Cedar Central Update

Okay, so it's been a while since I last updated what's been going on here at Cedar Central. Well, things are going well, and the complete network should be completed soon. At the blog, there has been a lack of posts due to a lot of travel and school throughout May. I think I am back on track now. The website is getting pretty far, and could be uploaded to the server anytime soon, so I'll notify you on the blog. The widget is still being reviewed, and so I don't know when I'll release it. Pretty soon though. If you would like the widget, Version 1.0 is still available. I will have a post outlining the new features pretty soon.

So, May was a slow month, but with a lot of time opening up in June, next month should be pretty big.

Thanks!

Brad

Network Update

I have been working on the website, forums, widget, and blog a lot lately, and so I would like to update everyone on what's been going on. First of all, I have made version 1.1 of the widget, but I do not expect this to be released to the public for several reasons. First of all, I was waiting to post it until I got it on Apple's website, but I've been unsuccessful so far, so it might have to wait until the next version. Also, there was an RSS glitch and the widget was a little oversized, so these will all be fixed in the next release, 1.2.

Also, the website is on its way! I do not have an exact date of opening, but it will be before Cedar Point opens for 2009. It will have a lot of great content.

Unfortunately, the Cedar Point Ride Database will not be open with the rest of the website. This huge database will hold a ton of information about every one of Cedar Point's 75 rides, allowing you to look at these rides in over 195 ways! But, it's going to take a while to finish, and we're about 20% done, so we'll hold off on this until everything else is done. Everything else will be ready to go.

Right now, I do not know much about the forums. I may be opening them with the website, or maybe later on. We'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks!

Brad

Coming Up In The Future...

Along with working on the website, I have been addressing some problems with the widget. I have noticed that images typically do not fit in the viewing area, which is a problem because it's a major design flaw, and takes away from the over all user experience. Also, I do not like the transparent RSS. This was done so that I could add a background image, but means that pictures from the blog have to be transparent as well. I am testing out ways to fix this, and I hope that I can develop something soon. The next release (1.1) will not be a major update, just with some design updates, complete photo viewing, better performance, and a more comfortable experience. I have been testing these things out lately on my computer, and they should be much better than before.

Thanks!

Brad

Another Quick Widget Update...

Well, after a rough takeoff with the server, I finally managed to get the widget download to work. For a little while, if you clicked on the link, it would give you a message stating that you weren't allowed to download it (???), but I got it all cleared up. If you click on the link, it takes you to a webpage that is basically an exact copy of the blog post. And also, very observant people may notice that I'm using a server called "Amusement Park Madness". Don't get too excited... the reason why I did this was because I didn't want to post it on the website that I'm developing and let you guys get a sneak peak before it opens! So, to keep everything secure, you will be using a temporary server. But, don't worry, because I own and manage it, so it's secure. Here's the story.

I stumbled across a blog called "Amusement Park Madness" a few months ago when it was new. In fact, I'm a follower, just under a different username. Anyway, later on I was asked by the administrator to create some type of way to get his information onto the desktops of his readers. Well, since I'm a Mac guy, I told him I would develop a widget for him. Unfortunately, he can't use it, because he's a PC guy, but I tested it and made it work, and eventually released it to the public. But, I wanted it to be listed in Apple's list of Dashboard Widgets, and to do that, the widget had to have a webpage. So, I created one, which is where I'm secretly storing our widget, since I can't put it on our website since it's still under development.

So, now anyone that was confused is up-to-date on what's been going on with that weird website I've been using. And also, don't worry, I'm not cheating on Cedar Central either! I occasionally post things on Amusement Park Madness and update the widget, because they're a "friend blog". Don't worry, you guys get the eye candy on the widget!

Have a nice evening,

Brad

The Cedar Central Widget

Hello everyone!

Today I will be releasing the Cedar Central Widget. Until the website opens to the public, this post will be the source for all information regarding the widget, and I will have a link to the right of the blog linking here for easy access. Anyway, on to the widget!

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The Cedar Central Widget is your newest way to keep up-to-date all the time on the whereabouts of the greatest amusement park on Earth, Cedar Point! Get news and information delivered right to your Dashboard with no hassle, directly from the Cedar Central Blog! With a simple, clean, compact design, and fast and reliable news updates, the Cedar Central widget is the perfect way for Cedar Point fans to stay in the know!

Release Notes:

Name: Cedar Central Widget

Version: 1.0

Size (Compressed): 1204 Kb

Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and later.

Downloads:

Download from our server (.zip): Cedar Central Widget

Link to our widget's page on Apple's website will be coming soon.

---Our downloads are safe and secure, and tested for any malware.

Installation Instructions:

#1) After you download the widget as a compressed (zipped) file, it should automatically prompt you with a message asking you whether you would like to install the widget. Click "Install".

#2) Next, you will be taken to your Dashboard, where you should see the widget in a box. Click "Keep", and it should appear normally on your Dashboard.

#3) Drag it around and place it wherever you like. If you are connected to the internet, it will update all of the posts automatically. If the widget is updating, you should see a "Loading..." text field at the bottom.

If you would like to change how long the articles displayed are, click in the information icon that appears in the lower, right corner when your cursor is hovered over the widget to flip it over. Use the slider to adjust the the length of the articles. When you are finished, click the "Done" button to flip it back over.

The first time that you use the widget, you may notice that some images may take a second to appear. This is not a performance issue, and the images will show up after they initially load.

Screenshots:

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I am very excited that the widget is finally being released, and I am looking forward to seeing what new features we can implement into future releases!

Thanks!

Brad

A Quick Widget Update

Hello everyone!

The Cedar Central Widget for all Mac users running Tiger or Leopard (or soon Snow Leopard) is ready to go. But, if you recall one of my previous posts, I said that I would not release it to the public until it was on Apple's website. Well, I've decided that I will put up a direct download link today, and I will later update it to show the Apple link after it's been reviewed. Until the website is open to the public, this post will be the main "source" of the widget, and I will have a direct link to that post for easy access in the future. Enjoy (In a few minutes!)!

Thanks!

Brad

Cedar Central Widget Coming!

Get ready Mac users! Soon, an official Cedar Central Dashboard widget will be released to the public. This widget will keep you up-to-date on your Cedar Point news by delivering you all of our information in a compact yet full-featured Dashboard widget, so you never have to open your web browsers! The project is in the development stage, but should be completed in the next few days, which will then lead to getting the widget approved and hosted, and then will be on your computers! So it will be a few weeks before you can try it out yourselves, but I will keep you updated on what's going on until then.

Also, sorry PC's, a Vista version will not be developed until after the Dashboard widget is complete.

Thanks!

Brad