Thread: TatraApp is dead, here comes QCar

Really cool! If you implement all features you mentioned in the thread: hell, you can have my money ;-)

Originally Posted by bpwned

Really cool! If you implement all features you mentioned in the thread: hell, you can have my money ;-)

will second that.

I like it. I think it is a great ergonomic decision to focus on input from rotary devices, as I am having nothing but problems with my touchscreen. Aside from this I think a rotary input controller is the way to go anyway. It will be very fast once the controller is mastered. What controller is most recommended by you? NuLooq? Space Navigator? Other?

I know it's early days but I think you need to employ a graphic designer for a while - the interface is eminently usable but looks a little dated. Looks like its from some early '80s low budget sci-fi . In this respect AMP looks rather slicker.

Overall though I think I am going to be a buyer.

Originally Posted by joesan

What controller is most recommended by you? NuLooq? Space Navigator? Other?

At this moment probably the NuLOOQ. Space Navigator, which I have in the Volvo right now is quite ok, but too sensitive, especially for twisting around Z axis. I may keep SN if I can figure out a good set of settings, otherwise it is back to NuLOOQ. Of course esthetically the Space Navigator is much better. The NuLOOQ with its white colour stands out too much in almost every can interior...

BTW: has anyone seen NuLOOQ available anywhere in Europe?

I know it's early days but I think you need to employ a graphic designer for a while - the interface is eminently usable but looks a little dated.

Yep, although I am pretty happy with the current minimalistic look, we know many people do not like it. The application is fully skinnable. It is just that at the moment, there are higher priorities than skins so we only have one.

Jirka - By coincidence I phoned Logitech this morning to ask exactly that. Apparently the NuLooq is not currently available here (UK) or Europe as a whole. The representative said that there were plans to introduce it but in the meantime we should perhaps try the US. This is a bit of a pain because of import duties, time delays etc. but I can't see much of a way around this. I suppose that the powermate is readily available.

On the interface I'd agree that you've got the right emphasis there. Make it work first, then pretty up the GUI. As I say I really think that the emphasis on a rotary controller is a good one. I'd like a touchscreen interface but it seems to me that they are not currently reliable enough under OS X.

BTW on the colour of the Nu Looq - I agree that it would stand out too much in most car interiors but an easy solution might be plastic paint/stain. These specialist paints dye into the actual material itself and are not a surface coating. You can get these in many colours, I'd use black. Halfords in the UK are stockists but it is bound to be available on the internet as well.

PowerMate does work, there are just a few issues with it:

- it is pain in the neck to use the push+turn (i.e. for volume control)

- for some weird reason, the driver only generates keyUp event, which makes the handling of long click a bit difficult (we cannot dismiss a dialog or even make a beep after the long click timeout has elapsed, so the user has to guess whether by releasing the knob he gets a click or a long click

- It is mechnically not as well-built as the other controllers. It is for example rather unreliable when it comes to clicking with pressure applied at the edge of the knob instead the center of the top surface... Sometimes you do get the click, sometimes you do not.

I have a prototype of a rather nice controller with hi-quality encoder, four extra buttons, based on regular mouse electronics (i.e. easy to integrate), but at the moment, it is just too bloody expensive to manufacture.

1.44 is out for beta testing, public preview probably within a week or so. New functions:

- Color scheme switching to support Night mode directly in the application
- Speech feedback is now active by default
- Web browser module added
- Many internal changes related to setup and configuration (modules can be stored in several locations).

The Phidgets-related stuff is not included in the release, if someone wants to test it, just drop us a message.

Do you have any documentation available? Particularly for skinning purposes?