiceProfiles, and is described on this post (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=13569.msg119080#msg119080) has a website: here (http://www.binarynotions.com/serviceprofiles-managing-nt-services). It's a program we expect many power users would find immediately useful and valuable:
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Sometimes poster and long time DonationCoder chatroom participant Hollowlife1987 submitted Btts (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=13569.msg120758#msg120758), a complete standalone torrent tracker, complete with it's own web server (made in C# with asp.net). It's a pretty impressive accomplishment and a very cool demonstration of what can be done combining asp with C# in a standalone tool.
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In the end we AGONIZED over who to give the prize to. All of them really deserved it for different reasons.
It's a strange prize to give out because it's such a varied set of tools that very few people on planet earth would have real use for more than one or two of the components in it. We decided to ask the participants to tell us honestly how they would use the prize if they won it.. We do this quite a bit at DonationCoder because we try very hard to be fair and put things into the hands of those who will benefit from them.
This was actually the primary way we decided who to give the prize to -- not by deciding which program or programmer we liked best, but by deciding at this stage who we thought could most use it.
In the end we decided that there will be no single "Winner" but that:
- We will give the MSDN giveaway prize to Eóin.
- And we will create additional prizes for the other 2 entrants; Eric and Hollow both will get $250 in cash to spend as they wish (hopefully on programming related stuff!), and we'll endeavor to find some other gifts for them as well.
- And all entrants will get a custom mug commemorating the contest (hey this is the best prize of all) and free web hosting for life.
So congratulations to the 3 winners, tied for first place: Eric Wong (VideoInPicture), Eóin O'Callaghan, and Hollowlife1987.
You should all be proud, and on behalf of DonationCoder and Veign, thank you for making this forum and site a more enjoyable and educational place to hang out.
I hope you will all keep us updated on your programs and future work. Eric in particular we cannot wait to see what software you develop next(!)
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We need to say a HUGE thank you to Chris.
There were lots of people he could have given away the MSDN copy to.. It means a lot that he decided to give it away to someone here.
(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/ExternalSmileysThanks/1 Jpgs/thankyou6.jpg)
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Thanks so much Chris for letting us DC users do this contest ;D
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Congratulations to everyone :)
Amazing achievements in the timescales.
And HUGE thanks to Chris for setting up a competition that produced the VIP CircleDock. :-*
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Congratulations guys, useful programs and nice prizes, well done :Thmbsup:
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Congratulations to the entrants... all of them!
I am glad that I am not one of those who had to try to decide on a winner.
All of the entries look extremely impressive to me.
Thanks to Veign for providing the stellar prize, and whose other contributions to DonationCoder are obvious at many points.
And... let's not forget that strange, cat-like creature without whom none of us would be enjoying ourselves here.
Let's take the chance to say thank you to
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Wow I'm honoured and very privileged to have been chosen to receive this MSDN giveaway. My most sincere thanks go to both mouser and Chris for hosting the competition and providing the prize.
Also of course my congratulations to Eric and Hollowlife1987 for their fantastic entries.
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Like mouser stated the decision was very difficult and we wished we could have given away three copies of the MSDN subscription as this is how close things were. In the end we feel we made the best choice we could understanding that its pretty easy to make arguments for each participant to get the prize.
So, I want to say a congrats to everyone who entered and we (DC and Veign) look forward to future applications from each of you. You have now shown us you can code and be creative so there's no excuse for not developing future applications :) - NANY will be coming up before you know it so get your ideas ready.
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NANY is will be coming up before you know it so get your ideas ready
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WOW, that webcam signature program is super awesome! I wish I had a webcam so I could use it ;) Great Idea anyway :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
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Thanks mouser and veign for making this contest possible, and thanks to the contestants for giving us a few new exciting apps! :Thmbsup:
I still think these need to be advertised better.
I had to look for a while to find this thread.. ;)
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WOW, that webcam signature program is super awesome! I wish I had a webcam so I could use it ;) Great Idea anyway :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
-housetier
Thanks. I actually have a new version of Webcam Signature on my computer that utilizes the YUV color space instead of the RGB color space to give it greater robustness but I have to finish the rough edges and I'm focusing my efforts to rewrite Circle Dock so it may not get out for a month or two.
As for the other guys in the competition, great work! Also, think you guys could write up some articles on how the code behind your programs work?
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Also, think you guys could write up some articles on how the code behind your programs work?
-VideoInPicture
That's not a bad idea, documenting code is always something left undone which for an open source project would actually be very helpful.
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Congrats Eoin for winning the MSDN prize and my source is messy and not well commented (my weak points) but i would be glad to give it out to people who are interested in it.
