The following is an overview of the hardware rules for the project options.
In phase 1, you should not consider issues such as programming languages.
As a team you might start thinking about that in general, but this project
is meant to focus on issues such as anticipated users, their tasks,
overall appearance and functionality.
In phase 2, you will choose the specifics of how to implement your project
within certain limits.
Since you will need to demonstrate your project in class as well as give it
to another team to evaluate, all project demos must be able to run on the
classroom Windows 7 machine or my Windows 7 laptop unless other arrangements
are made in advance.
For example, if you are developing on an actual smartphone, can I still
install an Android simulator and run it on my machine or will we need to
arrange something special.
You may create (for example) Java applications that run on a PC which appear
just like a smartphone application would even though Java does not simply
run on smartphones (though here I'd strongly suggest using Android Studio
and Java).
If you would like to simulate communication over a network by simply having
both the client and server running on the same machine and communicating via
sockets (for example) you may do so. You can also simulate things via a
shared text file on the machine (don't build a database system).
However, in this project phase, these should not be limiting factors.
If you are designing for a touch-based device, consider things such as
the lack of tooltips or a physical keyboard on the actual device (so you
might need to reserve part of your screen for the soft keyboard).
Consider the lowest available screen resolution still in use for your
chosen platform (for example, desktops still might have a 1024x768
resolution, smartphones might have a 480x800 resolution). Also, you
need to think about and discuss (even if you don't directly solve)
universal usability issues.
Note: In all cases where you are allowed to assume a certain
piece of hardware, you may simulate that piece of hardware if you do not have
access to it during the semester. For example, if you wanted to use the
sensor in a smartphone that detects your head is close to it, you could say
"there would be a proximity sensor here" and simulate it by having an
image that represented it and some way to toggle "head close" as a state.
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