Mark DuBois Weblog

I spent part of last week participating in the D2W (Designer to Developer) conference in Kansas City. This was the second year the conference has been offered.  Many thanks to @DeeSadler for her efforts in making this conference a reality. There were 38 speakers this year. It is a huge effort to pull everything together for a conference. I was particularly impressed with the lineup of speakers. Dee – you did a great job pulling in so many talented individuals for the conference. Thanks also to Chad Udell (@visualrinse) and Matt Forcum (@robotbeach) for the ride to the conference and back. We had some great conversations. I do hope we continue to exchange information in the future.

I spent most of my time in the mobile track (gathering notes for classes I will be teaching this fall). Note to students – if your teachers are not attending conferences every year (and are teaching web technologies beyond the fundamentals), you are probably getting stale information. [Demand better.] I never cease to be amazed at how quickly things change. Just a small case in point – it now appears the actual number of cell phones exceeds the number of toothbrushes on this planet. I could only find one link to confirm this (so it may not be true). However, the fact that cell phones are becoming almost ubiquitous means we need to spend greater emphasis using them in our teaching. I am trying to stay on top (ok, the operative word is trying) of what is happening in the world of mobile/ multi-screen as it relates to web technologies. This was the main reason I spent my time and personal funds to participate in this conference.

Here are the sessions I attended (along with a few notes). I also include some final thoughts at the end of these notes.

Keynote on Workflow – Paul Trani – Paul spent the majority of his talk focusing on the improvements in a number of Adobe products to help expedite processes and improve workflows. Some of the products mentioned included InDesign, Flash, Flash Builder and Wallaby. Paul also demonstrated a Flash application running on a Android device that was communicating with an iPad, Android tablet (Xoom) and PlayBook. He also showed how one could debug directly on the device and send trace statements back to the mothership (laptop in this case). This was  quite an impressive demonstration of the capabilities of Flash Professional 5.5.

Is mobile for me? What skills do I need? – Chad Udell – Chad focused on the personal traits (not tools) necessary to be successful in this space. His main thesis was that workflows are changing and we need to adjust our skill sets to meet many new challenges. However, we have done this before (successfully). For example, many of us have been involved in changes from local applications and networks to the World Wide Web. We next made a successful transition to content management systems and then to rich Internet applications and so forth. Mobile is just the next step in the evolution of many technologies. Chad stressed the mindset and skills you need to be successful in this environment. This includes:

• ability to self teach,
• desire to learn (and keep up to date),
• an open mind (we sometimes need to unlearn and relearn),
• creativity,
• agility,
• decisiveness,
• flexibility,
• pragmatism,
• patience (and good time management skills),
• a thick skin (other will critique your efforts),
• and a willingness to spend money (one needs to obtain actual devices to test upon).

Adapting expectations to fit a mobile work flow – Joseph Labrecque – Developing for mobile is a double edged sword. It can be very frustrating due to the plethora of devices, screen sizes, resolution, processors and so forth. It can also be very exciting and challenging.  The rate of change is also amazing. This is part of what keeps it so interesting. Joseph also spent a fair amount of time reviewing the Denver University Course Media application he helped develop. He focused on issues such as work flow, expectations and design. Make certain you design for fingers in the mobile world (and don’t forget that finger placement can obscure content). Also, don’t forget to take into consideration the type of device being used. For example, Android phone visitors have somewhat different user interface from BlackBerry PlayBook users (for the latter, you access a sub-menu by swiping the top bezel downward). It is important to test on actual devices. One also needs to know their target audience and the age of mobile devices being used.

jQuery Mobile: learning from my mistakes – JP Revel -JP spent a fair amount of time reviewing the fundamentals of jQuery mobile. He also discussed other frameworks (like jQuery and Sencha Touch). Regarding jQuery mobile, JP covered the fundamentals of gestures, events, and themes. He also discussed the XHTML mobile DTD as an alternative to HTML5 for now. The majority of this talk focused on demos and code snippets.

