Show HN: a free multi-user whiteboard with unlimited, zoomable surface(sketchub.com)
sketchub.com
Show HN: a free multi-user whiteboard with unlimited, zoomable surface
http://sketchub.com/
28 comments
The front ends seem to get desynchronised when two incompatible concurrent edits happen; this is a difficult issue to resolve, but one solution would be to change the data flow so local edits are drawn by the client on a transparent canvas, get sent to the server, and then get drawn on the underlying main canvas only when they are sent back from the server. The transparent canvas can be reset by the client at that point (you might need some synchronisation mechanism for this), so all users will end up having consistent state once edits have been processed by the server.
This is what we do for http://300lin.es ;)
edit: My God, it's full of cocks.
edit: My God, it's full of cocks.
Quit hint: it's too easy to make a DOS by quickly drawing hundreds of lines in the same spot. It doesn't take more than two minutes and regular writing or drawing is too slow and ends up erased before finished.
Maybe limit the number of lines an user can draw during a certain time?
Maybe limit the number of lines an user can draw during a certain time?
Thanks :) Yeah, we limit the length of line to try to avoid scribblers. We thought of rate-limiting the number of lines too, and adjusting the limit, so the first time you hit the limit you're stopped for 1 seconds, next time for 2 seconds, then 4, 8, 16 and so on.
Would probably work quite well.
PS is your hostname 'bd222edited for privacy.com.br' ?
Would probably work quite well.
PS is your hostname 'bd222edited for privacy.com.br' ?
Yep, that would be me. Sorry if I broke something, it started as an attempt to remove the random lines obscuring the drawings and text. When I noticed the fade out effect on the lines, I had already erased everything D:
yeah no worries, I just wanted to check that it wasn't someone trying to attack the site :)
This is more hilarous than expected
http://i.imgur.com/t9OuG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PDqe5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/t9OuG.jpg http://i.imgur.com/PDqe5.jpg
yeah it's hilarious what people's doodles actually end up turning in to. Everything's logged on the server, I'm planning to do a stop-motion style playback video to put up on youtube eventually.
Would love to see that, please post on HN when you do
Really glad to see that people are interested in this!
We're actually planning to write up a little blog post about our learning experience with NodeJS etc, maybe open-source the code, and then post that to HN/reddit/etc.
We've actually been waiting for a good opportunity to 'launch' it properly. Just as a fun side-project, no real business in 300lines as it stands, though we'd like to spin off a simple collaborative whiteboard app at some point.
Thanks for the feedback :)
We're actually planning to write up a little blog post about our learning experience with NodeJS etc, maybe open-source the code, and then post that to HN/reddit/etc.
We've actually been waiting for a good opportunity to 'launch' it properly. Just as a fun side-project, no real business in 300lines as it stands, though we'd like to spin off a simple collaborative whiteboard app at some point.
Thanks for the feedback :)
To me the zoomable, unlimited surface part is what makes it super neat. I might actually use it if I had some way of typing text on there..
I suppose for a tablet it is awesome though.
I suppose for a tablet it is awesome though.
I would definitely use it. Add a [T] icon for texts as writing with the mouse is meh!
+1 - esp if you could 'box' the text then be able to use it. This would be great for running a remove agile board.
Nice idea - great execution.
Nice idea - great execution.
Added a [T] icon!
Very cool. There are some minor issues though.
Here is my sketch: http://sketchub.com/view/d4b8fcb36fe4b078b100069bafebd352
I'm using a Thinkpad with Wacom enabled display and stylus. It 'should' say 'hello world' 3 times and have an underline after each one.
In the saved and view only link, it shows a 4th 'hello world' on the left and more slanted. It was erased before my real test.
It seems to miss certain strokes as you can tell by the sketch. Mainly straight lines. This might have been caught as trying to move the sketch area, but it did not move or register the line.
(As a control test to check display and stylus, I wrote the same text in OneNote and it was handled fine.)
Here is my sketch: http://sketchub.com/view/d4b8fcb36fe4b078b100069bafebd352
I'm using a Thinkpad with Wacom enabled display and stylus. It 'should' say 'hello world' 3 times and have an underline after each one.
In the saved and view only link, it shows a 4th 'hello world' on the left and more slanted. It was erased before my real test.
It seems to miss certain strokes as you can tell by the sketch. Mainly straight lines. This might have been caught as trying to move the sketch area, but it did not move or register the line.
(As a control test to check display and stylus, I wrote the same text in OneNote and it was handled fine.)
I work in a distributed office, and over the past few days I've been trying to find a "concept mapper", which helps us to make projects more concrete through flowcharts etc. The problem that I keep on facing is that the web apps which dominate the current market just don't cut my needs. They don't allow for proper exploration, and collaboration is a frustrating progress. We would gladly pay for a tool that doesn't get in our way and just lets us all communicate.
I think that you will find a ready market, if you can solve the thorny problem of communicating projects, which involve several interconnected parts/ideas.
I know for a fact that I'll buy it.
I think that you will find a ready market, if you can solve the thorny problem of communicating projects, which involve several interconnected parts/ideas.
I know for a fact that I'll buy it.
have you looked at Creately? I've been using it for a month or so and it seems pretty good: http://creately.com/
great to hear! :-)
Yes, you need text and images. The company I work for has been looking for a simple, fast, and good solution to make notes over webpage wireframes. I think this could be it!
Try our Woobius Eye tool, too, it's pretty neat for collaborative visual work.
See: http://woobiuseye.com
And a video of how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhox59Ia5yc
See: http://woobiuseye.com
And a video of how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhox59Ia5yc
Thanks for that link. It looks promising, but the canvas is just too small.
