Stardust animations (again)

[jsmaje]

Undeterred by the fact that no one showed the slightest interest in my previous attempt at an animation program, I've written a much quicker and easier version while nursing a broken ankle which I invite people to try out. As they say, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a moving one can speak volumes. Again, there are two components - a Tool to make animations and a Viewer.

This time no separate graphics program is required, and only a simple text data file needs to be uploaded/downloaded. The major features of the Tool are summarised in Demo 1 - see below. Obviously a fast broadband connection is desirable, but animations should run at normal speed after any pre-loading delay (if the movie and annotations seem out-of-sync, allow sufficient time for all frames to load then retry).
I apologize to users of Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox, Safari, etc., but currently both components will only work with IE at 1024 x 768 resolution (& have only been tested with IE7 on Windows XP SP2).

There are 3 demos. To view them, copy the particular encoded* loading info below, launch the Viewer then follow the simple instructions:

Demo 1 (program features) - loading info: 0¢30¢11¢nwyxC68zy{/o|ogoh3kvoqym{unw0gp3~m¢8813286V1a
Demo 2 (possible high-angle track) - loading info: 5¢28¢4¢jzys?81}z|6szvdli/g}ktyhwwgz1hw7|t¢142290V1a
Demo 3 (small track vs. dust and inclusions) - loading info: 18¢31¢12¢ky|yA82y{x3susfmj7dzls|nywhv2dt7wq¢3642469V1a

The Viewer is available here: http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDview.htm

The Tool for creating animations is available here: http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDindex.htm
I hope the instructions are adequate, and if you do publish an animation please let me know in case I miss it.

I can't guarantee either component being bug-free or that they will work correctly on your computer, so post here or PM me about any problems, queries, or any other comments.

Meanwhile, on with some serious dusting.
John

* The url is encoded to prevent it appearing as a hyperlink (a fabulous prize, yet to be decided, to whoever first deciphers the code - without looking at the program source!)

[Nikita]

Thanks John, that was interesting!

I had no problem running the demo program and it works like you said, in case some dusters are concerned. The 3rd demo was a little sluggish for me, probably from my end.

It could be helpful for posting on the possible track or interesting object thread. But it is a little confusing for a non-professional such as myself. It took a lot of time for me to figure out how to make it work, even with your instructions. And even then, once I thought I had it, I wanted to try something else, went back and couldn't edit. Then I ran out of time. With practice, I'd probably get it.

It's really neat, and maybe something to use for a demo if Stardust is being explained in a classroom. That would be an awsome tool! Wish I had it when I explained it to a class last year. But the slideshow I had was great. Perhaps, while your foot is healing, you could make a basic one for a classroom demo and post it in the Classroom forum?

Hope you are doing better soon![/b]

[jsmaje]

As the result of further feedback via PMs with Nikita, I've made some minor changes to the program. You can now splice extra frames into an already-edited movie, for example.

Sadly she is probably right, as evidenced so far, that there'll still be little or no interest. But hey! - why not give it a go? Remember, that prize is still on offer, but only for the next two weeks...can you really afford to miss such an opportunity?

John (Walt) Smaje

[danajohnson]

Made tentative attempts to run your demo's in IE6, and Seamonkey browser, but I received a static screen with your warning popup which states that this file will not run without IE7 ' and other modern browsers.
I'll try this repeatedly with Firefox2, and may convert to IE7, but I have reverted to IE6 from '7' after having problems with IE7 even worse that those I was having with '6'. My IE was never really stable on this machine, and I get edgy when moving back and forward repeatedly with upgrades.
Sure is close to what I wanted to find or produce myself for Stardust 'movies'.
Perhaps you or others can produce programs which will work with IE6 or even Firefox and Seamonkey type browsers, and release them here. Active X required for your program apparently has been problematic for some of the browser development groups and versions.

An animation addition to the Stardust program allowing the freeing of the mouse control frame to frame motion perhaps may be slightly more burdensome to the servers, but it sure would improve some of the movies. Some of the movies are best as short repeats of only 5-20 frames in forward only loops or reversal looping animation.

Are the results issued as JPG files, or is there a choice of file type accessible? You didn't warn about file size or type on your linked pages.

sincerely,
danajohnson

[jsmaje]

Hi dana,

Thanks for your interest. I initially intended cross-browser compatability but have yet to find a way round the restrictive security policies regarding both local & remote file writing/reading adopted by Mozilla (Firefox & later Netscape versions). I'm afraid I don't know how Seamonkey, Safari and the rest work, and would welcome advice from any experts out there.

Microsoft, of course, are notorious for not having bothered much about security, hence my use of their ActiveX controls available in IE7 (but, it seems from your experience, not fully in IE6). A plague on all their houses, I say!

The point is that the animation data (frame timing, text & graphic annotations, etc.) are downloaded separately in a simple text file from the originator's web server, which then controls and overlays the Stardust movie frames preloaded as usual from the amazon server. This scheme allows for easy creation and editing of annotations without need for an intermediate graphics program, and file size/type is not an issue.

Currently the Viewer program only allows single runs or looping in the forward direction (at a speed you can adjust), though you can also step back as well as forward between individual frames.

If you ever get it to work one way or the other, I'll be interested to know what you think, and would welcome how you might suggest it could be enhanced.

