Tickets Degraded Mode (Needs a different name!)
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A. Shore
May 27, 2009, 9:03:32 PM5/27/09
to Open Source CAD - Dev
Guys, my take is that this capability - more than anything else I can
think of - could widen interest in Tickets in new communities of
interest, and meet existing legitimate needs.
This 'degraded mode' of operation is one in which no Internet
connection would be required. A good number of users have expressed
interest in this, and I expect that there's lots of others who find
the connection dependence a problem. Many shops have generators
available to power up a nearby server when the balloon is up, so the
system cd support one or more co-located users if there were some way
to bypass external connectivity.
This could come in two forms. The first wd assume a temporary loss of
connectivity, which means to me that none of the Google good stuff;
maps, driving directions, reverse phone lookup, etc. would be
available. IMO this could be livable-with provided the connectivity
loss were of short enough duration.
In effect, this is a record-keeping kind of function, in which all
input would still be collected. An implementation could consist of a
check-box on the login screen labeled something like 'no internet',
which if set, would then set a settings variable. That variable would
be interrogated at any point where some external connection is
usually attempted, and bypassed if set.
The second flavor is a big one, also without Google, but WITH mapping
(although without some maps-related good stuff like driving
directions.) In this flavor, the replacement of the Javascript (for
the Gmaps interface) has a good candidate in OpenLayers (see
http://openlayers.org), but what has been missing (at least from my
awareness) is a good free replacement for the map images proper.
This one might do just that: Look at http://www.openstreetmap.org/
Once there,
a. Pan as you need to in order to get to about the area of your
interest.
b. Zoom way in as far as you can in order to see if the level of
detail currently available.
Responses I've gotten to date WRT map quality were quite positive, a
pleasant surprise to cynical old me.
But one function would be required that has no parallel in today's
Tickets; that's the collecting of files/tiles for storage at the
Tickets server. Since it's not feasible to take ALL of the tiles into
each Tickets server, the user wd need to have the capability to define
the areal range of interest to his/her team/site, and get only those
maps downloaded to his server. An interesting kind of job, IMO.
There's some PHP-based tools to help in part of that operation.
My take on the elapsed time for each of these jobs, assuming one part-
timer, is maybe a couple of months for the first form here, and maybe
a year for the second.
I'll get some thoughts to you re others that have come up in exchanges
with users over time, but I wanted to get this one out to you.
Guys, especially Dan, you guys also have your favorites, so get them
on this table for discussion when you have a few minutes.
AS
think of - could widen interest in Tickets in new communities of
interest, and meet existing legitimate needs.
This 'degraded mode' of operation is one in which no Internet
connection would be required. A good number of users have expressed
interest in this, and I expect that there's lots of others who find
the connection dependence a problem. Many shops have generators
available to power up a nearby server when the balloon is up, so the
system cd support one or more co-located users if there were some way
to bypass external connectivity.
This could come in two forms. The first wd assume a temporary loss of
connectivity, which means to me that none of the Google good stuff;
maps, driving directions, reverse phone lookup, etc. would be
available. IMO this could be livable-with provided the connectivity
loss were of short enough duration.
In effect, this is a record-keeping kind of function, in which all
input would still be collected. An implementation could consist of a
check-box on the login screen labeled something like 'no internet',
which if set, would then set a settings variable. That variable would
be interrogated at any point where some external connection is
usually attempted, and bypassed if set.
The second flavor is a big one, also without Google, but WITH mapping
(although without some maps-related good stuff like driving
directions.) In this flavor, the replacement of the Javascript (for
the Gmaps interface) has a good candidate in OpenLayers (see
http://openlayers.org), but what has been missing (at least from my
awareness) is a good free replacement for the map images proper.
This one might do just that: Look at http://www.openstreetmap.org/
Once there,
a. Pan as you need to in order to get to about the area of your
interest.
b. Zoom way in as far as you can in order to see if the level of
detail currently available.
Responses I've gotten to date WRT map quality were quite positive, a
pleasant surprise to cynical old me.
But one function would be required that has no parallel in today's
Tickets; that's the collecting of files/tiles for storage at the
Tickets server. Since it's not feasible to take ALL of the tiles into
each Tickets server, the user wd need to have the capability to define
the areal range of interest to his/her team/site, and get only those
maps downloaded to his server. An interesting kind of job, IMO.
There's some PHP-based tools to help in part of that operation.
My take on the elapsed time for each of these jobs, assuming one part-
timer, is maybe a couple of months for the first form here, and maybe
a year for the second.
I'll get some thoughts to you re others that have come up in exchanges
with users over time, but I wanted to get this one out to you.
Guys, especially Dan, you guys also have your favorites, so get them
on this table for discussion when you have a few minutes.
AS
Andy Harvey
May 28, 2009, 4:42:05 AM5/28/09
to open-sourc...@googlegroups.com
Arnie.
Have to agree that the detail on Openstreetmap.org is pretty good
Another thing I thought of, not sure if you have ever had a look at Sahana -
which is an open source Disaster Management System - was going to look at
modifying this for my purposes before I found tickets, that has a stand
alone system which is loadable on a flash memory dongle, it is setup so that
when you connect to the server you can sync data with the server. This maybe
one way to go.
I was looking at Google Maps the other day and there is some kind of ability
to use Google Maps with local maps created by using Microsoft Mapcruncher
however you need to get hold of the maps. For the US it should not be
difficult with USGS maps available that could be worked on with Mapcruncher,
however for some parts of the world (UK for instance) it is more difficult
as free maps are not generally available. For a GPS application I use (Ozi
Explorer) I take screen shots of google earth or google maps and set the
co-ordinates of the corners and it works OK.
