I pushed some new code to the FrameAlbum website today. This is a small update to improve the messaging on the status of a channel. It will now inform you if the system was unable to find a matching username on Flickr/PicasaWeb. It will also tell you how many photos were added to a channel during the last update cycle.
As always, feedback is appreciated.
Well, not so much lazy as sleep deprivation induced hazy. My days are full with several projects all peaking simultaneously. My progress on FrameAlbum has slowed, limited by my waking hours being consumed by paying gigs. I’ve focused on squashing the biggest bugs and helping folks take full advantage of the functionality that already exists within FrameAlbum. I thought it appropriate to take a moment and share the new development priorities…
Improve Flickr and PicasaWeb channel building
There is a very high percentage of failed grabber searches on both the Flickr and PicasaWeb channel types. The vast majority of these are ‘unknown username’ errors. A few things need work here:
I am working to replace the very simplistic channel build process with a more robust system. This new method will check the username at the time you enter it and provide appropriate feedback. This will greatly improve the success rate of the grabbers and get more photos onto more frames.
I am also updating the error displays to include guidance on how to resolve the issue that is being reported. I’m also going to include better status reporting on the website so that you can more easily see what needs attention.
Facebook is next
Facebook photo feeds are first on the list of new channel types. This is the most often requested ‘new feature’ on FrameAlbum. Frankly, I would rather add other photo sharing sites (SmugMug, 500px, Photobucket, SnapFish, Shutterfly, WebShots, et. al.) but I have not seen a great interest in those services.
Informational channels
This is a broad category of new channels that will include weather forcasts, news headlines, stock market reports, etc.. This is a significant chunk of work on a rather amorphous set of channels. I’d be happy for any thoughts folks have re: which of these is most interesting/desirable so that I can focus my earliest efforts in that direction.
That’s about it for now. As always, I value your input and your support. Ping me anytime with questions and suggestions — I won’t promise an immediate response, but I will respond.
I’ve been noodling on the problem of how to get photos on frames. FrameAlbum fills the need for folks with internet capable frames (and a little tech knowledge). What about all the folks without internet capable frames, or, don’t have the skills to adjust their frame (or Grandma’s frame 1,200 miles away) to use the FrameAlbum service?
Replace the internet connection with a memory card
Any digital photo frame will have at least one memory card slot. What if you could setup Grandma’s frame with your Flickr/Picasa/other photos on FrameAlbum and then have a memory card sent directly to Grandma! If your Grandma is anything like mine was she has mad cookie baking skillz but was stumped by pretty much anything with more than one knob. This method would not require internet,, wifi, or any other wizardry beyond pushing a memory card into a slot.
Time to pay the piper
This would not be a free service. There would be a fee to cover the cost of the memory card, shipping and a little something for the gnomes that will fill the cards with your photos. This could work as a subscription with a regular update card sent out monthly/quarterly, or a one-shot deal.
Thoughts?
I haven’t built any of this yet. Before I go down this road I’d like to see if there is any interest in such a service. Please share your thoughts in the comments below, or contact me directly.
Thanks for your support of FrameAlbum!
Yes, I know the quality of the image on the left is quite poor — I’m just so excited!
I received Ian’s Toshiba DMF102X frame today and immediatly set upon getting it working on FrameAlbum. I had made some changes earlier in the day to the feed format in the hopes of resolving the dreaded ‘File format is not supported’/’Cannot connect to service’ messages many of you with Toshiba frames have experienced.
I fired up Ian’s frame, entered in the static IP information along with the custom FrameAlbum DNS server and selected the ‘FrameChannel mode’. A few nerve wracking seconds later the green “FrameChannel have ceased operation” image — Yippie! This means that the frame was talking to FrameAlbum and the frame had understood it’s reply.
I then added Ian’s frame to my FrameAlbum account (using the frameID information contained in the green ‘ceased operation’ image) and added on of my Flickr channels to it.
I restarted the frame and… WooHoo!
If any of you are having trouble seeing your photos on a Toshiba frame let me know in the comments below and I’ll get it fixed.
Update:
It appears that frames with software version 2.01 are working fine; the ‘newer’ version 2.05, not so much. I’ve identified and repaired a potential issues; testing ensues.
I’ve added a new feature to the PicasaWeb channel type today. The system will now generate an text-based image that will be included in your feed under certain circumstances.
If the system is unable to find a PicasaWeb user that matches the name you entered on your channel you will see an image that looks like this:
If there are no public images in your PicasaWeb account you will see an image similar to this:
If you see either of these two warning images on your frame please verify that your PicasaWeb channel is configured correctly, specifically that the username field contains either the email address you used when registering for PicasaWeb, or, the really big integer number that is a shortcut to your account (most people will not know this value)
I will be adding this functionality to the Flickr feeds in the next day or so.
As always, if this is confusing or doesn’t work as you expect drop a comment below.
I’m having a hard time getting FrameAlbum to play nice with Toshiba frames. It’s bad enough that they lack a custom RSS feed function but even the FrameChannel mode is not working the same as my Kodak frames. Toshiba frames use an older version of the FC protocol that was not released and despite several nuggets I’ve received from ‘people close to the situation’, and lots of help from you fine folks, I’ve not yet been 100% successful.
It was rather easy to get support for Kodak frames working; I have one and was able to see immediately if something I built was working. I don’t have that luxury with Toshiba frames. Which leads me to ask…
Would someone please lend me a Toshiba frame for development and testing?
I will, of course, return it to you at my expense when I an finished. Ping me on any of the normal channels if you can help.
Thanks in advance.
Update: Many thanks to Ian in SC for the loan of his Toshiba frame! I’m anxious to get your photos on these frames.