Collaborative Tools Project

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the Collaborative Tools Project this week. Someone had dropped in for a chat and I was enthusing about the creative possibilities offered by both Google App Engine and Google App Script for people "doing it for themselves" and they asked... "But does anyone actually want to DO this?" He had a point. To be honest, I don't know. I can't know, but I'm pretty sure I think I know that they do. And then within the week I came across someone at the University using Android tablets for data entry into spreadsheets, where data get moved between sheets based on a workflow and is all presented using lovely looking visualisations. People not only wanted to be doing this stuff - they were already doing it. Google AppScript So. I said I'd let you know how I was getting on with Google AppScript ( long video here if you want to get started  yourself ). The short answer is quite well. Given that I have a deep se...

I meet lots of people at the University who want technology to help them with their work. With some people it's often a case of introducing them to something we already offer and/or guiding them through doing things a new way. But often what people really want is bespoke custom software development. They don't want an off-the-shelf technology, because in many cases, it just isn't a good enough fit. They don't want a wiki or a blog but instead they might need a simple web app that does a simple thing. The Problem With Custom Development I'm a big fan of the idea of everyone being able to make their own software, not because I want everyone to become geeks, but instead I want making software to become easy enough for everyone to be able to do it. One of the problems with developments is knowing where to start. At the moment the University offers a MySQL, CGI and PHP service which allows you to work within certain parameters. With these tools you co...