Thread: openMobile 0.7 is now feature complete

Originally Posted by jmullan99

Yes you do!!

I assumed that some graphics lagging was my machine, not OM. My bad.

Well actually yea it is your machine...we used to do all of our animations using the CPU (like all other carPC software) except that doesn't match up very well with the typical low powered CPUs used in carPCs. So we redesigned everything so that it now uses your GPU to do all of the animations (like 3D games use) which are very fast in even low powered hardware to be able to handle 720-1080p video.

Originally Posted by jmullan99

That aside, my assumption is that any application would still perform better if they have dual core available, or more appropriately, if they are designed to take advantage of it. True?

NOTE: I am actually looking for an education here, not questioning OM this time

I usually like giving definitive answers but it really depends. For example, an application thats indexing files on a hard drive..well its only going to only be able to go as fast as the hard drive...so 2 cores wouldn't be any faster. Same thing goes for cpu intensive single threaded applications (they only do 1 thing at a time, so the extra core would just be idle).

You only get a performance increase when an application is designed to use more then one core simultaneously.

Thanks JC. While not exactly a NOOB in computers (had my first in '79 - my age is showing, I'm a local in-house support and develop in-house PHP apps), I have never really been able to verify what difference my dual core laptops have made. Mostly because when upgrading to dual core the clock is also faster so ya, you see a speed difference anyway. And never really found any utility I liked to get an idea. Which I suppose wouldn't have helped much if I don't have any apps that I know make use of dual core.

All that aside, it sounds like my board will be quite sufficient for OM.

I'm lovin this stuff, but I really got to stop my testing while on the road. No close accidents but I do notice I'm not quite driving a straight a line some of the time. It's just that 45min one way can get quite boring.

DOH! Should I even mention that?

Yes, because even though I'm sure most users know it's bad, real life evidence helps to confirm the concept.

John

PS: Yes, I can ramble a bit

I really miss workin with you guys, but I feel like you have moved so far beyond where I was at, that I couldn't possibly jump back in...but if you need anything, want me to work on anything...I'm here. Can't wait for 0.8

I have a couple thoughts to share. As mentioned, OM is what occupies my time during my commute. And as such, I feel I can comment on some usability items that, in all likelihood, the dev. team are already addressing. However, since I don't know that, I'd like to mention them here.

We all know that an ICE system should not be a distraction to drivers as much as possible. I feel somewhat qualified at this point to discuss my experiences with respect to same. So I am hoping this will in some way be a small contribution to OM as I have become a big-time believer in it's future.

The volume slider:
Works fine. But while driving it's a bit difficult to have fine control over it. Perhaps the addition of a "+" and "-" to incrementally adjust the volume can be done.

The volume/mute button:
Again, works fine. However I find that on a long click it may not mute/unmute if I am not holding steady. If I move just a bit it's like I'm not holding but gesturing. I know nothing about coding for such, but if possible perhaps broaden the recognized touch zone. Or discriminating between long click and gesturing.

PS: This could be related to the touch issues I experience (and mentioned in earlier posts) as the speaker picture does turn red, recognizing I have touched the zone.

Radio:
The list of presets and found stations are just slightly small enough (on my 7" anyway) to make it a difficult target while driving. Even just one less item in the list and expanding the height of the rest would help. The recognized touch zone applies here as well. Slight movement of my finger (due to the car being in motion) makes it difficult to select a station, causing me to retry a few times, further distracting my driving.

Gesturing in the Radio seems to only be valid in a very small area near the top (current station and RDS area). This is an additional distraction to ensure I'm gesturing in the target area.

OM Media Player:
Completely functional. However, I am still unable, or don't know how, to have it play my entire collection (either sequentially or randomly). This forces me to select an artist fairly often (another distraction) or listen to the same songs over-and-over. And the small target area (same as in the above radio item above) applies here too.

I assume that playlist functionality is on the to-do list, and a default ALL playlist, so I may be out-of-line on that one, but again I still mention it.

Hmmm, just a thought, but a set-up option to allow the user to specify list/text size just like some browsers do would be a benefit for those of us that may need some visual assistance

Thanks for taking time to listen to me. I always worry if I'm being annoying, as I know you folk have your hands full.

Cheers,
John

Thanks for your input. All of the issues you identified with the exception of the gesture sensitivity are issues based around the skin design. As stated before all of that is being reviewed and reworked for the 0.8 release. I agree that the text in most lists can be too small... as well as other buttons. We will likely establish some skinning rules which will help with these issues. I'll pass along the information regarding gesture sensitivity.

Thanks again

You guys are the best!

Keep up the great work.

John

Any news on a Linux package?

Originally Posted by nasa

Any news on a Linux package?

Done and working for about a week now...just working through some issues with the installer.

Great to hear!