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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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 Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:45 am Post subject: PC on iPhone ? |
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Right off the top, you figure this has got to be nuts!
Okay, so you guys have already read about how they are tearing thing thing apart and seeing if it can be hacked. And who knows if Jobs will open up iPhone 2 or 3 so that third party programs don't have to run on the net.
I would like an app that ran inside iPhone that saves in either PowerCADD &/or PDF file formats. This would be for making the most basic of plans or surveys, with a basic set of tools. Good for doing smaller surveys. Good for when inspiration strikes and you don't have pencil or paper handy.
Let me say right here that I surely don't expect this to suffice for all survey work. On the other hand, if they ever make some glasses that hook to this thing that makes it appear as if you are viewing a 30 inch monitor (as they are already talking about a video out), and the phone acts as a SMART touch pad input device, then you could probably do just about any kind manual field survey with this thing - but I'll leave the glasses idea for latter.
The program should take advantage of the ability to swipe your finger to pan around in the drawing space, and also, the tap or double tap to zoom in & out that the iPhone incorporates into viewing pictures right now.
Working on computers, we have keyboard and different mouse buttons for input. But this iPhone has only one touch screen -- one large pad / input device so to speak. So in order to take advantage of the built-in panning (the swipe of the finger) and zooming (tap & double tap), how does one use a tool without doing a pan or zoom? One solution would be to tap your left thumb in the lower left corner of the screen whenever you wanted to select and use a tool. To jump back to zoom or pan mode, tap once again in this same location. In other words - you toggle between tool mode and zoom/pan mode. The program should also auto scroll when you hit the edge of the screen. You could also likely incorporate the multi-touch technology built into this thing to act as a second mouse button.
With a parallel line tool, door tool, line, rectangle, text & leader, dimensions, point tool and snaps -- I figure that I could do basic surveys.
With the iPhone having the ability to view PDF's already, seems that being able to draw over a PDF in a different color would be nice also.
Perfect solution? Of course not. Workable? Yeah, I think it can be if done right.
Steve Jobs once thought the idea of movies on a small screen was untenable. I figure doing some basic line drawings is about as workable as watching a movie on such a screen. Small as this screen is, it does have very good resolution (170 or so dpi), so that should count for something.
On thing I figure, is that eventually someone will do some kind of basic drawing program, and hopefully, it will allow for scale input. |
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huc
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 658
Location: ::caddpower.com:: (Aurora, CO)
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| Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:00 am Post subject: |
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slightly off topic (as it's not drawing related)
What I'm doing now is uploading my drawings/painting/renderings/photgraphy to the iPhone as TIF or JPEG when I'm using iPHoto -- or emailing them as a attachment to myself in PDF. Pity (and odd given QTime) that iPhoto doesn't support PDF as that would be preferable to TIF. All render very well on the iPhone.
Thus far it's fine for giving a sense of what things are about. I've uploaded several renderings that are great for quick show and tell. For example I often get asked 'what do you do exactly...' and this is a fun and easy way to answer at least part of that question 
As to drawing app's on the iPhone - the screen is good but I'm not sure it's that good LOL Still it will be interesting to see where the technology goes! |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:21 pm Post subject: |
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Yesterday, I sent my first line drawing to a friends iPhone. Like I said, if done right, it might be doable without hooking up any glasses to the iPhone, for simple line drawings on small or smaller projects, and provided you could zoom in farther. When I get more time, I will send more drawings and really test this thing out.
Nonetheless, here are some of those glasses I was talking about.
http://www.myvu.com/#
You can also find these glasses at the Apple Store (for use with your iPod).
My guess is that iPhone 2 or at least iPhone 3 will have video out.
I think it would be a kick in the shorts to hook these or other glasses up to the iPhone, and use its' computer and interface to draw on-site, while walking around, and with a Leica Disto hooked on my belt to take dimensions. |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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It's official. Apple to release an SDK for iPhone.
http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9799207-37.html?tag=nefd.lede
iPhone now becomes a mobile computer that already has a great touch pad.
And these glasses allow you to see the big picture. http://www.myvu.com/#
All one needs now is a mobile version of a CAD program for doing surveys.
You put on some glasses, hold the iPhone in one hand, and have a laser measuring device on the belt.
Should be fast to move from room to room while doing the input as you walk.
And doing the input as you measure, should help, at least some, from forgetting some needed measurement.
How about it Engineered? Can't think of anyone better to write a lean and mean app that would fit the bill. |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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The SDK will work with iPod Touch also
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/
Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on - piece of junk -—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other - piece of junk - already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.