Regards, John

[danajohnson]

Very kind of you to detail this for us.
I am sure I can use it with one of my other 'standby' computers here eventually. I'll use IE7(XP) on one to keep pace with this and many other newer processes soon- IE6 is becoming dated as we write.
It amazes me that individuals wrote an open-source competing OS with various browsers in conjunction. They are heroes to my view. I have various browsers on CD/DVD- I'll check most all and return to report the results.
I spend most of my time downloading and using JP2 files from HiRISE.
Sure would like to have a 'looping' function for the IAS viewer controls such as the 'dynamic range' adjustment. I'll find a graphics program for that someday-huge files in full frame JP2 file type, but the viewer is a commercial product with limitations for use in individual HiRISE images in the HiRISE site link. I can't 'add-on' to the viewer as a guest. Working on other viewers for those JP2 files currently, with limited success. Well worth the efforts in all.
Incredible images on various space mission projects arriving these days.
Your work has value and adds to the pallet of viewing techniques for these Stardust 'movies'. Recognition by depth will be improved in many with your program.

[certvista]

I really appreciate of your this informative post. I just tried to open this link http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDview.htm but did n't get the related information. Can you please check this again.

[jsmaje]

I really appreciate of your this informative post. I just tried to open this link http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDview.htm but did n't get the related information. Can you please check this again.

Certvista: thanks for your interest.
Your link above is to the Viewer, which requires that you enter the necessary encoded loading information for a particular animation - see my first posting above. For example, try copying this (the 2nd demo):

5¢28¢4¢jzys?81}z|6szvdli/g}ktyhwwgz1hw7|t¢142290V1a

Paste it into the viewer box. Click 'Download' then 'Animate'.
If this doesn't work please let me know (it won't if you're using a non-IE browser such as Firefox, Netscape, etc. which have ultra-restrictive policies regarding file-saving/reading).

In order to make your own animations you'll need to use the Tool available here: http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDindex.htm
And for others to view it you'll need to upload the resulting file to your personal webspace. This is not as difficult as it may seem: most ISPs (internet service providers) give you a free chunk of memory to hold all sorts of data, though you may also need to use a seperate ftp (file transfer protocol) program to upload it to the ISP. Personally I recommend 'FTP Commander', which is free and very efficient.

Having uploaded your animation you'll obviously also then need to provide the loading information for others to access on the forum; the animation Tool provides everything necessary to be pasted into your posting (the encoding simply obscures the originator's webspace address).

Hope this helps,
John

[StarBoy]

The Tool for creating animations is available here: http://www.jsmaje.btinternet.co.uk/SDindex.htm
I hope the instructions are adequate, and if you do publish an animation please let me know in case I miss it.

I can't guarantee either component being bug-free or that they will work correctly on your computer, so post here or PM me about any problems, queries, or any other comments.

Meanwhile, on with some serious dusting.
John

* The url is encoded to prevent it appearing as a hyperlink (a fabulous prize, yet to be decided, to whoever first deciphers the code - without looking at the program source!)

I dant get this tool working fine on my PC it loads and then crashes the whole PC after that i have to restart it to work normally again. Im using windows millenium

[jsmaje]

I dant get this tool working fine on my PC it loads and then crashes the whole PC after that i have to restart it to work normally again. Im using windows millenium

Sorry StarBoy, but I suggest you need to upgrade to Windows XP (I'm not sure about Vista as yet).

Windows Millenium (Me) is now deservedly obsolete and unsupported by Microsoft, having been dubbed by PC World (according to Wikipedia) as the 'Mistake edition', listing it the "fourth worst Tech product of all time", given its frequent freezes and crashes, lack of support for new software, and security weaknesses.

If you eventually get the program to work I'll be interested to know what you think, though in fact I'm not aware of anyone besides myself having actually published any animations using it as yet!

Hope that helps - John

[elainekeefe]

Sorry StarBoy, but I suggest you need to upgrade to Windows XP (I'm not sure about Vista as yet).

Hi John,

Just thought I'd let you know that your program works fine in Vista. I confess I had not tried it until now. It seemed far too complicated for someone with my limited technical knowledge. Much to my (pleasant) surprise, however, it was quite easy to use! Just a matter of filling in the blanks, really. I did have a couple of problems, which I resolved quickly enough, but would like to mention here in case others have them also.

1. Screen size. Although my screen dimensions were set to your specifications, the bottom of your text was being cut off. I tried lengthening the screen to no avail. Finally, I closed the dashboard on the right side of my screen, and was able to view all of your text.

2. Bottom frame of movie. Although you did say to click on the bottom frame, I had thought you meant the bottom bar, and could not figure out what it was I was supposed to copy from the properties tab, since there was nothing there. Once I realized I had to click on the bottom of the movie itself, it worked fine!

Your text and graphics worked well and easily also. I did not save or post a movie, since on my very long list I have nothing worth posting.

A very nice program!

Elaine

[jsmaje]

Thanks Elaine for your comments and useful tips.
I should also have reminded StarBoy that the program won't work with browsers other than IE7(+).

However, it seems that no one - including, I have to admit, myself - has yet to find any serious use for it (it was of course written simply as a personal programming challenge)!

Meanwhile, are there no artistic types or jokers out there who might do something fun with it? StarBoy perhaps?
John

[jasonk]

I had no problem running the demo program and it works like you said, in case some dusters are concerned. The 3rd demo was a little sluggish for me, probably from my end.

same here.

[jsmaje]

Thanks jasonk and you few others, but since no one else has so far found any actual use for the animation tool/viewer, and because I want to put other non-Stardust things on my limited webspace, I'm removing them as of today.
PM me if you still have any interest in them.

John

[FreeTexas]

Is it still available? I do realize that this thread is 2 years old but still, I think I could have a use for it...