@salbahra wrote:
Thank you! Okay so I will try and address some things and ask for some more information on others. In regards to the rain sensor bug I will look into it but I am starting to think its time to rewrite logging!
I’d love to see a new logging system implemented with entries for the entire system state as recorded entries as well as current weather observations. I think SQLite could be a reasonable choice of database engine if one were to go that route… Don’t read too much into the database statement as I only spent an evening looking around at web forms and data management…
@salbahra wrote:
@momanz wrote:
1) I like having current weather displayed on the main screen, but I wonder if there isn’t a better way to do it. The problem is one of wasted space on either side of the Icon / text. On larger displays it’s probably ok, but on a small phone display (or even a larger phone display) it seems like space could be better utilized. I do like the fact that the Program control and System Information Groups fit perfectly on my screen.
I see your point about the wasted space, I think its worse on larger screens and desktops and actually looks pretty nice on mobile. With that said, do you think showing more information abou the device next to the weather would help offset the dead space? If so, what types of things would you like to see? I know something I want to add to the status page is total program duration remaining (something I just figured out I can calculate) but if there is anything in the status page you deem important enough to pull out and show next to the weather on the top let me know. I could even “style” the weather box as a “quick status” view.
I like the idea of having some kind of system status indication in that space, time remaining on a current program, and if nothing is running the program information can be replaced with the next scheduled program? Another possibility is having weather forecast information. Keep the current weather and then have tomorrow’s forecast next to it. In the third tile you can add additional weather statistics that would help you decide on how to program the system. For example average monthly temperatures, weekly or monthly rainfall totals could be useful in helping one decide on whether or not to increase or decrease watering times.
@salbahra wrote:
@momanz wrote:
2) It seems like the items in the “system control” section may be better placed on a separate page. It’s too easy to hit one of the buttons when swiping up or down. Also, I don’t think there is a need to have quick access to any of these setting. I’ve already accidentally turned off the Operation toggle while swiping. I can easily see my self accidentally hitting one of the toggles and not realizing it. Both will disable automatic operation of the controller.
I agree 100% with this point! They did seem out of place but the darn things stuck with me since my first version and don’t really have a home at this point. They dont fall under status since I label that as an information page. Do you think I should give them their own page or toss them in the side panel?
I think the system control group can be it’s own page with access to the group being a link in the side panel. It would be a good idea to have a status indicator on the main page though. Those sliders also act as indicators telling us if the system is on/off or in Auto/manual modes. Maybe turn the group title bars to a dark red color to signify that the sprinkler system is disabled (either by virtue of being turned off or being in manual mode with no station running).
@salbahra wrote:
Update 2: Doing some thinking and found one idea but needs some fine-tuning. Going to run it here and see what people think. I could turn the homepage into a status page, add a footer with 3 buttons (programs, info, control) and move the appropriate menu’s into each sub page. I think this could make the home page a lot nicer by using icons and other things for the device’s status but would also require some work and a lot of design (which I’m not good at). The only way something like this could happen is if anyone had a true vision of what they think would be best. If this is something you are interested in, sketch up an idea or try and describe it and I can easily implement it. Here is where I am getting this idea from (I obviously don’t mean to copy this but I think the bottom two sections are nicely displayed. Also, I cannot get rain fall data but forecast is no problem.): http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/092/Purple2/v4/32/12/c7/3212c7aa-318c-b801-2bfa-831c0dd0f5bb/mzl.vovidanb.320×480-75.jpg
What you describe above is interesting, but I’m not sure I’d go after it in such a short timeframe though.
On a slightly different note, take a look at the weatherunderground API. Lots of info / weather stats available, not sure if all of it is free.