Apps vs. Sites vs. Content – A vendor agnostic view on building stuff for the mobile web – Kai Koenig – Insight – U.S. is way behind the curve in terms of mobile. Many people in Asia have been using better and faster networks for some time. If you really want to focus on application growth markets, consider China and India. Kai discussed “the web is dead” article published on Wired Magazine recently as well as mentioning that mobile is the new standard to design for initially. He then spent some time reviewing various development alternatives. For example, one can go “native” for various environments (such as Objective-C for Apple iOS, Java for Android, C++, Java or Python for Symbian, Visual Studio for Windows Phone 7, Java for RIM). One can also develop web sites as an alternative to developing apps for each platform. One can place an emphasis on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. There are lots of libraries (such as jqTouch, jQuery Mobile, Sencha and so forth). WebKit is the main browser engine to target (along with use of local storage and geo location for the websites). Flash/ AIR is another alternative (as is Titanium). Although PhoneGap doesn’t compile to native code, one can still use it to develop applications based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. What to build, who to target, and where to target are the big issues. Making money is also an issue. Unless you are one of the top 5 apps in a given market, the average price for your app may well be less than $1. You should also be aware of revenue sharing and legal issues in the appropriate market. For example, if the app is pulled from a market, you must refund money to the buyers.

10 minute Android app using Flash CS 5 – Rob Huddleston – Rob wanted to show something somewhat practical (instead of a simple “hello world” application. He is a user group manager and decided to develop an application to pick a random winner of a prize. Rob spent some time first showing that he could build the app in less than 10 minutes. He then reviewed the code and discussed best practices in creating the app. For those who are wondering, yes, I also followed along and built an app I plan to use at our next user group meeting. Rob then discussed deployment and options for Android devices. This includes versions, having a unique name, orientation (portrait or landscape), whether to use full screen or not and so forth. He also demonstrated how to debug directly on the application. Rob also discussed deployment of these applications.

 Automated workflows – Jesse Freeman – Jesse provided an inspirational talk stressing several key points. First – most of us are lazy (it seems to be a way of life). Take advantage of this and automate. Otherwise, we will make mistakes doing repetitive tasks. We should stop making mistakes. However, it is possible “your only purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others!” Don’t forget the main emphasis of any project – time, quality and money. You can have any two. We must employ automation. Identify patterns (for example in preparation of assets) and employ automation (such as Photoshop scripting) to help avoid mistakes. When working with a project, first develop conventions for initial setup. Then document these. Write out all the steps in a readme file. Where possible, re-use code and consider employing frameworks (if appropriate – often, they are not). Don’t forget that automation is an art form. You must find your own path as you practice your craft.

Wireframing/ prototyping for mobile using Fireworks - Jim Babbage – Jim stressed the fundamental reason to use Fireworks – save time (and time = money). If you save time, you can move on to other things. Jim covered building prototypes for mobile using Fireworks. However, he also adjusted his presentation to the needs of the audience. Since a fair number had not used Fireworks extensively, he spent time covering the basics. He stressed that one will save time, but that one should spend time learning the product before employing it on a project (with a deadline). That only leads to stress.

Developing compelling mobile user experiences – Chris Griffith – Although many metrics point to designing for mobile first, building mobile apps is hard (lots of different technologies and design considerations). We are dealing with a different set of users (bored and fickle). Many people download an app, try it one or two times, and delete it. If you make it past this, people often have fanatical loyalty to a given app. People want simplicity and ease of use. They want to play, learn, and communicate. However, this is a different medium. For example, touch is involved (but your fingers are connected to your hand and may well obscure some content). Don’t forget that in this medium, there is limited time, limited attention, limited pixels, limited processing power, and limited connectivity. What is the key problem you are trying to solve. What is the “home run” task? That is what you need to design and build. Chris also discussed a number of mobile design patterns. These include:

• flat cards – biggest advantages are quick and focused content, low chrome involved. Biggest disadvantages include traversing from start to end of stack and scaling the number of cards.
• tab/ nav bars – biggest advantages are easy access to main features and easy overview of content and features. Biggest disadvantages include the fact that tabs are always present and take up a significant amount of available real estate.
• list tree – biggest advantages are that these scale past 5 items and one can have direct interactions. Biggest disadvantages include that visitors must remember their navigation path and must return to the top node to access another branch.
• dashboard -  biggest advantages include revealing capabilities of the app and offering shortcuts to key sections. Biggest disadvantage includes having return navigation appear as a mystery.

Don’t forget that people judge an app by its cover. He included this image as an example.

Should we judge this book by its cover?

