ziizoo blog

Most of you are aware that the new session tool beta has been available on the site for just over a week now. I’ve spent the past week squashing bugs, some of which we were aware of but many of which you reported – so thank you! As with any rich internet application (RIA), if issues are going to surface, it will be during the user testing phase, when the application is released ‘into the wild’ — different runtime environments in different browsers under different operating systems over different networks, etc. So now that I’ve implicated each of you in the testing process, keep the feedback coming!

The new session tool is Adobe Flex-based. It’s written in ActionScript3 (AS3) and relies on both Flash Media Server (FMS) and Java server components to function. Whiteboard, audio, and video communication are routed through FMS, while text chat, presence, and session controls are all routed through Jabber (aka XMPP). If you’re interested in learning more about the architecture behind the entire ziizoo site, stay tuned for a full write-up. I think the acronym threshold for this posting has already been surpassed, and I’m just talking about the session tool itself.

UPCOMING FEATURES
In addition to addressing any outstanding issues with the current version (see ‘known issues’ below), we are hard at work on several key features that will be rolled into the client over the next couple of months. I’ll just highlight those briefly:

• whiteboard saving – This is one that we lost (temporarily) in the transition to the new client, so it’s one of the first major improvements to be addressed. You may have noticed that when you run out of whiteboard space, you can create a new page without clearing the current whiteboard just by clicking on the ‘page forward’ button. That should provide some relief while we continue work on the ‘save’ function.
• digital locker integration – The first phase of this happens with whiteboard saving, but phase 2 will bring full digital locker integration with the ability to copy art assets, documents, diagrams, etc., directly into the whiteboard space of an active session.
• audio/video – This is a critical feature for us. Audio was available in the previous tool, but it was built on an entirely different system. We’re letting the FMS do what it does best and shelving the P2P Jingle-based solution for the time being. The good news is that we’ll soon have high quality audio and video connectivity available.
• subject-specific whiteboard tools – In addition to the ’stamp’ tool defaults we’ve included for now, tutors will have access to a long list of subject-specific icons, images, and symbols to make redundant tasks much easier.
• emoticons – OK, we know they won’t make or break a successful tutoring session, but as a veteran of IM client and server development, I assure you we will have your emoticons fix soon.
• ‘… is typing’ – Another indispensable feature for text chat, this one should find its way into a build as soon as the higher priority items are addressed.
• Many more…

KNOWN ISSUES
And finally, here are some known issues with the new tool. This is also where your feedback becomes key, since an application like this depends on factors unique to your particular setup.

1. Firefox on OS X – display issues. The tool runs properly but displays sporadically, with the foreground (session tool) losing focus each time the background (ziizoo web app) is updated. We’re recommending OS X users (which includes me) stick with Safari for the time being until we can solve this problem on FF.
2. post-session reload of session tool – unexpected re-initialization of the Flex app after the session has ended. This has popped up during testing and a fix is in the works.
3. occasional ‘misconnects’ – spotty connections to the session room. Several factors were contributing to this problem. Most have been addressed but some changes are being made to alleviate the issue altogether.
4. incorrect positioning of scroll bars on whiteboard – object control buttons become inaccessible. This happens sporadically when you draw a shape on the whiteboard, usually near the page border.
5. corporate firewall traversal – the session tool needs several persistent and non-persistent connections to different servers during operation, and part of that communication is over a port range that’s not always available behind corporate firewalls. This has been a known issue since the early days and a solution can be put in place quickly if many of you experience connection problems.
6. there are never more than 5…

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 4:09 pm and is filed under Mike's Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.