I chose to spend some time investigating Appcelerator’s Titanium application from the Web2.0 list. This is a cross-platform software-authoring environment that’s truly revolutionary. For one thing, the code itself can consist of any contemporary Web authoring code including Html, Flash, Javascript, Python, Ruby or PHP. This allows people to use any pre-existing Web skills and quickly apply them in exciting new ways.
Users typically interact with their local machine through a variety of software but only access web content through a browser. Software applications built with Titanium are able to straddle the two computing environments of the desktop and the World Wide Web.
Titanium’s cross-platform claims are truly cross-platform. The same code can be compiled to run on Windows, Linux, or Macintosh. With the proper prerequisite downloads from Apple and Google respectively, you can even build Apps for the iPhone or Android mobile operating systems.
I have designs to build a custom solution in a Macintosh lab here on the Full Sail campus. I have currently set up a Web server to serve custom educational content to a group of Windows machines in an adjacent room. I’d simply like to extend the functionality of this system to the Macintosh room as well. There is one catch however.
Rather than have students browse to a URL, I’d like all the typical features of a Web browser to be disabled. For educational evaluation and testing purposes, there should be no way to browse to a site other than the one I set up, no way to resize the window, no back-button, no print button and no way to save a page to the desktop. Essentially, I’ll build a Web browser that only points to one address. This will allow me to leverage the power of a distributed network with a Web style application so that the grades all show up in one place on the server. At the same time I can still restrict lab activity to my prescribed exercises like regular desktop software.
The last screenshot included above shows the test application I built last night. This stripped down little browser brings up the Google website only. The page can’t be printed saved or resized. This represents a proof of concept for my plans for educational software in the Mac lab.
Other attempts to fill this nitch in software authoring are Microsoft’s Hyper Text Application and Adobe Air. In my opinion, Titanium is more powerful and far more flexible than the competition. Links are provided below.
Titanium
Adobe Air
Microsoft HTA
I have tons of questions! Great post!
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