Media queries: mobile elixir or CSS snake oil? – James Williamson – Although there may be some fear, we can’t ignore mobile any longer. Yes, but we just got Internet Explorer to behave and now there are so many new devices (and interfaces). James began by reviewing media query syntax. He then proposed a new approach – load the mobile CSS first and progressively enhance to other platforms (as needed). Otherwise, all the code (CSS and JS will be loaded for small mobile devices). Load all the styles in one document using @media syntax (like @import) and pull in mobile first, then tablet, then desktop. He also discussed the <meta> attribute viewport and mentioned that media queries should alway be used in combination with this.

HTML5: the continuing saga – Seb Lee-Desisle – Seb began by mentioning that 5 years aso, if we wanted anything beyond core functionality on a web page we had to employ technologies like Flash. Now there are so many alternatives. He indicated that he is seeing a decline in jobs requiring Flash (at least in New York area). He reminded us it is always important to keep investigating alternate technologies. The majority of his talk relied on using real time Twitter feeds from the audience to post questions which Seb then answered. Much of the discussion focused on alternatives such as Corona and Unity.

Using jQuery mobile for your next web application – Andy Matthews – Andy began with a review of the capabilities of jQuery Mobile and which platforms have support. He then delved into the fundamentals of creating a simple application using this technology. He provided code snippets so we could follow along. Essentially we were reviewing the D2W mobile app he developed for the conference (including speaker notes and so forth).  He showed how we could employ additional CSS for progressive enhancement. He also reviewed themes and customization of themes. He also reviewed events and how they are handled.

Making WordPress bend to your will – Tom Jenkins – Tom reviewed a number of sites he has created using WordPress as the base system and then reviewed how one can use the various APIs to make necessary changes to the platform. He started with a review of themes and plug-ins and expanded into template tags. Emphasis was placed on add_filter and add_action. He also reviewed the fundamentals of creating your own widgets and plug-ins.

FW to DW to Flash to Catalyst – Tom Green and Jim Babbage – this final session reviewed creating a site for a theoretical client who is trying to sell tours to the spots where Jim and Tom go camping every summer. They discussed basic workflow and how to bend the tools to accomplish the task at hand. FXP file format was used as principal means of exchanging data between applications. It took them roughly 3 hours to complete a prototype site and the rest of their time was then spent on making it look more professional. Good overview of work flows involved.

Summary and insights gained from conference – Was the trip to Kansas City and 3 days of my time (and personal funds for meals and the hotel) worth it? Definitely. Not only was I able to network with a number of colleagues I have known for many years, I also met a number of new people and established many new contacts. After all, networking is primarily the reason I attend such events. I also learned a great deal more about the mobile environment. This is changing incredibly rapidly and it is tough to keep on top. I do find myself relying on tools like Twitter to learn the latest bits of information (and I was able to add a number of new individuals to follow). I obtained a number of insights about mobile development – especially the use of @media to pull in mobile, then tablet, then desktop CSS as needed. I also learned a lot about workflow and characteristics to succeed in this emerging environment. I received confirmation that the US is significantly behind other parts of the world in this space and we are trying to rapidly catch up. I believe I have a number of nuggets of useful information which I can convert into materials for use in my classes this fall (particularly the new class dealing with multi-screen). Thanks again to Dee Sadler for pulling all this together. Great conference.

I participated in the WOW/ Web Professionals web design contest in Kansas City last week (June 21 – 24). I wanted to take a moment and share my observations and include a few comments received from the judges. I am providing these hoping that we will continue to see gradual improvements in the competition every year.

First (and most importantly), I believe everyone competing at the contest demonstrated significant professionalism and enthusiasm. The contest is all about employing web standards, demonstrating professionalism and exhibiting a positive attitude. I observed these traits many times during the week.

Obviously, everyone participating had to win first place in their respective state competitions in order to participate in the national contest. The fact that you competed in Kansas City means you are a winner. We held separate contests for high school (secondary) students and college (post-secondary) students. Although both competitions had some similarities, there were a number of differences. Both competitions consisted of a series of 6 challenges (per competition). When all are combined, one would have many of the components of a working website.

Much of the contest is about professionalism. That is why we ask for copies of software licenses (operating system and applications – such as Adobe Creative Suite). This is also what we stress during the interview process. The following comments are meant to provide some feedback to participants (and to help those who plan to compete again next year). These notes are not comprehensive (only some of the common observations from judges). Obviously, a large part of this competition also focuses on adherence to web standards and established best practices in our industry.

