I work for a madman

[.jrauck]

Theres the things like a mp3 player but you punch in the button for each station and it tells you about that station, which im sure if he has heared of which hes not looking for... thats why he gave the ridiculous task.

There is going to have to be some advertising or else it would be kinda pointless to do any of that because no one would know...

I don't know if anyone has thought of this but im sure if its the peoples mp3 player and the museum put the info on there for them, there would have to be some sort of signing an agreement because if any data on the mp3 player got lost there could be someone sueing the museum...

What I would suggest is for the people to do it from the web at home which if needed to charge them for it then you can make them pay and the link would be sent via email or on the web site.

I have a pretty good idear but it would take me too long to explain it... if you want to know just pm me or my aim is handheldsquirl

[Collinstheclown]

I have this piece of software from a company called Red Chair. It basically accesses iPods as if they were drives/a normal mp3 player. As in you can simply drag and drop files in and out. It works with every iPod version and cost like 30USD.

I just went to thier website, and they apparently have software like that for a whole bunch of players.

All of thier software's universal editions added up is: $150USD. That would cover all the software needed for basically everything but Zune, which you would have to use Zune software for I would assume.

Linky: http://www.redchairsoftware.com/

You could set up, say, 6 PCs with nothing but those programs and everything else locked out(maybe accessing them on a sever). The next problem would be creating a docking station for everything. I could try to come up with something in SketchUp if I have some free time, and someone could mill it for you with a CNC router. Alternatly you could just have a bunch of docking cables locked down to a desk and the person could hook-up and transfer.

That covers pretty much every mp3 player I can think of. Now phones are a completly different story. Bluetooth seems to be the only option other then downloads. The problem is that bluetoothing a large file will take forever and not every has the space for it... yet alone bluetooth capabilities.


Hope that helps a bit, I'll check back everynow and then. Good luck!




-CollinstheClown

[Crazy Buddhist]

What I would suggest is for the people to do it from the web at home which if needed to charge them for it then you can make them pay and the link would be sent via email or on the web site.

OI ... thats my idea

"How about making the tours available as downloads from the Museum website that people put on their MP3 player before leaving home?

- Simple.
- No technology purchasing or loan scheme"

[monoflap]

At the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago I went to the Leonardo Divinci exhibit and they had these motorolla blutooth devices (not sure if they were phones or radios) with earpieces and the person could switch it to the right channel and hear a recording of the text in front of them. In order to rent the devices people would have to spend a little extra on their ticket. And if all else fails, couldn't you guys just stick a tv out there in some weatherproof box and play the video off of that?

[DaveW]

Thanks for the input guys. I spent the last 2 days carrying out a feasibility study in the museum, and would you believe it, my conclusion was to deliver the interactive guide through MP3's accessible through bluetooth, WiFi, and internet, and to deliver an interactive map style system through Webservers, website download (for PC linkup), WiFi, Bluetooth, and InfraRed. Filesizes would be kept to a minimum.

Of course, his response to this was 'But I want an iPod docking station what just whizzes the content onto my iPod.'

He doesn't even own an I pod. He borrowed it. He's driving me up the wall and i'm loosing my temper. He's being deliberately stubborn. There's little point in me being here if he's just going to ignore my advice. I haven't spent 3 years studying software engineering to be told I don't know what i'm doing by a guy who doesn't even have a mobile phone. Grr!!

[/rant]

-Dave

[Crazy Buddhist]

Of course, his response to this was 'But I want an iPod docking station what just whizzes the content onto my iPod.'
-Dave

Ask him for a written specification - not in terms of technology but in terms of what he wants the end experience for users to be. Point out that your job is to take his wishes and examine what is and is not feasible.

Then you take the written speciffication and reply in a written report. (probably just printing the one I assume you have already done in a different typeface? )

If you don't have it in writing this guy is gonna end up in a baby strop blaming you when it all "goes wrong" - i.e he doesn't get the result he wanted because instead of specifying the result he tried to tell you the answer.

[DaveW]

I gave him a 17 page report with 3 Appendices. He's also got the report of the Harvard Intern who was here before me, who came to the same conclusions. In writing.

Meeting at 2 o'clock. It's my third day. And I'm gonna piss off the boss.

Just great. 7 more weeks of this ****. At least I have nothing to do but piss around till 2. *sigh*

-Dave

[Crazy Buddhist]

Has he given you a written specification?

If not, at that meeting, I would just go about asking him questions: what he wants the end result to be in terms of user experience, then document that and turn it into your written brief. Memo it to him and ask if you have it right.

If he mentions solutions carefully say "you are jumping ahead to solutions and that is where every IT project that fails does so. It is important to stick to what you want the user experience to be and forget answers at this point. Answers will come when we have a decent brief as to the desired outcome"

Good luck he sounds like a right tw@

[nil8]

These guys are right. Without a real knowledge of the end user experience and that coming around to the reality of what IT can do, most of these type of projects are going to fall flat.

17 pages Dave? No. Big no. This guy seems to be a "I want this fixed" type, not "I want every detail". Give him a page outline and he will be much happier.

Sometimes people want things that aren't feasible in IT. Time constraint or cost restraint have a way of shutting things down.

If he continually butts heads with you about this, draft up a copy of the expense and specialized work that must be done to support exactly what he wants. He will look at the pricetag and start negotiating with you.

The only other advice I have is good luck. I've dealt with these people more than I ever wanted and they always piss me off, specifically when they're signing your checks.

[DaveW]

If he continually butts heads with you about this, draft up a copy of the expense and specialized work that must be done to support exactly what he wants. He will look at the pricetag and start negotiating with you.

That's what it was. The software development cycle normally goes like this:

1) Feasibility Study. A cheap easy to make study that looks at the current system to see if it can be improved with the aid of IT.

2) A specifications document. A legally binding document that outlines the exact specifications. The developer is not liable for additional things not in the spec, and the client can sue the developer for not adhering to the spec.

3) A design document. Outlines schedules and development route, for the developer only.

I'll need to produce all 3 documents. First, the feasibility study looks at all possible paths and determines what is possible and what isn't possible, or if the project should even go ahead.

Then, having met with the client and determining the best route to take, we agree on some format specifications. This would be the last chance for the client to decide on the finished project. This document must be completely unambiguous but at the same time not specify any development paths-these are performed in the next doc...

...The Development doc. This is highly important because i'm not finishing the project, i'm handing it over to 3rd year students to finish off. I won't be available to help them, so they're going to need this document to be able to finish my work. And they're going to have to be good too because this isn't an easy project at all.

The feasibility study went into all the ways that this could be done, including surveys and appendices. He did read the document, but I don't think he really thought about the numbers involved, and I don't think he read the appendices. He should have. He's not come to find me for this meeting, so i'm about to go looking for him.

What a day. What a waste of time.

-Dave