I do plan on making a stand alone web server for any asp.net site in the future based off of this project's webserver :)
Edit:
Also i showed ya guys projects to a few people and they seem interested in them, my bro really likes Eoin's project and circular dock
2nd Edit:
I don't like giving my source out publicly but if you send me a PM i'll link ya to the source for who ever is interested in it :)
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It might be worth pointing out that Eoin's Halite open source bit torrent client was just featured on LifeHacker today:
http://lifehacker.com/399130/halite-does-super+lightweight-bittorrent
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Sweetness that might actually be useful for my future plans for my program :-D
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Only one thing to say: the donationcoder community == :-*
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PC World has listed Circle Dock on their download pages and has it's own mini-review: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,72396-order,3-page,1/description.html
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So cool. Congrats Eric.
ps.
Laura Blackwell (PC World editor) rocks by the way -- she is a real champion of the little guy :up: :up: :up:
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PC World has listed Circle Dock on their download pages and has it's own mini-review: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,72396-order,3-page,1/description.html
-VideoInPicture
Congrats Eric. How does Circle Dock compare to Magic Formation (http://tokyodownstairs.blogspot.com/2008/03/magic-formation.html)?
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Congrats Eric. How does Circle Dock compare to Magic Formation (http://tokyodownstairs.blogspot.com/2008/03/magic-formation.html)?
-PhilB66
Wow, impressive. Wonder why I didn't find this on google before? The idea between Magic Formation and Circle Dock is very similar. Magic Formation is a much more complete program right now than Circle Dock 0.9.1 and is very similar to what I'm coding for the new version of Circle Dock. If you want a circular dock program right now, I would recommend Magic Formation. But, I would use the new version of Circle Dock when it comes out in a bit because it will be more flexible and more fully featured.
There are some notable differences:
(1) Circle Dock is open source whereas Magic Formation is closed source so you can't change it to how you like it or add new features yourself.
(2) In Circle Dock, you have better control over how fast the dock scrolls whereas Magic Formation only allows 1 degree or 10 degrees at a time.
(3) Circle Dock allows a circle or spiral shaped dock whereas Magic Formation allows a circle, linear, or manual formation. In the new version of Circle Dock, there is an option for an oval shaped dock, which is great for wide screen monitors. I can also add a linear option without too much trouble.
(4) Magic Formation currently has better animation than Circle Dock but I'll be able to match it with the new version.
(5) Circle Dock is able to dynamically synchronize it's dock items with those files/folders/shortcuts at a specified location. Magic Formation does not support this.
(6) Circle Dock allows you to display multiple concentric circles of icons whereas Magic Formation only allows one circle.
(7) Circle Dock is able to support background images. Magic Formation does not.
(8) Circle Dock currently does not have an option to show what programs are running on your computer but the new version does.
(9) Magic Formation looks to be more stable than Circle Dock currently.
(10) The new version of Circle Dock supports the creation of virtual dock folders so that you can group your icons together and access them by clicking on a dock icon. Magic Formation does grouping but it leaves something to be desired because you have to access the groups through the right click menu on a grid of unidentified squares.
I believe the developer of Magic Formation are Japanese and that is probably one of the reasons why I haven't heard about this program sooner. I guess it will be an arms race between us two. :D
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I believe the developer of Magic Formation are Japanese and that is probably one of the reasons why I haven't heard about this program sooner. I guess it will be an arms race between us two. :D
-VideoInPicture
Correct, but I wouldn't worry too much about an "arms race" as WinFlip (http://tokyodownstairs.blogspot.com/2007/11/winflip.html) has Koji's (the developer) priority. He doesn't plan to update MF any time soon.
Thanks for the comparison. Just wanted to add that MF is a portable dock application and does not require .net framework to run which is a big :up: for me. Anyway, will be looking out for a future release of Circle Dock.
Thanks.
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Congrats to all three of you, all great programs :Thmbsup:
Now we need a Linux compatible version of Circle Dock so I can have my cake on Vista and eat it on Xubuntu too. ;)
Maybe a *nix programming contest next time around? Might be interesting!
*Wreckedcarzz eagerly awaits new CD version*
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Congratulation to winners
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Great software, great work!
Impressive.
:up:
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Sorry I am late to the party, folks, but I do want to congratulate all who participated. The prizes are never quite enough when you consider how much went into these programs in a very short time.
Thanks to all! You're all winners!
Jim
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Now it's Eric's turn -- his apps were featured on cybernet news today:
http://cybernetnews.com/2008/08/08/two-interesting-apps-emerge-from-donationcoder-competition/
Congratulations Eric :up:
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Now it's Eric's turn -- his apps were featured on cybernet news today:
http://cybernetnews.com/2008/08/08/two-interesting-apps-emerge-from-donationcoder-competition/
Congratulations Eric :up:
-mouser
Cool! I've been working on the next version of Circle Dock and will upload another coder preview in the next few days. There is current coder preview up on the Source Code section of my website, but this next coder preview will have a complete set of comments in the code and will allow you to rotate the dock. The keyboard shortcut to toggle the visibility of the dock will be implemented and the ability to use a button on your mouse to toggle the visibility of the dock has been directly integrated into the program.