First (and most importantly), focus on accessibility. This is important when choosing fonts and colors and when designing the structure of the site. Best practice is to include leveled headings and image descriptions (alternate text). Red/ green color schemes should be avoided as they will not appear as you think to those who are color blind. Similarly, one should stick with common sans-serif or serif fonts. Tightly spaced or script fonts can be difficult to read for those with poor eyesight.

Color schemes should support the type of website (for example, one would typically use a different set of colors for a bakery compared with a florist). Once you have a color scheme, it should be used consistently throughout the challenges (unless there is a specific reason to vary).

From a validation perspective, it might be easier to rely on the HTML5 doctype instead of XHTML 1.1 strict. The former is much more forgiving to the validator. Regardless of the doctype employed, don’t forget to include meta elements to help with search engine ranking (keywords and descriptions). When comments are included in the HTML and CSS code, they should be concise and provided to make the site easier to maintain. The purpose of each comment should also be evident.

If you design for a smaller screen size (such as a smartphone), don’t forget to use responsive web design techniques (perhaps percentages) to reduce the amount of horizontal scrolling.

Although not every team met the JavaScript challenge, everyone should understand these fundamentals. For those who were unable to complete this challenge, I recommend reviewing JavaScript fundamentals.

Lastly, there were some challenges with a title of “Untitled Document.” This should definitely be avoided.

Overall, many of the teams provided interesting approaches to each challenge. Many mentioned during their interview that lack of resources was actually helpful to their team (they could be much more creative). A number also mentioned that it would be helpful to have discussions with an actual client.

I appreciated all the feedback received during the debriefing and we will be making changes to this competition next year to reflect some of those comments. Overall, it was a great week and I hope everyone present enjoyed the competition as much as I did. Until next year…

I had the distinct honor of being part of the WOW/ Web Professionals web design contest. This competition was held in Kansas City last week (June 21 – 24). Teams of two (web designer and web developer) competed for over $210,000 in scholarships and prizes. I plan to post a few comments about the competition itself (based on feedback received from the judges). That will be the subject of another entry in this weblog. In the meantime, I wanted to share some photos. All were taken by either myself or Jonathan Worent. I hope these convey some sense of the excitement and enthusiasm we encountered all last week. What a positive experience for all.

I recommend clicking on one fo the thumbnail sized images below and then viewing the entire set at the Flickr website (you can also view these as a slideshow at the Flickr site).

Now that I have a full week of experience with my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, I thought it time to review my latest experiences and offer some additional insights. Obviously, I have limited experience with this device and welcome comments to help me improve my overall understanding. I will focus on three areas  (backup and synchronizing files), debugging web pages in the browser, and working with Office 2010 files (mostly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

Backup - to me this has been somewhat of a disappointment. I believe the main problem is lack of 64-bit driver support. My laptop is Win 7 Professional (64-bit). Although I am able to plug in the device and the BlackBerry desktop software recognizes the device (and launches), as soon as I try to perform a ssynch or backup, the software indicates I need to connect my device. Clearly something is amiss (and I do not seem to be the only one with this problem given all the discussion forum posts about this being a problem). C’mon RIM – please release a 64-bit driver. In the interim, I launch Win XP Pro in a virtual environment (VMWare). VMWare contacts the mothership (my laptop) and requests access to the USB ports. Once granted, I am able to backup and synch my PlayBook tablet with ease. Obviously, I would prefer that I could do this without having to rely on a virtual region. However, it seems to work fine. For those who are curious, I provide some screen captures below. Remember, you can always click on the image to see the full size version of the thumbnail below.

This is the view in my XP virtual environment while the backup is happening.

On the PlayBook itself, one sees thee following (obviously one can dismiss this screen after the initial connection is established).

Obviously there are times when I simply am not able to connect to my virtual environment, but want to transfer images quickly between my PlayBook and laptop. In those cases, I rely on either DropBox (with its corresponding BlueBox BlackBerry application) or the Adobe SendNow product (especially for larger files). Of course, none of these options would be available without the use of Adobe technologies (Flash Player and AIR).

Web page debugging – as a teacher, I have grown accustomed to viewing source code and examining the contents of local storage. I wish I had this ability on my smart phone (but it is not a major issue due to the limited real estate available). It appears the PlayBook uses a modified version of a WebKit based browser. I first need to activate the Web Inspector within the browser (found under Options > Privacy and Security). I believe this must be done each time the browser is instantiated. From a security perspective, this makes sense as it may be possible to expose data to others in the process of debugging.