You should check out also http://mysyncpad.com
Being able to type in a URL and then you draw over that would be fantastic too.
sum up your pitch to make it easier for users to get what you are pitching.
"collaborative zoomable user interface to create sketches" is the same as "multiuser whiteboard" just easier to get.
"collaborative zoomable user interface to create sketches" is the same as "multiuser whiteboard" just easier to get.
As I believe the zoom makes it more unique, "multi-user whiteboard offering unlimited zooming", or the likes. But you're absolutely right.
thanks for the hint. I changed the title, better?
Oh and btw: Dont repost the same thing three times.
Very nice - you should do what I figured out for a project - momentum when there is a big action, and fine control for small actions - if I scroll the wheel dramatically, give me some momentum on that zoom - if I scroll it slowly, no momentum and fine increments (like you have now)
The way I did this in javascript was to create an array of zoom in/out and the four directions - then you add or subtract from the array based on intensity of gestures over time - even keyboard action keys (+/-) can have momentum this way by adding when there is continuous keypresses - I was pleased how it turned out in the end.
The way I did this in javascript was to create an array of zoom in/out and the four directions - then you add or subtract from the array based on intensity of gestures over time - even keyboard action keys (+/-) can have momentum this way by adding when there is continuous keypresses - I was pleased how it turned out in the end.
I would have liked the ability to change the line thickness, to work around you'd have to zoom out or in depending if you wanted a line thicker or thinner with the latter being particularly difficult as it's harder to keep track of where you are in relation to the rest of the page.
Cool stuff!
I've looked a bit at what it uses: shapes drawn are vectors, the app uses Raphael (http://raphaeljs.com/) for drawing, and Pusher (http://pusher.com/) for whiteboard syncing.
I've looked a bit at what it uses: shapes drawn are vectors, the app uses Raphael (http://raphaeljs.com/) for drawing, and Pusher (http://pusher.com/) for whiteboard syncing.
Regarding the Pusher web site, am I the only one who cannot resist the temptation of loading up Firebug to verify whether the counter is for real or "interpolated"?
Instead of having tonnes of empty test pages, why don't we all just agree to use the parent of my comment as the test canvas for this thread?
Edit: I somehow cannot draw in the one I suggested. Sorry.
Edit: I somehow cannot draw in the one I suggested. Sorry.
Cool. I'd love to be able to upload an image, or series of images, to draw over.
Great tool ! Simple and focused. Maybe two things a little more helpful :
1. The ability to press Ctrl+Z to undo
2. A global reset button (not so important as we can refresh the page)
I would love to try this on an iPad with a pen.
I would love to try this on an iPad with a pen.
This is awesome, I'd just like to have a tool to write with my keyboard.
this is pretty neat, from a designers point of view here are some things I'd suggest:
- something like a photoshop navigator where you see your zoom level vs your current canvas. Currently it's quite easy to zoom out a lose your stuff. - alternatively have a zoom % and return to 100% and center - As well as the current freehand drawing style, have a version that straightens the lines for you. - keep line thickness at any zoom level so it's not so bad when you zoom back in (although I can think of nice uses as it is) - write text
- something like a photoshop navigator where you see your zoom level vs your current canvas. Currently it's quite easy to zoom out a lose your stuff. - alternatively have a zoom % and return to 100% and center - As well as the current freehand drawing style, have a version that straightens the lines for you. - keep line thickness at any zoom level so it's not so bad when you zoom back in (although I can think of nice uses as it is) - write text
Totally agree, I'd like to be able to draw a straight line as well. I don't have that talent manually =) Some command such as shift would be nice for this, as well as the ctrl + z command
[deleted]
I'm not sure if it's just me, but there seem to have been a few very similar sites/ideas posted here over the last few days.
Well done for making it work in IE though =)
Well done for making it work in IE though =)
Not working in IE 8 for me at least :) Works fine in Firefox. Great app, would be very interesting to try it on one of them digital whiteboards.
On a multitouch table it works great: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpDp2Izx4W8
Florian, what's the device you are using?
sorry, but I don't know the hardware details.
It was a laptop with external display, multitouch was plugged in via USB and handled by a software called dreaMTouch.
If this is like switching between layers using your scroll-wheel, let us push part of the sketch back or forward, scale down or up.
Awesome, but with more keyboard shortcuts I'd use it all the time. (CTRL to pan, different keys to select different things)
Use the space bar to pan like in PhotoShop, other shortcuts coming soon!
Not working here on my HTC Desire with Android 2.2. Looks like there is no way to draw.
Similar issue on Desktop Opera 11.50.
I'm on Opera 11.5 / OSX 10.6.7 - can view but not draw.
Also: firefox freezes when I try to open a 2nd tab with a different whiteboard.
Looks great on iPad, well done.
Doh - it seems to crash safari when I go to it on my iPad? iOS 4.3.5
Working fine on 4.3.5 here, just emailed a link to several friends to see what happens over the next couple of hours with it. The best bit about it is the super-low barrier to entry/sharing.
Infinite zooming is nice. How is it implemented? I would like it as a library.
The library is already out there, I open sourced it: https://github.com/florianguenther/zui53
(but it's very early beta, bad documented)
(but it's very early beta, bad documented)
Looks a lot like Khanacademy's Scratchpad they recently open sourced.
Very cool, unlimited zoom is an awesome idea
If you zoom in too much, it's very lagging. Strange, It should be when zooming out
(FF 5.0)
find the hidden word: http://sketchub.com/xuugfkbshr
genius