Some companies are already taking action. - abuse alert -, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
Steve
P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.
[Oct 17, 2007] |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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As I often do, I proof read after posting.
Backwards ----- but my way.
This forum has some "auto rules" or whatever they are called, that changed the words of Steve Jobs in the above post. What this forum did had me busting up.
Where Jobs had talked about other on the road telephones (I changed the spelling so it wouldn't happen again), this forum auto corrected these words, and changed them to ---- pieces of junk.
It also did an ALERT to the name of a telephone manufacturer.
But the 'pieces of junk' had me wondering if these were Steve Job's actual words, having seen him speak enough times. And being as I had only skimmed these words of Jobs, I had to go back to Apples site to check.
Thanks for the laugh Design Community. |
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pbacot
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 837
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:03 am Post subject: |
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There's another issue befoe drawing on the iPhone. Doesn't it seem the iPhone screen is responsive to certain touch functions but not overall mouse-like sensitivity? It seems that to make it work well with a stylus or to even follow finger movements for drawing would be another generation of screen development.
But I suspect that eventually propiosensors will be made available for mouse motions... so that not only will we see people "talking to themselves" while walking on the street, they'll also be waving their arms in the air. Civilization advances.
PS. I'd love to do building "surveys" electronically. So far I have not found it feasible. I've taken my laptop to sites but given the time it takes to simply get the measurements, I continue to scrawl a shorthand on an increasingly tattered notebook as I move around the building. It would be great to do a job with someone who has found on-site drawing to work for them. Typically the buildings are not square, of various pedigree and additions--a puzzle in themselves.
_________________
Peter B |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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Peter,
Hard to say what the sensitivity of the iPhone's touchpad is in comparison to a trackpad. I know what the iPhone view screen resolution is. But I have no idea what the iPhone touchpad resolution is. But the fact that this proposed piece of software would be used for precision vector work, may work in favor of using an iPhone, that is, if it were found to have lower touch sensitivity.
First, object snap sensitivity should be adjustable to the user on a mobile ver. of PowerCADD. This should make these type snaps manageable. And, I don't often use grid snap, so my dragging to a fine grid snap is something I could probably get by without, that is, if the resolution of the touchpad was somewhat lacking.
And though I often start drawing something using an object snap, much of the time, I finish it using numeric input --- something in which trackpad sensitivity plays no part.
For instance -- To draw a rectangle with precision using PowerCADD -----
I drag out the rectangle in the direction I want to go,
tab into the X & Y or width & height,
enter my numeric amounts.
I wouldn't imagine it being much different using an iPhone -----
Drag out a rectangle in the direction I want to go,
tap the onscreen tab to get into the X or width or length,
use an onscreen numeric keypad to enter the amount I want ...
And as far as dealing with the out of square ------- well, punching in a bunch of X & Y amounts back at the office can leave one wishing they were onsite to measure some diagonals (hypotenuse), when things don't come together as we would like. Having CAD onsite is great for figuring the angle of a corner, when necessary.
Steve |
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patrickm
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 306
Location: santa barbara, ca
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| Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:04 am Post subject: |
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This whole iPhone and third party software idea is intriguing -- I currently use my 23 year old HP41cx calculator and its "struc pack" software to do lots of my structural engineering. If I could get basic simple beam and continuous beam analysis applications to run on the iPhone, I could ditch one more piece of equipment.
It'd be an added bonus to do field measuring/floor plans with a simple version of PC, too.
patrick |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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| Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:44 am Post subject: Re: PC on iPhone ? |
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| How Goes It wrote: | | With a parallel line tool, door tool, line, rectangle, text & leader, dimensions, point tool and snaps -- I figure that I could do basic surveys. |
After posting, I realized that I would need more than just the few tools I proposed early on in this thread. For instance, I use the arc tool for figuring corner angles on out of square situations.
So if the glasses and the iPhone turn out to be a feasible computer/touchpad/virtual monitor combination, and Engineered, Alfred, or some third party considers writing a mobile CAD app. for doing surveys, I would be curious to know other PC users opinions regarding the toolset.
I can't see making a bloatware mobile application. It would probably be smart to start with something lean. What minimum toolset would be needed for doing your on-site computer input? Any suggestions as to what tools would be necessary, and how they are used, or why they would be needed for surveys?
Export formats is also something to consider. I'd figure, PowerCADD, PDF, DWG, DXF would be a good basic set of export formats, although I would be more than happy to settle for PowerCADD & PDF only. |
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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How Goes It
Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 330
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