If the device is password protected (if yours is not, it should be), you will be prompted to enter the appropriate  password. The Web Inspector will then be active. One should have at least one tab open and pointing to a page you wish to analyze. One can then open a new tab and enter the address http://localhost:1337 (note the special port). If the Web Inspector is active, you will see links to each of the tabs containing web pages. If the Web Inspector is not active, you will see an error message indicating unable to connect. Both states are shown in the image below for comparison.

Assuming the Web Inspector is active, one can then click on one of the links (as shown above on the right) and then examine the source code, local storage, and other aspects (similar to web developer mode in Safari).

One would then be presented with a screen familiar to those who have done debugging in Safari on the desktop (example shown below).

Working with Office 2010 files – I tend to use Office 2010 to process many documents received from (and sent to) school. These are typically Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. There is a native set of applications on the PlayBook (shown below) which allow for basic creation and editing of these document.

This works fine if one only has some simple changes. However, to make more complex changes, it would be helpful to have something approaching the capabilities of Office 2010. Enter MS Sky Drive. I now have the ability to manipulate documents in my browser. for example, I am using OneNote via the browser (I can easily exchange this information with my Office 2010 version of One Note running on my laptop.

Overall, the more I work with this device, the more I understand why tablets make sense. There are many instances where having a laptop is just too bulky. Given that so much can be done via the WWW these days, one doesn’t need to have a bulky laptop to accomplish many tasks. Overall, I am impressed with this device. I do wish there were more applications available. For example, one application I seem unable to find for the PlayBook is anti-malware (especially anti-virus). I searched using multiple terms in the BlackBerry AppWorld to no avail. Perhaps I am just being paranoid, but I have anti-virus on my smart phone (Android), shouldn’t I also have it for my tablet?

I have been reviewing/ experimenting with my new BlackBerry Playbook tablet for the past few days. So far, I like the unit (and the interface). I wanted to share some of my experiences in this weblog entry as others may encounter similar situations. I also want to formally thank Del Simmons (Twitter – @MrSimmonsSr) for his insights and feedback on some of the more fundamental problems I encountered. Your notes were most appreciated.

Hardware - I have the 16 GB version and like the feel of the device as I use it. The keyboard is tactile and comfortable (although a bit small for my large hands). The camera takes nice photos and video (although I have not tried the video chat yet). I do like the front and rear facing cameras. The audio is clear and crisp. Performance is great (although it does seem to take a bit longer than I would like to boot from being powered off – especially since all is on a Flash drive). I  also like the ability for the orientation to change from portrait to landscape as the device is rotated. In fact, you can watch it change as you rotate the device 360 degrees.

Software - for the most part, fairly intuitive. Frankly, I sometimes forget it is not Android as the interface is very similar. For example, one can do a long tap and then drag items on the screen to re-arrange or one can delete an entry). I also like the ability to set a device password (in the event a device is lost/ stolen, it makes it a bit more difficult for someone to have ready access to your files and accounts). Keep in mind you are automatically accessing gMail, Twitter, Facebook and other sites by default. A screen capture of the device password feature is below. Note the default keyboard as well. If you have difficulty viewing the content of these images, just click on the image and you will see it in the actual size captured from the PlayBook.

Applications - Although there are a number of applications at the BlackBerry AppWorld, they pale in comparison with what is available in the Android Market or the Apple AppStore. I was able to locate a number of useful apps (in addition to the ones which came with the device). I particularly like the ability to manipulate Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly on the tablet. I also like the ability to do screen captures (not intuitive, but one holds down the volume up and volume down keys simultaneously and you then hear a click and the screen capture is stored in your Pictures folder). I also wish there was more than the default browser (although it is fine). It is great to save a bookmark either within the browser or as a shortcut directly on the main screen of the device. I was able to find applications for most types of access (for example, Twitter, Facebook, DropBox – although the latter is called BlueBox). There are many different calculators, language translators and conversion utilities available. Curiously, I have run into some problems with trying to download Adobe AIR apps which are not found in the AppWorld location. Might be a security setting. Here is what my initial screen looks like at the moment.

If I wanted to move items around or delete them, I just hold down my finger (as in a long tap) and get the ability to remove the application. A screen shot is below. I can click on the checkmark in the upper left to accept or click elsewhere to accept as well.