One thing that I can't seem to figure out is how Magic Formation, Rocket Dock, Object Dock, etc... get all their dock items to move/animate simultaneously. Each of their dock items is a separte child window of the program so you would assume that you would have to tell each dock item to move/animate separately. However, this leads to some jerky/delayed motion. Does anyone have a clue how this is done?
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And yet another blog raves about Circle Dock:
http://www.technotraits.com/2008/08/ultimate-docking-application-circle-dock/
I just downloaded and started using it.. and believe me, I’ve become a fan of it.
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Brilliant collection of ideas - well done all.
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ServiceProfiles featured on ghacks today: http://www.ghacks.net/2008/08/11/switch-between-different-service-profiles/
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Pity they can't proof read.
Many who write for the web seem to believe that accuracy in language is irrelevant. >:(
[Congratulations, again, to Eóin]
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Many who write for the web seem to believe that accuracy in language is irrelevant.
Accuracy in language on the web is irrelevant. :)
In fact, language inaccuracies on the web are so burned into it's very culture that they are starting to change language itself, beyond the web. :D
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In fact, language inaccuracies on the web are so burned into it's very culture that they are starting to change language itself, beyond the web.-Gothi[c]
I take your point, and that's how language evolves -- the web is just one current influence -- but why condone mindless, unchecked carelessness?
For those who don't know of DonationCoder, what first impression might the following create? Free or paid?
Service Profiles was an entry to the Donation Coder programming competition and it rightfully got a price there.-gHacks
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those of us with bad spelling have an obligation to spell badly when we publish web articles so that other bad spellers can find them when searching. if we proofread everything we posted how would the bad spellers find our stuff? this is a way we can stick together and it's like a secret handshake.
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I've particularly bad spelling myself so can't take any moral high ground. :D
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And from ghacks it migrates to LifeHacker:
http://lifehacker.com/400173/service-profiles-creates-custom-swappable-windows-service-setups
:huh: 8) :-*
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And from ghacks it migrates to LifeHacker:
http://lifehacker.com/400...le-windows-service-setups-mouser
Grate gnus, that's prizeless!
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Here a few new screen shots of Circle Dock 0.9.2 (still in development, a code snapshot will be released in a few days). http://circledock.wikidot.com
I've made it look almost exactly like one of those Windows 7 taskbar screenshots I've seen somewhere. I really like the look of this theme. At the home level, the middle button now opens up the windows start menu. In the first screenshot, you can see a couple of dock folders. If you click on those, they repopulate the dock with the items associated with that dock folder.
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Aw man.....
I really, really don't need another launcher! Honest! One more and my computer might just revolt against me!
But those screenshots..... Oh no...... Aaarrrgghhhh...
Jim (Trying to crawl away as my machine starts to explode...)
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I've figured out how to show the Explorer right-click menus when you click on one of the Circle Dock 0.9.2 items. Screenshot above. This is coming along nicely.
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now this is starting to get quite cool. you are putting in place the features that take it from being a cool tech demo to being a seriously viable tool. very nice :up:
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Circle Dock mentioned again, this time on DownloadSquad:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/15/circle-dock-stop-going-out-of-your-way-to-launch-apps/
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congratulations Eric for all the well deserved attention your program is getting.
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And now Circle Dock (like ServiceProfiles before it) is on LifeHacker!
http://lifehacker.com/400526/circledock-surrounds-your-mouse-with-files-folders-and-shortcuts
For a small little programming contest these winning programs sure are getting a lot of attention.
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Shows the level of all the submissions and the reason choosing the winner was so difficult
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Darn it, I was a bit late in releasing AlphaPreview2 of Circle Dock 0.9.2. This could have addressed many of the comments from the LifeHacker link.
http://circledock.wikidot.com/local--files/download-circle-dock/CircleDock_0.9.2_AlphaPreview2.zip
This is a new version of Circle Dock I'm working on. I have read many comments and have gotten lots of feedback from people who have tried out the first version of Circle Dock and have had problems with it. This version addresses many of the problems, such as memory usage, performance, and stability. If you are having problems with Circle Dock 0.9.1, please try this Alpha version out. It is incomplete in features but the core code is there. I'm releasing this version out early since many people were asking about it and now people on LifeHacker are talking about it.
Please bear in mind that the first version of Circle Dock was only coded in two weeks so there was bound to be some bugs. This new version is a complete rewrite and at idle, it now uses under 1 meg of ram.
Please provide feedback at https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=14039.0 and I will answer your questions.
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Some new screenshots of Circle Dock 0.9.2 on a different background:
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Keeps on getting better...
:up: