Shared Phidgets Blog

THE NEWS ABOUT THE SHARED PHIDGETS TOOLKIT:

April 12, 2007: Version 2.5

This version is for Visual Studio 2005 only, because I've ported and compiled all the source code now to .NET 2.0. The installer now adds the items to the VisualStudio 2005 toolbox automatically, and the installer and library is fully Windows Vista compatible. I've also fixed a major bug related to the event handlers, so that now all event handlers are thread safe to UI updates (via Invoke methods if necessary).
Ok, in the next weeks I hope to finish the 3.0 version, with the updated support for Phidget devices, and many other improvements.

MARCH 30, 2007: Version 2.0.2

Again I've fixed a few bugs of the toolkit, e.g. with the Connector/Server shutdown, or the TextLCD display. You can see the 'Version History' on the download page to see all the changes. You can also find a list of features that are currently implemented for the upcoming version 3.0 of the toolkit. This toolkit will then only available for VS2005, and will support all exisiting Phidgets and the new 2.1 drivers. It also includes a re-write of the Connector, and the Device Browser, as well as more components, filters, and skins. I will keep you informed on this website about the progess of this update.

AUGUST 1, 2006: Version 2.0.1

I've fixed a bug in the setup program, and also changed and added some features to the library. The distribution of the default server address should now work much better than before. Please unsinstall version 2.0.0 and install the most recent version 2.0.1

JULY 14, 2006: Beta 2 available

The BETA 2 version is now ready for download. While I have developed it to be compatible with VS2003 AND VS2005, I haven't tested it yet with 2005. The next week I will run several tests with 2005 to ensure everything is working. Download the new version HERE. Maybe there is also the 2.0.1 download available next week, where I integrate the "Blacklist" feature (to select phidgets you don't want to share).

JULY 12, 2006: Use metadata

In the BETA 2 release you can now also use Metadata to add your custom tags to each phidget device, or override the pre-defined tags like location, owner, etc. On the METADATA page you can read more about how to work with metadata.

JULY 12, 2006: New skins and components

The following components are also new in the BETA 2 release: Circular Touch Sensor, Encoder, and Weight Sensor. Here are the skins you can use with these components:

Circular Touch:

Encoder:

Weight Sensor:

JULY 09, 2006: Metadata dialog in the connector tool

To use metadata in the Shared Phidgets architecture, you can now use the new metadata dialog tab in the Connector tool. Here you have a list of all attached and detached devices, and you can easily add new metadata tags, change or delete existing ones. All the custom tags that are specified are saved in an XML file at the local computer, so that each time when the connector tool is restarted, all the tags are immediately available.