I did note that there was no initial ability to upload attachments to my gMail application. However, a quick Tweet about that and Del Simmons reminded me there is a desktop link near the bottom of the gMail application. Once I clicked on that, I am able to send attachments just fine. I also encountered a new application to quickly generate QR-UPC codes (Insta-QR). I have included a screen shot of one below. If you have a smartphone, use a bar code scanner to examine this image and it should direct you immediately to this weblog (main page).

Overall impressions – I like the hardware (and the ability to read PDF versions of books in full color – something lacking on my Kindle). I like the form factor and interface a great deal. In fact, I already find myself using this in situations where a laptop is just too bulky to open and work with (restaurants, for example). I like the ability to connect to wireless networks (although I prefer to use my own instead of some public wi-fi network). Ok, I was once paid to be paranoid and it is tough to get out of that mindset. I am left wondering why the OS is not Android based as I just don’t see why yet another OS is needed (perhaps I am missing something obvious here – that is why I have this open for comments – I just need to approve them). I do find myself taking this with me a lot more that I do my laptop (I think this is the general idea). I simply don’t see any need for a netbook sort of computer now that I have a tablet. The only downside I can find is the BlackBerry desktop application. It simply doesn’t seem to work on my Windows 7 environment. When I connect the PlayBook, the application launches (clearly it sees the device). However, when I try to do anything, I am immediately told to connect my device – huh? Perhaps a future upgrade is in order. In the interim, I have Wair and BlueBox (DropBox) and they work fine to exchange files. I don’t really see the need to backup the entire device as I am only keeping temporary files on it (I know those are famous last words – however, there is no easy way I have found to do this since the lame desktop application doesn’t seem to work properly on Windows 7 Professional).

Lastly, I find it very useful to view lynda.com tutorials on this device (it is a pain to use my Android smart phone as the screen is too small). I also find I am finally able to access my school email without having to pinch and zoom all the time. It would be better if I actually had POP3 and SMTP access directly, but that is another issue (which I believe it currently being worked on).

I would definitely recommend this device to someone looking for a simple to use interface that can be taken many places where a laptop or netbook is simply too bulky.

I received notice today that my book review has been published by CHOICE (May, 2011 issue). Since many readers of this weblog may not have direct access to their publication, I have included a copy here as well.

Partridge, Derek. The seductive computer: why IT systems always fail. Springer, 2011. 323p index afp ISBN 9781849964975 pbk, $59.95

Experienced computer professionals will appreciate this book’s subtitle. Partridge (emer., Univ. of Exeter, UK) has divided the volume into four parts: “The Joy of Programming,” “The Way of the Seducer,” “Pieces of Resistance,” and “The End of the Affair.” The first part covers most of the fundamental constructs of programming. Although some materials are a bit dated, the author presents the main concepts clearly, providing a reasonable understanding of the programming process. Partridge goes to great lengths to explain the problems with computers (e.g., their inability to deal precisely with real numbers and always settling for an approximation). Throughout the second part, he discusses psychology (and why so many young males are attracted to this endeavor). He also covers various aspects of computer security and the potential for flaw introduction. Part 3 addresses partial solutions to the problems outlined earlier. Numerous examples help illustrate the associated complexity of computer systems. The last section summarizes the current state of IT systems and how they might be improved. Overall, the well-written book provides a good starting point for serious discussions. It will be most useful for those with significant experience with computer systems since they will be able to fully appreciate the arguments presented. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

I have participated in a number of seminars this year where some sort  of document camera was needed. After a little research, I decided to obtain the IPVEO P2V camera. It arrived today. I found the install to be a breeze and the interface is very intuitive. I particularly like the auto-focus feature. Since I will soon be demonstrating various HTML5 applications on different devices, I thought it would be helpful to share some of the fundamentals of this camera with others.  After one runs the CD (which contains the software and drivers), one then connects the device to the computer. In a matter of seconds one can take snapshots. The initial interface is shown below. In this case, I am looking at my Droid 2 phone.

Note the icons to review snapshots as well as go into full screen mode on the left of the interface. The camera and auto-focus controls are at the bottom right. The menu allows you to zoom, take timed snapshots, orient the image (horizontal and vertical mirroring), change the screen resolution and exposure. Settings can be adjusted per the screen capture below.

With minimal setup, I was able to take this photo of my weblog when viewed on my BlackBerry Torch (note this has a different look on mobile devices).

The image below is the same site a viewed on my Droid 2.

I plan to use this when working in various classroom settings over the summer (often a document camera is not readily available). Hopefully the device travels well.