Erik Hatcher wrote:
> Stefano - thanks for breaking the ice and opening up the RT thread...
>
>> The forth thing that is really needed is a way to tune the view based on
>> data type. David and I spent a lot of time designing the 'one size fits
>> all' data view, but as others pointed out, this is just another way to
>> do what the original web site already does.... and most of the time,
>> poorer.
>
>
> That is a very interesting point, and obviously one that is the general
> crux of the problem with RDF.
>
> One interesting idea I've had for our application that might work with
> Piggy Bank also is to take a snapshot the page itself as a graphic and
> keep attached to the resources from that page as a thumbnail. It
> looks like Otis has done this with Simpy:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/otis/27642021/
>
> We have a lot of non-graphical objects to collect (poems, manuscripts,
> etc) and having a visual of the page it was on would likely be a big
> hit with users (though we also have scans of the actual manuscripts
> that we can use also).
Hmmm, interesting. One of the future features of PB is being able to add
binary content along with its metadata (pictures, for example) at that
point, what these pictures represent is really just an
implementation/customization detail.
But I have to be honest, I wouldn't know how to make a 'screenshot' of
an HTML page directly. (I know a company has been modifying gecko to
print over a bitmap canvas instead of the screen memory, but I wouldn't
be that happy to go down that path)
>> So, here are possile solutions for the above issues:
>>
>> 1) decoupling PB from the browser
>
>
> I'm curious what ways you have in mind for this. Would it be a proxy
> that monitors all HTTP traffic?
Could be. Or could also be just something you connect to.
> Our application is a server-side collector (Collex - in development,
> nothing but local prototypes in existence thus far). Being separate
> from Firefox is a great thing for me, since I Firefox really annoys me
> usability and aesthetic-wise compared to Safari and I simply do not use
> Firefox except to tinker with PB (or for web development troubleshooting).
>
> A local "bank" is not what we need for our system - it must be a web-
> based service accessible from a browser (del.icio.us-like). I like the
> decentralized concept of PB, but being centralized on a server (though
> installable anywhere like Semantic Bank) is the goal for Collex.
>
> If PB was primarily a gateway to SB rather than a heavy client it would
> be very synergistic with what I'm working on.
Good to know.
--
Stefano Mazzocchi
Research Scientist Digital Libraries Research Group
Massachusetts Institute of Technology location: E25-131C
77 Massachusetts Ave telephone: +1 (617) 253-1096
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 email: stefanom at mit . edu
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Received on Sun Jul 24 2005 - 03:42:36 EDT