Cheers
Andy Harvey
Have to agree that the detail on Openstreetmap.org is pretty good
Another thing I thought of, not sure if you have ever had a look at Sahana -
which is an open source Disaster Management System - was going to look at
modifying this for my purposes before I found tickets, that has a stand
alone system which is loadable on a flash memory dongle, it is setup so that
when you connect to the server you can sync data with the server. This maybe
one way to go.
I was looking at Google Maps the other day and there is some kind of ability
to use Google Maps with local maps created by using Microsoft Mapcruncher
however you need to get hold of the maps. For the US it should not be
difficult with USGS maps available that could be worked on with Mapcruncher,
however for some parts of the world (UK for instance) it is more difficult
as free maps are not generally available. For a GPS application I use (Ozi
Explorer) I take screen shots of google earth or google maps and set the
co-ordinates of the corners and it works OK.
Cheers
Andy Harvey
Robert Austin
May 28, 2009, 8:56:32 PM5/28/09
to Open Source CAD - Dev
Arnie, I agree that an 'offline' option would be a major selling
point. I think folks are worried that even if the power stays on, if
they loose their Internet connection (even for a few minutes) they
loose their CAD. This means back to paper and pencil, and no one
really wants to do that. I don't believe many folks are looking for
the 'offline' version to be as robust. It is the back-up until the
Internet connection is restored. The main thing is they can still
accept calls, enter the information, dispatch units and track their
status (even if they can't track their movements). A static map is a
definite plus, but again, this is the back-up for those rare occasions
when the internet goes down.
Maybe that could be the name - Offline - as opposed to degraded.
Because that is what it would really be doing, simply going offline
for a short period of time.
Bob
> the Gmaps interface) has a good candidate in OpenLayers (seehttp://openlayers.org), but what has been missing (at least from my
point. I think folks are worried that even if the power stays on, if
they loose their Internet connection (even for a few minutes) they
loose their CAD. This means back to paper and pencil, and no one
really wants to do that. I don't believe many folks are looking for
the 'offline' version to be as robust. It is the back-up until the
Internet connection is restored. The main thing is they can still
accept calls, enter the information, dispatch units and track their
status (even if they can't track their movements). A static map is a
definite plus, but again, this is the back-up for those rare occasions
when the internet goes down.
Maybe that could be the name - Offline - as opposed to degraded.
Because that is what it would really be doing, simply going offline
for a short period of time.
Bob
> awareness) is a good free replacement for the map images proper.
>
> This one might do just that: Look athttp://www.openstreetmap.org/
>
Arnie Shore
May 28, 2009, 9:08:38 PM5/28/09
to open-sourc...@googlegroups.com
Sold, you 'silver-tongued devil'!
A
A
AndyH
May 29, 2009, 4:54:54 AM5/29/09
to Open Source CAD - Dev
Arnie.
You may want to look at building the offline version as a portable app
the way it is done for Sahana.
www.portableapps.com.
The way they do it for Sahana is to build the app to run on a local
webserver instance running on your PC - on the install you have Apache
for Windows built with PHP, plus mySQL. It builds the app locally and
then allows you to sync with the main server when next connected.
The whole thing runs on a USB flash disc and works really well.
Cheers
Andy
On May 29, 2:08 am, Arnie Shore <shor...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sold, you 'silver-tongued devil'!
>
> A
>
> On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 7:56 PM, Robert Austin <
>
You may want to look at building the offline version as a portable app
the way it is done for Sahana.
www.portableapps.com.
The way they do it for Sahana is to build the app to run on a local
webserver instance running on your PC - on the install you have Apache
for Windows built with PHP, plus mySQL. It builds the app locally and
then allows you to sync with the main server when next connected.
The whole thing runs on a USB flash disc and works really well.
Cheers
Andy
On May 29, 2:08 am, Arnie Shore <shor...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sold, you 'silver-tongued devil'!
>
> A
>
> On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 7:56 PM, Robert Austin <
>
Daniel Barnett
May 29, 2009, 9:09:32 AM5/29/09
to open-sourc...@googlegroups.com
I agree. I think an "Offline" mode would not need to be as robust.
As you said they really only need to accept and dispatch calls and
track unit status.
--
Daniel G. Barnett
Assistant 911 Director
_______________________________________________________
Audrain County E-911
1100 Littleby Road
Mexico, MO 65265
573-473-5800 phone
573-473-5856 fax
573-721-3245 cell
dbar...@audrain911.org
http://www.audrain911.org
***
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As you said they really only need to accept and dispatch calls and
track unit status.
--
Daniel G. Barnett
Assistant 911 Director
_______________________________________________________
Audrain County E-911
1100 Littleby Road
Mexico, MO 65265
573-473-5800 phone
573-473-5856 fax
573-721-3245 cell
dbar...@audrain911.org
http://www.audrain911.org
***
CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT & DISCLAIMER:
This email with its contents and/or attachments may contain
confidential and/or legally privileged information. It is solely for
the use of the intended recipient(s) and unauthorized interception,
review, use, disclosure and/or taking any action in reliance on the
contents of this email is prohibited and may violate applicable laws
including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not
the intended recipient, please contact the sender and destroy all
copies of the email. Please note that any views or opinions presented
in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily
represent those of Audrain County E-911. Finally, the recipient should
check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses.
Audrain County E-911 takes reasonable precautions to ensure no viruses
are present in this email but accepts no liability for any damage
and/or loss caused by any virus transmitted by this email.
Audrain County E-911, 1100 Littleby Road, Mexico, Missouri,
http://www.audrain911.org
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